Forget Me Do
Hello World,
Happy August! Just when we thought that July had plenty of life left in it yet -- poof! -- suddenly it's all over, and we find ourselves plopped into a new month, ready or not. Of course, the stores already had their back-to-school merchandise out in June, so it does no good now to bemoan the summer passing too quickly. The key thing is to get out there and enjoy it, and be sure to get your licks in while you can, whether it's hammocks, lemonade, swimming pools, watermelon or just the simple joys of a frosty ice cream cone on a summer afternoon. Speaking of frost, we were in CVS after dinner, and spotted a seasonal display of sale items, with a blaring banner that screamed "JUMBO 7oz FREEZER POPS." I said to Bill that you shouldn't be allowed to use the word "jumbo" in conjunction with anything that is measured in ounces, and that's all there is to that.
While it's true that I came back from camping safe and sound, I'm afraid I can't say the same for all of my brain cells, the poor dears. On my return to work the following Monday, I completely forgot to bring my shoes with me, so I ended up wearing my sneakers all day long. I thought that was funny, because while I was getting dressed, I was trying to make up my mind between two different pairs of shoes that might go with my outfit, so you would have thought that would have been enough to make me remember, but even after I decided which ones to wear, I never went to the closet and got them before I left. In fact, that whole day and into Tuesday, I had trouble concentrating on my work, and even the most routine things seemed beyond my capabilities. Although I was only off for about a week and a couple of days, it seemed like I hadn't seen my office in a month, and trying to get my bearings was an uphill battle all week. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, or an office temp at some business I had never seen before. At least one thing I realize now I should do before I leave, is to make a list of all the codes and passwords I need to access the office equipment and programs that I use at the hospital (for instance, the voice mail, email, fax machine, copier, telephone, computer and even the darned forms printer) because it's obvious that I can't count on my brain to remember all of that when I come back from vacation.
One good thing that happened in an otherwise challenging week back, was that our friends at Smiths Medical, who assure us that they are "bringing technology to life," went to all the trouble to mail us a very carefully addressed envelope to the attention of the Purchasing department, and it was completely empty. That certainly made me feel better right there! It was obviously 42c they could have saved their shareholders, but it was priceless to me, because it made me realize that I was not the only person coming back from vacation and not being able to cope with mundane office tasks. At least, I hope this was some mundane office task that they mis-handled at Smiths Medical, and not that they failed to send us some urgent product recall that will jeopardize the health and safety of patients and staff alike. I admit that I had some difficulties remembering some of my various code words and access numbers right off the top of my head after a week in the woods, but at least I didn't have to write myself a note that said, "Remember to insert mail into envelope before sealing," which is apparently what they should have done at the offices of Smiths Medical.
Another good thing since I've been back is the weather, which has been horrible, and reminds me to be grateful that I didn't have that same kind of weather when I was on vacation. I was lucky to have good weather all week, and that makes a big difference when you're camping, better than the same week at home, and certainly better since. In fact, even though they had bad storms in Connecticut while I was there, which usually has the effect of making the water at the beach on our side choppy and murky, that never happened, and the water was smooth and clear all week. I would say that I can't remember that ever happening before on my vacation, but everyone knows that I can't remember anything anyway, so that would be pointless.
One day last week, it was so miserably hot and humid, that I didn't want to leave my building if I didn't have to. At lunch time, I decided to cross over to the main building underground, only to find that it was even more miserably hot and humid in the tunnel, which was hard to believe, although I suppose it was only to be expected with the Laundry and boiler room in there. It occurred to me later that most likely the only cold place in the whole tunnel was the Morgue, and because they always keep the door closed, no one would ever guess that it's probably where everyone goes to hide and "chill out" to stay cool, while the rest of us are sweltering. Of course, at the hospital, it's not what you know but who you know, so with my luck, there's probably some kind of secret password that you need to get in there with the rest of the cool people. Heaven knows, I should write it down now, because I certainly won't remember it when I get back from vacation and want to sneak in there when it gets too hot.
While we're looking on the bright side of things, we have what I consider the positive aspect of an unpredictable memory. Of course, everyone knows that I suffer from Sometimers disease, which is that sometimes I remember and sometimes I don't, and there's no telling which is going to happen when. So I often go into a room and forget what I went there for, and have to walk back to where I started in order to jog my memory, or else I go to get two things and only remember one, so that I have to go back a second time. On the face of it, this would seem time consuming and non-productive, and it would be all too easy to let these kinds of petty annoyances get under my skin. Fortunately, I'm made of sterner stuff, so I look at this from the other way around, and consider this all part of my new and improved health and wellness regimen. So whenever I have to make two trips instead of one, or waste time running around in circles looking for anything that should have been right there, I remind myself that getting too much exercise is not something that I have to worry about, and this is not a bad thing. Personally, I think the medical community has been remiss in not promoting the fitness benefits that a faulty memory can lead to, because the less your brain remembers, the more your body has to do to compensate for it. I'm thinking it will get to the point that we can't recall who we are, but we'll look great.
Speaking of activities, I seem to have returned from vacation with a full head of steam, and this is the first time I can remember in a long time that I finished all of my camping laundry in a week after coming home. After unpacking both cars, I sorted everything into piles of similar items, and then wrapped it all up in three loads of wash and hung it up to dry. All I have to do now is just repack it upstairs with my camping supplies, because most of what I take camping with me stays packed all year, and I don't use it for anything but vacation. So this didn't turn into one of those years with moldy piles of smelly camping laundry still laying around weeks later, and a good thing, too. After all, getting too much exercise is not something that I worry about, and launder-obics works for me.
One unexpected thing that happened this week is that we went to the movies again, for the second time this year. We saw the new Will Smith movie, Hancock, and found it very entertaining and enjoyable. It would not be for every taste, as it's a sort of gothic comic book, but we thought it was very well done and interesting. It didn't even have a bad ending, which was remarkable, since it seemed they had figuratively painted themselves into a corner with the story line, and left themselves with limited options to get out of it. But they managed just fine, and we were glad that we went to see it. Although it was occasionally loud and somewhat busy, it was never overwhelming, and it didn't sacrifice the story for the sake of special effects. It reminded us a lot of Men In Black, which also had some awesome special effects, but not at the expense of telling a story that made sense, or characters that you really cared about. That seems to be a lost art among modern film makers, so this was a welcome departure, and a very pleasant evening's diversion. At least for me, it was a big improvement over launder-obics, and don't forget, getting too much exercise is not something that I worry about.
Happy August! Just when we thought that July had plenty of life left in it yet -- poof! -- suddenly it's all over, and we find ourselves plopped into a new month, ready or not. Of course, the stores already had their back-to-school merchandise out in June, so it does no good now to bemoan the summer passing too quickly. The key thing is to get out there and enjoy it, and be sure to get your licks in while you can, whether it's hammocks, lemonade, swimming pools, watermelon or just the simple joys of a frosty ice cream cone on a summer afternoon. Speaking of frost, we were in CVS after dinner, and spotted a seasonal display of sale items, with a blaring banner that screamed "JUMBO 7oz FREEZER POPS." I said to Bill that you shouldn't be allowed to use the word "jumbo" in conjunction with anything that is measured in ounces, and that's all there is to that.
While it's true that I came back from camping safe and sound, I'm afraid I can't say the same for all of my brain cells, the poor dears. On my return to work the following Monday, I completely forgot to bring my shoes with me, so I ended up wearing my sneakers all day long. I thought that was funny, because while I was getting dressed, I was trying to make up my mind between two different pairs of shoes that might go with my outfit, so you would have thought that would have been enough to make me remember, but even after I decided which ones to wear, I never went to the closet and got them before I left. In fact, that whole day and into Tuesday, I had trouble concentrating on my work, and even the most routine things seemed beyond my capabilities. Although I was only off for about a week and a couple of days, it seemed like I hadn't seen my office in a month, and trying to get my bearings was an uphill battle all week. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, or an office temp at some business I had never seen before. At least one thing I realize now I should do before I leave, is to make a list of all the codes and passwords I need to access the office equipment and programs that I use at the hospital (for instance, the voice mail, email, fax machine, copier, telephone, computer and even the darned forms printer) because it's obvious that I can't count on my brain to remember all of that when I come back from vacation.
One good thing that happened in an otherwise challenging week back, was that our friends at Smiths Medical, who assure us that they are "bringing technology to life," went to all the trouble to mail us a very carefully addressed envelope to the attention of the Purchasing department, and it was completely empty. That certainly made me feel better right there! It was obviously 42c they could have saved their shareholders, but it was priceless to me, because it made me realize that I was not the only person coming back from vacation and not being able to cope with mundane office tasks. At least, I hope this was some mundane office task that they mis-handled at Smiths Medical, and not that they failed to send us some urgent product recall that will jeopardize the health and safety of patients and staff alike. I admit that I had some difficulties remembering some of my various code words and access numbers right off the top of my head after a week in the woods, but at least I didn't have to write myself a note that said, "Remember to insert mail into envelope before sealing," which is apparently what they should have done at the offices of Smiths Medical.
Another good thing since I've been back is the weather, which has been horrible, and reminds me to be grateful that I didn't have that same kind of weather when I was on vacation. I was lucky to have good weather all week, and that makes a big difference when you're camping, better than the same week at home, and certainly better since. In fact, even though they had bad storms in Connecticut while I was there, which usually has the effect of making the water at the beach on our side choppy and murky, that never happened, and the water was smooth and clear all week. I would say that I can't remember that ever happening before on my vacation, but everyone knows that I can't remember anything anyway, so that would be pointless.
One day last week, it was so miserably hot and humid, that I didn't want to leave my building if I didn't have to. At lunch time, I decided to cross over to the main building underground, only to find that it was even more miserably hot and humid in the tunnel, which was hard to believe, although I suppose it was only to be expected with the Laundry and boiler room in there. It occurred to me later that most likely the only cold place in the whole tunnel was the Morgue, and because they always keep the door closed, no one would ever guess that it's probably where everyone goes to hide and "chill out" to stay cool, while the rest of us are sweltering. Of course, at the hospital, it's not what you know but who you know, so with my luck, there's probably some kind of secret password that you need to get in there with the rest of the cool people. Heaven knows, I should write it down now, because I certainly won't remember it when I get back from vacation and want to sneak in there when it gets too hot.
While we're looking on the bright side of things, we have what I consider the positive aspect of an unpredictable memory. Of course, everyone knows that I suffer from Sometimers disease, which is that sometimes I remember and sometimes I don't, and there's no telling which is going to happen when. So I often go into a room and forget what I went there for, and have to walk back to where I started in order to jog my memory, or else I go to get two things and only remember one, so that I have to go back a second time. On the face of it, this would seem time consuming and non-productive, and it would be all too easy to let these kinds of petty annoyances get under my skin. Fortunately, I'm made of sterner stuff, so I look at this from the other way around, and consider this all part of my new and improved health and wellness regimen. So whenever I have to make two trips instead of one, or waste time running around in circles looking for anything that should have been right there, I remind myself that getting too much exercise is not something that I have to worry about, and this is not a bad thing. Personally, I think the medical community has been remiss in not promoting the fitness benefits that a faulty memory can lead to, because the less your brain remembers, the more your body has to do to compensate for it. I'm thinking it will get to the point that we can't recall who we are, but we'll look great.
Speaking of activities, I seem to have returned from vacation with a full head of steam, and this is the first time I can remember in a long time that I finished all of my camping laundry in a week after coming home. After unpacking both cars, I sorted everything into piles of similar items, and then wrapped it all up in three loads of wash and hung it up to dry. All I have to do now is just repack it upstairs with my camping supplies, because most of what I take camping with me stays packed all year, and I don't use it for anything but vacation. So this didn't turn into one of those years with moldy piles of smelly camping laundry still laying around weeks later, and a good thing, too. After all, getting too much exercise is not something that I worry about, and launder-obics works for me.
One unexpected thing that happened this week is that we went to the movies again, for the second time this year. We saw the new Will Smith movie, Hancock, and found it very entertaining and enjoyable. It would not be for every taste, as it's a sort of gothic comic book, but we thought it was very well done and interesting. It didn't even have a bad ending, which was remarkable, since it seemed they had figuratively painted themselves into a corner with the story line, and left themselves with limited options to get out of it. But they managed just fine, and we were glad that we went to see it. Although it was occasionally loud and somewhat busy, it was never overwhelming, and it didn't sacrifice the story for the sake of special effects. It reminded us a lot of Men In Black, which also had some awesome special effects, but not at the expense of telling a story that made sense, or characters that you really cared about. That seems to be a lost art among modern film makers, so this was a welcome departure, and a very pleasant evening's diversion. At least for me, it was a big improvement over launder-obics, and don't forget, getting too much exercise is not something that I worry about.
posted by El Tango Fandango @ 7:54 PM
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