Wednesday Weirdness

Today has been a typical getting odds and ends done kind of day…but it has had some special randomness to it.

At lunch time I went to get the oil changed at one of those franchise places.  It took me a while to figure out the Kevin the manager was hitting on me.  When he asked for my number at check out, I assumed it was for the computer.  But having gotten a weird vibe from him, I game him Chris’s number.  When he jotted it on a piece of paper instead of putting it in to the computer, I caught on.  When he asked me out to lunch, I told him to call me. I just wanted to get out of dodge.  Then he told me I looked cute in my shorts.  Eeeewwwwww.  I called Chris and told him he could expect a call from Kev.  Needless to say, I won’t be going back there for an oil change (or anything else) anytime soon. (However, this confirms in my mind that Chris should be responsible for all car maintenance, no?)

Then I ran by Best Buy to get a memory chip for our interim digital camera.  We were operating off the one we got for our honeymoon in the fall of 2001; it’s well past its prime.  When big brother upgraded his lovely wife gave us their old one until we pick what we really want to get.  Anyway, since when is a 2 gig card $12.99.  Back in the day we paid something like $100 for a 128 MB card.  I’m tarting to feel like an old fart; and I feel like I sound like one too.  I keep hearing my father in my head talking about trekking to school – in winter, through feet of snow, over mountains, and through broken glass, you know!

And I keep hearing the Beastie Boys on the radio — you know, “you gotta fight, for your right to p-a-r-t-y”; and the Def Leopard song “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” What is up with this week?

The Treasure of Sensory Memory

One of the little gifts of life, in my humble opinion, is the power of sensory memory – a smell, a particular sight (or place), a sound (or song).

Driving to the office earlier this week, Warrant’s “Heaven” came on the radio followed by Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin.”  I love that a song can immediately transport me to another time and place.  “Heaven” to an early ’90s trip to England, “Free Fallin” to a ski lift at Greek Peak in high school.  Asia’s “Then and Now” album reminds me of a family trip to the west coast in the 80s, Blondie’s “The Tide is High” of Dune House #5 in Ocean City, Maryland (as a 4 or 5 year old with our cousins).  Toad the Wet Sprocket’s “Fear” album feels like the sound track to my early college years.

I used to have songs, mix tapes, and albums that I could listen to and be depressed, as if on command.  And ones that could rejuvenate too.  Neil Diamonds “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” album still reminds me of sitting on the side of a highway in Pennsylvania after a terrible 18 wheeler accident while my parents tried to render aid when I was maybe 5.  Of course, the combination of Neil Diamond, John Denver, Peter Paul & Mary, and Free to Be You and Me comprise the soundtrack of my childhood (this should be no surprise).

And there are visuals, like fire flies, that remind me of carefree days hanging in the back yard as a kid, admiring their flicker.   Or the 17 year locusts that remind me of Gettysburg (in 1987) when we were attacked (like Pickett’s men on the famous charge) by locusts swarming from the woodline.

One of my strongest senses, and one that feels truly special, is smell.  I don’t know why I view smells differently than what I can see or hear, but perhaps it is that “less tangible” sense that I enjoy so much.  There is a certain kind of pine (which kind I know only by smell) that immediately takes me to the cottage in Corinth, NY where we spent at least a week every summer of my life until high school or college (I’m never quite sure).  I love accidentally bumping in to that smell unexpectedly – it is such a pleasant memory of fun and family. And it makes me instantly happy, no matter what my mood.

I miss the smell of lilacs in spring – they don’t grow in Texas – and spring is hardly spring without them.  Then there is that musty smell that reminds me of Grandma and Grandpa’s house – they probably wouldn’t be flattered that its a musty smell – but it is what it is! And the crunch and smell of leaves in fall.

Perhaps I also revel in the memories my senses provide because I have such a bad recall memory.  Life is much more a Monet painting to me than a detailed account of experience. This can be both good and bad, I guess, but I am grateful for the sights, sounds, and smells burned into my memory that even when I can’t recall the detail, I know the memory is good and it makes me happy just the same.

“We Need a Blog Post”

So I just received an email from my mother titled, “we need a blog post.” And so we do, but alas, I have only a few minutes before I need to dash out the door.  I have been percolating on several ideas, but none are ready to be brewed. I have, therefore, decided to report on my love of the new iPhone.

I have mastered the taking and emailing of photos.

Found these in Amy's back yard when pickcing tomatoes.

Gracie (r) and George (l) have such a hard life!

My awesome new purse - seldom am I so trendy

I’m sure I have already exceeded my texting limit and I have made numerous phone calls, none of which have been dropped!

There is a lot more going on these days – lots of house projects (which will merit their own post soon) , afternoons at the pool with friends, and many more late nights than I have had in years, starting with our June DC trip, but the trend continues. Thoroughly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince this last weekend – haven’t yet read the book – but thought the movie was perhaps the best to date.  And Chris and I have become addicted to AMC’s Mad Men, which Comcast is showing on their On Demand in high def (that accounts for a few more of those late nights).  So summer is more than half gone and that is a brief smattering of what we have been up to.

I will do my very best tomorrow and this weekend to add a couple more posts an prepare a few others so next week should have more to entertain you all.  Happy Day to one an all.