I am a very visual person - if I see a picture of something, I can describe it back to you with high accuracy. When I recall information from the back of my brain, it is in the form of a picture. I do this with tests - even if I do not have a diagram to look at, I can recall an image of my notes. Now, while this is quite handy for some things, my brain only backs up information sporatically. Case in point: my parents. When I think of my parents, my mind visualizes them as they looked in their 40s. When I see them in person, I am reminded that my brain has not replaced the old information, so I have some trouble adjusting to the fact that, in reality, my parents are in their 60s. In my mind, my sister is still 13, Jon is 29, and my friends Aynde and Christy are 22 and 20 respectively. My brain protects my loved ones from time and all of it's affects.

Now, here is another tidbit of information about me. I grew up in Wyoming in the 80s, and while the radio stations were only good if you like Country & Western music, I did have cable. With cable came MTV. I watched MTV for hours on end - it was like a connection to the real world. The music, the fashion (shaddup, I thought it was cool), cute boys with funny accents - I was mesmerised. I lived for New Wave, I wanted to be Terri Nunn, and I got to the point where I could identify a song with either a couple of notes, or just the lyrics (this includes most 80s music, pop, rock, and metal.) These were my bands, my music - the faces on the screen singing became ingrained in my mind. Now we are getting to my point... may I enter into evidence the following:


click here for a larger image

Now, I have used men instead of women because, let's face it, women don't go down without a fight (case in point, Cher - she will look 30 when she is 80, when she is 90, when she is dead...)Now, what I want to know is: WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED, AND WAS I SLEEPING THROUGH IT?! See, this is why Time and Gravity are the two bitchiest forces in physics. What good is a force that drags youthful grins down into bassett hound jowls, or one that drives cellular repair mechanisms into failure causing once colorful, spikey hair to thin and turn grey? Deep lines etched around once bright eyes, and expanding waistlines, Oh Gravity and Time, you vile, malicious vectors! Just you wait, some day.... some day, the Mighty Stephen Hawking will gain the upper hand, and you two will get your come-uppance, you spoiled, tantrum throwing children!!! Just you wait! And when that day comes, I shall rejoice! so :P thphtphtp!

I know aging is a part of everything, but this hasn't really dawned on me until recently (fyi: I did work in geriatrics for years, but that is different - my mental images of my patients are of how they were in their twilight years...) I guess what really bothers me is that this is a reminder of my own mortality, that I am no longer 18 or 24, but aging with the rest of the universe. And that, my friends, is the issue - no one ever thinks that one day they will mourn their youth, but eventually, we all do...

(as an aside, can someone *please* tell me what on earth happened to Adam Ant? I mean, really! He must have really pissed off the universe... oh the humanity!)