Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Good news, Bad news, Good news

I had two things on my list for today.

 1) call 529 NY Saves to straighten out my on-line account.  After getting a message to log in, I was unable to do so due to a "password" problem, even though I signed in a week or so ago. The message said I was "locked out" & I would have to call. I was planning to call them realizing I might be on the phone a while.

2) Work on my NY/HELP annual report for the NY Conference.

Second things first.  I worked on finishing the annual report, read it over again & made a few small changes.  Then I printed it out to see how it looked & then sent it to the NY Conference.  It is due by Friday, so I am under the wire.  Good News!

Then I looked & found another email from 529 saying "Account Confirmation Available" and suggesting I sign in.  When I tried to do so, it again said my password was wrong and I would have to call.  Bad News.

Okay, I called, and actually got an answer fairly quickly.  After a couple of moments, it seemed my Long-in name had changed & the agent read me the current log-in.  I didn't remember changing it, but I tried, but still didn't get in.  She sent me a temp password, which I worked on changing.  After trying my previous (though new) password & being told I had to actually CHANGE the password, I edited it.  Then, it took me a couple tries to get it typed correctly twice.  Now, however, all is good!
Good News.

Okay, one more thing for my list today.  3) Work on finishing editing the next newsletter for NY/HELP and sending it to NY Conference for them to send out using their mass e-mail list.  I might not get it finished today, as I am putting together 3 reports plus adding pictures that were taken on the trip in March; but it will be ready before the end of the week.

Now I feel more relaxed.

Friday, April 24, 2020

In the Midst of a Pandemic

Time is funny.  Sometimes it seems as though I'm in a time warp.  It's bad enough being retired which means I could get up at any time I'd like to & often have to think about what day it is when I get up in the morning.  But now that we are in the midst of a pandemic of COVID-19 and are not supposed to go out, except for walks or the grocery store, it's even harder to keep track of what day it is.  It's a good thing I have a calendar in my bedroom, the kitchen, & the dining room next to my computer.  It's a big help!

We are prevented from being with other people closer than 6 ft.  When I go out for a walk I might not see anyone, and surely not within 6 ft, maybe on the other side of the street.  If I do stop to talk with someone, I put on the mask I carry with me.

Church meetings are on Zoom now where we all sit at our laptops and can see everyone else at the meeting.  It works fine but isn't the same as being with someone.

We have learned (very quickly) how to conduct our church's worship services online.  We have a new pastor & one or two other "geeks" in our church who put it all together during the week & then it is on a Facebook Watch Party on Sunday morning.  They're doing a wonderful job!

Sometimes Kim will call me in the evening (mid-afternoon for her) & ask if I have the time to read a book to Calvin.  It's fun to be able to read a book to him sitting there on my laptop.  He enjoys it & I do too.

For Kim's birthday, on April 7, she said she wanted to meet with family, so we all got together on Zoom.  It was fun, really.  Not the same as actually being there, no, but ordinarily we would not be able to get together on Kim's birthday (or anyone else's) since we live so far from each other.  So that was a really good thing.  In fact, we liked it so much we did it again last Sunday afternoon!  Now they want to "meet" on my birthday, May 4.  That will be fun.  They mentioned we should all make cakes so we can all eat cake together! I am looking forward to that.

Yes, time is funny.  I just realized today that tomorrow it will be 6 months since Gordon died. How could it be?  I have trouble getting my head around that, partly due to the strange times we're in with the virus making everything so different.  I counted the months & then counted again & then once again.  Yes, it's been 6 months. Really?  Yes.  Does it seem like it's been longer, or not that long?  BOTH!

I was working on getting a "new" schedule to my life because I really have to.  Then the virus came along & since I am in the "vulnerable" age group, again I have to have a "newer" schedule.  I no longer go shopping at the grocery store.  I call in the order & later in the day they call to say my order is ready.  I go & park out front, call them to let them know I'm there & someone brings out my order & puts it in my trunk.  A nice service.