It was a driveway yoga day. It was still just three students, Joe, Scott, and me. Two others say they are coming back. Elsa was particularly frisky today. There were two tennis balls around, one for Linear and one for Elsa. She can chase balls forever.
Every once in a while, she would go to the fence to bark at the neighbors’ dogs. They can get right up to the fence these days. Ronen put up a barrier within his property for a while, so they couldn’t get through the areas he planted. But now, they are all fallow, and that fencing must be down.
Their black dog is scary. That was the dog that tried to kill Elsa. Instead of avoiding him, she charges the fence. Is she nuts? I avoid walking by their house on the street side when I think the dogs might be out. I will walk the entire stretch of the street in the early morning and late at night, but not for my-before-dinner walk. That black dog comes right up to the automatic fence. I have seen people get through that fence by pushing it open. That suggests to me that the black dog might open it by throwing his weight against it. I think both Elsa and I would wind up in the hospital if that dog got loose. Scary animal. I have heard other walkers complain about him.
I finally sat down to all the Policy Service Department at Progressive. I didn’t get too far before we got cut off. Just as well. While Marissa tried to make the presentation for the representative more transparent, she confused my data, mixing updates and information. Using her format, I started writing up each unexplained rate increase myself. I think the problem at Progressive may not be graft but simple incompetence.
I spent a good part of the day figuring out how to write up the notes to be more explicit. I also called a soundproofing company to ask how best to deal with the annoying sounds Yvette hears at night when people are staying in the room above her.
The man gave the best information yet. The answer is to rip up the flooring, including the subflooring, and start from scratch. Yikes! There is a good chance I can save the carpet if I can find someone to relay it. I will also want to reorder the soundproofing foam before the carpet is laid down. That will have to be reordered. I have subsequently acquired more information about that foam too. It has to be laid, so a bit of it moves up the wall. The guy who laid it did not do that. He didn’t even remove the baseboards. He just convenienced himself. I tried to call the shop I had dealt with. The owners were nice and helpful. I couldn’t find the name of the shop on the Internet. That was weird. I resolved to look for it when I went to Home Depot. The store is right across from Home Depot.
My first stop was at the Restore Store to see if I could pick up a bathroom sink faucet cheaply. They didn’t have one, but I found this whimsical metal sculpture sitting on a bureau I couldn’t resist. When I got it home, I saw that it was even missing a few pieces. I think that added to its whimsy. Whatever, it was only eight dollars, down from ten because I got a senior citizen discount.
Then I went looking for the carpet store. I found an empty shop where I thought it was supposed to be. I gave up quickly and went to do some shopping at Home Depot and Costco.
At Home Depot, I flagged down an associate to help unload the fans. I had asked Scott to move the new ceiling fan he brought into the house the other day back to my car so that I could return it. They were much too heavy for me. The return was minor. I went to the carpeting section to determine if carpeting can be taken up and relayed. The worker said yes. I also asked them if they knew why the flooring store was gone. He said no, but he called his grandmother. He said she knew everything. She didn’t.
I wanted to pick up two new ones with smooth blades instead of the textured ones. I would do that on my way back from my luncheon date on Wednesday. I will also have to pick up the new faucet at that time. I had asked Scott when he would be able to fix my bathroom sink. He said his shoulder was bothering him too much. B. had offered, so I followed up with him. He came up to look at it later in the day. He discovered that the problem wasn’t with the tubing I had bought but with the tubing directly attached to the faucet. The faucet was old. I don’t want to put too much money into this because I would love to redo the bathroom. The people we bought the house from had everything done in dark brown hues. Not for me. I like light colors. Also, the tub is a bath fitters model, fit right over the original tub. I would like to make a lovely bathroom with a skylight. I had checked the other day. Home Depot carries a vented 2x3 foot skylight with a pyramid top. I need some advice, but it sounded like just what I’m looking for. I want to figure out how the pyramid affects the heat flow into the room versus a domed or flat top.
Then I stopped at Costco. I had a few routine items to pick up. I also picked up the croissants for tomorrow’s lunch with the girls at Zola’s.
When I got home, I worked on redoing my information for Progressive.
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Musings:
Surrender from When Things Fall Apart.
The book “When Things Fall Apart,’ was mentioned on some NPR show or another. The woman said it was life-changing. It is just a reiteration of Buddhist ideas that I’m already familiar with. I chose to read it because, as in AA meetings, someone can say something differently, and it becomes a life-changing moment.
The author speaks a lot of surrender, giving up hope. I think most religions teach that one way or another. If you’re in a bad spot, just pray – more to the point, do nothing else. When surrender is taught that way, I can see why Marx believed religion was the opiate of the people. It was used to convince them to accept their lot in life without protest, even if it was unjust.
It’s the AA prayer of knowing when to surrender and give up hope and when to hope and persist in creating change. That’s the toughy, having the wisdom to know the difference.
Surrendering and giving up hope is very freeing when it is appropriate. There are things we cannot change. Giving up hope means accepting that those things cannot be changed instead of struggling against them. Again, when do we surrender all hope? When do we stop looking for that crack in the wall with light coming through that says there is a way through this to the other side?
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