Danielle left on 3rd January 2009. That’s 219 days ago.
No, I’m not some stalker that has been barking at the moon for the last 5,256 hours (that’s a joke, I’ve just worked it out). It’s just that my diary has a sense of humour; it has the days numbered and it is not difficult to subtract “3” from today’s number. And, when you get in to the habit, it’s hard not to do it each time you see the day number. If I didn’t look at my diary for a few days I wouldn’t be able to tell you how long it’s been.
Perhaps that is what I should do this holiday - not open my diary for two weeks. That would break the sequence. Trouble is, I now know that it will be 233 when I reopen the diary. The alternative is to throw-away the diary. That won’t change my situation but it would mean that I miss appointments. Imagine how long my hair would get.