A busy day. I started by dropping off Elsa with the groomer on my way to Bikram. She wasn't going in because she was a dirty girl. I had that appointment set up two weeks ago.
I had physical therapy after 9:30. I learn something invaluable from the PT, Katie Click, each time I work with her. The first thing she did was check my hips. She said they were even. This is probably the first time in my life that my hips have been even to start with. She checked me on some of the exercises she gave me. Then I told her how I was having problems with the standing bow even when lying on the floor on my side. I just fall over; there's no stability. I have it in mind that I will continue doing the postures while lying on the floor until I have gained that stability. Katie was able to evaluate what I was doing wrong and give me suggestions. I practiced as much as I could, but I am sure that I won't do it correctly because there was a lot of information to process.
After PT, I headed right up to the Coconut Groove shopping center to buy new Crocs. While I wanted to buy a blue pair and a red pair, they only had the blue in stock. The clerk said they don't get red in, just pink, but many people ask for the red.
On the way home, I stopped off to pick up Elsa. The groomer has a small hole in the wall, which is anything but professional. Mike would have hated the place. I, however, like the guy, his work, and his prices. Elsa seems good. The first time I took her, I had to leave her until after school. When I came to pick her up, he was holding her in his lap. Ahh!
When I got home, I thought to check for red Crocs on the Internet. Ha! They are half the price of the blue ones I just bought. I'm not going to return them. I want to support local businesses, and I got the information I need on my size so I can order it correctly online.
I didn't have that much time to get ready for my next appointment. I was heading out to h Kwik Lube to get my brakes checked and changed. At least, that's what I hoped the problem would be. A friend told me it could be other problems, like misalignment. My imagination went to a bent chassis, meaning I would have to get rid of this car as well as my Prius. It would take 2 hours to change one set, a set being both front brakes. I came prepared with my computer and two books. I called Jean before I went inside. Once inside, I sat at a table on which were two copies of People Magazine. I spent the two hours reading them from cover to cover. The whole time I sat there reading, I worked on shifting my hips the way the PT showed me. It felt like time well spent.
I drove over to Toyota to check on my Prius. I wasn't satisfied with the information they gave me. When I spoke to the tech coordinator yesterday, he said that the air conditioner had not been affected by the fender bender, and there was no way it had impacted the pump. I wanted to know why the air conditioner had shut down even before the warning light came on. I had asked him to check the air conditioning when I spoke to him yesterday. I hadn't made it clear that there had been a problem with the air conditioner. The tech coordinator said he would have the technician re-evaluate the car. He also told me that the pump would only cost $550, not $5,500. I think I assumed that we were talking about the cost being in the thousands because the rest of the system costs that much. He said he would call me tomorrow. There's still hope that they got it wrong and I can salvage my car.
When I got out to talk to the guy at Toyota, my back was in trouble. I did my crab walk over to him and leaned on the counter. The work I did on realigning my hips while sitting waiting for my brakes to be fixed, reading two copies of People Magazine affected my muscles. After the guy said he would have his tech recheck my car, I hobbled back to the car and drove home.
I just got myself out of the car and made my way to bed. I texted Yvette, asking her to get my briefcase with the computer and my books out of the car when she got home. The kids made it back before she did. They got my briefcase and fed me while I lay in bed.
I had napped a little. I didn't enjoy eating in a lounging position. I was able to get up and sit at the dining room table. I needed the walking stick to take some of the pressure off, but I wasn't wholly encumbered. I set up my computer and worked on several blog entries while I finished my dinner and scarfed down three Hersey's Milk chocolate bars with almonds.
Yvette came home and stopped in to say hello. She asked for athletic tape and to use my infrared device to help with the pain. Her knee was bothering her. She said it's a side effect of her tight hips. My knees should be gone if tight hips are a cause of that problem. I have no issues (knock on wood) with my knees. Her asking for the infrared light reminded me that I should use it on my own back and neck.
____-____-____
Musings:
Been thinking more about McGilchrist's thesis that the left brain grasps and the right brain is connected with others and altruism. Okay, let's say what he is saying that the left brain focuses only on the needs of number one, and the right brain is concerned about the needs of others, ergo altruism, a willingness to sacrifice our own needs for the benefit of others.
Here's a continuum from grasping to the other extreme.
1. Grasping.
2. Releasing the grasp, so others can have some of what you are focused on.
3. Actively inviting others to share in the stash in front of you.
4. Actively giving it to another.
#2- It may just be satisfaction. The lions have had enough of the antelope, and the hyenas rush in to finish up the rest of the meal.
#3- involves an awareness of the other and an open invitation.
#4- this is what we usually think of a charity. Ah, here it gets tricky. This is what is consider charity, one of the highest acts of goodness. But that charity assumes that what I give is rightfully mine to give to someone who has less. One might ask if I have a right to have so much more than someone else that someone else needs me to extend charity in the first place.
Perhaps something between #2 and #3 would be the highest. That assumes I wouldn't have a disproportionate amount of wealth in the first place and that I wouldn't seek to have that excessive amount of wealth. Having wealth distribution controlled by a political authority doesn't feel right. However, in the hunter-gatherer groups, it was controlled by an external power. However, it was something that the majority of the tribe had consented to. If someone got overly grabby or graspy, they would be censored by the other members of the tribe. Distribution was strictly controlled.
I remember something about the factory owners in Japan not giving themselves disproportionately higher salaries than the workers. Not like what's going on in the US now, where a $5,000,000 salary per annum for an executive is considered base pay while the online workers haven't received a salary increase in years. Would you consider it charity for that executive to give part of his salary to increase the online workers' pay? What is he doing with that salary in the first place? Who needs $5,000,000 a year to meet their needs? Whose work is so much more valuable than they deserve such a disproportionate salary differential?
Mike and I had a friend who earned $4,000,000 in one year and declared her resentment of the tax schedule because she said she worked hard for her money. Really? The poor have to hold down three jobs to feed their families. Can you say they don't work hard? I don't have an answer for how to resolve this problem, but there is no question in my mind that there is a huge problem, and it's getting bigger.
No comments:
Post a Comment