Thursday, March 09, 2006

Ginkgo Biloba Baggins

I've been a little off my game the last few days. I keep forgetting to do things: bring gym clothes to work, recharge my phone, get heating oil, fax my check-in inspection, get tax forms, etc. It's as if I'm distracted, but there's been nothing on my mind; a zen-like blank slate. Work is busy, but not so busy I should be so neglectful of other things. But just today, I forgot to pack a towel in my gym bag, so I couldn't use the pool. But I was doubly forgetful, because I didn't remember that I have my Emergency Towel stowed in Stella's trunk. It's good tomorrow is Half Day Friday - I need some time to get my head straight.

[I referenced ginkgo biloba for the quick memory gag, but when I checked the spelling on wikipedia, I found out that they are pretty fascinating plants. They are almost completely unrelated to any other trees - the full Linnaean classification is Plantae Ginkgophyta Ginkgoopsida Ginkgoales Ginkgoaceae Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba. And they are supposedly one of the best species of tree to plant in urban areas - keep that in mind for Arbor Day, I guess.]

And just in time for the warmer weather, my oil tank was refilled today. I prefer to think of this as cannily trading in energy futures. I'm betting the price of oil will go up, so sitting on this fuel for 7 months will save me a bundle come October. This explanation has the benefit of making me look smart, instead of lazy and forgetful.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ginkgo biloba trees are interesting. They're very hardy, grow quickly, and are generally just unusual looking. They can get fairly tall, too, like 30' - last year we proposed planting some against the facade of a building, to soften the mass a little (the town design review board didn't like the 200' long, 25' tall blank metal wall - go figure).

Dan said...

Cool - I didn't know you guys did any landscaping. I think a 200x25 wall screams "future location of crappy murals and graffiti tags." Give it a certain bombed-out urban flair.

kelly said...

If you are doing taxes and would like to do mine as well, let me know!

Dan said...

I should not do anyone's taxes, including my own; I think I'm missing a lot of deductions and overpaying. At least I've got the e-file thing going.

THE MIND IS NOT A VESSEL TO BE FILLED BUT A FIRE TO BE KINDLED