Anybody else find themselves doing this?

[Pixelated]

So I'm standing at one of the sample tables in the store today and a woman comes in with a guy and a small child. The woman's face is familiar but I can't place her.

Finally she introduces me to the guy and says to him, "(Pixelated) used to work at our law firm."

Ah, right. (This is the firm from which I was turfed with no explanation after passing my probationary period.)

Admittedly I wasn't there long, so it's not surprising I didn't remember her, but I find myself completely blanking on people I should know if I see them out of their "normal" context. I had one young woman come up to me once and say, "Hey, guess who's taking her drugs with me now?" Wait -- what?! Why do I want to know about your substance abuse??

After a very brief conversation, I pieced it together: she was a staff member at Mom's nursing home and was referring to having finally been able to get Mom to take her meds ...

[Ironclad Alibi]

That has happened to me. Many years ago I went to Sears to pick up an ordered item. I told the clerk I was there to pick up an order. She said "OK" and turned to go get it. I asked if she wanted my name. She said she should know my name since she worked in my office. Sure enough, it was one of the staff in my office that I dealt with on an almost daily basis. I just didn't recognize her out of context.

[dalesys]

If I had another brain cell I'd be a lot smarter. Poor thing would be lonely, though...

[Pixelated]

If I had another brain cell I'd be a lot smarter. Poor thing would be lonely, though...

I need to put that on a T-shirt.

[MoonCat]

Yes I've done that many times! Granted I don't see most of my co-workers outside of work as most of them live in the suburbs and I live in the city, so we don't move in the same circles, but still.

This actually just happened this week.

I saw a man walking toward me in the train station on my way to work. He resembled an ex-friend of ours and as he got closer I kept thinking "that's not R, is it, why would he be here...?" The guy walked up, said hello, and it took me a couple seconds to recognize him as someone from another dept at work, whom I've known for years. Felt pretty stupid, and passed it off as being half-asleep (which I kinda was).

[Seanette]

When I was at the thrift store, a customer greeted me in a very friendly way, and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to place him. I knew him from church.

In my defense, when I'm used to seeing a particular man in a suit and tie, it throws me to see him in jeans and T-shirt in another setting.

[Food Lady]

I don't think it's so much that they're in another setting as I've had too many brain injuries.

[Nunavut Pants]

Context is very important. There have been a number of people I know that I haven't recognized because I only knew them in one specific context, and I met them again in a different context.

[Blue Ginger]

This happens to me constantly. My family and a couple of my previous shrinks/counsellors think I might have a mild form of face blindness (can't remember the proper name). I can see you everyday for years and I still might not know your name or remember anything about you.

Part of it is because I just can't give a rats about people and another is that depression and blocking memories on purpose has left sections of memory function a little screwy. I'm more likely to remember something about a persons story or opinion on a topic than their face.

It's one of the many reasons I had to get away from reception roles.