So remember how I said it's like I'm Norm walking into Cheers when I go to the bank?
Well, it still is, but today at long last, I completed my set.
I ran through all the names I knew before walking in, but the first person to greet me was the young man at the front desk whose name I wasn't sure of. I was impressed because he knew mine without overhearing someone else say it first.
"Hi, Claire," he said.
"Hi," I said just as Toni and Shelby said, "Hi, Claire!"
"Hey, Toni. Hey, Shelby."
I walked around the front of the young man's desk and said, "What's your name?"
"Mike."
"Mike, got it."
What's noteworthy here is that I didn't over-think it. Usually I'd be too nervous to ask or I'd feel weird about how long it's been, but I know I've never been introduced to Mike. It's not like I had and didn't remember his name. It's more that I had an impression that his name is Mike while knowing the nameplate on his desk reads Michael.
And guess what? It wasn't weird. It wasn't weird because I didn't make it weird. I just asked him his name to make sure it was what I suspected. It's a relief to know the full set of their names. Not knowing that last name for certain was gnawing at me, but I hadn't had an opportunity to ask until today (well since I blew my first chance to ask). It's nice to be on equal footing with all five of them.
I should probably try to approach more of my life without over-thinking it.
Two years ago on TTaT: Sketchbook, page 33
I should probably try to approach more of my life without over-thinking it.
ReplyDeleteMe Too!
-case
(Popped over here from http://www.elizabethhalt.com)
Easier said than done, right? Thanks for stopping by & leaving a comment, Casey!
ReplyDeleteYay!!!!
ReplyDeleteAlso, ditto to what Casey said. My new motto is from Augusten Burroughs' book This is How:
"Saying just the right thing after a considerable, awkward pause is far less effective than saying the wrong thing with perfect timing. I'm telling you.
Worrying about what you'll say means you're out of the moment.
Struggling to find the words to express yourself means you've fallen out of the moment.
You must hang onto the straps of the bucking moment as if your sanity and your life depended on it - because actually they do."
:)
I love Augusten Burroughs, Elizabeth! Great minds, eh? Haven't read that one though, I'll have to put it in my queue.
DeleteAnd yes, he says it well. I had a friend who found it infuriating that I wouldn't just spit out what I was thinking. "Just say it," she'd say. "I can see you thinking and editing in your head." Though I got better at it for a while, I fell out of it when I moved away. It's really not my nature, and now the times I do speak without thinking (usually because I'm frustrated), I tend to regret it more often than not. It's a tough nut to crack.