Update

It has been another quiet week. I still have a little more sorting and eliminating to do in the garage, but I have been dragging my feet. Everything else seems to be caught up. Beaumont is under a tornado watch until 1 PM. My NOAA weather radio alarmed a little while a go. I have found a website called Frisco-Online. I am reading posts to their forum and learning about Frisco. They had a weather scare last night but apparently they escaped unscathed. I must make sure I have the manual for my NOAA weather radio so I can reprogram it for Frisco after I move. I really hate to hear its alarm.  I am always relieved to see the amber light which means a watch instead of a warning. The red warning light scares me.

 

The new outfits I ordered from L.L. Bean have all arrived. The problem with buying clothes through mail order is that they must be pressed to remove the wrinkles before they can be worn. I waited until everything arrived so I could do all the ironing at one time. I had almost forgotten how to set up my ironing board. I avoid ironing as much as possible.

 

The Beaumont/Port Arthur area got some potentially good news this week. Shell which is part owner of the Motiva refinery in Port Arthur made an announcement that they may increase the capacity of the refinery to 600 thousand barrels a day which would make the refinery the largest in the U.S. It has been a long time since this area saw a major expansion or new construction. The expansion would help the area's employment situation considerably.

First Picture

Tanner, the construction superintendent for my new house, sent me the first picture from the site. I am like a kid at Christmas. I was so excited to see the first picture. He is using the camera in his cell phone to take the pictures. The picture shows the rough plumbing that they have put in place.

Technology Improvements?

I did not visit the Microsoft Updates yesterday to get the revised update, but they delivered and installed it this morning through their automatic service. My computer has just restarted, and it is too soon to tell if I am going to have additional problems. I received a Microsoft survey telephone call requesting information about my experience with their technical support. The survey had questions that were extremely irritating, and the person conducting the survey did not seem to understand my answers. I quit half way through the survey. I told her I could stay on the phone no longer. Microsoft is also filling my email inbox with inquiries about how they did. From now on I am going to dread the second Tuesday of the month when they deliver their updates.

 

I really got a worthless answer from T-Mobile regarding their text messaging. I wrote back and told them so. I got a reply that told me to call customer support. That is where I started yesterday. The Yahoo alerts and breaking news seem to have returned to normal. Perhaps Yahoo was having problems or updating their system. I received alerts yesterday from the one credit card company that has consistently been working. It may have been weekend maintenance that stopped their alerts for a couple of days. I received no alerts from the bank yesterday. I am giving them one more day before I call them.

 

The other credit card company is a different story. I had been calling the internet support telephone number that is listed on the website. That number connects with the call center in India. Yesterday I decided to go through the regular credit card assistance number that is listed on the back of my card. I explained how I have been trying for several months to get their alerts delivered to my phone. She put me on hold and made a phone call. She came back and told me they do not offer text messaging. I asked why their signup page on the web pictures cell phones and tells you how to enter your address for Verizon, Cingular, Sprint and T-Mobile. She said she understood. Then she came back and gave me a phone number for text messaging support that has a 954 area code. I asked her if now she was giving me a toll number to India. She finally offered to transfer me to the number. Later I found out 954 is in Florida.

 

I was connected to a man who was able to look at all the failed text messages that they have been sending out for three or four months. He said even if they got through there was nothing in them. He forwarded a message to a higher level. I still have not received a message from them.

Technology Frustrations

I love all the new new technology gadgets that make me say gee, golly wow. That is I love them when they work the way they are supposed to, but it sees like over the past couple of weeks I have had more than my share of frustrations.

 

First there was the faulty Windows update that Microsoft released on April 11. I read in the CNET News that Microsoft is going to release a revised update today that will correct the chaos of the original patch. I also read they are going to be sending out a program that will detect pirated versions of their software which will have messages that you have to clear when your computer boots and while you are using it if you have an illegal copy of their software. My software is all legal. I play by the rules, but I am still concerned. What if their new program has a bug and mistakes legitimate software for a pirated version? I shudder to think of the results.

 

Back before Christmas I switched my cell phone service to T-Mobile from Sprint and bought one of the cool Motorola Razr V3 phones. I did not have text messaging with Sprint and do have the feature with T-Mobile. I signed up for free breaking news alerts from Yahoo and email alerts. I have received the alerts since last December without problem. They stopped on Sunday. They have partially resumed today but are not coming as frequently as they were.

 

I also signed up for account alerts from two credit card companies and my bank. The bank and one of the credit card companies had been sending their alerts on a daily basis. I have never received an alert from one of the credit cards. I have called their customer service center which I think is located in India several times. The representatives always say "I apologize for that" to everything I say. I got so sick of hearing the word apologize I was ready to scream. It made me feel like I was trying to carry on a conversation with a parrot. They tell me that they can see the text messages are being rejected but do not have a clue as how to fix the problem.

 

Yesterday I did not receive text messages from my bank and the credit card company that has been working. I called T-Mobile's customer service. Their menu system and the waits are torturous. The call accomplished nothing. Now I have emailed T-Mobile. I promptly got a reply from a representative that said my problem was beyond her scope and was escalating my problem. All I can do is hope.

Still Quiet

I am making a little progress on reading all of the novels written by Robert Ludlum. The last time I mentioned them in the blog I was reading The Cry of the Halidon and said that it would not make my favorites list. It got worse as I read more. I think it belongs on my least favorites list. Over the weekened I finished reading The Rhinemann Exchange. It was a much better book. Now I have started The Gemini Contenders. I have read only fifty pages, but it seems like it is going to be fairly good. I noticed with several other authors that their earliest books did not equal their later efforts. I think Ludlum's books are going to follow that pattern.

 

I had two more neighbors call with friends who would like to see my house. I am getting the idea that they are more concerned with who is going to be their new neighbor rather than any real desire to help me sell the house. I had decided that I was not going to list the house until I actually move out. I am going to try and convey the message to the neighbors that their friends can view my house after it is listed. Let the realtor earn her commission.

 

It has been some time since I mentioned the Sudoku puzzles. I am still working on them. The Daily Sudoku which has a link at the bottom of this page is still my favorite. My next favorite is one that is available to Time Warner's  RoadRunner cable internet service subscribers. When I move to Frisco, my cable provider will be Comcast so I doubt if I will be able to access the RoadRunner Sudoku puzzle since they require you to log into their site. My third choice is the one that CBS News links to. It it the easiest of the three.

Random Thoughts

This has been a rather quiet week. I started packing my figurines and
crystal. I am going to try and pack one box a day. Now that the moving
date has been pushed back into August or September it seems rather
foolish to start packing, but it will take the pressure off of me. The
house already looks rather bare with empty shelves in the entry where
my Royal Doulton lady figurines were sitting. The boxes I bought at
Sam's are not as sturdy as the boxes the moving companies use for
dishes. I am wrapping everything in multiple layers of bubble wrap.
Since I will be moving the boxes myself in the car they should be all
right.

The high price of gasoline is not hurting me very much since I am
retired and my driving is quite limited. I looked at the news from
KBTV and read this story: Gas Prices Pushing Southeast Texas To New Extremes. It is really disturbing to think about Southeast Texans pawning their belongings to buy gasoline.

Yesterday I went to Discount Tire and asked them to check my tires'
air pressure. No air needed to be added. Everything in my neighborhood
seems to be normal now. I said something to the man who checked my
tires about their business returning to normal since nails on the
streets were no longer a major problem. He said that was not true. He
said there was still plenty of roofing going on in Beaumont. He said a
roofer told him that it would be another six months to a year before
they caught up with the demand for roofs in Beaumont. So the guys at
Discount Tire will have plenty of flat tires to fix.

I got another new outfit from L.L. Bean this week. I received a new
catalog from them yesterday and saw a pair of shorts and a shirt I
would like to have. Having their credit card that gives free shipping
makes it very tempting to place frequent orders from them.

According to CNN Houston is going to get some very bad weather
shortly. I hope it moves more north as it travels to the east and
spares Beaumont. We do not want 60-70 mph winds and large hail.

Update on My Move to Frisco

Yesterday I had the preconstruction meeting with the construction
superintendent on my new house via telephone. Meeting does not seem
like the appropriate word to describe the call. Actually it was a very
brief call. Tanner introduced himself. We exchanged email addresses
and telephone numbers. He provided two pieces of new information. For
the first time I learned the street address of my new house. All I had
before was a lot number. He also said the information he had showed my
house is due for completion the last week of August. I thought the
target date was July 15. He said the forms would be set and some of
the plumbing put in place by the end of the week.

I was somewhat disappointed to learn the completion will be later than
I had thought. The downside is that I will have to remain in Beaumont
for more of the hurricane season. The upside is the move will probably
take place in September. I have been reading horror stories about
moving during the summer months when the moving companies are in their
busiest season. Everybody wants to move before school starts. I hope
the frantic period will be over in September.

As a side note, my new hometown, Frisco, Texas, was mentioned on the
CBS Evening News the night before last. It showed a family in Frisco
that was hosting boys from the Iraqi national youth soccer team It
looked liked the kids were having a good time in Texas.
Iraqi Soccer Kids Win U.S. Hearts

Another Email from Microsoft

Microsoft came up with still another solution for the problems I have
had with last week's Windows updates:

1. Open add/remove programs

2. Uninstall the update 908531

3. Reboot the computer

4. Uninstall all HP software

5. Reboot if required

6. Open the windows update site and reload the update KB908531

7. Reboot the computer

8. Download and install the latest version of the HP software required
for the HP device that is connected

Since my PC is running without significant problems I have not
attempted the latest suggestion. I just do not have the time to search
the Hewlett Packard site for the new software, and go through all the
suggested steps. I am still afraid I might do something to harm the
operation of my scanner. I am hoping that Microsoft will quietly send
out a fix for this problem in future updates.

Better Understanding

Today I received another email from Microsoft support regarding the
problem I have had with my computer. This message had more detail than
the Knowledge Base article. This one says the only complete cure for
the problem is to edit the registry. It gave better instructions on
how to do that, but I am still avoiding attempting to change the
registry.

It also said that using Task Manager to kill one or both of the
Hewlett Packard processes is a permanent fix for only the user who is
currently logged in. That explains why most of the problems with my PC
appear to be fixed. I have remained logged in since I killed the one
HP process on Friday.

The email went on to say that certain models of nVidia graphics
controllers were causing more problems with the update. It gave
instructions for a second registry edit that was even more
complicated. I grabbed the manual on my computer to check the
specifications. I was relieved to find that my PC has an ATI graphics
controller.

Then the email stated that they had identified problems with the
Sunbelt Kerio Personal Firewall. Fortunately I do not have that
firewall on my PC either. This is a mess.

At Last

The media is finally beginning to realize that Microsoft has created a big problem.

Microsoft Patch Causing Lockups, Crashes

Thank Goodness! I AM Sane

Yesterday my computer had a couple of burps. Internet Explorer shut
down and Windows Explorer locked up once, but the computer recovered.
There were no problems with World or Excel. Today when I checked the
Windows Update discussion I found a reference to a new Microsoft
support article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base that was released
yesterday: Problems in Windows Explorer or the Windows shell after you install security update MS06-015(908531

This article describes the exact problems that I encountered after
installing the critical Windows updates on Tuesday. What still bothers
me is that the solution involves editing the Windows registry. It
involves entering a long complicated string of numbers and letters.
This is not a task that that most computer users can safely
accomplish. I am not going to attempt to edit the registry on my
computer. Since my computer is not experiencing the severe problems
now I am assuming the registry was changed when the computer recovered
from the hard crash.

I am sure that Microsoft will issue a patch for the patch at some
future point in time. They delayed releasing this last batch of
critical updates because they claimed they were doing compatibility
testing. I have lost faith in them because so many people use Hewlett
Packard peripherals (printers, scanners and cameras) and have the HP
software installed on their Windows machines. Their compatibility
testing should have caught this problem before they released the
updates.

I do not think Microsoft has heard the end of this one. It has not
been reported in the press yet, but I would not be surprised if this
one grows into a major class action lawsuit.

Today I Doubt My Sanity

This morning when I turned my computer on I was prepared to tackle the problems again because I have done nothing to remove the Hewlett Packard software that may be conflicting with the Windows Updates. I have been using the computer for approximately one hour. I can enter URL's in the address bar in Internet Explorer. My Excel is working properly. I have opened 7 or 8 spreadsheets and saved several of them. The file functions are working normally.

I checked Discussions in Windows Update. There are even more messages regarding problems with Tuesday's updates. I noticed a message about how someone cleared up the problems by deleting temporary files. I am wondering if my computer fixed itself yesterday when it had the abnormal shutdown and startup.

Whatever happened was good. I just hope it stays that way.

Microsoft Ruined My Day

Tuesday evening I rushed to install Microsoft's newly released updates
that are supposed to fix the critical Windows and Internet Explorer
flaws that I have been reading about for the past month. I must not have
used my computer very much on Wednesday or most of yesterday. Last
night I noticed when I typed in an URL into the window in Internet
Explorer it would not go to the requested webpage when I pressed enter
or clicked on Go. The URL would just turn blue. I found the only way
to get to some webpages was to go to Google and find a link to the
webpage I wanted.

This morning more and more problems appeared. I found that in Word and
Excel the only files I could open were the ones on the most frequently
used short list. When I tried to go to File, Open, Word or Excel would
stop responding and the End Task window would appear. I was getting
very frightened. I opened Windows Explorer and found I could open Word
and Excel files by clicking on them. I was somewhat relieved.

Then I began to think I had not done a good backup of my data for
several weeks. I thought I better backup everything in case my
computer was ready to quit. Then I panicked. I found I could not copy
my files to a CD. Windows Explorer stopped responding just the way
Word and Excel were doing. I sent two problem reports to Microsoft.

I found the Microsoft Windows Update discussion forum. I found I was
not alone. Many other people were having similar problems. Someone had
posted a message that a Microsoft tech support person had posted in an
Internet Explorer forum. It said there was a conflict between the
Microsoft Update KB 908531 and two Hewlett Packard files that are
installed with HP's scanners, printers and cameras. As option one it
gave instructions for editing the Windows registry. The second option
was to use Task Manager to kill hpgs2wnd.exe and hpgs2wnf.exe. I am a
fairly experienced user, but there is no way that I am going to
attempt to edit the Windows registry. One tiny mistake and Windows
becomes inoperable.

I have a Hewlett Packard scanner and a Hewlett Packard printer. I
tried to load Control Panel to see what Hewlett Packard software was
installed on my computer. That was a disaster. My computer froze. End
task would do nothing. Double control-alt-delete did nothing. I held
the power switch down and the computer said entering hibernation.
After it was hibernating, I got it started again. It came up to the
log-on screen with the non-responding Control Panel on top. Out of
desperation I held down the power switch for several seconds. I was
very relieved to see the computer do a normal reboot and startup.

I tried to load a Word file. When it was in the non-responsive state I
started Task Manager and ended hpgs2wnf.exe. hpgs2wnd.exe is still
running. Since I have done that my computer has worked flawlessly and
my scanner works too. I sent another email to Microsoft support and
gave them further details.

The problem is that when I reboot my computer the Hewlett Packard
files will load again. I do not want to wait until one of my Microsoft
applications stops responding and go through the kill process in Task
Manager on a daily basis. I wrote to Hewlett Packard's technical
support. I have exchanged five or six emails with a HP tech. He has
finally told me to uninstall HP Instant Support. He says that will
keep hpgs2wnf.exe from loading. Before I do that I am hoping to get a
sensible reply from Microsoft. I would hate to mess up my scanner's
operation in any way.

For a time I thought my computer was finished. I want to wait until
Windows Vista is released before I buy a new computer. When the
trouble was at its worst, I began to wonder where I could go to buy a
Macintosh.

Worry List

I keep a little list on my PDA of outstanding items that I call my
"worry list". Yesterday was a very good day because I was able to
check several items off the list. My new drivers license came in the
mail. Surprise! Surprise! I like my picture. My backordered item from
L.L. Bean arrived. My oil company stock sold on Tuesday. I did not get
quite as good a price as if it had sold on Monday, but the stock price
fell yesterday so I am happy. My prescription refill order finally
showed up on Aetna's website. They say they are running behind because
of all the new Medicare prescription business. My Del Webb sales
associate confirmed that they had received my check for the balance
of the down payment on my new house.

I worked on the storage closet under the stairs yesterday. I had
really forgotten how big that area is. I was dismayed at the amount of
stuff that I took out of there. I found my first little canister
vacuum cleaner. I did not realize I still had it. My old floor
scrubber/polisher was there. A little Hoover handheld vacuum was also
added to the stack to go to Goodwill.

I was greatly relieved to find the extension leaf for my dinning room
table was in good shape. When I lived in Houston, I was able to keep
both leaves in my table, but my current house had a smaller dinning
area so the second leaf has been stored. The leaves for my breakfast
area table are still in the original wrapping. I have never used them.
I had table pads for the dinning room table custom made when I bought
the table. A lady from Joske's department store came to my house and
measured my table and ordered the pads from the Ohio Table Pad Co. My
mother and my grandmother had Ohio Table Pad Co. pads for their
dinning room tables. Theirs were felt backed and lasted throughout their
lifetimes. I purchased mine in the mid 1970's when everything was made
from new synthetic materials. Mine had a polyurethane foam backing.
When I pulled the pads out of the box, I was dismayed to find the
backing had turned to a powder. My hands were gray from touching it.
There is no way I could put them on the highly polished surface of my
table.

I Googled Ohio Table Pad Co. and found their website. I
was surprised to see they are still in business. They say they have
been in business since 1923. The pads can now be ordered directly from
the website. I found an 800 number and called and asked if their pads
had a warranty or guarantee. The rep. said they had a lifetime
guarantee. I told her about the condition of mine. She said the ones
with the foam backing had a 15 year guarantee. I asked her if the pads
could still be purchased through department stores. She said yes. She
said J. C. Penney's now carries them. After I get settled in Frisco, I
may look into ordering new ones.

My Christmas tree and ornaments have been in the storage closet since
I moved into the house. I had forgotten how big the Christmas tree box
is. It will not fit into my car. I will have to let the Salvation Army
pick it up. I had 12 strings of 50 bulb lights. I am going to take
them to Goodwill. My handmade ornaments have not aged well. They are
going too. Looking at the decorations and deciding to discard them was
a very painful experience for me.

A friend of one of my neighbor's asked her if any houses ever go on
sale in our neighborhood. A friend of the friend lost her house to
Hurricane Rita. My neighbor told her about me. It turned out I am also
acquainted with my neighbor's friend. She called me up a little after
two yesterday afternoon. She asked if she could bring her friend out
to see my house. I told her things were in a mess because of the
closet cleaning. I also told her my new builder has a 60 day window in
the contract, and the earliest date for my move is mid July. She said
she believed her friend could accept that. They showed up at three
o'clock. The lady seemed to like many things about my house, but the
big drawback is that I do not have a bedroom on the first floor.

I Can Stay Home Today

At last I finally am getting my non-move related tasks under control.
Monday I took my car to Classic Acura. The car got its annual state
safety inspection. I asked them to also put on my new registration
sticker when they were putting on the new inspection sticker. My car
is in good standing with the State of Texas for another year. They
changed the oil and filter and washed the car so it looks nice again.

Yesterday I went to Sam's Club. I bought a pack of 18 shipping/moving
cartons, a big roll of 3M bubble wrap and packaging tape bundled with
a dispenser. Today I am going to work on the storage closet under the
stairs. I did finish the coat closet and cabinets in the utility room
over the weekend. Tomorrow I should be ready to start packing the
china and crystal. I will be able to estimate how many boxes my car
can hold in a single trip. I hope I can carry all of the china and
crystal to Frisco in two trips.

I have been trying to decide what to do with the things I have in the
garage on the storage shelves. I want to get rid of the shelves but
did not know how to the handle the things in the garage. I have
decided to buy more boxes and try to pack many of the garage items
myself. It will enable me to get rid of the shelves and will probably
be cheaper than having the moving company pack the garage items. I
intend to have them do all of the packing inside the house except for
the china and crystal.

I am getting my financial affairs in order, too, so I will have the
money ready for closing. The price of crude went up the last two days,
and I decided it was time to sell the oil company stock that I have
outside of my retirement accounts. I am also going to cash some U.S.
Savings bonds. I checked with the branch manager of my bank to find
out how much lead time they need to cash the bonds. She said about an
hour. I also checked with my brokerage company about using an
electronic fund transfer for the hurricane distribution from my IRA
account. My regular brokerage account is set up for EFT, but the IRA
was not. They are sending me a form to fill out to enable EFT from the
IRA account. I was very glad that I called now instead of finding out
I had a problem when I need the funds.

I am watching the websites of several realtors to find new listings in
my part of town. Right now there is a shortage of homes in Beaumont.
All of the realtors I have talked to say houses are selling in less
than two weeks. I cannot get a feel for price trends from the website.
I hope the market conditions hold for three more months.

iPod with Car Stereo

Yesterday I almost ordered a Griffin Smartdeck from Amazon.com which
would allow me to connect my iPod through my car's cassette player.
Griffin states that they have tried to make the Smartdeck as
compatible as possible with as many car cassette players as possible,
but there are some which it will not work with. They do not state
which ones. I emailed Griffin's tech support and asked if it would
work with my car. Today I got a response that said they often had
difficulties with Bose stereo systems. They suggested that I buy it at
Best Buy, try it in the parking lot; and if it did not work, to return
it immediately.

Well, I came up with another solution. Today I was in Wal-Mart and
looked in their electronics department. They had an auto cassette
adapter made my Phillips that was one-third the price of the Griffin
Smartdeck. Instead of connecting to the iPod's connector it just has a
mini stereo plug that plugs in where the iPod's earphones plug in. I
followed the directions and inserted the cassette adapter into my
car's player and plugged the cord into the iPod. I was able to adjust
the volume using both the car;s and iPod's volume controls. I was
really fearful when I finally pushed the eject button. I was afraid
that the adapter might not come out, but it did. After I did my
shopping, I used the adapter a second time and ejected it a second
time when I got back home.

If my memory is correct, Phillips/Norelco is the company that
originally invented the cassette and cassette recorder. I think their
little adapter is going to serve my requirements. I am not listening
to music. I just want to be able to listen to podcasts and audio books
in my car.

Me and My iPod

Last July I bought an iPod. I was not caught up in the iPod craze. I
had no desire to pay 99 cents and download songs from the iTunes Music
Store. My reason for buying the iPod was that it seemed to be the
cheapest device available to use to back up photos from my digital
camera while traveling. I bought the little photo adapter and tested
the picture transfer from my camera to the iPod. It worked quite well.

When I installed the iPod software on my computer, I was forced to
install iTunes. I had heard about podcasts in the news. For the most
part they are free. There is a section in the iTunes Music Store that
allows you to subscribe to podcasts which can be transferred to the
iPod. I decided to sample a few. I soon began to find links to
podcasts on all of the major news sites such as CNN, CBS, MSNBC, ABC,
PBS and NPR. I learned how to copy and paste the podcast URL's into
iTunes and subscribe through the advanced features. I also found
podcasts for a number of technology programs from CNET and Leo
LaPorte, who used to host Call for Help on Tech TV. Rick Steves, who
has a travel show on PBS, also has a podcast that I like.

Now I listen to podcasts all of the time. I found that I could attach
my iPod to my Bose Wave Radio that I have in my bedroom. If I am
fighting a bout of insomnia, I will listen to the podcasts in the
middle of the night. I take my iPod with me to doctors' offices to
help kill the time while I am waiting. I have been looking for a device
that will allow me to play my iPod through my car's stereo. Acura is
now offering an option with a built in iPod connector in their current
models. I may just wait until I get a new car because the reviews of
the devices that would work with my current car are not encouraging.

This afternoon I will download Meet the Press, Face the Nation and
This Week and create a playlist for the Sunday talk shows. The nice
thing about listening to them on the iPod is that the commercials have
been stripped from them. A show that takes 30 minutes to watch on TV
takes only 20 minutes on the iPod without commercials.

Here is a link to a bigger view of the iTunes screen that shows my
subscribed podcasts: iTunes Screen Capture

Update

It was a busy week. I had quite a few tasks to contend with, but I am moving forward. Efficient Systems gave my air conditioner the spring check. The technician said everything was within normal limits, and the duct work and insulation in the attic were in good shape. I encouraged him to document his comments in his report. The realtors said it would be helpful to have those reports to show prospective buyers.

 

Yesterday there was an incident at the doctor's office that was quite disconcerting. My appointment was at 8:15. I got there a few minutes before eight. About 8:20 I talked to a man who was in the waiting area when I arrived. He was waiting for the same doctor that I was. A few minutes later I saw him over at the drinking fountain. I looked away. Then I heard a thud. The woman who was sitting near me screamed. I looked over and said, "what is the matter?" She said that man collapsed. I was sitting with my back to the reception area. I looked back, and the man who I had talked with earlier was flat on his back on the floor. The receptionist was yelling that he did not have a pulse. The nurses came running out. Someone was yelling to get my doctor and call 911. The next time I looked his head was propped up. They got an IV started and put an oxygen mask on him. It was only two or three minutes until the Beaumont Fire Rescue squad showed up. My doctor's staff turned the man over to the emergency medical team. They worked on the man for quite some time and finally put him on a stretcher and took him to the hospital. I was quite impressed with the rapid response from EMS.

 

Needless to say I had an extended wait before I saw my doctor. I was there to get the results of the bone density test. He had good news and bad new. My spine has improved, but the hip bones are worse. That is not good. I reminded him that both my grandmothers and my mother had broken hips. He said I should have a blood test to check the calcium level. I had another wait over in the lab for them to draw blood.

 

I told my doctor about my upcoming move. He was unable to recommend a doctor in Frisco. He asked why I was moving. I told him about the new Del Webb community. He said he used to live in Phoenix and was very familiar with the Sun Cities. He just congratulated me on the move. I was relieved that I did have to listen to any more comments that make me feel decrepit. He gave me an additional 30 day prescription to have on hand just in case I have any problems with the mail order prescription service when I am changing addresses.

 

I went by Goodwill and dropped off more items. I went through the kitchen on Thursday and started on the coat closet. I will finish the coat closet today and start on the cabinets in the utility room. I am going to miss the cabinets in the utility room. The new house just has a single open shelf over the washer and dryer.

I Am Mad

One fateful day last December I was transfigured from being a young healthy adult and put in a new category known as "the elderly." That fateful day was my sixty-fifth birthday. I found out I was elderly the other day when I read a news article about young active adults ages 21-64 and the elderly, 65 and over. One day made a big difference. I bet even Harry Potter would be amazed at my sudden change.

 

Perhaps I am being overly sensitive, but I am angered by the reaction I am getting from some people when I tell them about my upcoming move to a Del Webb retirement community. I think the word retirement brings up visions of assisted living. No people, I am not toddling off to the old folks home. I am buying a nice, regular house in an extremely nice community that is going to provide many activities and amenities that normal housing developments do not have.

 

A realtor referred to my house as my "unit". My eye doctor's nurse called to say that my eye doctor did not know of a doctor to recommend in Frisco. She suggested that I consult with my "director" when I get settled. I showed pictures of the furnished model home to my hairdresser, and she asked if mine was going to have furniture like that. Geez!

 

My father started researching Sun City when he neared retirement age. I did not want my parents to leave Kansas City which I still considered home even though I had not lived there for many years. In 1980 they visited Sun City West and stayed in the vacation villas. I joined them at the vacation villa a few days after they had arrived. I was really dismayed to learn that they had signed the sales contract without giving me a chance to add my two cents. However, it did not take long; but after I began to grasp the meaning of the Del Webb lifestyle, I decided that I wanted to retire at 55 and move to Sun City.

 

I did retire at age 55, but I kept putting off moving. I kept thinking about visiting Sun City Texas outside of Austin but did not find the motivation to go visit. Last August I read about the upcoming Frisco Lakes community in Frisco, Texas, in the Dallas area. On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita blew into Beaumont and gave me the motivation I needed to make the move.

 

Well now that I have written this I feel better. I am not going to slug any of my friends and acquaintances when they make unenlightened remarks. I will try to tactfully inform them about the new lifestyle that I am adopting.

Nostalgia

This morning I drove over to Gateway Shopping Center and donated the Artari computer system to Goodwill. I had not been to that shopping center in years. I first moved to Southeast Texas in 1968. That was before Parkdale Mall was built. Gateway was the primary shopping area. The White House was the closest Beaumont had to a department store. The White House is still there, but it no longer resembles its former self. The store used to carry relatively high-quality merchandise. Now it is closer to the bargain barn category. I moved to Southeast Texas from Ohio in November. I had a brand new wool coat and was very disappointed that the weather was not cold enough for me to wear it. Gateway Shopping Center had palm trees planted in the median strips in the parking lot. I was not used to seeing palm trees. Today I looked, and the palm trees are no longer there.

 

Now the primary shopping area of Beaumont is around Parkdale Mall. That is where I go to run my errands. I rarely go east of the freeway. Today I looked around and saw how run down the area around Gateway looks. It is depressing. I am really glad that I have decided to move to Frisco where everything is new. Frisco is attracting the latest and the greatest in the way of shopping. It will be a real treat to get out and explore the area.

 

After I came back home, I went through the drawers in the coffee table and end tables. I also went through another cabinet in the living room, and the TV console. I got rid of all the old VCR tapes that I had used for recording TV shows. The china buffet had one drawer where I had my old kitchen calendars. Instead of throwing out last year's calendar I would put it in that drawer. The calendars had pretty pictures that I thought I might want someday. I really am going to try and do better in my new home and not let things accumulate. I think I had similar thoughts when I last moved in 1987.

More Painful Tasks Accomplished

Yesterday I resumed the sorting and eliminating in a small way. When I retired, I purchased a travel wardrobe. There were pants, skirts, jumpers, vests, shorts, jackets and T-tops. Everything was either black or teal blue. I could mix and match the outfits. Those clothes traveled the world. Two years ago I bought a new travel wardrobe. My mother would tell me "waste not, want not" and "you might need that someday--don't be so quick to throw it out". My mother was usually very wise, and I followed her advice most of the time. However, I feel like she did me a disservice when she ingrained a reluctance to part with my belongings in me. Now I am suffering. I packed up the old travel clothes and took them to Goodwill.

 

Goodwill runs a computer store at Gateway Shopping Center. I called them up and asked them if they would be interested in my old Atari computer outfit. I was relieved to hear they will be happy to get it. The lady told me they are in the old Oshman's store. She said I could drive around to the loading dock in back and ring the buzzer. Someone will help me unload my car. I had forgotten how much Atari stuff I had. In addition to the 64k computer, there were two floppy disk drives, a 300 baud modem, two joy sticks, a numeric keypad, a monitor, an auxiliary box that allowed me to attach a printer and  an Epson dot-matrix printer. There was a copy of Visicalc for Atari. Visicalc was the first spreadsheet program and preceded Lotus 1-2-3. There was a database program, a word processor, and a graphics program. There were cartridges for Atari basic, and cartridges for several games such a Pacman and Ms Pacman. The money that I spent on that stuff would buy two of the finest computers on the market today. I had a lot of fun with it and learned a great deal about computers so it cannot be considered a complete waste.

 

Getting rid of the Atari computer nearly finishes the last bedroom upstairs. At least as I go through the first floor I will not be going up and downstairs as I carry things out to the car.

 

I have checked the price of bubble wrap at Lowes and Wal-Mart. I bought a couple of rolls of bubble wrap at Wal-Mart. I found a place on the Internet that sells moving cartons and supplies. They sent me a catalog. I checked Sam's Club and found they have rolls of bubble wrap and cartons and appear to have the best prices. I intend to go to Sam's Club next week and will see if they have the bubble wrap and boxes at the Beaumont store. When I finish the the sorting and eliminating, I intend to start packing my figurines, crystal and china.

 

Del Webb has a 60-day window in the sales contract to complete the house. I will be moving between July 15 and September 15. As far as I am concerned, the sooner the better. The temperature is already in the eighties. The Gulf of Mexico did not get a chance to cool sufficiently this winter. I am afraid that we may start to see tropical activity before the official start of hurricane season. I still have more work to do in the garage. I wish I had finished it before I started inside the house. It is going to be very warm in the garage. Also I did not paint my patio furniture. Maybe I can hire a handyman to do it for me in Frisco.

 

I have been searching the Internet for information on moving companies. I found one article that came from Consumers Union about moving in Texas that scared me silly. It was written in 1997 and hopefully the situation has improved. I called the Texas Department of Transportation to check on the complaint record of my first choice mover. The lady I talked to told me to check out a website called movingscam.com. I found a discussion forum on that site that seems to have a wealth of current information. I called a manager in the HR department of the company from which I retired to see if they were keeping any statistics on moving companies. They have outsourced the employee moves to a relocation service. He told me he was pleased with the company that moved him from the Beaumont area to the Houston area last year. He gave the name of an Allied agent in Houston that I had not heard of. When I looked them up, their web-site said they specialized in Houston-Dallas moves.

Taking It Easy

I am feeling guilty because I did not accomplish any of the tasks that I must do before my move. My arm, shoulder and neck still hurt, but I do think the rest is helping. I ordered the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD from Amazon.com. I watched it yesterday morning. I did not see the movie when it was in the theaters. I was amazed to see how big the actors have grown since the last movie. The fifth movie is in production now. By the time the final movie is released the actors will probably have children of their own who are old enough to play the parts.

 

I am reading Ludlum's The Cry of the Halidon. I bought all of his books. This is the third one. I also read The Scarlatti Inheritance and The Osterman Weekend. I am hoping that his newer novels will be better. I liked the Bourne movies and thought I would enjoy his books. The first three books are all right, but I cannot list them among my favorites.  

More Update

A couple of people have told me they would like to see the floorplan of the house I am buying. Frisco Lakes is having their public grand opening today. I noticed the website, Frisco Lakes, has been updated and has all the latest information. The floorplan for my house is here: Walden Floorplan.

 

On Thursday I had the bone density test. I have an appointment to see my doctor on this coming Friday to find out the results. I have been taking Actonel for over three years so hopefully my bone density will show some improvement.

 

Yesterday I went to the driver's license office and got my license renewed. My license did not expire until the end of the year; but after I got the good report on my eyes, I wanted to go in person and take the eye exam. I passed the test without my glasses. For the first time in my life my driver's license does not have the corrective lenses restriction.