Category: Technology

I came back from Boston Wicked Smaaht

~ msgracefulnot ~ 11 Comments

Ok that’s not even a little bit true, I’m still the same dumb ass I was before I went on the trip, BUT I did learn ALOT (good and bad).  It was definitely an adventure…..

If you’ve got some time I would like to tell you about it…..well about getting there and our first day in the city.

SOMETIMES the weather forecast is right

Before we left, I had been half listening to the forecast.  The forecasters said that we would be ‘blessed’ with a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and rain and temps of 26 degrees beginning 2 hours before we were to head out for the airport.   After sleeping 3 hours, I woke up at 1 am, showered, coffeed, and looked out the window.  Of course they picked THIS time to be correct….smh

We left Einstein’s house at 2 am, and headed to my house to pick Thing 2 up.  She was driving us to the airport.  (well I was driving us to the airport, and she was taking my car home)  That 20 minute drive took almost an hour….grrrrr

wintry mixok MORE coffee….(the American Airlines app, I downloaded on my phone said the flight was still on time, so we were doing this)  Driving to the airport sucked, since everyone forgets how to drive in the winter.  (It’s not like we haven’t had a long enough winter for people to relearn)  smh AGAIN.

When we got to the airport, Thing 2 ran in and grabbed a wheelchair for me.  I NEVER thought, I would be so grateful to have one.wheelchair  (Our trip hadn’t even started and I was completely exhausted.)

I won’t claim that it was perfect, but since I know the rating system affects the person driving the wheelchair directly, (he really was a nice guy) I did give the experience a perfect 😀 score on the “she has been delivered” tablet you have to sign when you are dropped off at your gate.

Security was a breeze

I probably shouldn’t say this, but the “trick” to getting through security quickly is having a bag of pee strapped to your leg.  The poor girl that had to do my pat down apologized so many times about having to “feel me up” and couldn’t comprehend what a foley catheter was, I don’t think she even noticed or swabbed the great stuff on my hands.  In hindsight, it is really scary that the people that are supposed to be providing our security are so afraid of “offending” someone, that they “overlook” certain things.  I hope I am wrong and they tested me some other way without my realizing it.  I assure you I will not be complaining to them.

Clear skies

Boarding the plane was also a breeze.  I did get a little nervous when the person sitting next to me started coughing,  (Oh no, not the plague again) but for supposedly being a full flight, she was able to move to another seat closer to other family members.  YAH ME!!  In fact, both seats next to me were empty!!!!  Double Win!  I took off my leather bomber jacket, used it as a pillow, used my sweatshirt as a blanket, and I was out.  🙂 I woke up a couple hours later in Boston, not quite fully rested, but refreshed nonetheless.

The airline had a wheelchair waiting for me as I deboarded the plane.  I didn’t get a picture of the woman driving (though I should have since she was also the one who helped me reboard on the way home and she was SO HELPFUL)  After taking us to the baggage claim area for my companions suitcase, I explained that  “according to my research” we were supposed to take the SL to the blue line and I needed to buy a ticket somehow.  “Oh no honey, you don’t need to buy a ticket, it’s all free”, she said.  Huh?  Nothing in life is free.

There are still some free things in the world

Transportation FROM the airport is free via the Silver Line and the Subway (as long as you don’t leave the station).  Who knew?!?!  silver lineWe boarded the SL1 which is an electric/gas powered bus.  It was electric leaving the airport, then temporarily shuts off to restart and run on gasoline…..WHAT?!?!?  Don’t laugh, I really had no idea such a thing existed….

We rode the SL to the end of the line and then tried to figure out which direction we needed to head on the blue line to get to our destination.

I must really have the “damsel in distress” look, because people were constantly coming up to me offering to provide help or direction.  A man and a woman (not a couple) even debated with each other which way would be easier.  The man said we should take this route…the woman directed her eyes to my cane and suggested that MAYBE, the orange line would be a better choice.  Orange line it is!.. The announcement said the the orange line would be approaching on the center platform….

Look BEFORE you leap

I heard “center platform” and crossed the tracks to head that way.  No I did not notice the train that was heading directly for me before I stepped onto the tracks.  Talk about your life flashing before your eyes….HOLY SHIT….(yah for the foley cath, since I think I would have pissed my pants without it).   No I didn’t get hit by the train, but I didn’t escape unscathed either.

Wait there is more….

So now I am standing on one side of the platform, my companions on the other.  The orange line pulls up and we need to be on that train, but how to communicate that?  I am using hand signals through the glass trying to tell them to get on the train as I proceed to board.  Once on the train, I don’t see them….Oh shit should I get off?!?!?  I try to step off the other side of the train to see if they are still on the platform, only to get my feet caught up in my suitcase or the cane and down I went.  20 minutes in Boston and I wipe out.  The upper part of my body is on the train, but my legs are hanging out the door and I can’t pull them up. 

I really am a train wreck (pun intended)

For the first time in my life, I am grateful that people don’t mind their own business. Someone pulled me into the train car just as my companions found me.  How the hell have I survived 44 years on this planet?!?  Have I mentioned GRACEful I am not?!?!still alive

I’m not done yet though…. not with my life or with this story….

We did make it to the apartment we were staying at to drop off our bags without any further mishaps.

We also found a great little pizza place.  regina

While we were eating we decided our next stop would be the Prudential Skywalk.

The UBER app can kiss my ass

Believe it or not, I did listen to the advice I was given before leaving that uber was the easiest way to get around while we were there, so I downloaded it to my phone before leaving.  After my “near death experiences” from the morning, I thought MAYBE now was the time to actually use it.  The app had other ideas.uber sucks

OH come on!!!!!!!!!  WTF?!?!?  How can it be disabled, I have never even used it before?!?!?  Visiting the website they sent me too was no help either…. Ok so back to the train…. If at first you don’t succeed try try again?  In fact I was more determined than ever to figure this “whole public transportation” thing out.  When we got back to the train station, I took a picture of the map (schedules had changed effective April 1st and new ones weren’t available yet?!?!)  I made a “new friend” who suggested that we buy a one day charlie card which would allow us unlimited use of the buses and trains throughout the city for 24 hours.

mbta helpmbta map

 

 

 

By the end of the first day, I was cold, tired, and completely worn the hell out…. but I CAN boast that I have become quite proficient at using the MBTA.  ( I still think that using a horse would have been easier)

homeless

IT RAINED ALL DAY!!!!!!  (at least it wasn’t snow though)

I took a selfie before crashing for the night.  I don’t know that I will claim damsel in distress, but definitely helpless, homeless, or in someone in need of assistance.

I’m not sure if I made an impression on Boston, but after one day, it certainly left an impression on me.

I will write more about our trip later this week,  not only did I come back from Boston with a semblance of a silly accent, but I also picked up a scratchy voice and fever 😦

 

 

 

Watch out Boston….Here I come

~ msgracefulnot ~ 16 Comments

We “descend” on Boston at 9 am next Wednesday

When I started planning this trip in January, I had hoped to document and share any tools or tricks that I had learned to make traveling with MS easier, but then…..well you know, LIFE HAPPENED….. The last couple of months have been filled with so many life changing events, that I could barely make it through the present let alone write about it.

The week after I purchased our Airfare to Boston, I started investigating whether or not to rent a car while we were there.  The AAA  guide book I ordered says, and I quote….

Ralph Waldo Emerson once observed, “We say the cows laid out Boston.  Well, there are worse surveyors.”  Emerson, of course, never had to drive through the city.  Downtown- occupying a peninsula surrounded by the Charles River, Boston Inner Harbor and Fort Point Channel- is a challenging place for residents, let alone visitors, to negotiate by vehicle.  Furthermore, Boston drivers are legendary for their aggressiveness.

This kind of makes me wonder what AAA says about Chicago drivers.  (I am tempted to see if my picture appears somewhere as an example of aggressive.)

Ok, So we are NOT RENTING A CAR!!!.

Public Transportation or Uber.com?

A couple of people suggested using Uber.com for rides instead of relying on the MBTA.  “It’s just like taking a cab” they said.  (One person even offered that we would have less of a chance of sitting in CUM STAINS with Uber) EWWWWW!!!  I guess I should have mentioned that I have also never taken a cab before.  I grew up beyond the sticks- literally in the middle of nowhere.  Public transportation did not exist.  Remember the post about riding a horse on a subway?

I have to learn everything I can about everything, so after spending almost an hour on their website reading all the FAQ’s, I entered a “test” route to check rates.  The rate was almost $30.00!  I can drive this same distance in my car in 20 minutes and it only costs me $25.00 to fill my whole tank.  I was shocked!  People actually do this?!?!….ahhh but I guess you would have to pay for parking etc if you didn’t?!?!?   I am hoping the rates for Uber are cheaper in Boston, but just in case….

We decided to stay close to the Boston Convention Center, (the actual purpose of our trip).  I began to investigate hotels within walking distance of the convention center.  OUCH, just ouch!   A ” simple” google search “hotels near the Boston Convention Center” produced  1,060,000 results (0.87 seconds).  Of course I had to investigate them ALL…. Booking.com, Expedia, Orbitz, hotels.com, kayak to name a few.  I couldn’t find anything for less than $200.00 a night.   After a couple days of this, I stumbled on Airbnb.com.

What is Airbnb.com?

For those of you not familiar with Airbnb.com the explanation on wikipedia is here: What is Airbnb?, they also have pages and pages of FAQ’s on their website.  At first glance, I was a little intimidated by the thought of staying in a strangers house or apartment, so I just bookmarked the site to go back to .  I looked at hotels in other cities for cheaper prices, but they included an hour or more time on the train to and from Boston…… Ok staying at a strangers house it is……  Well a couple of different stranger’s houses, but I will have to write more about that later.

I have given both my kids names, addresses, contact information etc in case I get “lost”.  Can you think of anything I am forgetting?  Do you think Boston will leave an impression on me, or that I will leave an impression on Boston?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is it possible to “go off the grid”?

~ msgracefulnot ~ 24 Comments

Let me start by saying that I am not a political person.  This is not a post about civil rights etc.  I am however A THINKER (referred to as OVER thinker by most).  This morning’s overthinking began when I signed into youtube.com to hear I song that was on my mind.  I have to give you a few more details before I get to the point, because I don’t want to cause you to overthink my reason for listening to the song.

Many of you know, but for those of you that don’t, the last couple weeks have been a bit stressful for me.  The most obvious stressor  being Sarah’s death, and because of that other things have been carrying more weight on my shoulders than they should.

  1. Einstein has not fixed his car yet, so he has been relying on me, to either get up at the butt crack of dawn and take him to work, and then go again in the afternoon and pick him up OR surrender my car for him to use.  Most days I have given up the car.  This starts the “butterfly effect” or chain reaction.  I have to move all of my doctor appointments to the following week, do all of my shopping online etc etc.  So next week will be busy as hell.
  2. My damn coffee maker broke AGAIN….. If you know anything about me, this needs no further explanation.
  3. and so on and so on…. basically my whole “routine is down the drain”

To “get through” the week, I have held on to the fact that today would be a “just chill” day.  When the alarm went off at 5:00 am, I smiled when I shut it off and tossed the phone.  I went back to sleep.  I won’t call it “Restful” though, because when I am dreaming I work out a lot of things that have been stressing me out.  Either way, when I did FINALLY get out of bed at 8:00 this morning, my ” precoffee” thoughts were….UGH, some days “I hate people”…..smh

As I walked into the kitchen to turn on the coffee maker, I remembered a song I used to listen to.  You guessed it… “I hate people”, by Theory of a Deadman.  I opened up Youtube, typed the song in search and hit play.  I hit the button on the coffee maker, and let the dogs out.  When I came back into the room the song had finished playing and I had missed it, so I typed it in again. But then I had to leave the room to pee.  When I came back the song had finished again.

Is the Third Time a charm?

THIS TIME, I grabbed my coffee, sat in front of the computer and typed it in again… “I hate my life”….As I took my first sip of coffee and youtube reloaded. This is what I saw….i hate my life

and the COFFEE WENT EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously?!?!?!?  I type “I hate my life” and INSTANTLY I am spammed with suicide prevention ads?!??!…..Start sending me coffee maker ads or how to receive your coffee in an iv form!!!!  I instantly ” look around” (searching for a hidden camera)  Seriously?!?!? I guess I said that before, but one more time…SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?

Enough of this spying on people Big brother shit!!!! 

THAT is what I am writing about now

Does the U.S. Constitution give you the right to privacy?

The answer is NO!…. funny for some reason I thought it did.  OH shit, more overthinking…..and lots of reading and googling etc…..smh

I have given in to the whole tradeoff thing…. Convenience vs. Privacy to save money on gas when I signed up for a “discount” card at the super market.

I also use google maps quite frequently to navigate.  I have only just recently, by accident learned that google tracks ALL of your activity.  Google knows where your cell phone is at any given time day or night.  WTF?!?!  and the sad thing is I am sure I surrendered my right to privacy when I agreed to let them “help me with directions”….smh

The biggest battle I am having right now is with Einstein’s purchase of Alexa.  I was in the kitchen the other day and mentioned maybe trying a new recipe for Meatloaf.  (Alexa is NOT allowed in my kitchen).  When I went back into the adjacent room a few hours later to “check” facebook, my news feed was loaded with recipes for Meatloaf.  Enough already!!!!!!

When you buy a smart tv, if you don’t UNCLICK the button to turn off voice activation, you are allowing them to record 24/7..

I know that I probably sound like a paranoid freak, and that no one really wants to know that much about what I do, but I personally think I need to rethink the whole convenience vs privacy thing. I am going to spend more time researching “how to live off the grid”  Is there such a thing as privacy?

In the meantime, while I am still using the internet…let me throw you a bone big brother…  I would like to be the first to know

  1. When coffee comes in IV form and how to get it?
  2. Where Coors Light is on sale?  Because I am going to start drinking.
  3. Is privacy even real?

On that note, does anyone have any thoughts to share, want to have a debate with me?  Maybe even a beer….I’m “buying”.

What are your thoughts?

 

It’s 2018 WHO still talks on the phone?

~ msgracefulnot ~ 22 Comments

I do!!!!…… but apparently I am one of few

Several months ago, I started a blog about why I talk on the phone or use Skype instead of texting.  The reason I had started to write about this subject is because I am always reaching out to new people, trying to get to know them, and my preferred method is IN PERSON.  BUT, since most of the people I have reached out to live halfway around the world, or at least several states away, the likeliness of that happening at this point are slim to none,  so……I ask to talk on the phone or to Skype.

To be honest, 80% of people I have asked to TALK to have turned me down for one reason or another.  In the beginning that hurt a bit, but as it happened more and more I realized that apparently it’s just not what people do.  Ok lesson learned.  Well kind of…… I have actually learned SEVERAL things

  1.  I am NOT “most people”.
  2. Face to face communication or at least voice to voice, IS MY preferred method of communication
  3. Just as people have their reasons for not wanting to talk on the phone, I have my reasons for wanting to.  It’s ok to disagree.  That’s what makes people different.
  4. I am completely ok with “No” as a response.  You don’t need to provide me with any explanation, if you are not comfortable with it you are not.  COMPLETELY FINE!!! 🙂

Before I continue though…..To anyone that I have tried to connect with that has told me no, I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, it was never my intention.  My intention was to get to know you better, in the only way I know how.

The reason I am FINALLY posting this is because I recently asked someone that I admire or respect to talk on the phone with me.  (Ok I suggested it numerous times.)  The final response I got was, “It’s 2017, who talks on the phone anymore.” and it kind of hurt. But after I put a band- aid on my feelings, and thought about it for a few moments and realized that they were right.  Most people Do NOT talk on the phone these days unless they absolutely have to, but I do!  and I thought it might be a good time to “explain” why.

Now to my original topic…

Why I like talking rather than texting…. (let me count the reasons)

 I rely on verbal cues and voice inflection when talking to another person.  I am very perceptive at picking up anger, boredom, sadness, and joy from the sound of someone’s voice.  I’m even better at reading facial cues….usually.  I just don’t get that from texting.  A great example…… a few weeks ago, my oldest daughter sent me a message on FB messenger asking, “So if we go to ‘fiancee’s’ family’s (out of state) for xmas this year do you want to do dinner another time?”  I was seeing her a couple days later, and responded “Let’s talk about it Friday, but yeah if you want to go, GO”. She responded, “Ok”.  An hour later, another message came through, “Are you mad or busy?”, she asked. GRRR fucking texting.  We were using messenger and she would know that I had seen the message,  if I didn’t respond she would automatically assume I was mad. So I shot back, “lol sorry kiddo buy”.  I meant to say/ type, “Sorry kiddo, I’m busy”, but I had my mother’s dog on my lap and I WAS busy”. busy with kona Oh great, now I mistyped something.  Was she going to think I said Buy (bye) instead of busy, because I was mad instead of really just busy?!?!?  SMH.   I stopped what I was doing, took this picture and sent the picture with the following message…. “I’m sorry kiddo, YES I AM VERY BUSY.  I am helping Nana with her laptop, Papa with his computer, and I have their new puppy on my lap.  Let’s talk on your lunch or on Friday”.

When we talked later on her lunch , I was able to repeat what I had originally texted to her “Let’s talk about it Friday, but yeah if you want to go, GO” with the inflection in my voice and she got it instantly.

With just those same short words coming out of my mouth (instead of my fingers) she understood that I sincerely wanted her to be happy more than anything else.  It would not bother me in the least. She knew that “I got” the fact that now that she was getting married, I would have to “share her”. I was even able to let her know that I appreciated her thinking about my “emotional well-being” ( remember my Thanksgiving was terrible)….. So misunderstanding or miscommunication is my first reason.

Another reason is because I am just not good at it. thumb surgeryPhysically not good at it.  Both of my hands are numb, so I drop the phone all the time.  I have had bones taken out of my both of my thumbs, and as a result they are VERY weak, so texting just sucks. I literally do not have the strength to cut my own nails.  😦

Ok so TRY talk and type, or speech to text?  ROFLMAO… been there done that.  To this day whenever I SAY “I LOVE YOU” to my children it is translated “I LIVE YOU”.  I have many more examples, but they really should have their own blog post.  When asking for help with this, my kids said, “Well mom, you have to enunciate better”.  I tried that, the phone typed E9C8…..so I give up. smh

Another reason is because I spend an ENORMOUS amount of time in my car.  Texting, facebooking, etc while driving is dangerous as hell (not to mention illegal, but since I have a lead foot problem we will stick with the dangerous part  :P) so except for the occasional “I’m sitting at a stop light text” , texting is not something I do while driving.

I think the final reason I still talk on the phone is, that it is my way of showing respect or genuine interest it what someone has to say.  ( I’m also weird in the way that I still make eye contact with people when I talk to them, although sometimes it is very hard)

So, if I ask YOU to talk on the phone or Skype, and you are not comfortable, please just say “No, I would rather not.”  Ok Cool!…No judgments opinions etc.  No means no, and I’m cool with that….

 

 

 

Get your mind right, be present (borrowed)

~ msgracefulnot ~ 4 Comments

Yesterday I posted about slowing down and needing a break.  I thought that technology was supposed to make things easier for us all?!?!?  Well with every good thing there is inevitably bad too right?  For example, the picture above is of a shelf in my office filled with photo albums that I had made for my daughters back when scrapbooking was all the rage. I have another shelf (almost as big) filled with scrapbooking SUPPLIES. You know scissors that cut every shape imaginable, corners, borders, acid free papers, photo safe glue, and boxes of unsorted pictures.

Ok Grace, here goes nothing!  Maybe you should scan the photo albums onto a hard drive and then just give each of the girls a hard drive for Christmas?  Sounds like a plan, until the scanner which is supposed to be wireless decides that it needs to be hardwired to function correctly.  Yep NO WAY is that cord gonna reach.  SON OF A BITCH!…. So I spent the next 3 hours rearranging my office so that the cord would reach.  (Yes I realize that I could use my laptop to do this but then I would have to figure out how to download all the drivers for my 1000 year old scanner, because my laptop doesn’t have a disk drive)  It seemed easier to move the office around.

I also thought about uploading them all to google drive and letting the girls download them on their own but my google drive is full.  How the hell could that be, I don’t even know how to use the damn thing, how could it be full?!?!?  (Another hour spent  investigating that)  Apparently, every picture I have taken with my “Mom you need to have a smart phone, smart phone” was automatically backed up to the cloud. 19736 of them to be exact!!!  Yes even the ones I thought I had deleted 3x because I never wanted to share them with anyone.  I could literally #feelthegreyhairgrowing.

I decided to take a break, grab a cup of coffee, and relax with more technology?!?!?  (Hey no one said I was very smart.)  “Let’s check out if the link you tried to put on twitter worked”…… Oh look a squirrel!  Some how I ended up reading a blog, then another, then another.  (We won’t comment on the amount of time I spent doing this or the fact that I literally spit/dripped/ no full on choked on my coffee while reading a couple of them.)  But the last one I read made me STOP.  I actually read it 2x, not because it was hard to follow, the writer is actually quite humorous, and one of her earlier posts caused the coffee incident.  I had to re read it because it contained a lot of good information that I  needed to think about considering my post from yesterday.  Her post was titled, Get Your Mind Right. Be Present. If you have a minute, check it out by clicking the link.

I’m gonna leave it at that.  No more thinking about tomorrow, or yesterday for the evening.  No more facebook, or instagram, or twitter etc.