Very Soon Now...

No people, I am not back on line yet, but it has been promised to me that I will be back on line on Wednesday and I have already been given a new phone number. So, I am counting the days. Once I said to them that I did not need to keep my old phone number, things sped up quite considerably and all my phone calls started to bear results. On Wednesday, I will email all of you my new email address and my new phone number and I hope to be on line quickly that day, but it is a busy day and I am already trying to figure out the logistics of it. I may have to skip some obligations. What is more important than making the hook up with the Internet, after all?

In the meantime, all is well. The weather has improved dramatically and today it feels like early spring. It is half cloudy and the sun comes out regularly to shine on us. The temperatures are pleasant and there is barely any wind. I am still enjoying the view of the grass and some of the stubborn wild flowers that still want to pop out of the ground. Some of the shrubbery in people's gardens are evergreens and are indistructable. There is always something to look at, but the trees are bare and I can't wait to see the first green fuzz on them, although I know I'm being very optimistic now. 

The Uberhund and I have been taking short walks, but now that the weather is getting better we will increase our distances again. He has been looking longingly at the street corners we don't go to and this morning I took him to the tobacconist with me and he enjoyed that. He doesn't actually like being in the shop, especially not when it is crowded with people, but he likes the walk over and back. 

His eye is better, there is no infection in there anymore as far as I can tell, but I am going to use up the eye gel just to be sure. His eye lens is a little bit cloudy and that may be the permanent damage that he suffered from it, but it doesn't look nearly as bad as it has. Really, you wouldn't think that he is going to be 12 years old this May, he is in such good shape yet and manages so well. 

I have been seeing the Exfactor regularly and it has been interesting. I always enjoy it when he comes over, but then I try to figure out where he fits in the scheme of things in my life. I thought, what if I had to choose between an Internet connection and the Exfactor and I chose for the Internet connection. I do like him in regular small dosages, but I don't think that I would ever like to live permanently with him again 24 hours a day. I can not be that generous with my time and space again, as I have become very protective of what is mine and I am unwilling to share a lot of it. I like moving around independently in my own little world and have things my own way and I would even hate to share the Uberhund with someone else. 

The Uberhund and I have such a good life together. We are perfectly in tune with each other and very much connected. He knows all the endearments I call him by and wags his stubby tail when I do, even when it is in dialect. He wakes me up in the middle of the night when my breathing goes funny because op my sleep apnea, and goes to sleep peacefully when he knows I'm okay. He follows me where ever I go, and if he looses track of me, because he is sound asleep, he looks in every room until he has found me again. He's always keeping an eye on me. I think I am very attached to him. 

I have solved the falling asleep during the day problem. Instead of taking my antypsychotica in two doses, one in the morning and one at night, I now take them both at night so it doesn't make me sleepy during the day. It works much better and as a result I sleep better at night too. This morning I actually slept until 9 AM, which is unheard off. Of course, there isn't that temptation to blog and that keeps me in bed longer too, but I must make a habit of it.

Well, that all I have to report for today, except to say that a storm just blew in and it just is starting to rain, although that is still better than snow. I will never wax romantically about snow again. I have been cured. 

I will try to blog some more between now and Wednesday, D-day. Lord, I will have gone 3 weeks without the Internet and without the telephone. All for the sake of trying to sake a buck.

Have a great day, people. Talk to you soon. 

Ciao... 

 

Hallelujah!

The snow is gone. It rained during the night and it made all the snow disappear. I am so glad, because I had to ride my bike in it and it was mighty tricky. We can now see the streets and the sidewalks and the field again and it all looks so lovely and normal. The snow was fun for the first day, but after that the novelty wore off and it became a bother. The Uberhund liked it well enough and pranced around in it, but I can't say the same for myself. As to the temperarures. Well, now that it is a few degrees above freezing, it pracrically feels tropical outside. Cold? What cold? 

I know one thing for sure. I don't like the freezing cold and it makes me think of sad things like homeless people and poverty and frozen limbs and people trying to stay warm in poor countries. Like they are right now in the Ukraine now that the Russians have cut off their gas supply. Cold is suffering in my book. 

I was getting groceries in the freezing cold on my bike and while unloading them from my bike bags into my big shopping bag I thought how awful it must be to perform every task in the extreme cold like maybe some place like Siberia and I consider myself very lucky to live here in this temperate climate. 

There is still no good news on the internet provider front. Maybe I will get the letter today, but I'm not holding my breath. I am learning to be long suffering and patient. It's an unbecoming role for me. 

Now I'm going home to take a nap, because I feel one coming up. A nice little sleep on the sofa with the Uberhund by my side. My sister has very tempting chocolates and I must remove myself from them quickly. They're making my mouth water. 

Have a great day.

Ciao...

Sunday Morning.

I am sitting in my sister's house while she is at the fitness studio and her kids are watching TV. The sun is brightly shining on the snow on the field and if you didn't know better, you'd think it was warm outside. It is still cold, however, but in a few days the snow may melt and we'll be able to see the streets again and the sidewalks, which is fine with me, because it is treacherous to ride your bike now, except for on the bigger roads that have been cleaned. I walk my bike on the slippery streets and get on on the clean streets, as I don't want to fall over and break anything. 

I am sad to say that today is boring Sunday. I was up early and now it seems that the day is lasting forever. I do have all sorts of housework to do, but you know my rule about that on Sundays. I did the dishes and will do a load of laundry, but I need to wash the floors and I am so not in the mood for that. 

The maintenance men from the housing corporation tracked in dirt when they came by to do maintenance to the apartment last week. They replaced all the hardware on the doors and fixed one kitchen cabinet door and replaced the shower head and hose, so now I've got a nice new adjustable one. They also fixed the toilet tank from which the water kept running. If I run into any other problems, I can call them and they will be there in a jiffy, but they do make a mess. 

I am sitting here without my reading glasses and it is kind of a pain having these great glasses now for seeing well far away. One eye is -3, but that doesn't help much for seeing up close and I really need my reading glasses when I sit behind the computer, but I forget to bring them when I come here, I am guessing at some of the words that I type and I assume the right letters are showing up. 

The Uberhund is such a happy dog since I have switched food. He now spends his days content and satisfied and not begging for treats. The cats are very much interested in his food and all crowd around when I put it in his dish and try to eat it when it is still on the kitchen counter. I let them have a little bit, but the majority goes to the Uberhund who eats it in one fell swoop. 

People in the Netherlands are skating all over the place, on every lake and canal and bit of water that is frozen over. The stores are constantly running out of skates to sell, the suppliers can't keep up with the demand. Three times as many people are being brought into the emergency rooms with broken bones and dislocated limbs, but everybody is very happy and a skating fever has broken out all over the country. 

Well, that's all for now. Not much to report, not much inspiration, not much time to write in either, because I am not in my own house and always feel rushed when I am here. 

Soon I will be writing from my own trusty computer again. Just a few more days. 

Have a great day, people. 

Much love, Me.

 

Still hanging in there.

The Internet frustration has not been solved yet. I seems that providers can allow thenselves up to two weeks to get the modem and the letter with the activating code and password to you. Don't ask me why this is so. I don't call this customer service. By being the pest that I am, I found out that the letter has not been send yet and that is really all I need, because I already have the modem from the old membership we had with them. By being very persistant, I have somebody at the company sending me a copy of the letter that should get here sooner than the original letter. 

I feel like I am sort of sneaky and pestering customer who won't take no for an answer, because they keep a record of how often you call and aren't afraid to let you know that they do this, but there is a good egg in the bunch here and there who is willing to stick out his or her neck. Thank god for good eggs. If they weren't so anonymous, I'd send them a fruit basket. They are probably breaking the rules. Another guy said, that if I didn't have the letter by Monday, he would give me the activating code and password over the phone then, but of course, I also need the email details to set up my new accounts. 

Oh well, this is getting boring, but it consumes a large part of my waking hours. It's a case of how to out smart the internet company and all the snotty young brats that work there.

I have fallen three times in the snow. I hit a slippery spot and down I go. All three times I've landed on my right wrist and right knee with a bloody knee as a result twice. Now I have finally gotten wise and put on my hiking boots, which means I can walk very steadily with big steps and also have much warmer feet. I have to tell you that vanity prevented me from doing this untill now, but this morning I thought, vanity can get you into the hospital with a broken limb.  I thought that as I laid right in the middle of an intersecrion where I had fallen while crossing the street when I was walking the Uberhund, who is no help at all.

I could be laying there suffering from the most terrible of wounds and he would just go on sniffing the bushes and not give a hoot about what I was doing on the ground. He is a very careless creature. He does not show enough empathy for his owner.

This morning the liberating phonecall from Specsavers came to tell me that my new glasses were ready. What a relief, it only took them 2 weeks. I sped over there by bus, as much as you can speed in a city bus, and walked on the snowy ground to the downtown area. All I can say is, it was cold. There is not much sunshine in the narrow streets and you feel chilled to the bone. 

At Specsavers, they did a very decent job at fitting my glasses properly and I am much happier with these. They look more like the very first pair I ever had, only a little bigger. The problem with the other pair was, that they were too narrow and at certain angles I could look right over them, defeating the purpose. But I also did not like their rectangular shape and I like these rounder glasses better. I told the man at Specsavers that I tried the funky look, but that it just wasn't me. 

It wouldn't have been a real downtown outing if I had not gone to my favoritw store, but I didn't by one single item of clothing. Common sense prevailed and every time I saw something I liked, I thought of something similar like it that I had at home. I did buy on necklace, but they are exceptions to the rule. 

Then I went to Cafe Monopole and had a nice cappuccino with a chocolate and a cookie and tried to decide if I wanted a second one, because I was sitting on the terrace right by the space heater and I wasn't all that cold. I decided against it when I considered the coffee I could have for free at home and the fact that I had to go there to walk the Uberhund.

Always, when I am on my way home, my bladder decides that it needs to be emptied and the closer to home I get, the more urgent it becomes, until I am at my frontdoor, practically peeing my pants. Isn't that always the way it goes? Near accidents always happen while the Uberhund tries to greet me enthusiastically. I've got my legs crossed trying to make it into the bathroom, while he jumps up at me and I say, Yes, you are a good dog, but not now.

Well, that's all the fun I have to report for today. I and my clunky hiking boots are going to walk home now and gave a good cup of decaf. I just had an espresso that my sister made for me and it was very good, but now I need something to slow me down again. 

There is only a Dutch spell check on here, for some reason, so any mistakes in the text are purely my own fault. 

Have a great day, maybe I will be here tomorrow. Take good care of yourselves. 

Ciao.... 

Encore et bis.

My nephew has been kind enough to let me use the Mac while he uses the laptop, which I really appreciate, because I don't like using the laptop. It's that screwy thumb pad that confuses me. It feels alien to my biggest digit and I need a mouse in my hand. He's a good kid for going along with the program and letting me have the most convenient device. 

So far, 2009 seems to be a not so really great year when it comes to getting things done that I badly want to get done. I picked out new glasses nearly two weeks ago and they aren't done yet when they should have been done last Monday. I think I better not have too much anticipation for things to happen and instead aquire a lot of patience and just learn to wait for things to come in their own sweet time. Maybe this is the year I'm supposed to learn to be patient and this is all a test. 

For some strange reason, my sister and I have been taking the dogs out at noontime, in the snow and in the cold, and I don't for the life of me know why we do this. It was my sister's idea and I, like a dummy, went along with it and now we are making it a habit. The snow is soft and crunchy and cold and the temperatures aren't much to write home about either. You need warm clothes, so I wear two pairs of leggings and my sister wears snow boots. The Uberhund makes yellow snow all over the place. My sister's dog doesn't, because he has been neutered. 

The dogs seem to like the snow, for some reason, and the Uberhund keeps sticking his nose into deep piles of it. He seems to think there are unmentionables down in there that he doesn't want me to know about. He is a very secretive dog in the snow. 

This is just going to be a shorty post, because I miss being in my own apartment and having my cup of decaf and my cigarettes and having the Uberhund and the cats around. I am a creature of habit, after all. While I was gone to therapy one morning, the cat door froze shut with a cat outside and the cat tore the door open to get inside, so now it's broken. There is just a hole there. Poor cat, being so desperate to get inside.

Have a good night. I'll talk to you as soon as possible. Thank you all for all of your comments. You guys are sweet. 

Ciao...  

 

Murphy's Law

I am a victim of Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong and I keep my fingers crossed and hope that my latest hour and a half telephone conversation has finally straightened everything out.

I was trying to change Internet providers in order to save some money, but it was a bad idea, so I warn you never to do this. I thought I had planned everything down to the latest detail, but some other people threw wrenches in my carefully laid plans. 

I cancelled my old provider on a day long after my new provider should have started up his service, except that he didn't and left me high and dry without internet or telephone. Promises were made and not kept and I finally said, screw you guys, I'm going back to my old provider, who had now changed ownership and is operating under a new name.

I called them on January the second and arranged everything and waited patiently for my activating code to arrive in the mail, but of course, it did not come. So I made a phone call today and found out that my order did not show up anywhere in their system and had to be placed all over again, which means waiting another week or so. 

I am going to try and get my hands on the activating code sooner than that, by making a phone call to the technical service, but I will have to wait a day or two for it to show up in their system.

January the first is a day that will live in infamy. Suddenly I was without Internet and I couldn't do any blogging and I went through withdrawal symptoms. It was not a pretty thing. Since then, I have grown somewhat used to it and manage to fill my time with other things, such as watching more television and bothering the dog a lot. I don't think he minds.

But all of you must have thought I dropped off the face of the earth by my sudden disappearance, although there was some forewarning. I have thought about all of you a lot and I am also thinking about all the wonderful posts I am missing and the comments I miss reading and that I can't write. 

I am using my sister's computer now, in between her kids needing it for their school projects, so it isn't always available to me, but I will try to use it while I can until I have my own connection again. 

I am well and glad that the holidays are over. Really relieved that they are behind us. I am so ready to pick up my normal life again. The humdrum of everyday living without any excitement. Especially the wear and tear of people not doing their jobs right and leaving me high and dry without my blogging buddies. 

I am keeping this short, since I am not at home and I still need to go walk the Uberhund. There is much snow here and it is very cold. It was -20 Celsius last night. That's quite cold. We aren't used to it anymore. It only happens every twelve years or so.

I will try to write some more soon and keep you up to date on the proceedings here, but what I really hope is to be writing from my own computer soon. 

Take care, all of you. I am thinking about each and everyone of you and missing you. I hope all is well and that you've all started the new year out on a positive note. 

Ciao...