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Seven Degrees Left of Center

by Teller of Tales

Rated: 13+ · Book · Personal · #2276168

Each day feels new, and my memory of the one before is faint. I’m learning to adapt.

In September 2019, a seizure revealed a lime-sized meningioma pressed against my hippocampus—the part of the brain that governs memory and language. The doctors said it was benign, but benign didn’t mean harmless.

Surgery removed the tumor, and three days later I opened my eyes to a new reality. I could walk, I could talk, but when I looked at my wife, her name was gone. I called her Precious—the only word I could find. A failure of memory, yet perhaps the truest name of all.

Recovery has been less cure than re-calibration. Memory gaps are frequent. Conversations vanish. I had to relearn how to write, letter by halting letter. My days are scaffold by alarms, notes, and calendars.

When people ask how I am, I don’t list symptoms or struggles. I simply say, “Seven Degrees Left of Center.” It’s not an answer—it’s who I’ve become.

Comments ·

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

JACE

Aug 7, 2026 at 10:43am
In response to "The Bait Was Good: A Cautionary Tale"

Well said!

1 Like

🐰 Richard 🐤

Aug 7, 2026 at 10:05am
In response to "The Bait Was Good: A Cautionary Tale"

Scammers are everywhere, and they are well practiced at their craft.

1 Like

Amethyst Angel

Aug 7, 2026 at 9:04am
In response to "The Bait Was Good: A Cautionary Tale"

I send any suspicious emails straight to StoryMaster. He deletes the accounts straightaway. Thank you for sharing this crucial awareness with us!

1 Like

TeeGateM

Jul 31, 2026 at 10:28am
In response to "New Flowers"

This was a lovely post. I think friends are important and it takes time to keep that garden of friends growing. I still make those monthly phone calls to a few. Some I keep in touch through email. It is so nice to have a conversation with a friend and get the life update. For me it seems a lot of my friends no longer have an earthly voice, God Bless them. Sadly though I can count on 10 fingers the number of really close friends. I am truly grateful for my WDC friends.

3 Like

Reagana

Jul 31, 2026 at 10:25am
In response to "New Flowers"

🐰 Richard 🐤

~ I think that lifestyle is the biggest factor here. Acquaintances from work (work is mostly the factor), when you talk, or hang out...work~related topics are often the glue that holds it all together.

What holds it together apart from, or after that?

2 Like

🐰 Richard 🐤

Jul 31, 2026 at 10:12am
In response to "New Flowers"

From Reagana comment:

"I truly do simply have acquaintances or "work friends" which is alright."

I find this is true; most of my acquaintances from work have drifted away. I do still hang with one of them; we do lunch, ball games, and other stuff. The acquaintances did meet for lunches, but as more of them join the rest of us in retirement, the gatherings grow less frequent.

I do have a friend or two who have lasted and withstood the test of time, but even there, lifestyle changes have altered the basics of that friendship.

3 Like

Reagana

Jul 31, 2026 at 8:28am
In response to "New Flowers"

I am sure that this happens with a great many of us. We lose touch with old friendships for many different reasons. Childhood friends that you have grown up with take completely different directions in life than you did. As time goes on, attempts at true communication begin to feel false, as though you no longer know each other.

I only had one very close childhood friend. This happened with us. We drifted apart, as we grew into our respective lives. Now, for twenty ~ something years, the only thing that we do is text each other a Happy Birthday when that day comes around for each of us.

My husband sometimes complains that he doesn't have friends like he did when growing up. I try to get him to understand the concept of "Growing up!" He actually has friends from work; not simply work friends. They go to their shared deer lease together once or twice each year.

To me...this is more than simple acquaintances. I tell him that friendships look different as we grow up and grow older. At least they all having hunting in common, and spend that time together outside of work.

I don't have that. I truly do simply have acquaintances or "work friends" which is alright.

I have made new friends here, as you have. It is easier when you have something in common, and, well...we all have reading and writing in common here!

2 Like

Elycia Lee ☮

Jul 23, 2026 at 12:47am
In response to "Keeping My Sandbox Clean"

Oh, is that what sandbox means? Referring to Start-Up, the k-drama. In that context, I feel like WDC is a Sandbox for me.

1 Like

Amethyst Angel

Jul 20, 2026 at 8:50am
In response to "Red Ink and Coffee"

I detest messy revisionary stages... for some reason, if I feel like can't get it done good enough the first time, I won't start. In a lot of ways, that holds me back. Glad you're working on improvement. Keep it up 👍

1 Like

Amethyst Angel

Jul 10, 2026 at 10:07am
In response to "Dust"

We're glad you're here, and we're glad you took some time off. It's all a fine balance

1 Like

#169. When a Good Thought Goes Missing
ID #1120992 entered on August 11, 2026 at 6:36am (edited)

#168. Apparently, I’m Working Again
ID #1120823 entered on August 8, 2026 at 6:53am

#167. The Bait Was Good: A Cautionary Tale
ID #1120768 entered on August 7, 2026 at 9:02am

#166. Death by Simile
ID #1120479 entered on August 2, 2026 at 8:41am

#165. New Flowers
ID #1120341 entered on July 31, 2026 at 8:10am

#164. Criticism and Coffee
ID #1120031 entered on July 25, 2026 at 10:22am

#163. Keeping My Sandbox Clean
ID #1119906 entered on July 22, 2026 at 11:27pm

#162. Red Ink and Coffee
ID #1119751 entered on July 20, 2026 at 8:02am

#161. Dust
ID #1119243 entered on July 10, 2026 at 9:35am

#160. Finishing
ID #1118429 entered on June 26, 2026 at 7:47am

#159. Putting it out there
ID #1118327 entered on June 24, 2026 at 8:16am

#158. Story Creep
ID #1118077 entered on June 20, 2026 at 6:03am

#157. The Duke of Sandwich
ID #1117708 entered on June 14, 2026 at 10:16am

#156. Deep Thoughts in the Shallow Pool
ID #1117501 entered on June 11, 2026 at 7:13am

#155. Learning the Rules of the Game
ID #1117198 entered on June 6, 2026 at 6:49am (edited)

#154. Anticipation
ID #1116704 entered on May 30, 2026 at 1:18am

#153. The Thrill of Something New
ID #1116243 entered on May 22, 2026 at 8:35am

#152. Addictive
ID #1116035 entered on May 19, 2026 at 8:50am

#151. That sounds like a blog post right there.
ID #1115714 entered on May 14, 2026 at 7:14am

#150. The Unexecuted Plan. What plan?
ID #1115340 entered on May 8, 2026 at 10:18am

#149. When Better Turns Into Different
ID #1115101 entered on May 5, 2026 at 6:20am

#148. I Wouldn’t Say It That Way
ID #1114883 entered on May 1, 2026 at 8:59pm

#147. Nobody Is Waiting on These Words
ID #1114668 entered on April 29, 2026 at 8:22am

#146. Sixteen days
ID #1114370 entered on April 26, 2026 at 8:21am

#145. The Consistency of Being Inconsistent
ID #1112926 entered on April 10, 2026 at 7:05am

#144. Creation energizes. Completion drains.
ID #1112542 entered on April 6, 2026 at 8:26am

#143. The Excitement of a Good Review
ID #1112352 entered on April 4, 2026 at 8:01am

#142. Wednesday didn't make it to Thursday
ID #1112158 entered on April 2, 2026 at 7:46am

#141. Betrade by Autocorrect
ID #1111723 entered on March 28, 2026 at 8:57am

#140. Price of admission. The cost to play.
ID #1111554 entered on March 26, 2026 at 8:34am

#139. Morning coffee with generative AI
ID #1111229 entered on March 22, 2026 at 8:20am (edited)

#138. Good brain day
ID #1111092 entered on March 20, 2026 at 9:19am

#137. I’m late. I'm late for a very importment date. Not Really!
ID #1110939 entered on March 18, 2026 at 8:41am

#136. ... click
ID #1110770 entered on March 16, 2026 at 7:41am

#135. Just not ready!
ID #1110546 entered on March 13, 2026 at 8:35am

#134. The Bug, the Coffee, and the Middle Finger
ID #1110378 entered on March 11, 2026 at 8:04am

#133. The Work or Getting the Work Done
ID #1110214 entered on March 9, 2026 at 7:37am

#132. Today’s Agenda
ID #1110021 entered on March 7, 2026 at 6:10am

#131. Warming Up
ID #1109693 entered on March 3, 2026 at 8:14am

#130. Measuring Differently at 60
ID #1109624 entered on March 2, 2026 at 9:02am

#129. Bond and the Mug
ID #1109448 entered on February 28, 2026 at 8:14am

#128. Writer vs. Author
ID #1109160 entered on February 24, 2026 at 6:50am

#127. I wasn’t at full capacity yesterday
ID #1108920 entered on February 21, 2026 at 5:48am

#126. What Is AI to Me?
ID #1108759 entered on February 19, 2026 at 9:08am

#125. The Wee Hours Are My Best Work
ID #1108470 entered on February 16, 2026 at 6:18am

#124. It is a good start for a good brain day
ID #1108325 entered on February 14, 2026 at 7:01am

#123. Coffee, Trim Work, and Other Things I Avoid
ID #1108172 entered on February 12, 2026 at 6:46am

#122. Early mornings don’t promise answers. They make space.
ID #1107946 entered on February 9, 2026 at 7:44am

#121. Almost Seven Years
ID #1107523 entered on February 4, 2026 at 9:00am

#120. On Permission to Write
ID #1107349 entered on February 2, 2026 at 8:16am

#119. Left of Center This Morning
ID #1107250 entered on February 1, 2026 at 6:03am

#118. I went to Las Vegas!
ID #1106964 entered on January 27, 2026 at 10:11pm

#117. Revision Staleness Isn't Story Staleness
ID #1106329 entered on January 19, 2026 at 7:48am

#116. Tinkering with yWriter
ID #1105969 entered on January 14, 2026 at 7:32am

#115. Getting Up Too Early Again
ID #1105809 entered on January 12, 2026 at 6:29am

#114. The Art of Rereading
ID #1105498 entered on January 9, 2026 at 7:21am

#113. Good Morning WdC
ID #1105356 entered on January 7, 2026 at 7:56am

#112. Thinking About Writing
ID #1105077 entered on January 4, 2026 at 6:01am

#111. I Wrote a Novel
ID #1104908 entered on January 2, 2026 at 8:26am

#110. The Practice of Showing Up
ID #1104779 entered on December 31, 2025 at 6:17am

#109. The Difference a Year Makes
ID #1104647 entered on December 29, 2025 at 7:23am

#108. Seven Degrees Left of Center With a Guitar
ID #1104460 entered on December 26, 2025 at 7:10am (edited)

#107. A Different Kind of Quiet
ID #1104402 entered on December 25, 2025 at 7:40am

#106. Christmas Eve, Remembered Through Coffee and VHS
ID #1104336 entered on December 24, 2025 at 7:10am

#105. Reflecting on the Suck
ID #1104015 entered on December 20, 2025 at 7:01am

#104. Coffee and AI (And When to Say So)
ID #1103878 entered on December 18, 2025 at 7:57am

#103. 6 a.m., Second Half
ID #1103751 entered on December 16, 2025 at 7:12am (edited)

#102. Searching for Balance
ID #1103440 entered on December 11, 2025 at 7:31am

#101. Revising Myself Out of a Story
ID #1103299 entered on December 9, 2025 at 2:49pm

#100. What Was I Thinking?
ID #1102998 entered on December 5, 2025 at 6:30am

#99. What It Means When Your Novel Has Legs
ID #1102804 entered on December 2, 2025 at 8:58am

#98. Crossing the November Finish Line
ID #1102570 entered on November 28, 2025 at 4:10pm

#97. It’s the Details (And They Are Out to Get Me)
ID #1102388 entered on November 25, 2025 at 1:17pm

#96. Reading My Own Writing Like a Stranger
ID #1102081 entered on November 21, 2025 at 8:37am

#95. What to Write About When You Have Nothing?
ID #1101871 entered on November 18, 2025 at 10:10am

#94. In Between Writing Projects
ID #1101576 entered on November 14, 2025 at 6:48am

#93. Waiting on Beta Readers the Art of Not Refreshing the Inbox
ID #1101328 entered on November 10, 2025 at 2:04pm

#92. Too Many Projects, Too Little Brain Space
ID #1100983 entered on November 6, 2025 at 9:19am

#91. Why Am I Awake at 5:45 A.M.? (A Compass Pointing Nowhere)
ID #1100860 entered on November 4, 2025 at 7:00am

#90. Finding North Again
ID #1100454 entered on October 30, 2025 at 10:23am

#89. Where was I...
ID #1100265 entered on October 27, 2025 at 12:54pm

#88. Lost in the Story I Already Wrote
ID #1099691 entered on October 20, 2025 at 7:11am

#87. Before Coffee Banking Blues
ID #1099352 entered on October 15, 2025 at 11:19am

#86. Letting It Soak
ID #1098968 entered on October 9, 2025 at 10:44am

#85. The Book Emptied My Brain - Now What?
ID #1098746 entered on October 6, 2025 at 7:52am (edited)

#84. Learning Curves: Then and Now
ID #1098532 entered on October 3, 2025 at 8:32am

#83. Instant Coffee: Freeze-Dried Disappointment
ID #1098134 entered on September 27, 2025 at 10:06am

#82. Rewired
ID #1098029 entered on September 25, 2025 at 9:41am

#81. It's Just Another Scar
ID #1097849 entered on September 22, 2025 at 8:19am (edited)

#80. The Things That Never Change — Yet They Do
ID #1097785 entered on September 21, 2025 at 9:44am

#79. What have I written for me today?
ID #1097416 entered on September 15, 2025 at 10:10am

#78. Getting lost in the story
ID #1097112 entered on September 11, 2025 at 9:42am

#77. Up too early
ID #1096990 entered on September 9, 2025 at 8:09am

#76. A Dream Without Courage Is Just Decaf
ID #1096759 entered on September 6, 2025 at 12:29am

#75. Morning Coffee
ID #1096693 entered on September 5, 2025 at 7:49am

#74. At some point, you call it done
ID #1096212 entered on August 31, 2025 at 12:47am

#73. A good story gone wrong
ID #1096171 entered on August 30, 2025 at 9:41am

#72. Yesterday is gone
ID #1096040 entered on August 28, 2025 at 6:49am

#71. My Mechanical Keyboard Clicks On
ID #1095954 entered on August 26, 2025 at 8:28am

#70. The fight between "complexity vs. simplicity"
ID #1095793 entered on August 23, 2025 at 10:04am

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Seven Degrees Left of Center (Book)

Seven Degrees Left of Center

Each day feels new, and my memory of the one before is faint. I’m learning to adapt.