Day: July 1, 2020

Wednesday: Four Things

  1. The weather continues to provide talking points. The temperature been as up and down as a roller coaster this year, and often plays the contrarian. Today’s high on July first, when we normally anticipate nineties and beyond, will be seventy-seven. Not that we’re complaining; just commenting. It’ll be a good day to paint some more walls once I’ve finished my writing.
  2. My annual urology follow up went well yesterday. Peed fine, no issues. All this was initiated by some trouble in peckerville traced to enlarge prostate in previous years. No follow up actions required. I’ve tried to become more mindful as I’ve matured. Now I’m being more mindful in my peeing. Of course, my mind must riff on the old Caddy Shack Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) meme: “Be the ball.” I’m trying to be the pee.
  3. I think one of the reasons for my success with peeing was decreasing my sodium levels. I was diagnosed with very high blood pressure (230/130) during my pecker issues. I’d noticed my sodium was a little high on my blood work (141 mmol/L), so I began checking out sodium levels of whatever I was eating. Definitely an OMG experience. Can’t believe the amount of sodium in processed foods, condiments, salad dressings, and the like. The sodium in canned soup was at surreal levels. So was anything with cheese and any sauces. After reading and verifying it on my blood test results, I recognized that I also needed to increase my potassium levels. Learning that magnesium can draw sodium out, I also increased my magnesium levels (hello, bananas!). The other thing that I’d learned affecting my enlarged prostate gland was chocolate. When I ate more than a little chocolate, my stream diminished. So, chocolate was severely curtailed. Another negative influencer is gluten. Controlling my gluten intake and monitoring it, I verified to my own mind that gluten causes me to bloat and swell. The final element was increasing my water to help flush sodium out. Amazing how it’s all interconnected. I appreciate having the net to help me learn, and sites like WebMD.
  4. Cautious Independence Day planning is afoot. Friends have a tradition of consuming root beer floats while watching the fireworks from their deck. They like us; we like root beer floats, so we’ve become part of their tradition. Looks like we’ll do it again this year, while social distancing, just three couples. There will be floats, but not fireworks.

Got my coffee. Ready to write, but the first requirement will be to update the bible for The Constant, which is the current novel-in-progress. Then I’ll write like crazy, at least one more time.

0

Floofs del Río

Floofs del Río (floofinition) – Spanish floof pop (floop) duo formed in 1962, sometimes also called Río Floofs, or “river floofs”.

In use: “Although formed in 1962, Floofs del Río made it big in 1995 with a song called “Floofarena”, which makes them a definite one-hit wonder to date.”

2

The Peculiar Television Show Dream

This dream had me watching and listening to a television show. See, my eyes were closed but the television was on. On television, they were talking about pratfalls.

For a while, though my eyes were closed, I could see the television. I watched as a woman was being interviewed. Wearing a white pleated skirt, high heels, and a golden shirt, she explained how to correctly do falls. As I fell deeper asleep, the television screen faded, but the audio remained. I heard the interviewer (a man) say, “Here, you put your hand on a rail, but then flipped over the rail.”

When this was said, I could see her again. She was walking up a white sidewalk toward a green handrail. She put a hand on the rail and flipped over it.

“Yes,” the woman replied.

“Let’s see that again in slow motion,” the man said. “You can talk us through.”

I opened my eyes to watch. The sound stopped. There wasn’t a television on, of course, and no show to watch.

I felt completely perplexed. It’d seemed so real but it’d just been a dream.

0

Call It Saturday

Today feels like Saturday.

So did yesterday, and the day before. I suspect that tomorrow will also feel like Saturday.

Lot of reasons exist for my feelings about the days of the week. One, I’m a writer. I write every day. I retired from outside employment a few years ago. My days of the week stopped being labeled work days and non-work days.

Two, I stream, and watch little broadcast television. I’ve been streaming for ten years, and cut the cable nine years ago. That means that I’m not looking at any guides or schedules to see what’s on television, which was always guided by the day of the week. For example, I don’t think, “If this is Thursday, then a new episode of X will be on.” I wait until all episodes are out and then I start streaming them on my schedule when they’re available. When they’re out depends on a date, not a day of the week.

Three, COVID-19, of course. The pandemic and the actions being taken to flatten the curve has dramatically affected social activities. Hence, we’re no longer going out dancing at the lake on Saturday night or heading for beer on Wednesday night, erasing another reason for tracking what day it is.

Four, it feels like Saturday because of my conditioning. Back when I did work, Saturdays were days for doing errands and chores. It was also a day for sleeping in a bit. No need to leap out of bed, do some quick exercises, eat, shower, dress, jump into the car and hurry to work on Saturday. I could catch another twenty minutes.

Everyday in COVID-19 land is like that now. There are chores and writing, but no errands. I can sleep in, if the cats agree.

The cats have never worried about the day of the week. To them, it’s always Caturday.

I get what they mean, now.

 

0

Press Release

Good morning. I have a statement to read. I will then take questions. Please hold your questions until after the statement is read. Thank you.

Operation Breakfast was commenced this morning at oh eight fifteen hours. Walnuts made an initial landing, followed by cranberries, raisins, sunflower kernels, pumpkin seeds, and muesli. Greek yogurt provided cover.

The breakfast took approximately four minutes to make and eight minutes to consume. Follow-up operations included eating a banana and brewing a cup of coffee.

Questions?

Was it organic?

Yes, everything was specified to be organic.

What was the flavor of the yogurt?

I’ll need to get back to you on that.

How much yogurt was used?

I’m not sure, it was about a quarter cup, I think.

Were the walnuts whole or pieces?

Pieces.

Were the sunflower seeds roasted?

No, the kernels weren’t roasted.

Follow up. What about the pumpkin seeds? Were they roasted?

No, the kernels and seeds were raw.

Were the walnuts roasted?

No, the walnuts were also raw.

How many cranberries were employed?

Several tablespoons.

Was it less than a quarter of a cup?

I believe so, yes.

Where did you get the cranberries?

From Trader Joe’s. Any other questions? Thank you. Good day.

6

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Today’s song, “Where Is My Mind?” by the Pixies (1988) is an old favorite.

I didn’t learn about the Pixies until I read comments Kurt Cobain made about them, and how they play soft/loud. After hearing that, I went in search of. Listening to “Heart  Shaped Box” reminded me of that.

So they were in my mind’s forefront when my wife wondered last night, “Where is my head?” That was enough for my mental Alexa to play, “Where Is My Mind?”

With your feet on the air and your head on the ground,
Try this trick and spin it, yeah

1

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