3 Positive Things Part 7

[gooblax]

Bonus: I wasn't with my dad when he accidentally opened the door to my downstairs neighbour's apartment instead of going up to the next floor.
Why didn't he pay attention and realise he wasn't at the top floor? Why did my mum do the same thing last year (but I stopped her in time before she'd opened it)? Why was my neighbour's door unlocked?!! How can they be so careless and embarrassing?! But because I wasn't there, I didn't get stuck in a 1hr conversation with her. And after that hopefully he'll remember not to make the same mistake again.

 

[gooblax]

Not 3 positives...
The electrician is here but he's not installing the oven the way my dad intended because it wasn't fitting right. And I'm not going to ask him about installing the new light fitting because there wasn't a good point in the convo to say it and now that the oven is difficult I don't feel like I can ask him to tack on another job.
So I may get an ugly install, get in trouble with my dad for not telling the guy to do it a different way, and for not asking about the light.

 

[gooblax]

Not 3 positives...
The electrician is here but he's not installing the oven the way my dad intended because it wasn't fitting right. And I'm not going to ask him about installing the new light fitting because there wasn't a good point in the convo to say it and now that the oven is difficult I don't feel like I can ask him to tack on another job.
So I may get an ugly install, get in trouble with my dad for not telling the guy to do it a different way, and for not asking about the light.

Well I partially lied to my dad about the light (that I didn't ask because the electrician said he had a busy day vs. the many excuses my brain made not to ask), told him about the ugly oven install but explained why the guy couldn't do it the way dad had intended, so I'm not in trouble yet. Survived and at least I have an oven and cooktop that doesn't short out the electricity. I guess that makes a positive.

Second positive is that I made it to work afterwards and it's a nice sunny day, although was already a bit too hot for cycling at 10am.

Third positive... My therapist is trying to help me get more comfortable for an in-person session next month, reminding me that he's consistent, encouraging me to lower my guard, that we can talk about positive things to start with to ease into it, and encouraging me to let him know if he skips over something I think is important, or says something I find dismissive or upsetting, or if I think he's on the wrong track, or if I just start feeling bad during the session even if I don't know why. I've been seeing him for almost 4 years so I dunno why it's still so hard to put my guard down, although I'm practicing trusting him with bits of info here and there. Last night I was just feeling hugely grateful that he's showing the sort of reassuring helpfulness that I need at the moment, as opposed to all the earlier messes that used to happen in my sessions.

 

[gooblax]

1. Made it to work without any real incidents. A minor issue where I couldn't get across to the turning lane due to cars coming behind me, having to go through puddles on the side of the road, then had to brake in the mud to avoid hitting another cyclist coming off the cycle path (it's this stupid abrupt path with no turning room - I needed to turn from the main road onto the path, then turn 360deg to cross the main road. He popped out at the path to cross the main road just as I was going to turn in. And it's almost a blind crossing, very difficult to see what's coming on the road through the trees without poking your head out onto the road... Stupid design.) So I was a little shaken from that and just went slower the rest of the way. It was very wet and rained some more but it's sunny now and hopefully will mostly dry up.
2. A very quiet day at the office today.
3. I'm going to treat myself to something from the vending machine later today. Probably a packet of chips.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Treating oneself after a frustrating day or experience is very much underrated. We should all do more of that.

 

[gooblax]

1. Had a nice ride to work this morning. Sunny, good temperature, didn't have to go through any puddles or much road debris, and no issues with vehicles.
2. Told my manager (who I'm scared of talking to) by email that I'm not attending the annual office engineering thing because I'll be on holiday. Operation successful.
3. So far so good at preparing to put my guard down for therapy this week.

 

[gooblax]

1. The weather cleared up for a nice bike ride this morning without mud (except for the spot that always has a mud puddle).
2. I made a phone call to ask someone for ideas on how to do something at work, rather than probably doing it an inefficient way. If they can get back to me with a better way then it's a win, but even if they can't it's good that I asked.
3. I had a good but tough therapy session last night. My therapist got me to do a breathing exercise with him which felt incredibly silly/embarrassing. How on earth am I supposed to hold my mouth while breathing out of it, in front of him? What am I supposed to do with my face?! I agreed that we could do it again in the future if he closes his eyes and doesn't watch me.

 

[Daniel E.]

BONUS: Brother-in-law handyman just finished upgrading all our plumbing pipes to PEX, which is relatively rupture-proof during the winter (at least for northern Arizona). So we saved $2500+ in labor. Parts were only about $700, with almost all hardware stores giving a 10% discount to veterans.

Took less than two days but lots of trips to hardware stores, with True Value and Ace Hardware having the best selection of harder-to-find parts.

According to Wikipedia: "PEX's flexibility means fewer connections, better water flow, faster and easier installations." So our hot water is getting to us a lot sooner.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Excellent. I'd never heard of PEX until now.

 

[Daniel E.]

We have been wanting it for a couple years now. We were originally quoted a rip-off price of $5,000, which scared us away from it. But it is so easy (once you know what you are doing), so I am going to put down PEX water lines to each chicken coop before this winter.

 

[gooblax]

1. The bottle of dishwashing liquid made a tiny bubble that stayed airborne for about 2 minutes. I was quite impressed.
2. My ride to work was not interrupted by the council mobile weedkiller (i.e. the council car that they drive slowly, spraying weedkiller out the window). Last time I came across them I got sprayed with the weedkiller. This time I knew what to expect and evaded accordingly.
3. I'm a bit more ready to view my online time as being a bit of a social media addiction thing in addition to sometimes being helpful.

 

[Daniel E.]

Last time I came across them I got sprayed with the weedkiller

Mountain biking uphill is looking easier already compared to dealing with populated areas.