I don't know if it's just me, but do you really start to lose your sense of recall as early as thirty or is there some other reason for my lack of general concentration? Case in point: I'm at work and I just took a call from an older gentleman buying tickets for a Symphony show. He wanted one adult ticket, one student ticket and two senior tickets. Between the time he told me and the time it took me to bring up the seating plan screen, I had already forgotten how many he wanted of any kind. The actual time that passed was something like five seconds and I still couldn't keep it straight in my head. Besides the fact that he got unnecessarily annoyed with my lack of recall, I started to wonder... how many times has this happened to me recently? As it happens, it has been a few too many times for my liking. It's like I'm in a fog, and I can see and hear what's happening, but none of it is staying with me. Another good example: Terry and I wrote approximately six songs in the month of February and I still can't tell you most of the lyrics or even remember what lyrics are from which song!
My co-workers can attest to this anomaly as well. I forget things they tell me in conversations all the time. I forget people's names, birthday's and even some things I've told people as well. I mean, I've pretty much been in a daze since September, but you'd think I'd be able to remember what some old man told me only five seconds before right?
I guess that's it. The youngest Noseworthy is losing her mind, slowly but surely. Then again, do I really want to remember how many tickets a customer wanted to buy? Surely there are more important things that I could fill my head with.... like what's happening on Coronation Street, or knowing that America is named after Amerigo Vespucci. I can still kick Terry's butt on Jeopardy, but I can't remember what he said to me during the commercial break. That doesn't bode well, does it?
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Some possibilities:
ReplyDelete1. You're tired of the job and need to change.
2. Your creative mind is working overtime and is incapable of concentrating on petty, everyday things.
3. You've inherited a family trait of general absent-mindedness.
All of the three could be true...I know they are for me a lot of the time. For most of the day, I'm thinking creatively or otherwise, even when I'm supposed to be working, and find it hard to get involved in real world, "petty" details.
I'm not sure if this kind of "other-worldliness" is something to worry about or shrug off.
I would agree with #1 wholeheartedly. People always ask me how I remember odd things (just last night at poker was the latest). If the rest of you are anything like me you do well with what you enjoy & like, and poorly with what you dislike & despise.
ReplyDeleteSome people are the opposite, and focus on the things they struggle with. To each their own I guess. But I wouldn't worry too much about it. I would try and look for other career alternatives. From my experience you will be happier once you do find something you enjoy.
Kick my butt in Jeopardy? Oh really?! We'll see about that (next time the categories are: "90's Alt Rock", "C++ Programming", "Astrophysics", "Online Videogames", "Being a geek"...)!!
ReplyDeleteI have a memory like yours, Geoff. I remember phone numbers of kids I coached more than 10 years ago. I remember a plethora of Simpsons quotes, actors names and the movies they starred in, the page number of things I've read...essentially, I remember anything useless. I will be in the kitchen and will say to myself, "Don't forget to pack your lunch." In the 2.5 seconds it takes me to walk from one end of the room to another, I'll forget. If I don't write things like that down, they're forgotten. I have a notepad on either side of my computer at work so I can jot things down. Allyson, that's something I did when answering phones all day. I would write the person's name down and the version number of their software, or whatever I thought was important. It saved asking them to repeat stuff over and over. It's not the most environmentally friendly way to do things, but it works. It sounds like it's genetic, though.
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