Mathru School for the Differently-AbledThursday, 12/26/2013
I'm better today, but woke up tired. Night-time coughing jags are not conducive to restful sleep. Even so, I do feel a bit more chipper.
One of the things that made me feel better this morning was an email from Andy, from Changi Airport in Singapore. He was waiting for his connecting flight to Hong Kong, and wrote some of his last impressions of Bangalore:
Am in Changi Airport waiting for connection. … Was interesting that at Bengaluru Airport in Bangalore, one cannot even get through the terminal front doors to the ticket counter without showing passport and proof of travel (printed itinerary ok). Had about 20 min wait at counter but then went quickly. Interestingly at security, they have separate lines for men and women.
I saw a two-story McDonald's on the way to Bengaluru Airport - first one I've ever seen. Route to airport is a hodgepodge of going on and off the new flyway in sections where it is done and not done, but at least I got to the right terminal. It really is an embarrassing highway for a city as large as Bangalore. Love ya and will be back in touch soon.
Mary here again … now Linda and I will know what to expect when we catch our flights to Sri Lanka and Hong Kong out of Bangalore.
I can't complain about the care they are giving me here. Kamashi wanted to give me another all-over Vick's VapoRub treatment but I was obstinate (albeit pleasantly so) that I will get that stuff ONLY on my throat during the day. It felt wonderful last night and helped me drop right off to sleep, but I hate the way it makes me feel sticky all over. And they've assigned a kid -- I think it's Muktha's son but not sure -- to pop in every few hours.
"Ma'am??" he tugs my sleeve and holds up the little jar with his other hand. "Vick's." It's amazing how assertive a seven-year-old kid can be with a jar of Vick's VapoRub. They oughta hire him.
He won't leave until he sees me rub it on my throat, and wants me to rub it across my forehead and cheeks too, but I laugh and tell him "No no, only night-time on face!" It's a good thing I'm bigger than he is because otherwise I'm not sure I'd win this argument.
The VapoRub, the meds and the naps all seem to be working, as I really am feeling better this afternoon.
In between naps I've been busy cleaning and organizing my living space. God love the guy, and I sure do too, but Andy is a clutter-monger. I've always said that if he croaks before I do, I'll be devastated, but I'll also be delighted to throw a whole bunch of stuff away.
I didn't throw anything away, I just put it all away. Without all of Andy's stuff around, all of a sudden I have lots of space and room for everything. I moved one of the twin beds into the other room, and now my little bedroom is almost too big. Before there was barely room to walk between the beds and the wall to the bathroom. Now there's room for a little table next to my bed, and even an easy chair. I organized my suitcases and have them stashed under the bed and out of the way.
The "guest room" now has a bed, an easy chair, and a table with some neatly organized mosaic materials on it. Before Linda gets here in February I'll get some window coverings and maybe even a nice little rug for her.
The front room is transformed. You can actually see the tabletop now with only one computer on it, and none of all of Andy's little papers and stamps and stashes of fruits and sweets. I have room to spare on the shelves, too, and everything is neatly organized and contained in little boxes. When Divya came in to check up on me this afternoon, she laughed. "So clean!" she said.
"Yah, I miss Andy but I don't miss his mess!" I told her, and she laughed even more.
OK, some tidbits...
Today is Laura Rosten's birthday. Happy birthday, Laura!
Things I am grateful for:
Masking tape. Again. I wish I'd packed two rolls of it. I used it today to transform the beat-up shoe boxes that our sandals came in into sturdy little containers to organize and de-clutter around here. I made myself a couple toolboxes for mosaic work, too.
My little Pebble hand-held CCTV. My vision has taken a major dive since I left San Francisco -- in fact, I've been going through a significant deterioration phase for the last month before I left, and the loss is even more noticeable in an unfamiliar environment. Still, it was disconcerting to be able to see the email I wrote before I went to bed one night, and then not be able to read my emails the next day.
But the Pebble and VoiceOver have come to the rescue. I'm using VoiceOver a lot now, and with the Pebble I'm doing OK. If you're noticing more typos than usual, now you know why.
And I should make this an ode to the Helen Keller National Center and the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, not only for the Pebble but also for my MacBook too. Special thanks to Cathy Kirscher, HKNC's southwest regrional rep based in San Diego, and Kathy Abramson of the San Francisco Lighthouse, for expediting my application so that I could have the MacBook and Pebble with me here.
My Vick's kid is here, and so is my afternoon tea. I shall aumit to the Vick's, take my meds, enjoy my tea, and get in a little snooze before dinner.
Mary
I'm better today, but woke up tired. Night-time coughing jags are not conducive to restful sleep. Even so, I do feel a bit more chipper.
One of the things that made me feel better this morning was an email from Andy, from Changi Airport in Singapore. He was waiting for his connecting flight to Hong Kong, and wrote some of his last impressions of Bangalore:
Am in Changi Airport waiting for connection. … Was interesting that at Bengaluru Airport in Bangalore, one cannot even get through the terminal front doors to the ticket counter without showing passport and proof of travel (printed itinerary ok). Had about 20 min wait at counter but then went quickly. Interestingly at security, they have separate lines for men and women.
I saw a two-story McDonald's on the way to Bengaluru Airport - first one I've ever seen. Route to airport is a hodgepodge of going on and off the new flyway in sections where it is done and not done, but at least I got to the right terminal. It really is an embarrassing highway for a city as large as Bangalore. Love ya and will be back in touch soon.
Mary here again … now Linda and I will know what to expect when we catch our flights to Sri Lanka and Hong Kong out of Bangalore.
I can't complain about the care they are giving me here. Kamashi wanted to give me another all-over Vick's VapoRub treatment but I was obstinate (albeit pleasantly so) that I will get that stuff ONLY on my throat during the day. It felt wonderful last night and helped me drop right off to sleep, but I hate the way it makes me feel sticky all over. And they've assigned a kid -- I think it's Muktha's son but not sure -- to pop in every few hours.
"Ma'am??" he tugs my sleeve and holds up the little jar with his other hand. "Vick's." It's amazing how assertive a seven-year-old kid can be with a jar of Vick's VapoRub. They oughta hire him.
He won't leave until he sees me rub it on my throat, and wants me to rub it across my forehead and cheeks too, but I laugh and tell him "No no, only night-time on face!" It's a good thing I'm bigger than he is because otherwise I'm not sure I'd win this argument.
The VapoRub, the meds and the naps all seem to be working, as I really am feeling better this afternoon.
In between naps I've been busy cleaning and organizing my living space. God love the guy, and I sure do too, but Andy is a clutter-monger. I've always said that if he croaks before I do, I'll be devastated, but I'll also be delighted to throw a whole bunch of stuff away.
I didn't throw anything away, I just put it all away. Without all of Andy's stuff around, all of a sudden I have lots of space and room for everything. I moved one of the twin beds into the other room, and now my little bedroom is almost too big. Before there was barely room to walk between the beds and the wall to the bathroom. Now there's room for a little table next to my bed, and even an easy chair. I organized my suitcases and have them stashed under the bed and out of the way.
The "guest room" now has a bed, an easy chair, and a table with some neatly organized mosaic materials on it. Before Linda gets here in February I'll get some window coverings and maybe even a nice little rug for her.
The front room is transformed. You can actually see the tabletop now with only one computer on it, and none of all of Andy's little papers and stamps and stashes of fruits and sweets. I have room to spare on the shelves, too, and everything is neatly organized and contained in little boxes. When Divya came in to check up on me this afternoon, she laughed. "So clean!" she said.
"Yah, I miss Andy but I don't miss his mess!" I told her, and she laughed even more.
OK, some tidbits...
Today is Laura Rosten's birthday. Happy birthday, Laura!
Things I am grateful for:
Masking tape. Again. I wish I'd packed two rolls of it. I used it today to transform the beat-up shoe boxes that our sandals came in into sturdy little containers to organize and de-clutter around here. I made myself a couple toolboxes for mosaic work, too.
My little Pebble hand-held CCTV. My vision has taken a major dive since I left San Francisco -- in fact, I've been going through a significant deterioration phase for the last month before I left, and the loss is even more noticeable in an unfamiliar environment. Still, it was disconcerting to be able to see the email I wrote before I went to bed one night, and then not be able to read my emails the next day.
But the Pebble and VoiceOver have come to the rescue. I'm using VoiceOver a lot now, and with the Pebble I'm doing OK. If you're noticing more typos than usual, now you know why.
And I should make this an ode to the Helen Keller National Center and the San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind, not only for the Pebble but also for my MacBook too. Special thanks to Cathy Kirscher, HKNC's southwest regrional rep based in San Diego, and Kathy Abramson of the San Francisco Lighthouse, for expediting my application so that I could have the MacBook and Pebble with me here.
My Vick's kid is here, and so is my afternoon tea. I shall aumit to the Vick's, take my meds, enjoy my tea, and get in a little snooze before dinner.
Mary
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