Hey folks,
I am pleased to present the second of the five part Louise Log series. You may have noticed that I have created a Louise Log category in order that you can find all of them here more easily (you can also check out the tag cloud). Without further ado (I love that expression), here is Louise Log 2:
An artist friend of mine is creating a series of videos entitled, the Louise Logs. I think they are brilliant, and given the nature of the dialog, I think they fit perfectly with the title and intents of this blog. The plan I have come up with, is to post one here each week (at this point in time, there are five of them).
Of course, you can always see them all at once if you like. Here, then, is the first one:
Remember to turn your sound on. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
You may have been able to tell from my previous post about the photo assignment, that I was unsure of how the pictures would be received. I was not happy with everything I submitted, and neither was the editor. Actually, that’s a little harsh. She felt that many of the photos did not match up to the quality of my other photos that she had seen.
Given the choice of re-shooting or waiting until my inspiration matches their theme, I chose not to re-shoot. I had a hard time trying to figure out how and what to photograph, and I still don’t know what would work. Fortunately, the editor was very understanding and is still willing to accept pictures from me.
whew!
More importantly, this little adventure has gotten me out and shooting again. It’s been a long hiatus.
Tuesday, I went into the hospital to get an upgrade to my defibrillator. I’ve had it since 2005, but it has never gone off. Tuesday, after the upgrade, on Wednesday morning (4:30am), it went off. I had been told over the years, that I’d know when it went off and it would feel like getting kicked in the chest. They were right!!!
Basically it’s a shock to the heart, like when you see a medical program on TV and the medic puts a paddle on either side of the patient’s chest and shouts, “Clear!”. My heart had not stopped, it went into VTach (ventricular tachycardia). VTach is when the heart is beating too fast for the heart to do its job correctly.
I”m back home now and my chest is not only sore from the installation of the new defibrillator, but from the defibrillator going off… at least I know it works.
I find that the reason I don’t post is not because I have nothing to say, but rather I am staying away from the computer. I am not only not blogging, I’m not doing anything with the computer. No pictures, no writing, no finances… nothing. This should be a good sign because it would seem to indicate that I have a life, but it ignores the fact that using the computer is part of my life.
I recently purchased a book on speed reading because I have always felt my reading to be slower than most. My comprehension of reading material has always been very good, but slow in my opinion. It’s pretty interesting so far. It’s The Evelyn Wood Seven-Day Speed Reading and Learning Program. I got it on sale at Barnes & Noble.
So, I don’t have an excuse for not writing in the blog other than being away from the computer.
Been wondering about what to write and realized that there is a lot I’m not talking about.
I started the process of putting my name on another list for kidney transplant. This second place is in New Jersey – Hackensack. I thought I had to start from the beginning, but my 5 year wait on the present list is carried over to the Hackensack list… nice. For some reason, I feel more comfortable with the Jersey bureaucracy than the New York one… no reason, just attitude.
I’ll get into it more later. Just chipping ice at this point.
A cousin asked if I have any photos of my grandparents. I think she’s doing some genealogy work. I had done a lot of that a few years ago, and then lost interest because it involves so much detail.
Now that she has asked, however, my interest is piqued again. The program I used has been upgraded at least 2 versions, and an upgrade is pretty expensive ($60). The old version doesn’t run on my present operating system.
This means that I have no access to the data I put in earlier. Hmmm. I don’t know. I have at least one other program I’d rather upgrade (iBank ) and it’s cheaper.
I just seem to be writing alot about spending money lately. Not Good.
Okay, I admit it. It’s scary thinking about this kidney thing. I recently read a wonderful blog on “What If”. Now if I can live in the now the way Eckhart Tolle, professes, I could be at peace. I just keep falling into the what if well. Somedays, it’s just harder than others.
I love pens… and watches too.
I think I’ve been fascinated with pens since the 5th or 6th grade when as students, we were promoted from pencils to pens. When, penmanship was an actual thing you got graded on. Now when I was that age, fountain pens were the norm and fountain pens with ink cartridges were the kings. The newish ball point pens were an oddity. Anyway, now I have a real appreciation for pens. I really like fountain pens but I’m not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on one nor am I prejudiced against nice looking ball points or their derivatives.
I’m not sure where the watches obsession comes from. I’ve always been of the opinion that if it keeps accurate time and doesn’t look clunky then it’s fine. I recently got a watch on the street for $5. I figured if it lasted a week, I’d be ahead of the game. So far it’s been 3 months. Still, I’m fascinated by well designed watches that tell accurate time along with exquisite design. I just ordered one from a Herrington catalog. This is more than I normally spend for a watch ($110) and will probably be the highest price I will ever pay…. Oh, BTW, I prefer watches with hands over digital, but appreciate both.
Now the big whisper is that my interest in pens and watches is directly proportional to how stressed I’m feeling. The more stressed, the more my interests turn toward pens and watches.
Apparently, when my donor (MD) had the stress test done, the technicians are the ones who said he was ok. Turns out that the cardiologist says the hole in his heart is significant, and he will not okay the stress of a transplant until MD gets it repaired. Not only that, but after the repair, he has to stay on blood thinners to reduce the possibility of clots for at least 6 months.
I think I’ll try to get on some other states’ transplant list. It doesn’t look like MD will be a viable solution until at least February. Meanwhile his company has been taken over by another, and his medical insurance will change drastically (as will mine).
