I’m all out of memory, I’m so lost without you
Magellan. What a perfect name for the device. It was able to guide me directly to my destination from any given point. It was magic. I trusted Magellan completely and together we went everywhere- restaurants, meetings, dates, work, and most importantly back home. I was completely dependent on it for two years and yesterday my navigation system died on me.
I looked back at some of my previous posts and realized that I might have portrayed myself as this brilliant person with an incredible memory. I apologize because this was misleading. Yes, I remember every address, phone number, and even the amount of stairs of every staircase I used a lot. And this is due to pure effort and constant counting. But I think by focusing so much on one thing, I stole memory from other parts of my brain, causing unequal distribution of brain power (if that makes sense). Let me now tell you what I can’t do.
I can’t remember names. I can’t remember faces. I can’t remember what I was wearing yesterday. And I can’t remember how to find a place for the life of me. Even if I’ve been there everyday for a year. If I stop going there for about a month I’ll forget. I’ll be thinking all the wrong street names, since I suck at remembering names, and road rage will take over. No place is ever too familiar to me. Change a couple buildings or signs and I might as well be in a foreign country.
Before technology, my father was my Magellan. He has a map in his brain, with traffic hours and all. He knows the best way to go from here to there, anywhere in all of Southern California both locally and on freeways. He’d make a pretty awesome taxi driver. I used to call him all the time on the road, and we would get into so many fights because of this.
Him: Just head west.
Me: Where is that?
Him: Towards the ocean.
Me: Ocean? I can’t see the ocean! I’m on the streets!
Him: How is it that you still don’t know any of this, learn to read a map and stop calling me, figure it out for yourself. I don’t have a stupid daughter. (click.)
Me: Stop yelling, I’m still lost! Hello? HELLO?!
After Magellan, I didn’t need my father anymore. Not to mention lower phone bills and less road rage. But maybe it got fed up with me as well.
So, this means I’m going to have to go back to my father, just like these posts keep going back to him. As awful as he can be at times, I’d be pretty lost without him.
