3 2s
2 0s
2 1s
1 8

Among all the ideas, problems, people, and feelings my brain forces itself to contemplate relentlessly are numbers. I’m on day three with my current analysis about dates(ironically, I’m referring to calendar dates). I’ve counted the numbers, the occurrence of certain numbers, written them forward and backward, and even tried to attach some cosmic significance to them. Whatever brain!

This might lead a person to believe that 1.) I’m a smidge cray-cray (perhaps) and 2.) I have too much time on my hands (ummm… never).

My brain was built for analytics. Number crunching. The application of logic to extract data and apply aesthetics to it in order to make it meaningful is an incredibly satisfying process. This happens to be a huge benefit in my line of work but, as it turns out, not as helpful in my personal or creative endeavors.

Facing reality, nobody is going to be interested in the poem I wrote on February 18th, 2018. But look how beautiful the numbers are…

20180218

Two 2s
Two 0s
Two 1s
Two 8s

Quick.. somebody call Fox News. That’s fair and balanced! Except, never mind – Fox dropped that motto in 2017 when they realized they were neither fair nor balanced and didn’t really want to be.

There’s only one thing missing in this common configuration of the date and that’s the elegance of the palindrome. However, thinking about that leads me to explore other formats…

02182018 If you are American and don’t give a shit about alphabetical listings in chronological order. Let’s hope you have date/time stamp in your metadata.

18022018 If you are across “the pond”. Probably the most satisfying configuration for this instance but also not programatically useful.

And then back to CCYYMMDD. My peeps in Lithuania get it. Virtual fist-bump yo!! 👊

It’s not just about dates though. The numbers!.. They are EVERYWHERE.

Duration and incline and resistance and distance on my elliptical machine for example. It’s helpful to calculate percentages, level of overall effort, and to track progress on goals.

Temperature. My friend Leah knitted a scarf last year where every 5 degree temp was assigned an appropriate color of yarn. The range was an array of colors from deep cool colors like violet and blue to warm orange and then red hot. Each day, she added another row to the scarf based on the temperature of the day. It’s amazing and beautiful!!

Other than that, temperature is only good for deciding what to wear on any given day or deciding where to move when you’ve had just about enough of violet (like Now).

It probably goes without saying that I dig my personal stats, or rather my ability to know them, record them, and use them to measure my progress. I track sleep and my steps and count Jazzercise classes. I’d count calories too if it wasn’t so time consuming (or more accurately if I thought it was useful info, which it isn’t). I’ve thought about upgrading my FitBit to the Alta HR that also tracks heart rate. That would be super cool. I added it to the wishlist of things I can consider buying when I can afford buying things again. Ahhh, finances. That is a whole other category of numbers I love to crunch regularly. And age.. 59.5 so near yet so far.

Back to dates though. That’s the topic of my current analysis. 2017 was an odd year and there were a lot of rotten dates and 2018 isn’t looking any better (yes, actual dates with dudes). As such, I’m really ok with my mind focusing on some different dates. Dates where every first date is also the last and they don’t leave you feeling rejected or somehow not good enough.

With this in mind, I can look at today with a wink and a smile knowing what joy it holds within its 24 glorious hours instead of the suffering that swiping right brings.

Don’t even get me started on tomorrow!! Oh the 2’s!! 😜

When in Doubt Swipe Left,
~Miss SugarCookie

PS… Holy shit the number of occurrences of each number almost make up the number itself. That’s wild and I AM crazy – 2 0s 1 8, (3 2s) 2 1s