AI Is My New Personal Assistant

I'm pretty good with technology, and have always thought that keeping up with changes is so important, so about a year ago when people really began talking about AI and specifically what I use, ChatGPT, I perked up.

Now I use CHATGPT many times every day.  We've been using AI for years, but we never called it by name.  Siri and Alexa and Google Maps are just some examples.  Also, auto correct on your computer is AI.  How do you think the ads you see on your computer get there?  They are specific to you, based on your browsing preferences and buying.  But let's get to some newer uses of AI.

I first began using AI about nine months ago when we were planning a trip to Poland and Slovakia.  I asked it to plan a 2 week trip that included history, culture, art and good food, and make it a combination of driving and flying.  Within 5 seconds I had a complete itinerary.  Then I asked AI if there were any festivals or special events in the towns we would be visiting.  Again, within seconds I had the names and dates of various festivals .  It gave me restaurants too.  Amazing.  

So what other ways can you use AI that you might not yet be aware of?  

1.  Figure out health issues.  If you type in your symptoms and describe the symptoms,  CHATGPT will tell you the potential causes.  Remember, AI can analyze images, so if you have a rash, for example, it may be able to tell you what it is.  It can explain medical test results and even very complicated medical situations.

2.  Diagnose home repair issues, phone issues, computer issues.  I use CHATGPT almost daily to figure out how to fix the coffee maker, repair the toilet or sink, or figure out something on my phone.  It's fantastic.  It can organize your files for your computer.

3.  Personal assistance and productivity.  There are AI tools like Tactiq that you can use to transcribe YouTube videos, or transcribe the conversations you have with yourself in the car.  It can help you make difficult decisions, if you give it the right information.

4.  It will write stories for you, letters of all sorts, sympathy cards, etc. Someone I know recently had to fire someone, and CHATGPT gave her a kind, gentle way to do it.  

We've only scratched the surface in our use of AI.  It's not something to be afraid of.  Yes, there are negatives, but OMG, the positives outweigh them, and it is such a time saver!  I hope you are all using AI and enjoying it's many benefits.

A Can-Do Attitude Can Take You Far

 Vivian "Millie" Bailey was a memorable women by any standards, and the fact that she lived such a long and productive life makes her someone I thought you might like to know about.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1918, but raised in Oklahoma, Vivian was an American WW11 veteran, civil servant and volunteer.  It was her can-do attitude that got her far.  She commanded a segregated all-female unit during WW11 and continued helping service members all her life.  At 102, she continued to live life to the fullest, completing her first skydiving jump at this age!

Vivian joined the Women's Army Auxillary Core in the early days of WW11.  She was commissioned as a first lieutenant.  As one of two black women in her general officers training class, she graduated with honors and went on to serve for the first time in an unsegregated unit.

Even after the war, Vivian never stopped serving.  During the Vietnam War she and a group of friends put together care packages for deployed service members.  She did the same during Desert Storm, and since 2004 she has ben packing boxes, soliciting funds and calling on elected officials for contributions to continue her work of sending care packages to our military.

She has met presidents and first ladies, generals and civic leaders, and all have mentioned that her can-do attitude has served her well.  Nothing gave her family any inclination that she would rise to the heights she did, but indeed she did.  Long before the military was desegregated, Vivian Bailey was being educated in a nearly "whites only" officers training class, leading an all black squad of women during WW11 and flying planes (unheard of at the time) in combat.  She died peacefully in 2022.

Aging Is Inevitable

Although aging is inevitable, we don't all age at the same rate.  Some people look and feel old at 60, while others are still going strong in their 90's and beyond.  Genetics plays a role in aging, but lifestyle plays and even greater role in whether you will become a super ager.  Here are a few of the lifestyle choices that lead to slower aging.

1.  Challenge your brain.  Push your brain by reading challenging material and learning something hard.  I have a saying, and I think of it every day.  "I want to learn something new everyday."  

2.  Build strength.  Walking is great, but you've got to do more.  Do some resistance training 2-3 times a week.  Just 10 minutes will make a difference.  Work on balance and mobility.  Perform short bursts of energy for a great cardio workout.  We used to call this interval training.

3.  Sleep 7-8 hours per night.  Sleep deprivation accelerates age-related decline.

4.  Eat a wholesome diet, with a few ultra processed foods as possible.  A Mediterrenean diet works well.

5.  Prevent health flare ups by visiting your primary doctor, opthomologist and audiologist regularly.  

6.  Stay socially connected.  This may be more important than we think.  Stay active in church, book clubs, hobbies, bridge, mah jongg, etc.  It keeps  you engaged in the world around.

7.  Stress management.  I think this is one of the keys to longevity, although I am not a doctor and have no research to support my thoughts.  Deep breathing, short walks, meditation, creative hobbies, and a good friend to share thoughts and concerns with, will go a long way in reducing stress.  I always remember what a therapist said to me many years ago when I was going through a difficult time.  "Most of your anxiety over negative events will never come to pass.  It's unlikely that you're going to get hit by lightening, unlikely that your plane will crash, unlikely that your house will burn down.  Focus on the things you CAN change instead of speculating about the "what ifs."

I plan to live a long and healthy life by remembering the above choices that seem to lead to a longer life.  

Motion is Lotion

Six years ago I began to develop severe lower back pain.  Severe arthritis was the culprit.  This was during Covid, and just before Ron passed away, so I had a lot of stress, which I thought might be a contributing factor.  After a little physical therapy with no significant improvement, I had two spinal injections.  It was like magic.  I had two injections, and no pain for five years.  Now it has begun again.

My first thought was to go right to the pain doctor and get steroid injections.  My primary doctor said, "Let's try physical therapy first."  I was skeptical, but I'm so glad I listened to him, because I met Jennifer.

My physical therapist, Jennifer, explained to me that my severe arthritis five years ago is now five years worse!  I first met and explained to Jennifer my symptoms, and how a 20 minute walk first thing in the morning seems to stretch out my back and make me almost pain free, she said, "Motion is lotion."  I had never heard that phrase before, but it makes perfect sense.  The joints and nerve endings have been sleeping all night and are stiff.  Walking loosens them up, gets things moving.  So, motion is a lubricant to get the stiffness out of my back.

Jennifer has me on a program of light stretching every day and a little strengthening for my lower back.  It seemed to work for a while, but over the last two weeks has worsened.  The pain doctor is going to do epidural injections again, with the hope that I will have the same great results I had the first time.  You just never know.  

I'm sorry the stretching and walking wasn't a complete fix, but I hope the injections will help.  I do know that walking and movement, at least for me, makes everything better.  Thank you Jennifer for teaching me that "Motion is lotion."

Turn a Lonely Day Into Something Memorable

 The most difficult days of the year for seniors living alone are often Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Eve/Day.  Many people have no family near by, or don't have the ability to go anywhere.  They might not drive anymore, or are homebound due to illness.  It doesn't have to be this way.

At Ocean Hills, a 55+ community where I have lived for the past 10 years, one new owner, decided to put on a Thanksgiving dinner for any resident that wanted to attend.  She really outdid herself.  With the help of a great team of volunteers (including me), she cooked all the food, set up 13 tables of 10 each, and threw a Thanksgiving party that all will remember.  

There were couples and singles, able bodied and disabled, all there to share a meal with community members that they may or may not know.  My mom and I went, and sat at a table with a few people I knew, and many  I did not.  We shared stories, I found out one of the couples at our table lived on my street, unbeknownst to me.  The craziest thing we discovered as we all shared stories, was that  of the 10 people at our table, six of them shared a birthday with someone else at the table.  My mom found another many who shared her birthday, there were two ladies named Karen who shared a birthday, and two other strangers who also shared a birthday.  The odds of that are 1 in 16,000!!!

Anyway, strangers can become friends very quickly over a meal, and that's exactly what happened here, table after table.  So many lonely people that seldom get out had a Thanksgiving to remember.

Oftentimes seniors that are isolated, are forgotten.  It's so important to remember them, to respect and honor them.  When we have so much, it feels wrong to forget them.  Thank you, Carol, for putting this Thanksgiving meal together.  It meant so much to all of us, but especially to the many residents of our community that would have stayed home alone had it not been for Carol and her wonderful team of volunteers.