Day 240. in which Walgreens and my brain are plotting together, against me.

It was pure laziness that I brought 2 rolls of black and white 35 mm film to Walgreens for processing. I had Dad, Lil, and Liam in tow and didn't feel ambitious enough to go to the Artcraft, which is sad since this store is walking distance from Walgreens...

I could have waited altogether...but I had been holding onto these two film canisters for a few weeks now. They had made several journeys back and forth in my laptop bag to USR and around again and I was afraid if I didn't drop them off soon, they'd end up lost entirely.

And I have good reasons to support this fear.

In the last 24 hours, I have misplaced both my digital camera and my cell phone. In the past month, I have misplaced both of these items countless times - along with my ATM card, my wallet, and my keys.

Last night, I pulled the cushions off the couch. I found many odd things, but none of these things were either the camera or the phone. Lil was standing by, excitedly announcing each 'find'. I uncovered a quarter, a pen from the Alzheimer's Association, some cereal, and the memory card I had lost about a month ago for my now lost digital camera.

I hadn't minded much when I lost the memory card for my camera. It was small and only held about 80 images. It gave me a good excuse to buy a new one. The new one could hold about 1500 images! but, unfortunately, the new memory card is lost as well since it lives inside the digital camera.

Perhaps I left the camera in the back yard? That's where I had left my Tevas a couple of afternoons ago now. Unfortunately, if it was in the back yard, it was likely ruined since it had rained.

I lay in bed last night staring at the TV but I wasn't watching it. I was frustrated over losing the camera, frustrated about the ruined pictures, but more than anything - frustrated with my brain.

It knew where these objects were but it wouldn't tell me. What was the last photograph I had taken before I lost the camera? If I could only kick up that memory.

"I was wondering if you could explain to me how exactly you process black and white film?" I had called Walgreens for an explanation after reviewing the prints at home.

"Is it from a camera?"

"What do you mean, is it from a camera? It's a roll of 35 millimeter film," I wasn't sure what she meant. Perhaps a disposable camera?

"I mean, it's not digital. It came out of a camera, right?...well, then, the canister goes into a machine and then the pictures come out the other side," she explained.

Unfortunately, coming out the other side, they are half-baked - some under-processed, some over-processed, each print with its own rectangular black square dead in the middle... a great deal like a memory of a moment.