Today’s plans were centered around my MRI appointment. I couldn’t eat anything after noon and had to take Metamucil. I had another bad night’s sleep and didn’t wake up until close to 11. I was not feeling great and instead of making breakfast I just had peanut butter on chocolate chip brioche. I still had my coffee as I can’t survive without that. This was my first-time taking Metamucil. I was not warned how horrible it was. I bought the generic yesterday, perhaps the name brand is less horrible. I got the smallest size I could, it has 26 -52 servings depending on how many teaspoons you use. The instructions on the bottle said start with one I so that’s what I used. The only reason I needed the Metamucil was for the MRI. I was supposed to take it for my last colonoscopy but forgot to. As the only times I’ll ever take it are for one of those two tests this is a lifetime supply. I mixed it with the water. It looked like dirty water. It had the consistency of phlegm. I forced myself to drink it. Next time I mix it with more water, so it’s less viscous, and make sure the water is colder.
The advanced imaging center where I had my appointment is right in the neighborhood, a 15-minute-walk away. It was a beautiful day, we’ve been having many of them, and I enjoyed the walk. On the way I looked at the MyChart app where I had done my check-in. I was supposed to show them a QR code to speed things up. I could not find the code on the app. I thought that might slow me down a bit. I went up to the receptionist and gave her my name. She said I wasn’t down for an appointment. I then spelled my name and gave her my date of birth. She said, “Your appointment was for yesterday!” NOOOOO! I told her about the Metamucil. She sympathized with me. I made a new appointment, two weeks from yesterday. I asked if she put in my chart that I’m an idiot. She burst out laughing. That was my success for the day.
This kind of thing is one of the reasons I call myself an idiot. I need to remind myself that I make mistakes and have to take precautions. The fact that I’m intelligent and organized can lure me into a false sense of confidence. I “knew” the appointment was for Wednesday, so I didn’t check. This will remind me that every morning I should say, “Hey Google! Good morning.” Then Google will tell me what’s on that day’s schedule. If I remind myself that I’m a fool I will make things foolproof. I’m intelligent and I know it, that is more reason to remind myself that I’m still fallible. Infallibility is one of the job perks that made me put being pope on my career goals. Infallibility, the cool house, and the hat.
I was feeling good when I left even though I was annoyed with myself for screwing up. I made someone laugh and had something to write about. I decided to then take advantage of the now free time and beautiful weather to take a lap around the Williamsbridge Oval Park. I cut across part of it on my way there. I have walked all around it. It’s the former site of a reservoir and is now a recreational park. It’s filled with ballfields of different kinds, playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts, and a skate/bicycle park. That’s something that didn’t exist when I was young, and I love watching kids on them. It’s a lot like watching an ant colony, it’s all these independent agents moving in a way that only makes sense when seen from a distance. I decided to share that with you and take a video. The trick was to find the right spot. I wanted to be able to see the steps and steep ramp that were occluded from the direction I approached. I thought I saw the perfect spot; it could have been designed to be a scenic overlook. Once I was there I saw it was less than ideal because of trees. I had to find exactly the right spot to get all the action that I wanted. Then I had to wait for people to use the ramp or steps. There’s a rhythm and It would just mean waiting half a minute at most. While I was setting up my phone’s camera a woman that had been exercising behind me if I had a kid in the park, I told her no. She asked why I was taking a picture. I said I was a taking a video because I loved the way it looked, and it would make people happy to see it. I was looking forward to showing it to you My Gentle Readers and my Facebook friends. She told me that her kid was there, and she didn’t want me taking pictures. She then called me a pedophile and threatened to call the cops.
I understood why she was leery. I have often been surprised at parents I thought were too trusting of me. People I hardly knew have asked me to watch their kids. I know I’m safe, but they don’t. But in this case there she was right there, and I was no threat to the kids. It was her rising anger that bothered me. I didn’t argue with her, I did know this was out of concern for her kid. It’s just another thing that a few terrible people have ruined for the rest of us. You can no longer leave your suitcase outside the bathroom at an airport or train station when you run in to use it. People will be afraid it’s a bomb. Fear of pedophilia is now the tinder for QAnon. They take advantage of people’s fear for their kids to spread fear and distrust. The irony is that the people that commit most of the crimes against children are not the feared strangers but the trusted friends and family. People can’t face that, so they find a more acceptable target for their distrust.
I finished my circumlocution of the park without taking any pictures. I want to go back to photography. Maybe I’ll take a walk with my real camera. I just checked my app, I didn’t get my 6000 steps in. I only took 4950, 2.35 miles. I could go out and walk a half a mile and reach my goal, but I know I’m not going to .
When I got home I made breakfast for dinner, an omelet. I tried something new, using the last of my cheese curds instead of my usual shredded cheese. I loved what it does to the consistency. It was reminiscent of pizza. I topped it off with an egg cream. I’m not going to punish myself for making a mistake. I’ll just call myself an idiot and move on.
Wise Madness 