GETTING THINGS SET UP

 I moved my work items into my office today.  I went to turn on my office TV and can't find my remote control.  It is a very interesting dilemma.  Did I put it somewhere?  Did my foster child hide it or get rid of it?  Where is it?  When is the last time I used it?  Where could it be?  There was a remote in the room for a RCA TV.  I don't have a RCA TV.  I don't think I ever had a RCA TV.  Where did it come from?  Where is my Sharp TV remote?  I can't find it.  I finally ordered a universal remote.  The TV only turns on/off and the volume goes up/down.  It only has Roku on it anyway.  

I started looking at new desks.  I don't like my current desk because since I wear glasses with progressive lenses and I have to look out of the bottom of my glasses.  My desk has a stationary shelf for my monitor and it is too high.  I can't remove it.  So to look out of my lenses, I have to crane my neck.  It is uncomfortable.  I need a flat desk where I can have my monitor on the desk.

I also need a lamp so I have been looking for lamps. I need function.  I can move the standing lamp I have in the living room into my office and put a nicer lamp in the living room. I hate the lamp I currently have in the living room but it would work in the office just fine.

Lots going on to get things set up in this house.  I finally would like things set up.

Until tomorrow...

WATCHING A PANDEMIC WHILE IN A PANDEMIC

 I did my weekly cooking today.  I made Lentil, Mushroom and Potato Pie for dinners this week.  It was easy but I had a few missteps so it took longer.  It was a British recipe that I had to switch to American and that took a little bit of time.  It also didn't say what size dish to cook it in and I should have used a smaller dish.  It got a little dried out.  It is still tasty.

 Then I made Mexican Bean Salad.  It isn't as spicy as I thought it would be.  I may add some more hot sauce.  It is tasty for lunches.  

 I video chatted with my friends and ate lunch outside since it was a lovely day.  

I finished watching the Netflix series The Rain.  I am not sure it is good to watch a series about a pandemic during a pandemic.  It does bring a different perspective.  I watched Season 1 pre-Covid and Seasons 2-3 this week.  I saw the seasons very differently pre- and post- Covid.  Now I am weary of the rain.  Ugh!

Until tomorrow...

BUNCH OF THINGS COMPLETED TODAY

 What a day!  I got a bunch of things completed today.  First I listened to a webinar about women who participated in the occupation of Alcatraz 50 years ago.  It was a bit disorganized especially when the moderator got kicked off the video call.  While I was listening I got a bunch of my puzzle completed.  I sorted a number of pieces by color and found the remaining edge pieces.

Once that was over, I installed my new garage alarm.  It is an app that alerts me when my garage opens and closes.  I feel much better since about a year ago I came home and my garage door was open.  Then a few days later I went out and came back a few minutes later and it was open again.  I thought I was going crazy.  I called the garage company and they sent a guy out.  He figured out that someone in the neighborhood just happened to have the same random code as me and was opening my garage when they opened theirs.  He changed my code and it has been fine since.  But it made me nervous that I would not know if my garage opened accidentally. Now I will get a notification.

I put the screen protector on my new phone. That was an experience.  Talk about stressful.  You get one shot to get it right.  I think I did a good job. I have seen it done a few times.  I have my new headset now so I am finally set with my new phone.

Until tomorrow...

ROCKETBOOK PANDA PLANNER ZOOM

Yesterday I participated in a zoom from Rocketbook to learn about how to use the Panda Planner.  It is the newest of their Rocketbook series.  I am a Rocketbook convert.  I love my Rocketbook.  I have a few different types now.  Basically it is a notebook where you write your notes and then snap a photo that goes directly to your computer.  Then you erase that page and use it over again. 

The Panda Planner is more than a calendar it is a planner/goal setter/motivator/habit creator.  I didn't know what to really do with it when I first saw it and then I saw a demo.  After viewing the demo I bought one.  I was still a little unsure. Today I saw a zoom presentation with folks who filled their Panda Planners out.  I also heard from the creators.  It was interesting to hear the thinking behind how it was designed.  It is a way to balance your work and personal life.  I found it interesting and especially during Covid an item I might find a necessity.

I am going to look at it over the next few days and plan out my planner!

Until tomorrow...

PASSED ON A GIG

Today I decided to pass on a gig.  Yes, I passed on work.  I really wanted the gig but here's what happened. I started interviewing with the company back during mid-July. In the past four weeks I interviewed four or five times with staff.  Things changed in each interview.  Originally the gig was going to be 2 to 2.5 days per week and now it is 30 hours per week.  Originally it was going to be for 6 months and now it is 12 months at least.  I felt that it was not going to be the gig for me.   Another gig will come!

It was a weight off my back to pass on this gig. 

I spoke to the vet today about Lucky's progress.  She is better but still not 100%.  I thought she was supposed to be on the antibiotics for 3 weeks but the vet said no 4 weeks.  I hope the next 2 weeks makes this infection go away. She sounds so miserable.  A constant stuffy head. 

Until tomorrow...

HEADSET ISSUES

I am getting used to my new cellphone.  Things are moved and changed so it is taking me a while to figure things out. 

One thing that happened that I was not prepared for was that my headset does not work with this phone.  Well, it is not my phone but my phone case.  The case is thicker than my old phone case so my headset plug doesn't work.  The headset plug is an L shape and now it won't fit in the headset plug hole all the way.  So I had to buy a new headset with a straight headset plug.  It arrived today and I was so happy.  On long phone calls or when I have to type I don't like holding my phone.  Speaker is hard to use when you have a dog (especially a barky dog). 

I walked a mile today. 

Until tomorrow...

GETTING MY PHONE JUST RIGHT

Okay, I like things the way I like things.  This especially goes for my phone and my computer.  When I get a new computer I immediately have to set it up to work the way I like it.  The same with email.  Clients typically give me an email account from their company to work on.  I have to set it up the way I like it with single emails and not "conversations".  I hate when an email comes in and it is attached to 15 other emails that I have to figure out where the new email is.  Ugh! Just give me the new email.  I like my desktop set a certain way.  I like my icons (is that what they are called) in a certain order with one of them being files so I can easily access it in the thing along the bottom of the screen.  I like certain short cuts.  I hate clutter.

The same with my phone.  I like a certain ring tone. I like a certain tone when my emails come through. I like to give certain people their own ring tone so I know when they are calling.  I like to have my phone set on priority when I sleep so if someone on my star list calls when I am sleeping or in a meeting I will be interrupted.  I like a certain color and background.  I just like it the way I like it.  It isn't always the same from phone to phone or all time but once I get it a certain way, I want it to stay that way unless I change it.  I still don't have my phone how I love it but I am close.  A few more tweeks and I could be there.

So far I can't find a fault. 

Until tomorrow...

ACTIVATED MY NEW PHONE

After spending time today backing up the rest of my photos and videos, I finally activated my new cellphone. Okay, don't get too excited. I didn't do it on my own. I learned a few phones ago, not to do it on my own. Too many things can go wrong. At least this time I am sticking with the same brand of phone so there is less of a chance things would go haywire. One time the guy at the cell phone store got too excited and when I was logging in he pressed the wrong Gmail account and now my contacts are split between two Gmail accounts. See stupid things happen during this process. 

I called the cellphone company and they had a recording that they were understaffed due to Covid-19 and I could use their new AI system. Well, that system didn't work the first two times I called today sending me to billing the first time and telling me I was not a customer of theirs the second time but "would I like to keep the same number and be their customer?" For some reason AI systems don't understand me. 

I wanted a human being. I finally tricked the system by pressing zero right after putting in my information. I was put into a cue where they would call me back. An actual human called me back and he was a great help. He walked me through the whole set up and activation. 

I got the phone activated and all my contacts and apps showed up. All my photos and texts are here. It so far is a success. The phone is blue (not my favorite) but with the case on you would never know! 

Now comes the time consuming part of setting everything up the way I like it and logging into all my emails and the apps. It was much less painful than last time. 

I even have the blogger app again and that makes me SO happy. I can post my blog posts from my phone which is so much more convenient sometimes. 

Until tomorrow...

SOUTHWEST POLENTA BAKE

Normal temperature.

I spent the day on zoom with my Sunday friend group.  Then I attended a zoom about African Americans in the Bay Area in the 1940-1970's in black and white photos.  It was super interesting.

Then I cooked for the week.  I made a Southwest Polenta Bake for dinner for the week.

Then a Cucumber and Noodle Salad.  It is noodles and a asian sauce and cucumbers and peanuts.  Really tasty for my lunches.

I offered the lemons from the gardening yesterday to my zoom friends.  I put the lemons in a bag and left it on my stairs and they came by and took them.  One person was so sweet and she left me a bag with chocolates and a thank you note.  I saw her leaving the bag and with her mask on I didn't recognize her!  So funny to see someone in person after seeing them on zoom for months!

Until tomorrow...

WALKING AROUND THE PATH

Normal temperature.

Today the gardener came to clear out the backyard.  It made me so happy she came.  It was no contact.  We discussed from a distance about cutting back some of my little trees and plants so it was easier to walk around the slate path.  She did a great job.  I finally agreed to cut back the lemon tree which was out of control.  When she cut the branches, about 25-30 lemons were cut down.  I saved them and put them in a bag to give away.  I am going to give some to my neighbor since she has always liked them.

Three of my tomatoes are red enough to pick. They need to ripen more inside.

I can walk without being struck in the head with a branch!  It looks so nice.

The next plan is to get the sprinkler system working.  It works but the hose was stupidly pulled up by me years ago.  I thought it was broken and pulled it up.  The system still works and the gardener can put down a new hose to attach to the bit that still exists.  All I need to buy is a timer. 

Then the third plan is to clean the slate.  It is so dirty and dark.  It is supposed to be lite tan.  It needs a good cleaning with a serious cleaner.

Until tomorrow...