Paiseh

I am:

a. shy in person (seriously I am. if you don't think so, that's because you've known me for a long time. but, given a new situation and new people, i enjoy being the wallflower rather than being in the thick of things)
b. in possession of a poor memory
c. sometimes absolutely clueless about people and things
d. not aware how people can remember me when I can barely place them in my life, not because they are insignificant or not important but because of (a), (b) and (c) mentioned above
e. curious (to put it bluntly, kay poh to the max)

This post came about because for the nth time, I met someone who went, "You are Nadirah, right?"

"Errrrr... yeah. And you are?"

"I'm AAA from BBB. Do you remember me?"

By this time, I'll be hard-pressed to recall something, anything about this person but because of (a), (b), (c) and (d) mentioned above, I drew a blank.

So, with this person I just met, we chatted for a while and I asked her more questions about herself and being ever so humble, she replied vaguely. The kay poh in me was not satisfied and I pressed on with my interrogation (oh how I prayed she didn't perceive it as such!) and I still received vague answers.

Today while the kids slept, I decided to google her and ~ oh my goodness ~ we have so many mutual friends between us and I was so clueless about what she has been up to. She has a PhD now and is a professor at a local institute of higher learning. She's also in Berita Harian's list of 50 people to watch. Can I please not embarrass myself like this again in the future? Just stop interrogating people I barely remember and keep the conversation on neutral grounds.

Another time it was a well-known local playwright. When she introduced herself, I thought her name sounded familiar but couldn't quite place it. And as usual, I did my kay poh interrogation; she must have thought that I've had my head buried in the sand all this while. *shakes head*

I'm gonna add a new point to my list of resolutions: Don't ask people I don't know well enough too many questions.

(PS: There's so much I want to write about the kids but the more I delay, the more time I'll need to write and in the end, I just get distracted and not write about them. Must write!)