Today’s prompt “brought to you by the lovely Ruth, is “Indelible.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Ruth at her blog, “Image and Word” to read her post and say hi! Here’s her link:  https://imageandword.wordpress.com/” (https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/07/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-7th-2018/)  These Jots are not only my 500-words a day challenge, but also part of my  Ultimate Blogging Challenge challenge (http://ultimateblogchallenge.com).

Indelible!

So, the 500 word challenge prompt asks me to write something I wish someone would have told me in the past.  And the Just Jot challenge word is Indelible.  I’m not really sure what someone could have told me at some point in my past that would have had anything to do with indelibility.  Perhaps if someone had reminded me that I should look at the markers by the whiteboard to make sure that they were actually whiteboard markers, I wouldn’t have trashed the whiteboard.  But, you know, I blame the person who left those markers there.  I mean, what were they thinking?  And why did they have indelible markers out next to the whiteboard?

I also wish someone had told me not to worry so much about stupid things I’ve done in the past.  Why is it those things are the ones that become indelible in that memory I talked about last week?  Things that, when you wake up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason, keep you from falling back asleep because your mind goes over, and over, and over them until you just decide, hell, I might as well get up and get something done ‘cause I’m not falling asleep again any time soon.  And why does this always happen on Sunday night when I have to get up early again on Monday?

Speaking of indelibility, Carol Burnett is on the Golden Globes right now.  Now, she is indelible.  I remember watching her show back in the day when I was but an infant, and she is just as funny as ever.

What isn’t so indelible today is Christmas.  Well, I guess we won’t forget the tree, but we did just take it down today and hauled it to the tree chipping folks.  It’s always a bit sad to see it go, but at the same time, it’s nice to have our foyer back.

Anyway, I have been trying to think of other things I wish someone had told me sometime, but I can’t think of anything.  It’s probably something you think of in the moment, you know “Man, I wish someone had told me that 5 years ago!”, but when nothing is going on to make you think that, you can’t think of anything.  That’s where I’m at now.  Of course, it’s also the end of the day, and I am wracking my brain as to what to write 500 words about.  I mean, I did do some other writing today as I had to finish a couple of assignments for my Curriculum Development course, but I don’t post stuff like that on my blog because you probably wouldn’t find it overly interesting.  Unlike this piece, which I am sure you find fascinating!  Perhaps what someone should have told me in the past was to start something right away, rather than waiting until the last minute.  Of course, I wouldn’t have listened because, well, where is the fun in that?

Today’s prompt is the Stream of Consciousness of Stream of Consciousness Saturday.  (https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/05/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-daily-prompt-jan-6th-2018/)  These Jots are not only my 500-words a day challenge, but also part of my  Ultimate Blogging Challenge challenge (http://ultimateblogchallenge.com).

Of course, every day is Stream of Consciousness Saturday for my prompt posts!

So, today the prompts for both the Ultimate Blog Challenge and the 500 words a day challenge are similar – talk about someone else!  Now, I don’t know about you, but I am not sure how comfortable I feel talking about someone else on my blog, which might be read by that someone else.  Now, to be fair, the 500 word challenge post is about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes – a someone who may or may not be real.  So, perhaps that’s the best way to go, so I don’t embarrass anyone by talking about how wonderful they are…

Characterization is not something I know how to do well.  One of the exercises in a recent writing activity was around creating a character sketch, and I am crashing and burning on that one.  Maybe this is my chance to try it out and see what happens.  As I said to a commenter on a previous post: I don’t know what I am going to say on these posts until I start writing them.

So, let’s see.  I am going to put on the shoes of Milo.  I am Milo…hem hem hem.  A day in the life of me, Milo.

Every morning when the alarm goes off, I wake up with the best of intentions (once I realize that the annoying sound I am hearing is my alarm).  Intentions to be positive about life and work, to get a good workout in, to read a good book.  Every day those intentions feel really nice.  Hmmm…so does the bed.  I hit the snooze button – once or twice (ok, three times).  So, maybe the workout can wait until later in the day.  As long as I get up in time to have a coffee and get to work on time, I can still have a good day.  Then I get to work.  Ok.  What exactly was it about work that made me think things would be any different then yesterday?  How can I possibly be positive in this place?  Better to just put on my headset and burrow into the computer for the day.  I’ll just look forward to a good walk or run after work when I get home.  Of course, it is January.  When I finally get home after a long day at the office, it may as well be 10:00pm.  How can you enjoy a walk or a run when it’s pitch black outside?  Better to just put on some sweats, make some dinner, and watch a little TV before bedtime.  There is always that book to look forward to when you crawl into bed.  Of course, but the time you crawl into bed…well, gotta get up in the morning, so … zzzzzzzz.

I wonder if the point of this exercise is to see if you can really put yourself into another person’s shoes, or to show how when you imagine another person’s life how it starts to turn into yours…

Today’s prompt word is Memories (https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/05/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-5th-2018/), and is “brought to you by friendly “gender undefined female” (click to read the post) Cage Dunn, is “Memories.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Cage at Cage’s blog, “Cage Dunn: Writer, Author, Teller-of-Tall-Tales” to read her post and say hi! Here’s Cage’s blog: https://cagedunn.wordpress.com/ “.  These Jots are not only my 500-words a day challenge, but also part of my  Ultimate Blogging Challenge challenge (http://ultimateblogchallenge.com).

Memories

What is it some people say – the memory is the second thing to go?  Oh wait.  The prompt is “memories”.  I think memories are funny things, aren’t they?  Most people, in my experience, don’t remember things all that accurately.  Close your eyes and think about a memory you have of an experience.  Then find someone who was also present during this experience and compare your memory of it to theirs.  Chances are your recollections will be different.  Look at eyewitness accounts of crimes.  One person remembers a tall dark-haired man in a red jacket, and another remembers a shirt bald guy in a T-shirt. Crazy!  And not just because the witnesses may have been standing in different places observing the event.  Perspective and context go beyond the physical.  If you remember someone saying something in an “angry” tone, someone else will remember it as being “desperate” or “ironic”.  And the life experiences people have had also add to their pile of memories.

I am not sure what I am trying to say, or where I am going with this prompt.  Just that our memories are not like physical objects, although we seem to like to think they are concrete.  We say that memories are long or short, and we can walk down memory lane.  But really, memories are fluid, and change with time and additional experiences.  Just as you have probably noticed that often one person will remember an event differently from another person (sometimes, for example, Kevin and I will each have very different recollections of what someone said in the past.  Of course, my recollection is the right one), even you yourself will remember an event differently today than you will next month.  This is one of the reasons I want to try journaling.  I imagine it would be quite interesting looking back at your experience as recorded immediately, and comparing it to what it looks like in your memory.

One thing I have been thinking about lately too is: how much memory capacity do we actually have?  When do our brains get so full that stuff starts leaking out?  Can our hard drive ever be so full?  Do we sometimes need to reformat and start over?  There are some days I sure feel like it.  I guess that’s one of the reason I used Google Calendar, my to-do list on the phone, my work Outlook calendar. If something isn’t written down for me, it doesn’t get done.  I don’t understand people who don’t use or look at their calendars.  Sometimes I send calendar invites to people at work to finalize meeting arrangements, and sometimes they don’t accept.  Then I’m left wondering:  did they get it?  Or do they just not like commitment?  Will they remember and come anyway? Sigh…

So thanks for the memories.  All alone in the moonlight, they light the corners of my mind.  Those crazy hazy days when all my troubles seemed so far away and rock was young.  Unforgettable, the memories remain.  And don’t you forget about me, because I will remember you.