I am such a doofus when it comes to remembering names--either of people or places.
I see on the sked today that we're heading over to the China Foundation for International Strategic Studies (CFISS) and I hear from my hosts (Center for America-China Partnership) that it's a military-associated think tank (meaning strong ties and lotsa retired officers) and I never make the connection.
I spoke her once two or so years back. It was a big presentation and then a big dinner. I also came back and just had a long afternoon of talks with senior guys. Then once my good friend from the place met me downtown and introduced me to this famous artist/business guru.
Well, we pull up tonight and I recognize the building, and then recognize the guy waiting for us, and then suddenly I'm shaking all these familiar hands and actually remembering names. Faces I never forget, because I have a visual memory, so it all just floods back and here's my buddy--and right behind is the artist, and it's all like a homecoming and very nice.
So a long discussion and a great dinner and it was just so great to see everybody. Just top-flight people and minds, and I was so happy and proud to have made the connection happen for my hosts, because these are excellent people to know.
Trip keeps getting better.