I tried to journal last night, but I found myself inhibited were prohibited by technology. I have been using Jen's MacBook Air, which I kept bedside, allowing me to end my day capturing reflections on the day before retiring. I rely on technology to synchronize my phone and my main computer with this device. I spent about 15 or 20 minutes last night trying to get that working without success. I have no idea why it failed. I have no idea why my attempts to restore the functionality did not work. All I know is it failed and left me disinterested in dealing further with said technology. I would be lying if I said this was a common occurrence. It typically works just fine. But as with any scenario, when I am ready to use the tool, having that tool be functional is imperative. Yes, I could've gotten up and gotten my laptop and continued. But I'm not set up to have it charging there. The resolution here is to abandon the expectation of having multiple devices consistently available. In any event, reflecting on yesterday, I started the day with an argument with Lauren while walking. I was expressing some feelings, and she contradicted me, and then my opinion shut me down. It pissed me off because it's what I deal with constantly from her sibling, and I don't need it coming from both sides. My stress level is pretty high given all of the chaos around PG&E and power panorama and cable and insurance and fallen trees. On which note, I did get PG&E to come out finally. I had gone to Linda's facility and visited briefly in the morning (she was not communicative) and then got a call from Tommy saying PGE was there. I rushed home, and the PG&E guy was curt and mean and abrasive and offensive. I walked away and started to call PG&E. Then I took a breath and recognized that the workload and stress of their work and their position, following that intense storm of all of the damage being reported, is probably overwhelming. You get tired of dealing with novice questions about why power can't be restored unless something on the house is fixed by an electrician that you have to pay for, which is what happened. They call it the weather head, and it was aged and had exposed wires and not considered safe for them to reconnect. I contacted a few electricians and got ahold of one that seemed reasonable. Then I got a bid that was half of what he asked. But I also rolled with it, recognizing that it would all be covered by insurance anyway. I have a $1000 deductible, and this alone will address that, and we will be splitting it with the neighbor when it comes to the repairs for the fence and the removal of the tree. Given that she just lost her husband and her deductible is twice as much as mine, it seems like a reasonable thing to do. Zach and the plumber came by to resolve the issues with the toilets in the rental house. It turns out that the calcium I deal with monthly in our coffee maker is also subject to causing problems in water flow in the toilet. It sounds like they cleared out a great deal of buildup, and things seem to be working a lot better. I finished off my night with a double feature in my Wes Anderson marathon. The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs. The Grand Budapest Hotel remains cemented as my absolute favorite. I think it's perfection in every way. Visually, character development, pacing, music. It's just fantastic. It's a delight. Isle of Dogs was terrific too. I booked tickets for Friday night so that we can see The French Dispatch. The past couple of days have been heavily consumed with my working through frustrations and complications in a way that I feel positive and good about. The whole fiasco around Comcast outage, power issues, PGE's visit and disconnect, next-door neighbor Pat's subsequent outage being a tripped breaker, the electrician doing the work and then being told it requires permits, the chasing of permits, and the sudden call and resurrection of power by PGE guy "Chase" who saw past the red tape… what a ride. Yet with a moderate exception, including a call to Jen to 'talk me down' from getting worked up about something I can't change by getting worked up, I rolled with things as gracefully as I could, and I kept a positive attitude and approach with others I was trying to work with. At this point, the power's back on, the internet will be back Sat AM, and Kathy can stay there for the rest of her visit. We had an excellent lunch conversation, and I felt 'heard' on many levels. GNO with BL and JG was informative. We discussed some low-level technical aspects of each of their roles at RoKu, and it gave me a deeper appreciation for the business and complexities. I'm taking tomorrow off to catch my breath and use a PTO day I'll otherwise lose.
Habits & Routines: Mediation Presence Gratitude Calm Action Friendship Family Exercise Weight↔︎