Today, tomorrow, yesterday

In December, 2001 the car in which I was a passenger was struck from behind while we were waiting at a red light. I sustained a scalp laceration from a seam in the headrest of the passenger's seat. As I was being prepped for transport to the hospital for staples, I was quizzed to check for cognitive impairment:

"What day of the week is it?" they asked.

"Today is the 21st of December. Pearl Harbor Day was the 7th. Pearl Harbor Day was a Friday this year. It's been 14 days or exactly two weeks since then. So today must be Friday."

That was before I was working the 4x4 schedule, or the even worse Krazy Kalendar schedule which ran from January through the end of June. Now I often point out that if any of us are in an accident, we're totally screwed as far as the test above goes.

"What day of the week is it?"

"Days of weeks, these terms are irrelevant to me. Today is either Firstday, Secondday, Thirdday, or Lastday. If I am not working, it is a day off. That is all that matters.."

It becomes almost impossible to keep track of what day of the rest of the world thinks it is. And it is more than just a naming issue. For example, when I received a message on my last off day telling me that I had to bring proof of employment eligibility to a certain place on July 20, 2010 at 6:20 PM, I took a quick look at the calendar and concluded that this was on Monday, our third day of work

The upshot of all this is that I took my passport in to work a day early. I am to take my passport to work tomorrow - or rather, tonight, depending on your point of view.

So. One more sleep-period before I go to work and find myself chained to a bench in the belly of a ship bound for Iceland, a steady drumbeat telling us how fast to row.