So Many Names...So Little Time

I attended a reception last night with a group of fellow Boilermakers and it turned out to be a success. We were in one of the rooms in the Library of Congress and it was great to see folks that I hadn't seen since the last reception we had a year ago and also some folks that I only saw a few short weeks ago at a couple of local events.

I look forward to these events because I don't have anything to do - no planning, no nothing. Thank goodness. But at the same time, I get a little stressed out because not only was there a line of people waiting to talk to the President of the university and another line for the President of the Alumni Association, there was actually a line of people to talk to me (President of the local club)!

I'm not very outgoing (when I'm sober) so I'm not a go-getter. However, if people approach me to talk, I am more than happy to talk to them. I don't know why that is - I think it's cause I'm shy. So I spoke to some people last night - new and familiar. But it doesn't seem to matter what category each person fits into (new or familiar), I don't always remember names. Thank goodness for name tags but still - if it hadn't been for name tags, I would not know anyone's names - even if they just introduced themselves. For instance, I met a nice, young couple last night and their names were Kate and something not common (her husband). At least I think her name was Kate...and she is supposed to send me an email today...but if it hadn't been for their name tags, I would NOT have remembered their names by the time our brief conversation was over. Horrible.

How do people do it? How do people keep up with the names?

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing on my behalf because these people don't come to events or outings very often...if you're not in front of my face and talking to me consistently, you can't think that I'd remember your name after a year. At least I hope they don't expect me to...cause I can't. And that just might lead to my downfall as President!