Senility

I have got to stop moving around. I'm having one heck of a time remembering where I live. Earlier today, I signed up for a AAA membership and wrote the wrong street name. I confused my home street (Burbank) with my work street (Ventura). I'm trying to console myself by reasoning that it was an easy mistake as they are both cities in the L.A. area. But just a moment ago, I typed my address out again for a friend and this time typed Manchester (as in CT) instead of Valley Village (as in where I actually live).

This is happening a lot lately. For instance, last week I popped over to Trader Joe's for lunch (as I often do) and there, sitting to the side of the Entrance Doors (where she was not supposed to be) was a woman screeching about "animal rights!" So, I turned and looked. The woman was probably in her late-40s, maybe early-50s. A compact, wiry body. Short, curly blond hair. And an amazingly strident voice with a tinge of menace to it. And at first, it confused me, because I thought I knew this woman from New York. I literally thought, "Huh, I thought she was in New York." But as I entered the cool interior of the market, my over heated brain cooled and I remembered that I was right! I did know her from New York. She was the Crazy Cat Lady! Except there, she used to be in Union Square and would set up her table outside Petco. She would walk around with a huge Army issue backpack slung over her shoulders. And in the winter, she'd wear a big parka with the stuffy sticking out. So it was definitely New York. Weird, weird, weird. If she wasn't a nut job, I would have went over to her and asked her about it. "So, do you summer in L.A.? What's the scoop?" And for those of you in NYC who read this blog and know who I'm talking about, she looked good! Tan, clean, and she totally fits in with all the other zealots who chase you down in the TJ parking lot asking you for money...ahem.

Its getting harder and harder for me to remember how I know people. Connecticut is pretty easy: Family. High school gals. Police Department. I attribute this to long term memory. I've known them the longest and the most consistently. New York is a little more difficult. There was the magazine (Julie, Greg, and Kim). The bookstore (Marcy, mostly). The publishing house (too many to list) which is divided up between two imprints (compounding the situation even further). And the roommates (Claudine and Molly...and Daniel, but we won't go there). L.A. is probably the trickiest yet as there are a lot of NYC links. There's Rebecca who now defies category as she is not only New York, but Hoboken, Oceanside, and some of L.A. Don't ask. I know L.A. Amy from NYC Meg. Linda and Cameron are from New York and we talk about all things New York so it's hard to remember that we didn't know each other while in New York. L.A. Andreen is so much like NYC Janete that there are times when I think they know each other. To make matters worse, a few of my NYC friends have moved to the Seattle. And one New York friend, one Connecticut friend, and one L.A. friend have all moved to the D.C. area. Honestly, I'm getting to the point where I need to make a large color-coded flow chart to keep it all straight.

Two days ago, I applied to a new job. I won't say what. However, I will say that next to being a princess, it's my dream job. I really, really want this position. Except. It would require me to move. Again. And not to any place where I've lived before. Sigh. And while there is a part of me that wants this job with every fiber of my being, I'm really ambivalent because any move that might have to be made will probably have to be executed without my mind. It's getting to cumbersome to take with me.

And by the way, if I've blogged about this before (which I think I have) just let me apologize now. You're not going crazy. I am.