Howdy!Welcome to The Bluelou Times! I've visited and lived in many interesting places in my young life. I've recorded many of my memories in letters I've sent to my friends. This web page archives several of those letters. This is a sample. My friends think I should be a writer. These memoirs are my first attempts at being that writer. If you like it, you can find many more just by clicking on the links to the left, right, or top of the page. You can also let me know by clicking the e-mail link below.
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In 1994, I'd sold or given away most of my worldly possessions in three weeks (truck, ATV, fridge, washer, ACs, etc.) and boarded on a plane from Atlanta to Frankfurt Germany thinking I'd made the dumbest mistake in all my life. The story of those three weeks is a tale of its' own. I decided that since I'd made my bed, I'd best sleep in it. I flew on to Istanbul and then to Ankara. I was fumbling with my luggage trying to explain to the customs agent that those were truly cooking spices. Who in their right mind would want to take drugs INTO Turkey? All the while, someone who could have easily bailed me out of this mess...was laughing at me and my traveling rummage sale. Hey, I deserved it! I'm still the world's worst traveler. This person was my then roommate and longtime buddy, Mike Veal (aka Mr. Wheel). It turned out to be the best thing I'd done and I don't regret a minute. Mike's still with my company and we stay in touch. He's been a long reader of the Bluelou Times. Believe it or not, he's been to more places than I've traveled.
As I've written before, I get my meds by mail. I narrowly missed placing my order on Saturday, so it waited until Monday. After I placed my order, I had a momentary bad premonition like the snowstorm experience getting my meds about a year ago. The package was shipped from Omaha on Thursday. On Saturday, the snow hit. Next stop was KC and then Chicago where it sat. I ran out of one of my medications. Days later, the local Walgreens came to the rescue. Was getting closer to running out of everything in the order. Blame it on the nationwide snow. After ten days, it got shipped to KC where it made six trips across the Missouri river separating Kansas and Missouri. I was exhausted just tracking the shipment. It took nineteen days to get my meds! I could have walked faster. In the summer, it took four days to make the trip. I did do an in-pharmacy pickup on the next order.
I'm not sure if it's related to snow or not. I go to the grocery store on Friday afternoon after work. The eve of the snowstorm, Wally's had no eggs and no milk the following week.
Next time you run into Bluelou, try not to stare too hard or pity him because he's gone high tech with hearing aids. Haven't been able to shake the Greece diving incident where I couldn't clear my ears rupturing the right ear drum, water in the ear, and eventually resulting tinnitus (ringing) in my right ear. A visit to two ear, nose, and throat specialists didn't cure the problem. My right ear hearing is twenty percent less than the left ear. Tinnitus can be temporary or permanent. Mine hasn't gone away. I had an exam with Beltone but the siblings and a friend both suggested Costco. The Costco cost was a third of the Beltone cost. The technician told my sister that Costco had the same brand as hospital recommended brands at a fraction of the hospital cost. Costco gave me the documents but wouldn't file the insurance claim. I did. It took three attempts. My insurance covered half the cost.
I have little use for Costco membership. I don't need twenty-four of anything Costco sells, but the savings of the hearing aids are worth the annual cost. I bought several plastic storage units intended to assist me in moving to my next destination. More on this later.
Getting over the stigma of hearing aids is another issue. I spin my hearing aids as a trophy for getting this far in life. Perhaps, if they disguised hearing aids to look like ear buds, there wouldn't be such a stigma. Free suggestion to anyone out there that can do it! If you can make it happen, I just want a small portion of the proceeds. To be fair, I've gone walking while talking on my phone via the Bluetooth connection and people thought I was talking to myself. They couldn't see the hearing aids...the wires that connect the speakers with the microphones.
It didn't take long to connect the hearing aids to the phone, TV, and computer. The phone has an app to configure the settings. I can use the hearing aids as an extension of the phone, taking calls or playing music via Bluetooth. The computer acts similarly to the phone, but the phone app is the hearing aid controller. I even got an adapter to my TV to play audio from the TV. The app has different settings and as a newbie, it makes me go hmm.
The app has general settings for specific situations such as restaurants, music...guess it's for live music. The app, through the Bluetooth phone connection, automatically switches modes without me changing it. Often, I manually cut back background noise through the app which helps dramatically. When the app switches modes, control seems non-existent for a brief moment, and I miss a spoken word or two. Adjusting and learning...
The sounds aren't comparable to the musical quality of my Bose musical headphones. Batteries are rechargeable by USB cable. They drain quickly when I play music through my phone or computer. The charging case looks like my Bose headphone case though it has no battery. Couldn't find a case with a built-in battery on the internet.
My first successful attempt to connect them to my work computer was a bust. I was video conferencing with a colleague and folks in the office were talking in the background. Sensory overload here folks! I temporarily bowed out of the conference, removed the hearing aids, and used my regular headset for the conference.
Hearing aids make normal conversation seem like the other person is shouting but their physical attributes indicate otherwise. Even a crinkled piece of paper has a unique sound. When I first got them, it was raining as I walked out of Costco. Even the slightest noise is amplified such as rain hitting the car, the sole of my shoe rubbing against the brake pedal, a cough or sneeze. Even the sound of peeing brings on new sonic dimensions. Aim for the porcelain!
Each time I wear them, I'm overwhelmed by this new experience, I remind myself that my hearing needs help just to hear a few voices or not to miss a few words. Wearing them to the gym is equally torturous...music blasting with folks talking in the background is just plain ugly. The music I heard from my phone was almost non-existent. Screaming the obvious; I need to learn to program different modes with my cell phone app...a work in progress!
You can't select the sounds you want to hear and don't want to hear. Girlfriend said it best, sometimes it's best not to hear anything.
I don't notice the tinnitus when I wear them, so I guess it's dealing with it. Tinnitus is still there when I don't wear them but only when I notice.
The priest typically starts his homily with a joke. I never heard them. My first Mass with the hearing aids, he didn't tell a joke. At Easter Mass, he resumed his jokes and I heard and understood every word.
Watched about 30 seconds of the Winter Olympics. I can't seem to relate...
The Facebook smart glasses went to my girlfriend's nephew. He loves them.
Whenever I connect with a friend or relative who I haven't seen in a while, they ask 'where are you living'. Fair question. Let me add another spin to the story.
My workday started like a normal day; the boss called me into his office saying my current assignment is over in a couple of months and asked about my interest in transferring to a new Google data center project in Texas...company hadn't discussed my future with theirs prior to this. I replied I was ninety percent sure IF, I wouldn't be working under a particular manager I didn't care to work under. Around the same time, another company whom I interviewed with a year ago contacted me asking my interest now that my current project is winding down. I declined but recanted thinking I'm doing what's best for me.
Data center construction is on fire. All the talk is about Artificial Intelligence, and it takes data centers to store all that information. My 2024 job search revealed plenty of data center work for similar skillsets came back negative but because I didn't have data center experience. In my brief review of the documents, learning data center terminology is the only separator in my experience and data center construction. Given the vast increase in data center construction, speaking to recruiters, I believe the experience requirements are dissipating. Employers just want scheduler experience like what I already have. Late last year, I passed on an offer working on data centers from a Minneapolis company. Winter! Winter! Winter! Location! Location! Location! A first for me...rejection of a job because of the location...and I'd be working in the home office, not a field assignment as was discussed in the interview process. FYI, I work best in the field where overheard conversations piece together construction scenarios. Normally, my choices are taking the job or the unemployment line. Not really a choice if you want my opinion. This was a first for me!
