Monocular Vision

© Linda Davick
I found the perfect illustration on the sea wall today for my monocular vision story, so here goes:

I saw my eye doctor a couple weeks ago to get my contact lens prescription checked. He said my far-away vision* had improved. I was thrilled until I realized what he meant was that my up-close vision* was getting worse. He said, "Why don't you try wearing just one contact lens period?" He told me my right eye was my dominant eye, and suggested wearing the contact in that eye. He assured me that I'd be able to read the menu at Hahn's Hibachi with my other eye.
* professional terminology

I said, "Excuse me, Doctor. That won't work. I'm a visual person. I can't go around with one eye corrected and one not." But I tried it and it worked sensationally. So now I'm saving tons of money by wearing only one contact at a time. Money that I can spend on shoes and music and property taxes.

My friend Larry told me this kind of seeing is called monocular vision, and he should know. He's been seeing out of only one eye for a long time–detached retina complications–but next week he's scheduled to get his other eye back up and running.

More contact lens tips & tricks you might want to try
•When I go to the movies, I wear two contacts instead of just one. I was given a different lens prescription for each eye. But the prescriptions are so close that I use the same prescription for both eyes. That way, I only have to order one box of contacts, and I don't have to worry about putting the left contact in the right eye by mistake, and vice versa.

•The first time I went to Dr. Mebine, Marilyn said she'd give me some complimentary contacts to take home until the box she ordered came in. But she didn't have any extras of my particular prescription. So she gave me a weaker prescription. When she wasn't looking, I rolled my eyes. But I tried them anyway. They worked much better than my real prescription! I could read the speedometer with them. So I called her back and asked her if she would cancel the box she had just ordered, and order the wrong prescription instead.

A tip for you if your partner has monocular vision
•e-mail from Louie*: PS: Talking about one eye … Luke* can only see clearly from one eye, the other is a “lazy eye.” I know which one is the good eye. So, when I do something that he wouldn’t like, I stand next to his bad eye. ;)
*names changed to protect the guilty

I'm Really A Very Nice Person

© Linda Davick

Does this kind of thing ever happen to you? Does it seem to happen more as the day wears on? Does it seem to happen more during holiday season?
But I'm really a very nice person on the inside.

20,000 Words

© Linda Davick

It happened again. I'm too tired to write anything. And I didn't get any words from Luci today! So I decided to post 20 pictures. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this post = 20,000 words.

Luci Saves The Day

I'm too tired to write, but luckily I received a magnificent e-mail message today from my pal Luci. One of my favorite parts:
You know what I feel sometimes, Linda? I feel sometimes that I'm just like Eugene Onegin. I'm not authentic, I'm just a bunch of informations that I picked up from my readings. The trick is to calm myself down when I have this kind of realization. I pat myself in the back and say, "Ssshhh .... ssshhhh ... that's okay, Luci. You may not be authentically authentic, but authentically unauthentic." Oddly enough, it does calm me down. I guess it's just another way of telling myself to accept myself as whatever I am ... whether good or bad, whether admirable or reprehensible ... that's the real me. (Luci shrugs and grins).

Googling Guaraldi

I've always loved this music. And I've always wondered who the heck Vince Guaraldi was. I googled him today, and guess what I found out! He was born in San Francisco. He graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College.

As well as writing cartoon music for A Charlie Brown Christmas, he was asked by the reverend at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral to write some dinner jazz. For a ceremony at the cathedral commemorating the Last Supper. It was performed live on May 21, 1965.

Then–on February 6, 1976, while waiting in a motel room between sets at a Menlo Park nightclub, he died of a heart-attack. He was 47 years old.

Our Walk This Evening

© Linda Davick

Pathétique

We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner this afternoon. The best ever–even with no dessert. Me, I'll always opt for another beer with something crisp and salty, rather than something sweet.

When we finished eating, Tom called his brother. They had had an incredible dinner too, including cherry pie.

Larry and Barbara called us on their way to the airport to pick up their friends from Holland. Barbara had made a pie. It was cooling at home and would be ready to eat when they returned.

Just as we were leaving for a walk, my sister called. She was at my mom's, and had brought a home cooked dinner up from Atlanta in her car trunk. Including cherry pie.

After our walk, Tom said, "I'm going to Safeway. I can drop you at home first if you'd like."
"Going to Safeway! You're kidding." How many trips had we made to Safeway already today? "Why?"
"I want to buy some cherries."
"Fresh cherries?"
"No. Canned cherries. Tart."
"For a pie?"
"No. I'll just eat them out of the can."
"Tom."
"It's OK! I just want some cherries. It's a Thanksgiving thing."
"That's pathetic." (Panic rising.) "Drop me at home and I'll start on the crust."

Tangle

© Linda Davick

Who's Your Role Model?

my grandmother as a kid, Helen Mirren (from Gap Inc.)
My movie star role model is Helen Mirren (Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison) from PBS's Prime Suspect. The last episode ever was on Sunday.

My real life role model is my grandmother on my dad's side. Unlike Detective Tennison, she was relaxed. She had a greenhouse and sold plants. She was generous with her spare change, and overlooked my bad habits.
e-mail from Katy: Please tell me why Jane T (or is it Helen in the Gap ad?) is your role model. I love that show.
e-mail to Katy: Well, both Jane T and Helen in the Gap ad are my role models. I love Detective T.'s tenacity and her good instincts and her good heart, and that she acts like a man at times, but always wears nice clothing. She has sex and drinks good drinks, too.

My Baby's Back

top: my adopted child
bottom: my natural baby

On October 20, 2005, I had to take my heart of hearts–my PowerBook G4–to the repair shop. The repair guy loaned me an old iBook to use until he could figure out what was wrong with my computer.

I attempted to bring my baby home several times, but in vain. Even after two transplants (hard drive, mother board), it still was not well. Meanwhile I used the adopted iBook every day and every night.

October 2006 arrived. Then–you guessed it–November. It had been more than a year, and I felt I had to move forward. I decided to let go of my natural child. Thanksgiving was almost here. I decided to give thanks for the loaner, and to make it my own. I gathered all my favorite stickers and lovingly stuck them on the adopted iBook to show it my appreciation.

The next day I had an e-mail from the repair guy. My natural baby had totally recovered. When would I like to come get it, and bring the loaner back to him?

This morning I went to pick up my baby. I asked if I could keep the loaner over Thanksgiving weekend, just in case. It's going to be hard to let go of my iBook, because now I find I love my adopted child every bit as much as I do my natural baby.

From: Aggles
Subject: Sticker shock
Date: November 21, 2006 6:42:11 AM PST
So will you turn in the loaner w/ all the stickers or will you try to take them off? Where did you get those stickers? Did you make them? Do I hafta call the police?

Conservatory of Flowers 5K

me, Tom, and fast Emmy

To prepare for this morning's race, I carbo-loaded last night at Running With Scissors (large popcorn). When I got home, I force-fed myself a big bowl of spaghetti with tomato and basil sauce and made myself drink a Corona. My time this morning was 29 minutes and some seconds. Emmy beat me. I just don't understand that.

Notes to Myself:
-Get a new running outfit because all the photos are starting to look the same.
-Make Tom carry the camera next time.
-Download better running music ... "If Loving You Is Wrong" by Cassandra Wilson isn't peppy enough.

My Personal Relationship With Eddie

Some people say they have a personal relationship with God, and it makes me want to have one. But it's hard for me to feel intimate with somebody I have to call "God." I thought if I came up with a more personal name for God, it might make us closer. There are no other Eddie's in my life at this time, so I decided to call God "Eddie."

At first it seemed strange. I would say, "Eddie, please, please be with me and help me to think clearly before acting." When I barely escaped being hit by a car while running for the bus, I put my hand over my heart and whispered, "Thank you, Eddie, Oh thank you." Several times lately I've begged, "Eddie, as I get older, please never allow me to shuffle around the house instead of walking."

Today I was in the shower. All at once the shower curtain rod lost its grip and started sliding down the wall. As it crashed to the floor on top of the shower curtain and water went everywhere, I shouted, "OH EDDIE, please–NO!"

I know that Emmy and John, who were working outside, probably wondered.