Accessibility Tools

1 December 2024
Alans Journal for week 26, 2022
Alans Journal for week 26, 2022

This week another friend passed away, it seems the older we get the more regularly we begin to lose friends. RIP John, you will be missed. I do a lot of work at the computer this week, a little swimming & enjoy a concert outside my apartment.

Monday, 27th June.

I couldn't sleep last night & get up to work on my website eventually going back to sleep at around 3 am today. At about 8 am I woke again & got a coffee before going for my swim in the Mar Menor. I wear my snorkel & mask again today to make it easier to see any jellyfish I might be swimming towards. I only spot one Barrel Jellyfish & manage to steer clear of it.

As I sit on the wall drying off my cousin Jill walks past with a group of ladies who are all taking the opportunity to walk along the beachfront whilst it is still a bit cooler. We have a quick chat before she heads off with the other ladies.

After having a shower I go to the Mercadona supermarket to get a few groceries. Whilst there I see my friend Mat's fiancé Jo, I have a quick chat with her & she tries to help me find some of my shopping. We can't find what I am looking for & she suggests somewhere else for me to look. What I do see is a supplement called Memory Pro, as my memory is so bad I buy some to see if it helps me, I just have to remember to take them.

When I get home I put my shopping away & then sort out my different tablets for this month, putting them all in my monthly pill dispenser. I am short of a couple of tablets so I will go out tomorrow to get the ones I am short of.

The afternoon is spent with my feet up & relaxing.

Tuesday, 28th June.

I woke this morning with a pain in my shoulder & not wanting to aggravate it I decide against going for a swim today.

I have some old cardboard to take to the recycle bin today. I take it to the bin & also take my plastic to the recycle bin next to it. When I get home I begin tidying up my spare room, which now has my computer equipment in it. I shred a lot of old paperwork & start to sort through lots of old cables I have, some computer cables, some cables for charging phones & other cables that I no longer remember what they are for.

The keyboard on my computer has seemed to stop working & as I was unable to find out why it wasn't working, I ordered a new keyboard from Amazon.

For lunch, I have some Spanish omelette with salad & some pate. I then go & sit on my balcony & read my kindle. Sitting on the balcony with a cool breeze blowing & a cold bottle of cider was very pleasant. Stupidly because of the cool breeze I didn't think the sun was too strong & I didn't put any sun cream on & got a bit sunburnt. Whilst I was sitting on my balcony I saw the delivery lorry arrive with my new sofa & went back inside to open the door for it to be delivered. The delivery people first looked at my old sofa & made me an offer for it. I accepted the offer & they took it out to the van & brought my new furniture back in, installed it & made sure I was happy with it.

After they left I made myself some dinner, I had a chicken breast with cheese melted over it with some salad. I then lay down on my sofa & promptly fell asleep, not waking up for two hours. I guess that proves the new sofa is comfortable. This evening I have a Skype call with my sister to catch up on what she has been doing recently. I then watch a bit of television before going to bed.

Wednesday, 29th June.

I didn't sleep well last night. Probably because of the sunburn I kept waking up & eventually got up to watch some television until my eyes started to close & I began to drift off & then I went back to bed.

I woke again around 8:30, I got a coffee & logged in to my computer. strangely the keyboard was working again, I think it must have been an update that had stopped it from working temporarily. As it is now working I quickly cancel my order for a new keyboard on Amazon.

I work on my computer until lunchtime, I find some new information on my family tree on the Morris branch. I am always pleased to find more information on this branch of my family tree as it has proved more difficult to research than any other branch over the years I have been working on it. For lunch, I just have a protein shake.

This afternoon I telephone my bank in America & finally get to speak to someone who seems to know what they are doing & I can close down my account. It makes me laugh because he has to go into lots of different screens on his computer to get my address changed to my Spanish address. This is something that all the time I have lived in Spain, seven years now, they have told me cant be done. He changes the address & informs me that the outstanding balance of three dollars should be mailed to me here in Spain, I won't be holding my breath.

This afternoon I take my kindle & go for a walk to La Playa bar where I intend to read for a while, have a pint & get home to have an early night. Things don't always end up happening as you planned, I had several more beers than I ought to have, chatted with friends way too late into the night & did not have an early night.

Thursday, 30th June.

I got up late today & as soon as I got up, I got a bad cramp in my leg. I sit down at my computer & my keyboard isn't working. I have had problems with it before today but I go through a long list of checks to see if something is conflicting with it. I can't find a problem so I order a new keyboard from Amazon.

This afternoon I get a message telling me that my friend John who lived a few apartment blocks away from me has been found dead in his apartment. The bar that we both drink in put a notice on Facebook cancelling its quiz that night due to the passing of one of its customers, they didn't however give any names. Many people I know had seen the post & because the post didn't give a name, I started to get messages, phone calls & even some kind people knocking on my door to check that I was alive & that the post wasn't about me. Thank you to everyone who took the time to check on me it was very kind.

It does highlight the problem that anyone living on their own might have though. Wherever you are in the world, if you have friends or neighbours that live on their own, check on them every now & then. If the person is a creature of habit & suddenly without warning that habit is broken, just do a quick check on them to make sure they are well, it could be the difference between someone living or dying or maybe nothing at all, but that person will always be thankful for your kindness.

This evening I remove the keyboard from my computer & plug it into my laptop to see if it works on my laptop. It works straight away & when I plug it into my computer again it is working again. I figure that Microsoft has made a driver update that has fixed the problem so I quickly cancel the order for a new keyboard on Amazon.

Friday, 1st July.

I woke around 8 am today, get my coffee & sit down to do some family tree research on my computer. After working on the computer for a while the keyboard just stops working again. After trying everything I can to find the problem I unplug it & plug it into my laptop again. This time it does not work & I deduce that the keyboard itself must have an intermittent fault. I go back to Amazon & reorder the new keyboard again. It will be delivered sometime Saturday now. 

I notice that outside my apartment in the square, lighting & sound equipment is being built. I hadn't seen anything advertised but on checking the town hall Facebook page I see there are two different groups playing here tonight. I look them both up on YouTube & they both look quite good. During the day I carry on my family tree research & as the evening draws on, I can hear the groups outside setting up & doing sound checks, both sound very good & I look forward to the shows which start at 10 pm.

For tea tonight I have an almond & chicken curry with rice, it's a cheap one from Mercadona but is very tasty. Before the shows start this evening I take a couple of bottles of cider down to the square & sit on the wall watching people walk up & down the beachfront. It is a bit cooler tonight & there is a wind blowing across the Mar Menor. 

When the first group, two ladies called Kuve begin, I walk across to the stage to listen to them. They are very good, the singer has a good voice & she has a lot of energy bouncing around the stage. The second group are a male band called Nunatak & although they were very good I did prefer the two girls.

After the bands finished I went back to my apartment & sat watching a late-night film till 2 am.

Saturday, 2nd July.

I woke around 7:30 am but lay in bed until around 8:30. I finally got up as hopefully, Amazon will be delivering my new keyboard today. The morning is spent researching my family tree whilst listening to Sky's football transfer news on the television. 

The new keyboard for my computer arrives in the afternoon & I quickly plug it in to test it works. Thankfully it works straight away & I can now use my computer instead of my laptop. The computer is a lot faster than the laptop & is better for editing photos or videos, doing my research or just surfing the internet.

The evening is spent doing family tree research where I switch to some research on the Italian side of my tree & find lots more relatives in New York, USA. The different spelling of Italian surnames by the people recording the information is what makes this harder. Some surnames seem to be spelt differently every time they are written down.

Sunday, 3rd July.

I woke around 8 am & head out for a swim in the Mar Menor at about 8:45 am. I haven't swum much this week because of my aching shoulder or my leg cramping up, but I feel better again today & am eager to get going again.

I swim out to the rocks & back twice, watching all the fish as I go. Some of the fish are getting bigger now & would make a nice dinner for anyone lucky enough to catch one. I don't see any jellyfish today, which I am pleased about, last week's sting although not really painful was itchy & irritating for a few days.

After my swim, I go back to my apartment, have a shower & a shave & then weigh myself before I put some clean clothes on. I have been following the fast & feast diet for 6 weeks now & have managed to follow it quite well apart from a couple of times when I have been out for a meal in the evening or for a drink during my normal fasting period. I have lost weight, not a lot, only about 1.5 kg but I have lost 5 cm from around my waist & 5 cm from around my hips, my chest has increased by 1 cm even though my man boobs appear to be getting smaller.  

I have a coffee & a protein shake for breakfast & settle down at my computer for a few hours of family tree research before going out for Sunday dinner later. 

I took the Sharky mobile to Campbell's bar & had a lamb roast dinner today, as always it was very good. On the way home I stopped at the Mercadona supermarket for some, bananas, ice cream & milk. When I got home I fell asleep in front of a boring film & woke up to see the end of the Formula 1 race. I only saw the last 20 laps but they were quite good. There had been a big crash at the start of the race but I didn't see it, luckily the people involved were released from the hospital later in the day.

This evening I walk along to La Playa bar to listen to Diana sing & to remember my friend John who died earlier this week. As I was sitting in the bar waiting for Diana to sing John´s favourite song, my phone rang, my neighbours had locked themselves out & wanted me to go home to give them their spare key. I told them I would be back as soon as I could after John's memorial song. Shortly after, Shellie said a few words & Diana with John's friends, joining in, sang Swing Low Sweet Chariot, in memory of John.

When the singing had finished I finished my beer & toasted my friend's memory before walking back to my apartment to let my neighbours into their apartment. I then sat down in front of the television for the remainder of the evening & watched Saturday Night Fever, one of my favourite films. 

I will end this week remembering my friend Norwegian John, this video is for you my friend, RIP John.

0
Shares