When you don’t remember the person who just said hello to you
By UmiNoor
@UmiNoor (4522)
Malaysia
February 28, 2020 1:12am CST
What do you do when someone you’re supposed to know came up to you and said hello? It happened to me a few times. There was this woman who just came up to me and said hello. Not to be rude, I said hello back but for the life of me, I didn’t know who she was.
I let her talk. And I just nodded in agreement. After five minutes of a one-sided conversation then it hit me who she was. I hope she didn’t realise that I didn’t know who she was.
Have you ever had such an encounter before?
12 people like this
13 responses
@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
28 Feb 20
I am very bad at remembering faces. So this is really very common to me
1 person likes this
@amitkokiladitya (171927)
• Agra, India
28 Feb 20
@UmiNoor I'm bad at both so this makes it very difficult for me
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
28 Feb 20
@amitkokiladitya It certainly does. I can remember the faces of my students that I taught 20 years ago if I were to meet them on the street but don’t ask me their names. I won’t remember.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65308)
• Cainta, Philippines
28 Feb 20
A few months ago, there was a guy running after our car as I was turning right to a secondary road. He was smiling and waving. When I stopped and rolled down the window, he greeted me. I asked who he was, he said he had painted our house. I guess that is a wrong number so I just nodded and said I was in a hurry. Maybe he mistook me for a celebrity, waheehee.
1 person likes this
@Alexandoy (65308)
• Cainta, Philippines
28 Feb 20
@UmiNoor I think it is just an honest mistake.
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
28 Feb 20
@Alexandoy Mistakes do happen. You may have looked like the person he knew. I had been mistaken for my sister.
1 person likes this
@sol_cee (38219)
• Philippines
3 Mar 20
Oh, gosh that's really awkward but good thing you could remember her eventually. In my case, it's difficult to remember the names of the students (Japanese names) and sometimes there are two or three similar names in the class and when I meet them somewhere, I tend to remember their face but the name escapes me.
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
3 Mar 20
That happened to me once. I went to a 7/11 and the cashier seemed familiar. She talked to me and asked if I once was a teacher at her school. She remembered my name but I can’t remember hers. But then, she wasn’t sure either because I’ve changed a lot. I gained weight so she wasn’t sure if I was really who she think I was. But I was glad she asked.
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
28 Feb 20
I have encounters like that all the time. I'm not good with remembering faces or names. 
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
28 Feb 20
@Starmaiden You’re just like me and all the time that the other person was talking, I would be looking pleadingly for help from my husband or my children to pull me out of the conversation.
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9311)
• Canada
28 Feb 20
@UmiNoor I just listen to the other person and nod in agreement while hoping they don't realize that I have no idea who they are.
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (87855)
• Bangalore, India
28 Feb 20
It has happened to me few times. But glad I don't keep the suspicion for long. I shed my inhibition and politely ask
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
28 Feb 20
I was just too embarrassed to ask. Or rather I don’t want the other person to be embarrassed. So I just pretend that I knew her and she kept talking and talking all the while I was racking my brain going through my memory files trying to find out who this person is. I ultimately managed to place her and that’s when we had a real two-way conversation.
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
29 Feb 20
@arunima25 Yeah after a while of her talking, I managed to place her.
1 person likes this
@florelway (23286)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
1 Mar 20
I often experienced that. Just this morning a man approached me and could not recall his name. He was the one who introduced himself and I am so ashamed he is actually my nephew.
1 person likes this
@UmiNoor (4522)
• Malaysia
3 Mar 20
That is quite embarrassing not to recognise a family member. Perhaps, it’s because you seldom meet him and that is why you don’t recognise him. I think if I were to meet some of my nieces and nephews or even cousins, I might not recognise them. I have a big family. My paternal grandfather had three wives so there are some family members that I might have never met.
