What I learned from Covid-19 pandemic

Importance of faraway friends and family.

 

I'm old enough to remember when making or getting a long-distance call was a big deal..."you mean you were in town and didn't call me?"  A friend or family moving away was a big deal. like we'd never see them again.   Of course we did, for holidays and such,  but still an accomplshment worthy of celebration...then it got fast and safe...now we wait and travel slow again.

more later,

bruce

highlight of the day jueves 11/20/2019

I thought the highlight of my day was opening a ziplock bag...until I closed it.

Never say Never. Rewards can be a big surprise.

O.K., I should start telling some tales.  Here's a recent event that my friends and I laughed about hysterically, but they know me and I provide them much humor...

Quick intro: I've been late for everything my entire life.   My grandmother called me "the cow's tail".  I was never sure what the cow was, but no matter.  I was late to my wedding, but can blame that on my brothers who provided me with a serious hangover that morning.

I have a few buddies here in Jersey who know this about me very well through experience, as do a couple doctors and P.T.'s.  Two close friends, one a judge and one a college professor, are on what I once saw called "Vince Lombardi time", always early, never late (part of their job descriptions).  

Soooo...when my judge buddy picks me up to go to a ball game or something, he'll wait outside for me after calling or texting, and when I finally get downstairs, he calls me either a fucking asshole or on better days just a douchebag ;-)

I have many techniques to avoid this, and sometimes they work.
When going somewhere with the Mrs., I ask her to lie to me about the time we have to leave, making me think it's a half-hour earlier than it really is.  I do the same in my calendar for appointments, and I write the real time on my wife's calendar on the fridge, which  I rarely look at, just in case (she doesn't use an online calendar (no idea why not).

I go through periods of improvements, but it is a volatile characteristic with many moving parts (dressing, adaptive equipment, finding things I need to bring, etc.) You "strokies" know the drill.

Sooo, back to the libretto:

I was recruited for a consumer study which took place last week one morning at 11:00.  I do these when I can...they usually pay about $100 for an hour session and are close by.  This one paid $125.  So I did my usual half-hour bump, and was ready to rock at 10:30.  I did a Lyft request, and although the place is maybe a half-mile away, it is up a road directly off a highway and easy to miss, as well as a few yards after a hotel driveway.  So while directing the driver carefully, and with adequate warning I thought, he missed the turn, so when we finally found the building, it was dangerously close to 11:00.  I got out and went up to the 8th floor; I've done quite a few of these -- they put you in a room with one-way mirrors (feels like a bad "Get Smart" episode) to talk with a random bunch of people and a moderator about some product or similar.  So when I walked into the office at like 11:03, I asked the receptionist if I was too late.  MUCH to my surprise, she said, no, you're early -- we don't start until 11:15; have a seat, but before you do, take this (below) and don't lose it -- we're having a drawing after the session for the "Earlybirds" and the prize is an extra $50.  They pay with pre-dosed Visa cards.  I stuck it in some pocket, sat down after getting some coffee.  They called us in, and I am now an acknowledged expert on probiotics -- I did not know they were made with either biotics...or whatever they are, I failed chemistry, or yeast (the women there called it "the y-word").

After the session we went back to the waiting area...the receptionist drew a number, and I of course could not find my ticket..but just before prepping to draw another, she walked over to me and saw it on the floor...I got lucky... I expected a separate card for 50 bucks, but it was just added onto the $125.  So my wife and I are going out for a really nice dinner tonight :-)
if I can get a reservation...I better get on the blower now!
seek truth and peace,
bruce
 
the Golden Ticket

WTF

FUNNY STROKE STORIES and stuff.  that's the raison d'etre of this blog. My gram was totally blind and lived w us when I was a kid.  She got braille magazines and I learned how hard it is to read braille.  Like much later in life I learned how hard it is to read code, and so get somebody else to.  I think I was really into the technology more than the language.  she got "talking books" on lps, also.  books and magazines. There was a one magazine column I think,  called "ASAPITA" (Aint Blind A Pain In The Ass, except Gram just didn't say "ass".  Was like the Reader's digest  of funny or just interesting anecdotes about being blind written by them.

So This is the social media stroke version.

There is no end to the amusing tales I could tell, but I'll start by introducing a very funny man whose show in New York I missed going to with a support group a few years ago, but will get to another.  Found him easily on youtube.  His name is John Kawie and suffered a stroke during his career as a comedian. He continued out of sheer stubbornness, a useful trait I share.  That link tells his whole story, here's a quick routine by him.

I have no specific funny story to share today, but as introduction, here's a link to my "reborn and taking advantage of it" story.  It was entered in a festival, thus the "put our heads together line".  Please share yours or part of it.

good description

This guy gets it right

more humor

vaguely funny

walking for entertainment

Following up on last post.  Here is the Monty Python clip, silly walks.

Just finished watching Shaun of the Dead.

Sometimes I feel like I am walking like the Zombies in the movie, minus the blood.  Until I trip on broken pavement and fall.
Here's another clip.


And of course, Young Frankenstein is an inspiration.  Marty Feldman's Igor is as close an imitation as anything else:
Walk this way