Face Recognition

In my previous post, SL commented that part of my "permanent damage" due to substance abuse is the fact that I have a problem remembering names. It's true that I have that problem, but I also have a problem with faces.

I have had two girlfriends in the past where I couldn't remember how they look like after the first meeting.

First one called me up. She got my number from a mutual friend. I had to tell her the truth that I couldn't remember her name. Must have been really embarrassing for her, having to gather the courage to call me, and I don't even remember her name. I actually heard her say "oh my god!"... poor girl. Anyway, we decided to meet up. And of course, on the day that we met up, I was really hoping she would come up to me and say hi. I actually pretended to admire the scenery, as an excuse of why 'I didn't see that she had arrived'.

Second story was actually my wife. First time I met her, it was a college activity kind of thing. So we talked, laughed, etc. Spent an estimated three hours with her. Problem was, I was chilling out the whole time and never bothered to properly memorise her face. The next day, the whole group got together again to continue the activity. I couldn't remember which one she was! So I didn't talk to any girls, and was just talking to a couple of my friends. Finally she came up to me and said hi. I was still not sure it was her. I let her start talking. I was only sure it was her when she started talking about the stuff we talked about the night before.

Now whoever says that I'm only interested in a girl because of her looks is greatly mistaken. Obviously a girl's personality is what atracts me! I must be the last guy on earth who's like this!

Now I consider this a major problem, since I deal with clients most of the time. I'm always being introduced to new people for my job. Amazingly, what I do is I actually tell some of them (especially if I meet a large group of people) that I have a problem with names and faces. Most will laugh and understand. But I don't think they know the severity of my problem.

Interesting fact though. I went to for a drink last night (alone! I hate traveling alone) and there was a band playing and the club I was at. I can still recall how the singer looks like. I was looking around the club most of the time, not the band. Amazingly I can't remember the bartender, who was infront of me most of the time. Weird...