I was on my way to the movie theater to check out the latest movie(1) that Robot Daniel promises wasn't that bad even though it looks like it would be. Leaning against a telephone pole as I waited for the light to change, I see an attractive woman walking toward the corner with a group of friends.
I recognize her face, although I'm not really sure from where. She recognizes me as well, and begins somewhat awkwardly, "I'm sorry but I forgot your name."
"Hi, I'm Bob," I reply.
"I'm M.(2)", she answers. "How have you been?"
"Oh, pretty good," I say. "Things are pretty much the same. And you?"
"Yeah, the same," she replies. "So do you still work there?"
My mind races. I really need to remember who this person is and when we last spoke. "Uh, which place was that?" I clumsily respond. I've had five jobs and earned two degrees since I moved to Seattle.
"You know, 'there'," was her strained follow up.
I could tell that this conversation was going nowhere fast. I quick diversion was necessary. "No, I was working at A.(3) for a few years but I recently left to join a start up(4) with some friends I met there."
"Oh, that's really great," she exclaims, noticeably relieved to find an opening as the light stubbornly continued to refuse to change. "It must be great being able to work on things with a small group of friends."
"It really is," I answer. "It's great to be able to decide what you want to work on and then to actually be able to work on it."
With that the light finally changed and we began crossing the street. I suddenly decided that the movie theater was not, in fact, just down the street as one might think if strictly looking at a map, but would in fact require turning down a different street now.
"Well, it was great seeing you again."
"Yeah, see you later."
I still can't remember who she was. I suspect she was probably someone from business school or law school, although I never purchased any of the yearbooks so I don't have any way of verifying this. It just seems that the intense experience of working with someone through graduate school could burn the image of a face into the memory long after any remnants of recognition have been ripped away by the passing years.
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(1)It is with some discomfort that I realize that the events described in this post would have fit in nicely as a scene in the movie.
(2)Not her real name, interestingly enough. But it might be her real first initial. I could kick myself now, but this would have been a great time to use one of Daniel's name-remembering tricks. How hard would it have been to add a "Hi, M., it's good to see you again. I'm sorry, but I can't seem to remember, what was your last name again?
(3)Not the company's real name. However, you could probably Google my previous blog to find a mention if you don't already know.
(4)The controversy surrounding the history of my current company can currently be found documented on Wikipedia.
