I did a short walk this morning, only 4,000 steps instead of my usual 6,000. I want to back up the data on my MAC. I was planning to take it into the computer store today to have a new operating system installed. Besides doing the backup, I emailed the documents I would need for the next few days to myself to work with them on the tablet.
Deb was back for our driveway yoga. She asked me if she could give me an agave plant. She knew the 27th was Mike's birthday and thought this plant would be perfect with its entwining roots. I said I would love it. After class, I asked her if this was something I could plant on his grave. She said no. It grew huge and spread. It would take over the cemetery. Too bad. She suggested roses. She said anything grows here. It will require no maintenance.
During the class, I experienced a dramatic shift. It wasn't just in my body; it was in my mental state as well. I had no idea what it was about in my body or my mind. It just was.
Deb said thank you to Yvette for paying individual attention to each one of us. I said thank you for creating a safe place where I could follow my own needs. Yvette said," Thank YOU!" I understood exactly what she meant. That's what I want from my students. I tell the kids, "I'm not nice; I'm smart." I know I can be more effective if they take care of themselves as I work with them. I have to know what their needs are. How lucky am I to have had teachers like that here at Bikram and now Yvette?
I had plans to drop off my car at the Kia dealership for a six-month checkup. My first stop was at 808 Computer, a computer service store in town. One of the guys there spent a good fifteen minutes with me downloading a file from my email to my tablet that I had sent myself so I could work on them while my Mac was in the shop.
While I was there, I asked if I could use the bathroom. It was shut down to customers because of the virus. When I got to the Kia service center, they had the same answer.
My nearest bathroom was in my home. I wanted to walk around town doing chores while the car was being serviced. So much for my plans. I had the guy at the desk drive me home. Just as well. I had considered canceling my in-town chores anyway. I felt that it would be best to take a good long nap after that shift during the yoga class this morning.
As I lay there on the couch, I heard a man's voice calling me. Scott? B?? No, it was the men from the Kia dealership. They were dropping off my car. Wow! How's that for great service.
I did some work in the library, alphabetizing a bay of books. This will make finding all the books I still haven't checked off from the request list will make it easier.
I spent too much time doing the NY Times Mimi Crossword Puzzles. I have never been attracted to this game. It was always too frustrating for me. But doing it online, I can get immediate feedback if I have done something wrong. I don't go wandering down the garden path, wondering if I did something wrong. The Minis are just my speed.
I finally stopped myself from playing another game and wrote this entry. I noticed the other night that I have zero readers for my blog. I can't say I blame anyone. I don't know if I would want to read all the details of someone's life. I continue writing it primarily for my sake. I think there are nuggets in there that might be interesting to someone else. It will have to be someone interested in details as well as nuggets. My first thought was I wouldn't be interested in reading all this about someone else's life. I then reread last year's blog entries nightly, and I never find them boring. I don't know if that's because they are about my life, I like how I write, or I'm a detail junkie. Whatever, I do love writing them.
Rodney, my gardener, called to ask if he could get some mangos from my property. While B. is a renter, he is the one who fertilizes them. I called B. to find out if he was okay with Rodney getting some. He said there were none left. Since we had a great rainy season earlier this year, I attribute our low output to the tree guy who did so much damage to my trees and charged me a fortune to do it.
I got a phone call from a woman who saw my ad for tutoring on Craig's list. She has a nine-year-old grandson who has just moved to the island from California with his dad. He is diagnosed as on the autism spectrum with an IQ of 60. He is in fourth grade and reads on a first-grade level. The grandmother told me the other day he told her that sharks don't bite people with a particular blood type. I had heard the same thing recently. Who knows where he heard it. Regardless, this child does not have an IQ of 60. The grandmother wants someone who will work with him in person. I won't do that for two reasons. A #1, the virus. Second, I live about an hour and a half away. I suspect this child would respond to my methods of working, even on Zoom. I believe he doesn't look like he's paying attention during his online classes, but that is probably where he picked up the information about the sharks. He is paying attention. It's just that his eyes aren't glued to that screen. He needs to do something to comfort himself as he's listening.
On the one hand, I would love to work with him. He presents an exciting challenge. I have to figure out ways to adapt my teaching to his needs. On the other hand, in my experience, relationships with children like that can go on forever. It's a slow haul and never over. It will be what it will be. If grandma decides she wants to give it a try, I'm in. If not, it's out of my hands anyway.
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Musings:
My objection to Trump is the man. I think he sows discontent and incites violence. He compared his leadership style to that of Churchill during WWII. No, no, no. Churchill did not say the Germans were a bunch of wimps and not to worry. He made it clear that the English were up against a formidable foe, and there would be 'blood, sweat, and tears.' He encouraged the English to fight on despite the odds.
Had Trump done something comparable, he would have declared the virus a formidable threat. He would have encouraged everyone to take precautions as per Dr. Fauci's recommendations. He would have honored Dr. Fauci's point of view, and then he would have said what it was he was trying to say," You will have to take risks, possibly sacrifice your life, so the economy doesn't collapse. If it does, we have nothing to leave the next generation. Be brave. Do the best you can for yourself and your country." Now that's a rallying cry. It's not the one he issued.
I suspect he didn't because of his reported remark at a military gravesite that he didn't understand why someone would sacrifice themselves to fight in the military. This represents this poor man's point of view. I say poor man because he belongs nowhere. He is attached to nothing except his own victories over others. The idea of joyfully having a cause to die for is simply beyond his mental and or emotional grasp. For that reason alone, I don't want this man as a leader of this country. Something is wrong with him.
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