Learning… Spanish… AGAIN!

Once upon a time, there may have been a woman that I will call Teresa Paz. (I generated that name at <http://www.behindthename.com/random/>.)

Anyhow, Teresa may be a real person. She may be a friend that I met through Mother. She may, on the other hand, be an alter ego for myself while I learn Spanish.

Anyhow, I have set some goals for myself in re-learning the Spanish that I took in high school and college, only learning it to be able to speak it. I MIGHT try to find someone to talk to. I probably ought to also try to reconnect with some of my classmates from high school… Or not. Irregardless, I have, as Teresa Paz set some goals for myself for the next two weeks:

• Go to <http://www.grimmstories.com/es/grimm_cuentos/el_tambor> and read that story aloud for five minutes daily. Yes, I still read Grimms fairytales, especially when I'm trying to learn something else while I'm doing the reading!
• Listen to <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VniS1NXAurU> daily until I can sing along.  (No comments about how I don't watch chick flicks and romantic movies! I will do it to learn Spanish, especially when it is attached to music. Besides, THE NOTEBOOK was not the most hideous thing I've seen… It just isn't Apollo 13.)
• Watch TV in Spanish for a minimum of five minutes daily, just to get my ears accustomed to the sound of real speakers speaking. Maybe <http://wwitv.com/tv_channels/b6434-RTVE-1.htm> will work.
• Come up with questions that I would ask a person IN SPANISH, IF A NATIVE-SPEAKER WAS SITTING IN THE SAME ROOM WITH ME.
• Another song to learn <http://www.albumcancionyletra.com/el-pescador-de-hombres_de_jose-guadalupe-esparza___84733.aspx>.  
• … And another one <http://youtu.be/xxe-8Iw9OW0>, and I don't even care that it is for children.

And another romantic one <http://lyricstranslate.com/en/echame-mi-la-culpa-blame-it-me.html>

• Yet another <http://lyricstranslate.com/en/el-tiempo-que-te-quede-libre-free-time-you-have-left.html>. I know that I've heard this one. I just never knew what it meant. If I need it with a male voice, it is also here <http://letras.mus.br/luis-miguel/26152/>
• 
  

Finding a favorite old tool again: PaintShop

I did not know that PaintShop still exists! I used the Jasc versions in Windows 95 and XP.  Granted, I didn't use it particularly well. Using speech recognition to draw is… INTERESTING. Still, I could do what I wanted to do for the most part.

Then Jasc was sold to Corel. I could not afford the next upgrades, so I made-do. It worked. I could still do what I wanted to do for the most part. It was really getting clunky to use software that was designed for Windows Xp on a Windows 7 machine, but I've always been the slowest part of my computer.

I've tried installing on Windows 8. Yeah… It was time to find ANYTHING Else. I knew that Photoshop prices were way out of my league and I want all legal software. Besides, my niece showed me her copy. It didn't do anything that PaintShop used to do at well under $100, it just was slicker…

I tried GIMP, and did not like it. It was well worth the price. Other people swear by it, but I would wind up swearing at it.

Aviary had some interesting online editors for a while. SUMO Paint is really good for what it does and has an inexpensive desktop thingy. It just doesn't quite work with my brain.

My nieces and nephews still think that PHOTOSHOP is the gold standard. Next time I win two or three lifetimes worth of Publishers Clearing House, I will think about thinking about trying that overpriced bit of fluff.

For now, this fits my budget:

Help and Kudos for Caregivers

From the gentleman who invented "Granny Pods" so we can keep our elders out of nursing homes comes another Tool. It is an app called MyPart. For the most part, one or two members of the family tend to have most of the caregiving duties when there is a need. This seems to be true whether we are talking about Elder Care or a family member with a long-term disability or a catastrophic illness.

MYPART tries to spread the caregiving among a greater number of families and friends. This is a KICKSTARTER project that I would love to see funded.

I am MOST DEFINITELY in the wrong line of work!

In November, I will be speaking to Texas Occupational Therapy Association. While I am a little bit nervous, it is a good kind of nervous-the kind that is exciting and makes you try to do a good job.

Of course, I turned to the Internet to find more information and sharpening my speech. I went down all sorts of rabbit trails, because it was fun. My sense of self-discipline took the back seat and everything.

Then I accidentally ran into this website.

The pitch is absolutely irresistible. It makes me want to plunk down $2600 instantaneously. I would love to make speeches for $3000 a pop!

For now, it simply isn't in my budget.

  I will have to make do with:
http://www.learningforlife.org/exploring-resources/99-720/y10.pdf

http://www.speechtips.com/how-to-write-a-speech.html

http://www.fastcompany.com/3026982/work-smart/10-lessons-every-presenter-should-learn-from-americas-most-iconic-speech

and

http://www.toastmasters.org/

Next week…

Sometime next week, I will begin learning something new. :-)

:-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We will see what kind of student I will be.

My head hurts

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to flip the display on my monitor go upside down and backwards. While it is POSSIBLE to read a computer screen that way, it gives me a headache. It is particularly difficult to figure out the difference between "b" and "d" and "g" and "p" and "q"…

I tried everything I thought of. I asked a few friends. Nobody knew what to do… Until I called my favorite computer repair dudes. The answer was quite simple [alt] [ctrl] [up arrow].

It's quite nice not having to use the computer standing on my head!

Who knew? ReelAbilities Film Festival

My occupational therapist at the Methodist Hospital, Judi Joseph, happened to mention something that is starting this weekend. To be specific: February 9-13 is Houston's ReelAbilities Disabilities Film Festival for 2014. I had never heard about this! It looks intriguing, maybe even beautiful.

Here is Monday's listing:

How to Train Your Dragon Rated: PG
Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION
Registration not required

My Spectacular Theater Rated: PG-13
*Special appearance by Christine Ha, winner of MasterChef Season 3!*
Chinese Community Center, 5:30 p.m.
FREE ADMISSION
Register online here

Getting Up Rated: PG-13
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 7:00 p.m.
In collaboration with Houston Cinema Arts Society
$10/Non-MFAH & HCAS Members, $8/MFAH & HCAS Members
Tickets available for purchase soon!

Of course, when it came out, I thought that "How to Train Your Dragon" was about learning to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. ;-) People still say that hearing from me is sort of like receiving messages from the Oracle at Delphi. It's a matter of interpreting…

"Getting Up" is another one that looks terribly intriguing. TEMPTONE is a graffiti artist (OK, not exactly the center of my art tastes, but…) with Lou Gehrig's disease.

I think I want to see this

This story was familiar to me. Tempt1 was my introduction to KickStarter. I heard about his desire to keep his artistic efforts alive in 2010.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/571943958/tempt1-and-eyewriter-art-by-eyes

It's funny how things sometimes cycle back…

NOT keeping up with my New Year's Resolutions…

My goal was to post here for days per week. I think I have met that goal twice this year.

And it's already Friday this week!

Updates on my Tobii PCEye…
From Channel 11

Feb 4, 2014

Disabled woman: ‘I have always known that Houston is a city with a lot of heart’

Donations are coming in for a disabled woman we profiled last week in Spring named Lisa Stapp. She has Spinal Muscular Atrophy or SMA, a disease that breaks down muscles. Lisa spent most of her waking hours on a computer, but that computer crashed.

http://www.khou.com/community/Disabled-woman-I-have-always-known-that-Houston-is-a-city-with-a-lot-of-heart-243621981.html

So many people are emailing and calling with words of encouragement. It's delightful and awesome. I decided that there would be a better way to keep this information together than simply blogging, although I am continuing to do that.

I created a page to let everyone know where things stand: "Funding my Tobii PCEye Go"- http://joyfullyrollingalong.blogspot.com/p/funding-tobii-pceye.html

 

I guess this is CROWD-FUNDING. I've heard of it, but didn't know anything about it. It kind of reminds me of KickStarter…

What an encouragement to keep working on writing!

  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.

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) 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!

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.

LiveJournal Tags: Writing,My 500-ish Words,daily commitment to writing,2014