Wednesday I took the train and then the tube into work, clipping along in my high heels in hopeful optimism that the sun would come out from behind the rain.

I don't generally mind the commute, I like to watch and look at people, not to mention the amount of reading I get done on the way in. I think I pay more attention when I am headed home, since generally I get a bit stressed up about time, wanting to get there early to hog a LAN connection for email and my blog. But on the way home, I open my eyes and take a look around at what there is around me, the people, the adverts, the sights, the smells.

Wednesday, on the tube, I stood by the door, near the joints of the cars. At the back of each tube car is a glass door that, in theory, leads to the next tube car. No one walks between these but you can open the window, allowing air to whoosh down the car and ease the heat of congestion. Although the sun wasn't out, the day was warm and the tube car was stuffy. Next to me was a man in a purple checked shirt, cufflinks the shape of faucet taps, and from time to time he would reach an arm up and draw it across his beaded forehead, revealing small circles beneath his arms.

I stood by the open window of the car, and once the tube started moving, the air flew in, ruffling my hair and smelling of carbon and dark. The air was refreshing, and I turned and saw each person in the car subtly raise their heads, not even aware that they were seeking the fresh air themselves but triggered by an instinct to have the caress of cool.

I looked up at the side of the tube car, and saw a new advertisement. Generally I don't pay too much attention to the adverts in the tube or tube stations, they tend to be "Call Australia for as little as 2p a minute!" or "Buy a DVD for £49.99!" But this one struck me, and I'm not sure why. It was bad marketing, to say the least-I can only remember the main line and not the product, but it was something to think about.

The tag line in the ad was: Is today a day you're going to remember for the rest of your life?

After I got through counting the letters in the ad (I count letters in signs, a knee-jerk reaction to my craziness) I thought about the ad.

Is today a day you're going to remember for the rest of your life?

Well...was it?

Getting off the tube and clipping along the train platform, the ad still played in my mind. My day that day wasn't extraordinary, it was an average day. The day before hadn't been extraordinary, either, although there were aspects that were a bit different.

What has to happen to have a day that one remembers the rest of their lives? Meeting "the one"? Having a baby? Losing their job? Having a family member die? What constitutes such a day? And if the point of having a day like that is to make sure we make all of our days special, does that mean we will run out of brain-space, that the memory will be used up remembering things like the best-curry-I've-ever-had or the-night-I-spit-coke-out-of-my-nose-from-laughing-at-that-show?

I don't know what it takes, but although the ad failed in that I don't remember the product it was promoting, I do remember the line. And it has me thinking that maybe I don't appreciate enough things around me, or maybe I am not paying enough attention.

Is today a day you're going to remember for the rest of your life?

-H.

PS-you wouldn't believe it-the sun is up. Seriously. And it's warm-as in shorts-wearing weather. It's fabulous, almost orgasmic, to know that the sun is all mine today. Today is working from home (and Mr. Y downstairs working from home) and tomorrow is the Farnborough Air Show with Mr. Y, his kids, and his two brothers.

Posted by: Everydaystranger at 10:05 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
Post contains 700 words, total size 4 kb.

1 Nope, A memorable day is going to have to wait. Today is gonna suck just like yesterday. Me debugging other peoples crap while they write more crap.

Posted by: Roger at July 23, 2004 11:20 AM (eeFqm)

2 Today I rang neil at work. I got his voicemail. so I left a message, telling him I was Mrs Poodle, and to please call me. When he called I told him I'd got something for him. What is it? he asked. A skull. I tell him. He's always saying how he wants a skull. He laughed, and asked if it was real. I told him it was. Where did you get it? he asks. At the beach. I tell him. Is it a bird? he asks. Yes. I tell him. An ibis. So indeed. There is an ibis skull sitting outside on the table. I wasn't bringing it inside. I think that makes today memorable.

Posted by: melanie at July 23, 2004 11:28 AM (jDC3U)

3 I have found blogging useful for that. I observe more of the world around me and try to record it for writing about it later. It's the difference between seeing and looking. The difference is being open and willing to become engaged by what you are looking at it. Most of the time, we look but don't see.

Posted by: Random Penseur at July 23, 2004 11:28 AM (X3Lfs)

4 I don't know, that sign sounds like a curse to me. Either its saying this is it, you won't be having anymore to remember, or, since we tend to remember bad days more than good ones, don't be surprised if all your hair falls out. I personally lean towards the yesterday sucked, today is ok, but tomorrow is going to be cool! I know its a game, but it does give a reason to get out of bed in the morning. I sure hope that wasn't a condom ad you were looking at, heh

Posted by: Dane at July 23, 2004 12:09 PM (ncyv4)

5 It's an advert for a charity called VSO. I've depressingly run out of books to re-read so I'm reduced to staring blankly at tube adverts on my way to work now.

Posted by: Gareth at July 23, 2004 12:32 PM (JVSGz)

6 I can't say it is a day. Maybe its a moment. For me that is. I remember my moments. Not just the obvious ones like the day I left my parents house never to actually live there again. But sometimes it'll be a moment where I walk down the street and see an ad and makes me realize something. Whether that something is about me, or someone else, or a situation in life. But those moments stay with me. I can't tell you the exact date. But I can tell you what I was doing, what the sign looked like, and sometimes even what I was wearing. So I'd like to think I'm good at remembering and valuing.

Posted by: Jadewolff at July 23, 2004 01:12 PM (tqQaS)

7 I have to agree with Jadewolf. It's seldom a day, but there are memorable moments. Sometimes the moments repeat themselves, just to remind me. That happened to me a couple of days ago when I was walking in to a store from the parking lot. My youngest daughter slipped her hand into mine as we walked across the lot, and the moment hit me like a freight train. Just walking along holding hands with my little girl is what it's all about. Amazing.

Posted by: Easy at July 23, 2004 02:15 PM (4cuLC)

8 I kind of like that some days blur together. It means that being miserable won't be so memorable later. In contrast, I tend to remember every detail of the happier, goofy days. Of course, when the chemical depression kicks in, things reverse themselves quickly. I've said it before and will again: if I could let go of all the song lyrics taking up space in this puny brain, I would rule the world. Bwahahah!

Posted by: Kaetchen at July 23, 2004 04:26 PM (1nMRx)

9 I believe you can make every day special and memorable. Depends a bit on what your expectations are, but if you expect very little, every moment will be worth remembering. And as for the sunshine, yawp...it's been sunny here in Derbyshire all day too. Very nice day

Posted by: croxie at July 23, 2004 06:26 PM (3Ijsq)

10 I am also like Jadewolff, I rarely have entire days which are memorable, but I remember little moments all the time. They are like photographs in my head, instead of a video - if that makes sense. Today may be a day where a whole roll is taken, or it might be a one snapshot afternoon.

Posted by: Tami at July 23, 2004 06:30 PM (r+S4w)

11 No. But I'm good with details. If it's significant, I'll remember every last thing about it. And I haven't had a chance to say yet... that I love the new look of your site. Marvelous, and easier to read. The default is my favorite skin.

Posted by: Almost Lucid (Brad) at July 23, 2004 06:38 PM (kmBPo)

12 I count letters in signs... Hmm, I do that too. Actually I count letters and numbers. Weird habit.

Posted by: Kandy at July 23, 2004 08:16 PM (fnOQ7)

13 I had a memorable day..... whether it's for the rest of my life, i don't know.. but it will be for the rest of my time at my company....

Posted by: sasoozie at July 23, 2004 09:24 PM (iywP4)

14 it was even sunny in edinburgh! I hope it holds out for me when I head down to London tomorrow. Please do the Helen dance that made the sun come out again

Posted by: stinkerbell at July 24, 2004 09:18 AM (G4OEp)

15 Did you watch Amelie? She paid attention to details too. You write well. I saw your link while reading the feedback @ http://www.JibJab.com Alex in Toronto, ON CA

Posted by: Alex at July 26, 2004 06:24 AM (8F2la)

16 Yes, today is another day that I am going to remember for the rest of my life. Lately, I have had a few too many "memorable" days...some wonderful, and some, um, not-too-hot. Lately, I've been wishing for some humdrum days.

Posted by: Dawn at July 26, 2004 07:03 PM (I0H7V)

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