To remember or not Remember...THAT is the question

"[AJ] remembers almost every single day of her life since age 11"

"There is an 85-year-old man, a retired lab technician called 'EP', who remembers only his most recent thought"

The above are two quotes from the November 2007 issue of National Geographic. The 25 page article not only shows two enormous extremes, but also questions a humans ability to remember certain things. How can Yo-Yo Ma forget his 2.5 million dollar cello in the back seat of a taxi? What gives us the ability to remember or to forget?

Scientists have been researching these questions for years and they are beginning to get closer and closer to an answer. We now know that the hippocampus is essential in creating new memories and that memories are stored in a region of the cortex.

But what is the actual definition of a memory?
According to the magazine, a memory is a stored pattern of connections formed by the Brain's neurons, or nerve cells.
Dictionary.com says its the mental capacity or faculty of retaining and reviving facts, events, impressions, etc., or of recalling or recognizing previous experiences.

Although those definitions are interesting, I think that a memory can only be defined by the individual. How do you think AJ or EP would define it?
AJ states that "My memory flows like a movie" which might be true to her. I know for sure my memory is less fluid and more bumpy with patches of events I do not recall at all.
EP might have a different definition. One person explains that "He sees, but he doesn't record".
How would you describe your memory? A cohesive conversation or an awkward moment?