Dear people who forget meeting me,
First, I just want to say that it’s not all your fault. I’ve known for awhile that I’m pretty forgettable. I’m small, sometimes I mumble, and I dress a bit like a 8 year old British school boy in his dress uniform. All things that make me seem vaguely familiar but not memorable. My voice sounds like the people who talk on commercials for antidepressants: inoffensive, generically American, calming to the clinically depressed. All of this I have accepted.
But then there was a conference where I met someone for the fourth time. Or rather, it was the fourth meeting for me. This was all happening for the first time for him. Four times I had met this person, and I’m pretty sure I said the same thing I had said the other three times. It’s like I’m trying to implant a memory in his mind by regurgitating the same lines over and over again. Eventually, he’ll say, ah yes there is that chummy young lad who loves my book and appreciates my work.
The worst part is that didn’t just happen with one person. This happened with four people over the course of one weekend. I’m not even counting the person I met and re-met in the same day.
Where do I go from here? Thirty feels a little too old for pink streaks in my hair, plus, what would I do with all the blazers if I change how I dress now? As I age I’m probably only going to get more forgettable until I eventually just blend in with the walls and people mistake me for a door handle.
The only line of work where this seems like a desirable skill is a drug mule. So, I guess it’s not all bad.
Til then, I look forward to meeting again.
Busy Nothings 