Years ago, I wrote briefly about the experience of being a synesthete and how I discovered synesthesia. I had kinda always figured that everybody saw the number eight as a nice, round, juicy blueberry color and that Katy Perry tasted like burned cheese and was burnt-orange. It took an NPR story and a conversation with my sister to prove me wrong.
And I had thought about it exactly zero times since. The way you experience the world is the way you experience the world; it's not something you consciously analyze unless something is brought to your attention. Thankfully, my synesthesia (and that of my sister) is not crippling; it's just an interesting party trick. It's utterly consistent and so completely a part of the way I move through the universe that I don't even notice it any more.
Until today. Today, when my pill case showed up from Amazon.
See, my NP got on my ass the last time I saw her (Tuesday) about not being consistent with vitamin D and fish oil and all that stuff. I really need to take certain things every day, I know, but for some reason my hand just floats over the big bottle of fish oil capsules every evening. So she yelled at me a little, and I went home and ordered a seven-day pill organizer. The box for each day has four little compartments, and each box is a different color.
THE BOXES ARE THE WRONG COLORS.
And, dudes and dudettes, this is a problem. Tuesday is lavender when it should be acid green. Sunday is a soft magenta, which does not appear in this set of boxes. Monday is *not* supposed to be purple.
It's bad enough that I got all confused while I was sorting vitamins out. There are some things I'm only supposed to take three times a week, and those went into the wrong boxes. I put all the boxes back together in the holder in the wrong order. It was a physical effort to make the colors match the labels on the boxes.
I am a partial synesthete. I will soon be a partial synesthete with a label-maker, as I relabel all the boxes so that they match, or at least come close to, the days of the week.
Friday, April 01, 2016
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8 comments:
Nail polish comes in lots and lots of colors.
Maybe you need to buy a white or clear pill box organizer and make each compartment (or each snap down lid) the right color.
(Seems to me that would be a lot better than dealing with mixed messages.)
Good luck.
And I really enjoy your posts.
Now you know why I only use a once a day clear one. Got tired of messing with everything and told my doc "I'm taking it all at night. No exceptions." (I only have 4 to worry about).
The joys of medication planning.
Your story is lovely and amazing to me. I sometimes feel like my perception of the world is the opposite. All my life, my sense of smell has been a little dull, my sense of pitch, meh. I'm the slowest person to find the pulse. And as a musician and a nurse, I crave those abilities. I've been able to improve with practice, of course, but has been a slow process. When I see someone working for whom pitch is clearly evident and patient observation is clear as day, it looks like magic to me.
I know you're a musician too. Do sounds figure into your synesthesia? Does an A taste different than an A-flat? Do they sound different, when played outside of a musical context? Tell me about what you hear!
No, no, Sunday is deep blue! (And Friday is orange and Saturday is pale yellow.) I agree, though, that Monday being purple just ain't right.
I wish my zebra condition was that! That would be neat!
Monday - Black
Tuesday -grey
Wednesday - teal
Thursday - brick red
Friday - yellow
Saturday - Orange
Sunday - white
I agree with the nail polish . suggest dollar store. and eights are skinny and cherry colored
I envy you your synesthesia, which I think often makes people great artists.
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