Ok. Ten points to the first person who can tell me which movie I stole part of my post title from. Moving along…
See, there’s this thing about me that’s kind of quirky and sort of fun and just a little crazy all at the same time. If I’ve seen your face once I can recognize you again. In person, on t.v. or on someone’s camera phone. Or perhaps even from the profile pic on your blog (hmmmm….) I mean it. If I’ve seen you once and I see you again, I know it.
During the last holiday season we were in a mall in my hometown having lunch with my mother in the food court and I knew I recognized a woman at one of the tables next to us. She was about my age and had her husband and kids with her. Turns out her sister was in my grade at my high school and that she was just a couple of years younger than me but also went to my high school. My mother was mad that she didn’t recognize her (the woman has lived in her neighborhood for 32 years. she knows everyone). Well Mom, you just don’t have the mad skillz that I do, SOR-RY!
Tim freaks out ALL. THE. TIME at how quickly I can recognize actors and actresses in movies for what they have been in before. They may have different hair color and gained or lost 20 pounds. I still know their face. I can be overheard saying things akin to this a lot, “Oh, she used to be Margot on As The World Turns.” (this actress was in Independence Day). Or, “Oh he was the not so nice father of Beth on The Guiding Light!” (and now you know which channel of soaps my mom watched when I was a kid!)
So, all this leads up to my latest “it-only-took-nano-seconds-for-me-to-recognize-him” story.
Last Thursday (a week ago) we had a guest speaker at my Mom’s club meeting. He was a nutritionist and health professional from a local fitness center. His name was Derek Southers and he had a good presentation that focused on what we shouldn’t eat at our age (carbs at night! AHHH!) and other diet tips.
Then on Friday night the hubs and I watched a movie called Idiocracy (very funny but sad take on the way the human race may be headed) and before he could finish his first sentence I recognized Derek in the short little bit that he had in the movie. It only took a quick surfing trip over to imdb.com to confirm (and convince the hubs) that I was right. Oh Yeah, score another one for Elaine. Tim couldn’t believe it. He’s like, “Uh what… Uh how… Uh who?” Ok so maybe it’s not THAT amazing, I mean I did listen to the guy talk for 30 minutes. But still, how crazy is it that the guy who did our presentation was in the movie we watched the next night?
So tell me, do you have any quirks like this? Inquiring minds want to know!
I am wayyy too tired to begin talking about my quirks. Ha…
But that movie was interesting. Sad, indeed.
I have a ridiculous knack for remembering birthdays and phone numbers. It freaks people out all the time.
I can sorta do that…I recognize that I *should* know that person, but I just can’t put the name and face together. Drives me crazy.
I have quirks, but I can’t even begin to type them up for you…you’ll just have to use your imagination!
Crack me up! I must admit that I am jealous. I am so bad at trying to figure out where I know someone from!
I am really good with numbers. Phone numbers, addresses, etc. Weird, but all my friends loved me in junior high since I knew everyone’s number 🙂
oh i totally have this “gift” as well. drives the hubby bonkers and he has lost many bets over my skillz!!
and seriously imdb is my fav place to prove me right!!
This happened to me the other day! I was at the pool and I saw a woman that I was sure I went to school with. In another province!
I kept second guessing myself, she looked so different, older, heavier and I never went and asked her.
Well I found her on facebook a week later and sure enough, it was her. Weird.
David does that all of the time! agh!
I want to hear more about these diet tips you got!
Wow, you are so talented woman!!
My quirk, well I have a few but one of them is that I always remember what people wear. Even my kindergarten teacher or a preacher at a bible conference when I was 6. I remember em all.
Weird.
I once had this woman and her 2 kids ask me for a ride home from Target, and I was all “hmm k, Where do you live?” and she was all ” I’m your next door neighbor!” I didn’t recognize her without her house. Your talent would of come in real handy then, real handy.
I watched the same soaps. Do you remember when Meg Ryan as in ATWT? I totally do the same thing you do. I will see someone and freak because I know them. What’s lousy is when I recognize them: Hey you went to PreK with me!! And, then that person thinks I’m nuts.
That is not a quirk, that’s just PURE TALENT.
Me? I’m obsesses with lists. WAH.
Get out, my husband has this gift also. I.DO.NOT. He is VERY good at knowing who has been in what movie…and seeing public figures out somewhere, he knows just who they are…not me!!
Ah well!!
Wish that gift could make you some dough! 🙂
i recognize people… i know i know them but no idea why… i don’t know there name… but i can tell you what their business card looks like… in bloggy land… maybe that means i can identify headers 🙂
I am the worst at this–it’s a pretty neat skill!
I tend to remember faces and names of people I have either met or seen lots…like in University. My quirk is that I never think they will recognize me, what with my being a wall flower and all, so I pretend not to know them….
I am a loser!
that is crazy and awesome at the same time! i don’t know that i possess the recognition ability to the level that you do, but just yesterday i saw a girl that i haven’t seen in over 10 years walking through the mall. I saw her out of the corner of my eye and turned my head right away to look only to see that she had already passed and to confirm it was her i would have had to awkwardly run back and turn around to get a good stare! well a few minutes later i saw her walk out of another store and i saw her face-to-face. She definitely didn’t recognize me, but it was her alright! she has two kids a husband and about 60 pounds more than before, but that’s not saying much when we’re talking about 13-23 years old i guess 🙂
Ummm, are you sure you’re not the McAlien who hijacked my brain for a blog post?
This is my gift too! It’s freaky! In fact, when we got to preschool on Tuesday, I immediately recognized a woman who I see repeatedly out and about shopping and eating in the area. Of course, the second time I saw her, I said something (because we had chatted the first time we met), and then we just kept bumping into each other.
I have crazy memory skills like that – I don’t forget a face! And IMDB is my best friend too!!!
I guess great minds really do think alike. We’re great!
Also have a freakish ability to memorize song lyrics within a couple of listenings. DH thinks it’s hilarious. My parents used to tease me growing up that if I memorized my studies like that I’d be an A+ student (they were joking, I was already an honors dork).
My range is huge – oldies to top 40 – you name it I can probably sing it for you!
MH seems to have the same skill as me – and I love it!
My random talent? Remember songs and the band/person that sung them. I’m crazy good at that. Obscure song by The Waitresses? I know, can sing, and may even have the CD somewhere.
I have a really killer sense of direction – that’s my quirky talent. I almost never get lost and once I’ve been somewhere I never forget its layout – even if I was only there once as a child.
I’m terrible with faces and names, though… I wish I had a bit of your talent.
Good grief you are good! Now I can’t place a person to save my life. Seriously. I am terrible!!
But I am decent at phone numbers for some reason. But not nearly as impressive as your mad skillz, that is for sure!