I forget.

You know what the problem with being forgetful is?
If you do, please let me know. I knew it too, but I've forgotten.

So there I am, talking to someone, when I realise I don't remember the person's name.
Now this happens to me a lot more often than you'd think.
I figure my head doesn't have enough free storage to store new names. With all the random thoughts floating around like little white wisps of cloud and this hyper active imagination and...what's the mental equivalent of a vast barren wasteland?
Anyway, you get the picture...
So yeah, there I am, talking to some person, don't remember said person's name...What do I do?
Actually most of the time it doesn't matter. I don't talk very much, so I don't really need to know the other person's name.
But on those rare occasions where I do, I never know how to ask.
It's weird. There's this window - the introduction time window - which closes some 10 minutes into a conversation with a new person.
Now once that window is closed, there's no way you can ask that person directly.
There are several things I've tried : asking a common friend, calling a friend over and hoping they would do their own introductions (this has backfired a few times), checking out the seat-listing (on a train or a conference hall)
None of them work perfectly though.
So after much thought I finally came up with one yesterday.
"So what do your friends call you?"
Oh damn. I just realised it wouldn't work either.
"Why, by my name of course"
"Ah! Can I see some ID?"
heh. Might work yet!