Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
That Time of Year
Well, it's the time of year that I usually get a stupid cold. All my life I've gotten several colds per year, and they really make me miserable. I can handle the sore throat and the slightly nauseus feeling, but the runny nose drives me nuts. I feel like I'm blowing my nose every couple of minutes.
When you get up a bit in years like I am, you find that certain memories are indelibly etched in your mind, some good, some not so good. One of the not so good ones for me is exam day in my second year in High School at then Granville High, later renamed to Brown Deer. I had a cold that day, and we didn't use handkerchiefs then, because they were too expensive, I guess, so I went to school with just a few kleenexes in my pocket. I have no memory of how I scored on the test, but I have a vivid memory of constantly pulling tattered pieces of of kleenex from my pocket to stem the run from my nose and prevent it from dripping on my exam paper. At the time I thought about how disgusting this must look to everyone else. Ah, sweet memories.
Four years ago I started keeping track of how often I get colds. I had noticed that I hadn't had any for a while, and I wasn't sure why, but I started to keep track in my Palm Pilot from that point forward. I can tell you that since 1/1/01 I have gotten exactly 9 colds, including the one that started 2 days ago. I suppose most who read this will find it kind of anal that I do this, but that's me. I like to know the facts before I reach a conclusion. Five of those 9 colds have occurred between Christmas and mid January. This year I was kind of aware of that, so I was somewhat careful, but to no avail. Two days ago it came on with a vengence, and now I am stuck with it.
Oh well, I've stayed home today to get some rest and maybe nip this thing a bit so it doesn't last as long as usual, which is usually about 10 days. At least that gives me time to write this exciting blog.
See ya.
When you get up a bit in years like I am, you find that certain memories are indelibly etched in your mind, some good, some not so good. One of the not so good ones for me is exam day in my second year in High School at then Granville High, later renamed to Brown Deer. I had a cold that day, and we didn't use handkerchiefs then, because they were too expensive, I guess, so I went to school with just a few kleenexes in my pocket. I have no memory of how I scored on the test, but I have a vivid memory of constantly pulling tattered pieces of of kleenex from my pocket to stem the run from my nose and prevent it from dripping on my exam paper. At the time I thought about how disgusting this must look to everyone else. Ah, sweet memories.
Four years ago I started keeping track of how often I get colds. I had noticed that I hadn't had any for a while, and I wasn't sure why, but I started to keep track in my Palm Pilot from that point forward. I can tell you that since 1/1/01 I have gotten exactly 9 colds, including the one that started 2 days ago. I suppose most who read this will find it kind of anal that I do this, but that's me. I like to know the facts before I reach a conclusion. Five of those 9 colds have occurred between Christmas and mid January. This year I was kind of aware of that, so I was somewhat careful, but to no avail. Two days ago it came on with a vengence, and now I am stuck with it.
Oh well, I've stayed home today to get some rest and maybe nip this thing a bit so it doesn't last as long as usual, which is usually about 10 days. At least that gives me time to write this exciting blog.
See ya.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Shopping
There's something about writing that provides a relief. I've read many self help books in my life, and often, one of the methods suggested for improving ones self is to write a journal. I've tried that a few times, but I've always stopped early, because I feel kind of dumb, like I'm talking to myself. And yet, I have found that writing does provide some kind of mental outlet. It's just that in the past, I've never gotten past the feeling dumb part.
Now there's "Blogging", and somehow it is significantly different than "Journaling", at least to me. That's because I can post my writing on a web site for anyone to read, even though I don't expect any great number of people to read any of what I will write here. However, I expect I will avoid the self defeating idea that I'm just talking to myself, although, in essence, that is pretty much what I'm doing.
It's Christmas time, and like many men, I can't stand shopping. I do like the happy spirit most people exhibit this time of year, and I do like the decorations and Christmas music, but I don't like buying things.
I'm a logical thinker, and I suspect that every time I prepare to purchase a product there is some kind of mental process going on in my subconscious comparing the value of the product to the value of the money it will cost and to the value of other products and services that the same amount of money will buy. This logically then leads to other logical paths, because the value of the product has to be determined by comparing it to some kind of goodness or badness scale, and it’s difficult to do that for yourself, not to mention that you must now do it for others. I have a vision of my brain at times like this, with lights blinking and sirens blasting - WARNING - DANGER!!! THIS BRAIN IS OVERHEATING AND WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN ZERO MINUS 3 MINUTES!!
I was in a department store this past Saturday morning, and there were lines everywhere. I saw a display of an item I wanted, but I couldn't find one to take. Then I miraculously located an unoccupied employee, and I asked him, and he directed me to Joe, over there, because Joe had the key to the cabinet. But then when I went over to Joe, he was at a register, and I had to wait in line for him to come free. So I was in the rather ludicrous position of standing in line to ask if they had what I wanted, which, if they did, then I would have to get it, and stand in line again to pay for it.
Oh well, at least I was able to listen to Christmas while I waited. And I did get the item I wanted - it was the last one in the cabinet, and it was even on sale. Unfortunately, I finished maybe only 20% of my shopping on Saturday morning, after fighting the traffic at Mayfair and on the Bluemound strip for about 4 hours. Doing the projection in my head, that means I have 16 hours more to go. Ugh!
Now there's "Blogging", and somehow it is significantly different than "Journaling", at least to me. That's because I can post my writing on a web site for anyone to read, even though I don't expect any great number of people to read any of what I will write here. However, I expect I will avoid the self defeating idea that I'm just talking to myself, although, in essence, that is pretty much what I'm doing.
It's Christmas time, and like many men, I can't stand shopping. I do like the happy spirit most people exhibit this time of year, and I do like the decorations and Christmas music, but I don't like buying things.
I'm a logical thinker, and I suspect that every time I prepare to purchase a product there is some kind of mental process going on in my subconscious comparing the value of the product to the value of the money it will cost and to the value of other products and services that the same amount of money will buy. This logically then leads to other logical paths, because the value of the product has to be determined by comparing it to some kind of goodness or badness scale, and it’s difficult to do that for yourself, not to mention that you must now do it for others. I have a vision of my brain at times like this, with lights blinking and sirens blasting - WARNING - DANGER!!! THIS BRAIN IS OVERHEATING AND WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN ZERO MINUS 3 MINUTES!!
I was in a department store this past Saturday morning, and there were lines everywhere. I saw a display of an item I wanted, but I couldn't find one to take. Then I miraculously located an unoccupied employee, and I asked him, and he directed me to Joe, over there, because Joe had the key to the cabinet. But then when I went over to Joe, he was at a register, and I had to wait in line for him to come free. So I was in the rather ludicrous position of standing in line to ask if they had what I wanted, which, if they did, then I would have to get it, and stand in line again to pay for it.
Oh well, at least I was able to listen to Christmas while I waited. And I did get the item I wanted - it was the last one in the cabinet, and it was even on sale. Unfortunately, I finished maybe only 20% of my shopping on Saturday morning, after fighting the traffic at Mayfair and on the Bluemound strip for about 4 hours. Doing the projection in my head, that means I have 16 hours more to go. Ugh!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
