Wednesday, January 22, 2014

My new quest

Yesterday was stellar.

Went to occupational therapy to test a $50 mouse.  I don't think I could use it, but…

A representative from Tobii Technology <http://www.tobii.com/> was there.  Although they also have applications for gamers and other folks, I'm particularly interested in the ability to use my computer WITH MY EYES.  I got to try it out, and…  YES, it works for me.

I now have a new quest: FUND MY TOBII!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

The power of a question…

Lifehacker struck yet again!  Yes, I know that I have almost oversold this…  Cluster of tools and tidbits.  I know that I mention it too often.

It just is too useful for words!

For example, it is already the last half of January.  Broken Resolutions are scattered all over the place, driving people into self-determined Guilt.  Some folks still feel like trying to keep up.

For us, LH has a different approach: FRAME YOUR GOALS AS QUESTIONS TO MOTIVATE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

It looks like this is based in psychology.  They reference Motivating Goal-Directed Behavior Through Introspective Self-Talk: The Role of the Interrogative Form of Simple Future Tense

This rings true to me.  Declarations sound absolute, but LIFE often brings in the expected.  Even when I do what I say I intended to do, "unintended side effects" abound.

  • What if, this week instead of "setting goals", I ask myself interesting questions?
  •  

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Maggie visited… I'm not posting today.

My niece from the Hoosier State is visiting today.  This blog is going to have to wait till next week…  :-)

Friday, January 10, 2014

Moving ahead with projects…

Happy Friday!

Until I find my new morning helper, I think I will continue to be easily distracted.  Interviews continue…

Of course, being distracted is not a real excuse for not accomplishing things, at least not as far as I'm concerned.  And…  I am working on that.

I have managed to finish a few things.  I'm hoping to get my "real" website going soon.  I created something of a banner.  Maybe someone who is creative can critique this image:

Image1

Yes, I'm still using Paint Shop Pro, Version 8.  I know I'm a dinosaur.  I know that there are bigger, better, faster, more accurate programs out there.  I like this one!  It works the way my brain does, somehow.

Can you believe it, I also found some information on public speaking.  Yes, it makes me nervous.  In spite of teaching Sunday school off and on since I was 12, I get "twitchy." I also found an affordable way to do online seminars. None of this information is the result of searches.  It called just landed in my lap. 

I have this image in my head…  Lisa the BRILLIANT, dispenser of wit and wisdom in small packages. I don't know that that's realistic, but it is fun for now.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

And the search continues…

You may remember that I am looking for a new morning helper.  I have placed ads on Craigslist, in the Greensheet, on Facebook, and at lone star college jobs board.

A few people have applied.  They seem like potentially "good fit" candidates.  For a while, I was afraid nobody would actually show interest…  I was wrong.  :-)

Of course, I'm always nervous about this kind of search.  It's nice to find someone that we are comfortable working with.  I suppose this is true for most jobs.  Still, attendant care it is such an intensely personal job.  The pay is not that great, unless the situation is unusual AND PERFECT.

Working for me may be somewhat unusual, but it is far from perfect.

I am SO going to miss Kathy!  Still, it is time to move forward.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

I am cold…

Houston has been having a cold snap, along with the rest of the country.  (QUIT LAUGHING AT US, folks from Chicago!  21° here is just as weird as 40° below zero is there!) Fountains (and in ground lawn watering systems) have been turned into stunning ice sculptures.  The homeless have been trying to keep warm in abandoned buildings, starting fires all over this city…  And Harris county.  Farmers have lost a lot of money in a vain attempt to keep preps from freezing.

It is warmer today by at least 15°, and I am colder than I've been all week.  I've got thick socks that go well above the knee.  I've got a warmup suit that's normally got me almost too warmed-up.  I've got a shirt.  I'm wrapped up in a thick, soft, and incredibly warm shawl.  I added a touch of coffee liqueur to my chocolate (heated) instant breakfast.

Nothing is working.

It is almost like my body stored up "feeling cold" for later usage.  Like today.  I can't imagine why I would need to feel cold later!  I'm not even uncomfortably warmed-up in August.

I suppose that the people on my home world must have a hotter Climate to begin with.  Lizard-people, what can I say?  We are cold-hearted.

Winking smileWinking smileWinking smile

Friday, January 3, 2014

What an encouragement to keep working on writing!

WishingWell

  One of my favorite web sites, PositiveWriter.com, sent this wonderful and reflective image with some essential advice.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I needed this!  I find it easy to confuse "trust in God" and "waiting for someone else to do my work."

It is not exactly "being lazy," in my case.  I do not always know exactly what I should be doing.  I also am nervous about earning anything…  I cannot afford to jeopardize attendant care and Medicare/Medicaid.

Still, I'm working on preparing to teach that online ethics class again this year.  I have the opportunity to freelance again for Internet Toolbox for Churches, my first paid writing gig last year!  I'm still working on that collection of short stories and outlining that book.

At friend of mine, Deborah, just left.  We have had a wonderful visit today.  I have not seen her since…  Thanksgiving?  We talked about family.  We talked about computer stuff.  We talked about all the changes in our lives.

Friends are SUCH BLESSINGS!  I highly recommend having at least one or two…

I'm very distracted today, so I'm going to cut it way short of 500 words.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Another goal to be accomplished… ATTENDANT SEARCH

Those who have known me for any length of time know that I require help with the physical aspects of daily living.  Yes, I am another person who uses attendant care.
Whether they are called "PCAs," or "Nurses Aides", "Attendants", or simply "helpers" -these folks (the good ones) deserve the name "HEROES!" They are often paid by the state, minimum wage.  They do unpleasant tasks at inconvenient hours.  They place themselves at the beck and call as another human being.
For the past seven years, my morning helper has been Kathy.  In her previous jobs, she has been office manager at several places, and sound man for a band in the eighties.  She is normally the last person who would have applied.
But…
Health issues, and the emotional side effects hit her family.  She needed something different for a few months, and I was that difference.  I helped her.  She helped me.  Our friendship keeps deepening…  She is my other sister from another mother and father.  Her family is part of my extended family.
Logic would have dictated that she would as moved on several years ago.  She easily could have gone back to her normal and successful world…  But she cared.
She's still cares!
But…  She has given me her 30 day notice.  It's time to begin looking for…  Not a replacement.  A new beginning.  So…
Caregiver needed in Spring (near Cypresswood and I-45) Caregiver needed in Spring (near Cypresswood and I-45)
area for quadriplegic woman.  Part-time: 7:30-11:30 AM, M-F.
Must be 18, have valid Texas Drivers License (or ID), and pass a
background check.  No experience necessary.  Personal care,
food preparation, and other assistance as needed. To apply,
e-mail to: lisastapp82@yahoo.com

Hello, I am Lisa.  I consider myself reasonably intelligent, quirky, joyful, and kind.  So far, I have earned 55-or-so years on planet earth.  Physically, I am limited.  I can wiggle my thumbs and talk.  I tend to get cold easily, probably because I don't move around a lot.  My breathing isn't what I wish it was – I have a tracheostomy to remove excessive mucus.

I just don't know that I have a disability.  I earned my B.A. in Psychology and my M.A. in Deaconess Studies.  (That is a theological degree for women within my church body.  It combines elements of a theologian, teacher, social worker… and a partridge in a pear tree.)

Currently, I am an adjunct instructor at Concordia University, Nebraska.  I teach Ethics in an online format.  I'm also working on that upcoming book, "God's Own Child: Even With Spinal Muscular Atrophy."

I'm not nearly as fragile as I seem.  I do need to remember though, I'm not nearly as tough as I think I am!



Wednesday, January 1, 2014

500-ish Words

I admit it, I procrastinate.  I allow myself to get distracted, and distract myself with stuff I don't need to do.  It is time to cut down on that…

One thing that I claim that I want to do is WRITE.  I have mastered reading about writing.  I can talk about writing with the best of them.  I can watch the video is about writing and read books about writing.

None of that is WRITING!

I intended to write every day…  Even planned to do it.  Planning isn't enough!

I found Holly Lisle's writer information, and have taken several online workshops.  (Never finished with them, I just took them.) One of these was how to tightly-crafted, 500 word stories.  "Flash Fiction" seemed to be perfect for a procrastinator, but I never seemed to get around to actually WRITING.

Then I found WRITING.COM and read their "Flash Fiction" challenge.  They only aim for 300 words, but by now I've come to realize that these kind of web sites do not really work for me.  They help me read about and talk (via text and forums) about writing, but they don't really help me write.  Today, I removed my membership from this website.

Today, this <http://goinswriter.com/my500words/> came in my e-mail.  It is not QUITE a fit for me, but it does not have all sorts of distractions attached.

I've come up with what I want to do:

  • On this website…
  • I intend to write…
  • Between 300-700 words…
  • At least four days per week…
  • For at least 50 weeks during 2014.

Some of the postings will be likes this one: grandiose ramblings about what I intend to do.  Some of the postings will probably be FLASH FICTION, in fact…  Most of the postings will be stories like this.  I may talk about what I'm learning in my bible readings or research for another book.

I don't intend to stop here, though.  This is my warm-up for my other writing.