My new system

We're old friends here, right? I've already confessed my difficulty with badges and passwords and also have revealed my when-all-else-fails method of entering my own house. We have no secrets. I try to appear as though I have it together.

I do not. It's frequently not all together.

Last week, I drove all the way to work without my purse. I had no idea that I did not have it until I reached for it to hustle in the back door. I keep my badge (when I can find it) in my car, so working was no problem. It was the whole "driving back home without a license" that had me a smidge rattled. All day long I was a little off. And that was the day I had to go across the street to find out who won the contest. And then I had to read my first fiction entry ever, out loud and everything. And I had a list of things I had to do before closing time in Benton, difficult to make even when I have my license, can drive my normal speed, and don't have to go home first to get my purse.

I'm a little worried that the Diet Coke build-up is catching up with me. Still, I learned a couple of lessons.
1. I can't drive 55 (or the speed limit apparently). Even knowing I needed to act like nothing suspicious was going on, I would catch myself approaching my normal speed and having to back off. From reading "Lush Life," I understand that only criminals obey all the laws to the letter. Or at least, that's what I took from it. I might have misunderstood.
2. I need a new system for the important stuff. We had a dessert potluck (potatoes provided) last Friday. And I made a special stop on the way home Thursday to buy the very best Wal-Mart could pre-package for me. And knowing how I am, I made a big note before I got out of the car. So then I worried about leaving that cheesecake at home all night long and it was my first thought in the morning. I didn't forget. What I did do was drop it on the floor first thing after pulling it from the freezer. And then I let it slide into the floorboard after stopping too quickly. And just in case you need to know: buy your cheesecake in the frozen foods section of Wal-Mart and you can throw it like a football and have no injury whatsoever.

If you see me walking around with sticky notes attached, it's just my new system in place. That way, when I forget why I walked into a room or where I was going, I can just pull off my sticky note. If I can remember which one it is.