Having dealt with the pharmacy it is time to move onto other things.
Monday and Tuesday I was unwell and as stated Wednesday was spent in part at the supermarket and pharmacy. It is a shame about the treatment I got there because it has been a place of inspiring professionalism up to this point.
Thursday the community worker came and we went off to get a few things done I can no longer do do alone. We were on a new schedule of an extra hour of contact. Up to date I have had two hours of support a fortnight and we seem to spend most of that going to and fro. Shopping for clothes or other items has been done at a fast trot and as I am often ill it has been harrowing at times. The extra hour is very much appreciated and seems to be the thing that will make all the difference.
I tired quite early in the exercise. The big day of grocery shopping after two days of illness made that inevitable so I guess it was no big deal.
Up to this point the new Citizen’s Band Radio had not made a squeak of anything but fuzz. The connections had all been re-soldered and the coaxial cable shortened by half. The power supply is a converted power supply that is left over from the last computer I wrecked. The current in this has been increased by winding all of the 12.4 volt supply positive lines from that together and the negative lines together rather than just using the one positive and negative. That will have fixed any problems that may have been from low power. It a volt lower than the car battery but plenty for the job.
The SWR (standing wave something something) measurement has been off the chart and that looked like being caused by an antenna that required a metal ground plane and didn’t have one so I contacted a company called Karera who are at Tuggerah and ordered a 1.2m steel whip antenna that did not require a metal body to reflect the signal. They ordered the antenna and it was waiting for me to pick it up so the community worker took me over there and after some confusion we found the company in a factory complex on Gavenlock Road. The technician there came out and looked over my antenna cables to see if I had set them up properly. I have a big black hole in my memory over parts of the antenna building and really needed help. He advised me on earthing the cables and setting the antenna up and looked worried that I had chosen 27mhz CB to try out on. I continued to tire and to push myself but getting things done after being stuck here feels so rewarding you cannot really just sit it out.
the old computer power supply rewired to run the CB
We went to the Riot Art and Craft Store at Westfield in Tuggerah. I was stumbling and swaying a lot and the worker was concerned as I had gone white but that is pretty normal. It is a battle for me to do all that walking and stay coherent and energized. At the art store I grabbed some sheets of good quality Arches paper in the hope that I can rally some strength and get back into drawing. The prices have gone up a lot I think and I bought a lot less than I planned. It seems their range may have been less than before although the shop itself is a riot of art supplies and I could spend all day there. They have a great range and there was also an A2 display folder that grabbed my attention and I bought to protect the bigger drawings. I have been after one for a while. The person in the shop was all over the place working with her visitors and helping us find this and that. She is a font of information and obviously loves art. The community worker is an artist and enjoys these visits as much as I do.
We went to Kathmandu right near the art store and despite my obvious exhaustion I had a good look at some very beautiful and warm clothes. I should have started here last year when I discovered how cold this apartment got in winter. They are all a bit too expensive for me right now but I am keeping them in mind. The clothes they have are worth every penny. They are really good quality and have a feel that would assist to cope with all that pain. Soft and soothing. It was nice to find something in this class gear for the future. I am tiring badly but there is a little more ground to cover today in the journal.
We finished at Cosmo’s Cafe right near Kathmandu on the same floor of Westfields. I had to stop. The diabetes had sapped all my energy and I was twisting up from the pain of forcing myself to walk. We had intended to go down to the Mexican Restaurant by the doors outside. Last time we were here we discovered that and decided to eat there as it had lots of people obviously enjoying their lunch. I had a huge Burrito and it was great.
Cosmos was full of people even after 2pm so it looked good. That is one of the secrets. Look for lots of people. They flock to good food and service. The problem is that if you are there at lunch hour you will not get a seat but this late we just managed to get seated. The staff were really good and gave us lots of attention. They fussed over me as soon as they saw how tired I looked. I guess I was lurching and limping as I do when I am too tired to force my body to walk properly. I needed to be fussed over and it lifted my spirits a lot. The cafe has a huge range of dishes and they are a good range of stuff that anyone will manage to find a dish from. I had a bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich which came on a wooden platter with Turkish bread and it was delicious with some kind of sauce or really delicate flavorful something I cannot find a word for. The chips came in a fist sized frier (fryer? friar?) cage which looked really cool. The cola came in a jar. The staff buzzed about us and we both left a tip which we almost never do in a cafe and I really cannot afford.
The food lifted me but I was almost unconscious by the time we got back to the car and she drove me home. I fell asleep fully dressed on my torn old couch as soon as I got home.
During the night I awoke and set the new antenna on a pole outside and turned the radio on and fought my drooping eyelids for hours while I read a book. Not a sound apart from fuzz did I hear. Today I am sore and tired and ill. I can just make short forays to the kitchen and bathroom and I keep falling asleep. The couch is horrible. Nobody who is in pain should be forced to rest their bones on a tattered old sofa but that is what it is. My butt hurts right now on the computer seat and I must look pathetically stoned. My eyelids almost hang on my face and droop over my eyes. I think I will sleep now. I got through this. Hurray! I will go back and edit later to see if I managed to be coherent as well as whatever else I am.
Note: Not a sound on the CB and I think I am in a radio shadow that will deny every effort I make to connect with the few souls still using this wavelength. It is frustrating. I knew it may be so but it is still frustrating. I needed to have people to chat with.