Tag Archives: life

Technology… the New Age Frontier…

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As a Gen X who grew up in a world of not having computers, mobile (cell) phones, Google, Alexa/Siri, or none of the technology we have now, I admit I do love new technology and I always have done.

In a previous post, I mentioned that I recently updated my phone and having to still use my old phone due to an issue with activating the sim on the new phone as I had changed carriers as well, so while in the process of doing that, I got to like having 2 phones to use.

For those who read that post, you’ll see that I own both a Samsung Galaxy S23 Plus, which is my primary phone and out of curiosity bought a refurbished iPhone 13 from Amazon as a back up second phone just to see what all the hype is about iPhone’s.

Having used the iPhone for around 3 weeks now, I have had it confirmed for me that I am a definite Samsung girl.

For me Samsung phones are more user friendly, more intuitive, easier to initially set up. I also find that the picture quality of the screen is better on my Samsung over the iPhone. The zoom on my Samsung is clearer and more powerful over the iPhone as well. With Samsung it’s easier to go between previously opened apps when going from one app to another when using two or three apps at once when needing to switch between apps… it’s more seamless to go from one app to another.

With the iPhone, I love how I can use the Dark Mode with the phone and all the apps, I love there’s a lot more choices of emoji’s too with the iPhone.

One thing I don’t like about the iPhone, or Apple is that there are a lot more choices of apps in the Google Play App Store on Android than on the Apple App Store. The apps on the Apple Store is limited as it’s not open sourced as Android is. For the record, the apps on the Google play App Store are protected so only apps that have been approved can go into the Google App Store. The Google Play Store apps also have more downloads of the more popular apps over Apple as well.

As a new person to having an iPhone, I’m never going to be an Apple girl but I do appreciate what an iPhone can do and all the features and functions of the iOS. Both operating systems have their good points and their bad points, so it all comes down to personal preference of which one you feel more comfortable in using.

Question for all of the iPhone users, which apps would you recommend for astronomy, note taking, sport score updates, games and any other “must have” apps for iPhone… drop it into the comments below, please and thank you.

Whichever phone you use, whatever operating system you prefer, mobile (cell) phones are here to stay…

Until next time

Kaye

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When the universe and life throw stuff at you, you had better be prepared for it, good, bad or indifferent.

Life has throw at me some heavy stuff this year, so much for starting 2023 of on a positive note and starting off the year in a good way.

It seems my 2023 is a continuation of my 2022… one steaming hot pile of manure…

2022 started the year of upheaval in all aspects of my life… work, home, health and the stuff that has happened, without going into detail, it’s been huge and I feel broken deep within.

I’m not writing this for a pity party because I’m not. 2022 was a huge year of upheaval for me, which is continuing into 2023. Despite everything that is going on, I’ve strapped myself into the roller-coaster of life and I’m in for the ride… all the twists, the turns, the sharp corners, going upside down, I’m there for it all.

One thing I’m looking forward to though is after all the tough stuff has been dealt with and I’m on the other side of it all, I look forward to being the butterfly I am going to become.

Through the storms of life, as the storm rages, you’ll go through hard stuff, tough stuff but eventually the storm will pass and you will find yourself in calm waters again. It’s not going to happen overnight but it will happen. Have faith and belief that the storm will pass and you will get through to the other side.

The other thing is that the storms of life are often experiences of personal growth and realising how strong and resilient you really are.

Right now in this storm I’m going through in my life, I picture myself as a caterpillar, then in a cocoon but I know that the beautiful butterfly that I’m about to become, that is worth all the tough stuff life and the universe is handing me right now.

Watch out world… that beautiful butterfly is coming… it’s not going to happen overnight but she’s preparing herself and proving how strong and resilient she is in the process.

Until next time

Kaye

New things in life…

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A couple of weeks ago I went to see an optometrist as a suggestion from my doctor who wanted to see if my eyes were being affected by the start of an early medical diagnosis.

I went to the optometrist and was taken into an examination room where she  checked both my eyesight and if my eyes were affected by this medical condition.

The eye test was first, with reading lines and letters on a mirror, first the right eye and then the left, then given a card to read, I was able to easily read the small print with both the right eye and then the left eye, I was told I needed glasses for distance sight and my reading sight was still good.

Then the optometrist put drops in my eyes for her to be able to see the back of my eyes… those drops as they went in, stung a little bit as they did make my sight go blurry as she said it would. I was then informed that the drops will take 10 – 15 minutes to take effect.

So with 15 minutes to wait, I went and was going to get a quote for the glasses. There were a range of glasses frames being sold for half price, so I was directed to them. After trying on several pairs, I found the frame I wanted, with flexible arms and not chunky, or frames that stick out like a dog’s hind leg. Once the frames were chosen, I sat down in the front of the store and the quote was worked out… lenses – magnification with transition tinting and digital glare free. After being told the price and knowing that I’m going to need these glasses, I decided to just get them. Lucky for me as well, I do have optical as an option with my private fund, so they paid for the bulk of the cost of these glasses, I just had to pay for the gap.

Now that the frames were chosen and what I wanted was included as well, the order was put in to be processed.

By this time, the optometrist was ready for me again. I went back into the examination room and sat back down in the chair. A machine was manoeuvred towards me that the optometrist used to look into my eyes, the lights of the room were turned down and the optometrist used this machine and a bright light shining into the parts of the eye she was looking at, she did her thing. First the right eye and then the left.

One thing she did notice, apart from my eyes not being affected by the medical condition but I do have a freckle at the back of my eye, which is something they will keep an eye on yearly.

Today, I picked up my new glasses, or as I refer to them, my new friends.

Am I bothered by the fact that I now have to wear glasses? No because if they help me to see in the distance as they are designed to do, that’s going to be something in my favour, although it is quite humorous seeing people in a particular age group in denial they do need glasses for reading lol.

So for anyone who does wear glasses, I’ve joined you all now… and I can see clearly now, so that is definitely a good thing.

Until next time

Kaye

The magic of one…

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It’s taken me a few days to be able to put the words together about how I feel about this… the passing of Olivia Newton John. I like many others are heart broken by her passing.

As a Gen X, I grew up listening to her music and watching her movies and I now feel as though I have lost a close friend, even though she didn’t even know me.

Australia and the world lost a beautiful woman who had the heart and soul to match her outward beauty. She was a woman who gave greatly with her talent but also with her time and her money towards the things she cared deeply about.

Olivia Newton John was a genuine person and she will be greatly missed in this world. She has left behind her legacy with the people she touched, her music, her movies, the projects she supported but not only that but with her family and her friends she left behind.

For me and for many others, I think in years to come, we will remember what we were doing when we heard the news of Olivia Newton John’s passing. A friend told me that she had died in a text message, so I got onto Facebook after that and reading people’s posts and comments on the news pages I have on my Facebook, the tears started flowing.

During the day, I saw many Facebook, Instagram and Tiktok posts with people paying their own respects in their way to Olivia. They too had me shedding quite a few tears.

She may have been born in the UK but Australia adopted her as one of our own quickly. She loved Australia as much as Australia loved her.

On the night of 8 August 2022, one of the TV stations here in Australia played the movie Grease in honour of the passing of Olivia Newton John. I watched the movie, I’ve seen it many times as it’s a firm favourite, then there were moments I cried during the film that featured heavily Olivia, the end of the film had me in tears too as the car took flight into the clouds.

Thank you Olivia for the music and the movies for they will live on in our hearts. Thank you for being the person you were. Earth has lost an angel but she has grown her wings and is with the angels in heaven.

Until next time

Kaye

Moving with the times…

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As a Generation X, I grew up not having a mobile (cell) phone as they didn’t exist then.

Our social networking was sending hand written letters and cards in the mail, or using a manual type writer to type a letter to someone. We actually went over to a friend’s house or called them on a landline rotary or push button phone to talk to them. We bumped into people we knew while out shopping or in the street and we stopped and talked with them.

As the late 1980’s came, so did mobile phones, which weren’t what we have now… these phones had huge handsets and the battery for the phone was carried separately in its own shoulder bag.

Not everyone had a mobile phone then either, only the YUPPIES (Young Urban Professionals), business executives or trades people had them.

Computers too only came into main use in the late 1980’s… remember the big monitors and hard drives? The floppy disks were huge as well. The printers would use a style of their own, dot matrix.

Time has definitely changed things with technology. Same with social media.

I love how technology has changed. Anyone who knows me knows that I enjoy looking at the new technology available and what is possible for the future. I also enjoy social media as well.

I know there’s a lot of social media platforms available and I use several of them – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Tiktok in particular.

I’ve only just got onto Tiktok as I thought it was just for teenagers who want to show of new dance moves in videos that have gone viral but I’ve realised that it’s more than that.

What I love about Twitter and Tiktok is the learning about other countries and the connection with other people from around the world, especially during the lives on Tiktok.

I have made some good friends on Twitter who are now my friends on Facebook and I’m making friends on Tiktok as well. I love how social media makes a world seem like a smaller place to live. I also enjoy how you can chat online with people around the world in real time and it can be morning, afternoon, evening or night time.

During the covid-19 pandemic that swept the world, with people having to isolate or be in quarantine, technology played a bigger part in our lives, as did social media.

With offices and buildings closing or reducing staff numbers in an effort to stop the spread of the covid-19 virus, we learned how to work from home. Education, normally done in the classroom was done online. Church services started going online too for many churches, there was more online buying, cash wasn’t being accepted by most places and became cashless as long as you had a plastic card from your bank or credit union to use.

Meetings were done by Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams during the covid-19 pandemic. Friends socialised on the social media platforms because of the restrictions for how many people were allowed in the home.

As far back as 2019, before we had even heard the word coronavirus or covid-19, there were those who would be saying that technology and social media were keeping people isolated from others and how bad technology and social media is.

With the covid-19 pandemic, it was technology and social media that was keeping people in contact with each other, so we learned that yes, technology and social media can be our friend and can keep people together, talking to each other, keeping people connected.

I’m excited to see how technology changes for the future and what social media platforms will become the next big thing.

For me, my Facebook is for people who know me in real life and for those I’ve gotten to know over time through talking with them through social media.

For Twitter, Instagram and Tiktok, you can find me by my username kayezee71.

Until next time

Kaye

Back to normal life…?

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I’m excited, I’m so excited that you wouldn’t believe just how excited I am! Want to why I’m excited? I’ll tell you whether you want to know or not… I’m excited because cruise ships and cruising have finally come back to Australia! Now, hand up who’s now excited with that news!

That’s some exciting news right? Well it’s exciting if you’re addicted to cruising and you’ve missed being on a cruise ship or seeing them docked in a port near you.

Living in Adelaide, South Australia, I live under a 30 minute drive to the cruise ship terminal here. I love seeing the different cruise ships in port for the day. I hope that the passengers who are on various shore excursions or doing their own thing in seeing what Adelaide has to offer, they are enjoying their day here as well.

We have shopping, fabulous restaurants, the Malls Balls in Rundle Mall, beautiful beaches, the Adelaide Hills, chocolate makers, wineries, art galleries, museums, in fact there’s something here for everyone. The weather is pretty good as well.

Currently here in Australia, we have 2 cruise ships based here, P&O have the Pacific Explorer, based in Sydney, New South Wales and doing cruises and Princess Cruises have the Coral Princess, based in Brisbane and doing cruises.

After not having cruise ships in Australian waters for 2 years due to the coronavirus pandemic which caused cruise ships to stop cruising, I’m glad to see them coming back.

If anyone has read previous posts in this blog, you would have seen that I have a cruise booked for December 2023 on the Grand Princess and just between you and me, I’m a little bit excited by that too.

The last cruise I was on was in November 2019 around the South Pacific Islands and Fiji, just before the world learned about the coronavirus and the world had to stop.

Life and the world is slowly returning to normal, or a new normal, with this virus still around but it’s a good feeling to feel as though it is returning and I’m still excited.

Until next time

Kaye

Wake up America…

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America, it is time to change your gun laws. Everything political is run by the gun lobbies and the gun lobbies have way to much money and power. It’s obvious that the gun lobbies are in charge over there and not the politicians who should be running the country.

It’s time to stand up to the gun lobbies. It’s time to stand up against all the gun loving people who believe it is their right to protect themselves and bear arms because the second amendment of the US Constitution tells them they can own a gun.

I’m over turning on the news and hearing on repeat almost daily of a shooting happening in schools, day care centres, churches, shopping malls, out in the streets, parents who don’t store their guns properly where kids can find them, kids using guns on other kids…

I thought that after the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings, where 26 children and teachers lost their lives in 2012 would bring the changes to gun laws but no, the shootings continue. It seems as though the gun loving population of America has more rights and protection of their rights than what innocent children do. This pisses me off to no end.

I’m saddened by the thought for the parents who said goodbye to these 19 children as they went to school in Texas at the start of their day today, thinking that it was going to be a regular day but it turned out to be the worst day of these parents lives as they will never see their children again. My heart breaks for them. I also feel sad for the 2 teachers and their families who lost their lives today as well.

I’m saddened by the children who have to do shooter drills in school’s to prepare for the possibility of a shooter coming into the school. How about letting them be innocent children because that’s what they should be? They shouldn’t be thinking, is this the day I may die.

I’m angry at the US government who continually allow shootings to continue resulting in the loss of many innocent lives.

America, it’s time to get your shit together and change your gun laws now and get over your love affair with your guns. That was all well and good when there were no military forces or police to protect communities and individuals, where people had to defend themselves and their property.

America, just wake up and change your gun laws before even more people are senselessly and needlessly killed.

Here in Australia, there was a mass shooting in 1996 at a popular tourist destination in Port Arthur, Tasmania. 35 people were killed and a further 23 people were injured by a lone shooter who possessed high powered weapons. All it took was for that tragic event to happen and the gun laws in Australia were quickly changed and tightened. We haven’t had another massacre since and I thank the government for their quick actions in the protection of human lives.

America, it’s time to grow a pair and make your country safe for all… change your gun laws. Change them now. Yours is the only country in the world where almost daily, there’s a report of a mass shooting somewhere. That is something I wouldn’t be proud of believe me if I were an American citizen. Your lack of gun control does not make me want to visit your country, seriously.

Until next time

Kaye

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Feeding my cruise addiction….

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The latest news is that cruising will be resuming here in Australia again shortly in April 2022, after 2 years of no cruise ships in Australian waters. I’m excited!

Back in January 2022, I booked a cruise from Adelaide, South Australia to New Zealand and return. The Australian borders were still closed, the New Zealand borders are still closed and cruising hasn’t resumed but I booked the cruise.

I wanted some normality back in my life. I wanted something to look forward to. I wanted something from life as it was before we had even heard about the Covid-19 pandemic that swept the world and put everything on hold for the next 2 years. So, I booked a cruise.

I’m a member of several Princess Cruises Facebook groups and it’s been interesting to see how the Americans have returned to cruising.

I’m fully vaxxed, I have no issues wearing a face mask, I carry my own hand sanitiser and use it regularly. I wash my hands as necessary.

I’m definitely looking forward to just being on a ship again as the last ship I was on, back in 2019, I just missed the start of people beginning to be infected by the coronavirus. Happy to have dodged that bullet.

By December 2023, we will have gotten used to living our new normal because I don’t see this virus or its variants disappearing any time soon. This will be something that we are just going to be living with. This is our new normal.

Safe sailing to all who are currently on a cruise ship, are thinking of booking a cruise, have booked a cruise.

For those who have booked their first cruise, or are currently on their first cruise, welcome to your newest addiction. Cruising is very addictive! It’s an addiction I am happy to pay for though, as a cruise ship is my Happy Place.

For those who have booked cruises and have had them cancelled, I hope you are able to successfully have a cruise in the not too distant future.

Until next time

Kaye

Living in the 80’s

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Hands up who remembers the 1980’s? I certainly do! I was a teenager at the time and living through the 80’s, it felt like a decade that was special as we were experiencing life during this period and that people would be talking about how good this decade was when they were looking back at it. For those who missed life through the 80’s but love the music and hearing about life during the 80’s, this is a list of what you missed and so here are the things I remember of what the 1980’s were about:

Big hair
Rubik’s cubes
Shoulder pads
Slouch socks
Hyper colour t-shirts
Rollerskates
Rollerskating rinks
Walkmans
Boomboxes/Ghetto blasters
Break dancing
Flouro t-shirts
Tracksuits made out of parachute material
Huge mobile (cell phones) phones and you had to carry the battery in a battery case on your shoulder
Atari
Commodore 64
Pacman
Asteroids
Space Invaders
Frogger
Pong
Video game arcades
Amusement arcades
Elastics
Uno
Denim shirts/jackets/skirts
Computers with green screens
Floppy disks
Records
Cassette tapes
No pay tv, just Channels 2, 7, 9 and 10
Betamax and VHS VCR’s
Rotary telephones
No internet
No mobile/cell phones
No social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, Tik Tok etc
No Google – we had to go to the library to look things up or look it up in an Encyclopaedia Britannica
Red Rover
Brandy – the game, not the alcohol
Spokey Dokey’s – Putting cards from cereal boxes in the spokes of your bicycle to make some cool noises
Stirrup pants
Jelly bracelets
Clogs
Rats Tails
Mullets
Holes in your jeans – sorry people who wear that fashion today, people in the 80’s bet you to it! Lol
Stone wash jeans
Acid wash jeans
t-shirts 4 sizes too big
Legwarmers
Wearing your collar up, even on polo shirts
Simon says
Hopscotch
Cabbage Patch Kids
Tonka Trucks
Banana seat bicycles
Nerf balls
Hoola Hoops
Swatch watches
Koosh balls
Kazoos
Etch-A-Sketch
Slinkies
Matchbox Cars
Lego blocks
Yo yo’s
Smelly pens and markers
80’s music
Candy cigarettes
West Coast or St Tropez wine cooler – for people who were over 18
PEZ
Bubble tape
Choose your Own Adventure Books
BMX bikes
The Big Mac song, “Two all beef patties, special sauce…” could you say the whole thing in under 10 seconds to win yourself a free Big Mac?
Crimping irons
Putting the empty plastic potato chip bags in the oven to shrink them
Care Bears
Synthesizers
Soda Stream soft drink makers
Carrying the pack of cigarettes in the rolled up sleeve of your t-shirt

These are some of the memories I have of the 1980’s, what are things you remember?

Anyone who was born after the 1980’s really did miss an incredible decade. I’m glad that I got to experience it first hand, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

Here’s to all of us who lived and survived through the 1980’s!

I’m glad you took this walk down memory lane with me, hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time

Kaye

Life lessons…

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Here’s a few things that I have learnt about life, so listen up the younger generation.

Kids, time may go slowly for you as you have to wait forever for your next birthday, or Christmas, or for some event you are eagerly awaiting but as you get older, time flies by, days just roll into one at times. I actually enjoy those days that simply drag.

Enjoy your childhood as you are only a child for such a very short time and you miss those years as an adult. I do love it when I get the chance to be a big kid though, being an adult isn’t always about being “grown up”, there is having some fun. Even when you are an adult, keep the “big kid” side of you. Just because you are an adult, doesn’t mean you have to always act like one.

Respect your elders and when the opportunity arises, ask them about their life, nothing better than a real life history lesson.

Life doesn’t revolve around those gadgets you have either. You can actually live without them. You can also live without Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok or whatever other social media platform you use too, trust me, I grew up in a time before those things and I did okay. You can actually miss things that are actually going on around you when you are constantly looking at a screen. I definitely precede the technology you enjoy today, and I live to talk about it. Going without my smartphone is for me liberating as no one can reach me… I enjoy going off the grid and not allowing my smartphone to rule my life so when I do back to my smartphone, the messages and whatever I’ve missed will be there ready for me to see it when I’m ready to see it…

Ah, yes, if you think you know everything, believe me, you don’t. We adults may be older but we do happen to know a lot more than you. We have experience, life lessons and a vast amount of knowledge. There are some things you can teach us but we can teach you more.

Another thing, if you want to try and pull a fast one on your parents to get something, forget it. Your parents are onto you already and they have probably tried the same things on their parents growing up but I will give you points for giving it a good try though 😉

Enjoy life as a kid because those times you will never get back.

Until next time…

Kaye