My powers are compromised. Thursday, I prepared 24 hours early for an appointment because I thought it was Friday. I discovered my mistake in time, by calendar and newspaper date. No help from Norma --she thought it was Friday too. I have been a bit off ever since and gravitate toward the chair in which I feel most normal in hopes of collecting myself.
Here is one end of our kitchen table. It is organized. There are usually flowers in the vase, and tea in the pot. It is her side of the table.
The other side is not so well organized. It often looks like this:
There is a man on that side who is writing but hasn't a clue what to write about. For obvious reasons, I hope something occurs to him. She took a photo because he seemed so pensive. Because I'm him and he's me, I considered this encouraging. She also takes less encouraging photos, like when we had to call the auto club to jumpstart him:
The electrodes above are more area-specific than older models and, I think, more comfortable. Of course, that may just be my subjective opinion reflecting desire to stop referring to myself in the third person. But you can look at the 1931 arrangement and decide for yourselves:
Either way, cables were attached with scissor-clamps and run out the window to a vehicle like this:
This is why we always keep our automotive roadside service membership up along with health insurance. We take it in stride. I go to the doctor the old fashioned way. She is told to use her computer to make appointments. They tell her to download apps.
She:
Quelles sont ces «apps»?
He I: Apps is for people who are so busy they don't have time to say Applications.
She: My doctor told me of an app., which I just consulted, that says my appointment is not tomorrow, but the day after.
I: That's because we had two Fridays last week. Everything's moved up one.
She: That can't be good.
I: That much is certain. Since it's either yesterday or tomorrow, I have no idea what to write.
My commiserations. This morning I discovered that we had rescheduled a number of commitments to allow us to attend a birthday party on Saturday. It will take place on Saturday, but not the one we had in mind. It is three weeks away. Oops.
ReplyDeleteProblem is the days have the same names every week. I find it confusing.
DeleteYes, whenever confusion reigns it is always better to sit down, and maybe take a tablet - a pill. I suppose it also helps if one needs a jump-start! Hope all is well with you!
ReplyDeleteGood plan! So far, so good. Hope all's well with you too.
DeleteSince I retired, the days of the week have little meaning for me. When I make an appointment, I quickly put it in my iPad calendar and set two alerts. That "usually" works. Since my appointments mostly are about probing and proding these days, I do try to put them out of my mind and leave it to an app.
ReplyDeleteSame here, Arleen, but I find separating and visiting probers and prodders on different days helps.
DeleteMy commiserations, too. (Thanks for the perfect word, EC.) When our only daughter was married, I thought for weeks that it was one week later than scheduled. Thank goodness someone caught that one in time. And I don't remember if the person who caught it was my husband (older than I) or my mother (way older than I).
ReplyDeleteWriting an essay with cobwebs isn't easy, but by Geo., Geo., you've done it!
Thanks, Jenny. I find making a few preliminary notes with my spinnerets yields a more manageable and readable cobweb.
DeleteI'm always suspicious when a medical colleague says the word 'app', fearing they are talking about surgery.
ReplyDeleteI'd guess that the first electrode photo was taken before the stress test vs after; you look a bit to happy and fresh.
I thought it was simply being retired that made all the days seem the same, as Michael Corleone's short-lived Italian wife said "Maunday, Tuesday, Thursday..."
You have a keen and practiced eye, Mike. It was the second picture (from 1931 poster) that shows a patient after the test.
DeleteFor a man who "hasn't a clue what to write about" he does remarkably well. The ability to entertain (and teach) without trying is a very admirable one. Not to mention enviable.
ReplyDeleteBoth ends of that table look well-organized to me - - but this compliment is coming from a person whose house is in such chaos that he often has trouble finding the pianos.
Is there any danger in referring to ourselves in the third person?
I recall Sen. Bob Dole often used to refer to himself in 3rd person in campaign speeches. He must be in his 90s now, so how dangerous could it be?
DeleteIf today ever comes you will be full of ideas. Ever since I retired I have no idea what day it is. I have to keep a calendar app (I know... app) on my computer to inform me if there is anything special for me to attend. So even if Monday turns out to be Friday I know that the following day will be someone's birthday and I should give them a call.
ReplyDeleteFrom personal experience, I know retirement has that effect, but you seem to have found the right combination of intuition and technology to solve the problem. Brava!
DeleteEver since we retired we can't decide what day it is. Generally I'm sue of the month and year. I wonder if our auto club has any of those electrodes I could fasten to my brain.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good at years if given time to think about them. Just don't let your auto club get the clamps backward like mine did and reverse polarity --blew out all my diodes and I now need to be push-started.
DeleteTo mix up dates: easy, happens often, though I control time (hahaha) with calender, newspaper, smartphone (the easiest way is to remember the little crime sitcoms that take place in different parts of Germany - "Großstadtrevier" means: Monday; Soko Stuttgart means: Thursday. A very good excuse - beside my writing about them - to watch these excellently made little things).
ReplyDeleteNot good: to see you plasterd with all those wires an valves. (Husband one time looked the same - he is fine again). Which I wish for your health too, Geo., (the heat must be an added strain - or the cause?) Get well again soon!
Dear Brigitta, I looked up the Sonderkommission shows and Großstadtrevier --very long-running programs! Quite a reliable way of keeping track of days. As to my heart-stress test, I passed it without flying off the treadmill and was pronounced functional, Glad to learn you husband is too!
DeleteThis gave me a big chuckle, Geo, as I simultaneously unpack and pack. I'm home for a brief turnaround as this time next week I will be in Halifax, Nova Scotia after a red eye flight from Denver.
ReplyDeleteYou look awfully cheerful with all those wires attached. Glad to hear you were pronounced functional!
It's hard to keep track of what day it is, now that Terry has retired. And especially when traveling! It must really be hard to live in the moment when it's either yesterday or tomorrow! LOL!
Congratulations upon Terry's retirement. I've hoped that after 6 years of it I would bulk up and become manly but alas, I have the same physique I had in high school --hence my only shirtless photo. Have fun on your adventures, no matter what day it is!
DeleteYou do look happy with all those wires. No doubt, you provided the positive charge needed for the job at hand.
ReplyDeleteHappy indeed to live in a time of modern medical science, Squid.
DeletePreparing ahead on the wrong day might help with your dieting, but you don't look like you needed any help. I hope all went well.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've always been slender but now that I'm 65 and almost grown up I have hopes of getting bigger and playing college football.
Delete"I'm so wired right now," would be a good phrase. You really were! Hope all is okay. As for writing . . . that's a tough one. Just close your eyes and think, 'The right idea will come to me.' If that doesn't work, write about cats.
ReplyDeleteAll's ok, Amy, so far. Thanks. And yes, sometimes I do write about cats!
DeleteWell, it's far better to be ready a day early than a day late. Thank goodness, our doctors' offices usually call and remind us the day before an appointment. Good thing, because we hardly ever remember what day of the week it is. (The joys of retirement!)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you did okeydoke with that stress test. I hate those things. I find them very stressful. :)
You're right, they are stressful, but less so since cardiologist backed the treadmill up to a big soft chair instead of the window --where it pointed for years. Dudes hate getting flung out windows.
Delete