Making It Up As I Go Along #354

MONDAY...
— Long day at work. Pretty busy and my mind is fuzzy with tiredness... so not much comes easy today.
— Late supper... a little TV... and bed.

TUESDAY...
— Sleep was bad again. When I went to bed Monday, I lay awake for two hours and slept about four hours all total. A fuzzy day at work again.
— At 7:00 PM, it was -1 outside. At 8:00 it was -12. And by 9:00 it was -17. Wind chill went from -8 to -30 in those two hours. Nasty turn.
— I sleep much of the time between 9:00 and 10:45. Needed to try to keep me going late tonight for the night shift tomorrow.

WEDNESDAY...
— Caught up on some sleep. In bed until 10:00 this morning. It’s cold cold cold... -39 with the wind this morning. Bah!
— Some TV before a nap in the afternoon.
— Simpson’s on TV post nap... shower and get ready for work. Not looking forward to stepping out into the cold.
— Work is fine... not much out of the ordinary. I stay out of the gym cause I can’t handle the thought of the cold when I walk back from there. Greek for supper is nice with Annick, Melissa, and Phil.

THURSDAY...
— Pretty good sleep. A fairly laid back late morning/early afternoon. It’s still freezing out there. -25ish.
— Afternoon nap followed by the Simpson’s and a shower.
— Work is fine. A bit busy for a while and calmed later on. Have a couple of interesting things to deal with too. But overall, it was a tricky week. I don’t know if it was a group of things happening that I hadn’t seen much of, or a lack of sleep, or a combo of things... but this week felt like I was, experience wise, about two months ago.
— Hit the gym tonight... it’s cold going over though.
— Real cold driving home. The car says -25 at the office... it’s at -29 by the team I reach home. Good thing there’s no wind in the early morning.

FRIDAY...
— Up around 11:00... which means I sleep for about 4 hours. Surprisingly, I’m not too sleepy today. I stay in and lay pretty low though. Watch some DVDs. A little nap in the evening and some more movies.

SATURDAY...
— Laundry day. I was supposed to go to the movies and supper with Karl but he has to postpone. So I just stick home and watch some movies and hockey while doing laundry. Pretty dull day... but relaxing.

SUNDAY...
— Finish off the laundry in the morning. Nap some as I was up shortly after 7:00 this morning... so I need the sofa to finish off the sleep. Softball... we lose again... not as bad as before but still a loss. After that, a bit of supper with Nick, Dusty, Steve and Dusty’s friend who played with us.


Bedroom Floor Lunch
There are few firsts or lasts that I have firm memories of. First birthday party? No idea. Last day on the job with Fisheries and Oceans? It doesn’t stand out. Then there are also those trivial things. Last time I ate a bag of Doritos chips? I don’t know. First time I played a game of softball? The memory doesn’t exist.

There is a last that does stand out to me. I remember the last time I ever ate liver.

Now I couldn’t tell you the date or the year. But I know I was young. I was probably about six or seven years old.

Occasionally, liver would be made for a meal. Dad’s a fan of the stuff and, at an age when you aren’t old enough to know what you do and don’t like, I had little say in the matter. I ate liver in the same way as I went to church for a few years fairly close to the same time. I was to go and give church a try... and if it didn’t stick with me after a year or so... I was no longer obligated.

I haven’t been to church for quite some time. Taking away weddings, it would be a good seven or eight years. And taking away Christmas Eve... just making it a regular Sunday trip to the church, I probably haven’t gone in at least fifteen years... probably more.

So it was with liver. I choked it down a few times because that’s the food that was on my plate and a kid of six or seven never had the option of not eating at all or making your own food.

The last time I had liver was for lunch. I can’t remember what day of the week it was. I don’t know if it was a weekend or if I was due to go to school after eating. But I do remember taking the plate into my parents room, plopping down on the floor in front of their little yellow TV that showed my favourite early afternoon shows in black and white, and forcing the red smelliness into my mouth.

It was probably during Sesame Street when I was nibbling on this meat, swallowing minute pieces that were drenched in ketchup.

In fact, I probably finished the ketchup portion of the meal. But ate very little of the cooked organ.

I still remember the taste. A bitter tinniness. Perhaps liver doesn’t taste that way at all. The taste has morphed into bitter tinniness over a thirty year period of time.

But on that day, when I finished my lunch, I remember telling mom or dad (who I told, I forget) that I don’t like liver. And since this wasn’t the first time I’d ever had it, and they seemed believing of my convictions, it has never been offered to me again.

Yet anytime I hear of, smell, or see liver, I think back those thirty years. Of me sitting Indian style on my parents bedroom floor, watching black and white kids shows on the yellow TV and returning to the kitchen with my ketchup finished and my liver attempted... telling my parents I don’t like it... and having them accept it. It’s my best childhood memory of me proclaiming something and having my parents take it seriously. Who knew that that day, while watching Sesame Street on my parents bedroom floor, I would take my first step to becoming a man.