Conference Day Two

I’ve always been a fan of double entendres! This one is fun.

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Friday was a slow day. The Telus guy fixed my phone. All the rain of late shorted my connector. I was relieved because the person I talked with and who set up the appointment warned me that I’d be charged $150 if the fault was with my own purchased equipment or due to in-house wiring. Both Shaw and BC Tell customer service reps always seem to be ready to blame problems on the customer. It feels good to have a working phone again.

Our afternoon walk was as lovely as was my first very early in the morning. Again, the fragrances of the wet forest were intoxicating. Plus, there were almost shadows.

And yay! My new art supplies arrived, and it got me very excited about doing some drawings. When I went on a drawing binge before, I did large works, but I’m going to do smaller ones. Today I’ll order a new coloured pencil set and the best sharpener money can buy once I complete an inventory of my leftover pencils from last time. I’ve plenty of paper in hand.

I almost missed the start of the conference. Luckily, I remembered just ten minutes before it started. I also heard from the moderator who will share hosting my duties of my workshop. I’m all ready for today’s workshop. Yippee.

Last night, I watched Amy on Prime. It’s a great and very, very moving documentary about Amy Winehouse, and what a story it is! The art direction and over all direction is impressive; the research made it rich, and the music is out of this world, and I no longer care for pop music. It’s powerful and it’s beautiful because it is thoroughly respectful and compassionate.

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I’ve a gigantic Pileated Woodpecker who comes every day to feast on the suet I leave out for him. He’s a magnificent beastie with, of course, a flaming red topknot that shines like a beacon in the sunshine.

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I was up and online at 6:30 this morning for my first conference workshop of the day. It was an amazing one, too! Gareth Walcom was the presenter and this fine, fine young man has been working for years on revolutionary software that uses virtual reality to help stutterers practice things like job interviews, speaking to store clerks (a huge inability for me) and making presentations. And he’s been working without income to create one of the most promising therapies I’ve ever seen for my community of people with speech disorders. I think of him as Saint Gareth. I just love the guy. One person can make such a difference!!!

This afternoon at 12:05, I host my first Zoom interactive workshop, and my first semi-professional experience in the stuttering community. I’m excited and nervous at the same time.