This isn't a whiny post. It is puzzling to me, and also strange...so in writing about it maybe I can figure it out.
It's no secret to those who spend time with me that I changed after my "cerebrovascular event" a couple of years ago. How I think and process information, as well as my personality (or so I'm told) is different now, in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways. I've of course adapted. I've changed the way I've done some things, and had to give some things up, but I manage just fine for the most part. I've even gotten used to the occasional "overload meltdowns" - but this is different. Really different than anything I've ever felt or tried to process before.
Yeah. A different kind of overload, or a different response? I don't know.
My daughter, who moved back in with us when her marriage broke up the week before Leelan was born about 2 years ago, is moving to her own place. She's so excited - as well she should be! - and I am happy for her. This is a huge rite of passage for any young adult. I will miss her here, I will miss Leelan who has lived with us since the day he was born (I was the first person he looked at, even before he was fully born!), and our family of 4, even through some rough times, has shared our cozy little house ever since.
They won't be far away, and Casey assures me that I will still be babysitting for Leelan as much as I ever did; in fact we are keeping his bedroom here for him, he will always have his place at Ugma and Umpa's house :). And Casey will always be welcome in our guest room when her work schedule necessitates that he/they spend the night.
Today she started moving her things out. People came to help her. Her furniture is gone, and many boxes that she had packed up. I stayed in my room attempting to figure out and deal with everything mentally and emotionally for the duration.
This is all hitting me like a ton of bricks. I am going from an unexplainable and possibly illogical anger to weeping. I can't make a decision, not even about what to make for supper or what to wear, my thoughts are almost frozen. Yet at the same time my mind feels the all-too-familiar chaos that paralyzes me when I experience sensory overload.
I'm not even feeling like I'm making sense here, and it certainly isn't helping me to try to articulate something that I can't understand. But what the heck, I've invested too much time to delete it now. And Leelan will be here soon...
They won't be moved out for a few days yet. Maybe by then I will "get it" and be able to function again.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Verizon CFO: We will move to tiered data pricing mid-summer
So...if we are bound to the terms of our 2-year contract with VW, they are also bound to its terms, right? Our unlimited internet for $30 will still apply for those 2 years, I have to assume...but we will DEFINITELY check it out before I get mine this month. This is too important for assumptions. (Please see my blog post @ http://chiachatter.blogspot.com/2011/02/droids-and-finances.html )
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bsg9k
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Droids and Finances
So Pete and I are re-doing our whole internet and phone thing here right now.
For the last year or so, Pete and I have each had a phone and service through StraightTalk. He got the $30/mo plan, and I do too, through the winter; then the $45 during Bug Man season when I'm taking calls and can easily go through 2000 minutes a month. (I use Skype most of the time, and rarely use that many minutes, but those calls are my livelihood, so I want a backup plan in place.) We also have had an "internet stick" - a USB device that gets our computer online anywhere - for about $60/mo. And our cable internet is $55/mo. In the summertime, that adds up to $190/mo. Just for internet services and devices.
So this year we are going Droid. It started when we let someone borrow the internet stick and it was lost. We still have to pay for it every month until our contract runs out the end of May, but the stick, which cost $250, is gone. The person who lost the stick, when requested for the replacement cost, gave us $265 (to include the tax) so we went into our local Basic Communications store for a new one.
However, once we got there and started a dialog with the saleswoman - Andrea - we learned that we could each get a Droid that would get our computers online without the cable modem. If we tethered them (there are a couple of programs that will do that) we would have unlimited internet access as we do now. Anywhere. And that would get rid of the cost of the cable modem and the stick (even though we don't have it anymore) both. $115 saved. And of course we wouldn't have the StraightTalk bill anymore either - another $75 saved. And the cost for both of us to each month would be $150 (plus taxes and fees). Definitely a savings. But the money isn't the only reason we're switching.
Right now when I go places I carry my cell phone, my digital camera (which is on its last legs and will need replacing this year), and the N810 internet tablet (which I still LOVE and use all the time, BTW!). Pete carries a camera and his cell phone on his belt in little holders. Now, we will each have our Droid which will eliminate the need for all of that. And I probably won't have to carry my netbook around in my oversized purse either for that matter, unless I'll be gone overnight or something.
I will still want to make sure I have a backup for the Bug Man season, April-Oct, so I may keep the cable modem running through the summer. Especially since we have just learned that we can't use Skype when the phones are in wifi mode (to keep the computer online and use Skype)...and if I don't use Skype I will have to buy a lot more minutes. This is not a huge issue at the moment, we will give up the cable modem in October...
Anyway, Pete has his Droid now, which we bought with the "internet stick" replacement money; he got a Droid X. I will get my Droid when I start Bug Man again this spring, and continue to use my StraightTalk phone in the meantime. Not sure if I will also get a Droid X because I don't know enough about them yet, but at least I know that this model will do what I need it to do.
Pete is enjoying the heck out of his Droid X. I have to admit that I'm a little jealous, even though I am also content to wait for mine. And by the time I get it, he will be able to show me how it all works.
It seems like I'm always the one that gets all the goodies - like my netbook as an example - so it was fun to watch Pete get his Droid X and it is still fun to watch him learning about it and playing with it. He is a man who always puts others first, makes sure our needs are met, and doesn't ask for anything for himself. I am happy to see him getting so much enjoyment out of his new "toy" as he is :).
For the last year or so, Pete and I have each had a phone and service through StraightTalk. He got the $30/mo plan, and I do too, through the winter; then the $45 during Bug Man season when I'm taking calls and can easily go through 2000 minutes a month. (I use Skype most of the time, and rarely use that many minutes, but those calls are my livelihood, so I want a backup plan in place.) We also have had an "internet stick" - a USB device that gets our computer online anywhere - for about $60/mo. And our cable internet is $55/mo. In the summertime, that adds up to $190/mo. Just for internet services and devices.
So this year we are going Droid. It started when we let someone borrow the internet stick and it was lost. We still have to pay for it every month until our contract runs out the end of May, but the stick, which cost $250, is gone. The person who lost the stick, when requested for the replacement cost, gave us $265 (to include the tax) so we went into our local Basic Communications store for a new one.
However, once we got there and started a dialog with the saleswoman - Andrea - we learned that we could each get a Droid that would get our computers online without the cable modem. If we tethered them (there are a couple of programs that will do that) we would have unlimited internet access as we do now. Anywhere. And that would get rid of the cost of the cable modem and the stick (even though we don't have it anymore) both. $115 saved. And of course we wouldn't have the StraightTalk bill anymore either - another $75 saved. And the cost for both of us to each month would be $150 (plus taxes and fees). Definitely a savings. But the money isn't the only reason we're switching.
Right now when I go places I carry my cell phone, my digital camera (which is on its last legs and will need replacing this year), and the N810 internet tablet (which I still LOVE and use all the time, BTW!). Pete carries a camera and his cell phone on his belt in little holders. Now, we will each have our Droid which will eliminate the need for all of that. And I probably won't have to carry my netbook around in my oversized purse either for that matter, unless I'll be gone overnight or something.
I will still want to make sure I have a backup for the Bug Man season, April-Oct, so I may keep the cable modem running through the summer. Especially since we have just learned that we can't use Skype when the phones are in wifi mode (to keep the computer online and use Skype)...and if I don't use Skype I will have to buy a lot more minutes. This is not a huge issue at the moment, we will give up the cable modem in October...
Anyway, Pete has his Droid now, which we bought with the "internet stick" replacement money; he got a Droid X. I will get my Droid when I start Bug Man again this spring, and continue to use my StraightTalk phone in the meantime. Not sure if I will also get a Droid X because I don't know enough about them yet, but at least I know that this model will do what I need it to do.
Pete is enjoying the heck out of his Droid X. I have to admit that I'm a little jealous, even though I am also content to wait for mine. And by the time I get it, he will be able to show me how it all works.
It seems like I'm always the one that gets all the goodies - like my netbook as an example - so it was fun to watch Pete get his Droid X and it is still fun to watch him learning about it and playing with it. He is a man who always puts others first, makes sure our needs are met, and doesn't ask for anything for himself. I am happy to see him getting so much enjoyment out of his new "toy" as he is :).
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
God's Word Abides Forever: #Christian Daily Devotional: 1 Peter 1:24-25 NASB
I especially love this obvious but neglected truth:
"...many people have based their understanding of Christianity and the Bible on what other people have mistakenly said or done. They don't realize that instead of actually knowing God's Word, they simply are repeating what other people have told them. They've based their beliefs on human traditions or tried to make the Bible conform to their personal interpretations and opinions.
But God wants each of us to know His Word for ourselves. Instead of just knowing about the Bible, we must have a fresh, personal revelation of its truth.
Every year, customs and styles change. New fads come and go. But God's Word never changes!"
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/brazd
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