Pete Van Winkle

~ beetleypete

Apologies for the lack of a new serial episode. (Or anything else worth reading)
Despite managing a temporary fix on the keyboard, I have been afflicted with something similar to whatever ails my computer.

Lack of reliable function.
A tendency to stop on a whim.
The general wearing out of parts.

Just like my once-trusty PC, I am a Windows 7 man, in a world ruled by Windows 10. The tiredness and fatigue that started out as a lot of over-long sleeps has degenerated into a zombie-like state where I have no enthusiasm to do anything. Even the slightest regular task, like gving Ollie a nice long walk, now feels like walking on Mars in a spacesuit, and leaves me shattered. For the first time I can remember, I had to take to my bed at 3:30 this afternoon, drained by a 90-minute walk with my dog.

Were it not for my next-door neighbour deciding to cut her lawn with an exceptionally noisy motor-mower, I may well have been sleeping now. It is still daylight, and only 5:40 pm, yet all I can think of is getting dinner eaten soon, then going to bed as early as possible after that.

I am considering checking with Ancestry DNA, to see if I am related to Rip Van Winkle. If so, see you in twenty years.
(If you don’t know that story, here’s a link. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Van_Winkle )

I will do my best to keep up with your posts and comments, but if you wonder where I am, it’s a safe bet that I will be in The Land of Nod.

Best wishes to you all.
Pete.

89 thoughts on “Pete Van Winkle”

  1. Everyday life has become really clear.
    Don’t complain about motor lawn mowers. I use a scythe from 1920. Looks really good, but our neighbor has reservations about “Grim Reaper”. Lol
    I’m curious to see whether a relationship can be proven. For me a relationship to Vlad Dracul would have to be checked. Really, but I think that I don’t necessarily have to know that now. 😉 Best wishes, an stay save, Pete!

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          1. Apologies! I got a little mixed up. I remembered you worked in a job that required being constantly on calls. And made a wrong assumption. 🙂 i am glad you are fine. One of my blogging friend’s husband was hospitalized because of the virus and they went through a tough time. He is finally back though. So, i was worried about you. Take care ☺

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            1. I was a communications officer for the Police in London for 12 years, up to the time I retired. Radio Despatch, and liasing with other agencies. I was on the phone a lot, and wore a headset for every shift. No problem, Shaily.
              Glad to hear about your friend’s husband being okay. 🙂

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  4. Your description of yourself, comparing it to your old technology is priceless! Dear Rip, I may be one of the few who truly understand. Every task that involves technology seems to bring on something that needs to be fixed or something new I must learn. I am tired. This is really hard. I’m struggling with putting my videos onto a stick. Hubby tells me I expect everything to be easy. I just want it not to be hard. Your Friend, Jennie. Your humor keeps me going! 🙂

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        1. I had a refurbished PC in my Amazon shopping cart. But when I read the reviews, the buyers complained that the seller failed to contact them after reporting faults. Amazon kept referring them to the seller, which is not good enough for me. I went for a new one from HP as I know I can trust such a huge company that has online help chat, and a contact email.
          And I couldn’t cope with more hassle! 🙂
          Best wishes, Pete.

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          1. I know exactly what you mean. It may take me weeks to find the right thing. Hubby loves his HP. I need an Apple product so all my school work and photos are seamless with my iPhone and iPad, both of which are a dream for me. Thank you kindly you for the heads up on Amazon. I will scrutinize the reviews. Fingers crossed so I can retain my sanity. Sincerely, Jennie Van Winkle.

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  5. Isn’t fatigue one of the symptoms? Maybe you should see your GP. I mean it could be stress, lack of exercise, sleep apnea and as a former EMT you’d probably have a list of other suggestions. You’d also know that I don’t know what it is, you don’t know what it is so maybe you should call your GP? Take care and best wishes Pete.

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    1. It is oneof the symptoms, but my GP is inundated with really sick people, so unless I had other symptoms, I wouldn’t bother her. Besides, Julie works there, so I have to ‘step up’.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  8. Tiredness is your body telling you to rest. Your imune system gets going during sleep, so get as much as you can.
    We’ll all still be here waiting for your words of wisdom when you’ve recovered, but forget blogging and get yourself well again,

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  10. My hubby has the sleeping sickness, too. He will fall asleep when I am ready to dish up a meal and yet he still sleeps eight hours at night ( except for nocturnal visits to guess where) What worries me more is the pace he walks at. I have to keep stopping to let him catch up. The dog doesn’t mind, he’s 15 and would rather sniff at every wall and tree but we are going out separately now because of the virus. He takes the dog in the morning and I take him in the afternoon.However, a walk that used to take them 40 mins now takes over an hour. My walk is only to the end of the road because the dog knows he will be fed on his return and nearly chokes himself trying to race back to the house. I have to let him off the lead when we are four houses away and he’s waiting at the front door when I get there.
    I do hope you feel better when this is all over. Hubby is still using a Vista program on a computer and I dread the time when he has to try windows 10. He hates change.

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  11. Hi, Pete! I understand.  It’s the climate of the world, I think.  Can’t go out.  Can’t do this.  Can’t do that.  Even though I am mostly a hermit — I probably go out of my place once a week — being told I “can’t,” makes me want to even more (even though I probably never gave it a thought before).  AND add that to the dumb PC — Well! Take care of yourself and your wife and Ollie — and feel better! Mona “A well-ordered life is like climbing a tower; the view halfway up is better thanthe view from the base, and it steadily becomes finer as the horizon expands.” – William Lyon Phelps

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  17. I’m so sorry, Pete and worried about your health. I don’t know how easy it is to see a doctor where you are, or have a telephone consultation, but I think you should get checked out. Take a break from blogging for a few days – we’ll miss you but we’ll be here when you come back – and sleep when you are not taking Ollie out.

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  18. I hope this sorts itself out soon Pete, you don’t have tetse flies in Beetley do you??!! Seriously, if it goes on longer than a week you should perhaps ask Julie to have a word with a Doc when she has a mo if you don’t want to bother them.

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      1. Good. That makes me feel better. I’m having a few worrisome symptoms myself, that normally I wouldn’t think anything of. I’m a bit paranoid. Even if I, or you, God forbid, have or get the virus, it’s not a death sentence. I know you know that.

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  30. (1) “Were it not for my husband snoring like an exceptionally noisy motor-mower, I may well have been sleeping now.” (Clementine Churchill)
    (2) “Don’t worry if you feel drained. It will rain again soon.” (Mother Nature)
    (3) “I’ll take care of that zombie-like state.” (Milla Jovovich)

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      1. You could, although it will require a bit of step by step reading, load Ubuntu onto a usb stick and try to see if the keyboard works ok. You can run Ubuntu from the stick so no wiping what you have, its like a try before you buy option, except Ubuntu is free and works well on older machines. You may even like it 🙂

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        2. Just read this much about it, and my eyebrows are past my receding hairline already! 🙂
          Ubuntu is a free and open-source Linux distribution based on Debian. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: Desktop, Server, and Core for the internet of things devices and robots. All the editions can run on the computer alone, or in a virtual machine.
          That refurbished W10 PC sounds more like my style. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Chris. My wife is a receptionist at our local GP surgery. I don’t think this is the virus, but they have a lot to deal with at the moment. (As does the 111 Helpline) I can put up with this while people around us are dying, I’m sure. Thanks for your concern and advice, which is appreciated.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. My neighbours are self-isolating, as she is recovering from leukemia. Julie works part-time, 3 days a week. So I can’t let Ollie down. I already cut his walk in half today.
      Thanks, Jude.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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      1. Is there not a community group you could contact? I’m sure someone would be happy to dog walk – assuming Ollie is okay with strangers of course. A shorter walk won’t hurt him for a few days.

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        1. There is a professional dog-walker in Gressenhall, but she is currently full. I will be okay. The fresh air will do me good. I will just walk more slowly. 🙂 x

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  35. When I had my bout with the virus, or whatever it was. It left me like that for over a week or so. Drained. I hope you get to feeling better, if you were out for a walk then I venture to say you survived the worst part. I must have slept most of 3 days, and then could nod off at the drop of a hat.
    Best wishes.

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