Wednesday, December 15, 2021

  

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

 

    I stayed in bed after the alarm went off despite a good night’s sleep.  In my blog entry from last year, I read that I would complete 4000 to 6,000 steps before yoga.  I guess I could complete 4,000 these days.  This seems weird because I would say I walk faster now than last year. Something’s off. 

    I worked on the blog until 7:30, when I had to leave to drop Elsa off at the groomer.  I arrived there ten minutes early. My appointment was at 8 am. The owner leaves clear messages that she won’t serve you or will charge you more if you arrived more than 10 minutes early or 10 minutes late for your appointment. Then she’s not there on time. She arrived 9 minutes late, according to my clock. No, wait. Was I looking at the car clock or my phone? My car clock is always three minutes fast.  In this shop, there is only one operator, the owner.  The shop is fitted out like a high-end beauty salon. It is very professional. Mike would have loved it as much as would have hated Dave’s place with its Gerry-rigged look.  I told the woman, whose name I do not know, I would pick up Elsa around noon.  I had a Cryotherapy appointment at 12. That just takes a few minutes. I thought I could be there by 12:15.  

    I sent out my Christmas cards to those I send checks to.  I used cards that come from one charity or another soliciting money (I make whatever donation I make once a year. Otherwise, I never know what I’ve done.) I had a huge stack.  I sorted through them, throwing over half in the trash. I selected cards from the pile for family members of the next generation. It made me very sad. I have almost no relationship with these people, except for my niece Shivani. She is the only one who actually makes an effort to have a relationship with me. Two are hostile. They don’t reach out to anyone.  The remaining one once tried to establish a relationship with Mike and me, but as Mike said, “her heart wasn’t in it.”  She couldn’t find a joyful way to relate to us.  It’s all very sad.  When I had Mike around, it was all mildly unpleasant. But now, it’s becoming unbearable.  I will have to decide if I’m better off making an effort or just writing these folks off my list.

   I also sent out sixth grade W’s recommendation to a private school reserved for children who have Hawaiian blood relatives. Her mother sent me an email on Tuesday asking me if I would. I started composing it immediately. The school had sent me a link.  When I opened it, I discovered a form to be filled out. Some of the questions were for classroom teachers.  I skipped those. Then when I submitted the form, it was rejected. I called the school. They told me the form was for classroom teachers only.  Everyone else had to submit a written letter.  I worked on it for two days, rereading it.  W’s mother sent me an email address for the school.  Fortunately, I thought to call the school to check. They gave me a different address.  I emailed mom to tell her I had submitted it

   The plan was to leave for town early to drop off the modem at the Spectrum store before scooting over to Cryo and picking up Elsa shortly after.  The best-laid plans, etc.  I left a few minutes later than I had planned.  I had trouble finding a parking space at Kona Commons.  I thought there would be a short line for a Spectrum agent.  Boy, did I have that wrong!  Spectrum started offering cell service.  That puts them at a whole different level.  I tried to walk to a counter.  No, I was instructed to go back to the door.  I had to check in on the monitor near the door. Did I have an appointment? No.  One of the agents came over to help me. She filled in the information. She said it was at least a half-hour wait.  I told her about my noon appointment. She told me to make my appointment for 12:45. I left for my Cryo treatment.

      The door to the Cryo center was locked, which meant she was treating someone. As I sat there, I searched my purse for a brushy toothpick. I saw some of my cards were loose instead of neatly tucked up into their pockets.  I found most of them but discovered my Chase Freedom card was missing.  It didn’t make sense that someone had taken it out of my purse. Not possible. Where had I left it?  That would be something to deal with when I got home.

    When I got in the Cryo Center, I grabbed the bathroom key before doing anything else. As I walked back to the office, Nikki walked toward me to say she needed to take a pee; she would be right back. The door to the office was locked.  I got some steps in while I waited.  Nikki took much longer than I expected. Apparently, she and her husband were down to one car and had to figure out how to chauffeur their children. I went right to the dressing room.  While waiting for the Cryo machine to be ready, two other women arrived.  Nikki dealt with them, making me nervous I wouldn’t get out in a timely way. There was really no problem.  I have been feeling somewhat shattered.

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  I was back at Spectrum a minute after 12:45. I went to check in on the monitor. It asked for my keyword or email address.  The agent hadn’t given me a keyword or asked for my email address.  I was told I had to hand in the modem within 14 days. I was well within that limit, given the day I actually spoke to them the second time.  Then it occurred to me the agent I talked to had canceled my service as of December 1, even though it was much later in the month.  Would my two-week period start on the first or on the later date?  It was the 15th now. Would I be penalized?

     The agent who had signed me in walked across the floor.  “Betty, it’s okay. I got you.” Ah!  She pointed to a chair at the back of the showroom near her station.  I could hear Melony working. My God, she was a calming presence.  It was a pleasure to listen to her work with other customers.  When it was my turn, she walked over to me and took the modem from me.  However, she hadn’t asked me what I was there for.  She was about to give me an updated modem.  When she understood I had canceled the service and was just returning the one I had, she said, “Oh, that’s easy.”  I went off to collect Elsa from the groomer and headed home.

   Locating my Chase credit card was my first chore.  I searched the floor in the living room around my old lady chair.  No, not there.  I had used it at Costco. I only have the card because Costco won’t accept my Master Card.  I called them.  How long ago did I lose it?  It was over a week ago that I was in the store. No, they shred them after 24thours. I ordered a new one.

    I got one of the transom library windows washed.  I had a problem. I couldn’t get the screen out.  I washed it by spaying a water and vinegar solution and wiping it down.  Cleaning those smaller high windows was a challenge. In the process, I cleaned the top of the shelves, throwing away stuff that should have been thrown away years ago. Given that hadn’t been dusted since installed, they weren’t too dirty.