Thursday, September 08, 2022

Thanks, friends, for asking about my recent physical injury status.

Last week, I fell from my horse, dumped by a suddenly-slipping saddle. I landed hard on my back’s right side, in a rockless spot, and luckily, had a riding companion who helped me onto my feet, resaddled my horse, and led the horses and me to our rig. Although in pain and some shock, I managed to walk. Fortunately, the accident occurred relatively near the trailhead.

After receiving an official “cracked rib” diagnosis and a supply of painkillers, I wished to continue my cashiering work in a supermarket. The store’s managers gave me permission to experiment with pain levels and I practiced. All went well; I’m still working.

Not much can “help” a cracked rib; it simply has to heal, which takes about six weeks. Activities requiring support from my core (like sitting down and rising up, getting into and out of bed [or a vehicle], and similar moves) cause either consistent or stabbing pains.

I’m no medicine-taker but am using painkillers. They don’t erase discomfort but help by reducing pain. Enough for me to take care of my large animals and do my supermarket job.

The status is that I’m functional and healing. I’m being forced into patience about what’s possible physically and mentally. By reducing physical activities, I’m shifting toward the “head-tripping” areas, like photography, editing, and writing.

Dear Friends: More will come from attention shifting; it’ll be good. Diana

Wednesday, September 07, 2022

The computer I have ordered is a droid laptop. to replace my Apple desktop. Earlier, as this year began, I changed to Apple from a lifetime of working exclusively on droids. Changing was an experiment, and these nine months of using all Apple components (including a watch, tablet, and cellphone) have been disappointing.

People I know and trust who are “into Apple” swear by the products. I’ve been influenced and understand why. Apple items, cool and attractive, offer fun options.

None of my Apple products still work correctly. The cellphone and watch batteries regularly fade and shut down before a day completes. My computer quickly drops its wifi connections and needs multiple shutdowns and restarts for it to recapture wifi. Completing my internet work becomes wearing and time-consuming.

Last week, a closing chapter to my Apple life occurred when I fell off my horse. I landed hard and solidly, cracked a rib, and incurred serious bruising. An Apple Watch is supposed to react to its wearer’s fall by detecting and confirming an occurrence and offering assistance. Last week, my watch didn’t notice my falling and landing.

So, this begins my Goodby to Apple, Hello to Droid. Once my new computer has proved satisfactory, I will start searching for a dependable droid smartwatch and phone.

From all I’ve heard, seen, and read, my disappointment with Apple products is unusual. Apple folks love their equipment, and so it’s with apologies to those of Apple Persuasion that I move to different possibilities.

Dear Friends: The internet and wifi have become mightily-needed resources. Diana

Tuesday, September 06, 2022

I have ordered a new computer capable of designing and editing complex graphics.

For years, finding a machine that’s able to accommodate the complete Photoshop editing package has been on my mind. I’ve ordered a laptop designed to provide all I want.

I’m an amateur photographer who’s still learning about that hobby and its associated processes. I can identify a good image and also understand what makes it so. Often, not-so-good captures have more potential than a glance or two might offer. I have wished to work with the not-so-goods and make them better or even special.

The most complete editing package available is Photoshop. It’s huge and calls for a powerful operating computer to produce high-end graphics.

I’m just beginning to shoot scenes with a new camera. It’s capable of offering more than I know how to use, a potential that invites exploring. Shooting is one part of producing images. Another is doing more with the camera’s images, from adjusting lighting to rearranging entire scenes and creating outcomes akin to art.

Achieving great images is my long-shot plan. I’m a relative beginner, accustomed to holding a camera and pointing and shooting. Finally, I’m investing in a long-term dream.

I’ll update my progress, and hopefully before long, may display artful images here.

Dear Friends: An evolving dream for thirty-plus years, and soon a new reality. Diana

Monday, September 05, 2022

Happy Labor Day! This named date has a specific historical significance, but to me, it primarily marks when potato salad ends, and potato soup begins.

Now the Central Oregon weather is cooling. These nights, I enjoy sleeping under a blanket. Through a window, I can see the over-half-full, beautiful September moon.

Our Pacific Northwest has come through another too dry summer and already nearby fires have broken out. It’s a worrisome possibility of spontaneous wildfires.

In my part-time work as a supermarket checker, I listen to citizens. These days, I hear a focus on wildfires. There are focuses on vigilance and confidence in local firefighters having solid experience and equipment.

I love that September initiates a string of nearly three months of beautiful weather. This period is about cool colors, birds and trees, breezes and shadows, moons and night lights, chopped wood, and fired-up hearths.

All that’s what Labor Day means to me.

There’s steady evidence that this Holiday’s true significance is evolving. Technologies have changed working places, equipment styles, job opportunities, and workers’ paths to learning. Today’s working-age population views work as differing vastly from those of our earlier-times heroes. Their right to unionize was a high achievement that remains essential.

Today, with hot dogs, chips, and beer, we celebrate earlier American workers and their hard-won right to unionize. In the time ahead are bound to be multiple new reasons for having a Labor Day and considering it special.

Dear Friends: Time changes, and changes evolve; only moments may offer static. Diana

Sunday, September 04, 2022

Last Friday, after leaving Urgent Care with a “cracked rib” diagnosis, I went to my part-time employer, a supermarket, and met with its managers. I explained my injury and asked to continue working, by experimenting to assess my pain levels. I could test my ability to cashier actively, by performing work from left to right or vice versa. They agreed to let me experiment by using cash registers that face either north or south.

Yesterday, the store took good care of me. I could choose registers and experiment. I could have taken more breaks, or stopped and gone home for time off. It happened that in both directions, I worked efficiently.

That morning, I had taken a careful dose of narcotic, to ease pain and not interfere with cognizance. I remained, while working, aware of discomfort but it didn’t rule.

So, having figured things out, I will continue actively working as a cashier. Much better than hanging around the house and thinking about my sore ribcage.

The best now is the ability to refocus my energies and do what’s pleasurable. Understanding my back pain more frees me for better things, like reading fiction and practicing with my new camera.

Dear Friends: Our human attributes include the capability of living with pain. Diana

Saturday, September 03, 2022

It’s a good morning.

Yesterday, at Urgent Care, I learned that there’s a crack in one of my ribs. That explains the intense pain hounding me after my saddle slid, and I fell off my horse.

Just a note to say all’s good today. I’m choosing to go to work and running late.

I will explain more tomorrow.

Dear Friends: Thanks for your concerns and offers to help as needed. Diana

This will be short as my plans for today have changed.

Through no fault of my horse or myself, the saddle I was riding suddenly slipped sideways, dumping me onto the ground. Fortunately, I landed in an area with a brush and no rocks. Plus, I was not riding alone and had assistance.

Earlier today, I called out from work. I am ambulatory, but moving does cause pain in my lower right-side back. I will go to urgent care for a look-over.

I can handle routine chores at home, so don’t need help. I want Urgent Care to explain the source of my pain and want to return quickly to my part-time job, which requires some physical strength.

It was a fluky incident. I had been riding for some time before the saddle, without any warning at all, suddenly turned. I slipped off and completely free from my horse, a good girl, she stopped and waited.

Also, I have been taking pictures with my new camera. It represents new technology and is cool to use with amazing potential. Ahead for me is practicing, with a big learning curve and the fun of achieving.

Dear Friends: All’s well; being cautious, and planning to semi-retire that saddle. Diana

I have a new camera that is challenging to learn. Buttons of various sizes cover its outsides; its programming options resemble Greek.

This camera is a Lumix G9. A mirrorless version, more complicated than any of my previous cameras.

I’m a point-and-shot photographer interested in capturing wild birds, my dogs at play, and anything else catching my attention. I need a camera capable of instant focusing, distance shooting, and action-stopping. These are technologies I’ve enjoyed in larger cameras. Compared to the new Lumix, my older capable cameras are bulkier and heavier to carry.

I can’t say how many more advantages I may discover while becoming accustomed to a modern mirrorless device. I’m trying to learn its possibilities by studying online videos. Endless videos describe the Lumix’s attributes and explain how to adjust its settings. Unfortunately, since I’m not technologically savvy, the hours I’ve spent learning are only the beginning.

I have settled on three initial goals. First is learning how to set the Lumix for simple, straightforward shooting. Next is going outside and practicing. My third is for tomorrow, posting a header photo from this camera.

Dear Friends: Think good thoughts for an easy path into modern technology. Diana

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

I’m about halfway through Ozeik’s 2021 novel. It’s a very creative, tightly interwoven work. Her style of writing fiction is fresh in that it both entertains and enlightens. The book is popular, is a candidate for the Bookings Prize, and has been reviewed frequently.

Ozeki is a Zen Buddhist priest; she teaches writing at Smith College. Her story in this book is influencing me, while reading, to pause and consider many elements surrounding me more deeply. For example, while following the plot and characters, I also think about the influences on their evolvements (and the same effects on myself!), such as the sky, earth, and various seemingly inanimate objects.

The novel is a brilliant work of fiction. It’s definitely no lecture but a story that can teach quietly and has the power to open a reader’s mind to unexpected senses. I find myself pausing and, in a larger sense, “feeling the book” in my hands and variations of light in my reading area and even the furniture near me.

Zen, indeed! I’m no Zen person, yet I’m discovering a high enjoyment of this novel and its influence on my state of being while reading. Perhaps an inspiration to write this suggests that, beyond actual reading moments, my overall awareness is expanding. Hopefully, that’s so.

Dear Friends: In today’s environment, quiet moments and awareness are pleasurable. Diana

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

On Sunday evening, in a Safeway Market near my home, a twenty-year-old male became an active shooter, Using an AK15 Rifle, he murdered a shopper and a store worker before killing himself. For everybody it was awful. For we who are employed by grocers, it was devastating.

I was disturbed upon learning what happened. That night I couldn’t sleep. On Monday morning I was considering quitting my job in a large, busy supermarket. Its many cash registers typically have lines of customers waiting to be checked out and eager to get going.

I’m a checker who handles those lines. My work is physical, fast, and labor intensive. It’s also mental, requiring alertness to codes, quantities, and prices. A checker also handles money accurately.

Checkers staying busy and focused can’t also keep an eye on what’s happening in the store’s larger areas. Retail store spaces are designed to maximize displays and minimize theft. There are few, if any, hiding places. I often wonder how to protect myself if an active shooter suddenly appears; there are no good answers. That’s been so in the various retail settings I’ve worked in throughout my almost twenty years in Central Oregon.

Yesterday, I went to work, finding some co-workers more distraught than myself. Especially those who had found and read the Safeway Shooter’s online diary. It was full of hatred, anger, self-pity, and his plans to shoot-up a nearby high school on August 8; but unable to wait, he hit Safeway.

Until grocery leadership finds how to ensure safety from random shooters, their employees are sitting ducks to high-powered weapons.

Today, I will go to work, still thinking about the pros and cons of risky exposure. Until Saturday night, mass shootings happened elsewhere. Now, that’s not so, and sadly, grocery stores equally are vulnerable as schools.

Dear Friends: America must control weapons selling, fabricating, and ownership. Diana