Hi there!
We are in March now when I realized I haven’t written a single thing since January. I’ve been pleasantly distracted. Did you know most Americans have to work 3-4 months before they start taking money home? For the first 4 months it all goes to Federal, State, and sales tax. If that weren’t bad enough the people receiving the fruits of your labor will call you a racist and scream at you for putting America first. Have fun getting those taxes done!
So let’s get going on March’s blog drop! Queuing up some theme music for a quick drop on memories: https://youtu.be/SlPhMPnQ58k
I found this picture in my phone, recently. It’s younger me against a vineyard landscape in the Carolinas. The photographer was a brand new friend I met from California. We visited Victoria Valley Vineyards that Saturday for a wine tasting. Gosh, this was maybe a decade ago!
I texted him the photo and asked, “Do you remember this day?” And he immediately texted back:
“On a Sunday afternoon with a potentially abused dog 🐕 just to my left, while I believe I was wearing a red fox jacket and black tinted aviator sunglasses, we got lost at first but turned around once you got your bearings back and left North Carolina…or at least near the border, the food was alright, wine was dry but the standout was the conversation and the company; and I remember not believing that someone that didn’t really know me, would care enough to do something that nice for me ☺️… My favorite random memory was your family member’s random confederate cabin and the cold beer & cheer before my legs locked up on the way back to the car 😄… The ol’photographic memory still works despite my years of poisoning it: cheers 🍻🥳😆 I can also describe the apartment you introduced me to, what we had at dinner, what we talked about, how much the tab was…and I can do that for any outing we’ve ever had, but…I can’t figure out what I want for dinner or sometimes remembering to put shoes on while running out of the door so… 🤣…”
SO impressive…the many small details he could recall that day so many years ago. Memories, to me, are not only the most beautiful + completely unique assets we own, but the gift of a memory is priceless. It’s also funny how two people can share in the same experience and walk away with slightly different recollections. For example, I actually thought the paninis were pretty fantastic and I had completely forgotten about our trip my cousin’s confederate cabin! Oh dear, I love alliteration!
I was presented with this question once: would you rather lose physical faculties or mental faculties when you grow old? Wow, what a hard question. To be able to walk around but not know who you are, where you are, or lose all memories? Sounds like a nightmare.
I just watched “2001 Space Odyssey” for the first time recently. The most terrifying part, spoiler alert, was the passive aggressive, almost sadistic nature of Hal, the onboard robot assisting the astronauts with their mission through the vast frontier of outer space. The only way to outsmart the robot was by killing his programming while he complained about how much he felt the hurt. Can robots even feel pain?
Essentially our memories are our programming. After all, we are made up of our experiences. I read somewhere that the way to detect whether someone is human or AI is to ask him or her to recall a memory. Supposedly artificial intelligence is completely devoid of memories. This little trick may come in handy as computers eventually and systematically take over: this is the shit Ted Kaczynski warned us about. By the way, he is warehoused nearby me in the Alcatraz of the Rockies, which I blogged about and can be found in the right hand column “index” of my blog.
Sometimes memories can be a hurdle, such as overwhelming phobias of biting dogs or tight spaces in a elevator that randomly shut down and the telephone was inoperable. Also, I think we discount often how important the programming actually is: what we watch, read, and subject ourselves to on a daily basis is vital to our overall mental health.
Some other interesting facts about memory and strengthening it…
1) Sleep deprivation may cause you to actually lose memories! The more sleep you get, the better your memory retention becomes. Here’s to more naps in 2023!
2) Menopause and hot flashes are tied to memory loss! Wow women really are paying the price for that whole apple tasting thing.
3) There are games and apps that are clinically proven to improve cognitive functions and memories. Crosswords and word scrambles are good too!
4) Reading! This is awesome, because I just joined the snaked at book club in Colorado!
5) NOT relying on technology all the time!
Leave me a comment if you have memory strengthening recommendations! If you don’t think memory is important, watch a clip of Joe Biden forgetting where he is 100% of the time while looking for chocolate chip ice scream while sniffing little kids, saying “Look Jack, no joke” and “cmon man give me a break man, I’m running for Senator!”
Thanks for reading, and I hope you make some really excellent memories this year. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“We didn’t know we were making memories…we just thought we were having fun.”
Cheers!
Kimmie
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