Cold

The New England weather is living up to its reputation of "If you don't like it, wait a few minutes."  The cold and snowy weather that we had in Boston over the weekend has given me a cold.  I hate having colds when I have a million things to do.

It's tough being organized when so many things are out of my control.

I feel sad about the three celebrities that passed away over the weekend(see previous entry).

My computer is still not fixed yet (another thing beyond my control).  I wish I could have more free time to work on my blog and my two websites.  The public library only allows one hour per day.  I can't get here everyday.  (In case you're wondering, I'm at the Copley Square Boston Public Library this time, not the one in Allston.)

Now, I have to spend this week nursing my cold.

Farewell, Guys

Rest in peace:

Don Knotts

Darren McGavin

Dennis Weaver

 

You'll be missed by all of us.

Need a New Hard Drive!

This morning, I had a employee for Computer Geeks examine my Mac.  He figured out in less than 30 minutes that it needed a new hard drive.  The old one is useless.

So, it looks like I'll be visiting the Public Library more in the next week while he finds me a new hard drive.  Most likely, it will be next weekend when he will be able to install it into my Mac.  He also will be upgrading the OS system to the most current version that's out there now.

Once everything is in working order, I'll be able to search the Internet for news stories about Asperger's Synrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder and Sleep Apnea.

I got my fingers crossed now.  That's why it's hard to type this entry.

Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For!

I've been looking around for someone to repair my eMac at home and have to at least two places I can call to set up an appointment.  I have been busy with other things like grocery shopping and jury duty in the last couple of days.

I went to jury duty today at the Suffolk Superior Courthouse in Boston.  It's the fourth time in the last 12 years that I've been summoned.  I didn't get placed on a jury like the last two times (1997 and 2001).  They let us leave at 2:30 pm.  I've been walking around seeing the sights at Downtown Crossing and Quincy Market before I headed to Copley Place.  I'm at the Boston Public Library now checking my e-mails once again.

Now, I need to figure out when will be a good time to have someone come over and fix my computer in the next few days.  I have things to do on Thursday and Saturday night.  Friday looks promising if I get someone over to my condo to work on my computer.

Stay tuned.

Being a Struggling Writer is Tough!

Here I am stuck at the public library in Allston.  I would rather be at home using my eMac surfing the Internet and writing articles so that I can paste onto this blog and other writer's forums that I am with to get noticed.  Just my luck that first my telephone line broke down for more than a month and then my eMac computer goes bonkers on me when I hooked it up to a DSL modem.  Now, I face the task of getting it fixed, which is something I can't do on my own.

When I was pursuing a career in broadcasting, I was all alone many times.  Finding the right help and advice was difficult because everyone was on my case about experience.  The fact is that I couldn't get experience because no one would hire me.  Sometimes, I couldn't get feedback from people who interviewed me for jobs in both radio and television.  All the while I was an undiagnosed person with Asperger's Syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disorder, and Sleep Apnea.  The sad fact that no one noticed that I had these disorders in me.  They always assumed that I was either egotistical or obnoxious.  The truth was I had no idea what they thought of me during the interview.  How could I know?  Theory of Mind doesn't work when you have Asperger's Syndrome.

Now, I am pursuing another profession, and I am alone once again with problems.  There's no one I can call at 3:00 am for help.  I always have to call for help when it's when they are available and that might take a few weeks or months.

Still Can't Find Anyone To Help Out with My Mac

I spent the past week going back and forth with my building manager, who always promised me that he would help me if I had any problems, with carrying my eMac to my Mustang.  First, he said he would get his son to help.  Then the next night he said he would come and help me carry it down to the car.  When I got home from work on Tuesday and Wednesday, he and his son were nowhere to be seen.  Thursday, I found him at his condo, but he whined about his "delicate" back.  Then he said that I should ask one of my neighbors who lives on my floor for help with the computer.  Why didn't he tell me this on Monday night?

I went to my neighbor's door on Thursday night, but he wasn't home.  I didn't bother on Friday to ask because I was feeling under the weather.  Today is Saturday and I have other things to do.  I found 41 e-mails waiting for me when I got to the Public Library this afternoon in Allston. 

Lucky Me!

And Now My Mac Won't Work!

It seems my bad luck never seems to end.  Right after I made my last blog entry on Tuesday night, my Mac computer froze and would not reboot.  I called my phone company to see if the DSL was causing the trouble.  It turns out that it's not.  It's something inside the Mac.

I called Apple during work on Wednesday and the person I talked to said he would e-mail it to me.  Since I have an old Mac Performa at my condo and the telephone line is working again, I said that I would use the Performa to retrieve the e-mail.

Because I had other things to do on Wednesday and Thursday night this week, it was on Friday night when I had my chance to use my old Mac Performa.  I got on AOL with no problem.

Unfortunately, the computer crashed.  When I restarted it, the moniter screen went black.  It looks like the bulb went out on it.  I've had that computer for almost nine years.  I wouldn't be able to see anything on the old Performa so I called Apple again.

The technician walked me through some things with my modern Mac in order to restart it.  Unfortunately, that didn't help.  So the technician told me to bring it in to a nearby Apple store for repair.

Today, I wasn't able to get my building manager to lift that heavy eMac computer to my car so it's likely that I'll have to bring it in for repair sometime next week.

So my struggle to be a successful writer with Asperger's Syndrome continues...

I Got My DSL!

I installed my DSL tonight.  It's great!  Everything is loading faster than normal!  I don't have to wait endlessly for a webpage to load. 

I've finally moved into the 21th Century.

Virginia is Seeking Tuition Help

Senate Bill 545 in Virginia is a measure to help pay tuition for students with disabilities who want to go to special needs private schools.  A senate panel rejected it by one vote, but the bill's sponsor, Senator Walter A. Stosch (R-Henrico), vows to fight for it.

The Washinton Post article, Va. Tuition Help Sought for Disabled Students, by Rosalind S. Helderman has more information about this.

We Need More Schools Like This One!

Trinity school is located in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The pupils are children with disabilities.  Each class is small.  The teachers pay attention to their sensory needs and what helps them learn new things.

It's all detailed in The Cincinnati Enquirer's article called Disabilities Are What Pupils Have In Common by Denise Smith Amos.

I wish I went to school like that when I was little.

Coretta Scott King - RIP

Another Civil Rights Heroine has passed away.  Coretta Scott King was 78 years old when she passed away in Mexico while recovering from recent health problems.  She was the widow of Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King.  After her husband's assassination, Mrs. King continued his work.  She'll be missed by many.

It was here in Boston when Coretta Scott was attending school at the Boston Conservatory of Music.  Then, she met Boston University student Martin Luther King, and they became a couple very quickly.  The rest of their story is history.

Back In The Saddle Again!

My telephone line is working again.  It turns out that the phone company I used to be with connected the wires in my condo's telephone room incorrectly.  Thankfully, the repair man from the new phone company that I am with fixed things up. 

And now I have tons of e-mails to go through.

Next week, I start using DSL.  First, I have to look at the CD the new phone company gave me to figure out how to install it.

Will The Ground Hog fix my Telephone line?

I'm at the Boston Public Library at Copley Square once again, checking my e-mails.  I tried to get the new phone company I just signed with last week to fix my phone line last night, but that plan didn't work.  The technician was supposed to show up between 4 pm and 8 pm.  My building manager was home during that time to let him in, but after 8 pm came and went he had to go out to do errands.  I was home by that time and called the new phone company using the building manager's cellphone  to ask them where the technician was.  The telephone rep told me that he left for my cond at 7:43 pm.

"But it's now 8:15 pm!  Where is he?" I asked as I talked to her.  She explained that they couldn't contact the technician while he was on the road working because they have no cell phones.

I called today and learned that he did come to my condo building just before 9 pm, but he didn't see my sign on the front door of the building and just called my manager's home phone number.  So, I had to schedule a repair time for a Saturday morning because they can send someone on Saturday.  The old phone company would never send anyone on Saturday to my place at all.  That's why I switched phone companies.

Now, I have to hold my breath until Saturday.  I only wish the Ground Hog could fix tomorrow.