Too Many Is Not Enough.

Hello,

We have just done 4 Fish And Bear events in 8 days, and after tonight, we’ll be at 5 in 10 days.

Do I need to say that’s a lot?

I’m sure the later nights have messed with my sleep pattern. But also, my sleep may be disturbed by having my head so full of stories. I keep waking up in the early hours of the morning, with my head buzzing.

When we have a more reasonable number of events, there is a kind of half-life after each event, during which I remember the stories I heard. I’m still remembering the stories 3 or 4 days after the event.

Doing so many events means I don’t manage to process everything by the time the next one comes. Maybe I need to do some kind of software upgrade for my tiny brain? (FYI, at this point any “helpful” AI suggestions you might have would not be appreciated.)

We have also learned some new aspects, that we wouldn’t have seen without the extra workload. At each event, I start off the Jigsaw exercise with a story. These Jigsaw starters aren’t really prepared. I just have my first line and a very rough idea of what I might cover. Obviously, I normally do a new Jigsaw story for each week when the events are weekly. But with three locations and different sets of participants, I reused my stories to see how the experience changed. The Jigsaw experiences were completely different; there were some similar topics, but they had totally different flows and feelings.

For now, my head is full of so many stories.

Specifically, I have a picture in my head of a driver’s shock at seeing the cyclist he'd opened his door on, hopping down the street on one leg because the bicycle’s toe clip had kept hold of his artificial leg. As much as I imagine this scenario, I know I just can’t do it justice.

And from another story, I have an urge to start printing the LA Times crossword. So that I can try to complete it using my non-dominant hand to write the answers. Like Richard does many times a week. He has a theory that this practice, though difficult, gives his brain a full workout. And he’s a doctor, so I guess he should know.

And there is also the story of an amazing prank, which I will use in any future life I have. Particularly if I have a younger brother and an older sister in that future life.

And now I know how to make Naplam… Yup, another piece of hopefully-useless information that I will hold onto.

But don’t ask me about any of these stories. Mainly because they are not my story, and so I won’t be able to tell them as well as I heard them told. But also because my brain is too hurty right now, being so packed full of stories.

After tonight’s event, we’ll have a break until Sunday. It should be enough time for my brain to reboot, but I think I’m still overdue for a software upgrade.

Hope to hear your stories tonight.

(Secretly/not-so-secretly, I can’t get enough)

Mark

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