How very odd.

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I'll get to the title in a bit. I got the bike in, put a note on it, tried to ensure it went to a specific bike assembler. While there I did some shopping. I could not find one of the cheeses I was looking for, but I did find brie. I also picked up some other sorts of cheeses, including gouda, European style goat cheese (I want to try what I might be making someday), and camembert. I don't know, it's just a summer kick. Oh, they are pricey little items. So I keep it small and make it last then use every ounce whether I like it or not. If I don't particularly care for it, I try to use it up in new and exotic ways. Well, not really new or exotic. Melted on sandwiches, slivered or sliced over hot meat, over eggs, or with various pairings of fruits or vegetables according to what I think might set the cheese off. But I go on a search for a way to like the cheese.

I didn't just fumble with spices and herbs, I learned their flavors and decided what I thought they would go well with in regards to foods and other spices. And, usually, I did quite well. I did research the spice or herb, but often I found the recommendations either too sparse or sometimes simply wrong. At worst I overdid or the combination was a bit lackluster. The one thing I didn't quite get down was volume. That is a study all it's own and can only come after you "own" the spice or herb. There is truly so much to tinker with while cooking that it would be nearly impossible to ever not be surprised by some weird pairing or combination of ingredients. I worked up to having 41, slightly more at times, spices and herbs on my shelf. And I owned a couple dozen condiments, if I didn't always have each on hand at all times. All of which I knew how to pair and mix. From Mexican spices, to Italian, on into simple Americana. I even learned to do some interesting Indian mixes, some of which I relished so much I would not share, though I would offer bags of my mix. Curries, minus the actually curry (that is perfectly legal and well within their etiquette, so there). Curry itself is something I could not quite ever tolerate. It is ground so fine or I have an slight allergy to it. It always causes me to cough, gets caught in my craw.

Oh, I found the bill that I was behind on, and paid it right away. It was the city utility bill. Ack! But, I paid at least what I owed, and maybe a bit more. I might simply try to keep a positive balance on that. Oh, I know, it isn't technically smart to have them owing me. But the amount is so small that the loss is negligible. Anyway, it pleases me to no end to have finally figured out the missing bill. I still have other business to attend, but that one is the longest (second longest) outstanding problems.

Okay, the odd part. For whatever reason, now that I am back on medicine, time seems to move much more slowly. I am able to get much more done in seeming no time. I don't sit around wasting time thinking about what I need to do. I simply do it. I'm not up to full speed but I can see the difference. I will give them a break on not catching that my issue was heart failure when I was younger. No one ever expects that, not early heart failure at 21 or 22. But I can't forgive them missing how bad my heart was for the last decade. That was poor medical care. They just kept trying to push me into psychiatry, which can't help this kind of problem, ever. It probably can't help any problem, to be honest. But, back to time. It seems so odd to do so much, almost without thought, and even while in recovery, and still have time almost seem to not pass at all. Everything I did tonight I did in less than two hours, which included nearly an hour of window time!

I can only imagine what life would have been like with 20 years of this kind of push and a healthy heart. Lord knows, life would be a lot different. I probably would have stayed in the Navy, but gone on to become a special type of officer. How long I would have put up with the bullshit or survived is anyone's guess. But there are good things about the Service too. Heavy sticks, they wield those. But the carrots are quite good too. A ribbon or medal, a plaque or frameable letter, but more the gratitude of the men you serve with. What I received, while I was in, that made my world at the time above any other accolade was the handshake and heartfelt congratulations and thanks from a captain I admired. And getting a specific item pinned to my chest was something I'll never forget, in spite of or because of the bruising and blood. My boys put it on, no one will ever get to take it off.

Well, a little more tinkering then I am going to try and get some more rest. Catnapping around the heat and when I can and need makes doing things easier. But that isn't always possible. The medicines on half dose didn't quite cut it. And my tinkering with the water pill was absurd (but I was trying to go to what they thought was best, at one time). I guess I just had to see if they or I had the correct notion. It was my native instinct, in this case.

Good night.