Done yesterday

[mdlbear]

0328 Sa
  * up 8:30; W=189; drugs, nose; coffee (YD), emergen-c
  * Bring Colleen a couple of pairs of pants first thing in the morning
  * see if the Asus can get a connection in the room (fail)
    ... but it's plugged in now and she can use it for games
  * Colleen.
    was in gym.  Standing up, ~50%.  left leg still nearly useless.
    sang Wheelin'; not sure anyone heard it but Colleen
    arm strength good; wheeled herself back to the room
    nice talk in the lobby with an aspiring country songwriter named Karen
    ! generally pretty happy.  A little distressed about slow progress.
  * Walk - Los Gatos Creek      ! calm
    Saw (tall) Sandy.  Call to N (left wave on voice mail)
    overdid it a little:  feet hurt; close to blisters
  = access: back bathroom: get some door width by taking out my sink?
  * banking.  Get cash
  * buy gin
  & visit Colleen, with Plink
    gentle-arms, riverheart, i-walrus, deso-row
  & update Consonance setlists
  * 6pm Housefilk @Kanef's (will be late)
    ma-bear, vampire, stuck (set-up for Kanef)
  * bed ~midnight

It was very good to see Colleen in the gym, standing up. Not all by herself yet, but making what appears to be rapid progress at long last.

A very pleasant walk, though I came close to overdoing it and getting blisters on my feet. At least I recognized the early warning signs of leg cramps and backed down the pace -- I've been getting a lot better about that.

I met someone I know on my walk -- that's very rare. And made a phone call to a friend who, until now, I've only called by pre-arrangement. (It went to voice mail, but it was still an accomplishment.)

Did a little more thinking about making the house wheelchair/scooter accessible. Still going to be difficult: both of our bathrooms are small, with narrow doors. You don't think of that kind of thing when you're 40.

Between singing for Colleen and the housefilk at Kanef's, I sang more yesterday than in the past week put together. Go me! (Can't possibly have anything to do with an upcoming visit, now can it?)

Comments

[septemberlilac.livejournal.com]

Go you, indeed - the phone call is a Major Big Deal. It does get easier with enough practice. And go Colleen, too! Very glad to hear of her progress.

[mdlbear]

Indeed. I believe the number of people outside my family I've proven capable of calling without an excuse now stands at three.

[septemberlilac.livejournal.com]

Your total is two more than I'm currently able to manage, so I'm impressed and just a tad envious.

[chaoswolf]

Of course not, because secretly you're looking to ship me off so I'm not asking stupid questions during rehearsals.

[mdlbear]

Aww, you figured it out. ;)

No, I'm looking to ship you off so I can have more coffee in the morning. And it wouldn't have anything at all to you wanting to be 900 miles closer to your husband...

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

That's right, I did provide you with an excuse ;-)

[mdlbear]

I think the total goes up to 5 or 6 if you add pre-arranged calls and calls intended to ask a question or provide information.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I purely hate phoning large corporations or bureaucracies to ask questions. I get stuck listening to poorly reproduced elevator music, interspersed with "Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line, and the next representative will be with you shortly. There are thirty. seven. calls ahead of you." After waiting for 45 minutes, I get a customer representative who lied when she said English was her second language. She reads from a script, starting over every time I tell her that what she's saying doesn't apply to me. I ask for someone higher up the food chain, she puts me back on hold, and I wind up in an automated-response loop that can only be exited by hanging up. Meanwhile, the battery on my phone is now showing one bar of charge left...

[mdlbear]

So do I, but I was only counting individuals I know. I hate being on the phone with large corporations, but I don't have any trouble making the call because I know that it's going to be answered (after a long computerized run-around) by somebody who's being paid to answer it. And because I know the script.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I can communicate with another human being, even if they weren't expecting my call, even if I happen to be calling a total stranger. I can't communicate effectively with a script.

[mdlbear]

"Know the script" in the sense of knowing how what questions the person is going to ask, and what I want from the interaction. I know scripts for things like hotel reservations, plane tickets, routine medical appointments, and so on.

I have trouble with anything non-routine, because I don't know the script and don't have the answers ready. Usually neither do they.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, I get it - you mean you know what script they'll use, so you know how to respond to it. (I meant that I can't ask questions and get useful responses when the other person is using a script.)

[mdlbear]

That's a different problem; tech support, medical stuff... once we get off the script, on either side, things become difficult. Caused me a lot of trouble last week, in fact.