Monday, September 2, 2024

 Monday, September 2, 2024

     I woke up panicked at 12:30 after going to bed at 9:30. I tried to stay in bed, but it was pointless. I got up, dressed, and meditated in the living room. That did nothing to calm me. I got my Kindle and read A Man Call Ove.  The movie A Man Called Otto with Tom Hanks was based on the book. My friend, Jean, who recommended it, said she enjoyed the book more than the movie. I enjoyed the lead female character in the movie. In the book, she’s Arabic; in the film, she is Latina.  Otto/ Ove is taciturn. The only emotion he shows is annoyance. In the book, the author shares Ove/Otto’s thoughts.  You better understand what motivates him and how he and his wife made a mutually enjoyable marriage.  Once I got beyond dealing with Ove/Otto’s rigid ‘always right’ personality, I enjoyed him and the book.

    Three new people joined us for Chi Qigong today.  They had attended the sound bath. One woman, Colleen, had lived on the island for a long time. The other two were a couple from San Francisco visiting for a week. I was impressed that they found activities available to the locals. Most tourists hit the ‘sights.’    They asked Clyde and me why we had moved here.  The big message from both of us is we love living here. The longer you live here, the more beautiful it gets.  Mike and I both noticed that odd phenomenon.

    Mid-morning, I went to Costco to buy the computer Bailey, my computer tech, recommended. I drove to his shop, dropped off the Lenovo, and picked up the HP I bought on Friday. Bailey said the HP model I bought on Friday was just a toy computer. Done and done.

    The fifth-grade Twins were home from school today because of Labor Day.  I worked with both of them. They both fell asleep on me. No, they weren’t tired. It’s their response when they struggle to understand what I say or follow directions. I taught the G before E rule again to Twin A, having her repeat my words. Doing that required a good ten repetitions. I broke it down to a few words at a time, asking her to repeat the exact words I had said. This is very hard for both girls. I know they are considered cognitively challenged. If they did get an IQ test, their scores must be well below 100. I think of cognition as a set of skills that can be taught. The problem is that if you don’t do the repair early enough, the student feels the learning is a struggle and isn’t worth it. I can’t say I blame them. It is hard work to rewire your brain.  

        It looked like it was going to be a clear day.  Since I hadn’t slept well, I was tired. I napped, planning to do some gardening later in the day.  A light, brief rain fell. I would wait an hour, giving some time for the water to evaporate and time for Jean to call so we could do our daily water meditation. Then, it started to pour and didn’t stop until late afternoon. I curled up on the sofa and binged on Vera videos. 

    I had fourth-grade LG at four-thirty. His mother couldn’t find the power cord for the new computer, so we would have to use the phone to hear each other. Then, they couldn’t get the Zoom link to work at all. I called it. “Let’s cancel for today. I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

    The rain let up in time for my evening walk.  I broiled a chicken leg. Since the timer on the toaster oven no longer worked, I wanted to wait until it was finished cooking.  Darby appeared.  She has been walking less. She is absorbed with her best friend, who is busy dying. Ironically, the hospice care workers have figured out how to make her more comfortable than she has been in the last ten years. Pam is a woman with a lot of medical issues. 

    Darby told me I shouldn’t feed hard kibble to Elsa because of all her lost teeth.  I thought dogs didn’t chew their food. Dogs only use their teeth to rip meat; everything else gets downed without chewing.  Darby said no, that wasn’t the case. Before we left on our walk, I put her kibble in a bowl of water. It would be soft by the time I got home. I gave Elsa the bowl of softened food when I got home. She scarfed it down. She hadn’t done that since she had her teeth extracted.  I had been throwing her the hard kibble loosely on the floor, a method of feeding recommended on some sites to make the eating process more engaging for the dogs.  I was shocked at the difference.

   It didn’t take long for the kibble to be sufficiently softened.  I hadn’t been out long.  I only managed to walk to the end of the block before the rain started again.  When I reached the driveway, the drops came down so hard they bounced off the pavement.  

    Joseph came home from playing chess with a friend while I ate dinner.  He told me about his day. The political situation is the dominant topic between Joseph and his friends.  I can imagine it is.  They’re struggling to create lives for themselves in a very precarious world. I am happy I’m old. I’m not optimistic about the future of the human race.  I think God is through with this experiment with ‘intelligent’ life.