Have I told you this before?

Yes, the title is deliberately ironic. Hopefully you will have noticed that my blog postings have generally been very positive and I don't whinge very often. Tonight I am going to whinge, so feel free to skip this post and wait for the next dynamic and exciting... no, I'm not fooling anyone, am I? Well, okay, the next honest and truthful story of my experiences.

But back to what the title of this posting refers to: Short-term memory problems. My memory never was particularly good, but it's noticeably worse. I am trying to counter it by writing things down more, or to confirm whatever someone may have said in email, but it's not a perfect way of remembering things. For a start, trying to recall whether you wrote something down or not can be a challenge - and then where you wrote it down is a complete puzzle. I know. I've been there.

The trouble is, not everyone understands your problem. Not all of them are malicious about this, but some just cannot relate to the problem. I have found that some people seem to think (subconsciously) that you have deliberately forgotten information they have given you, or that you're just plain stupid. I would love to point out to them that it would make my life a lot more comfortable and happier if I could remember everything. That I am jealous for their recalling abilities.

Now I have a lot more fun. I have a digital voice recorder (a 'dictaphone') which I pull out at meetings, explaining that I have a poor memory but don't want to slow the meeting down by having to write everything down. It's amazing how much more understanding they become, and how much more calmly they approach the content of the meeting. And how quiet the meeting becomes, generally...