An Opportunity To Forget

I am really good at forgetting things.  This goes way back.  When I really need to remember something I will write myself a note or make a list.  I started this habit in college.  At work I usually have three or four lists.  What I should be doing, what I am doing, what I shouldn't forget to do later, and what I did wrong and need to fix.  Too many lists for sure.  Some are on the computer, some on post-it notes and some are on the computer.

 

A week ago today I had the root canal.  I was given a prescription for an antibiotic.  Four a day for seven days.  That is 28 chances to forget to take a pill.  And it doesn't really make much since to write a note to remind myself to take a pill.  Instead I decided to strategically place the bottle where I would see it when it was antibiotic time.

 

The first one each day is easy.  I kept the bottle in the bathroom and made it part of the morning ritual, just before the mouthwash.  The bottle then goes to work with me.  The next one is taken either just before or just after lunch.  I would take the third in the late afternoon before going home  and then the fourth just before bed.

 

As the week progressed I wondered just how many I had forgotten to take.  It seemed like I was remembering.  By my best recollection, I should only have one left when Thursday rolled back around.  Yesterday afternoon I counted what was left in the bottle and discovered I would actually have two to take on Thursday.  That meant I had only forgotten once.  Pretty amazing. 

 

And then I left the bottle at work, so I missed taking one in the evening.  I ended up with three today.  Still not so bad. 

 

Today when I threw away the empty pill bottle I felt like I had accomplished something.  I am not sure what though.

Today's Blog Entry is Brought to You By the Letter 'P'

Another key on my computer has quit working. It hasn't quit completely but it is very intermittent. I have a backup though. I have a file with the letter 'p' in it. When the key is not working, I just copy/paste from that file. The list of intermittent keys is now [Page Up], [Page Down], [Delete], [Up Arrow], [Down Arrow], [End], and [P].

Monday I went to the Dentist for a scheduled cleaning. This led to another another appointment on Thursday with an Endodontist. Prior to this week I had no idea what an endodonstist did. Now I know. Root canal. The procedure was needed due to an incident in high school. I walked thru a fight and got hit in the mouth. Two broken teeth. The root canal wasn't as bad I expected. Glad it is over.

Today we went to a family reunion for part of G's family. J & B played horse shoes. When we got home Jordan layed down on the couch to rest his eyes. He claims he did not go to sleep. I have photographic proof showing otherwise. He does not know it yet, but he has a predisposition to napping. Both his parents nap, my parents both nap, and my father said he remembers his grandfather napping, everyday. As the story goes, my great-grand-father lived on a farm. Everyday he would stop working around 11:00 am for lunch. After eating he would listen to Paul Harvey and the he would take a short nap before returning to work. This is a genetic explanation for both napping and my desire to eat an early lunch everyday.

Also today I painted some more truck parts I had been busy blasting in the last few weeks. I painted the rear coil springs, the rear shock mounts, and several miscellaneous brackets and two cross members. Next up: the two trailing arms and then the 'new' rear differential I acquired from the junk yard back in July. Good progress!

Today I agreed to drive the turnip truck in a parade.

Lows in the 60s, high in the 80's for a whole week. 'Bout near perfect weather.

I was sitting here trying not to write a paper for class. I turns out I don't have to try very hard to be successful.

This weekend I got some sandblasting done. Unfortunately neither T or J helped out. Three more pieces. That makes nine that need to be painted.

I received my review of my first speech tonight. It must have gone pretty well. I got an 'A'. Areas for improvement: more gestures and more movement. I guess I was stonewalling. I got excellent marks for eye contact, volume, and cadence. So good so far.

I hate to admit I spent almost 6 hours preparing for a 2-3 minute speech, but I did. Can you say obsessive? I actually wrote 5 different speeches, none of which I was particularly happy with but in the end I still had to give a speech. I think I ended up using the second one.

The next speech is supposed to be informative. Who wants to know how to visually identify the model year of all GMC and Chevrolet trucks between the years 1967 and 1972. Ho hum.

TGIF. Doh! Never mind, it's only Tuesday.

Hey, Yesterday evening after work I loaded up the sand blaster and took care of eight small brackets. T & J will be happy this weekend with their lighter work load.

It just occurred to me how fortunate I am that I can touch type. I think that was a glass of red wine speaking.

And another week has flown by. Hopefully we got over a hump at work this week and things will be calm for a while.

I made my first speech this week. I am probably the only person in the class who spent almost six hours preparing for a 2-3 minute speech.

This weekend it was a cool 85. It feels like Fall already. The Italian Grand Prix was today. That would be a nice trip.

Next week my see'ster is coming to visit. I am planning on teacher her and Jordan how to sand blast. Imagine how much we could get done with all three of us working on it.

I think the Miata may have gotten a sunburn today. It spent a little while out in the sun and is looking pretty red.

What a glorious weekend we had. I got the opportunity to sleep late, work on my old trucks, and play with the kids. The only thing missing was perhaps a little bit of fried okra.

With the new week starting, so did classes. This evening I attended my speech class. After agonizing over the topic/object for a week plus I have finally accepted that it is my fate to use a computer as the point of departure. Sounds easy enough, aye? But what does it really say about me?

Whatever I want it to! After a mere hour I have managed to write a 300 word speech. Based on a typical delivery rate of 125 words per minute, this should put me smack dab in the middle of the 2 to 3 minute goal.

Perhaps your wondering about my computer. Perhaps not. Regardless, the computer I will be presenting is one that I designed and built about 15 years ago. Want to see a picture?