Jenny: Change your case.

My optometrist Jenny and I went to high school together in a tech-centric San Francisco suburb. I think we may have had French classes together all those years (‘Je suis un ananas’ via Téléfrançais, anyone?). She was always a good student and sort of quiet in class, but in real life, I always liked her to-the-point sense of humor and snark.

Somehow, we California girls both ended up in Chicago.

Just a couple of months ago, I scheduled my first appointment with Dr. Jenny, who told me that my eyesight was pretty much the same, but who also told me that, like a toothbrush, I needed to throw out the case for my contacts every three months.

I’ve been wearing contacts for over 10 years, and I had no idea.

So, in honor of Jenny, I wrote a poem:

There once was a doctor who said
“Protein buildup makes your eyes go red.
Wash your lenses each day
Throw your cases away
And don’t wear your contacts to bed!”

Stu: Nice to Meet You

I met Stu at a 37Signals-new-office-open-house thing last year. When I met him, I had a super tough time remembering his name. So he taught me this trick he learned in an improv class:

“When you meet someone, sandwich “nice to meet you” in between their name. So, I would say, “Mari, nice to meet you, Mari.” The act of saying someone’s name twice cements it in your mind. Try it sometime.”

So guess what? If we meet, I’ll be saying, “Blog reader, nice to meet you, blog reader.”

And I’ll even remember that your name is “blog reader,” thanks to Stu.