Monday, March 29, 2021

 Nothing like a bit of vertigo to boggle the brain.

Last Sunday, the walls of our bedroom went for a spin. Not a fun trip for me.

I’ve experienced vertigo before,* and fortunately this bout was brief, but, as usual, the aftereffects lingered. 


It’s as if someone hammered a gong inside my head. All those vibrations bounced around like a game of pinball—and my brain had a lot of quarters.


On Monday, I made it through work without … tilting.

I wear reading glasses, and at the end of the day, I get in my car, take off my Covid masks and switch from reading glasses to driving glasses. My brain knows the drill.

As I sat back in the driver’s seat that afternoon, I couldn’t find my driving glasses. I checked the case, my bag, the glasses holder at the top of the windshield.

Nothing.

Finally I found them … on my face.

(You probably saw that one coming.)


Full disclosure, I have caught myself wearing my “missing” glasses before. My brain can slip a gear all on its own, but vertigo certainly jumpstarts the process. 


It’s been a week now, and the fuzziness in my head has subsided—for the most part. Last night I almost put a cereal box into the cupboard with our plates and mugs.


Boggle, anyone?


 ——


For more adventures in vertigo, along with the science behind it, see: Listing to the left ...

Thursday, March 11, 2021

See you next time!

On this summery day at the end of winter, I checked off a chore long lingering on my to-do list.


I took down our Christmas lights.


To be fair, I did unplug them a couple Fridays ago. After sunset that night, I took one last look at those brilliant LED colors, gave them thanks, and tugged the cord from the porch outlet.

I stood a moment in wistful darkness.


I can explain why I put off the chore for so long — cold, snow, rain, the aforementioned to-do list — but the main reason is a simple one: In the dead of winter, I like holding onto light.

 

That, and a personality trait summed up perfectly in a greeting card that makes me laugh:


“I used to just crastinate, then I decided to go pro.”


It’s good to know thyself.