• Thanks, boss.

    Here’s the set up: Cheryl, Beth and I go to Olive Garden with Memmay and Peppay (I promise not to start in on the French slang thing again). The disabled parking spaces in front of the restaurant are full so Memmay drops us off so she can drive around looking for a disabled spot in the next lot over (don’t get me started).
    Here’s what happened next: Two groups arrive at the front door at the same time, ours and group from the set of just about any hip MTV show. Cheryl bursts through the door to get our names in first. Feeling the need to show some civility, I hold the door open for Kool and the gang. The last guy through the door is walking with his knees wide; either because of a lot of time spent out on the range, or so his pants won’t fall down. As he walks past, he says to me (through a bushy goatee) “thanks boss”. I feel a tingle in the air… as if some cool has been bestowed upon me. I hurry to catch up with my party, a strut in my step from the recent transfer of cool. (Dear readers: please excuse our sarcasm.)

  • Which is worse: cold or cure?

    My cold lingered into last week. Since it had been one week too many, I went to see my assigned health care professional. At this point I was given a script for antibiotics and instructions to consume probiotics. Well, the good news is that my original cold symptoms have all but abated. Unfortunately, the antibiotics have waged a savage war with my digestive system. Being the good patient, I have dutifully consumed mass quantities of active culture laced yogurt. This time around, I’ll take the cure over the cold – but it’s no slam dunk. SIDEBAR: I had an interesting conversation about “the placebo effect”. It all started with an innocent question: “do you get a placebo effect if the patient is not sure that a drug will work?” Hey, I thought it was a good question. Anyway, it turns out that placebos are not as well understood as I thought (particularly by me), and it is not always clear that the standard psychological explanation is the only explanation. I was feeling better, I had taken the antibiotic, and I was not sure it would work. I wondered if “the placebo effect” could have been the reason I felt better … and that hasn’t changed since my conversation about placebos. YOU HAVE NOW REACHED THE END OF THE SIDEBAR. Either way, the balance sheet leans towards “feeling better” so I guess I shouldn’t be complaining. But what fun is that? And just think, if I hadn’t brought it up I would know less about placebos. Can you imagine going through life not knowing about placebos? Do someone you love a favor, talk to them about placebos. They’ll be glad you did.

  • Have money, will spend.

    I am faced with a serious dilemma. I was given some cold, hard cash for my birthday. As dilemmas go, this one doesn’t sound too bad so far. It’s not getting money that is so bad, but deciding what to do with it. I am torn between prudent, responsible choices and … well … not so prudent or responsible choices. On the one hand we have necessary items. Clothing, debt relief, covering upcoming fixed hobby costs; these are all good, solid choices. But getting fired up about depositing a check into your loan account is about as exciting as seeing a box you are sure is a really neat toy on Christmas morning, only to find that it is a multi-pack of multi-colored Fruit of the Looms. Visions of iPods, DVD box sets and various software titles dance enticingly through my thoughts. Worries about loan balances and cash flow plague my conscience.

    For now I think I’ll let the money accumulate interest.