So I am in the shower this morning. I am going through the usual ritual of booting up the mind and body for the day ahead. My back is towards the showerhead with the hot water running over my shoulders. I step back into the spray and the water soaks my hair and runs down over my face. I could stand here like this for a long time. I reach down and pick up the shampoo and lather it into my scalp. I rinse my hair, soap up, and rinse. Again, I stand with my back to the showerhead and this time I let the hot water hit my neck as I do head rolls. I stop and think to myself, “I better wash my hair.” Long pause. “Wait, I washed my hair already… didn’t I? My hair is wet, but that just means that at some point I put my head under the spray. That doesn’t mean that I washed my hair. It just means that I wet it. I don’t think I washed my hair yet. Okay, this is weird. Well, if I put shampoo in my hair again and it lathers up a whole lot, then I’ll know I washed my hair. Jesus, why can’t I remember if I washed my hair or not?”
I squeeze some shampoo into in my hands and lather up my scalp. It really lathers up, which is a clear sign that I already washed my hair. “Man, I hope this isn’t an indication of the how the day is going to go.”
I cut myself a little slack by telling myself that it's early in the morning and all of the 'mental cylinders' haven't kicked in yet. That or getting older really does suck.
Bad news, Will. Getting older really does suck.
Posted by: Geren on January 17, 2006 08:37 AMShort term memory - first thing to go! After that, it's all downhill. Trust me. I know.
Posted by: Becky on January 17, 2006 08:54 AMFrom what I understand, short-term memory is the *second* thing to go. It's just that no one can remember what the first thing was.
Hey;
Be thankfull that you have hair to wash.
When you leave work and can't remember where you parked the car...........then you have a problem.......enjoy your day.
If I forget where I park Red 5, then I really do have a problem.
Posted by: Will Burnham on January 17, 2006 11:19 AMmany, many times when I had that job that started at 7:00 am I'd go out at lunch and have NO IDEA where I parked, nor, indeed any memory of driving to work at all. some people are just NOT morning people. maybe you're turning into an owl. there are worse things, you know. hoot.
Posted by: tea on January 17, 2006 02:42 PMWell, I was up until 2:30 AM on both Saturday and Sunday. I haven't done that on a weekend in over a year. Maybe that had something to do with it.
Posted by: Will Burnham on January 17, 2006 02:50 PMWill,
As an older gentlemen I laugh when people I know who are younger start having these "moments." It's really not that bad. I use it as an excuse all the time. "What was that dear? Oh I'm sorry, I must have forgotten."
Scott F.
Posted by: Scott on January 17, 2006 06:15 PMBecause of the reverse chronological nature of blogging, your post with the picture of that BSG guy with just a towel on was read first, then I started reading this post about you standing in the shower and having seen that self portrait you did a while ago...let's just say, Thanks for the mental image." ;-)
Posted by: Brian theRed on January 17, 2006 10:06 PMWait, what were we talking about?
Posted by: SteveK on January 20, 2006 03:09 PMOn the bright side, soon you'll be meeting new people every day...at work.
Posted by: juli on February 16, 2006 12:00 AM