Chemistry Experiments

When Doctor's Orders Have Side Effects

MAKE THAT ICED TEA FOR MEEEEEEE!

I “woke up” this morning feeling like an extra from The Walking Dead.

After another Sleepless-in-SoCal night, my brain is only kinda sorta online. Focusing is a struggle, staying awake is a challenge, and thinking too hard…hurts my brain.

Per doctor’s orders, I’m facing the day without caffeine—or any of the other things that normally help me wake up (or help me go to sleep).

Is this a medical intervention or self-sabotage? Only time will tell.

Fingers crossed my internal processor eventually boots up. I’ve got plenty of work “in progress,” but I’m making no promises that any progress will get made today. I’m that groggy. But hey…I showed up, and I’m trying. That counts for something, right?

A few days ago, I stopped by my medical clinic for a quick check-in. My regular doctor was off, so I ended up seeing a new-to-me physician. He was super nice and knew his stuff, so his fresh eyes on my medical chart were a welcome surprise.

Dr. Smart Guy pointed out that my blood pressure is improving, but not enough. So he suggested a handful of changes, including cutting my caffeine intake and THC usage, tweaking my meds, and making some new habits.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I agree something needs to change. But changing everything all at once? That’s a whole other level of science-fair experiment.

So here I am: caffeine-free, sleep-deprived, brain-fogged, med-adjusted, and trying my best to function like a normal human being.

If this is what progress feels like, I hope there’s a prize at the end. Or at least a nap.

We shall see how long I can keep this up. I suspect at least edibles will be back in regular rotation very soon. Clint needs a nap, y’all!

Keep calm and carry on…
Clint 🌈✌️

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ON THIS DAY = NOVEMBER 20

BIRTHDAYS

• 1858 = Selma Lagerlöf = Swedish writer and Nobel Laureate 🌈

• 1883 = Tony Gaudio = Italian-American cinematographer

• 1893 = Grace Darmond = Canadian-American actor 🌈

• 1900 = Chester Gould = American cartoonist and Dick Tracy creator

• 1908 = Alistair Cooke = British-American journalist and author

• 1910 = Pauli Murray = American activist, lawyer, and priest 🌈

• 1914 = Emilio Pucci = Italian fashion designer and politician

• 1922 = Noel Mewton-Wood = Australian-born concert pianist 🌈

• 1925 = Kaye Ballard = American actor, comedian, and singer 🌈

• 1925 = Robert F. Kennedy = American naval officer, lawyer, and politician

• 1927 = Estelle Parsons = American actor and director

• 1932 = Richard Dawson = English-American actor and game show host

• 1936 = Don DeLillo = American novelist, essayist, and playwright

• 1939 = Dick Smothers = American actor and comedian

• 1941 = Dr. John = American singer-songwriter

• 1942 = Bob Einstein = American actor, producer, and screenwriter

• 1942 = Joe Biden = American politician and 46th POTUS

• 1946 = Samuel E. Wright = American actor, voice actor and singer

• 1947 = Joe Walsh = American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor

• 1953 = Fábio Jr. = Brazilian singer-songwriter and actor

• 1954 = Richard Brooker = English actor and stuntman

• 1956 = Bo Derek = American actor and producer

• 1959 = Sean Young = American actor and dancer

• 1965 = Mike D = American rapper and drummer

• 1971 = Joel McHale = American comedian, actor, and producer

• 1974 = Jason Faunt = American actor

• 1975 = Dierks Bentley = American singer-songwriter

• 1977 = Josh Turner = American singer-songwriter and actor

• 1984 = Jeremy Jordan = American actor

• 1985 = Dan Byrd = American actor

EVENTS

• 1947 = Princess Elizabeth marries Philip Mountbatten, who becomes the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London.

• 1805 = Beethoven‘s only opera, Fidelio, premieres in Vienna.

• 1934 = The Children’s Hour, a play by Lillian Hellman in which two school teachers are accused of having a lesbian relationship, opens on Broadway to rave reviews and sellout audiences.

• 1974 = The US Department of Justice files its final anti-trust suit against AT&T Corporation. This suit later leads to the breakup of AT&T and its Bell System.

• 1983 = 100 million watch The Day After, a tv movie about nuclear war.

• 1985 = Microsoft Windows 1.0, the first graphical personal computer operating environment developed by Microsoft, is released.

• 1998 = John Geddes Lawrence and Tyrone Garner of Texas are ordered to pay fines of $125 each after being arrested for having sex in their home. The couple refuse to pay and challenge the Texas sodomy law. In 2003, SCOTUS delivers its decision in Lawrence v. Texas. In a 6–3 decision, the Court strikes down the sodomy law in Texas and, by extension, invalidates sodomy laws in 13 other states, making same-sex sexual activity legal in every US state and territory.

• 1999 = Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was started in 1999 by trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a trans woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorates all trans people lost to violence since Rita Hester’s death.

HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES

• Transgender Day of Remembrance

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PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY

ROBERT F. KENNEDY

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”
Robert F. Kennedy