Sunday, December 16, 2007

Memories

The past couple of posts have highlighted some problems that I have with my memory, and they're problems that I've known were there, so I'm not too concerned, but it reminds me of a very specific memory problem that I remember mentioning to E. Elz while he was visiting and we went to DC:

I have a vivid vivid memory of going into a Smithsonian building to use the restrooms, and I am with the Schluetermetz' in this memory. The only problem is that I've never been to DC with the Schluetermetz'. But if I didn't know that I've never been to DC with the Schluetermetz', I would swear that this memory actually occurred. I can remember strange details about the building, I can remember the path we took to the restrooms, and I can remember what the bathrooms were like.

I don't mind forgetting shit, but I don't like making up stuff that never happened.

Another Errata post

The Jeanners read the last post and pointed out the following mistakes:

1. It's December, not November. But today kinda felt like a November day.

2. "The Day of the Mind-Blowing Physical Demonstration of the Bell Curve" took place not at the St. Louis Science Center, but rather the Baltimore Science center. And the Schluetermetz' were not there.

Apologies to all.

DOB: Lover of Anorexics

Today the Jeanners and I spent a good many hours walking to and around Hampden, looking for Christmas presents for various folks, and then walked to the grocery store and then home. Lots of walking, and a very weird weather day. Windy, with big menacing-looking impressive clouds. Birds flying around. It was a November day where all the colors seemed very rich, but the predominant feel is a light gray.

Anyway, now we're sitting at the kitchen table, listening to some Carpenters christmas tunes and eating little pizzas.

Somehow I've managed to schedule myself 3 of the last four days off work. Which is nice now, but it does mean that I'll be working a solid seven days in a row right before Christmas. Which means that I'll be good and ready to get out of town and head home for the holidays.

Here's my Christmas list for 2007:

1. Booze. Beer of any kind, or cheap gin. Cheap red wine is a perennial favorite.

2. "Tao of the Tangram." This is a tangram set that we've been selling at the B&N. My fascination with tangrams stems from a day spent at the St. Louis Science Center with BJ and maybe the Schluetermetz'. I can't really remember. That day lives in my memory as "The Day of the Mind-Blowing Physical Demonstration of the Bell Curve." It was the day when the proverbial Zen Master hit me with the proverbial stick and pushed me in the proverbial mud.

3. That's about it, really.

Yes, PKP, there are a lot of Back to the Future references in my blog, and I won't apologize for it. Back to the Future has some sort of mystical role in my life, it guides my ways, and helps me make sense out of a sometimes senseless world. So does The Karate Kid, and while I don't reference it as much in the blog, I assure you that it's taking up just as much space in my brain. I would estimate that, together, Back to the Future (numbers 1 & 2) and The Karate Kid (again, numbers 1 & 2 ONLY) take up about 35% of my available mental RAM.

Finished 1984 today. What a good good book. I liked it in high school and I liked it even more now.