3 Positive Things Part 7

[Daniel E.]

1. Found a good tai restaurant after doing tai chi.

2. Tai chi was a lot easier in person. Almost no boredom at all today.

3. For me, tai chi prevents sciatica better than chiropractic.

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: The Canadian therapist/moderator for my neurodiversity group said "eh" today. So I got the authentic Canadian experience 🇨🇦

 

[gooblax]

1. I'm having a pretty high level of anxiety regarding taking my bike in for a service today, mostly centred around the busy roads I'll have to ride on to get there and how I hate unfamiliar routes, plus uncertainty over whether it's more dangerous to ride on the road or on the footpath at the northern end of the busy road before I get onto the bike path. I don't know what's the worst time to leave so even though it's a 15 minute ride to get there and the servicing is booked for 9:30, I'm thinking of just leaving at 8:00 to check my bike and lube the chain after I last cleaned it, and go, and then hang out in a nearby park for the rest of the time while I'm waiting. Which seems insane but there doesn't seem like a good alternate option. I can't even ride the more familiar route because one of the roads is closed due to flooding. But the positive is that if I leave so early then there are lots of options, including walking if I can't bring myself to ride.
2. After I drop my bike off is a good time to go get the bigger items from the shops that I've been putting off getting because they need a dedicated trip (e.g. a new dish drying rack which is obviously too big to carry in a backpack). Then I'll bring them home on the bus.
3. Maybe from exposure to the route I'll get less anxious about it over time. But it's just all the cars that are worrisome. Screw it I'm leaving now (7:34).

Edit: Well I found an awkward spot to sit, near the football clubhouse which is awkward because all the fields are closed and I dunno if I should be here. But oh well, here I am, and it's not like I'm damaging the field. I have just under an hour to wait. It's funny that I don't really remember playing soccer here as a kid, but I did for a couple of years. Maybe just because they never used to have the fences on the main pitch.

 

[gooblax]

Bonus: Survived the anxiety-provoking situation when I got to the guy's house/business and couldn't figure out how to open the gate lock (because of anxiety I didn't want to look like I was inspecting the gate to figure out how to open it, so I couldn't actually look at it), to be able to get in and ring the doorbell. 😩 I tried a couple of times with the gate but there was someone in a car parked across the street that was not leaving and I got paranoid that they were watching me which just made things worse. The house's front door was left open and I was thinking about yelling but figured that would just attract attention from elsewhere rather than the house. I'd already saved the guy's mobile number in my phone so I called it... but no one answered and I didn't want to leave a message. After 6 minutes I was planning on trying the gate again - damn the person in the car and what they think - when someone appeared coming out of the gate next door. And it was the person I was trying to contact. He apologised for being next door and keeping me waiting.

Just as well I didn't figure out the gate. It would've been worse to get "caught" looking for him in the yard while the front door was wide open.

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: Husband agreed that we will sell the minivan so we can get a nice vehicle with four wheel drive. Transmission seems fine since the problem may have been the tires.

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: Got new tires on the minivan and parts have been ordered for a minor fix. (We are now thinking of keeping it and putting snow tires on during the winter.)

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I used to drive a minivan and I can tell you that 4 snow tires make a huge difference.

 

[Daniel E.]

The other good thing about snow tires is they would remind me to rotate our regular tires too. We didn't rotate them, and both front tires blew out on the way back home yesterday while driving the mountain curves. The tires looked great on the outside but were worn on the inside to the metal belt.

The guy who changed the tires for us recommended snow tires too when I brought up next winter. (We tried to change the tires ourselves. But the jack that came with the minivan started to bend because it was too weak, unlike the 3-ton hydraulic jacks we left at home.)

 

[gooblax]

1. I have a new gecko inside to help me deal with the fruit flies. She hasn't introduced herself yet.
2. Calmed down a bit after yelling at the laundry/washing machine for no reason, just because I was thinking about trying to explain again to my psych that I'm going to need some sort of strategy for anxiety between driving lessons and how the anxiety comes out as aggression when it gets worse.
3. Further calmed down from my shower and building some lego.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

That washing machine had it coming.

 

[Daniel E.]

1. Had a good visit with my sister and brother in law (until the end when they all got argumentative, but I had my Abilify in my system and am getting used to the chaos and just joked around with them).

2. When it comes to getting takeout, I am so glad I don't live in the Phoenix suburbs. (The Panera Bread had a line just to get into the parking lot since the drive-thru line was blocking everything.)

3. Will be able to use the pool at my in-laws gated community.

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: My appointment is tomorrow morning for my first COVID vaccine shot (at a local convention center).

 

[gooblax]

1. Just heard from the student I'm going to be mentoring and I tried really hard to provide a good response. It took me an hour and a half past my bed time to write a 3 paragraph email and I'm tired, so I gave up thinking up the best way to ask when she's available for a video call and trying to figure out how to match email tone/energy and how to sound enthusiastic and encouraging. Somehow it's hard to imagine that she might be more afraid of me than I am of her, yet I'm supposed to be the mentor here.
2. I have a larger gecko in the bathroom (compared to the smaller one I previously mentioned who was in the dining area) who was polite enough to vacate the shower when it was my turn to use it.
3. Finally sleep time.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Gooblax and the Geckos Go On An Adventure.

Coming soon to an Amazon store near you!

 

[Daniel E.]

If you want a ghost writer, Gooblax, due to your busy gecko schedule, I can find you one on Fiverr

 

[David Baxter PhD]

If you want a ghost writer, Gooblax, due to your busy gecko schedule, I can find you one on Fiverr

Don't do it, @gooblax!

For logos and such, Fiverr is fine. For content or copy, you're better off getting the preschooler down the block to write for you.

 

[gooblax]

1. Therapy went well today, even though I was worried that I was feeling too ambivalent which would result in a bad session outcome and a high level of post-session upset. I hadn't even made a list, because nothing seemed worth talking about.
2. When my psych said something about leaving the driving topic until I was ready to discuss it some more, I only briefly took that as a rejection and code for "ok I don't want to see you anymore until you stop wasting my time." At the end of the session he further reinforced that that's not what he meant by preemptively having already written down my next session in his calendar. So if my thoughts try (again) to interpret rejection then I'll just have to keep reminding myself.
3. The Thai marinade that I made was good. But I'll have to keep practicing if I want it as good as my favourite noodle restaurant that closed

 

[Daniel E.]

1. Instructor was very entertaining/funny at the socially-distanced CPR class I took today. (I take it every two years. And it's good even if you don't do caregiving since the population is getting older.)

2. Got pure maple syrup for Easter 🇨🇦

3. A happy surprise: My primary doctor gave me a salad and three slices of cheese pizza from a local pizzaria to take home. (His office had tons of extra food from lunch, and he was trying to get rid of it.)

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: As expected, dogs enjoyed their Easter meal -- cocktail shrimp and yeast rolls. (The rolls were flavored with butter and maple syrup.)

 

[Daniel E.]

1. I like the new prescription eyeglasses I picked up yesterday at LensCrafters. The lenses are nicer/thinner than my last pair.

2. On my way out of the mall, I saw a new, privately-owned dollar store. Owner is very nice and gave me a free breakfast bar to sample.

3. Got Starbucks ground coffee for only $1 (at the dollar store).