The lull that made me a responsible citizen

I suppose my absence has been duly noted.

The A-Z challenge was part of it. I'm just not good at sticking to structure, it kills the Mind of the Artiste, bohemic bullshit etc etc. So from here on out the letters with which I start my posts will be completely random.

What's more, way back when (in May), I was going into the final stretch of TONS OF SCHOOLWORK. That's over and done with now. (It went well.)

And then I started working. That's right - no one can ever tell me I haven't worked a day in my life anymore. In fact, I've worked for approximately 2 weeks! The job is one of the least glamorous I can think of - my neighbor set me up at her job, which is some sort of packaging facility for various dental products. This includes hands-on working with a LOT of plastic: I swear it's changing my genetic makeup. Most of the other tasks can be boiled down to simple button pressing. Well ... somebody has to do it. The main thing I've learned from this job is that I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure I don't end up at one like it for the duration of my life. Everyone working there is very kind, though, and there's unlimited free hot chocolate, and (sadly, limited) free cookies. And the pay's fine and dandy; I believe I get paid more than the average young person, and all I do is push buttons eight hours a day.

Said pay will be dumped into my bank account on the same day I leave for a convention, at which I'll also be working: more precisely, four-hour shifts in the cafeteria. I have no experience with registers whatsoever, and two of my five shifts are from four to eight in the morning. Aka the worst possible time, smack in the middle of the sleeping cycle. I'll have to sleep in shifts as well!

At least this will improve my CV???

Well, I sense approximately twenty days of down time during which I may or may not blog a bit. NO PROMISES.

Facial Recognition

I have a very good memory. Well, not when it comes to that household chore that I mysteriously never finished, but in many other situations. I think of it as being semi-photographic - I can't recall everything I've seen in minute detail, but words and patterns just stick in my mind. This has proven very useful in learning foreign writing systems, and many a last-minute cramming before a test.

It also means that I remember people's faces. I would recognize somebody I've seen around school in another situation. If I'm introduced to someone, it's a basic courtesy (in my book) to memorize their name and match it to their face. Useful as this may seem - because so many people claim to have no memory whatsoever for names and faces - it's created a lot of awkward moments. I might remember somebody's name, where we met, and any details about themselves they may have let slip ... but they have no recollection of me. At all. Oops.

Some people appreciate being remembered, while others are completely weirded out. People with unusual names in particular are relieved when somebody gets 'em right (this includes me; up here, Sophia is almost exclusively spelled with an f, so anyone who even asks about the ph has my instant respect), while people with large, active social lives might not process every acquaintance they bump into. Which is fine, I get that! It's just a bit ... iffy. Especially if the person in question is somebody you hoped to get to know. Ah well.

Anyway, this has led to me pretending to be more forgetful than I am. I will go "Oh, right, you were ... um ... this person from that place, right? :D" and wait for affirmation, when really I am not hesitant at all and could rattle off their name, their interests and how many cats they have.

At least the internet tells me I'm not alone.

A side note: Mysteriously, my face-recognition abilities don't seem to apply to recorded material, as I can never keep track of who is who in films.