Memory and Notes

I'm trying to use what I learned as a business woman, technical consultant, and personnel manager in this job. So from the beginning, I've taken notes on every call. I combine the info I get from the system with my personal notes in a spreadsheet so I can search and sort my little heart out.

So that gives me username, date and time, and length of call from the system, and name given to me, whether or not I've sent a follow-up mail, and what I jot down when the call is over from my notes.

It's not a perfect system. Sometimes I forget names - I've always been bad with names, and I have about 60 seconds to repeat it or write it before it's gone forever. Sometimes I forget to take notes because as the call ends (especially if it's a longer call), I'm hungry or have to go to the bathroom, and then I get another call, and then it's three calls later, and I can't remember back that far. Sometimes I don't send after-call emails until a week later, and then it feels awkward to send them, so sometimes I just don't.

(Please, God, don't let my mother read that last sentence - she doesn't care that I fuck men over the phone but NO WAY would she forgive me not sending thank you notes!!)

And, like with every job, the system I use to track my work has morphed to become increasingly more efficient and helpful. I used to take notes during calls on paper in my phone sex bedroom (some would call it a guest room, but since it's littered with sex toys and phones, we call it the "Fuckatorium." No, I'm not kidding.)

But transferring hand-written notes to the spreadsheet on my laptop in the TV room got tedious, and I started wishing my notes were with me on calls. So I brought the laptop into the Fuckatorium. Then I re-did the format... ummm... four times so far? That's about right.

So now, I can look up names pretty quickly. But if all you give me is "Jeff", well, I've had 3 of those. And I haven't figured out yet how to ask, "Which Jeff?" without risking being offensive or rude or awkward, so I find myself flipping through Jeffs while he's talking, and eventually narrow it down. At that point, I have notes, but I also remember.

I'm much better remembering stories than names. My notes may say "ex-gf liked monster cock gang bangs" but I remember why you broke up with her, the site where you showed me how big those cocks were, the fact that you *hired* those guys instead of Craigslisting them, and how exactly I helped you relive those searingly erotic memories that you can't seem to shake. Those details were not in the notes, but the story sticks with me. It lingers.

Sadly, not every call, and not every story. Of course, some fall away, and I don't remember the experience that led me to write that note. In those cases, I get back up to speed as quickly as possible and remind myself to take better notes after this call.

But the ones that do linger? I find myself at dinner with friends, mulling delicious memories of shared adventures in much the same way I mull real-time memories. I don't think my brain cares about the difference.

I have the most awesome job. Seriously. I do.