Progress Continues

Once again, it has been a while since my last post. Life has been comparatively busy and continues to go very well!

I did the second part of my presentation to the local radio club as planned. It ran about 40 minutes, similar to the first part. Again it was very well received and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was asked to give a presentation on the same topic for a different club, an opportunity I eagerly accepted. I had to combine and shorten it to under 60 minutes. I was a bit nervous about this. I had never been to a meeting of that club before, and didn’t know most of the people. It went exceptionally well and once again, was a lot of fun! I enjoy public speaking! Imagine that!?

I dined at a restaurant with my DLS worker twice. The first time I had a bit of an incident. I hadn’t completely understood some of the options the waitperson had given on a food choice, and my blundering response made it clear I hadn’t understood this simple thing. I had serious sleep and thought disruption in the days that followed, and it was eroding my newly found confidence in other areas. I decided this needed to be dealt with. The only potential solution was also a risk: go back and repeat the experience. The second time went without a hitch, and there have been no repercussions.

I have been looking for opportunities to try new things and continue the progress I have been making. There isn’t much going on this time of year, so opportunities are somewhat limited. I went to a bake sale being held by a local organization as a fund raiser. This was the first time in my life that I managed to do something like that alone. I had only done it a couple of times with someone else. The last time was nearly 20 years ago and I was on the verge of outright panic even though not alone. While it may seem a very simple thing, doing this on my own was a major accomplishment and milestone for me!

I have begun using a debit card at stores where I have not previously done so. I have not sought nor required support with this. I’m doing it on my own.

I have had several phone conversations with friends, as well as outgoing business calls. I have been answering calls from private numbers (no caller ID) instead of letting the machine pick up to see who it is. I have also been talking on the ham radio using voice instead of Morse code. These are all things I wouldn’t have dreamed of doing a few months ago. I might have had nightmares about them, but didn’t dream I would be doing them!

Oh yes… and I managed to lose 20 pounds! I feel great!