Tuesday November 15 2016

It is a pleasant fall day in Bakersfield.

The fall colors of the trees are noticeable around the vegetation.

This  morning I went to the Mt Vernon Clinic as always.

I read the newspapers that I was lucky enough to find at the kiosk.

I believe the printed paper business is folding as fewer and fewer people of the current generation are relying on newspaper with the obvious gain in electronic media.

Yet I like to read the hard copy of the paper whenever I found it available.

I had a brief conversation with Melissa today

•  November the 23rd my wife will bring me to see Dr Alois Zauner in S. Barbara Cottage Hospital to check the result on my TAC . It is  an open item as its execution does not depend on me.
• On November 30 I will go to see the dentist at the office of Dr. Philips to check on the status of my retainer. I am using it during the night, it is a little iron cast mask, but it does its job.
• Last but not least on the December the 16 at 1pm I will have another check of my right eye. It is an appointment with Dr Castillo at the Retina Institute on Stockdale  I will have my eye dilated,  it is to check on the status of the crystalline as it was damaged following my stroke. I am getting a check once a year.

I feel -and forgive me to say it  once more-  that I have been  scarred for years to come with all these matters. 

I normally equate it with having had a cancer, as such it  is a condition  that never goes away. It never disappears  from your life and you are always remembered about it. Whenever and wherever you go.

Regarding a different topic I am  going to mentioned to you all that I can see the difference in operation between a high tech company -like the one I used to work -and the way a big hospital like CNS works.

In my opinion in one aspect at CNS there is a lack of suitable documentation for the patients.

I used to be in charge of the Marketing for the high tech company I used to work before my head injury I can attest you that I have seen first hand  how things are implemented in the real business word.

As VP of Marketing  I had been in charge of  how to meet the requirements of the customers and the consequence of not meeting it at all.
I looked into how to gather the necessary resource by building an efficient documentation team that accounted a few technical writers under my supervision. Professional industry-grade documentation, revision control, history list, the whole nine yard of a suitable documentation.

I saw first hand how the powerful attitude of a happy and returning customer can positively  impact the business of a company.

 I saw what a loyal customer can do increase a company's business.

Obviously this is a market oriented business where you have competition and the like.

There are competing resources and competing customers for every  single product.

Obviously this is not the way it goes in Bakersfield. Yet it would not take too much to start from one person and to build upon the experience of this individual in an on-going effort that would allow CNS to recoup some - if not - some of the  lost ground. Anyway something to mull upon for CNS and its Managers. My personal experience is really showing how different things are in Bakersfield.

Yesterday at the apartment I had a busy day.

I cooked a healthy vegetable soup. Carrot celery potatoes, squash and lentils.

A healthy soup with pasta.

While as I was cooking I also wrote a letter to the  boys.

In the local lingo of CNS this is called THP (Therapeutic Home Program).

Let's call it home for the time being and for the sake of making this argument.

Eyes hand coordination is being exercised while writing.  The capability of the brain to control small movement is constantly challenged. This is absolutely true and it is a good exercise.

Last night the moon was at the closest position to earth.

It is an important perigee as it gave the biggest moon in the last 74 years

The park today is a very nice place to roam free. I had the newspaper today and returned as well the 25 cents that the kiosk gave me as extra.

Yesterday I sent an email to the Marketing department of the Bakersfield newspaper.
The email was explaining my frustration with their inability to properly stock the newspaper kiosk.
Miss Mary sent me to check the kiosk at the fire station the other day.

Obviously the kiosk is not there any longer...

The local kiosk is always short on newspapers... this means to me they see a small revenue stream from selling printed copies.
Even today I had the last copy.

The park in the morning

As I mentioned you I returned the dollar I received today to Miss Mary.
Compromising yourself for a few cents is not worth it at all.

Actually compromising yourself for money is not worth it.

Flowers at the park

My breakfast this morning 

I went to the Mt Vernon Clinic. The usual routine took place..

I do not do anything at that place, but check in, wait for the room to be filled with patients.

Observe it all, breath it all. Read the newspapers and then at 11am come to the Houses of Hope.

Here I am working a the computer to fill my daily blog.

Today there was training for Parents and the lunch was offered by the Houses of Hope.

We had a good meal, enough for me, everybody ate enough and the left over - some good pizza- were taken to local fire station.

Everybody had enough to eat.

Next to Vianney there was a girl looking exactly like her.  I asked if they were related.

Vianney answered that she is her sister Erica.

They really look alike.

While at lunch Simona told me she landed safely. She has been in Bloomington Indiana for a seminar of hers. 

She came back to California and she is doing fine. She mentioned I had been very bad in managing my phone data. I had incurred in extra charge. The fact is that whenever I am at the apartment I am using the local connection of the apartment. Well I am really not understanding were the extra data is going. Obviously Verizon is giving me lead way but it costs us a lot of money.
Speaking of PBS here is a news related to this world.

Today the lunch was offered here at the Homes of Hope. It was  a good  lunch. I normally do not eat this type of food. I  appreciated their thoughtful gesture anyway.

Enjoy the reading time to go.
Giuseppe