My Brain Short-Curcuits

I would like to say that the problem I am about to disclose is pregnancy related, but unfortunately, this has been happening long before Baby Carlson was a thought. Alright, here we go. I am about to get real wit-cha-all.

Sometimes I have super random thoughts floating around in my head. I guess they aren't thoughts so much as names and/or phrases. Sometimes I don't even know what it means. I am not crazy; let me explain. 

Thibodeau coaching Rose - or whispering his name for me.

A couple of years ago I was vacuuming and I kept repeating "Tom Thibodeau" (the last name is pronounced "Ti-bi-dough.") I had no idea why this name kept going through my head, but it did. I didn't think about it until a couple of days later when I was doing another mundane task and it happened again. "Tom Thibodeau, Tom Thibodeau, Tom Thibodeau." One night, Troy was watching a Bulls game and I heard the name on the TV. I ran out to the family room and asked Troy who they were talking about and he repeated the name that had been running through my brain. I replied, mostly to myself yet still audible, that I didn't know he was a real person.  Troy looked at me weird and said, "He's the head coach of the Chicago Bulls."

Interesting. I figured that I must have heard that name millions of times and not thought anything of it. My brain must have just soaked up the name, stored it away and pulled it out at random times as though my brain was short-circuiting. Weird. I wish I could say this was the only time it happened.

Oh heaven help us. Nugent and Palin are apparently buds.

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning the bathroom and as I was scrubbing the tub, it happened again. This time, it was a different name. "Ted Nugent, Ted Nugent, Ted Nugent." I didn't recognize the name and asked Troy if he had heard of him. Apparently, he is a guitar player. When I Googled him, I realized that I knew his face. I went to his Wikipedia page and learned that he was born in Detroit so I am figuring that I must have heard of him when my sister was telling me all the famous people who came from Michigan. (She lives in Michigan with her hubs who was born and raised in the mitten state.) Side note: this is the same conversation I had with her where I was chastised after I foolishly announced that I never knew that Tim Allen was the voice of the Pure Michigan commercials. (I am allowing a pause here to let that sink in for any of you who did not yet know that tidbit about Mr. Allen so that you can audibly go, "Oh yeah!") In my defense, anyone who lives outside of the state of Michigan can't place that voice unless it is in distress due to a project gone awry or an insult directed at the one and only Al Borland. But I digress.

My brain has recalled other, random words to repeat, but they are so humdrum that I can't remember what they are. Obviously, names like Tom Thibodeau or Ted Nugent are a little harder to forget. Here's what I would like to know:

1. Why these men? I am not interesting in their hobbies/careers.
2. Why can't I repeat the names of men who are at least a little bit of eye-candy? Let's be honest, these men are not winning People's Hottest Man of the Year award.
3. Why do these names only come up when I am performing a trite task?
4. If I do something more exciting, will a more exciting name pop in my head? For example: should I decide to make a meat dress, will I repeat "Lady Gaga"?
5. Will the people in the white coats be knocking my my door tomorrow to take me away for writing this? Highly possible, yet not probable.


Like I said before, I am pretty sure that my brain is just on the fritz. Some of the hard-wiring just shorts out for a second or two and random information gets recalled. I guess I should be grateful that I only think of weird people's names and don't lose my gross motor functions. I only when I laugh to hard. Crisis averted. Let's just relax to one of Tim Allen's soothing Pure Michigan commercials.

Did I tell you about . . . . ?

I have a problem that most people under the age of 75 don't have. When I am telling stories, I can never remember that I have already shared that idea. I came to this realization after I got married. I would literally tell Troy a story and honestly think it was new information to him. He would sit there, very patiently, and when I was all done he would say, "Yep, you've already told me that." To which I would usually smack my forehead in disgust.

After doing further research, we realized that the retelling of stories was brought on by "triggers." For example whenever I hear a song by Madonna, this is a trigger. I am immediately brought back to 1989 where I am hula-hooping in my neighbor's garage and thus feel the need to talk about this moment. Or there is the AmericInn trigger, which will force me to tell you about how my family and I stayed there one time and when I went to un-bungee my duffel bag from the roof of my mom's Dodge Durango, I realized that I had left a zipper open . . . . the one that I put my underwear in . . . . which were now flying all over I94.

The problem doesn't just end there. I also seem to have a hard time recalling who was at which events. I will tell stories to Troy or my sister, Laura about something I did last week or a month ago. After I'm done, they look at me with worry and annoyance and proceed to tell me that they already knew about it . . . . because they were there. Oh man, those ones are the worst. That is when I worry that I might have Alzheimer's. This led me to do a little research. I looked up symptoms and there were a list of questions that were associated with the disease. They say if you detect these signs in someone, you should seek medical attention. So, let's go through them together, shall we?

1. Does the person ask repetitive questions or retell stories within minutes of the first mention?

Well, it isn't quite that bad, but the examples I listed above don't really help my case either.

2. Does she forget the names of recent acquaintances or younger family members, such as grandchildren?

I wish I could say that I was so cool in high school that I didn't need to bother learning people's names, but that is pretty far from the truth, however; I can hardly remember the names of those people now. It could just be a suppressed memory. I was a bit of a lame-o at Carl Sandburg High, but one time in college, I was getting drinks with a friend of mine, when this chick from high school came up to my table, apparently really excited, and said, "Pam! Oh my gosh, how are you?" and then listed things that we apparently did at school. It wasn't until I asked my friend I was with who this gal was that I remembered her. That can't be good. As far as younger family members go, I am okay with that. I mean I have a younger sister, who's name escapes me at the moment, but just give me a minute . . . .

3. Is this forgetfulness unusual for this person?
Let's see here . . . . now what were we talking about?

Alright, I shouldn't joke about a serious disease, but what the heck is wrong with me. Maybe it is genetics. My mom retells her stories all the time and so does my grandma. Maybe I need a little more excitement in my life so I can share new experiences. Maybe I should keep a journal on me at all times, cataloged with my stories and then jot down whom I've shared them with and the date. That is probably the most efficient strategy.

Oh, that reminds me, did I ever tell you that I have a problem that most people under 75 don't have? Yeah, I retell my stories. The funny thing is, I seriously think that you haven't heard them before. My husband and I think they are set off by triggers. Like if I hear a song by Madonna . . . . . . .

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