387 - Smartphones and end of 2022

 

Link to Table of Contents

Still drifting along almost post-pandemic

11/1/22

Smartphone

After avoiding owning a smartphone for many years (27 years, by my count) I finally had to give in and buy one in 2021 -- long boring story. After a year and a half, I’m still getting used to the advantages of a smartphone, but I have to admit that I love it. And it isn’t costing me any more than my old, dumb phone. My cheap plan has very limited phone minutes so I only use it for work and emergencies. My text minutes are unlimited so I use this a lot, and it is much easier to text than before. Data is also very limited, so I try to avoid that, but it’s there when I need it. 

The camera is probably my favorite feature and I’m still learning how best to use it. Taking photos of things rather than writing notes is one of the ways. Because the thing is almost always in my pocket, I can always take a photo of something -- like a broken part -- and then show it to a salesperson or contractor. And now that I have the Flickr app on my phone, this is a much easier way to shift my photos to my cloud based photo collection. 

I don’t use my smartphone nearly as much as other people seem to, but I’m really glad I have it. And there are still a million little things I have trouble doing that I’m sure a more SP savvy person could do. And since Android phones are so different, it’s hard to find information that applies to my particular device.

11/2/22

I had forgotten how much routine mail you get from Kaiser as a member. For an institution that uses email so well, they still generate a ton of routine mail. It will be a challenge to manage this and determine what I need to actually keep. I do have my new card now. And they’ve preserved my number and basic information from before, so that’s good. I wonder if my old PCP is still there? It’s only been four years. (I had to choose a new PCP, but there has been virtually no mail since I became a member six months ago. So better than I was expecting.)

11/11/22

We were supposed to have an HOA BOD meeting yesterday but 3 people didn’t show up for the Zoom. We had a quorum, but wanted to involve more people so we are rescheduling the meeting. I will also give people the option of giving their 2 cents in emails prior to the meeting. Nothing is really time critical. We have a legal deadline at the end of the month, but that really shouldn’t apply to us since all our owners are on the Board. This causes us so many problems.

12/8/22 - I lust therefore I am.

12/15/22 - An older, mentally ill woman is sitting next to me on the mezzanine level of my office. She is talking to herself in part about the homeless and how they can’t control themselves. The same odd vocal noise at the end of most statements. She started out asking the room for the time and the date. Just asked for the time again. She is mostly here to charge her phone. Strangely emotionless voice considering that it sounds like she is talking to someone.

386. Back after a long long time - Santa Barbara

 

Link to Table of Contents

So much catch-up 

September & October 2022 including Santa Barbara trip

9/25/22

Finally feeling better after a week of feeling off... and itching. As it happened, this was also my week to take my “holiday” road trip to Santa Barbara so my friend could conduct estate business with her sister. I didn’t feel so bad that I couldn’t do most of what I had planned. It just wasn’t quite as fun as I was hoping for. In particular I was trying to be careful about what I ate. 

Anyway, this is also a weekend off work (I didn’t want, because the event we didn’t get has been one of my favorites) but it turned out to be for the best. Now I have six days to ramp up for HSB. Should be fine.

As so often happens when you rent a car, we asked for a small fuel efficient model and were given a larger model instead. In this case a VW Atlas -- which I was calling the Panzerkampfwagan. Aside from less than ideal forward visibility when you are parking, it was a fine vehicle. Good overall visibility, plenty of power and room and everything else you would want. It probably cost us an extra eight gallons of gas or maybe $50.

I did manage to find the book I’ve been looking for at the bookstore I was staying near in SB. So now I probably will blog “The Old Regime...”

While SB was much nicer than here, didn’t see a single tent, it still had the same problems but at a more manageable scale. The day I walked down to shop and have lunch in their very nice pedestrianized downtown, I saw a steady stream of mentally ill people yelling or talking to themselves. There were “unsheltered” people scattered all around, including at the Peet’s I was frequenting and at the shopping complex that houses the bookstore. I also read a story in the local paper about someone who died in custody while waiting (seven months at the time of death) to be transferred to the State mental facility where they would try to make the person capable of helping with her own defense in a trial. I hadn’t realized that even people who have been found incompetent to stand trial can’t get help. Even worse than I already thought.

SB is lovely, in that SoCal/TMM dream in Snow manner. Striking mountains up behind the town. Stunning weather. And almost everyone enjoying a lifestyle that has landed us in the mess we are currently in. I rode the bus back from downtown, after walking six miles, and was a bit surprised at how ratty it was. I didn’t expect to find anyone but kids and minorities riding, but I thought they would have better equipment. Because of where I was staying, it was very convenient and I could have gone everywhere I needed to go on just the one bus line. 

9/29/22

In SB I walked past this little park with playing fields on five occasions and it more and more reminded me of September days when I lived in the Valley and we had football training camp in Encino. And just now, as I was eating my lunch at CPK, I was watching a football game between Miami and Buffalo that was played in Miami. I have no interest in either team, but what did interest me was the level of exhaustion of the players as the game came to an end. Players on both sides dropped to the grounded rather than returning to their benches.

All of this reminded me so much of those nasty days when we would get in shape for the coming football season. It really paid off for our team, but it was not fun. Now I maintain a year-round exercise routine to stay in shape, and even ramp it up at this time of year as our big events near. But I still remember those days in Encino and am so glad I don’t have to go through them again.

10/28/22 - Day 956 of COVID/144 days since my COVID

It’s been a busy month since my last post. I’ve worked Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Fleet Week, How Weird, Haight Street Fair, and another Undiscovered. I believe I’m through greening for 2022. In fact, I’ve cut my hair, seen my dermatologist (no problems) and am currently near the end of a week off much of my exercise routine. My arm is bothering me. Perhaps it misses all the push ups. I will be resuming them in two days so we will see then.

I’m in the midst of preparation for the HOA’s pro forma budget and budget approval meeting. Lots of fun with spreadsheets. Our documents will be greatly improved this year though I may be the only one who notices.

Ignoring my forearm, I ended the greening season with no physical complaints. My new boots may have contributed to this. And I have a new, very white, hat that improves my sun protection game. I don’t see any reason I can’t continue doing this until I’m seventy-five. On the other hand, it’s been a hard year for some of the people I know in their mid-seventies. One is still recovering from a fall on ice this past winter combined with skin cancer surgery. Another is recovering from a fractured femur and complications of scoliosis. I know things can start getting dicey around seventy-five, but so far I don’t feel personally at risk. Mostly this affects my scheduling of HOA maintenance work. I’m aware that things I can do now I may not be able to do in ten, or maybe even five, years.

As I wrap up my HOA seasonal tasks, I have to start thinking about what I’m going to do with the bulk of my time until next April. I need to come up with new projects beyond giving my apartment a good cleaning.