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Distraught

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indar
Posts: 2908
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Distraught

Post by indar » Thu May 14, 2020 9:08 am

Forgot the beans
boiling on the stove,
boiled over,
drenched the flame,
could've killed us:
inhalation or explosion.

Let the eggs
cook dry last week,
distracted pan-handling,
is this the end?

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Colm Roe
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Re: Distraught

Post by Colm Roe » Thu May 14, 2020 10:50 am

Poor Linda.
Relax, they are easy mistakes to make :)
When you put your electric kettle
on the gas hob... that's when you have to worry :shock:

indar
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Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: Distraught

Post by indar » Thu May 14, 2020 5:41 pm

I need all the reassurance I can get! It's pretty scary. Thank you Colm. Did you put your electric pot on the gas burner? :D :D

 

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Colm Roe
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Re: Distraught

Post by Colm Roe » Thu May 14, 2020 7:04 pm

Not yet. But Michael (my father) did. His dementia was mild then, but we were keeping an eye on him so there wasn't any real damage done. It hasn't really progressed much in the last two years, and he'll be 90 in August.
Just be kind to yourself Linda, most people get forgetful with age. And it's a great excuse for not giving cards or presents to people you used to...but never really wanted to. :lol:

ajduclos
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Re: Distraught

Post by ajduclos » Fri May 15, 2020 5:19 am

Yes, as has been said many times: shit happens.  On occasion I'll put my cup off coffee in the fridge to reheat it... or I'll put the cream away in the microwave...............  My best was when I was heading back home from my farm and stopped at the gas station some 25 miles away to fill up, only to realize I didn't have my credit card or any other of my cards including driver's license.  So, I needed to backtrack to the farm, and backtracking goes against my grain - but I had a brilliant solution.  I would take a short side route back to the farm that would bring me to another gas station so I could fill up before I got back to the farm... great plan, but I'm sure you see the flaw............. duh !!!!!!  Amazing brain cramp.
So, you're fine Linda - just a small distraction, a reminder to be a bit more attentive and not so easily distracted..........
Aj   

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Gyppo
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Location: UK

Re: Distraught

Post by Gyppo » Fri May 15, 2020 8:35 am

In a nutshell...  The trouble is, as 'creative types', we have a permanent distraction just a whisker away from over-riding our current activity.

At much greater length...  (Will take a while to wade through.)

Most of us have learned not to suddenly flip into creative mode whilst driving, crossing a road, etc.  But there are times it's a close run thing ;-)

Immediate self preservation seems to be a key factor.  One of the innate cave-man instincts.

But 'zoning out' when not actively involved in a group conversation isn't at all difficult is it?  Especially if you didn't really want to be there anyway.  There may be some embarrassment later when your companions tease you, but if you're lucky the more attuned will just shove a pen and notepad in your hand and carry on around you.

I suspect our instincts are better geared to immediate risk than something a few steps along the thought-chain.  So if our brain somehow skips a few links we don't see the danger approaching.

There are physical and tactile prompts which kick in and help.  Most electric kettles now are jug type, with the handle on the side, whereas gas ring kettles have a top handle.  Putting a side-handled kettle onto a gas ring will usually feel 'odd' and trigger a warning in your brain.

I find the side-handled kettle a cumbersome beast to pour compared to the more balanced top-handled version, but I've never been tempted to buy one of the occasional conventional looking top-handled electric kettles.  They usually look ugly too, compared to a shiny and smoke blackened 'proper' kettle.

Being a claustrophobe I tend to leave my inner room doors open most of the time anyway so I will see a cloud of steam drifting by from a forgotten pan, or smell something burning in the oven, or hear the crackle of exploding hard-boiled eggs as the pan boils dry.  (Spectacular!)  My sense of smell became over-developed as an early warning when I was a baker and still seems hyper-sensitive.

The better you believe you are at multi-tasking the more likely you seem to be to 'drop' one of the inputs if another becomes more fascinating.  As an example, take our Fire Brigade's mobile Incident Command Units. Each man in there should never have to deal with more than five 'information inputs' simultaneously.

Five is seen as the normal practical limit for a human brain to 'juggle' safely.  Three is better.  (There are gifted people who can manage seven for a while, but it's seen an an unacceptable risk.  If one of them drops off your mental 'radar' for a while the consequences can be horrific.)

=====

But I still find myself occasionally putting a bottle of milk away in a cupboard instead of the fridge.  Usually without realising until I find it there later.

My jars and bottle on the shelves all have their 'proper place', which helps, but I'm still puzzled as to the whereabouts of a missing tub of drinking chocolate.  I know two came into the bungalow, I saw them lying side by side in the bottom of the carrier bag, but there's only one in the store cupboard.  I was rather distracted that day so it's reasonable to guess I put it somewhere else, but I've not found it yet ;-)  And yes, I've already checked the bookshelves.

Gyppo
I've been writing ever since I realised I could.  Storytelling since I started talking.  Poetry however comes and goes  ;-)

Dave
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Re: Distraught

Post by Dave » Fri May 15, 2020 9:17 am

I enjoyed the moment, not the feeling of panic. Reflects well on the writing.
Dave
 

indar
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Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 8:00 am

Re: Distraught

Post by indar » Sat May 16, 2020 9:32 am

I love what this thread has turned into. Maybe there should be a whole forum, a confessional, for people who need to talk about the "thing" they did with a group of non-judgmental members who start their response by saying "hey! I can top that!"

Again, thank you Colm, 

AJ, you did indeed top my story, I've never had to back track 25 miles (if I remember correctly) Thank you.

Gyppo, you have written a whole dissertation on the cause of what we suffer. My friends call me an absent-minded professor. people who get off on not so nice names call me an airhead or flake. You have elevated me (and all our kind) to a position of higher-minded types whose thoughts are on a less mundane level such as where to put the coffee creamer. I truly thank you.

Dave I hope you enjoyed it because you are one of us, certainly your writing is evidence that you probably are. Thank you.

Dave
Posts: 1991
Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:07 am

Re: Distraught

Post by Dave » Sun May 17, 2020 5:30 am

Most definitely - I have regular meltdowns of all kinds. Sorry, what was I saying again....

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