Group Chart Reading Class-Monday, 10 May 2010

Monday morning was an exercise in frustration, absolutely classic Mercury retrograde stuff (thank Heaven that ends tomorrow!) The heaters weren't working and it was cold. I really needed to take a bath and wash my hair, but the hot water wouldn't stay hot for more than 30 seconds. I finally went and looked up all the paperwork Ken had left about the boiler and tried to call their 800 number. First, I couldn't get the number to dial properly, and once again had to remember that my phone still thinks it's in California. I've set the date & time for London, but the location is automatic, as far as I can tell. Anyway, after some fumbling around, I finally dialed international long distance and reached the British 800 number. Turns out the number on the papers was so old it was no longer in use, and I was told to look at the latest bill for the correct number. Ken happened to have a bill available in his papers, as he was complaining about how much it had risen with overuse. I called and found out that was a different gas company than the boiler makers (?!) but they gave me the name of the correct one. I did finally reach them (being charged the entire time for being on hold, as I was calling from a mobile), and set up an appointment for Tuesday morning, the earliest available.


Then it was time to try to bathe. Forget the hair; way too much trouble. To make a long story short, I ended up heating water in the electric kettle and pouring it into the bathtub. Took about 6-7 of these, plus a bit of cold to decrease the temp from boiling, and I had a good 2-3 inches of water in which to wash. Fun city, I gotta tell ya.

I decided to use the dishwasher as that heats its own water, so I spent the rest of the morning dealing with that and figuring out which trains to take to get to my afternoon group chart reading session. I did manage to leave the flat on time, but it seemed as if I'd spent all day just trying to get warm and clean.


No rain today, but very chilly. About 55ºF. And windy. I had to change trains at Hammersmith, where to my surprise, I had to leave the station, cross the street to another station, and pay again. I did find the train going to my stop, but there was a long delay  "...Laides & Gentlemen, we apologize for the inconvenience, but there will be long delays on the Hammersmith & City and the Circle lines due to a switch operator having come down sick, and an earlier trespassing on the lines at another station."  I've no idea what "trespassing on the lines" means, but I was a bit concerned I'd be late. Just as I was consulting my bus map to see if I could figure out how to get to the next Tube station that way (my directions to the teacher's house were from the Tube), the train started and we were off.


On my way to the house, I ran into Marguerite, which was a pleasure, actually seeing someone I knew in the big city. We grabbed a cup of tea and headed to Juliet's house. It's a lovely house, and we all sat in the Victorian living room and talked about charts that Israel had brought. 


This was a huge pleasure for me, as I rarely have anyone to discuss details of chart interpretation with, much less get the chance to sit with 5 astrologers and a teacher going over them in detail. My brain kicked into its "shared knowledge" gear and I found myself coming up with ways of thinking about the chart I might not have on my own. It was also fascinating because Israel works at a psychic/astrological hotline and he told us all about how that works, and how he works, etc. He had to take a test to get the job, by doing phone readings with two separate people. We were all thrilled to hear the details, and I, for one, was corrected from my assumption that all these hotline places are exploitative and prey on lonely, upset people. Israel says most of the people he talks to, especially his return clients, have way more money than he does. It's not about the money, it's about the guidance they can receive. I don't know what the policy is about taking callers on as personal clients, but I'll ask him next time.  


For me, this conversation might have been the most important part of the class. PJ has long been suggesting to me that I work at a hotline, and as usual, I've spent years thinking her idea is crazy, only to come 'round to it later in life. So now I'm wondering if that might not be a way for me to re-invent myself, to find other ways of making money than full-time tech writing. I'd like to have a less stressful career. Israel works at home, logging in when he wants to and talking to people until he's ready to stop. He makes about 15 GBP an hour, which is only about $23/hr, but it would be interesting to at least try while I'm looking for my next tech writing gig. I'm so grateful for being here, for being in a class with Israel, for hearing what I needed to hear when I was finally (maybe) ready to hear it.


I rode home with Marguerite and Israel, as we figured out that I could go their way and only change trains once instead of twice. We had a lively conversation on the train, and others were gazing at us with interest and unabashed curiosity as we gabbled on about Astrology and big figures in the different schools of thought.


I cooked myself a good dinner but it was 8:30 before I sat down to eat it. A few emails and Skype calls later and I was ready for bed, since I was going to have to get up early for the gas man.