The storm sure arrived – it was pretty light yesterday, but we’re now in the stereotypical, picturesque “Winter Wonderland” scene. It still isn’t that cold (yet, that should arrive tomorrow night), and the snow is melting on the pavers even as more is added, but we’re going to have a few days where the high temp won’t even reach the 30s – then the heatwave is supposed to hit next week and we may see temps in the 80s. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get the last of the yard stuff done before full spring next week – I’m ready for the summer season.
Dealing with Amazon sucks – I ordered something back in January and the order was cancelled on the day it was supposed to be delivered. I reordered the product and if finally arrived, but was the wrong product (it seems the Amazon SKU was incorrect as the product is clearly labeled something other than the SKU sticker). After fighting with their moronic AI, I finally gave up and called in, and now am dealing with a guy who barely speaks English and tells me they can only do a refund not a replacement, and that the replacement is now more expensive. I did manage to get a promotional credit to offset the difference, but because the only products now aren’t “sold and shipped” by Amazon it won’t actually apply to this third order.
Anyhow, since we’ve kept Lucretia sequestered in the bedroom the past couple weeks for her recovery, we’ve been watching more TV, and in particular, have been going down YouTube rabbit holes of content. One of the types we (or mainly I) have been enjoying are the song identification “games” where you hear a few bars of the opening – sorta like “name that tune.” I’ve even amazed my own self by remembering songs I haven’t heard in decades, and we started discussing my music memory.
For years, I’ve used music to regulate moods, remember things, and more recently to quiet the noisy part of my brain that is distracting since I haven’t been drugging myself for ADD. Recently, I also came across an article (I’ll link it if I can find it) about how most modern music contributes to the declining attention span and how classical or longer, more musically complex songs counteracts that. We chatted about that a bit, and that might be why I tend to gravitate towards prog music like Yes, Rush, Dream Theater, and TOOL. My attention span is short enough, and music is a tool I use to relax – and giving my brain something to sink its teeth into and chew on is much more satisfying to me than listening to a bunch of bubblegum songs that are only a few minutes long. By the time I’m grooving with it, I’m yanked out of that headspace and thrust right into another one. Now, that’s not to say that I can’t or don’t enjoy shorter songs, but I am unable to use them in the same manner as I do the longer and more complex musical pieces I listen to.
But while they aren’t as “satisfying” to me, I do still remember a lot of the songs from my younger years, and most of them have some sort of memory association. I am pretty sure I haven’t even heard Alanis Morrissette since the 90’s but hearing a few bars of “You Outta Know” immediately caused a flood of memories to surge about someone who was in my life in that period. Since music has that affect on me, I believe that my brain has used it as the cataloguing system of my “mind palace.”
I also keep boxes of mementos and trinkets (or stuff my wife would call junk) that are memory triggers for myself. I could pick up a pebble out of a box and instantly recall the details of the camping trip I went on where it came from. Trinkets were such an effective way for me to recall things, I would even keep little specific desk trinkets with me in college that I would use to help recall information for exams. Music seems to do the same thing, but doesn’t take up space – I should explore that further.
Anyhow, my chicken is probably about done being brined and I need to finish prepping and cooking it so I can use it in another batch of curry.
Song of the day: Starship Trooper by Yes
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