How does common sense differ from trivia? Maybe what is common sense in another culture is trivia in your own country. Common sense is what you think everyone should just know. And you get irritated when they don't. Pineapples have a set amount of sweetness. So you want a smaller pineapple, because in the larger ones the sugars have been spread out over a greater area. Not so sweet. I found that out from a friend who grew up in Hawaii. In Kenya you need to boil the water or treat it with chemicals to kill the parasites that live there. Unless you want them to live inside you. Even when you shower you need to be careful. And you don't use tap water to clean your teeth either. When it is snowy outside (in Minnesota) it is polite to take your shoes off when entering the house, but it is not compulsory. In Japan you ALWAYS remove your shoes when entering a home. There are no exceptions. Even if you just have to run back into your own home to get something that you forgot. Okay, there is one exception; if there is a dead body in the house you are free to wear your shoes. Because death is the only thing more contaminating to a space than shoes. No one who grew up in Minnesota uses an umbrella for snow. No one knows why this is. Canadian coins are accepted in many stores in Minnesota, which is adjacent to Canada but is in fact part of the United States. You can't expect that every store will take Canadian currency. But it is common enough for people to have Canadian coin in their pockets that some stores will specify that they do not accept them. (Mexican coins are not accepted as legal tender in Texas, presumably.) When you walk on ice you need to put your weight forward, make sure that as much of your foot as possible comes in contact with the ground and take small, waddling steps. Like a penguin. A friend who moved here from Boston did not know this. More than once she tried to walk like a human and fell on her tailbone. In Minnesota windows that open all have screens on them to keep out the mosquitoes. They aren't malarial-- just irritating. When I visited California I was stunned to see screenless windows flung wide. The safest place to be during a tornado is in the basement under the staircase. If you have no basement, get in the bathtub and put a mattress on top of you. In Australia it's important to check your shoes for scorpions before putting them on in the morning. I often accuse myself of lacking common sense. I don't think that is quite accurate. I have common sense, I just don't use it as often as I might. My inner grown-up has trouble taking the reins sometimes. More so when I am feeling unwell.
I think there should be a word for a slight downturn in Depression. You know, like the mental version of the common cold. And you could take time off work if it was severe enough. How about "brainstorm." Or a whole series of weather-related terms with the most serious being "brainhurricane." Less severe could be a "brainsquall." Although the mild words sound just terrible: braindrizzle? brainshowers? brainsprinkles? ewwww. Because Depression is not a steady state. Whether recovering or getting worse or even staying stagnant... there is great variability in mood and brain function. And the idea of being able to refer to the day as being quite good with just a slight brainsquall in the afternoon appeals to me greatly. Grateful Crap: Beautiful day today. Wonderful to see people in meeting. It's good to be back. Daily Convexions: took meds (150mg sertraline, 450mg bupropion) -- I need to get bupropion tomorrow. The larger dosage ate up my supply. went to meeting spent time with family and friends And now I will stop editing this and go to bed so I can beat my 1:30 am hard deadline for "This is Way Too Ridiculously Late To Be Up But I Was Lost In Project Land" Common sense would dictate that if I am tired I should go to bed. Perhaps it is my perverse desire to be creative causes me to rebel against sense that is "common." If it were "unusual sense" I would be all over it. Comments are closed.
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K. BuchananQuaker, teacher, parent, |