I can't brain today, I have the dumb

PASSWORDS! The bane of my existence. The bane of a computer hooked up, voicemail checking, email reading, inputting work hours existence. It doesn't help I'm pushing 40 because my brain has trouble keeping track of which password I used for what account. If I really think about it, I have log in for my utilities bill, a log in for my credit card bill, a log in for my work email (which, fortunately is the same as for the page I use to enter work hours), log in for my dsl account, log in for my two personal emails, log in for my email for this blog, which fortunately is the same as this blog, log in for my Facebook, log in for my class reunion website, log in for ebay, log in for Amazon, log in for PayPal, log in for the silly on-line game I play.

Whoa! That's a lot.

No wonder I can never remember which password for which site. I probably have some log in account somewhere that I have forgotten I signed up for it. (Oh yeah, I used to use LiveJournal, holy cow! And I just remembered five more sites I use a log in for.) And to top it off, work related passwords get rotated on a regular basis, so I have to make up a new password much more often than I'd prefer.

I try to have a system where I use family birthdates, family names and some random capitals, so I can change the password, but know the basic gist of it. Then I really only have to remember which family member I based the password on. But every account has an entirely different password, and, of course, work gets rotated so often. I tried to give the same idea to my husband, but he started to modify it using birth years instead of dates and so forth. And when I've forgotten a password so many times on account X and can't use a previous one, then I have to get creative. So I forget if it was year or date, or capitals in wrong places, or whatever. Too much stuff in my brain.

In addition to that, it seems it's my responsibility to keep our family calendar in my head, too. Never mind that we have a lovely Sandra Boyton Mom's Calendar on the fridge where I try very hard to input exactly what each member of the family is doing when. (OMG, I looove mine and can't wait for my 2009. It comes with the cutest stickers and is in a neat grid format) I'm not perfect at it, but I'm reasonably reliable. But somehow, my husband seems to think I should have it all committed to memory and I should just know. But I really don't think I have much room left in there. What with the activities and meetings at work, Parent Teacher Organization meetings that I have promised myself to go to, and all the kids school events, their activities, and even my husband's activities, it's just getting a little crowded in there. I have told him time and again it is his responsibility to handle any of the Cub Scout stuff, but somehow I end up being asked when is the next meeting (is it the 1st Thursday or 3rd Thursday?) and my son thinks he should be going every week. Argh.

I want just one thing I'm not responsible for and don't have to think about. Even when I tell my dear husband I can't remember (and this is every time, because I've made a special effort not to know), he still keeps thinking I know it. You'd think he'd get tired of me not knowing and start doing it himself.

So some days it feels like my head is leaking information. Why do we torture ourselves with cramming more and more into our heads? I wonder if I'm using a higher percentage of my brain, or if I'm just forgetting even more than I remember.