Sunday, January 5, 2025

 Sunday, January 5, 2025

     I took half of the 25 mg. Seroquel the doctor prescribed before going to bed around 10 pm.  I felt the effect hit one hour later, as the doctor had promised. I felt it wash over my mind as with the Dilaudid when I was in the hospital with my broken shoulder and elbow. Dilaudid is more powerful than morphine. I read it can be used as a recreational drug and be addictive.  While I appreciated the wipe-out effect of the Dilaudid, I wasn’t even vaguely tempted to repeat the experience.  Last night, while I wasn’t as hyper as I had been,  I still felt agitating fear whenever I thought of pitching my method for teaching reading to Steve.

   The night before last, I slept straight through to 6 am and felt like dozing until I forced myself out of bed at 7 am.  Last night, I slept through till  4am and didn’t fall back to sleep again.  That was good enough. I found that I didn’t need a long nap in the middle of the day.  We’ll see what happens after I meet with Steve and get that over with. I’ll calm down regardless of the outcome.  I have difficulty imagining him having a positive response.  It’s too different from standard teaching methods, which are highly structured and sequenced instead of random. In my method, you teach the problem at hand.

    I went to church. After Mass, I was greeted by a few people, but for the most part, I just sat alone.  Judy told me her stint as a Target cashier was intense yesterday. It was one customer after another.

    I drove to the Unity Church parking lot around 10:30.  It was jammed. I took a spot that looked like it might be reserved as a walkway. I napped and listened to HPR’s Left, Right and Center and then the beginning of Hidden Brain.  Even  Republicans aren’t keen on Elon Musk being on the DOGE committee to cut back on unnecessary spending.  The man holds contracts with the Federal government.  He’s bound to protect his own interests. Talk about a swamp!

   When I went inside the church, Chris was already cleaning up the food from the social hour, which was more like half an hour after their service. There is often some good food. Today, there was a bit of cut fruit left and some cake. I finished off the fruit. 

   Clyde greeted me with a hug.  He called a woman over and introduced us. We both stood there dumbfounded. We had no idea why Clyde introduced us.  We were both the type to hold a steady, calm gaze.  We acknowledged each other, and she went on her way. Clyde’s social skills are not the best, but he does no harm other than create awkward situations.

   Denise was there. She did a healing on me two months ago. I enjoyed her energy and asked for another session. She finished just as the sound bath was about to begin. I felt deeply relaxed at the end. I would like to find some school teachers in this group with whom I can share my work. I don’t think there are any.  I’m looking for opportunities to promote this method more aggressively than ever before. Hopefully, I can overcome my fears.

   My next stop was Target. The parking lot was full.  I had to park in one of the outer rows.  I had never seen it like that. It must have been that way yesterday when Judy was working. I picked up hand sanitizer so I could use the slime I bought without worrying about the kids at Ulu Wini spreading germs, six frozen dinners, a carton of eggs, and butter. I ran into a father and his two children from Ulu Wini in the dairy aisle. This is the second time I’ve run into someone from Ulu Wini at Target.  The first time was an experience and a half.

    I heard a man yell with such ferocity that I ducked and threw my hands up in front of my face, even though I had a bank of refrigerators and freezers between us.  He was yelling at his son.  When I went around to check, I discovered I knew the boy.  I offered to watch all three of the children while he shopped. He apologized for his son’s behavior. He didn’t have a clue.  A Target employee told me she was about to call the police.  I told her I would speak to the social workers at Ulu Wini.

   Oh, they knew about him. Child Protective Services had been called in many times by the social workers and his neighbors.  The man argued he was the victim of his six-year-old son. “You should hear how he talks to me.”  The social workers pointed out that the boy was a child and he was an adult.  That had no effect.

   The social worker at Ulu Wini said these kids didn’t win the parental lottery. Their mother had just bailed, leaving four children with this father.  They are still living there. I haven’t run into the boy or his slightly older sister, who attended Kealakehe at the time of that incident.  The oldest child has a baby and another on the way, and she lives in that household with her three siblings and her father.  As I understand it, the dad got a bit better.

   I saw a gardenia bush in the yard off the bedroom wilting. I watered it three times, giving the hard, dry soil a chance to soak in water to make it more absorbent.