Thursday, January 18, 2023

 Thursday, January 18, 2023 

 

  I had my first private session with Doreen, a Gokhale instructor. 

She went on in detail, describing the objectives of the lesson. Given it was only 13 minutes at $240 an hour, I didn't want to waste time doing what I didn't need. She said she didn't stick to the time limit.

   As I worked, Doreen said, "Don't overthink it." I said, "Please, don't critique my thinking style." I thought I did pretty well. I got good pointers from her. I know therapists can have difficulty with me. Most start out fearing me. I'm bright, articulate, knowledgeable, and outspoken. Most of my psychotherapists couldn't stand working with me. My physical therapists all wind up loving me – so far.

   The OT who came to my home after my shoulder and elbow surgery told me while she first thought I would be hard to work with,  I wound up being her favorite client. I do well when people work with me; I'm a nightmare for anyone who thinks it's their job to work on me. These private sessions are nothing more than a private YouTube video presentation. At the session's end, Doreen commented positively about working together.

   I'm not a controlling person except in one regard: I need to work things out with people. Some people deal with differences with fatalism. 'It is what it is.' I don't. I want to work for the best solution for one and all. Mike saw that in me and appreciated it. From the start, he said he saw me as someone who would take care of herself and be concerned about him, too. He never changed his mind about that.

   I have a problem with my solar system. I had thirty-five panels installed in 2017. They wound up being a defective batch. Many broke down over the years one by one. They were all under warranty and were replaced for free by the company. It's been about a year since the last three broke down. I'd been waiting for replacement panels. Out of the thirty-five originals, approximately 10 have been replaced.

     I ran into Beth, the administrator at Hawaiian Solar, the company that installed those panels, at church last Sunday. She muttered something about the company only replacing the panels if they stopped producing completely. Did I get an email from them? I envisioned a panel producing 1% of what it was supposed to but not qualifying for replacement.   I called Beth on Monday to get a better idea about the terms. She said it was a good deal. They offer to pay 90% of what is spent, and I could spend that money any way I like, or I could stick with them, and they would honor the warranty as best they could.

    I wanted out. I was worn out waiting for the next panel to fail. Beth told me Hawaiian Solar no longer installed panels. I called other local solar companies to schedule a sales appointment to see my options. It sounded like a good deal for me to get new, updated panels instead of hanging with this company as panels fail one after another. I am concerned that some will go after the warranty expires.

  I showed Adolescent D  the memorizing procedure. Make the sounds for each letter or letter combination that makes a sound, say the word, and repeat at least three times. Recall the letters visually, name them, and say the word. Repeat three times. Both exercises require recall, creating new circuits in the brain. For the first time, he said he might do the exercise on his own if I sent him the list of words. Before, he said no to anything I suggested; he wouldn't do anything.

    When she picked me up for our evening walk, Darby came with a bucket in hand to collect green waste. She told me how precious green waste is. If she feels that way, I'll give her mine rather than take it to the transfer station. They collect green waste and make it into mulch. She said she would only take bucket-sized quantities. I could think of several reasons; her real reason never occurred to me. Anything bigger is too hard to work with. Okay, I'm game.

   I tried to make a video for Josephine showing my approach to cuing students on decoding. I'm reluctant to make these videos because I can't stand the way I look or sound. Damon tells me that everyone feels that way. No one can stand the way they sound. I'm also unclear. When I speak to someone directly, communicating my thoughts is easy. I made the first videos with an audience in mind. That helped me a lot.

    I did some housekeeping and weeding today. The sun was out all day, so I did a laundry and hung my clothes on the line. I finally vacuumed the lanai. It's not a big deal. I've been looking at the rug and complaining about the filth in my head. It feels good to get it done. Unfortunately, running the vacuum prompted Elsa to pee on the rug. Can't win it all.