What's your quirk?

Mine's numbers. I have this thing where I love getting the same number repeated for the time, like 2:22 or 10:10. It makes me feel lucky, somehow: as if there's some special meaning in it. It just feels like a brief second of meditation in which everything is balanced perfectly.



The rules:

1 - It doesn't matter if it's the real time. Even if you look at a clock that's five minutes fast or 2 hours slow. As long as the time on the clock reads the same number, you're set. This is convenient because sometimes I'll get 4:44 on one clock and then 9 minutes later, get it on another clock by accident.

2 - You can't plan it. Can't set your alarm. Can't be looking at it consciously. It has to be an accidental thing. Say, for example, it's 4:42 and I know that if I "casually" look back in about 2 minutes, I'll get my moment...too bad, it doesn't count. The fun's out of it.

3 - Although not worth quite as much, palindromes can also be a nice little moment. 10:01, 12:21, etc.



It really has become almost a big deal. Say I'm having a really discouraging moment; I look at the clock, it reads 10:10; I feel as if some cosmic force is sending me a message: it's going to be okay; I feel a little boost of encouragement and peace. The end.

Weird, huh?

And I don't really do any of that other superstitious stuff: wishing over eyelashes or dandelions; hitting the top of the car under yellow lights; slug bug; etc.

Miscellaneous Whatever

This is just a bunch of thoughts and feelings from the last few weeks. It's just miscellaneous, but at least it's something new.

2 Weeks Ago:

Took Lora to the emergency room last week. I feel bad because she was with me when her body started convulsing, and I can see the confusion and fear in her eyes, but instead of calling the Dr. or the ER, I just kept trying to calm her down, trying to help her to relax, massaging her legs, telling her that it would pass. Why am I such a megalomaniac? I act as if I know everything. As if I know more than Lora about her own body and why it’s freaking out on her – while meanwhile her spinal chord is being severely pinched by this tumor, which is why she’s in the hospital recovering from emergency surgery. That’s not something that taking a deep breath is going to take care of. Luckily, Lora asked me to call mom, which I did. She called the ER.

Had an odd moment while doing laundry. It’s the first time doing the wash since Lora entered the hospital. She’s having surgery tomorrow, and it could go bad. They’re warning us that there’s a slight possibility she may not live through the surgery, and a larger possibility that she’ll face paralysis of some sort. I’m wondering vaguely as I’m pulling her clothes out of the dryer how much our life is going to change. I’m thinking of people who lose someone all the sudden. Will they face a moment like this? They’re doing something routine…and suddenly they pull out their loved ones clothes from the dryer. Do you fold them? You don’t expect to be doing someone’s laundry that has died…but you didn’t expect them to die, so of course hints of them linger on in normal life. Their voice on the answering machine. A letter for them in the mail. Phone calls that you have to field. Laundry to be sorted, gotten rid of. Their toothbrush. I wasn’t trying to be morbid, or expecting Lora to die. I felt that everything would be okay. I was just wondering how much our life might change in that one day.

1 ½ Weeks Ago:
Have been spending most of my time in the hospital. I’m missing Dan and the rest of my normal life, but know that I belong here, supporting Lora and my Mom. I was home for once, and looking up a song I’d heard while trying to sleep in the Starbucks chair at the ER. In trying to find the song, I found this blog instead, and thought she had a raw, beautiful way of expressing herself: (http://jensworkinprogress.blogs.friendster.com/jens_blog/2006/05/index.html)

Also found this quote there: "To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides" ~ David Viscott. That’s the truth. It feels just as good to love as to be loved. Maybe better.

1 Week Ago:
I'm in a strange mood. It's not unfamiliar, though. I've been here plenty of times before. It's strange because I don't know what to do. I feel a "fight or flight" response all the time and nothing seems like the right answer. I'm standing on the edge of a precipice and feeling like some stereotypical 40-year old man ready for a mid-life crisis. I feel like no matter where I look, I see something to be afraid of, and I can't seem to cope. I'm terrified. Nothing seems normal. Everything's distored and hyper-real, like in a fever. Maybe I really do have GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). I’ve wondered that before, but it eventually passes, and I feel better, and I forget about it and move on. I think contributing to the GAD, I also have a hormone imbalance, which leaves my emotions all scrambled. Lot’s of women get loopy from hormone imbalances when they’re pregnant -- which I’m not, by the way. Jen (Lamont’s wife) has been talking for years about the crazy problems due to imbalance – and it wouldn’t be surprising if I had this problem, seeing as how I have endometriosis and I used to have such crazy/bad cramps that I had to be taken to the emergency room every month for almost a year.

I guess I just rebel against the idea that something I’m feeling could be the result of some chemical or hormonal imbalance. I tend to think that feelings are a representation of reality, and it seems strange that my own mind, my own heart could be sending me messages that aren’t true. And yet, then – why do I fail to trust myself so much? Sometimes I act as if I can’t trust any of my feelings. What a bundle of contradictions. I wish I had insurance, so I could see a doctor and get it sorted out.

This Week:
I’ve decided the answer to everything is love. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really believe it. You know how they say, “Love isn’t enough”? Well, they’re wrong. Romance isn’t enough. Attraction isn’t enough. But Love is. Real love means loving. It means work, and hope, and faith, and charity, and forgiveness, and patience, and acceptance, and time. It means overcoming selfishness and extending yourself for the benefit of others. And it’s always enough. Every problem I have in a relationship has been resolved by love. Real love gives you what you need to have happiness and inner peace regardless of whether the problem is removed or not.

I heard a quote that I liked about perspective and dealing with problems: “Reverse Your Buts” (No, that is not misspelled). It means, instead of saying/thinking, “I love you, but you’re driving me crazy”… you say/think: “You’re driving me crazy, but I love you.” or “I have a great job, but its really stressing me out”, becomes “It’s really stressful, but I have a great job.” Not a big change, semantically, but it creates a different outlook. I like the optimism of it.