Nailing It !

Hi Readers,

I already had an idea for a post planned for today, but something that started my day has caused me to write about it instead. At least I still have a prompt for my next post!!

Each morning I get up pretty early as I have quite a bit of rehab to do on my hands, shoulders and ankles so that I can move about as much as I can. Over the past 3 years as the number of ops has increased, so has the amount of rehab and that means my sessions are getting longer and longer!! Still, I've always been diligent at being an early riser over the years so it's no big deal. But by mid afternoon I'm ready to create some 💤💤💤💤 so I'm careful not to sit down otherwise I'll be in the land of nod!!

This morning was pretty cool by the time I got into the shower. As usual I just turned on both the hot and cold water taps, hoping that I'd get the temp right. Nine times out of ten I'll get in and need to adjust either tap, or both, rarely do I get it right first time.

But this morning was different.

When I got in it was just perfect!!! For a moment I thought about adjusting one or the other, but then realised that I'd actually nailed it!!!

You must be thinking that I must be totally nuts when something so trivial got my juices going, but it did get me thinking.

What are the things that are so mundane and pedantic, that when we nail them perfectly we feel like a million dollars???

The times when we just snag something perfectly?

This was all prompted by my shower this morning, and as I soaked up the warmth I started to think about other things that I do all the time, but rarely do I get them done perfectly, or close to perfection each time?

Warning!!

I'm going to venture down the path of pedantism, but at the same time I hope I get you thinking about similar things in your own lives that you celebrate with private gusto when you nail them!!!

As I prepare to mow the lawns later today, it's always in the back of my mind if the battery life in the mower will go the distance. Usually it does last, but only if I push quickly, something that is a bit of a challenge with my leg at the moment. Other factors are the length of the grass, and how quickly I can do my neighbour's nature strip as well.

So many times I've been left with a strip about 15-20m long as the battery dies, needing a recharge. And that means coming back later and starting again, all for just 2-3 minutes.

But later today I am anticipating getting it all done in one hit, just because I nailed the shower this morning.

It's amazing how just that one little success this morning has created such a positive mindset for the rest of the day!!

Even just having breakfast can bring its own little challenges.

When I make my coffee I always put the milk in first before I add the coffee from the coffee machine. As I use lots of different sized cups, I never measure the milk, I just guess. Most times I put in either just a bit too much or too little, but on the times I just nail it I just stop and figuratively pat myself on the back.

The same goes for making toast. We all know the trials and tribulations involved when breaking in a new toaster and finally settling on the level that does your toast just right. 

Until you start using different types of bread and with different thicknesses.

One of my bugbears is having to dip back into the butter for more when you are buttering your toast. If I can get enough on the knife in the first go, then life is good. It sort of feels like I'm double dipping if I have to go back for more. Worse still when you have taken too much and are still left with a blob on your blade. What do you do now? Wipe it on the edge of the container for someone else to use?? I hate it when I open a butter container and I see the dregs of jam, vegemite, peanut butter etc lining the edges.

I suppose my habit of always trying not to have to go back to the container stems from my wife Jenny being Coeliac, and even a crumb or two would be enough to cause her serious reactions. At some times we even had seperate containers of butter and our own jars of spreads just to eliminate contamination. We definitely had seperate toasters.

As we continue our stroll down Pedantic Street, how many of you suffer from toothpaste rage?

You have just eaten your perfectly buttered toast, drained your perfectly milked coffee and are now nicking into the bathroom to give your fangs a wipe.

But whoever used the toothpaste last (in our house it's always just me now, so I can't blame anyone! 😖) has left just enough for half of what you need, but not enough for what you need for a proper clean.

But today is different!! You squeeze out the last dollop and it is 100% perfect for your needs. No mangling of the tube to grind out the last micron of toothpaste, just what you need, and no need to question if you need to leave the tube there for perhaps one last attempt. You are content that it has done its job and a new tube will be opened next visit.

On these occasions even my teeth feel cleaner and I'm not stressed about having to have rolled around on the bathroom floor trying to coax out that last bit of toothpaste that I need.

The same applies for shampoo in the shower. Who gets in and finds that the previous person has left only the tiniest bit in the bottle jus so they don't get lumbered with the responsibility of changing it over or refilling it. The joy of squeezing out that last bit and knowing thatit is all that you need. But please replace or refill it!!!!

Putting on socks and then not having to fiddle around making them feel comfortable once you put your shoes on. That seam that often runs along the toe line really bugs me if I can feel it, it just has to be perfect for me. So many times I've needed to take my shoe off again and adjust, but on those days I nail it, I just glide out of the house!!

Putting on a jumper over a shirt and not having to fiddle with the sleeves if they have scrunched up, especially with long sleeved shirts. Back in the day it never bothered me as much, but with all my recent shoulder issues I just can't reach and stretch as much as I'd like and one does need flexibility to adjust opposite sleeves. When I'm doing this in public I swear I must look like someone trying to change the wheel on a moving car!!

Cooking rice or pasta to add to a dish.

I'm not one to rely on measurements, I usually cook by sight ( and sometimes taste!)

Most of the time I just pour in what I think will look like enough once it is cooked, but more often than not I'm left over with an amount that is not enough for another meal the next day, and if I added it to what I was eating at the time it would just be that little too much.

Which is why I tend to overcook, meaning a dish might last me 3 nights!! By then I'm over it, but on the nights when I just nail the quantities, just call me Masterchef!!

Ever put on sunscreen and are left with way too much still on your hands that just won't be absorbed by your skin? You are so covered because you may have been a tad exuberant in squirting/pumping from the bottle that even after rubbing it in everywhere, you still have a few litres of it still in your hand? I'm not for a minute discouraging the use of sunscreen, heaven forbid, but on those times when you just get the right amount for what you need to cover one gets that feeling of invincibility against the UV Rays. We all end up with a bit extra on our hands that can be wiped away, but when we have totally covered ourselves and our hands look like they have just been painted white, perhaps we may have taken just a bit too much to start with. Just nail it!!

Buying clothes that fit perfectly first time. One of my pet hates is trying on new clothes at shops and trying to get the right size. Just because a Medium fits at one store does not necessarily mean that all Mediums are the same. Which means going to the change rooms with 2 or even more sizes of the same item just to see which one fits best. And being a pedantic beast, even if I am buying more than one of something as I want another colour, I try on EVERYTHING!!! 

On my recent trip overseas earlier this year I had some hours to kill at Singapore Airport, so I wandered among the shops. Imagine my surprise when I discovered some pants that were just perfect for travelling, at a great price, and when I tried them on they fitted perfectly!!!! Usually I'll require adjustments, but these were just perfect. So perfect in fact that I bought 3 pairs there and then. I was only 8 hours out of Australia and already my luggage was getting harder to pack, but when I buy something that fits perfectly first go, that feeling of nailing it is so good.

As I drive into town most days there are a number of intersections to go through that have traffic lights. If you are like me, don't you hate it when they change to red just as you are approaching?

But yesterday I drove like the Grandpa that I am, right on the limit and didn't care about the driver who was right up my arse trying to push me to go faster. This car did a drastic overtaking move into the next lane as if the world was ending, then settled down in front of me at the same speed that I was doing. That was a big move!! Then it did the same thing to another car and ended up in the lane beside me behind another car that was going slightly slower. I kept going at Grandpa speed and caught every green light while this very impatient and erratic driver got caught behind an even slower driver, ending up way behind me.

And as I approached a major intersection I caught sight of two motorcycle police parked behind some trees waiting to catch drivers just like the one I had experienced. These lights turned red, and just by chance I pulled up right next o them, and as I knew one of them well we managed to have a quick chat while waiting for the lights to turn green.

On those days when I just nail the green lights, life is so good!!!

By now Readers you must be thinking that I have way too much time on my hands if I am writing about such boring things like the ones that I have mentioned, but often when I don't get them right they are the things that can bug me intensely. They become the ants that I turn into elephants, when in fact they are so purile they needn't cause me any alarm at all.

Dressing perfectly for the weather.

I don't know if you are like me, but I can't stand it if I dress badly for the weather. I know it's easy for me now, if I get too hot or cold I just go and change. But when I was working, and a nice day was predicted, I'd be wondering whether to wear shorts or not, would I be too cold or too warm etc. So pedantic would I be that I'd wear shorts even if most of the day was too cool for shorts, but if it got warmer in the last hours of the day then I felt just justified. I'd nailed it!! I may have suffered in the cold for most of the day, but that one hour or two when shorts were best meant that I'd made the right decision. Funny how our brains work isn't it!

Travelling overseas causes me the most challenges with dressing, for although the temp might be cooler, I'm usually very active and on the go, so I tend not to pack too many warm clothes. I have been caught out on a few occasions, but generally I nail it.

And now the best for last.

Have you ever poured the perfect beer? The one that uses every drop from the bottle?

As I make my own beer I have a very vested interest in this and take a lot of notice in how they pour.

If there is too much head, that means I still have a few mouthfuls left in the bottle, and being home brew I won't just guzzle it as there is a bit of sediment left in the bottom of every bottle. But if I pour it perfectly it uses up just about every drop and just leaves a little bit in the bottom with the sediment.

Then there is the size of the glass that one uses. 

For me, a beer needs to come to the rim of the glass, and not only fill the glass 3/4 or near the top. Many would argue against this, but for me it has to be full, so when I pour one that uses just the right amount from the bottle and looks perfect in the glass, then I know that I have nailed it.

Well Readers, a very pedantic and light hearted look at the piddly little things that cross our paths across our days, but although being somewhat minor, they can still dictate the way in which we might approach the day.

Who knows, the very grumpy person you encounter later today might not just have nailed something that we all might consider an ant, but for this person it has become an elephant. On the other hand, it might be the person who didn't have to break stride to go up a step and just glided up it gracefully. We've all been there.

So Readers, I hope that you get to nail something today, and that you might even reflect momentarily on it and see how it can change the course of what you do next.

Until my next post,

Cheers 😁