Life List Item #118 Completed: Give Up Television And The Internet For One Week

This is the first non consensual life list item I've completed.

So, did you know Louisville, Kentucky gets hurricanes? I sure didn't, that is until last Sunday when the remnants of Hurricane Ike pounded our city with reported 75 mph winds. The four hour storm caused plenty of damage and knocked out power to over half the cities' residents.

We were in the half with no power, and remained so, until late last night. So if you're counting with me, that's six full days without power (I was sleeping when the power came back on, so it's only been within the last few hours I've had the chance to start greedily sucking up my share of energy).

Here's a synopsis of my media free week:
Day 1: The storm rages, and power is knocked out early in the day. I'm not too worried, since any time the power has gone out before, it's always been fixed within 12 hours.
Day 2: College classes are cancelled, so I'm off. And lucky so, since I'm now getting a better picture of how long this outage is going to last. Me and Rory wait in a line to buy gas, wait in a line to buy ice, wait in a line to buy a cooler, wait in a line to use an ATM, and wait in a line to get fast food. The people in the fast food line are the angriest. Later that night, I get to study organic chemistry by candlelight (not recommended).
Day 3: I think this was the first day I missed television. Rory was still pretty engrossed by the idea of grilling all of our soon to perish freezer stock, so I don't think he missed it yet.
Day 4: OK, getting a little frustrated here. At this point, I could care less about the internet or television; all I want more than anything in the world is an endless supply of ice cold drinks.
Day 5: I'm vaguely aware that our country is in the throes of yet another economic crisis, because I hear the NPR announcer wailing about it when I run out to charge my cell phone on the car charger. Rory is tired of eating grilled meat.
Day 6: I'm getting angry, and my clothes smell bad.
Day 7: Hallelujah! Like Santa Claus, the shadowy LG&E repairmen have appeared in the night and bestowed warmth and good cheer to our entire street!

And now hours later, sitting in my air conditioned cocoon, reading tabloid trash online, getting ready to dive into a week's worth of unwatched Netflix.... I'm almost ready to start taking it for granted all over again.

Life List Item #77 Completed: Keep Regular Medical Appointments

I'll admit it. I don't like going to the doctor or the dentist. I'd rather have symptoms drag out for a month, if it means putting off understanding the terms of my health insurance coverage and then completing the daunting task of actually finding a decent in-plan doctor or dentist.

It's not that I'm lazy per se, just that I've never seen the payoff as all that great. Think about it, you go through the tedium of finding someone to treat you, and the reward is to have them poke, prod, and drill you, potentially while you're not wearing half your clothes and answering a series of embarrassing questions.

Well no more. This past year I've kept every check up.

I think what's turned it around for me is the dentist we go to here in Louisville. When I was a teenager, my Mom started dragging us to this horrid family dentist. My beef with this guy is that he would start by wedging about half of his dental instruments into your gaping maw, and THEN proceed to ask roughly 2 billion open-ended questions about school, sports, the weather, current events, the origins of the universe, the duality of man, the existence of Sasquatch, etc., etc., etc.! It was ridiculous, and a total power play by this sadistic dentist. "So, could you tell me in 800 words or more, what your position on abortion is?" "Gnf thuk mool phoo..."

I love my new dentist. I honestly think he doesn't even know my name. He comes in with a perfunctory "How are you doing today?", waits for my perfunctory "Fine.", then sits down and (SILENTLY) gets to business. Just the way I like it.