What Absent Minded Thing Have You Done Lately?

[Lcountz]

Yesterday I was cooking and peeling onions and garlic into a small Walmart bag, that I intended to put right into the garbage can in the garage so it wouldn't stink up the kitchen...

I decided to go to Walmart yesterday, so I picked up the tied off bag, went out to the car and got in and left the garage, and on the way to Walmart was thinking "WHY does my car reek like onions?!?!?!"

The garbage bag was on the front passenger floor. I put it into the car instead of the can.

Got rid of it at Walmart and left the windows cracked to air out!!!!

I NEVER shop without a list any longer, and I have purchased large packs of Post-Its on Amazon to record the time I put stuff in the oven, when I turned the temp down, and various other things,,,,I use a little timer ( ESPECIALLY for making hard boiled eggs-don't ask why!!!!)...

I'm sure I use the Post-It's for other reminders too, but I just can recall any right now!!!

 

[skipro33]

I am a neat freak. Everything has a place and everything goes to it's place. Saying that, I loose stuff way too often. In almost all cases, it's either just inches of where it's supposed to be, or in a pocket of an article of clothing I was wearing last time I had it. It's really frustrating to look for something I KNOW I placed THERE last, then ask my wife and find out she moved it a few inches while cleaning or something. For example; the TV remote goes on the arm of my chair. Even has velcro on it so it won't fall off. DW will sometimes place it on the table next to the chair. Inches and in plain site from where I sit, I do not see it. I'm good at remembering to check pockets now though.

 

[Nemo2]

If it was in my Instant Pot, I wouldn’t be searching for it!

Think of it as a game of culinary Hide 'n Seek.......close your eyes, count to 100 while thinking of where you'd hide if you were a steamer, shout "Coming, ready or not", and go get it.

Steamers are not known for their vivid imaginations, so the choices should be limited.

Post a video of the hunt. Good luck!

 

[mickeyd]

"Then I started hearing women's voices.

I finished my business, waited for a quiet moment and bust out the door to wash my hands in the mens' bathroom."


Similar to my first-day-at-work story years ago. My thoughts were that if I were caught I would be fired for sure on day one. No one was the wiser and I worked there for many years w/o being referred to as that "pervert".

 

[MRG]

Yup, I've done that with small hand tools.

Somewhere, probably in the garage, there's a small battery charger. Bought it about 1975.

Battery in DWs jeep died because she left her lights on. Can't jump it. Now I own a second battery charger.

 

[Walt34]

"Then I started hearing women's voices.

I finished my business, waited for a quiet moment and bust out the door to wash my hands in the mens' bathroom."

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. At a training session one time during a class break me and another guy urgently had to use the facilities so I just followed him in. First thing I noticed was there were no urinals. The light bulb went on when I saw the vending machine for Tampons on the wall.

 

[scrabbler1]

Twice in the last few years, I have left my keys in the outside door lock of my apartment. I have good, trustworthy neighbors, and each time one of them knocked on my door to let me know before I realized I didn't have them, and before someone could take them. I am not the only resident in my co-op with this problem, as I have twice in the last few years found someone else's keys left in a door lock. Once was to an apartment, and the other was to my building's indoor garage. In the latter case, I turned the keys over to the asst super who lives in my building.

But more commonly for me, I have become more absent-minded when I have several unusual items I have to take with me when I leave my apartment. What happens there is I remember the more unusual items but forget the more typical ones. This reminds me of an episode of "Married With Children" where Kelly's mind is being jammed with lots of obscure facts about sports, but after a while, each new fact pushes out a common one she already knows.

"Married with Children" Kelly Knows Something (TV Episode 1994) - IMDb

 

[audreyh1]

DH and I have learned to send emails to ourselves whenever we find that very clever hiding place.

I once lost an older laptop for over a year because I could not for the life of me remember the very clever spot I hid it before going on a long trip. I finally stumbled across it when looking for something else but almost didn’t see it as it was so well hidden.

 

[bw5972]

This summer, I picked up my groceries having ordered online, then on to Rite-Aid for my prescriptions. Got home, went inside, and then the NEXT morning was puzzled I was out of milk again. Oh wait, the groceries! All ruined.

 

[Calico]

I have been laughing all the way through this thread, having done many of the things and/or had many of the experiences described. The frequency of the episodes sometimes seems to be increasing.

I feel very reassured now - I was beginning to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with my memory (about to turn 62). Turns out it's just the normal progression of life.

I also learned a new term - CRS - and after looking it up, I now have the perfect shorthand to describe my situation.

 

[MRG]

Wasn't me but DF. He was ADD and lost everything! Never carried a wallet(couldnt keep track of one), but keys, glasses were never where they were supposed to be. Constant source of irritation for DM.

DF a golfer, actually he spend more time in the woods looking for golf balls. After a round of golf he can't find his prescription sunglasses. He doesn't want to admit to DM he's lost them so he avoids the question for a couple of weeks. Finally DM calls him out on the missing glasses and he begrudgingly buys another pair.

He was telling me the story but then said mom had to eat a little crow. A year later he was back in the woods and in a fork of a tree were his sunglasses!

 

[TromboneAl]

Here's a tip to help with the doorway effect: Go to the exact location that you were headed. I may not remember what I came in there for, but my body usually goes to the right drawer, etc, and I can sometimes figure it out from there.

Larry the Cable Guy Joke:

I was making love to my wife, and we were about five minutes along, and I thought, now what did I come in here for?
​

Doesn't make sense, but it's funny.

I blanked on my zip code years ago (have to enter it at the pump). Worrisome, but it hasn't happened since.

Keys: Just never put them down anywhere except their assigned location. Note mine (which would cost $200 to replace):

Secure carabiner to keep them on my pants. Click 'n Dig locator.

 

[kcowan]

I write this mainly in jest...she does it casually and without really thinking. I think by saying it out loud it's her way of trying to cement the memory in her own head. -BB

I always respond that she is copping out and that I will also promptly forget. I also remind her to use Notes in the cloud (and then check her Notes!).

 

[kcowan]

I was paying with my cc at Home Depot last week and just completely blanked on my PIN number. And I mean blank. Couldn't even guess.

I stood there and looked at the cashier and she stood there and looked at me. Mexican standoff.

The worst part is I have a common PIN for all my cards...

When we relocate from Mexico to Canada, the PINs for the Cdn cards are in distant memory. So I use our Chase multinational card until I can reprogram my mind. Gradually I am changing them to be the same.

 

[kcowan]

Tried using my credit card at the ATM machine. Walked away really ticked that I couldn't get it to work.... THEN realized I used my credit card instead of debit card. Yikes!

For us it is even worse. The CC will give us a cash advance. Then we discover the advance with interest on the bill.

 

[kcowan]

Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch

That was for the sign of the cross but required 2 breast pockets, one for the wallet and another for the pocket watch.

 

[kcowan]

What thing (singular)? I probably forget something at least once a day...

Fortunately it's never anything serious (yet). All the typical stuff like going into a room and forgetting what I went in for (though backtracking almost always works), or having something to say and forgetting what it was when I finally get the chance to speak (sometimes a blessing). Thankfully we don't forget where we put things only because we are [-]anal[/-] careful to always put things back where they belong (in our minds), and we don't forget appointments/commitments thanks to online calendars with alerts, and online reminders - those are VERY helpful!

When we relocate twice a year to Mexico and back, there is always at least a week of "where did you put the___?" and then discover that it is in the other place! It is a big problem with tools because they are not all replicated.

 

[rayinpenn]

I deliberately was running a little late for work on Friday: Holiday Party and all my work caught up ready for my 3 week vacation. I drove to work, stepped out of the car and noticed I had two different colored very similar slip on shoes on. Thank god I didn’t walk into the office.. Yikes. Crazy old man

 

[scrabbler1]

Tried using my credit card at the ATM machine. Walked away really ticked that I couldn't get it to work.... THEN realized I used my credit card instead of debit card. Yikes!

I almost did this many years ago. At the time, my credit card and bank card were the same color (from different banks) and looked somewhat alike. I began the transaction at the ATM but was startled when a screen appeared warning me that I would be assessed a fee for using a "foreign" ATM to withdraw cash. (I had not yet been asked to enter a PIN, or didn't notice that I wasn't prompted for one yet.) I looked at the card and saw I had been using the wrong card. I was able to cancel the transaction, switch to the correct card, and get my cash without further incident.

I had also vaguely remembered that my state (New York) had recently passed a law which required ATMs to display that key screen warning the user of a fee before the transaction could be complete and give the user a chance to cancel it. Chalk one up for the New York Legislature and governor!

 

[happy2bretired]

Last week I forgot to place a cup under my coffee maker. The entire cup of coffee was on the counter and the floor.

 

[tmm99]

I'm loving this thread!!

I was doing some major cleaning, and I realized I had half a dozen pairs of shoes at the front door. I used one of the empty garbage bags to put the shoes in, so I could haul all of them together to my bedroom upstairs later. I took the bag to my outside garbage bin along with the trash, which I didn't realize until it was too late. I was mad at myself for weeks!

 

[Meadbh]

I took two black garbage bags to the disposal. Unfortunately I put the recycling bag in the trash, and vice versa. The bins are too tall to retrieve them.

 

[freed2017]

I have hidden Christmas presents so well from the kids that I could not remember where to find them.

 

[tmm99]

I took two black garbage bags to the disposal. Unfortunately I put the recycling bag in the trash, and vice versa. The bins are too tall to retrieve them.

So the bags got mixed up, but at least, in your case, both bags were meant to be thrown out.

 

[redduck]

I can’t find a kitchen implement that I haven’t used in years. It’s just a lotus steamer, costs about $7. I know I will find it as soon as I buy another one!

Hmnn, we just found a lotus steamer with a $7 price tag on it in our guest bathroom. We don't recall ever buying a lotus steamer.