Thursday, September 9, 2021

 Thursday, September 9, 2021   

 

    I woke up before the alarm went off. I got up, put reflector strips on my wrists, and headed out with Elsa. I ran into Ann Marie. For a time, I ran into her daily. Then she disappeared. I knew she wouldn't have left the island. She was a fourth-grade teacher in the local school. If she wasn't running daily, something was wrong. I texted her. She said she was running in another area because there were too many loose dogs on this route. Today, she was using her old way but also carrying a stick to fend off dogs if needed.

    When I was home preparing Elsa's breakfast, the telephone rang with an unfamiliar number. I answered. A rapid-fire voice said, "I'm -----------, from Kealakehe Elementary School. You need a TB test. When you get the results, drop them off at the school between 7 and 4. Bye." I was confused. I was applying for a job as a tutor at Kealakehe Intermediate School. Why was the elementary school calling me? Also, I had been tutoring there for years. I got a TB test when I started. Why did they need another one? Why would I need one when I would only be meeting with students on Zoom? I called to ask for some clarity.

   About an hour later, I got another call. "Hello, Elizabeth. We're looking forward to having you work with us. This is the principal of Kealakehe Intermediate school. (Not elementary, as I had heard.) "She then spit-fired out the rest message as she had before. She told me I needed a test within the last year.

   When I got my first TB test, the clerk at the elementary school told me I could get one at the County Clinic. Today, the principal didn't give me time to ask a question before she hung up. I looked it up online. Then it occurred to me that I could get one through Kaiser. That facility was closer to me. I called there. Sure enough, they could give me the test. I made an appointment.

      Yesterday, I spoke to Mama K about getting in touch with her kids' teachers. She said she wasn't getting any communications from them. I told her to give me their names, and I would get her their email addresses. Once you know their first and last names, it's pretty simple; the address is the same for all public-school teachers in Hawaii. Mama K sent out emails immediately and got responses immediately. This morning K's teacher contacted me. K had claimed that his teacher only called his name to answer a question. She told a different story. I still didn't know if he's as distracted as last year.  

    I jumped in the shower once the day warmed up a little. I have no indoor heating. I have louvered windows in the bathroom that don't form a seal when shut. I am at the mercy of the outdoor temperature. It was on the cool side. I wore my heaviest sweatshirt this morning, with my shorts and Crocs, and wasn't overdressed.

   I finished up just in time to leave for my 10:30 appointment with Randee, my hairdresser. As usual, someone commented two days before my haircut on how great my hair looked; did I just get it cut? This happens within days of my next haircut if it's been four weeks, nine weeks, or three months, as when Covid first hit. Randee gives spectacular haircuts.

    I was going to stop and pick up the Ivermectin I ordered from the pharmacy on the way home and drop off the box filled with Styrofoam I pulled out of Judy, Paulette, and Howard's garbage on Wednesday. Hate to see things going into the landfill unnecessarily. I drop off my Styrofoam at UPS. At least the stuff gets one more round of use before it winds up being thrash.

    I left for home a little later than expected after the hairdresser. The deli next door, Christine's Deli, makes a potato salad to die for. I think it reminds me of my mom's German potato salad. The label, however, says it's Scandinavian. It is wonderful. I skipped the two in-town chores I planned because I had a noon appointment with my acupuncturist. I hadn't seen her for a while because I became concerned about meeting in a small, enclosed room with zero ventilation because of the renewed viral threat with the spread of the Delta variant.  

   Yvette had a table set up in the guest room. However, no one has been in it since Covid began. Moreover, I hadn't cleaned since Scott relaid the carpet after he put in the new subflooring. I did a quick vacuuming so the acupuncturist's feet wouldn't be dirtier after she left my house than when she came. I also did some dusting. The dirt was impressive. I turned on the ceiling fan to increase circulation after opening all the windows wide. I also thought of using the standing fan, but it was so dirty. I took it outside and hosed it down. It should be dry and usable by Christmas when I expect Damon and family over the Christmas vacation.  

     The acupuncturist arrived on time. She lives in the same neighborhood I do. I feel I should offer her my home, this room, for use with clients who want to be more cautious because of Covid. I'm not comfortable enough to do that. I don't want to be stuck with this arrangement for the rest of my life or hers. 

    Scott stopped by the try to fix my kitchen light again. When it first went out, going on and off at random times, I assumed it was a loose wire. I was concerned about a possible fire hazard and avoided using it. Fortunately, I had another light I could use. Scott had first suspected that some animal had gotten into the switch plate. Sure enough, there was a centipede curled up and fried,  touching both the positive and negative poles. He cleaned out the connectors and tightened them.

  At 3 pm, I had A. We worked on the sight word lists. I had him say the letters before he said the words. He misspoke. I asked him what had happened. Did the sounds or the letters shift around? No, His brain just jumped from the left to the right. I drew a cartoon image of the brain, as seen from above. I drew a line down the middle dividing the left from the right. I showed him how the image of the word entered the primary visual cortex at the back of the brain and then moved forward. He said it went so far on the left side and then switched to the right. He said the image on the right was weird. A uses the word weird a lot. He talks about wanting to be normal. I drew a line from the back forward on the left side and then a sharp line over to the right. I drew images of spinning vortexes. He said no to all of them. He said it just switched over. I finally got it. A wave of neurological stimulus comes up from both the left and the right at the same time. When the stimulus reaches the point of preconscious perception, his mind is drawn to the image from the right side of the brain. I suspect his mind goes there because he has a strong emotional response to what he sees as 'weird.'  

     This is an entirely different pattern than the one I'm used to. It has nothing to do with spinning or some form of confusion. It has to do with choosing the correct image between two competing ones. You have to ignore one. A is drawn by fear to the 'incorrect' image. 

     After my session with A, I had sessions with the F sisters, W and M.  I started with W. I asked her about her spelling and handwriting. Her mother told me her handwriting was gorgeous, almost a work of art. Ah! This told me W has a strong right brain preference.    She read to me from fourth-grade material. She read accurately but slowly, deliberately. Children who are Orton Gillingham trained overuse their conscious minds when they read. Children who have neurological problems have no choice. They can't trust their automatic processing. However, some students simply don't know how to use automatic processing; there is no neurological problem.  

    I drew the diagram I use to illustrate the brain pattern for automatic processing. I asked W if the information she got was stable or confusing. She said it was confusing. 

          I drew the same brain image I had used with A, showing the two hemispheres from above. As so often happens, these kids know exactly what is going on. Why are they so aware? We are all more aware of what doesn't work than what does work. A paper cut on a finger draws all our attention, whereas we are unaware of the sensations in our elbow. That's why kids who have problems can tell me what they are experiencing while those of us who can read well don't have a clue. W told me her mind zig-zags between the left and right brain. Because she can draw on my Zoom whiteboard (I wish I knew how she does that), she drew that zig-zag line, starting at the back of the brain and moving forward. I told her I might help her resolve this problem, but we didn't have time to resolve it today.

    When I worked with M, we continued with reading. We worked with the Sassy the Cat selection, the first story in Carpenter's materials.   She read much better today. I didn't know if the change was because she was more comfortable working with me or if her reading had improved.