iPhone: William Hook
At one point in my life I had all of my friends’ phone numbers memorized. It was during what I’ll probably refer to as my “golden period” when I’m old and reminiscent, the time when my brain was still so fresh and uncluttered that it could easily categorize and file away important information to be used later. Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly, this was before the advent of cellphones.
In the past few years, I can barely be counted on to remember my own phone number, let alone anyone else’s. This is how it came to be that I had a mild (OK, major) panic attack when my phone was wiped clean a few months ago and I had to recollect all of those numbers that I’d never, ever, not in a billion years remember.
Asking for numbers all over again is like a technological walk of shame, in which you admit to everyone you know that you are playing fast and loose with their personal info, with nary a care for tomorrow.
To overcompensate for not remembering things, and because it was more handy than a Post-It note (oh yes I love Post-It notes), I started using the Notes app to keep track of things. Snippets of HTML here, PIN codes there, quick to-do lists.
I’m starting to rely on the Notes app for things I can’t even remember relying on it for. It’s a discomforting situation to come across random numbers and not know what they’re for, what they mean. Is this important, or do I have to hoard this digital file until its mysterious purpose is revealed, like in an Agatha Christie novel?
Signs You May Rely on the Notes App Too Much
Check your Notes app. If you possess one or more of these “notes,” you, too may have a problem:
There are dozens more where these came from.
1. Shopping lists … as in plural, as in some from more than a year ago.
2. Ongoing list of baby names … and you’re not even pregnant.
3. Half-remembered dreams … even autocorrect can’t save this jumbled, early-morning mess of tangled thoughts.
4. Half-baked ideas … you could be a genius, if only you wrote down the entire plan.
5. Old passwords … not as helpful as the new ones.
6. Random numbers that now make no sense to you … this could be a parking lot reminder, or the passcode for your safe deposit box. No worries. It will all be revealed in time (said no one, ever).
7. Lists of funny things your kid/husband/friends say … totally out of context, of course. Guessing games = fun!
8. Lists of song titles for your fictional rock band … we better copyright “Coffin for a Penis” before anyone else gets ahold of it.
9. Calls to action long forgotten … I wonder if I ever sent that birthday card, after all.
10. Anything marked “REMEMBER” in all-caps … because you have obviously forgotten.
So what’s the verdict? Do you have any of these notes in your Notes app? It’s time to fess up!
