I inexplicably thought today of some people I worked with a few years ago. This was back when I pulled shots at Starbucks, and like other businesses, it was not uncommon for us to cover a shift at another store. This was the first and so far the only time I'd been to this store, so I didn't know any of the employees there. I'm sure it says something of the human experience that we were able to work an entire day without having known each other before, interact comfortably and at times enjoy laughs, and at the end of it, likely be able to pass each other on the street and not ever know it. I remember the experience, can picture the store, the shopping center, where I parked, but I don't have anything but the scantest of details about my co-workers. I think I worked with another guy and a girl, the guy might have been Asian and the girl white, but beyond that I really don't remember.
I seem to remember more about the environment than the people there. Or do I? The more I return to what I remember, the more it seems that I just remember categories or associations. The layout of the shopping center because it was similar to other shopping centers. The fact that I had Subway for dinner because I often had Subway for dinner when I was working. The arrangement of the store because it fit the decorating theme that all Starbucks stores had at that time.
Perhaps I merely have an expectation that I should remember more about people than places and so anything less than perfect memory feels like a failing.
