Acquaintances

I went to Defence club this morning. I was supposed to get there at 9AM but I was late so instead of cycling there like I intended, I crammed the bike into the back of our car and hitched a ride with my parents on their way to shopping.

My friend John was there before me so he introduced me to his friends. I met so many people today. I'm by nature, an introvert so I don't usually attend parties or gatherings. I think today, I was introduced to more people than I've ever been introduced to at one time.

This is what I do when I meet new faces. First, I grin like an idiot. Then, I shake their hand. I listen to them say their name or listen to the person introducing us tell me their name. I say my name and or mutter something under my breath like "Nice to meet you". Somewhere between my saying something and letting go of their hand, I forget their name.

Names just don't register with me on the first time. It's not about the names being easy or hard to pronounce either because I once forgot another person named John right after he told me his name. I had to ask him his name again and he said "John!" and looked at me like he couldn't believe I just forgot his name.

I did remember the names of some people I met today. Like Scott, and Matt. The two guys I had a match with. I remember Dave because just before we were introduced, I realized I was forgetting people's names again so I paid extra attention. I remember a lady named Terri because it sounds like the name Terry. I forgot the name of the man she was with. It was either Alex, Andy or something. My mind was fixated on the similarities between the names Terry and Terri. There was a really tall guy I was introduced to but I was too busy watching his cute kid to hear or remember his name. There were more people there but I've forgotten their names too.

When it comes to meeting new people, my brain just switches off. Sometimes, I'd meet someone I know on the street and I'd recall their names about 5 minutes after they'd gone past. It usually takes about two, three meetings for me to remember people's names. I hate having to ask someone their name again when they've just been introduced to me so I usually wait until someone mentions that person's name in conversation. If their names don't come up in conversation again, well, you can forget about that person because I sure have.

Well, I got a bit long winded there. Squash today was good. I still need to get more length out of my shots but overall, it went ok. I rode my bike home and reached home around noon. Looking forward to playing some badminton tomorrow. If I'm lucky, I might get two sessions. One around ten in the morning and one after lunch at 2pm.