The day of the unending phone calls

[rolanni]

Intro:  I'm not getting much done today, despite a Flurry of Telephonic Activity.  At the moment, I'm waiting for a plumber, which means I can't go out to the grocery until after 5, which is when the shop closes for the day.

Also, I should find some lunch.

But!  Glad to be back at the Usual Venue.  I'll be posting my Communications from the Road as can, but -- eyes the stack of Things and Tasks still to be done -- not soon.

What went before: So, I got some stuff done, but, yanno, not All The Stuff. Tomorrow will be ... intense, involving Many phone calls, some of them likely to be, err, tense, and banking, and so forth. Also, I should probably get some food into this house.

I'm a little worried. I went outside for a little while and pulled up some things that were Definitely Not Flowers -- oh! One of the plants that was sacrificed to the Great Landscaping Project last year was the rose bush Steve gave me when we moved into this house. Today -- I found a tiny rosebush (not in the same place), which I will be watching very closely.

But that's not why I'm worried. Left-hand neighbor, who lost his wife last spring -- there's a dumpster in the driveway, and I haven't seen his car. OTOH, he works weird hours, and I haven't seen his son's car, either. He could just be clearing stuff out, or getting ready to sell, or. . .

. . . and isn't a Funny Old Thing when you see a dumpster at somebody's house and the first thing you think is that someone's died . . .

So! Tools down for the day; I'll be finding a glass of wine RSN and in good time I'll be dishing out Coon Cat Happy Hour.

#

Monday. Cool, high clouds. Tired writer is tired.

Breakfast was cottage cheese and whole wheat toast with pineapple juice, tea. I really do need to do something about getting food in the house. Later.

Called Charlie's Subaru. Service Manager "swamped," left particulars with the service shop coordinator. A call-back is promised "today."

Added to today's to-do list is playing with the toilet, always one of my favorite things to do, and the previous eighty-nine-million phone calls.

Since I suck at exercising "on my own" -- there's too much To Do! -- I am contemplating a return to Planet Fitness. If I'm going to be continuing with this Life Thing, then I need to be strong -- or as strong as I can be -- and if I need a Structure for doing that, well -- there it is.

Next on the list is to call the audiology department at Maine General and "self-refer," after that's done, the practice my PCP has joined will be open for business and I'll be able to call them -- so! much! happiness!

But for right now -- let's talk about "danger." I has been brought to my attention that I may have been foolish to have driven so far and for so many days alone and At My Age.

Now, when I was planning this trip, I did think about taking the train. Given that I wished to include Corning in my time away, this would have entailed driving to Albany, taking the train from the Rensselaer Station to New York City, changing trains, and then going on to Baltimore Penn Station, where somebody would have had to pick me up and take me to the con.

I rejected this option because the station in New York City is so vast and noisy that I simply freeze; I lose my sense of direction; I can't hear, and (by-product) I can't see; and Steve basically had to lead me by the hand to the slightly-less-noisy first class lounge, get me into a seat, and stack the luggage around me, until it was time to lead me by the hand to our train when it was time to board.

So -- Albany to Baltimore via Amtrak was right out.

I realized only today when the subject came up that I could have taken the Downeaster from Brunswick to Boston, taken a taxi across the city to South Station (always an adventure), and then taken the Acela directly to Baltimore, where someone would have had to pick me up. This would have ruled out the Corning leg of the trip. But! Maybe next time.

My point being that none of the options available to me (including, if you like, flying, which is off the table; my car doesn't randomly lose doors) was necessarily safe. Life, in fact, is not safe. What I'm looking for, I guess, is a reading on if I was irresponsible to undertake the Baltimore-New York SciFi Glassmaking Adventure.

I welcome thoughts and discussion on this topic.

Charlie's manager called back, BTW, and was suitably horrified and relieved. At his request, I emailed him the bill and notes from the Subaru dealership in Oneonta (if you're ever in need of Subaru service in Oneonta, I recommend Five Star Subaru without reservation. Tell them I sent you.), and I'll be reimbursed. My next oil change and tire rotation at Charlie's will be on the house. And -- the reason I called -- the shop will be informed and tasked with Doing Better.

So -- Monday marches on.

 

Comments

At this end of the country--

[alfreda89]

Overall, this all seems sound.

You had a plan, and you really wanted to take in the glass portion of your trip. Would not doing the driving be nice? Yes. I have to somehow to get to Austin, but then do I see if I can get a rental to pick me up at Amtrak? Like you, my car does not drop random doors. At this moment, aviation has lost my vote.

Here we are fighting the smoke pouring down from the Canadian wildfires. My day started with the obligatory antihistamines to survive local VOCs, moved on to leaving a voicemail for the senators (I suggested they talk with Senator Collins about rural medicine under strain and how slashing Medicare/caid was Not Going to Go Well For Rural Medicine) and took care of reading and decision-making. A respirator was required around 4pm as the plot and air thickened.

Since I'm at the "too many balls in the air" stage of my Venn for life, I am picking what might seem like an arbitrary location to research. My suspicion is, it might do if I moved there. Prevailing winds could solve the VOC problem. An HEVAC with air purifier system could take care of me on wildfire days. I will gain more snow, but I can buy an electric snowblower as a housewarming gift, if needed.

Since air quality and temperature rule my life it's time I re-trace the paths of the ancestors and head back north.

I could desperately use a cat, but it's not the right time for a successor.

And that is the report from the Great Lakes.

[mirlacca]

You and I are of an age, and I don't see the problem with the trip you took. The advantage of car travel is that you can choose, if you wish, to travel 600 miles in a day, or 20, and you can change your plans if you find the traffic stresses you. If your eyesight is good enough to drive and you're reasonably healthy, nertz to the critics.

I'm subject to panic attacks on freeways, and cannot drive on them (and don't do particularly well as a passenger, either), which seriously limits my opportunities. Air travel doesn't bother me--or at least it didn't until some genius decided to fire way too many air traffic controllers. Everybody's got a limit somewhere; the point is that it's not up to someone else to set them for you, if you're physically capable of doing something (and it's up to a professional who has seen you in a professional capacity to advise you of your capabilities).