One year ago today: April 20, 2014, money & politics.
Five years ago today: April 20, 2010, on “free medical” (Canada).
Six years ago today: April 20, 2009, I predict Border’s bankruptcy.
MORNING
This AM I spend long hours in contemplative thought. Hey, didn’t I report that I do that when driving long-distance, and that the batbike is still in the shop? Yes, but I forgot to mention that twice a year I like to go sit in a waiting room from 9:00 to 12:00 waiting my turn. However, my clinic is super keen on total patient wellness, and have questionnaires concerning one’s stability and home life and what I’d call your “calmness level”.
To this day, I attribute a lot of the stress that did me in to my career at the phone place. They have a nasty version of “teamwork” over there. My personal definition of a team is where each member puts in more that his equal share, which, not incidentally, matches my concept of synergy. But in the workplace, the team is a different beast. You quickly get people who constantly seek to cash in on that surplus contributed by others.
You know the type. Instead of taking care not to trip, they position themselves so they will fall on you. When you jump out of the way, you are not “cooperating”. It seems trivial—until these type of people become the majority. One of the nice things about retirement, where you are free to avoid such azz-hats, is that your stress level drops to normal.
The only immediate result today was that the clinic is no longer worried that I’ll be here tomorrow, like before. Now they are taking time to keep me going until next year. That’s progress, you know. One pattern that did emerge is my life has changed to where it is not longer important what day it is. This at first seems negative, but let me supply more information. Ask yourself this question—instead of the ups and downs of life, would you trade the best days to be rid of the worst?
To me, it depends on the ratio. Yes, I would trade the odd spectacular event if all my days could remain interesting and productive. Naturally, I’d feel differently if that arrangement revealed I was nothing but a bump on the log. Generally, it is clear I’m satisfied with a few less big days to be rid of things that annoy me. Ladies, line forms to the right.
NOON
“Poor people eat a lot of stuff in cans.” --Justin Halpern.
This photo has no relevance to today. It is a still from an old Soviet era battle newsreel, probably staged. One good thing, the Soviet documentaries don’t let the photographer go on about his personal danger and sacrifice the way the Yankee motor-mouths did in the Pacific. But if I was a sniper, I know what I’d do when I saw some dork from the other side walking around with a camera. The about this picture is the tank in the background. What is it? It seems too large to be a T-26.
My doctor, for instance, has never rode the trains. He always wanted to but now that he is settled down and married, it becomes a major undertaking. I think he’s got at least two kids, maybe three. The youngest is maybe a year old now. But I can certainly tell him all I’ve learned about the way to enjoy the journey the most.
In the end, I left Harbor Freight without buying a thing. That is just so off kilter. I had the cash money on me and walked out, what is wrong with me? Instead, I got back on the scooter and drove directly home at high speed. Here I am, plunked in the Florida room. Just sitting here. Maybe I’ll make a pot of tea. You want some tea? I learned to make it the right way in India. Okay, you’re on. Let’s see if that wakes things up.
But for now, the highlight of the day has been the new welded saw blade seems to work fine, though it does make a thumping noise each blade revolution. It knows about that welding joint. The ability to make this mend was wise, as Home Depot remains the only source for 59-1/2 inch blades. I don't like the fact when I go there, all the packages have been opened and taped back shut. I could now cut one down to size in a pinch, they sell lotsof 62" blades. I’ve also learned the blades are sold by the roll and there are specialized blade welders for sale.
But can you believe it. A man walking out of Harbor Freight empty-handed?
EVENING
Staying home isn’t that bad when you’ve got your own place. You don’t have to share and nobody can help themselves. I read more of my murder mystery, off to such a great start, now becoming more imitative. She finds the treasure map, the murderer for hire appears, all is not what it seems between the politicians and the police. Who’d a thunk it?
But the restorative power of tea again works its magic. But I’ll let you out early today, for I have nothing to report, no pictures, nada. Well, hold on. I do have the money I didn’t spend earlier. That’s still here. If I was me, I’d check in tomorrow to see where this leads.
What's this? A set of instructions on how to properly use a machete. What? You say I'll never need that? True, but what about my robot? Did you think about my robot? So there. Bunch of smarty-pants.
ADDENDUM
I got ahold of copies of last year’s textbooks and sample exams for Florida Twelfth Grade. What a joke. But I mean that in two ways. First, a lot of it was traditional “memory work” questions that have no use in real life, and second, most adults I know could pass those exams. What? You mean me? Heck no, I passed with ease, and in the case of multiple choice questions, I could handily pass subjects of which I knew nothing. Like “life skills” and “environmental studies”.
On the other hand, the exams were difficult where they need not be. Even I would have to sit down and study some of the English usage questions. I write, and I don’t know that I’ve ever consciously thought, “Okay, in this next sentence I’m going to pen a synecdoche.”
In fact, good writing probably has little to do with the ability to know the technical term for your product. If I really need to know what something is called, I go to something like Literary Devices and look it up. Those exams are needlessly complex. There are hundreds of literary terms alone
Last Laugh
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