I’m not very good at doing nothing. I’m a person who likes
to be busy; I build things, create things, or fix things. You know, be
productive. Recently, I found out just how much it bothers me to do
nothing.
A couple of Fridays ago, I had a little trouble pulling a
fifth-wheel release on my semi, as it was jammed with mud and gravel. Being a
guy, my solution was to pull harder. And yes, that worked. Problem is, more
than the fifth-wheel release gave way. My shoulder made a weird stretching
sound and that was followed by a good dose of pain. With the shoulder getting
worse over the weekend, by Monday I ended up at the emergency room. Either a
torn rotator cuff or a torn muscle the doctor said. I’ll find out later this
week when I get an MRI. Yay!
For now, I’m restricted to light duty at my job, which means
I can’t drive. Instead, since there are no other jobs for me, I sit in my
pickup for ten hours a night and write down truck and trailer numbers as they
come in and out of the terminal. That’s about 20 - 25 trucks a night, which
only takes about 15 minutes total. If I can still do math right, that leaves 9
hours and 45 minutes of free time.
Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem; I would have
spent the time writing a book. But with a right arm that won’t work, that
became difficult. Sure, I can write fairly well with my left hand, and did so a
lot while I was in school. But not having practiced much in the last thirty
years, it no longer comes naturally. While I can do it, it’s slow, very
slow, and that doesn’t really work well for writing. By the time I get a few
words written down, the rest of my thought is gone.
And since the Internet doesn’t like to work very well at my
job, doing anything online was not really an option. That doesn’t leave much to
do while confined to my pickup in the dark. I can’t build things, create
things, or fix things.
So, I downloaded a few games to my tablet and spent ten
hours a day playing games. A most unproductive way to spend my time. At the end
of the week, I had absolutely nothing to show for it. Nothing! Not even at
home. That has to be the first time I’ve accomplished a week’s worth of nothing
in my life!
The good news is the arm and shoulder are getting better. I
can now move my arm almost like a normal person! Still can’t lift anything but
I can feel it getting stronger every day. By the time I have my MRI, I am
hoping I’m already well on my way to recovery.
So, what’s my point? Well, as anyone who reads my blog may
know, I am sort of a jack-of-all trades. That doesn’t mean I’m a pro at everything
but I can usually do it well enough to work. Which sometimes leads to people
asking if there’s anything I can’t do. And now I can honestly answer,
“Nothing.” ~
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