Who Doesn't Love Compliments?!

I need to start carrying my little voice recorder with me at all times. But... if I did... I'm sure I would have to stop whatever conversation I'm having, find it in my bag, figure out how to get it started up, then try to recapture the spirit of the conversation... and then the moment's lost anyway. I guess I just need to resign myself to forgetting. UGH. Over the past few weeks... shoot, over the past few YEARS, I have had conversation after conversation that basically leaves me as soon as I walk away from it. I mean, seriously, leaves me. I get up, walk out of the room in which I was having the conversation, and my mind is almost completely blank. Couldn't tell you one word that was shared just now.

Except for a period of about 3 years while I was in State College (during which, for some reason, I was actually GOOD at remembering all the details of a conversation -- I could actually get back to my desk from my boss's office and specifically remember to write down just about every action item I had been assigned... AND I honestly probably didn't even need to write 'em down because I was going to remember them for months to come anyway), I have always had this problem. I wonder what it was about those 3 years??? What gave my brain the added umph to actually possess a short-term memory??? Oh, if I only knew!!!

What was I talking about again? You know, if I was serious just now about forgetting what I was talking about, it would be the FOURTH TIME TODAY that has happened. Wow... senior moments like this are not supposed to happen FOUR TIMES A DAY when I'm THIRTY!!!

Anyway, I wonder what people would think of me if I did whip out my voice recorder every time I wanted to keep a record of our conversation. I aleady kind of freak people out at the COR when I let them know that I save ALL of my IM conversations. Yes, yes, I do. I know Microsoft Communicator doesn't automatically log the convo like Trillian does; but I don't let that little application limitation stop me. I manually copy and paste each and every conversation into an Outlook appointment (so then I have the date & time, too... since Communicator doesn't even do that much!). Most of my colleagues consider IM like a phone call. I don't. And I must say, it's saved me lots of trouble time and time again by having these re-readable texts of conversations. Part of my job (I know, none of you know what that is... that's okay, me either) is being able to document communications... sometimes being able to document that so-and-so said such-and-such to me in an IM window is just as helpful as all that e-mail I keep archived. Still... I was talking about my voice recorder. I think I bought it back when I was having a serious problem making my to-do list in the car on the drive to/from work in State College and then forgetting it by the time I got to work or home. It was unsafe to keep pen/paper handy while I was driving, so I spent the cash (I know, surprise) to buy a little recorder. I used it all of about three times. It's just as unsafe as a pen/paper while you're driving... and it's never where you left it. I swear the stupid thing has legs and the will to frustrate. Anyway, if I could keep it handy and actually use it, Lord knows the re-listenable conversations would make it worth my while. At least to me. It would feed my soul.

Anyway... I have actually been working today/tonight; and I have yet to read any of the day's news via RSS. Shoot... that will make for a really long morning tomorrow as I catch up on yesterday and today! And when I wasn't working on work stuff, I was filing more pics. Now that the last of the last are transferred from the laptop to the big machine, there are 3500 before I'm completely finished with this portion of the project. Actually, I already filed/categorized about 1000 of them tonight, so technically, the number's already down to 2500 or so. I love being productive... even if it's make-believe productive that no one else would really consider productive. Someday soon, Nik (et al), I will be to the point where I can actually see what I have and what I have yet to scan and send you fun memory-provoking snapshots that you'll love to share! Soon. I promise.

Finally... my advice to each of you today... compliment someone and mean it. It will make their day, their week, their year, possibly even their decade! :)