With computers throughout the workplace and the rapid progression of our ever-busy lives, I can safely say that most of us lead the confused, disorderly life below!
Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder ...
I have recently been diagnosed with Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder (AAADD). This is how it goes ...
I decide to wash the car, start toward the garage and notice the mail on the table.
OK, I'm going to wash the car...
BUT FIRST I'm going to go through the mail. Lay car keys down on desk. After discarding the junk mail, I notice the trash can is full. OK, I'll just put the bills on my desk....
BUT FIRST I'll take the trash out, but since I'm going to be near the mailbox, I'll address a few bills.... Yes, Now where is the checkbook? Oops... there's only one check left. Where did I put the extra checks? Oh, there's my empty plastic cup from last night on my desk. I'm going to look for those checks...
BUT FIRST I need to put the cup back in the kitchen. I head for the kitchen, look out the window, notice the flowers need a drink of water, I put the cup on the counter and there's my extra pair of glasses on the kitchen counter. What are they doing here? I'll just put them away...
BUT FIRST need to water those plants. I head for the door and... Aaaagh! Someone left the TV remote in the wrong spot. Okay, I'll put the remote away and water the plants...
BUT FIRST I need to find those checks.
END OF DAY: car not washed, bills still unpaid, cup still in the sink, checkbook still has only one check left, lost my car keys; and, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm baffled because... I KNOW I WAS BUSY ALL DAY! I realize this condition is serious...
The next time you're having a bad day, just think -- you're lucky you're not this guy!
This is a bricklayer's accident report that was printed in the newsletter of the English equivalent of the Workers' Compensation Board. Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation, and I trust the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which when weighed later were found to weigh 240 lbs.
Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks. You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs.
Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3, accident reporting form.
Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.
At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight.
As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body.
Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.
Some Streamers are curious about my recent computer virus adventure and what did it take to get the virus removed. I'm sure I made some miscues in getting the thing cleared...and my blood pressure would have been through the roof if not for my BP meds. So gather round all ye curious ones and hear my tale of woe.
Last month my computer picked up a virus.
It was a combination trojan horse/cyber x virus resulting in popups all over the place, searches being misdirected to different sites, and me pounding my head against the wall.
I didn't realize the fun was just beginning. I asked some of friends if they knew of any reliable techs. Noone did or at least they were keeping them secret. My nephew was out because he's allergic to cats and I'm sure my computer is filled with cat hair...etc through osmosis. His buddies weren't taking any new clients.
Since I heard horror stories about the Geek Squad, I decided to turn to the virus experts...Symantec Norton. After all, it was their security that had been breached I figured they were the experts.
For a fee of $99, they could remove the virus and all would be well. I could also contact them for 30 days without any additional fees. I agreed and dutifully made the payment and a comedy of horrors began. Using remote access, they removed the virus. But my searches were still being misdirected. And worse than the searches, Norton had been disabled and live update would not fix the problems. I spent approximately 12 hours in front of the computer while the problem was escalated from one tech to another.
The last tech asked if he could do some research and email me the results "soon". I agreed and waited for a week. I contacted them again. And was given the same answer "Soon".
After another couple of days, I sent a somewhat nasty email to Norton asking them if they were waiting for the 30 days to expire, that I was afraid to use the computer because I didn't want to infect someone else's by accident or be accused of being a "Typhoid Mary" of the cyber realm.
I came home from work and there was an email as well as phone messages from Norton. A Symantec consultant got Norton reinstalled finally...but here's the kicker...my searches were still being misdirected. Norton said contact my ISP.
I contacted ATT. Their techs checked out the problem and couldn't solve it. I was sent to Yahoo because their registry keys must've been corrupted. Yahoo worked on the problem...and lo and behold they said the problem was still with my computer. It probably still had a virus and/or spyware on it.
He recommended me download SpyBot and Lavasoft Ad Aware and run them both. I did and lo and behold folks...my searches work...so where does that leave me. I'm waiting for Norton to check their product again because several scans revealed nothing. I'm also limiting my internet time to trusted sites for now.
Did you know when it's 6-7 pm CST it's 4 a.m. in India? I do now...I've talked to techs in:
India
The Phillipines
Texas
California
I've spent who knows how long watching them work on it via remote access and have come to one conclusion. If my computer ever gets a virus again, I'll wipe the computer and reconfigure it myself. I have started the process of backing up documents in anticipation or dread of that day.
June: I flew into Toronto, Ontario, rented a car and started driving. Heading West on the highway 401 and with the directions that Gloria gave me I turned onto the cut off called Plank Rd., followed that for a bit and low I found a place called Tillsonburg. On the right past the first light I saw the sign. It said Miss June I am in here. I look up and the sign was on the coffee shop, none other than Tim Horton's... and you all need to know that this place is THE coffee shop all across Canada - their food is yummy and I could hardly wait to get inside. And sure enough Gloria had a nice spot where we could sit and chat.
June: What do you feel you bring to the Stream?
Gloria:Well I hope that I would bring some understanding, some thought of patience, some of the bits and pieces of what it is to live my life walk in my shoes.
June: How or why did you pick the name of your blog?
Gloria:Well that’s easy. Talking here on my blog is like little bits and pieces of my life; little pieces of me.
June: you know I think that is what most of our blogs are like even though they have different titles; we share bits and pieces of ourselves through our writings.
June: Have you always lived in Ontario?
Gloria:Yeppers always lived here. Was born in the same hospital that all of my children were born at St. Thomas Elgin General, St. Thomas, ON
June: Wow, that is interesting. I was not even born in the same hospital as my siblings and I grew up in a small town.
June: If someone asked what is a mandatory place to see on a visit what would you suggest?
Gloria:Niagara Falls and if you really wanted to see it go in the winter time and take the tunnel tour that goes below. Or some here where I live when we have Blue's Fest. Or Tub Daze's. We also put on a mean Canada Day Party.
June - oh yes, Niagara Falls is beautiful; we took the boat Maid of the Mist and sailed down at the bottom and went behind the falls; what fun. The Blue’s Fest and Canada Day Party also sound like a lot of fun.
June: What would we find you doing in your free time?
Gloria:Walking my dogs in the good weather or playing with them in the bad weather like now in the house. I really like taking them for walks on the beach and watching them venture near the water and running away from it when it gets close. They are my kids now. Or sitting in front of my computer playing games or reading in the stream.
June: Well, I see we share a similar love in pets. Yes, when our children grow up and are gone our pets seem to become our family.
June: What is your personal philosophy of life?
Gloria:Every thing in life happens for a reason. We may not understand why some things happen but maybe we are not suppose to. What can you do when you live in a shoe? You see I was born with a hole in my heart and at the age of 4 1/2 I had open heart surgery to repair it.
June: That is a good way of looking at life; sometimes I find that when we look at life from that perspective we find more answers than not as we go through life. I am so glad that the surgery you had as a child was successful so that we could get to know you here on the stream.
June: Would you share with us a favorite memory from childhood?
Gloria:Ok. I have a lot of sweet memories of me and my dad. Like the time he took me to this huge hill and he brought an old tire tube he would sit on this tube and put me on his lap and down the hill we would go. We did this for hours. Or the time he taught me to ride my bike I had a really hard time keeping my balance so he would run behind me until he thought I had it and then he let go I had lots of scraped knees .
June: Gloria - it is so amazing the things I find we have in common. You had a special relationship with your dad I can see and loved him very much. I also had that relationship with my dad and when you mention your bike riding lessons I remember my dad doing the same thing with me.
June: What is the greatest lesson life has taught you?
Gloria:The greatest lesson that life has taught me is that I need to be more patience with myself learn to love myself more and try to feel important. And to sometimes put myself first and not to hold onto the back seat of everything. You see I got this bad habit of putting other people first all the time. I need to learn to let go and let my higher power handle some things in life.
June: Oh Gloria, that is so hard for many of us in our generation to learn - love ourself. And if we truly can and do love ourself then we are able to truly show love to others and have the energy to do it as we first take care of ourselves. You statement at the end makes me think of the phrase ‘Let go and let God’ but that is a lot easier said than done.
June: Now for the Mandatory Questions. What brought you to Blogstream, and what did you hope to get out of it.
Gloria:I think it was my Higher Power that brought me to the stream. What I had hoped to get out of the stream was maybe a few FRIENDS. I have gotten much more then that; I have gotten friends of course but I have also gotten and learned to have a lot of respect for everyone here even the people that drive you crazy. And the ones that all they can do is try to hurt your feelings. I have a better understanding of what life is like out there in the rest of the world.
June: Yes, it is amazing how one develops friends here on the stream but also see that life here on the stream is no different than in the real world where we live. There are all the different personalities here to interact with too.
June: What 5 CD's are currently in your player?
I am sorry I can't answer this one as I do not have a CD player. So if you are asking me what kind of music I listen to I listen to Classical when I need to think and I listen to Rock and Roll when I need to calm down and then I listen to heavy metal when I need to scream. I have been listening to way too much classical music lately and the heavy metal too. As I have been missing my dad. He died Jan 3, 2008.
June: I am glad that you are able to get some emotional release and healing from the music you listen to. I can tell from your blog postings that your dad was very special to you. It is hard to say good bye to someone who has been so special in our lives, especially a parent who has given us life.
June: Then of course the 5 bloggers you want to meet.
Gloria:I would absolutely want to meet and that would be Nightlight- Miss TRISHA. The reason for that would have to be she is so much like me when I was growing up. Yeah she would be the one that I want to meet; she has a special spot in my heart. I really want to meet Miss Abby and Miss Hailey, and then there would be Miss Lou and Granny, PolarB, Topaz, Miss June, heck I think we should have a Blogstream get together. I really want to meet the man that started all of this Pioneer. Because if he didn't start the stream where would we all be now.
June: You know Gloria - I think you are the first one to mention meeting Pioneer; and I love your reason. How any of us would have found each other - and again it goes back to your philosophy of life. Everything happens for a reason and sometimes we learn that reason and sometimes not. Well, a Blogstream party or bash or whatever - I think that would be the coolest thing. AzRon and I have said we should take a trip of 6-8 weeks and travel and visit all of our friends on the stream. Well, who knows……?
June: Favorite alcohol beverage?
Gloria:Sorry again I can't answer this one as I do not drink I have been sober for almost 10 yrs.
June: Congratulations on your sobriety, Gloria.
June: What is your nationality? Ethnic background? I am Canadian EH!!
June: EH! When people find out I lived in Canada for nine years and went to school up there for three they automatically say ’EH’ to me thinking I should have adopted that as well.
June: Last book you read? What was the best and worst book you read?
Gloria:I really do not read books I like to come to the stream and read.
June: Well I am sure that is educating with the variety of writing here on the stream. And for some of us we are planning to publish some of our work in the future so you will be able to say you have already read their books!!
June: Who is your favorite actor or actress?
Gloria:Tom Hanks and John Wayne and Whoopi
June: Whoopi - I loved her in the movie Sister Act
June: What was the last movie you saw at the theatre?
Gloria:I haven't gone to a theatre since I was a kid, but I remember it was called Jesus Christ Super Star. I think I was like 13 not the remake one they have out now but the original one.
June: Again we have something in common although I go to one about every 12-18 months.
June: Most embarrassing moment you remember?
Gloria:Maybe this should be the here and now my memory isn't that good. I try to stay out of situations that would embarrass me.
June: I have to chuckle here - I try to stay out of them too but they still seem to find me. LOL.
June: Favorite recipe that you would be willing to share.
Gloria:Hmmmmm let me think I make this mean Greek Salad. You take cooked pasta about 3 cups , add olive oil, some chopped red and green and orange peppers the sweet bell ones and a sliced red onion black olives whole or sliced I use Mrs. Dash for my spice and then throw in some feta cheese. Mix this all up and stick it in the fridge it lasts about 5 days. You may have to add more oil. I use about a slurp and a half. You can also add fresh spinach and any other fresh veggies that you want. Make sure that the olive oil coats everything as it holds in the flavor...
June: Yummy!!!!!I love Greek Salad of all kinds and this is going to be one I try. We have just started s diet without meat and very little dairy but still eat some cheese; this sounds yummy.
June: Your middle name?
Gloria:Jean
June: What is your favorite word?
Gloria:Eh!!
June: What is your least favorite word?
Gloria:Stupid It really bothers me when someone calls someone else Stupid. People are not stupid there are a lot of situations that become stupid but that’s it.
June: What turns you on [creatively, spiritually or emotionally]?
Gloria:This one is kinda hard for me to explain. I am still learning about myself growing within myself.
June: What turns you off?
Gloria:Peoplethat have racism in their lives.
June: What is your favorite curse word?
Gloria:dilligaff or the F word I also use Bite Me!!!!!!!!!
June: What sound or noise do you love?
Gloria:I love to hear thunder it is so powerful. I also love to hear the noise that the Lake makes as the water comes ashore. I Love to go to air shows and listen to the power of the airplanes
June: What sound or noise do you hate? I hate snoring. I hate a clock ticking.
June: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Gloria:Well I really don't have a profession other than being a wife and mother. I work part time as a rural route relief carrier. I use my own car and go and deliver the mail to rural routes. I had 15 routes but now I have only got 6.
June: I think that being a wife and a mother is also a profession; and from my perspective at this stage of life motherhood seems to be one that never ends after it starts no matter how old one’s children are.
June: What profession would you not like to do?
Gloria:I wouldn't want to be a sewer cleaner that job is shitty and it stinks...
June: I so agree with that.
June: If Heaven exists, what would you like God to say to you when you arrive?
Gloria: I would like him to say welcome home....
Editor’s Note:These pictures are a few of Gloria’s favorites from her gallery.
Many Blogstream members are there
already! Quotes from members: "It's like blog lite!" -- "I like the instant
gratification!" -- "Stop spectating, get in the game!"
If you have not joined in, you are really missing out!
