My Journey with Perpetual Calendars
Alright, let’s talk about perpetual calendars. I got pretty fed up with buying a new calendar every single year. Felt like a waste, you know? So, I started looking into these perpetual things.
First, I just browsed around online, seeing what kinds there were. Lots of options popped up. Fancy metal ones, digital ones, but I kind of liked the look of the simple wooden block types. Seemed straightforward, less likely to break.
Getting Started
I decided to just jump in and get one. Didn’t want to overthink it. Found a basic wooden block set online. It wasn’t too expensive, looked decent enough in the pictures. It had:
- Two cubes for the day number.
- Three long blocks for the months.
- A little stand to hold them all.
Pretty simple setup. I placed the order and waited for it to arrive.
Setting it Up and Using It
When the package came, I unpacked it. Just like the pictures – solid little blocks of wood, painted numbers and letters. Putting it together was easy, just placing the blocks in the stand.
Now, the actual using part. Each morning, or whenever I remember, I have to physically flip the blocks to the current date. The month blocks are easy, just JAN, FEB, MAR, etc. The day blocks were a bit of a puzzle at first. How do you get all the numbers from 01 to 31 with just two cubes?
I figured it out pretty quick. One cube has digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The other has 0, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8. The trick is that the 6 doubles as a 9 when you flip it upside down. That covers all the combinations you need. Kind of neat, actually.
Living With It
So, I’ve been using it for a while now. It sits on my desk. Looks nice, kind of classic. It definitely works – tells me the date. The main thing is remembering to change it. Some days I forget, and it shows yesterday’s date until I notice. It’s become a small morning ritual, flipping the blocks.
Is it life-changing? Nah. Is it practical? Yeah, pretty much. Saves me buying a calendar, reduces a little waste. It’s a tactile thing, which I like more than just looking at my phone screen sometimes. For what it is, a simple block calendar, it does the job fine. No complaints really, just need to keep up the habit of changing it.
