My Memory is Just a Tweet Away

Today is November 14, 2009. There is nothing significant about that, really, other than it is my day to blog here on Gems of Romantic Fiction. I picked the 14th day of the month to blog because I thought it would be easy for me to remember. You see, my birthday is on the 14th of the month. October 14, to be exact. And last month on October 14 guess what I forgot to do?

Yes. You're right. I forgot to blog.

In fact, almost an entire month passed me by before I realized I had not blogged here. Shot that "easy to remember" theory right out of the window, didn't it?

Makes me wonder what else I forgot.

Have you ever had those moments of panic when you suddenly stop in your tracks, glance off into space, and run through the mental lists in your brain because you are absolutely, positively certain that you have forgotten something? Something really important like your mother's birthday, or to deposit the check, or to shut down the coffee maker before leaving the house?

I'm getting older. Yeah, sad but true, and it seems I've had A LOT of these panicked moments of late. Like, two weeks ago when I was on a plane to Phoenix and I swear I could not remember if I pushed the remote in my car to close the garage door. I wracked my brain. Couldn't remember doing it. Thought about calling my neighbor to have him glance out the window and check. But surely, I told myself, I closed it. Right?

Right?

Finally I let it go and eventually, I did get home and, of course, the garage door was closed. Thank. Goodness.

I don't think this has a thing to do with age, though, because even my 26 year old daughter says she does the same thing. I think it has everything to do with all of us being so darned busy. You know? We rush from here to there, we multi-task, we drive while we eat and text (no! please don't do that!) and we check Facebook while watching a movie.

I'm guilty of the later. Seems I can't sit down to just watch the news. I have to sit down, watch the news, and pull the laptop onto my lap and update my websites at the same time. Why? Because there is a lot to do. Because we are busy. Because I have a lot to do. Because I am so busy. Because, because, because....

Sigh.

Book promotion is one of those busy, busy tasks. Social Media helps, I think. I've spent quite a bit of time recently updating and connecting sites, in the hopes that it will streamline (somewhat) my social networking promo efforts. I've even gotten my cell phone in on the act, too. Now, (fingers crossed) I can update Twitter from my phone (or Tweetdeck) and it hits my Facebook wall, my Myspace page, and my Web site. And vice versa. I can post a blog and it feeds to my Amazon Author Page, MySpace, Facebook, Goodreads and Twitter. I can post my newsletter online and link them all again. Etc., etc., etc....

Ah, one post, one click (okay, maybe two), a single effort, and multiple sites. And if I forget, well, hopefully I will remember at least one of them.

Now, if only I could Tweet from my Smart Phone while on the plane and make sure my garage door is closed.

Maddie James
The Matchmaking Chef series