Memories, and how they change

My brother used to tell me I had selective memory whenever we remembered the same situation differently. This used to frustrate me, and older me wishes I had the snappy comeback of 'Yeah but you're older, your memory will go before mine'. Alas I'm about fifteen years too late for that. Memories do change though, and sometimes not on purpose. Imagine you are thinking about someone you know well and you are with them, then you do something completely different from what you did in truth, and you can imagine their results. For example, I have a friend, female, nice looking young lady (so naturally I teased her when I could). Her parents have a place by a lake and I used to go swimming and hang out with her because I felt good being around her. She is a good person. Anyways, about six or seven years ago (I forget) I had gone over for a swim, and afterward we were lying on the dock drying out in the sun in early summer. The weather was beautiful, the trees were green, the water was cold, the company was awesome. I looked over to say something to my friend, and was suddenly struck by her beauty. One of those moments where you just say 'Wow'. I completely forgot what I was going to say. I think instead I just went back into the water. The other day I was reminded of that scene for some odd reason only instead of going swimming again, I saw myself impishly splash her with the cool clear water of the lake, and her, laughing, push me back into the lake. I know at other times I have splashed water on her, and on others (I learned as a kid to not splash water into (older) sister's face because even if she says she doesn't care, she does, and she gets mad and I wasn't quick enough to escape the claw). Sometimes life does need some entertainment, and sometimes someone basking in the sun on a beautiful day at the most idyllic of hidden lakes needs cold water splashed on them.

In a smooth segue to an unrelated topic (see? that was smooth!) I play video games. During the mid-90's when my parents bought our first computer, my dad said explicitly that he didn't want it to become a $3000 Nintendo. That didn't last too long for me. I bought the Warcraft BattleChest and was hooked. It became an escape for me from the horrors of High School. One day I realized I was playing too many video games when I accidentally stepped on my dog Tilly (RIP, and not from me stepping on her) and she yelped (as one would do when stepped on). I immediately turned to my brother and said "Oh man, I wish I would have saved that so I could reload it and go back and not step on the dog". I believe he called me an idiot. It took me a minute to think over what I said and realize that yes, that was a pretty dumb thing to say.

Speaking of segues (Ha, another!) I wonder if I could purchase one to help me walk. Walking is pretty painful and I plan to return to the University of Victoria this fall to complete my studies. It's a pretty big place and if my classes are far apart I will need more time for the walk. I don't actually think I would get one because I would be too tempted to hold my cane like a sword (or a lance) and charge around. I have done similar things. Before my knee got really painful, I was hanging out with a friend and we decided to go jousting. Well I was the only one with a bike (my brother's bike). I am also right-handed, so I had my left hand on the brake. That is the front brake. My friend did the ol' pirouette out of the way and put a stick in the spokes. I did the ol' grab the brake as hard as you can, immediately followed by the ol' somersault off the bike (crushing the bullhorns to the handlebars as both the bike and I flipped. I landed on my head and rolled onto my back. I was wearing a helmet, which was the smartest thing I did that day, and when I realized I wasn't injured I started laughing and couldn't stop for what seemed hours but was more likely a measly ten minutes.

I still think my memory is pretty good. I have developed some memory techniques for school that I use to make studying more interesting. Actually I lied. I just read and write every thing out a bunch and in different ways and play memory games. I've even been known to do study groups. Funny thing though, I always have trouble memorizing English stuff. Shakespeare, as good as it is, puts me to sleep. I constantly am looking for ways to keep myself interested in which ever topic I am currently studying, and sometimes I fail. Back to memory though, I can still remember people's names and faces even if I barely (if at all) talked to them (as in people from school) but I can't for the life of me remember... hmmmm I forgot what I was going to type.