Memory Retention

I find it incredible how a gender enhanced person can remember their first outing, their first time wearing hose, their first whatever, but they cannot remember to replace the empty bag of milk in the refrigerator. Why? I'm betting you cannot remember your telephone number when you were a child, maybe not even the address, and definitely not the zip/postal code. How many know their S.I.N. or Social Security Number without looking at the card? I'm betting few of us except maybe military people. So how is it we can remember so far back to childhood with regards to our gender expression? We can remember minute details such as color, where we hide things, things we purged, our first .....etc. Why has our gender expression impacted our memory to such an extent?

Now, let's see. I used to know the answer to that. What was the question, again?

Well, don't ask my wife about things like this...

I'm the one who knows the driver's licenses, credit cards, birthdays, SS#'s, license plates and all those other rarely used number/letter combinations of daily life. I also can remember my first outing to a mall, the first article I wore, and all those other useless details.

Now that we have that out of the way....what's my name again????

Memories are most vivid when they capture multiple senses and when they incorporate feelings. I am lucky to remember how old I am without taking off my shoes and counting on my fingers and toes (Darn I am on the second time through!), but I can tell you all about my wedding day, children's births and yes many of my firsts concerning gender expression because of the emotion wrapped up in those moments.

Now can someone help me find my car keys?:heehee:

Hmmmmm, Jilleanne, an interesting question!

I can still remember the pattern and feel of the first skirt I bought myself, and the circumstances of buying it, along with a lot of the other details you mentioned in your post. I even vividly remember my first attempt at crossdressing when I was 2-1/2 years old.

But maybe that comes with the territory. Most of the FABs that I know can tell you where and when they acquired most of their clothes and jewelry, and, if it is an important piece, when they last wore it.

The FAB in your life can probably tell you what both of you were wearing on your first date, on the night you proposed, etc. Can you?

It is even a natural part of women's dialog (so if you are out-and-about be prepared to participate). A woman will say to another woman, "That is a lovely blouse!" and the other woman will immediately reply, "Thank you! I got at Nordstroms (or wherever), it was on sale (or whatever)."

Almost like a password (Really!).

So, like the others here, I probably do remember a great deal about most of my stuff (although not always with the exquisite detail that FABs can provide) but, then again, I also remember:

My first phone number (it was five digits, and later they added two letters with a mnemonic word so it became DAvis nnnnn).

The name of my kindergarten teacher, as well as my first grade teacher (although I'm having trouble remembering the brand name of the cookies they served in kindergarten)

And my first address as well as the second one.

Know my social security number as well as my spouse's.

Zip codes didn't exist when I was little -- they were added later.

Damn! Now where did I leave my glasses????? And why did I come into the computer room to begin with?????

Hugs,
Persephone.

Like most guys we have a selective memory.;):)

Recall and things like childhood amnesia are fascinating areas for me. I can easily recall all of those items you listed. As well as lots of other seemingly "irrelevant" information from my past and present that most people discard or do not notice. My mind is like a sponge, soaking up and retaining all kinds of (useless?) information from my surroundings. I do not have a "photographic" memory but I can recall much more than most folks do. My daughter & her friends were always trying to get me to go on "Jeopardy", because of all of the "random" stuff I was always blurting out.

I can also remember faces and read people very well. Once I see a face, I remember it forever. (but not the names). I can claim with a great deal of confidence that once I see any "guys" face, it would be almost impossible for them to "fool" me when CDing. Same with adding/changing facial hair, etc. Everybody has a mind that operates differently and it seems, excels in specific areas.
I think much of it has to do with my high abstract reasoning abilities (not always a positive "gift", lol).

But we all tend to remember details and events associated with high emotional content. Sometimes this works in reverse, too. For example...I was shipped off to a military academy for high school. To this day, I can only remember what the barracks looked like and part of the times I had to walk around in a circle with an M-1 rifle to walk off demerits. The rest of those years there are a total blank.:doh:

:love:

I _believe_ I remember my childhood telephone number (the one after they renumbered us when they added touch tone capability and moved us to a different LAX (Local Area Exchange); I remember where those two different LAX were physically located.

I definitely remember my childhood address, in several different forms, as the official address changed several times as the area grew from a town to a mega-city. I remember the exact postal code we were eventually assigned -- and I just cross-checked and Yes I was exactly right in every character. I moved away from there 32 years ago.

I memorized my SIN before I turned 18. Which was a good thing as the card was pretty flimsy and cracked after a few years in my wallet. It totally disintegrated 25 years ago and I tossed it out, and haven't physically had one since, pulling it out of memory when I need it.

I do not know my driver's license number. That might have something to do with the fact that I've never even had a Learner's Permit. :D It wasn't until last year that I got a provincial "almost but not quite a driver's license" ID; the only time I have ever needed the number on that was in applying for a passport.

I have memorized the complete branch and account numbers for two of my bank accounts.

I have memorized every credit card number I have ever had, and to this day could recite them all... all zero of them :)

I cannot, however, say that I remember every address I have ever lived at: in my student days, I had to move every 4 month (work/study programs).

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I'm betting you cannot remember your telephone number when you were a child, maybe not even the address, and definitely not the zip/postal code.

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Yes... I do remember it. But my parents stayed in the same house and phone number for over fifty years. So I have an advantage.

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How many know their S.I.N. or Social Security Number without looking at the card?

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Yep... remember that also. And... no... I was not in the military.

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So how is it we can remember so far back to childhood with regards to our gender expression? We can remember minute details such as color, where we hide things, things we purged, our first .....etc. Why has our gender expression impacted our memory to such an extent?

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I chalk this up to milestone or traumatic events in my life, like last Christmas or Thanksgiving. I seem to remember them with more clarity than what I did last Saturday.

I lost my memory years ago, everything I say now is made up.

Thanks ladies for the fun replies. Little did I expect so much humor in them which makes it all the more fun. I am also impressed by the memory retention by all. I have asked this question in social outings before( not in tg surroundings) and found more than half could not remember their childhood telephone numbers or address.
It would be interesting (and useless probably) to know if there is an association between tg people and memory retention that exceeds the normal levels of retention by non-tg society. It may also be something associated with the male brain vs. the female brain in general society. I know some very highly intelligent people( both male and female) that could not answer questions about their childhood with such fine detail and I have suspected they simply tossed the info. as 'useless' garbage that need not be retained. Could it be the so-called genetic male brain is wired for such capabilities?

It seems that I too have the unmarketable ability to remember numbers.:daydreaming:
I remember the phone number of my best friend from grade school.
I know social security numbers for myself, Jean, and my parents.
All bank accounts and a lot of phone numbers.
What I can't seem to remember are names.:doh:
I have been told names, and minutes later, I couldn't tell you what it was.

What was I saying?:brolleyes:

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Originally Posted by jillleanne

I find it incredible how a gender enhanced person can remember their first outing, their first time wearing hose, their first whatever, but they cannot remember to replace the empty bag of milk in the refrigerator. Why? I'm betting you cannot remember your telephone number when you were a child, maybe not even the address, and definitely not the zip/postal code. How many know their S.I.N. or Social Security Number without looking at the card? I'm betting few of us except maybe military people. So how is it we can remember so far back to childhood with regards to our gender expression? We can remember minute details such as color, where we hide things, things we purged, our first .....etc. Why has our gender expression impacted our memory to such an extent?

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My mind is full of all that junk. I remember all kinds of useless facts that have nothing to do with my life today; phone numbers, birthdays, addresses of people who I haven't seen in 45 years, or are dead, or both. My credit card numbers; I type them into the checking account bill pay every month, and for some reason, I also remember each one's expiration dates. Every address and zip code where I've lived. Girlfriends' perfumes, clothing sizes, favorite foods and drinks, phone numbers and addresses that I haven't dated since I was 20. My license plate numbers and tire sizes going back to 1973.
But crap, where did I park the car?

I CAN REMEMBER the serial number of the engine of my first car. 9muh9149.
Can someone tell me what the numberplate of my current car is.
I know it is blue, er no... DARK blue.

We do prioritize our memories. Unfortunetly we can't elliminate useless ones! Adrenaline seems to lock memories in much more than normal times. I can remember just about every time I was hurt ( or close calls ). when I was in college I seemed to still be able.to remember my whole life up to that point. Not anymore!

Yes I do remember our phone number when I was 7..... Mohawk 44163 (aka 664-4163). But I can't tell you what my wife told me to get on the way home tonight! Lol. Called old age... Pre-altzheimners...

Ohhhh. I almost forgot.... Its Altzheimers awareness month! :)

My mind is so cramed with a life full of great memories that if I have to remember one more thing, I swear I'm going to forget first grade or something. Maybe I've got a female brain and a male brain stuck up there. I cam remember the first dress, first bra and first kiss. I now take pics of my Renne days so that I can remember what I was wearing... LOL..

Great topic...

Renne.....

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Originally Posted by DAVIDA

It seems that I too have the unmarketable ability to remember numbers.:daydreaming:
I remember the phone number of my best friend from grade school.
I know social security numbers for myself, Jean, and my parents.
All bank accounts and a lot of phone numbers.
What I can't seem to remember are names.:doh:
I have been told names, and minutes later, I couldn't tell you what it was.

What was I saying?:brolleyes:

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Without a doubt, I cannot for the life of me remember names, but faces? Seen once, forever remembered. What's that alll about?

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Originally Posted by sometimes_miss

My mind is full of all that junk. I remember all kinds of useless facts that have nothing to do with my life today; phone numbers, birthdays, addresses of people who I haven't seen in 45 years, or are dead, or both. My credit card numbers; I type them into the checking account bill pay every month, and for some reason, I also remember each one's expiration dates. Every address and zip code where I've lived. Girlfriends' perfumes, clothing sizes, favorite foods and drinks, phone numbers and addresses that I haven't dated since I was 20. My license plate numbers and tire sizes going back to 1973.
But crap, where did I park the car?

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LMAO, honestly!!! expiration dates? lol, I'm crying, laughing!!!! lol

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Originally Posted by Beverley128

I CAN REMEMBER the serial number of the engine of my first car. 9muh9149.
Can someone tell me what the numberplate of my current car is.
I know it is blue, er no... DARK blue.

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S/N???? What the hell did you do as a kid, steal cars???? lol

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Originally Posted by Karren Hutton

Yes I do remember our phone number when I was 7..... Mohawk 44163 (aka 664-4163). But I can't tell you what my wife told me to get on the way home tonight! Lol. Called old age... Pre-altzheimners...

Ohhhh. I almost forgot.... Its Altzheimers awareness month! :)

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Isn't that the truth though! Everytime I'm supposed to pick up something, I get side tracked to the ladies/shoe department. Well you know, there might be something on clearance or something and if I missed out, well!!!!!!!!! lol

[QUOTE=RenneB;2659489]My mind is so cramed with a life full of great memories that if I have to remember one more thing, I swear I'm going to forget first grade or something. Maybe I've got a female brain and a male brain stuck up there. I cam remember the first dress, first bra and first kiss. I now take pics of my Renne days so that I can remember what I was wearing... LOL..

Great topic...

That's just because you have too many articles of clothing you spoiled brat, so box them up tomorrow morning and send them all to me!!! wink wink

actually, I can remembert lots of stuff including two full credit card numbers, our first phone number and my ex wife's parents phone number. The way the human brain works, its meaningful to us, we remember the moment ( or at least some reconstruction of the moment). Sadly, I often forget the names of people on first introduction - even if I employ various techniques. I'm afraid I treat most introductions are prefuctory courtesies - which makes it difficult to retain names.

Sadly, I often forget the names of people on first introduction - even if I employ various techniques. I'm afraid I treat most introductions are prefuctory courtesies - which makes it difficult to retain names.[/QUOTE]

Maybe that's my problem with names as well.

Now that I think about it, I remember the serial number on my ex-dentist's high speed drill. Seriously! And he was my dentist 30 years ago!

It was 12365.

I remember it because it is the same as the height of Mt. Fuji in Japan.

No, I am not joking!

Hugs,
Persephone.

I can remember my telephone number when I was just 7: VA-36816. It was drummed into me by my parents at the time we first moved into that town. I can remember my Army ID number as well. But...I can't remember where I spent my vacation in 1988, or 1997 for that matter. I can also remember the first time I looked with curiosity at skirts. I was about 4, in the summer of 1947, and was following my mother and grandmother as they strolled together down the sidewalk in Bramhall, UK. I can still see their skirts swaying as they walked, and their seamed stockings. Somehow it clicked, or opened a door in my mind, or something. I was 10 when I first found hose and put them on.

HI Jilleanne, I remember so many thing in life. I remember I got a toomy gun for my sixth birthday, I got a timex watch for my 8th birthday. I remember oh so well when JFK was killed, how they sent us all home from school, I asked my teacher why? She said the president had been killed. I said well he is no kin to me, for mom had taken me out of school when and kin people had passed away. I've won many bets when having discussions, then we get the topic proven, I win. I really can only speak for myself, but I feel that cd'ing has no bearing on maintaining or recalling old memories.
Lve and Resect....................Tara

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Originally Posted by Tara-mxy

HI Jilleanne, I remember so many thing in life. I remember I got a toomy gun for my sixth birthday, I got a timex watch for my 8th birthday. I remember oh so well when JFK was killed, how they sent us all home from school, I asked my teacher why? She said the president had been killed. I said well he is no kin to me, for mom had taken me out of school when and kin people had passed away. I've won many bets when having discussions, then we get the topic proven, I win. I really can only speak for myself, but I feel that cd'ing has no bearing on maintaining or recalling old memories.
Lve and Resect....................Tara

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You're probably right. I can remember every word to every Beatle tune but have to pause and think about my own telephone numnber.

When I was a child our telephone number only had four digits, 2163. That was for local calls only. We had to ask the operator to dial a long distance number for us. Actually, our operator contacted the operator in the town where our party was located and that operator dialed their four digit number. I loved the old black dial phones with that over-sized handset. There were no area codes in the olden days; no zip codes either. Leanne

My first phone number? 714 821-0134 (I loved that number later since when I had to dial it, the dial would return to the default state quickly with all of those small numbers. It seemed to take forever to dial the 0 by comparison). :)
As for address, it was 2818 Monarch Street San Diego CA 92123. I still remember my first credit card number (and all succeeding numbers), every bank account number, and almost anything numerically-related (which is odd as I really, really suck at math - I can't even help my kids with their homework after about the 6th grade!). So. I'm great at remembering little, insignificant details, however, I often forget birthdays (including mine) and lots of day-to-day stuff.

However, unlike many here, I can't remember my "first time" so to speak. I know it was young - around 6 or so, I believe. I guess that in this, like most other things, I'm just odd.

:)

Kathi

Yes Jilleanne, I know every word to 90% of all Beatles songs. I do remember our phone number from the early sixties. I remember my first wedding anniversary. April 25th, 1986. My divorce from that marriage was March 13th 1991. Married second time March 15th 1992. I about to send a GF of mine that I have sent a birthday card to , her birthday is 11-20, I send her a card every year for the past 12 years. I send one to her husband too, 2-13. I see them maybe about once every couple of years and they wonder how can I remember their birthdays all these years. I can be around older people than me, and playing guitars and singing old songs from thier youth, and I play along and sing every word to all those songs.
I was talking about memories the other day to my third wife. I was telling her how I remember so many things. But then again, I told myself that I can only remember things that I can remember. How can I remember things that I have forgotten??? I know I can't really prove the things that I do remember. But in my work, we need to set up a machine to machine a part that we manufactured three years ago, and I can still tell them the tools we need and what the dimensions of the part are before looking at the print.
Maybe some cd's, but not this one though. I do type a lot of typos on here sometimes and sometimes I fix them,, but after a while, I don't care and just let it roll. I remember Stoney Burke, guns of will Sonnet,(Walter Brennon), Cowboy in Africa(Chuck Conners), Alias Smith and Jones, starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy, then Pete duel committed suicide and was replaces by Roger Davis, Patsy Cline's hit song Crzy was written by Willie Nelson, First Tarzan played by buster crab, the Johnny Weismueller was the original Tarzan yell,and was used in all following Tarzan movies after that, and Ron Ely beong the last of the TV seiries. Pete best left the Beatles before Ringo, It was John Winston Lennon, James Paul McCartney, George Harrison, And Richard Starkey. Ringo was oldest and the shortest, George was the youngest. The song hey Jude lasted 17 minutes plus and was the first to be allowed to play to the full extent of the song ever before.
I can call of my SS# by heart as well as my DL# and mt tag#,, I remember my first grade teacher was Miss Lines, she got married in that year and was Mrs, Buzzle, 2rd grade was Riddle, 3rd Gardner, 4th Well, 5th Anderson, 6th Rebecca Givens, I was in love with her, 7th, broke into all kinds of name I could recall. But I'll stop here. From my perspective, cross-dressing has no bearing on memory.
well I could go on and on, so hard to prove what I say here.
Love & Respect

For some reason for the life of me i can't remember the first time i put on pantyhose. I was sharing room with my sister at the time and remember wearing her pantyhose but i am not sure about the exact first time.. My sister would always wear mini skirts and for some reason she had no slips in a every women wore slips era, and God know's i searched. So my first slip must of been my mothers. I have lots of memory of wearing slips and pantyhose, but don't remember the exact first time. The funny thing i think about now and then is, i would wear the pantyhose with my boy underwear or wear only the pantyhose and i would relieve myself in the underwear or the pantyhose and till today i still can't believe no one said any thing. I put the pantyhose back in my sisters drawer and my mother would wash my underwear. They must have seen the stain. It makes me wonder.

[QUOTE=Kathi Lake;2660795]My first phone number? 714 821-0134 (I loved that number later since when I had to dial it, the dial would return to the default state quickly with all of those small numbers. It seemed to take forever to dial the 0 by comparison). :)
As for address, it was 2818 Monarch Street San Diego CA 92123. I still remember my first credit card number (and all succeeding numbers), every bank account number, and almost anything numerically-related (which is odd as I really, really suck at math - I can't even help my kids with their homework after about the 6th grade!). So. I'm great at remembering little, insignificant details, however, I often forget birthdays (including mine) and lots of day-to-day stuff.

Good heavens girl, I guess I should have skipped attending Woodstock. I think it may have affected my........what was I saying?

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Originally Posted by Tara-mxy

Yes Jilleanne, I know every word to 90% of all Beatles songs. I do remember our phone number from the early sixties. I remember my first wedding anniversary. April 25th, 1986. My divorce from that marriage was March 13th 1991. Married second time March 15th 1992. I about to send a GF of mine that I have sent a birthday card to , her birthday is 11-20, I send her a card every year for the past 12 years. I send one to her husband too, 2-13. I see them maybe about once every couple of years and they wonder how can I remember their birthdays all these years. I can be around older people than me, and playing guitars and singing old songs from thier youth, and I play along and sing every word to all those songs.
I was talking about memories the other day to my third wife. I was telling her how I remember so many things. But then again, I told myself that I can only remember things that I can remember. How can I remember things that I have forgotten??? I know I can't really prove the things that I do remember. But in my work, we need to set up a machine to machine a part that we manufactured three years ago, and I can still tell them the tools we need and what the dimensions of the part are before looking at the print.
Maybe some cd's, but not this one though. I do type a lot of typos on here sometimes and sometimes I fix them,, but after a while, I don't care and just let it roll. I remember Stoney Burke, guns of will Sonnet,(Walter Brennon), Cowboy in Africa(Chuck Conners), Alias Smith and Jones, starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy, then Pete duel committed suicide and was replaces by Roger Davis, Patsy Cline's hit song Crzy was written by Willie Nelson, First Tarzan played by buster crab, the Johnny Weismueller was the original Tarzan yell,and was used in all following Tarzan movies after that, and Ron Ely beong the last of the TV seiries. Pete best left the Beatles before Ringo, It was John Winston Lennon, James Paul McCartney, George Harrison, And Richard Starkey. Ringo was oldest and the shortest, George was the youngest. The song hey Jude lasted 17 minutes plus and was the first to be allowed to play to the full extent of the song ever before.
I can call of my SS# by heart as well as my DL# and mt tag#,, I remember my first grade teacher was Miss Lines, she got married in that year and was Mrs, Buzzle, 2rd grade was Riddle, 3rd Gardner, 4th Well, 5th Anderson, 6th Rebecca Givens, I was in love with her, 7th, broke into all kinds of name I could recall. But I'll stop here. From my perspective, cross-dressing has no bearing on memory.
well I could go on and on, so hard to prove what I say here.
Love & Respect

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OMG, this is incredible. Oh BTW, you forgot to mention Abbey Road Album with Paul looking down while crossing the street in bare feet, play Number 9 backwards....well, you know. And Sir Paul, 27, Janice, 27, and Jimmy 27.

Best read my post # 33. I think it applies here also.

"Someday I hope to have only one hair in my head, and my hair falls out".

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Originally Posted by Maria 60

For some reason for the life of me i can't remember the first time i put on pantyhose. I was sharing room with my sister at the time and remember wearing her pantyhose but i am not sure about the exact first time.. My sister would always wear mini skirts and for some reason she had no slips in a every women wore slips era, and God know's i searched. So my first slip must of been my mothers. I have lots of memory of wearing slips and pantyhose, but don't remember the exact first time. The funny thing i think about now and then is, i would wear the pantyhose with my boy underwear or wear only the pantyhose and i would relieve myself in the underwear or the pantyhose and till today i still can't believe no one said any thing. I put the pantyhose back in my sisters drawer and my mother would wash my underwear. They must have seen the stain. It makes me wonder.

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No idea when I started wearing pantyhose either. In all fairness, they were not invented I don't think back then so everyone wore garterbelts and stockings. I still prefer hose.

[QUOTE=Kathi Lake;2660795]My first phone number? 714 821-0134 (I loved that number later since when I had to dial it, the dial would return to the default state quickly with all of those small numbers. It seemed to take forever to dial the 0 by comparison). :)
As for address, it was 2818 Monarch Street San Diego CA 92123. I still remember my first credit card number (and all succeeding numbers), every bank account number, and almost anything numerically-related (which is odd as I really, really suck at math - I can't even help my kids with their homework after about the 6th grade!). So. I'm great at remembering little, insignificant details, however, I often forget birthdays (including mine) and lots of day-to-day stuff.

I really do not think I can honestly say I remember the first time I started expressing myself. I do recall many early periods of dressing in stockings at a very early age, but as for the exact age? Not really, probably 5 or 6, as I was in grade one I think and I started school at 5. I definitely do not remember the very first time I actually dressed but I wish I had a dollar for every time I did dress since the first time.

Hi Jillleanne,
Numbers are something that I have amazing recall of although I don't remember what I had for lunch today.
I've found that it is easier to rember numbers in groups of three or four sets

About a month ago I sat down one night and made a list of the kids that I went to grade school
back in the late 40's and early 50's I got 43 names on the list I'm trying to get a list from the local historical society
I think that I may have missed one or two names maybe not.
Back in the day forty some kids was a normal class size

Orchid

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Originally Posted by jillleanne

I find it incredible how a gender enhanced person can remember their first outing, their first time wearing hose, their first whatever, but they cannot remember to replace the empty bag of milk in the refrigerator. Why? I'm betting you cannot remember your telephone number when you were a child, maybe not even the address, and definitely not the zip/postal code. How many know their S.I.N. or Social Security Number without looking at the card? I'm betting few of us except maybe military people. So how is it we can remember so far back to childhood with regards to our gender expression? We can remember minute details such as color, where we hide things, things we purged, our first .....etc. Why has our gender expression impacted our memory to such an extent?

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Nope, never quite had that happen to me.

Originally posted by Jilleanne
S/N???? What the hell did you do as a kid, steal cars???? lo

I haven't worked out how to copy previous replies yet.
But I DID NOT steal cars. Lol.

"I was too busy chasing girls that wore clothes that I liked."

There are lots of little tricks you can employ to help remember peoples' names. One effective method you can use when you are meeting a person for the first time...

Is to say their name when you are shaking hands with them. Then immediately punch them in the face.

Hey, I said it was effective...I never said it was a sane thing to do...:D

:love:

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Originally Posted by eluuzion

There are lots of little tricks you can employ to help remember peoples' names. One effective method you can use when you are meeting a person for the first time...

Is to say their name when you are shaking hands with them. Then immediately punch them in the face.

Hey, I said it was effective...I never said it was a sane thing to do...:D

:love:

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I suppose that works along the same lines as," if your left arm is paining, stick a sharp object into your right leg and you will forget all about the pain in the left arm?"