Day 3492

Occasionally I look back at old posts to see if anything has changed. I'd almost forgotten that on this day in 2014 Dot became very sick and had to go to the emergency vet. A few days later we learned that she had a golf ball sized tumor in her intestines and needed emergency surgery. The tumor turned out to be cancerous and we spent the rest of the year nursing her back to health. Dash was still recovering from cancer at that point as well. I guess things have changed a bit.

I don't miss all the medical emergencies, but I do miss the dogs. Life is very quiet now. I'm getting plenty of sleep these days but it's harder to find a reason to get up in the mornings. Keeping the dogs healthy and happy gave me a purpose, but it also wore me out. Maybe I'll discover a new purpose, but it may take a while. I'm in no hurry at this point.

Hot summer days have always had a slow monotony to them. When you wake up hot, all you really want to do is get through the day. This year I seem to be able to get through the day without really doing anything. Making the bed and fixing and drinking a rather large and somewhat complex fruit smoothie usually takes me to 10 AM. After checking my e-mail I take my first walk of the day. In theory I walk early to avoid the heat of the day. The problem is that I'm so slow that I'm never early. Usually by the time I've finished my three mile morning trek, it is almost noon.

I try to do a few chores during the middle of the day. Usually this just amounts to paying bills, doing laundry, picking up prescriptions, and going to the post office. Every once in a while I vacuum or go up on the roof, but not very often. Today I wrote a letter to my sister because I knew I had to go to the post office anyway. My second walk of the day is always shorter than the first. By the time 4 PM arrives I realize that there is no point in killing yourself.

I was a little disappointed with today's auction results, but at least my lot sold. I think I'm done with auctions for a while. I wish I could stay interested in downsizing because I've got a long way to go. Unfortunately, acquiring things is much more interesting to me than disposing of them. Some people seem to find real joy in lightening their load, but I'll probably always remain a pack rat at heart. It would be nice to clean out my office and start fresh, but when I look around it seems impossible. Probably the best I can do is just try to restrain myself from buying new useless stuff I don't really need.

Maybe I should go to Adult Space Camp after all. Some of the activities make me nervous, but that could be exactly what I need. It would certainly give me something interesting to write about. New experiences are easy to write about. It's much harder to write about nothing. I think I proved that again today.

Riley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3489

I was terrible on the basketball court this morning. I wonder a lot about consistency. Why can I sink free throws like clockwork on some days and am all over the place on others? You'd think that over time I'd become more and more consistent. Why don't I sleep the same length every night. If my days are consistent, why aren't my nights? I like consistency. I eat the same things and wear the same things over and over. Apparently nature likes a little variety though. Every day seems to have at least one surprise.

There's a sound system at the gym and I always try to remember who is singing the songs. My memory fails me at times. When I heard Sweet Dreams Are Made of This, it took me a little while to remember that Annie Lennox was singing. It took me a little longer to remember that Dave Stewart was her partner. I never could remember the name of the band. I had to look it up when I got home. Jeez. How could I forget the Eurythmics.

Memories are weird. I read an article recently that said that forgetting things was good for the brain and might actually make you smarter. If that's the case I must be a genius. I forget a lot. It's amazing how many memories remain though. One memory often triggers another and all of the sudden you are remembering something that happened fifty years ago in vivid detail. Researchers now say that people who tend to forget unnecessary information are better at problem solving and less prone to depression. I wish I'd heard about this theory years ago. I used to think my forgetfulness was a curse rather than a blessing. I've described my brain to others as a tape loop like those flight recorders in airplanes. After a while new information overwrites the old and you start fresh again. This probably saved me in advertising. I used to do a lot of bank advertising. Basically all bank advertising is the same. If I wasn't continuously reinventing the wheel and starting over, I probably would have gone nuts.

It seemed harder to get my requisite 20,000 steps today. This was puzzling too. I should have had more energy because the weather was cooler and it wasn't miserable outside. It was actually a pretty nice day. Why was I tired today? I certainly got plenty of sleep. I think about these things while I walk. I don't really dwell on them though. I probably spend more time counting ducks than I do having deep thoughts.

Someone asked me recently whether I'd ever considered going to Adult Space Camp in Alabama. Actually, yes. I looked at their web site once and immediately noticed that training involved spending time in a multi-axis simulator and scuba diving in the underwater neutral buoyancy trainer. For someone who routinely gets sick on cruise ships and had difficulty flying a Cessna 152 in a straight line without throwing up, this might not be for me. Maybe spending an evening with an astronomer during a special viewing night at McDonald Observatory's 82-inch Otto Struve Telescope is more my speed.  Janet and most of my friends like to visit new places. I seem to like learning new things instead.

I doubt that I'll be learning anything new tomorrow. We'll probably visit the Dalmatians again though. Monday seems the best day to go to the kennel. Charlie needs a better picture. Now that he's learned to sit still for a treat, maybe I can finally get a decent portrait.

Dolly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day