In exactly one month I’ll be moving to Helsinki, Finland! I’ve accepted a job at Nokia and will be working as a “Design Specialist” with an inspirational group of international designers and thinkers. I’m really excited and look forward to good times improving communication tools and wearing mittens.

But before that, I’m on a mission to hang out with friends and do all the New York-y things I’ve put off for the last seven years. Watch Broadway shows! Eat at landmark restaurants! Visit every museum! Ice-skate in Central Park! My Mom always says, “I enjoyed making a new memory with you today,” which is both sweetly FOB-y and acutely aware of what current moments will remain meaningful in five years. I’ve never felt such a conscious rush to make some memories… Chop chop!

One of my favorite short stories is “My Father’s Brain” by Jonathan Franzen (in his book How to Be Alone). He talks about his father with alzheimer’s while dropping knowledge on the science of memory. Each time we remember something, the synapse connection becomes a little stronger and the memory becomes a little more ingrained in our brain. Over the course of one year I now have 9,726 photos in my iPhoto. Will my own memory become better (more images to spark long-lost synapse connections) or worse (less effort remembering at the scene)? And how many memories will I not be making while I sit at home organizing these old ones…

This entry was posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 2:24 pm and is filed under My projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.