Sorting Out Priorities in Everyday Ramblings

I know this is kind of bleak, this shot but this is my out there world right now. We have had two days of heavy rain and lowland flooding, which is better than ice but still not exactly cheerful.

On Monday I had the appointment with the union sponsored counselor at work after waiting weeks to see her. She was most helpful and gave me lots of practical advice as she boosted my spirits by believing me.

This is good because things have become so difficult that my cohort (formerly known as Saint Joe) and I are not speaking. This will be interesting as we have a meeting together with our manager today.

The counselor encouraged me in a direction no one else has; to ask myself and to get clear on what I want. Whoa, baby, what a radical concept that is. Not what is possible, or how to cope, or ways to express my concerns within the confines of the system… but what do I want.

So even though I feel like I have been off on a serious run of Princess Woe is Me behavior at no point have I felt a sense of control or empowerment or agency in all of this.

She was asking questions along the lines of…did I want the job they are eventually moving my cohort (formerly know as Saint Joe) into? Do I want to retire now? Do I want a different job somewhere else? If I keep this job for the 16 ½ months left, what do I want it to look like? She gave me some good resources and now I have a path to file a discrimination complaint if I decide I want to do that.

Plus I have 3 free sessions with a Career Counselor on the outside available. I think it might be helpful to talk over my retirement plans with someone. I don’t know how much yoga I am going to be able to teach and need to give this more thought.

The cool thing about retirement is that I don’t have to figure it out all at once. I can start down one path and then adjust accordingly. Everyone I know who has retired has done that naturally.

Most importantly whatever I do needs to have some element of mutually supportive interactive contact.

I spend too much time alone. And with my current work situation in what is basically a bizarre and often hostile environment, supportive interactive contact is critically important.

(Speaking of this, I was chuffed on Monday when all my students were laughing and chatting and interacting after class in this supportive community caring sort of way.) Yes!

In the next few weeks I will need to put on my thinking cap and see if I can come up with some ideas, and then a plan that I can break down into manageable increments that I can start achieving.

I did find my 2018 taxes last night. That is progress.

Tomorrow morning I have my worried well appointment to go over the results of my brain scan with my primary care doctor. I hope I don’t feel like I am wasting her time. But she did ask me to make it after the last round of blood work.

I did have a migraine yesterday and early today and I admit I started thinking oh so you headache are leaving markers in my brain. Maybe she will be able to help me understand that a bit better.

Otherwise I have plenty to think about and keep me busy and out of trouble as we wend our way through this end of winter weather slog.

Rain I can totally deal with. Even if it is all gusty and blowing straight into one’s face. But I tell you, I feel for those prisoners in the Federal Facility in New York, some of them not convicted, awaiting trial, in those freezing dark cells.

As I heard someone say, if we put horses or dogs in that situation there would be intense overwhelming public outrage.

It seems like there are certain individuals in this fair country that need to get their priorities sorted out in addition to me.

Last updated February 14, 2019