In the modern age of automating everything and machines replacing human labor, I stand firm at least on one front in the human resistance against the machines: dish washing.
I'm not the cleanest person in the world (far from it) and I'm not OCD about anything, but I do like finishing up a task and wrapping everything up before leaving the scene, leaving everything ready to go before the end of the day so I can wake up the next day with a clean desk, or a clean table to eat at, or at least start the next day upset at my previous self for putting off work from the night before in a constant cycle of procrastination and self-loathing. I'm not the best dish-washer (MJ finds spots that I miss all the time), but I'm a consistent one, and I don't mind getting the dirtiest and grossest spots even if it means my hands end up being collateral damage. In fact, I find it to be rather cathartic to finish off each dish and make progress one by one towards finishing the alloted portion, like being the last station on an assembly line and performing the process that leads to the widget (I like to think of it as putting the icing on the cake) being ready for sale to the customer. It's the same as my regular day job: when I finish the task that I've been assigned to for the day, a giant weight is lifted off my shoulders and I know I can turn the page and focus on another task, or watch the next episode of The Good Place on Netflix, a show starring Kristen Bell and Ted Danson that was previously unbeknownst to me but very quirky and weirdly addicting. The feeling is also like literally turning a page in a book, knowing I've progressed another page, setting my marker down to mark the territory, and attacking the brand new page with vigor. Except I guess dishwashing is washing the same dishes over and over again with no real progress, but I do enjoy doing it while listening to podcasts so that adds to the soothing effect of it.
Not that many people like dish-washing: it's often cited as a cause of marital stress because presumably neither spouse wants to do the dishes; it's always more fun and glorious to be the one making the dishes, being chef and controlling how the food looks and tastes like....that's why new restaurant workers start as dishwasher and work their way up to chef. And it's got to be at least part of the reason customers will stomach a hefty dinner tab and even paying for tip: you don't have to clean up.
There are actually some real techniques to learn in dish-washing, depending on the sponge that you use. MJ and I use pots and pans a lot that get particles stuck on them which are hard to scrape off; this Herculean task can be facilitated by letting the dish soak in water for an hour or more to soften it up. Getting a drying rack instead of drying each individual item with a cloth or dry towel is key; saves a large chunk of time. And to avoid micro-managers like MJ who inspect dishes later on with a keen eye for specks of leftover material, give the dishes a once-over yourself before declaring them done; I often find that despite my best efforts to rub it down thoroughly there's a patch of soap still remaining or worse, some food somewhere.
Today I learned that CTE stands for Chronic traumatic encephalopathy! It's a good thing to know about but sad thing to dig deeper and know how many people have it. I regularly wear down my eyes by reading in the dark (although Ken Jennings's book asserts that reading in the dark doesn't really damage eyesight and it's a myth) and damage my knees by running long distances, but the brain is the most important resource we have and should be kept protected at all costs, like Secret Service agents protecting Joe Biden (code name Celtic) or offensive linemen protecting the QB, to stick with the football analogy. Sleeping and letting the brain "reset" allows us to reset our moods and keep everything in balance, from violence to bodily functions to emotions and memories (like clearing cookies from our digital cache). I can't imagine jeopardizing that process and having it glitch, or just forgetting things constantly (I already forget enough things as it is!)
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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