Habitual

Have you ever stopped to think about the habits you develop in order to avoid developing other habits?

For instance, I chew gum to avoid cracking open a can of Pepsi. (Pepsi + mint = disgusting.) I also drink tea at work because I know that if I start drinking coffee I'll very quickly pick up my dad's two-pots-a-day habit.

One of those has historically been far more effective than the other.

Some of them are purely practical -- I prefer to carry cash when I go out on the weekends so that I have a firm spending limit. But others seem to be just for kicks -- I never buy a partial tank of gas because it's much easier to mentally calculate mileage if I have "real" numbers.

Okay, that last one is a terrible example. And really nerdy. But you get the idea.

I have a strange problem this particular Friday afternoon. It's an unfamiliar problem -- I am entirely caught up, even ahead on my work ... and I have very little to do.

Which means I'm writing about desuperheaters and thinking about anything else. (Seriously, have you ever tried to think about a desuperheater for five minutes in a row? These are the kinds of things that cause mystery aneurysms. Kind of like trying to spell "aneurysm" on a Friday afternoon.)

Aspen on my mind ... And that kayak that it looks like I still won't be able to use for a few days.

*Sigh.*

Okay. Back to the desuperheaters. Have a good weekend, all.