Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Readin', 'Ritin'....where's my 'Rithmetic?!

by Caren Crane

I'm pretty sure I used to know some math. I studied engineering in college and took many semesters of calculus, plus fun math electives like linear algebra back in the day. Still, arithmetic seems to have leaked out of my brain sometime in the past twenty years. Saturday, I was called upon to help separate Girl Scout cookie orders and count (and recount and re-recount) boxes of cookies. To make it "easier", we tried to make up full cases of twelve boxes each. Um...but then we had to count by twelves!

I don't know about you, but I learned the twelves times table in third grade when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Asking me to recall all that on a Saturday morning, without benefit of caffeine, seemed a bit much. Still, I persevered and we managed to get the orders resolved somehow, though it was slow, painful going.

It made me wonder, though, what else I might have forgotten. Do I really still know how to ride a bike or have I lost that, too? Do I remember how all the chess pieces move on the board or the best strategies to use when playing Yahtzee? Could I still play Hearts or would I have to relearn? These things used to be second nature to me, but I'm afraid all that knowledge may be a "use it or lose it" deal.

Now I'm a bit worried about all the things I don't do on a regular basis: cross stitch, drive a stick shift, French braid hair, perform CPR. Will I know how to do them when I need to? I mean, someone might forgive my poor embroidery but people sort of count on you to remember how many chest compressions to how many breaths when restarting someone's heart! (That, by the way, is a skill that could help you save someone's life, so please consider getting your CPR certification, like all of us Girl Scout leaders!)

What about you? Do you have any skills you fear may be rusty? Any that have deserted you (like knitting – I've learned three times!)? Please share and let me know it's not just my brain dumping things like it's been watching Hoarders!
___________________________________________________________________________
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83 comments:

Unknown said...

is he staying with me woohoo

Unknown said...

He must like sitting looking out at the beach while I read LOL... sorry Helen too far for you to visit but will be back home tomorrow

Hi Caren
What a good blog..... when I went to school in the UK it was pound,shillings and pence (showing my age here)....nothing so simple as decimal currency LOL don't know how I would go with it these days.... I used to do a lot of knitting but haven't done any for a long time but it might be like riding a bike, once you get back on everything comes back to you

Jen said...

Hi Caren...

I'd be rusty at playing hopscotch, Chinese jump rope, that card game, War. Playing jacks too. I can still roller blade,read music, do long division, and I remember most of the elements on the periodic table, but not their ionic charges. Don't ask me about integers though. Calculus was many moons ago. Okay, back to my box of Samoas!

Jane said...

Congrats on the GR, Barb.

Hi Caren,
I suck at math, so I'm pretty sure I can only handle addition, subtraction and multiplying. I took a home ec class in junior high and we learned a variety of sewing stitches and now I only know how to mend my socks.

Anna Campbell said...

Barb, another day with the chook? What's your secret?

Caren, had a giggle at your post. Age is creeping (actually galloping!) up on me too. I find myself staring at people I know really well and do you think I can remember their %$### names? That can actually be pretty embarrassing. I always remember a couple of days later in a flash of brilliance in the middle of the night. But that doesn't help me when I'm introducing what's his name to whaddayacallit!

Sheree said...

Congrats on the GR, Barb!

I gave up doing arithmetic in my head when I had to learn trigonometry. Besides, with a calculator function on every cell phone, who needs to do that anymore?

Although I forget stuff I don't use on a regular basis (what is yield stress again? do I need to remember non-Newtonian fluid dynamics?), skills that I have acquired by doing (riding a bike, driving stick-shift, tying a cherry stem in my mouth) will stick with me longer. However, while playing with my 4-year-old niece, I realized that I no longer remember how to play house and other imaginary play. Boo!

Kim in Baltimore said...

Both my husband and I were math majors in college (long before we met and married). But only he can help our 13 year old with his Algebra. I have no memory of Differential Equations or Numerical Methods. I tell my children childbirth erased some of my memory.

June M. said...

There are so many things that I have forgotten, and alot of them involve math (algebra, geometry, calculus, etc)...they're just gone! I would also have to relearn knitting, but not crocheting, I do that more so it is easier to remember.
I don't even want to try riding a bike anymore...I would definately wreck and get hurt!

Helen said...

Well done Barbara he must like it at Coffs Harbour enjoy I will catch up with you tomorrow

Caren

This is a really good post and I am sure there are lots of things that I learn't and have now forgotten one thing I never learned to do was ride a bike so I can't foget that LOL, and I work with numbers everyday but we all have calculators these days and I am so used to just hitting the buttons that I do forget my times tables as well and it is a long time since I have knitted but I am sure that I will remember. I used to be a first aider at work but that too has gone by the wayside and I am don't think I would remember how to do CPR.
You have me think now LOL

Have Fun
Helen

Anna Sugden said...

LOL this is so me at the moment, Caren - add in the hormonal issues and my brain is a true London fog!

I haven't forgotten how to ride a bike, as I discovered recently, but I'm definitely very wobbly on it! I don't have the confidence in traffic I used to - but then, there probably wasn't that much traffic 25 years ago!

I still struggle with metric measures. I find it hard to visualise them and often ask my hubby 'what is that in real length/weight/temperature?'

I can still knit and cross-stitch, but my other sewing skills would be rusty - especially machining and dress-making (if they were ever good to start with!). I'd have to relearn crocheting.

I can remember dance steps from the age of dinosaurs and punks *g*. I'm afraid I'm terrible with dates, though, and all my chemistry and physics knowledge will have vanished into the ether (though I can change a plug!).

Good reminder about CPR - I used to be a trained, but haven't done it in years.

hrdwrkdmom aka Dianna said...

The embroidery and cross stitch stayed with me, don't know about the bike and not even sure I would want to try. I have lost the ability to do simple math in my head too. I blame that on calculators.

Deb Marlowe said...

Hi Caren!

I gladly let go of my advanced math skills. :-) Never liked them in the first place.

It makes me sad, though, that I've lost my swim strokes. I'm no good at doing laps in the pool anymore. And I haven't been able to run comfortably since 6th grade--I miss that!

Caren Crane said...

Barb, congrats on nabbing the GR! Just don't give him anything to do with complicated instructions. He's not the best at that! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Barb, I can't imagine having to deal with the pounds, shillings, pence. The decimal amounts are bad enough!

Glad to hear mine is not the only brain that can't hold onto knitting. I have several friends who knit like it's second nature, but I cannot keep all that in my brain! Maybe if I was forced to do it for 12 straight hours or something it would get in there for good. Seriously, my friend Nazaly has taught me several times. I feel so impaired! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Jen, I am SO impressed at all the math you've hung onto! I was trying to re-teach myself some (very basic) calculus in order to help one of my kids. It was like learning to speak Elvish!

Hopscotch, now, I can still play. Except for, you know, the jumping part. *g* I also recall HOW to play War, but my brain is so slow that the teenagers always beat me. Man, this aging thing is the pits for games!

Caren Crane said...

Oh, and Jen, thank you for buying Girl Scout cookies! *g* My kitchen is FULL of them right now and the neighbors will riot if the girls don't get them delivered soon. Naturally, their friends at school and church have gotten theirs already. Priorities, high school style!

Caren Crane said...

Jane, I envy you your Home Ec class. I never had a class like that, since I took violin for 10 years in school. I missed all sorts of practical classes!

I did learn how to do basic sewing and, of course, all manner of embroidery and needlepoint (b/c THAT is so useful, Mom!). I can sew on a button or sew up a minor hole in something and that's it for me and sewing. I send pants out to have them hemmed. Useless!

Caren Crane said...

Anna C., you're singing my song! There are people I've known for years at work or at church or Girl Scouts. Think I can recall their names? Hardly! The worst is when I think I have it, then figure out that's not it at all. Ack!

Think we can get everyone we know to start wearing nametags? That would help a lot!

Caren Crane said...

Sheree, I think the "logical" things we are forced to learn in life chase off all our "creative" memories! When I was in engineering school (with the T-rex outside the window and all), it got to a point where I realized I hadn't seen a movie or read a fiction book in a lo-o-o-ong time. It was actually strange to ingest something made-up!

That was a sobering moment for me. I started reading fiction again, forthwith, and haven't stopped. These days, I have trouble realizing that things are real and not made-up or that I can't rewrite people's real-life tragedy. I try to use both sides of my brain, but it's tough sometimes. :(

Caren Crane said...

Kim, where does that stuff go? Maybe it was childbirth that pushed it out. *g* I know I took Differential Equations (diffy-q's!) and enjoyed the class because it was SO easy after Calc III. What? I couldn't even tell you what we were supposed to use diffy-q's for anymore.

In a way, I feel like I lost something important. Then again, I haven't needed it in 20 years, so how important could it possibly have been? *g*

I do, however, know how to make lots of food without consulting any recipe. That is something I use to comfort myself. The food, of course, not the ability. *eg*

Caren Crane said...

June, isn't it funny how all those things that were once so important lose their priority over time? I'm jealous you can crochet, though. My grandmother used to crochet and also tat, which I wish I knew how to do. She can't do it any longer because of arthritis and I regret not learning long ago.

Not that I would remember it now, but at least I would have some basic knowledge in there somewhere. Wedged in alongside the "how to ride a bike" thing, maybe?

Caren Crane said...

Helen, my greatest fear is that my manager, who has had bypass surgery, will have a heart attack at work. We now have a couple of defibrillators in the building, but I would have to send someone running for one while I hoped to recall how many chest percussions I was supposed to do!

I'd be really sad if I couldn't save him, too, because he's a great guy. Man, I need to check when my recertification is due!

Helen, I'll bet you are learning new things all the time from that passle of grandbabies!

Caren Crane said...

Anna S., I feel your pain. Especially the loss of confidence on a bike in traffic. *g* Whenever we're on vacation, we ride bikes everywhere. While the teens zip blithely across the roads, I hang back and glare suspiciously at the traffic, sure I would be killed if I tried it. What if my foot slips off the pedal? What if I can't build enough momentum to get my (big) arse up the (tiny) hill? *sigh*

I knew I was losing it when we were watching Rocky Horror and I couldn't recall some steps of the Time Warp, much less when to throw toast!

Ah, well. I'm fairly certain some of it will come back to me when I get the last of the chicks out of the nest. Right empty nesters? Right? Um...right?

Caren Crane said...

Dianna, I think calculators have done me in. I have an adding machine at work and I hardly trust myself even using that! I was trying to reconcile my checking account yesterday and it was just painful. I never got it to balance (though it did 2 weeks ago). I have to wait for a clear-headed day for that, I'm afraid. Those seem few and far between these days, though! More praying, that's what I need...

Caren Crane said...

Deb, I miss running, too! Sometimes I think about it and it seems like it would be so fun to put my shoes on and go running. Then I get my shoes on and start moving and reality sets in. I would have shin splints and my feet would be a mess (try running with huge orthotics in your shoes!) in no time flat. Obviously, I wasn't meant to travel that fast on my feet. Still, I remember running and really enjoying it once upon a time!

Susan Sey said...

Oh my goodness, I forget important things every day. Mostly, it's how to write. Just when I think I've learned something about how to structure a book...poof. Gone.

Back to the old drawing board. Good thing learning is fun, too.

Deb said...

I taught 3rd grade for 15 years, 2nd for 2 years, and then jumped to 5th grade. (5 years now). That first year of math was not bad, but when we switched to a new math series last year, I found myself taking the teacher's manual home to study. Geometric algorithms, inverse operations of fractions, and simple algebra, BLEH. Give me history courses any time....I teach Iowa History and love it!

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hey Caren, what a fun post! :> I swear, I've forgoteen more than I've learned, I just know it. I do still know how to ride a bike, I figured that out the other day.

But I fear that how to play whist and hearts may be gone. Or how to play bunco now that I'm nowhere near a bunco group. Grins.

I wish I could say that I'd forgotten how to dust....but then again, it's never been one of my priorities. Snork

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hey Barb! Congrats on getting the rooster for the day. Make him work!

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Oooh, Jen you HAVE your cookies already? Man. Our troops 'round here must be among the last to get theirs. I'm pouting.

And wait...did you say you remembered MOST of the periodic table? Holee cow! I do well to remember that h2o is water.

Grins.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hey Jane, mending socks is a useful and valuable skill. Not that cross stitch isn't but, what good is it to have beautiful crossstich and holes in your socks? Grins.

I remember all the math basics and thanks to having a 5th grader, I'm remembering allllll about geometry, decimal division, etc.

Caren, I never got to linear algebra, but I sure did adore the chem and advanced algebra I took. :> Sick, aren't I?

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Ah, Deb! I see we are in the same boat. At least I don't have to TEACH it...just help with homework!

YOu said: I found myself taking the teacher's manual home to study. Geometric algorithms, inverse operations of fractions, and simple algebra, BLEH. Give me history courses any time....I teach Iowa History and love it!

Janga said...

I can't remember all the skills I've forgotten. I certainly lack the courage to test my biking skills. I used to pride myself on knowing the names of all my students by the second week of classes, but after having taught thousands, I have forgotten the names of many. As for math, anything above basic math is beyond me these days, but math was never my strong suit. I regret more how little I retain from all those French courses, and as for Latin, I don't remember much more than "Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres."

Joan said...

Skating...and riding a real bike...I remember how but my knees are like what the????

As to CPR never fear...when it happens you kick into mode though when I did have to do it at a resturant, I reverted to the way I learned my very first time.

Donna MacMeans said...

How refreshing to know that I'm not alone in my failing memory, Caren!

Sitting here thinking about it, much of what I've forgotten are the things that I learned briefly but never really got to use that often. But things I once did regularly but haven't in ...decades, come back relatively quickly. Rusty at first, but still returns. I've forgotten - CPR (I remember wishing someone would have an episode when I first got certified, but no such luck (grin). I never used it outside of the classroom), driving a fire truck (but I have pictures to show I once did), skipping rope double dutch, how to play mah jong (but I still have my mother's tiles), steps to ballroom dances, and advanced math - who really uses that stuff! I still do basic alegebra and can solve equations - but seriously - pffff!

I will never forget how to change a diaper, or hold a baby, how to type or run a calculator, how to cross-stitch (but my eyes are forgetting how to see the stitches) how to enjoy life - at least I pray I'll keep that memory!

Unknown said...

I must say when it comes to board games of any kind I'm really rusty!....My Son Rusty (LOL) would rather play video games than good old board games and thus no point in me playing them by myself.
I have become really good at the Wii Fit though...So I guess I'm learning.
I did have to relearn to roller skate last year...that was rather funny. And as for math....OMG I learned on way they teach him another....it's so funny!!!!

Minna said...

Well, my Japanese is definitely rusty. I've been thinking I should take some Japanese course to learn agsin the little bit I used to know and then learn some more. The writing system from Hell included.

Big In Japan - Alphaville Official Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c98qdFQF7sw

Beth Andrews said...

Caren, I'm sure my ice skating skills are rusty as I haven't been in a few years. And I can't, for the life of me, remember how to play Gin Rummy! And I'd need a refresher course for Backgammon, too *g*

As for math, I'm like Deb Marlowe - I gladly let all of those skills go :-)

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Hey Caren...

WOW that you're talking about CPR today. Guess what I have to do on Friday?

Yep, gotta get my BCLS (Basic Cardiac Life Support) recertification redone. Got the book in my kitchen waiting on me to start reading it through. As nurses, Joanie and I have certain certifications we have to get renewed every 2 years.

This year is my BCLS and PALS (Pedicatric Advanced Life Support)
Last year is was my ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program). On top of that we have at least 20 CEU(Continuing Education Units) each year, and unit specific education, (for me it's fetal monitoring and high risk obstetrics courses).

But this Friday, for half a day, I'll be doing the compressions to breaths, the heimlic, the infant CPR etc...

And honestly, I don't think those are anything you'll forget once you've learned them!

Anna Campbell said...

Yeah, Caren, I love that at conference EVERYONE wears a name badge. It means I spend a lot of time staring at unfamiliar boobs, but at least I get the names right!

Gannon Carr said...

Caren, I'm afraid to think of all the things I've forgotten. Math would definitely top the list! I think it started after I gave birth and then nursed my three children. Just sucks the brain cells right out of you! LOL

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Suz said: This year is my BCLS and PALS (Pedicatric Advanced Life Support)
Last year is was my ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and NRP (Neonatal Resuscitation Program). On top of that we have at least 20 CEU(Continuing Education Units) each year, and unit specific education, (for me it's fetal monitoring and high risk obstetrics courses).


And THIS would be one of the many reasons I bow down to nurses and humbly hope they continue to do what they do so well. I could never do this. Neh-ver.

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Anna said: I love that at conference EVERYONE wears a name badge. It means I spend a lot of time staring at unfamiliar boobs, but at least I get the names right!


SNORK!!!! (As opposed to staring at the familiar ones?)

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Gannon said: I think it started after I gave birth and then nursed my three children. Just sucks the brain cells right out of you! LOL

Amen. Children are well known to actively seek out and destroy brain cells. One out of 3 brain cell deaths in mothers can be attributed to the stress that comes from not screaming when they do something reallllllly annoying.

Grins.

Suzanne Ferrell said...

Jeanne:And THIS would be one of the many reasons I bow down to nurses and humbly hope they continue to do what they do so well. I could never do this. Neh-ver. Yes, you could, you are smart and determined. Besides, thankfully I only have to use one on a daily basis, the NRP. And trust me when I say that one is by rote memory, since we go full speed when we have to on that!

Anna Campbell said...

Jeanne, TMI!!!! Snork!

Trish Milburn said...

I've forgotten a lot of math too, though I was never a fan in the first place. Trig nearly killed me in high school.

I do think some things you never forget and others are use it or lose it. I wonder if that's because they are learned by different parts of the brain, or if it has something to do with if it's a more physical or mental exercise (riding a bike vs. math). One thing I've largely forgotten is all the German I learned while studying it for three years in high school. I know the odd word or phrase, but that's about it.

RFTC Blog said...

I am horrible at math. Though to be honest, I was never great with it even when I was in school.

catslady said...

I doubt very much if I could remember how to do a lot of things but hopefully if someone could show me again it would come easier - such as that knitting and crochet and needlepoint and some card games. There are many things on the computer that my daughter has showen me how to do but since I don't do them very often, I soon forget (sigh).

Pat Cochran said...

For me, it would be some of my nursing procedures. I haven't
worked in a hospital since late
in 1961. I did do some temporary
work in my obstetrician's office
in the mid-1960s. Since I'm way,
way past the employment age limit,
I'll not be into renewals, etc.

Pat Cochran

Joan said...

Suz,

I have to do BLS too though I'd heard through the grapevine they are not so worried about breaths as compressions, like we have to 120 in one minute or something :D

I'll be wore out under 2 min.!

Laurie Logan said...

The last time I took a CPR course was when I was a girl scout leader (and that was 10 years ago!). You're right, I'm not sure I'd remember how to do it and it's a skill everyone should have.

I use to know a little French and more than a little American Sign Language, but with languages, if you don't use them, you really do lose them.

I do remember how to ride a bike as I started going out riding with my husband a few years ago. I remember how to do the basic knitting stitch but not how to cast on or off. I can also crochet, but for the life of me, I can't remember how to start a new project.

As for math... ugh! Never did like it and certainly can't remember how to do most of it - only the basics. I did have to relearn Algebra when I homeschooled my daughter years ago, but I've since forgotten. Which is probably a good thing. Who wants their brain clogged up with Algebra???

Great post!

Laurie Logan said...

Anna Campbell said...
Yeah, Caren, I love that at conference EVERYONE wears a name badge. It means I spend a lot of time staring at unfamiliar boobs, but at least I get the names right!

I know, right?! Thank God for name badges. But that makes a case for making sure the girls are well supported. *g*

Caren Crane said...

Susan, I feel your pain. I remind myself constantly when I'm writing that, you know, things need to happen. Also, that it's not against the law to have more than one POV. I don't know why, but I love to stay in one character's head!

Good to know that even fabulous writers like you struggle to remember things like story structure! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Deb, you get all sorts of snaps for teaching anything, much less math. And to 5th graders! I recall my 5th grade math teacher, Mrs. Sharpton. She was one of those ladies who looked like she was shrink-wrapped in the 50s (helmet hair and all). She was, I know now, a good teacher but we were all rather terrified of her.

I'm sure your students are glad to have a nice and human teacher like you!

Caren Crane said...

Jeanne, you know (or knew, at least) how to play whist? Like, we could plunk you down in the middle of a Regency romance and you could jump into a whist game and partner a duke or something?! I am in awe. I did well to learn Hearts (and Bridge, to a certain extent). Lud!

Oh, and I've never played bunco, but apparently there are ladies in Cary who play. They're all from up north, of course. *eg*

Caren Crane said...

Jeanne and Jen, you are both sickos to recall anything at all about Chemistry! It was my least favorite science, but I have a feeling it was because I had the world's absolute WORST Chem teacher ever. Really and truly. My Latin teacher from high school even mentioned something in passing about what a nut the Chem teacher was. This was recently, mind you, in a Facebook message but I was shocked she actually admitted how horrible this lady was. I felt vindicated!

(Full disclosure, I got A's in Chemistry but didn't know a thing when it was over!)

Caren Crane said...

Janga, my sister in forgotten Latin! I remember "Roma in Italia est", which we learned the first day of Latin I. *g* I took three years and had to translate a bunch of Cicero's speeches in Latin III, but it's all gone now!

Caren Crane said...

Joan, I feel much better with your assurance about the training kicking in. I've repeated the course at least 10 times, but I'm always nervous I'll forget when I need it! I'll relax and remember what the Wise Joanie said.

Oh, and I don't blame your knees for revolting against the biking and skating. It's hard on the poor things!

Caren Crane said...

Donna, I want to see the picture of you driving a fire truck! For some reason, that does not seem out of character for you. *g*

Thank you for the reminder that the essential things are always there for us. Yes, holding babies is a natural. When I plop one on my hip these days, I find myself unconsciously doing the baby sway. *g* Babies are getting cuter all the time now that my son is old enough for me to dream of grandchildren!

Caren Crane said...

BJ, board games are kind of a lost art form, aren't they? My kids still like to play board games, so we drag them out and play Sequence or Apples to Apples. I think it's quaint for them. *g*

Caren Crane said...

Minna, my son studied Japanese in high school and two of my nieces are in a Japanese immersion program in elementary and middle school. It's fun at holidays to hear them speak Japanese to each other. I used to drill him some in Japanese I, but he lost me really fast!

Caren Crane said...

Beth, I was thinking about backgammon today at work. We used to play for hours as teenagers. I don't remember a thing about it now! I also used to have a game kind of like mancala we played all the time. No idea how to play that one, either. *g*

I'm with you and Deb Marlowe. I will GLADLY let go of the 12 times table when my GS cookies days are behind me!

Caren Crane said...

Jeanne, I think the Virginia GS councils get cookies in March. They have a really late delivery schedule!

Pissenlit said...

Let's see...well, I'm pretty sure my French is rusty, I don't think I can solve a Rubik's Cube as quickly as I used to, I have a tendency to forget people's names if I no longer interact with them(which I try very hard not to let on if I bump into them again) and I no longer remember how to TIG weld though I've gone through the lesson once or twice(I never actually tried it, myself). Also, what is this "math" you speak of? :D

Caren Crane said...

Okay, Suzanne, I'll believe you and Joanie about not forgetting. I'm amazed you guys manage to squeeze all those recerts into your busy schedules!

I also feel good about going to conference and eating steak. If I choke or have a heart attack, help will be close by! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Anna C, aren't those name badges the best thing ever? I swear, I want to argue with the badges sometimes, because I could swear the person's name was something different. Good thing I don't have to rely on my brain!

Caren Crane said...

Gannon, you and Jeanne are so right. Children destroy perfectly good parental brains! And I firmly believe that nursing babies does, indeed, suck the intelligence out of you. I could feel it! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Trish, ich habe alle Deutsche auch vergessen! Including how to conjugate verbs AND structure sentences. Happily, when we were in Switzerland, I remembered enough to ask where restrooms were. Good thing most Swiss understand hoch Deutsche! The bad thing was, they always answered in Schweiss Deutsche. *sigh*

Maybe I can go to Bavaria one day and seriously brush up!

Caren Crane said...

Danielle, as long as you can balance your checkbook, I think it's all good. Besides Donna, who apparently does Algebra for fun *g*, there's not much call for math in everyday life.

I have, though, made my children do some applied algebra every now and then. They need to know math does have applications, even if you choose not to use it!

Caren Crane said...

Catslady, the computer thing is me trying to remember where to go to run the 3 thousand antivirus programs my husband and son have installed on my PC. Ack!

The worst is, each of them thinks they know better than the other, so one will load X, Y and Z. Then the other will uninstall those and install A, B and C. Or worse, I'll end up with all of them. They make my brain hurt!

Caren Crane said...

Pat, at least you have reached the point where you can rest on your laurels in confidence that back when you needed it, all that knowledge was right there for you!

I hope you're enjoying every day now and not worrying about anything!

Caren Crane said...

Joan, when I took the AHA CPR last time, they weren't too worried about breaths. Compressions were it. The theory seems to be it doesn't matter how much oxygen they have if none of it is circulating! *g*

Caren Crane said...

Laurie, too funny about not recalling how to cast on or off with knitting. I have the same issue!

It made me laugh that you mentioned forgetting ASL. I worked with a girl who was deaf, so quite a few of us took ASL classes. We would get together and use it so we wouldn't forget. These days, I remember only a few signs and how to fingerspell. Sad!

And you and Anna C are cracking me up with the name badge boob watch. *g* Happily, some of us need little support!

Caren Crane said...

Pissenlit, I'm impressed you could ever solve a Rubik's cube, much less NOW! My son could always do those in no time flat. I never tried for more than half an hour. It was too frustrating!

Now, I'll work on a crossword puzzle all day long, but Sudoku makes my eyes cross after an hour. I guess we all have our own particular strengths. *g*

Hey, you and Janga and Laurie should get together and practice your French!

Joan said...

I've grown up playing Bunco though I haven't for awhile so it's not strictly a "Northern" thing.

You never wanted to end up with the "booby" prize...

Anna Campbell said...

Laurie, had to laugh. You're right - imagine checking out someone's boobs and it looks like you're checking out something EVEN lower! A good argument for wearing a decent bra to conference.

Louisa Cornell said...

Hey, Barb, what's not to love about sitting and looking at the beach?? No wonder he is staying close to you!

I had to laugh, Caren. I have visions of you counting cookies and (if you are anything like me) trying not to eat them. (Thin mints. MMMMMM)

I too exactly ONE math course as an undergrad because that was all that was required for me to graduate! Studied for every test and promptly forgot everything I studied once the test was done. Made a B so I guess my memory was quite good. Of course that was 34 years ago!

Some of the things I know I am forgetting and I really hate are the languages I worked so hard to learn. The thing about learning a language is that if you don't use it every day you loose it.

I think I can still cross-stitch and quilt and sew fairly well. I learned to knit a hundred years ago and I'm not certain I remember how to do it now! Same goes for tatting. I haven't done it in so long.

Haven't driven a stick in ages so I would very probably be a disaster at it!

I used to golf as well. I shudder to think what my handicap would be now. (Just walking onto the course?)

Perhaps we should wear our name badges on our foreheads to prevent all that looking at unfamiliar boobs? SNORK

Anonymous said...

Caren...I thought I was buying the cookies from the same Girl Scout who came by last year, but I was wrong. I bought thirty boxes from this young girl, and now, I'm waiting for last year's Girl Scout to show up on my doorstep...the one who expects me to buy thirty boxes from her. Eeep! I send the cookies in my care packages cause nothing says America and home better than Girl Scout cookies. :)
Pink P.

Caren Crane said...

Joan, I totally don't get what bunco is even about! I've only seen pictures of women in tiaras. It's all very mysterious!

Caren Crane said...

Louisa, you may have forgotten more things than I ever learned! *g* I think your name badge idea is great. Matter of fact, we could save money and just write names on foreheads with Sharpies. I'm all about saving money! *eg*

Caren Crane said...

Awww, Pink, you're so awesome! I'm sure the girl expecting you to order 30 boxes will come by...unless she quit. That happens all too often, especially if they're in middle school (though we've lost several in high school, too). Believe me, if someone ordered 30 boxes from one of my girls, they would definitely be back the next year! *g*

Only ONE MORE YEAR of cookies for me. Woo hoo!

And yes, Louisa, I do love a Thin Mint! But the only cookie I've eaten so far (after having them in the house for 5 days) is a lone Peanut Butter Patty (sometimes known as Tagalong). They are my favorites! Much better than those 12 times tables. :)

Christine Wells said...

I was thinking, so true...I have forgotten all the maths I knew and then I thought, heck I didn't know that much to begin with!

I forget names now, which is something I never used to do. As soon as someone is introduced to me, unless I concentrate very hard, whew! It's gone. So much else to think about. All these other people talking in my head. Something's got to give!

Great topic, PoshT!