Wednesday

It is 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday and I am contemplating what to do Today. I have been up since 7:30 and spent most of my time front of the computer.

I really like this bugger! Even though I lost some games or at least can not find them from the other computer I will deal with this inconvenience.

There was a Hungarian daily cross word puzzle I did every day just to practice my knowledge of my mother tongue and that thing does not come on in this program. But I'll manage this somehow. This should be my life's biggest problem, right?

Right now I am vacillating between going to the gym or not. Part of my brain tells me I should the other part tells me just stay home and be like a sloth (do nothing, just hang around). But since I have about an hour to make this serious decision I'll delay it for a while. I think I will go anyway. Love to cause pain and exertions on myself and that's what the gym does.

It clears my conscious and this way I don't feel so bad when I might eat a little more than I should.

A little politicking!

Yesterday was Election Day and as the results show we are heading into a Republican dominated Congress. The way I see it this country is great at criticizing other governments for their undemocratic attitudes, for their anti-American behaviors, for their corruptions etc. Now with the Republicans at the lead all this will happen here in Washington if it is not happening already.

The Washington Republicans were foaming at the mouth when Obama was elected president by a democratic system they are claiming to protect. How dare a black man become the leader of this country! From day one they did nothing but tried to discredit him and placed one roadblock after another front of his administration. If this not racist behavior then I don't know what is. They are absolutely convinced that they are God's gift to mankind (the American mankind). The Congress in Washington is the laughing stock of the world but they don't care and they don't seem to notice it. They are so engrossed in their self importance and self adulation that they really don't care about the people.

Now, the next two years will even be more problematic. The two sides will not come to any agreements and while each one will try to push forward of what they think is best for the people they think they represent in the meantime they will be stifling us with their "goodwill".

I think I heard that in Florida they spent in the neighborhood of a hundred million dollars on the campaign. That is totally criminal! People who do this should be prosecuted because this means they want to be in position so badly that they will do anything to get it. It is not for the good of the people it is for the good of the politician. That one hundred million dollars could have fed the hungry, could have created jobs, could have been used for medical research. Shame on them!

Unfortunately, today's politicians do not care about the people. They only care about themselves. They are just as corrupt as the ones they criticize in other parts of the world but they hide it behind false honest attitudes towards the people. The word people is nothing more than a banner behind they can all hide.

Bottom line is that it is a shame what goes on here. It used to be the best system in the world but slowly (maybe not that slowly) it is sinking away from the lead position!

Eureka

Eureka! said good old Archie Medes when he made his now famous bathtub discovery.

Eureka says good old me on the discovery that I know how to use Skype! Yesterday, after several tries I finally managed to get Skype under my control.

As the result of it I was able to spend over an hour and a half on it talking to good friends. The highlight of my use was when I got quickly connected to Australia and was able to converse with my dear friends whom I have not seen for many, many years and yesterday it was like they were here with me in my living room.

The picture quality was good, the sound was even better so over all we both had a great time.

Ain't technology great?

Something else.

Today, that I am writing this is Tuesday. I went into Manhattan because I had a doctor's appointment. I took the subway because the area I went to is not parking friendly. The subway trip was very pleasant mainly because I don't have to pay full price. I travel as a senior and that is half price. So, I get what I pay for. But really, it was good.

The doctor is a dermatologist and she gave me an overall checkup. She criticized my skin saying that my love of the sun really is not doing much good to my skin. I accepted that criticism and promised that I'll be more careful in the future. She also took two biopsies from my hand because she saw some growths she wasn't too comfortable about. I hope they are harmless. I can't deal with this kind of problem again.

Anyway, after the doctor I had lunch with my bro-in-law and the two of us had a good time.

Today, being Election Day, on the way home I went to do my civic duty. This was the first time in many days that voting in my district went without a hitch. In all previous years all these old geezers who worked there never knew what to do and they were chasing their own tails. This time all went quickly and efficiently.

I was in and out in less than ten minutes. Today I feel good because I added my twenty five cents to it. I know it is not twenty five but there is inflation, you know!

Sun-Mon

I am in a discovery mode with my new computer. It's not that I don't have enough problems understanding all the buttons and their functions in my new car, now I also have to deal with this new computer. I really don't know which is a bigger headache.

Anyway, this morning I discovered I have Skype. I was always against it but since I have it and I am getting a certain number of minutes free each month I as might as well use it, right? I really don't know how it works but I'll figure it out in time.

So, I activated it and listed a bunch of people I can pester or call without warning and maybe catch them when they the least expect it. LOL!

Not really, I'll be nice because I am a nice and polite person.

Something else.

Yesterday, Sunday, I had a very nice day. Because of some changes in the social calendar my regular Saturday "chores" were put off for Sunday. My friend and I did our usual supermarket thing yesterday and after that went out for an early dinner.

I found out that in the area we were in there was a Joe's Crab Shack. I saw it many times advertised on TV but never been to one. So we tried it yesterday. In all honesty, I was very glad we did. Even though I don't eat crab because it is a lot of work I still liked the place. They had all kinds of crab except soft shell which is the easiest to eat but they also had all kinds of other seafood.

I had some kind of lobster-shrimp-crab concoction that didn't need any work except just eating and it was very good. They also have some good drinks in those mason jars that one can take home. Since I had two drinks I now have a collection of two of those jars.

The atmosphere was good mainly because periodically the wait staff started in unison to sing and dance which, I think was a very nice touch. All in all I really liked the place and we had a good time.

It is very funny (or sad) that when one has really nothing important to do, days are kind of lose their meaning. This phenomenon is part of retired life. For me a Tuesday or Wednesday or Friday are all the same. So yesterday when we did our Saturday stuff I was totally confused. All day I thought I was Saturday.

But I am OK now. I know that Today is Wednesday!

Bucket List

Like a lot of people I also have a bucket list. There are things that I want to do, there are things that I would like to do and there are just things.

I don't write down my bucket list I just know I have one.

Today I have one less items in that bucket. I made another major purchase all by myself.

I bought myself a robe. A while back I was complaining that I was unable to find nice robes anywhere. But today I did found one and bought it right away.

Today it was miserable all day long but I decided to go out anyway. I had some business to take care of and I thought I might as well go and look for robes, again.
So I went. Because of the rain traffic was fairly light and I really have no problem driving in bad weather.

As good old Julie Caesar said it: veni, vidi, vici.

In short, I succeeded. Now I'm sitting on my laurels, in my new robe!

Conservative

I am becoming a real old fuddy-duddy. I hate everything new, I hate changes yet, I really like modern things. I guess I am a conservative by heart.

I don't like to buy anything not because I am cheap, although I do like money, but because then I will have to get used to the new things.

Actually, I do like new and modern stuff, what I don't like is replacing older and comfortable things with new ones. That covers everything from my shoes all the way to a newer car.

But I like my new car and I am slowly getting used to it. What right now is giving me the jitters is this new computer.

As I mentioned previously I bought a new one. I bought a Lenovo All-In-One 19.5" computer with Windows 8.1 in it. This is as far as my technical vocabulary will take me. That's it, can't go any further.

I went to the store, I selected this particular one, they gave me a box with everything in it and I was on my own. I had to set the whole thing up by myself with nothing but a very thin Manual helping me out.

But credit to me, I did it! I'm not saying that I was not nervous while doing it and even Today a few days later I still feel like I'm in the dark. I find things I am looking for but mainly by accident then next time I can not remember how I did that particular thing. Things I did in my previous computer I can not find and can not do. That's when the comfort factor come in. I am not yet very comfortable with this new gadget. Probably I will be in a while but right now I am still very nervous using it.

Can not understand why there is no manual available. The keyboard has about five thousand different uses, mostly not obvious because they are hidden, but how in the world one finds them out? OK, I can not remember all five thousand maybe just three (not thousand) but it would still be nice to know about them.

I'm sure what frightens me is that I have nobody to ask. At work I was surrounded with people who knew computers. Here now every question would cost me money. So I'd be better off solving my problems by myself.

Now I'm back in the circle where I started from, so I'm scared again.

Holloween

Today is the anniversary of my arrival here in the US. Fifty seven years ago today I "honored" this country and this great city with my presence.

I know it was Halloween because while we were taken by bus from the airport to our hotel we saw kids dressed in all kinds of "funny" dresses. Not knowing our asses from our elbows and none of us speaking any English we had no clue as what that meant.

Eventually we all agreed on that the Americans are a funny bunch!

We were in Yugoslavia for nine months in various refugee camps trying to get to some Western country. Eventually the US accepted us and we spent the last three or four weeks in an American collection or debarkation camp. Every week they posted a list of the people who were slated to go and about a week before this time we found our names on that list. We meaning my fiancé and me.

People can not imagine the excitement we all felt before taking the trip. Leaving the continent was no small feat for us. But eventually the day arrived when we woke early in the morning, put on our best dress (the only ones we had) and headed to the buses that were taking us to the Belgrade airport.

I don't think any one of us had ever been on an airplane before meaning the entire experience was totally strange to all of us. It was a two or four engine propeller plane chartered for this occasion. I don't think jets were very popular in those days. I do remember that propeller planes were flying over the Atlantic for many more years.

The flight was uneventful as far as I remember. We stopped at three different airports on the way where we were fed and had a chance to straighten our legs. The plane had stewardesses but none of them spoke Hungarian so there was really no communication between us.

At one point somebody saw some flames coming out of one of the engines and got all excited but the pilots thought nothing of it and we continued flying.

Not being familiar with the time zones I was trying to keep track the time because it seemed we were flying forever. I think we flew over twenty hours. But eventually we arrived in New York. Way back then JFK Airport was called Idelwild. Very few people remember that name now.

We were taken by bus to a hotel in Brooklyn where we stayed until collected by relatives or other sponsors. At the hotel we had our first taste of the American kitchen. By American food I mean tasteless, unsalted but we ate it anyway. There was a cafeteria there manned by very nice military people who really showed compassion towards us, and we all had a chance to fill our stomachs with decent hot food.

So eventually the day was over. After traveling seemingly forever we arrived at our final destination, into a New World and in the days to come we all had to face reality and start our new lives.

Thinking back fifty-seven years and seeing how much changed in this world, some to the better some to the worst I wonder if it would not be better to start all over again!

Information Technology

I realized one thing. I can not make a career on setting up computers!

It is one o'clock in the afternoon that I am writing this and I have been sitting on this damn thing since 10 in the morning and I just got to the point where I was able to find this blog site.

Yesterday in the store the sales guy said to me there was nothing to setting this thing up. Maybe this is nothing for him but I am sweating blood doing it. I already wanted to call in the kid next door for help but he was off in kindergarten.

I am so afraid of this "machine" that I can not tell. I'm afraid that I press something wrong and screw up everything I did so far. But I am sure that at the end it will all work fine. I just wish I were at the end already.

It was so easy when I still worked. Just called the IT technician and I just sat there while she did all the work. Now, I am sitting here and watching myself work.

I hope at the end I will be amazed at my resourcefulness when all these parts will come together and the computer will work as it should.

This is all for today, gotta run and keep working.