Thursday / Friday; The Case of the Flashing Light; Saturday; Sunday

Thursday I went to work feeling only mediocre. By 10:30, I could barely look at the computer screen because of a headache. So when lunch time arrived, I decided I would go home and go to bed. Which I did and slept most of the afternoon.

At 7, I was able to watch "The Amazing Race," which seems to get better and better. Last week, the scene was Venice; this week, Vienna. And nothing is ever certain, the positions of the racers constantly change. It continues to amaze me how frequently the contestants do not read the complete wording of the clues.

Friday, I slept and slept. I felt totally exhausted. But around 5, I began to feel better. I forced myself to get up and go out for a chicken spud at the nearby deli. The spud was so-so, but the two sugar cookies and the sweet tea were great.

Several years ago, I installed motion detection lights at the front and the side of my house. I replaced the existing outlets with special ones that came in the kit. By doing this, there was no need for re-wiring, and the units could be controlled by the appropriate wall switch.

One flip of the switch places the unit in detection mode: the lights come on if triggered by motion. (They are so sensitive that even a scampering squirrel will activate them.) Two flips of the switch puts the unit in fixed mode; the lights stay on until manually turned off. Three flips of the switch shifts the unit into flashing mode: the lights flash on and off.

Around 8:30, I was still feeling weary, so I turned off the tv and the living room lights intent on going back to bed. But out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a blinking light reflecting off the venetian blinds. I looked out the window and the lights were in flashing mode. I turned them off and re-set them to detection mode. At some point, I must have bumped the switch, or the unit malfunctioned.

Another feature of the units is a remote chime that can be plugged into any existing outlet that is on the same circuit as the lights. If the detection beam is triggered, the chime sounds.

I was in the bedroom when I heard the chime go off. I returned to the living room and could see a car pulling into the drive. My first thought was a visit from a friend. But then I heard a loud bang on the back door; I looked though the peep hole, and there was a police officer! I opened the door, and he told me someone had seen the flashing lights, thought something was wrong, and called the police. The caller also reported hearing a scream. He asked if there was anyone else here, I said only my five wild cats. Which the officer misheard as five wildcats. So I had to explain they were "domesticus housecatus."

Saturday morning, not feeling much better, I figured it was time I visited the clinic. The wait was short and within ten minutes I was chatting with the doctor. He looked back through the chart, asked if I gotten over the last bout, and indicated he wanted to x-ray my sinuses. A few minutes later, a technician appeared and down the hall we went.

He returned and said the sinuses were clear, which meant that problem was more allergy related. (Gee! I've only been saying this for years.) He then prescribed Augmentin and a new medication Signulair which he said might be very helpful.

I'm already taking Zyrtec which is a histamine blocker. But Singulair is a leukotriene blocker. And apparently leukotriene has some similarities to histamine.

My next stop was at the pharmacy; the druggist looked at the prescription slip and asked my date of birth. As usual the place was busy. In addition to serving in-house customers, they also have a drive-through. So someone would pop up at the outside window, then the phone would ring, and then cutomers would appear at the inside counter.

Finally the clerk called my name, and told me the amount which sounded way too cheap. I glanced at the ticket, and it had my name but an address in Illinois. I asked the clerk about the date of birth, and she checked. The person on the ticket had the same year and day as me but a different month. The druggist said he thought he'd heard me say that month. So after a few minutes of voiding and re-labeling and re-printing, things were as they should be.

Another one of life's bizzare little incidents. In this case, it was easily solvable. But what if it were not so easily solved. A very scary thought.

Around noon, I zoomed off to my favorite Japanese restaurant which was very crowded. But you can always find a slot at the sushi bar. Several times, I've talked with one of the bussers who reminds me of Elijah Wood. I first met him the night a friend and I went to din din. I heard him talking, and his lack of a local accent puzzled me, so I asked if was from here. He said I was the second person to ask that night. He said he felt like an alien.

The next time I saw him, I mentioned the comment, and we briefly talked about things arcane. He said I might be interested in a book he had studied - "The Urantia Book." Which I've discovered is a quasi-mystical tome that many have found revelatory.

There's something about the guy I find very exciting. But I don't think he's gay. Ah! The story of my demented life.

PAX!