Memories...

...like the dust bunny filled, cobweb packed, maggot infested corners of my mind.

Do you ever struggle to remember things? I struggle to remember all kinds of things: birthdays, appointments, special events, things I've done or said, things other people have told me that I ought to register because they are things that are important to them...

In September I forgot BFF Kacy's birthday. I didn't just forget that day. I forgot for a week. Until she told me about her birthday celebrations. HELLO!! Suffice it to say, I cried over that one. And I begged her for forgiveness (luckily she is a forgiving soul). I've also forgotten birthdays of many other people I love very much, and yet the horrible feeling that comes after realizing I've forgotten is not enough negative reinforcement to learn me into remembering.

When I'm talking to my mom, she'll often say, "Don't you remember I told you about...?" And my honest answer is, "No. I have no recollection of that conversation."

I forget to answer e-mails, RSVP, clean up after myself, return calls...

And if that weren't enough, I'm just generally bad at being a caring human being. I remember things that I read, so blogging is a great way to get a message across to me. But talking to me? There's no guarantee that I'll remember things later. You could tell me an amazing story about how Superman himself came and rescued you from the top of the Empire State Building, as the building was crumbling and falling, and that later he married you and you had his baby, and then he had to go to outer space to find Krypton so he left you, and you remarried Batman and had little bat babies... I probably STILL wouldn't remember that. I might be able to vaguely recall something about you and Manhattan, and outer space, and rodents.

I also forget experiences I've had, and people I once knew. My mom keeps talking to me about a young lady that was in our home ward when I was a teenager, and I cannot, for the life of me, recall her name, face, or anything about her. My mom says we were great friends. WHAT? We hung out on more than one occasion. Huh?

I've had problems with certain foods upsetting my stomach. Do you think I remember later that those same foods upset my stomach before I eat them and then GET an upset stomach? Nope. It's not until AFTER I start to feel sick that a vague memory comes wafting back to my mind. "Oh yeah. I think I've been through this before."

A few years ago I met up with a girl I had many classes with in high school, and was in journalism with and hung out with and so on and so forth. She brought up an old inside joke, and all I could hear in my head was a busy signal. She explained the joke to me, and I still didn't remember it. She told me when and where I said it and what I was wearing, and still NOTHING!

It's not tied to age either, because I remember (ha ironically) having a similar problem growing up.

Does this happen to any of you? Have any of you found any great tricks for remembering details/appointments/birthdays/foods that make you sick/other things that you want to remember? I'm curious.