I ran into someone who I know on the bus today. Well, that isn't exactly right. To be exact, someone who I apparently know recognized me and struck up a conversation. I then proceeded to feel absolutely awful in the back of my head whilst continuing a conversation up front. Eventually, I got off the bus, and all was well.

This isn't the first time this has happened, either. I have been stopped by people who knew me in kindergarten - kindergarten - and recognized me. I then manage to keep from totally embarassing myself long enough for them to eventually head off to their business elsewhere. The remaining time is spent trying to figure out who remembers people from kindergarten.

But my same inability to recall this earliest of years also keeps me from initiating these conversations. As such, the freak-memoried participant goes first. Greetings are exchanged, "I remember you from ___" is uttered. "Oh, really?" "Yeah! So..." And then, the dialogue following that 'so...' is my saving grace. I can then haul discussion off to a completely unrelated subject (hurrah school), I can bluff my way through a memory the other recalled, or once in a blue moon will I actually remember some bit of what they're talking about. Sometimes, such as today, I can go without even mentioning their name. All of this is seamless. As far as I can tell, they suspect nothing.

I realize that these same skills could also land me a gig as one of those John Edward-type 'psychics.' Oh yes. The cold read is not that much of a stretch from what I do now. I can milk the most useful information out of people without them ever knowing. At the very least, I could totally clean up at parties. I wonder if I could even add seances to my repertoire...

This will have to go under 'careers-plan-B', I suppose.