I had much of this week off because I had some big things planned. Things that were a bit stressful.
Monday was Victoria Day, which is a holiday where I am, so it was a time for me to do some admin things like update the tags on the pages on this blog/website. A bunch of things didn't make sense, so I didn't make use of them. The system may automatically configure some things later, I think? This stuff really isn't my forté, but I'm not hiring some rando from the internet, so I ignore all of the emails of that ilk that I get. Unless I get a referral from a friend or I've met you in person, it's not going to happen.
Anyway, Monday also brought some stress as I had an important appointment on the horizon for mid-week. Softball practice was a welcome distraction from the anxiety. I felt better after that. I got my team last minute because of some admin stuff and someone being unable to play suddenly. I guess I almost didn't get a team. But everyone who wants to play and registers on time gets to in this league. I kind of wish I didn't know a mistake was made at all, but I'm not going to let a messy start affect my whole summer.
A wholesome thing happened at softball. A man who had never played baseball was walking by and asked if he could try to hit. He hit both balls pitched to them as if he was playing tennis, but it was sweet. I was in the outfield, so it was hard to hear the full conversation, but I think he was a tourist or newer to Canada based on his accent. It was nice to be there for that.
After I got home, I dug around in old photos that I had brought from my hometown to find a bunch of old report cards for my therapist. It was a bit of a nostalgic day reading through them all. My grades were mostly all above 70 and I was usually on the honour roll.
Tuesday, I took off just to have a longer long weekend. I applied to get removed from my former family doctor's list as he left the country and it looks like the clinic never unrostered me. They were supposed to. So I can't register for Health Care Connect to get a new doctor until that is all completed. When I tried to register is when I discovered I was still listed as having a doctor. It'll be at least 3 weeks before I can register with one if I can find one that is accepting patients.
I also got my license plate renewed until 2025, so I would be more at ease traveling to Montreal for Lesbian Jesus a.k.a. Hayley Kiyoko. She played Velma in the live action Scooby Doo movie in case you still don't know who that is. I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of her debut novel, Girls Like Girls. Yeah, she's a triple threat on the creative scene.
Later on Tuesday, after hanging out with friends, I ordered a dress for an upcoming wedding, a couple of cute shirts, and a new bathing suit. I haven't swam in all the time I've been in Ottawa, but I'd like to. I used to swim all the time. We had a pool for much of my life. I'd also like to search for seaglass.
I needed Wednesday morning for my ADHD assessment. I was going into that fearful that I would fail it and be no better off after everything I've done to get to this point and afford the testing. I took the afternoon off because I wasn't sure how I would be after the assessment. Relieved? Tired? See below for what it entailed.
Wednesday also brought a new pillow and for the first time in a while, I awoke on Thursday without a sore neck.
Thursday had me back at work feeling refreshed, so I got some things done. I also found a piano learning program like Fender Play called Playground Sessions. So far I'm awesome at middle C.
For the longest time, I couldn't decide between ukulele and keyboards. I prefer keyboards, but they're hard to bring to a bar for a fun jam night. Maybe with lots of batteries I can make it happen...
Streaming went? Well... I don't think it did. Everything was up. Then OBS crashed. Then I had to fix it because it wasn't showing my game. I was able to fix that more quickly than in the past, so that's something. I did my stream, then as I was about to end it I saw that I had never started streaming again when I reloaded. I laughed about that. There was no point in being angry about it.
Friday was another work day, but also my first softball game. I'm really glad I'm on Smack That. I never made it to first base, but my teammates advanced or got home when I batted, so I think it's OK. We tied then met up with the rest of the league at the bar. It was a great start to the weekend.
Saturday, I hoped I would be feeling good for kung fu though I was worried how sore I would be for the rest of my weekend plans. As it turns out, once I had allergy meds in me, I was good. Class went better. I didn't feel nauseous or like passing out, so that is an improvement.
Next was a BBQ in Vincent Massey Park with friends. I like the concept of publicly available BBQs in parks. I walked more than needed because I have a knack for going in the wrong direction. Tourists gave me directions back to where I parked. There was a closer parking area and I have no idea where the entrance to it is.
Sunday morning brought some tidying up in my condo before traveling to Montreal for Hayley Kiyoko's Panarama Tour. It was fantastic. The opening band was Ill Peach. I quite liked them.
Next up was Allison Pontier. She was good too. I really liked her shiny shirt. The crowd wemt wild when she said she was a lesbian.
And Hayley was so phenomenal. I learned that she also drums. Is there anything Lesbian Jesus can't do? And her dancers can twerk expertly well. Sometimes they were a bit distracting 🤣
Hayley's first outfit had a skull and bones on the crotch. Hilarious 😂
I had such a wonderful time. I still hate driving in Montreal, but it was a great way to end this week. Hayley got a bit emotional as she didn't think she could become a pop icon being gay and a woman of colour. I'm so glad she kept at it!
The Assessment
The day started with some breakfast. Somehow despite using no paper, knives, or anything, I had cut my finger. This was actually a good thing because it had me return to my unit for a bandaid and I was able to remember to bring my childhood report cards and transcripts.
Some parts started off fun, then got too hard for me. Some parts felt so easy I asked if this was for adults. After the testing, my brain hurt and felt like it wanted to curl up into a fetal position inside my skull. It was a very good thing I didn't have to work after this. Food and a nap were in order as I didn't sleep well the night before anyway. I'm not sure I slept actually, but laying down for a couple of hours made me feel better. Not better enough to drive anywhere, but better enough to play some Minecraft.
More specifically, this is what went down:
I matched pictures with blocks that were red-and-white. Early on, this was easy. I think the scale of the images changed by the end, which messed me up. It starts with 4 and eventually uses all 9.
There was some basic math inside the head.
The memory tasks included doing things like repeating numbers or letters. As more combinations happened, I couldn't remember. I was better with the letters than I was with the numbers.
There was an exercise where I was to decipher what words were based on sounds that make them up. Sounds, not sylables. For example, the letter D has two sounds: de and ee. Smaller words weren't a problem for me, but I quickly couldn't figure out what the words were. I suspect this relates to my difficulties learning French.
One exercise was about defining words and I liked that one. I learned a new word during this part of the assessment: Palliate. It means to reduce the severity of the symptoms of an illness. I never really knew what palliative care was. I just knew it was about end of life. Yes, word definitions were on there and that wasn't so bad for me. That part made me feel smart.
There was an exercise about remembering what was seen in pictures then marking what changed. I got some and not others.
Another exercise had stories and I had to remember the story as much as possible. I thought I did OK at this, but later on there were questions that made me think that maybe I missed a lot.
It tested memory a lot in various ways. Some of that I was OK with. Some of it I was quite bad at. At least, I think so? By the end, I wasn't confident about what I got right or wrong. I knew there would be memory testing, but I didn't know how it would feel. Mentally and emotionally exhausting is how it felt for me. I felt like crying and like sleeping because my brain felt broken. I also felt like I could really use a hug.
The assessment continued on Thursday with self-reporting questionnaires and a questionnaire a family member will complete.
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