Are YOU? Looking an ME? & The Water & Light Miricle

Rest in Peace Wild Bill Guarnere - one of the Band of Brothers and Greatest Generation. A true hero and this always makes me sad.
-----------------------------------------------------------

DJ and I watched Taxi Drive for the first time Friday night.  One of those movies that we just never got around to watching even though it is the 5th greatest film ever on its directors' poll.and is considered "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant by the US Library of Congress.

Hell ya!  WOW. It is such an odd  "we can't STOP watching" movie.

Filmed in 1976  the climactic shoot-out was considered intensely graphic but I think I have seen worse on The Doodlebops on Saturday morning. (OK OK maybe that is a stretch but The Doodlebops REALLY creep me out.  It is what nightmares are made of).

BUT of course seeing where "Are you looking at me? comes from is a highlight!  They should combine "Are you looking at me? with "Look at me, Look at me"

"Look at me, Look at me, I'm the Captain now, are you looking at me? are you,,, looking at me?  Look an me!" 

--------------------------------------------------------

Thursday I was a volunteer for the UW-Wisconsin Cohort Sleep Study. The longest sleep study in the world.  I guess 20 years ago I agreed to be part of it.  I found out that I was chosen because I worked for The State and they believe that State Employees are stable and don't move to other states (at least until the Walker Administration and then knowledgeable employees left in droves like lemmings on a sinking ship, poor pay, no benefits and aging tools, only MG&E has older equipment).

SO - as you all know I filled out a 30 page questionnaire every year and collected  $40.

This year they wanted me to sleep over for $150 and free food. SWEET - the one thing was this would be only the 3rd time in 18 years I would not be in the same sleeping location as DJ.  But - for $150 and an adventure . . . . how can I turn that down (sorry DJ).

I arrive at 4:30pm and fill out 4 more questioner's have 5 separate doctors examine me, push, tap, press, do all the test drunks take (try this one . . . .take off your shoes and socks (important), and walk in a straight line heal touching toe for 10 feet.   Harder then you think.

They give me a menu to order food, as much as I want whatever I want.  UW-Hospital has a pretty Las Vegas style cafeteria and a large menu.  I order a New York Strip with bake potato and salad with corn.  Basic but what can I say, I was overwhelmed.

I fill out more forms and the meal comes.  Pretty darn good, I was happy.

So now comes the memory tests that sound fun because I have one.

WHAT A FREAKING NIGHTMARE - OMG, totally humbling.  I THOUGHT I had a memory! I was proven wrong. The examiner said no one ever likes that test.   

Another test was just as hard but WHY!! 

Time - 60 seconds (the key as it adds stress).  Name all words (not names or places) that begin with . . . . . . . L  GO!

The first 9 or 10 are easy right but then you still have 45 seconds left?  We did that a few times with different letters to bring me down.

So I get to relax for 15 minutes and then this new nurse comes in that I have not seen.  Nurse Brünnhilde Fraulein.  Not the chippy happy pretty nurses I've been dealing with at all for the last 4 hours.

But before she can do anything another Doctor comes in and a pharmacist to interview me.  While they are asking questions I have answered 5 already, scary nurse is playing with THE WALL OF DISCOMFORT!

 
Dr #6 leaves and Scary Nurse says it will take about one and a half hours to hook me up!  WOW!!

Scary Nurse turns out to a REALLY good photographer and we talk about techniques and so forth but then back to business.

4 cords on my legs, two straps around my chest, 10 things inside my hair, more on my cheeks and under my chin and a few more on my back and then one on the tip of my finger that glows like ET.  OH - and finally a couple up my nose and I'm all set for a nice relaxing night in a too soft bed near the heliport.

a glamor selfie! I am going to sleep SO WELL!      DON'T LOOK AT ME

This is the best hotel EVER!

And . . . . . . I gotta pee.

Now they have to get all the machines talking to each other.  This stuff tells them EVERYTHING

They can measure which way my eyes are looking and what my tongue is doing.  Which toes are wiggling and am told to inhale and exhale all the air in my body and hold it as long as possible to see how my body recharges O2.

NIGHT NIGHT!

Oddly I had some bizarre dreams.

One dream it was raining really hard (we all know what THAT means).  And the last dream I was walking around with all this garbage on me in a brewery and realize I looked like a monster and had to go back to my room.

I wake up about 6:00 and they are there immediately, and un-hook me and at the same time are drawing blood.  Then I get my breakfast and fill out 2 more questionnaires and told to leave whenever I want.   

I'll get the results in a month but they said I'm a good sleeper and went to sleep quickly (which is odd because I normally take a while, DJ hits the pillow and is sleeping within 5 minute, it always amazed me). 

But the thing is it really threw me off on Friday because my routine was so out of whack. I felt out of sorts all day.   I think this will not be the last time I do this or maybe I slept to well.

-----------------------------------------------------   

Seems I can start saving money on bird food. When I was super cold I was filling the feeder up at 6:00am and 5:00pm.  Now it's gone a day and a half and there is still food in it.
------------------------------------------------------

It'll be interesting what Water and Light does with reimbursement.  Looking at my last 6 Februaries we average using 2,730 gallons of water a month.  Here is something weird that I had never noticed before.   February 2011 and February 2012 we used the EXACT number of gallons of water 2,917!  How does that happen, what are the chances!  IT'S A MIRACLE!!
++++++++
Wait - looking at the numbers, all of the "cubic feet of water used" is rounded to the nearest 10 so it makes it easier.  We used 390 cubic feet which is (390 * 7.48051945gallons).   

Actually we have used 390 cubic feet of water four times.  Guess it's not THAT uncommon.  

-------------------------------------------------

Have a great week.
Rm