Thursday, May 22, 2008

Total Recall? Nope, not even Partial Recall

Ever since I spent the weekend in Manchester recently I’ve been toying with buying myself a Nintendo DS. I didn’t even know what a Nintendo DS was until I got to the UK.

My own children had been saying to me about their cousins: ‘J bought the girls a Nintendo DS each for Christmas.’ And I’d say ‘Really? That’s nice.’ Nintendo is the magic word: it’s a gaming thing. I switch off. Blah blah blah – no interest.

I saw the actual ones that J bought the girls for Christmas when I got to my parents. They were exactly what I thought they were: little plastic, handheld computer things. Still no interest – though irritation began to seep in: Ach, this modern world… (OMG, how OLD am I?)

Then I went to Manchester, where my seven year old god-daughter had a new Nintendo DS with brain training on it. Oh, really? ‘What does that do?’ I ask.

My vocabulary is reasonable – probably better than average – but when you’re surrounded by writers, as I am here on the blog and readers (among bloggers, friends and family) it’s probably not brilliant and let’s be honest, I like words and I can always have more in my head, can’t I? But I do have a SERIOUS problem with recall.

I know that word … yes I do. It’s on the tip of my … and then someone else supplies it. As a result I’m totally and utterly useless at crosswords, which makes me seriously pissed off – and even wondering if I might have some slow form of Alzheimers.

Part of Husband’s and my courting (OMG, how OLD am I?) was sitting over lunch in the Union Bar doing crosswords (I know, we were such a racy pair.) He’s a scientist which I think must mean the filing system in his head is pretty good (certainly if you compare his side of the bed with mine this assumption makes perfect sense) and he so fab at recall (I’m not even going into the standard of his cryptic crossword skills). Anyway, I didn’t let myself down too much since the standard of newspaper he bought in those days was pretty low! But it’s always bothered me.

So now I have a remedy: I am the proud owner of a Nintendo DS with word power and brain training programmes on it.

There’s going to be no stopping me.

And just for fun: guess which side of the bed is mine?


19 comments:

Rachel Green said...

Ha!
I love the bed picture!

Yvonne said...

The one on the right looks awfully like mine...

I have total recall problems too, as do my family. We're always playing guessing games...what word is on the tip of my tongue?

Cathy said...

I bought myself a DS a few months ago. My 16 year old keeps borrowing it for the Brain Training! I actually like the Scrabble game best so far...

Cx

Sue Guiney said...

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who thinks early Alzheimer's has set in. And between you and me, my son got Rock Hero 3 for his PS3 -- it has a fake guitar and everything. Needless to say, I'm hooked, My kids have taken to calling me "Motley Sue".

Carol said...

LOL at Sue's Comment!!

I might have to borrow it to have a go!! I was saying to Chris the other day that I was keen to get one of those....I need something to keep the brain cells I do have active since I keep killing others off with alcohol!!

C x

Lucy Diamond said...

Lol at the bed picture!! Brilliant.
My eldest is angling for a Nintendo DS (her cousins have one, plus the Pippa Funnell horse-riding game...) and they are ALL angling for a Nintendo Wii.
I know we're going to get sucked in eventually but am trying to hold out for a while...at least until they get a bit cheaper!

Kate.Kingsley said...

That looks like my side of the bed! In fact, I think we have the same slippers!

Jenny Beattie said...

Rachel, thanks, I'm still sniggering too. Husband said he was going to leave a comment asking why I'd tidied up for the picture! I haven't. This is au naturele!

Yvonne, I'm glad it's not just me.

Cathy, Oooh I didn't see the scrabble. The word coach is my current fave, but only because brain training makes me do maths!

Motley Sue! Fabulous.

Carol, I think you can train them, I don't think you can conjure them out of thin air!!!!

Lucy, they are expensive aren't they? They're a little cheaper here but it's the games!

Kate, it's shocking isn't it having slippers in Thailand, but sometimes the aircon is freezing so I put my slippers on!

Rose Red Art said...

I have a Nintendo DS and brain training. I'm not very good though - my brain is 43, not good when the rest of me is 27!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

That's the funniest picture I've seen in ages. Sheer brilliance and reminds me so much of my own room. I can't stop laughing.

Marcie Steele said...

Me too JJ. Loved the picture, shows how creative you are honey. Good luck with the word count, I'm pressing the word recount every few sentences at the moment too. Can't wait for the moment when I settle in to the novel and just write. It does come, promise! xx

Carol said...

Bugger - there goes my cunning plan!!!

C x

Jen said...

Brilliant picture... I thuoght it was just me who had such teetering stacks of important stuff next to the bed. Perhaps we're waiting for all those words to seep in by osmosis while we snooze?

Flowerpot said...

good for you JJ and I love the picture!!

Caroline said...

I find the 'saying the colour and not the word' one makes my head fry.

I am told that I am really messy. My husband is far too logical and tidy for my liking. I should trade him in for a scruffy one.

xxx

Jenny Beattie said...

AWriter, my brain was 36 briefly which I was delighted about and now I'm my real age again 41! *Sigh*

Debs, very glad to make you laugh.

L Plate, thanks me love. I dooooo hope I'll get there.

Carol, LOL; sorry about that hon.

Jen, do you know ... osmosis is exactly what I thought was going to happen.

Flowerpot, thank you.

Caroline, funny isn't it, cos that one doesn't fry my head like some of the others...

I do think if I traded mine in for a scruffy one, we'd end up living in a hovel!

Rebecca said...

your side of the bed looks much more inviting to me. Perhaps it's the familiarity....

Jenny Beattie said...

Hmmm, Rebecca, looks inviting, huh? IF you can get in that side of the bed. It's becoming necessary to crawl up from the bottom of the bed because of the spreadage of piles of stuff!

Liane Spicer said...

I'm so comforted. Not having a dh to share my bed, the piles take up residence ON the bed itself and grow until I have to tidy up or else sleep on the couch.