Category: Life

Lessons I’ve learned through the school of hard knocks. This is my catch-all, miscellaneous category if you will, where I address topics that don’t quite fit into the other categories.

Coffee


Dr. D.’s favorite household appliance.

I never used to drink coffee until I discovered its magical powers of keeping me awake after sleep-depriving nights and its ability to make me look pensive and meditative while reading in the coffee shop. While I do enjoy the coffee that baristas offer, I always prefer to drink my own home-brewed concoction. I don’t know why, but my coffee tastes better to me than even the most expensive gourmet coffee at any coffee shop.

I love to lounge around the house in the morning sipping at my coffee while I read my e-mail before I go out for my morning run. I used to have a Mr. Coffee with a timer that my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday, but then she died, I got divorced, and my Mr. Coffee stopped working.

So, I decided to splurge on a new coffee maker. I bought a Cuisinart Grind and Brew coffee maker in 2003 and enjoyed its coffee until about three months ago. It had a timer, so I was able to set it up the night before and literally wake up and smell the coffee. About two years ago, my beloved Cuisinart stopped functioning like new and I tried to fix it–following in my father’s footsteps–but I was lucky to put it back together again without improving its performance. The only thing I got out of the experience was a headache, minor cuts on my fingertips, and a very lame blog entry. But I continued using the coffee maker until about two months ago when I could no longer disassemble the grinder to wash it. I tried everything to pry it out, but it was more stubborn than me.

Finally, I decided to buy another coffee maker. This was my chance to try a new brand, but I loved my Cuisinart so much that I decided to buy the exact same model again. I bought it in 2003 for $125 plus sales tax. So, I expected to pay much more in 2008. Surprisingly, that model was still about the same price at most stores, but I like shopping online and I noticed that amazon.com sold it for $119, with no sales tax and no shipping charges.

Then, I noticed that they also sold a refurbished version of the same model. I was incredibly surprised to discover that a refurbished coffee maker cost more than a new one: $144! Obviously, I bought a new one. I received it at my door within three business days! I happened to be home at the time and the UPS guy put the package directly in my own hands! I was glad I bought the new model because Cuisinart had improved its performance ever so slightly, but enough to make a notable difference that was apparent from the first cup of coffee. In fact, I burned myself with the very first sip. I didn’t realized the my old coffee maker was no longer making very hot coffee. Wow! Hopefully, I’ll get at least five years out of this one.

DDR

Chess memories


I bought this chess set in high school.

Now that I’m playing at the UIC Chess Club, I’m starting to recall how I used to play chess. The last time I played chess seriously was in high school about thirty-two years ago. Somehow, my chess skills have gotten rusty! The chess atmosphere has changed a lot since then. I kind of miss the cigar smoke while playing chess.

These players in the UIC Chess Club are really into chess, but their attitude is completely different from mine. When I got into chess, I felt impelled to learn everything possible about the game. I learned the history of chess, the important chess players, the terminology, and the classic chess openings. As I played the last two Tuesdays, I tried to remember some of the terminology, but no one knew any of it–or even seemed remotely interested in learning terms like rank, row, file, or column.

One player touched a piece and said, “I adjust.” I said, “You mean, ‘J’adoube.'” My remark was met with a blank stare. Hmm.

One player asked advice of another, and I never heard anyone talk about “control the center” or “castle early.” This was like culture shock to me. Later, a few players discussed the merits of learning book openings, and the consensus was that learning openings wasn’t necessary to become a talented player. I was so rusty that I lost most of my games. I was surprised that I won any games at all. I would inadvertently give away pieces or set myself up for a knight fork. When I was playing chess, I used to open P-K4; now it’s E4. This will take some getting used to. My biggest surprise came when I had to take back a move because I was in check. No one says, “Check!” when they check your king. I’m so rusty that I didn’t realize that I was in check.

Well, I improved when I returned the next Tuesday. I try to be realistic and try to evaluate just how well I played when I was in high school. Even back then I made bad moves or gave up pieces. But I’m sure I will improve with a little more practice.

DDR

Health


Photo by Miguel u00c1. Padriu00f1u00e1n on Pexels.com

My brother Danny called me so I could give him a ride to the hospital in order to get a medical procedure. He gave me a three-week notice, but he didn’t specify what medical procedure he would undergo. But he did ask me a few questions about my health and health care. Well, I’m 52 and he’s 50, so he mentioned that we were both at the age were a prostate cancer exam is recommended. My brother has been going to the doctor a lot the last few years. He asked when I last went to the doctor. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I went to see a doctor. I have had a lot of bad experiences with doctors, so I try to avoid them. For as long as I can remember, I would get acute pains in various parts of my body.

Once in high school, I felt pains between my ribs around my heart. It felt as if someone put a broomstick between my ribs and was prying them apart. I was about seventeen. My mother thought I was exaggerating and told me the pains were all in my head. But they weren’t. I kept complaining about the pain to my mother until she finally took me to the doctor. When I described my pains to the doctor, he stared at me blankly and said that they were just growing pains. That was the end of my doctor’s visit. The pains persisted for about a week, but eventually went away just as mysteriously as they came. And, thankfully, I didn’t die–obviously!

About twenty years ago, I felt a sharp pain in one of my testicles. I continued my daily run despite the pain. I have this uncanny ability to block out pain. The pain increased so much that I eventually made an appointment with a doctor. He told me that I should wear an athletic supporter when I went running. That was all the advice the doctor gave me! I said, “But I feel a lot of pain!” “What are you worried about?” he asked. “Cancer,” I said. He then told me that I was too old to get testicular cancer. I felt much better after that information.

Another time, the white part of my eye had turned completely blood red. When I woke up and saw my eye–oddly, I didn’t feel any pain while I slept–I panicked. I called my optometrist and he told me to come in immediately, probably due the urgency in my voice. When he examined me, he said, “It’s nothing to worry about.” “What do you mean? My entire eye is red!” But there was nothing he or anyone else could do for me. Eventually, my eye cleared up.

So when my brother called me, I tried very hard to remember the last time I saw a doctor. He asked me who my doctor was. Well, I don’t have a doctor. Do you want to know why? Because he died! My doctor and I were both about the same age; I could tell because we both had the same chronological reference points. He used to tell me how I should watch my diet and exercise and all the usual doctorly advice. One day, I had the flu really bad and I tried to make an appointment with my doctor. He wasn’t available. The next time I saw him, my doctor told me that he had had a heart attack. I thought, “Doctor, heal thyself!” This was the doctor who was advising me on how to live a healthy life! About a year later, I had one of those mysterious, sharp pains in my side by my kidney. I immediately called my doctor to make an appointment. He wasn’t available. And he would never be available for appointments ever again. He had died of a heart attack the week before. That was the last time I saw a doctor.

DDR

Work


Dr. D. running for the Beatrice Corporate Marathon Team.

I’ve often heard that “work” is a four-letter word. No wonder I try to avoid it at all costs. But wait, “word” is also a four-letter word! Hm. And so is “four!”

The more I think about work, the less I like it. I’ve worked all my adult life despite never having a job that I really loved, or at least liked even a little bit. I mean, I can work extremely hard as long as what I do isn’t classified as “work.” If I have to do physical or intellectual labor for someone else, and hopefully, for a salary, I’m unhappy and resentful.

I can work out all day just for the fun of it because I’m doing it just for me. Years ago, when I ran marathons, I used to run more than one-hundred-mile weeks just because I loved running marathons and I wanted to run my fastest marathon possible.

One of my pet peeves of having a job is having a boss who bosses me around. But worse than me being ordered about by someone on a power trip who loves to exert his or her authority just to show everyone who’s the boss, is having me in charge and having me order people around.

When I worked at the peanut butter factory, I did repetitive, monotonous manual labor. My first job was stacking sixty cases of peanut butter on wooden pallets. Each case weighed about forty pounds. I learned how to save a step here, an arm movement there. When you work eight hours doing manual labor, every motion adds up. That was the only way to conserve my energy so I wouldn’t wear myself out. Sometimes when the assembly line broke down, I got to rest awhile. Eventually, I brought a paperback with me so I could read during my breaks and whenever the line was down. Well, my bosses couldn’t stand to see me sitting there doing nothing, so they would always find something for me to do like sweep the floor, stack pallets up, etc. Well, no matter how many things I was supposed to do during that downtime, I always figured out a way to do everything more efficiently. No matter. I still always had time to sit and read. My boss finally gave up on finding more tasks for me.

My mother used to get mad at me because I didn’t aspire to get promoted or take better paying positions such as mechanic. My mother coached me as to what to say whenever I was approached to advance on the job. The boss would usually ask if I could do a certain task and I was supposed to answer, “No, but I can learn!” Every time I was asked, I would say, “No, I don’t know how.” “Would you like to learn?” “No.” And that would be the end of my climbing the company ladder.

Somehow, my mother would always find out about my new job offer and yell at me for not accepting the promotion. She would call me lazy and unambitious. Back then I was really into kung fu, so on my days off I would work out all day. I want to build up my endurance and stamina. In fact, at work I could work tirelessly for hours. Then, one day, against my wishes–due to a shortage of manpower–I was promoted to assistant foreman on one of the peanut butter production lines. Suddenly, I found myself having to boss my fellow employees around. And they didn’t like it! They liked me well enough as a coworker but hated me as their boss. One likely reason was because I was younger than them. I was caught in the middle. My boss would give me orders to get certain things done, and I had to make the workers work. Well, absolutely no one obeyed any of my commands. So, silently, I started doing all the work that had to be done. And everyone just watched me. I didn’t complain. I just kept working, minding my own business. I didn’t know what else to do. At least, I wouldn’t get in trouble for not working. Eventually, everyone started working alongside me. I was shocked! When we were done, the foreman showed up and congratulated us on a job well-done. After that, I never bossed anyone around, but everyone did their job before I even had to tell them. Go figure!

DDR

iDrive


I love the GPS on my iPhone!

I was supposed to take my son Alex to a football game at 54th and Narragansett Avenue. I have a general idea of what the neighborhood is like because it’s near Midway Airport, my old stomping grounds. No problem, right? I mean how hard is it to find a football field? Well, when I get to where the football field is supposed to be, I see nothing but residential buildings. Someone didn’t give out the correct address for the game. And I don’t have any of the phone numbers for any of the coaches or the staff! What to do?

Luckily, I had my iPhone and I had used the calendar to schedule the game. So, I knew the game was supposed to be at Wentworth Park, at least according to football schedule that gave me the wrong address. I search for Wentworth Park using Google Maps and I discover that I’m in the general vicinity, but about a mile away. The map even indicated the traffic flow of one-way streets! Using the map on my iPhone, I successfully find Wentworth Park. This was actually one of the uses I had in mind when I bought the iPhone. I hope to use Google Maps a lot the next time I go to Mexico.

DDR