Flipped

Given: I have a great memory for some things: language, syntax, numbers.

Given: I have a horrible memory for some things: anything related to history such as dates, times, places; what I had for lunch yesterday; where I put my keys; etc.

Therefore: I like systems. A lot.

When I was a kid I'd misplace things and get really frustrated a lot. I discovered that if I did things in consistent ways, I wouldn't lose my stuff. Further, if I took steps so that I couldn't help but use the system, I'd be much better off.

Here's an example: if I need to remember to take something to work, leave it on the counter, under my keys (of course, I always leave my keys on the counter).

Another: Since I have a flexible work schedule, I set all work reminders to the previous workday (24 hours during the week, the previous Friday if on Monday), so that I will remember to be in to work for a morning meeting.

Well, here's another system I have: when I'm done with, say, a jar of vitamins in the bathroom, I turn it upside down and put it on the shelf in front of me. This is my signal to get more.

Well, imagine my surprise the other night when, in low light, I find that my toothpaste (Mentadent--it has its own little stand) is upside-down! How odd... And later I see the kleenex on the toilet is upside-down. How odd... [Warning: I'm kinda slow.] Sunday morning I hear an odd noise in the bathroom, and see my little piggy bank is upside down; Josh says he's playing with it. That morning while getting ready, I realize that EVERYTHING on my bathroom counter that doesn't have an impossibly high center of gravity when turned upside-down is flipped! Yes, Josh has been surreptitiously flipping everything in my bathroom. I laughed and laughed--first at his thinking to do that, second at how long it took me to clue in. And I'm thinking about the time I'll be at his house alone, and will flip everything in his fridge, kitchen cabinets, bathrooms, etc...

Josh doesn't "waste time" on the internet, so he'll never read this. So please don't tell him.