Bodacious Boomer

I just finished the USA Today crossword. I did it in just under an hour and scored an A-. Not bad today. Some days I look at the clues and they look like they’ve been written in Swahili. Those days I stare at the screen with my head tilted like the RCA dog. I really don’t know why it’s that way some days; it just is. When I’m done with the crossword the I do Brainiversity. It’s a computer program our kids gave me for Christmas. It has 4 sections, each one testing/training a different part of your brain. Each section is only 90 seconds so you have to be fast, and accurate, if you want a good grade. Much like with the crossword, my grades can fluctuate wildly. I’ve gotten up to 95%, my highest grade since Dec. 26, 2008. Generally my grades hover just about 90%. My lowest grade was a 76%, in the turnip range I believe.

I never have gotten into Sudoku. I know that I probably should. However, numbers were never really my thing- ever, much to my father’s chagrin. My dad had the task of tutoring me in algebra through high school. He would just shake his head when he worked with me, not understanding how something so simple to him could be so bewildering to me. When I was UT I had a boyfriend tutor me through statistics. I hated that course. Once I grew up however, I became exceptionally good at arithmetic in my head. (Which is more than can be said for most of the 20-somethings  currently working cash registers across the country.)That’s the limit of my math abilities, save for an occasional bit of geometry that pops into my brain. If I want to know anything about 2 trains, cars. planes, boats or any other conveyance I will look at a schedule.

If I’m not tired after the crossword and Brainiversity sometimes I’ll play scrabble on the computer. Sometimes I win. Sometimes I lose. It’s always interesting though and a chance to expand your vocabulary. It’s not like you can just slip in  jee, noh, twa, and xis into everyday conversation.

I do all this in an attempt to hold on to what functioning brain I have left. When my hormones left my short-term memory left with them. I have no idea what female surgeons do at this stage of life. I wonder if they ever look down and think- I know I cut into Mr. Cooper for some reason. What was it? Of course once that tiny bit of information comes back to them, they’re fine. All their training needed to perform the surgery was committed to their long-term memory which is still intact.

You know how your muscles get bigger and bigger when you work out at the gym? I dreamt once that I had a big giant head- kinda alienesque. It was scary. Can you train your brain too much?