Well, forgetting things is part of our lives as humans. It is not something that can be gotten rid of and as such it can't be demonized. But, depending on what we forget and the aftereffects, forgetting the simplest of things can wreak havoc, heck, it can ruin one.
As I write this my mind is flooded with things that I once forgot and how it affected me. The effects ranged from mild to severe and they are so much that I can't even pick the most severe one easily. I can as well start with the numerous amounts of times that I forgot to do my assignment and I had to copy someone else's just to avoid proper flogging in the class.
Or, shall I discuss the important meetings and webinars I missed because I was too obstinate to put a reminder on my calendar? Hell, those were damn important and costly. Some of them were graduate school Virtual Open Houses that I needed so badly for information about my department and school of choice (and for app fee waiver). Some were religious meetings I already promised to attend only for something else to occupy my mind.
Despite the numerous amount of things I have forgotten to do, the one that worries me the most is the one I have experienced twice in the last month or so. Now, one of the things I don't like doing is cooking. As far as I'm concerned, it is too emotionally tasking, scary and stressful. The very few times I've had to cook in my adult life I found myself bothering those eating the food if it is very bad or manageable, every two minutes. I worry about the quality of the food way too much, so I always stay out of the kitchen.
About a month ago I tried to fix something for myself in the middle of the night. Guess what my crazy choice for that night was? Beans! If I had known it was going to be a chastening experience for me I would've stuck with the simple foods. So, I picked the beans and started the cooking. A few minutes after I got so busy that I forgot I was cooking something. And by the time I sensed what was happening, the whole place was filled with smoke from burnt food. By the time I stumbled into the kitchen the food already caught fire. I barely managed to avert a disaster.
Worryingly, it happened again, this time in the afternoon. The choice of food? Beans. I was working on an important audio file but interfering noise from the neighborhood wouldn't allow me to concentrate. So I stepped into the room away from the noise and away from the kitchen. By the time I remembered, the whole house was already smelling of burnt food. I ran into the kitchen and the food was burnt beyond recognition. That was when I knew this was becoming a problem.
To avoid a reoccurrence I gave myself two rules: No cooking in the middle of the night for whatever reason and if I ever cook again, a big if, I'm going to sit in that kitchen till that food is done. That's not a serious price to pay compared to burning down the house and putting every occupant's life in danger.
