Powderpuff Mae

I have bad memory but my husband's worse. One day my husband came home and told me that he had taken a memory test of sorts and the results were astounding....he had the memory of an 80 year old man!! Mine is not THAT bad, so give and take, maybe mine stands some where in between 65 to 70, still not good.

Five years ago, one of my clients wanted to take a statutory declaration from a 80++ year old man. The problem with the testimony of such an old person is its reliability. We took him to the doctors to test if he was of "sound mind". These legal jargon can really make a normal person feel like a nut case, I mean, "hey I need to run some test to see if you are looney". The test for sound mind : Long term memory + short term memory = sound mind. Anyway, the doctor said usually old people do not have problems with their long-term memory (their memory of the past) but they usually do not possess good short-term memory (memory of current issues). The doctor gave him some test like what is the day today, what is the doctor's name etc... Amazingly the old man passed the test!!

I came across this article "Unique memory allows woman to replay life like a movie", interestingly I know someone who has this exact ability, my gramdma. Her long-term memories were unfortunately filled with pain, war, bombing, fear and hardships. But she could tell you in precise detail how this and this happen and who said what and who replied what. BUT her short-term memory, lets put it this way... Fail lah. So does that mean my grandma was looney? She was unpredictable but surely not crazy.

I have a problem with short-term memory as well. One time when we were at our family outing in the zoo, I was frantically searching from my shades. My husband and maid stood there in amazement with their jaws gapping widely as they watched me search for my shades, when I had worn it my head like a hair band all the while. My mother recommended gingko to improve James' memory, but James being James replied smugly "I will forget to take the gingko. I need to take something to help me remember to take the gingko". As much as I hated to admit, he was right, it was like a vicious cycle of the chicken and egg scenario. Eat pills, got memory. No memory, forget pills. No pills, no memory....

I have a good long-term memory, it's like that of an elephant. I remember. I'm like an old lady who remembers her war stories. Does that make me a person of "unsound mind"? Is this the beggining of alzheimers or pre-mature aging? I am only 34 for crying out loud!

I had a wonderful childhood and my past helped shape who I am today. The memories I had were priceless, and I have a full load of long-term memories which I do remember quite clearly. My problem is with the short-term memory. One day, the events that happen to me now will become my long-term memories and they will in turn shape who I will be. I want to remember in detail the funny antics my son does and the silly things my melodramatic husband says. In short, I cannot neglect my short-term memory for the events that happen today will in turn make up my long-term memory. They will be the stories that I will one day tell to my grandchildren.

Heeding my mother's advise I have started to take Omega 3 Fish Oil and may consider Gingko Biloba to improve my memory.