HOW TO SURVIVE IF YOU WAKE UP NEXT TO SOMEONE WHOSE NAME YOU DON'T REMEMBER

At Their Place

1. Do not panic. Evidence of your partner’s name exists somewhere nearby. Your task will be to find it before he/she awakens, or before he/she starts any sort of meaningful conversation.

2. Get up and go to the bathroom. The bathroom is a normal place to visit first thing in the morning, and it is also a place where you might discover his/her name.

3. Look through the medicine cabinet for prescription medicines with his/her name on the label.

4. Sort through magazines, looking for subscription labels with his/her name and address.

5. Go through a wastebasket to find discarded junk mail addressed to him/her.

6. Return to the bedroom. If he/she is awake, ask him/her to make coffee for you. Use the time alone to search the bedroom for evidence. Look for: wallet, checkbook, ID or name bracelet, photo album, scrapbook, business cards (a stack of cards, not just one), or luggage labels. If he/she is sleeping, look for these and other items throughout the house.

Be Aware

Try to find at least two items with the same name to be certain that you have identified him/her, unless the name on one item rings a bell.

At Your Place

1. Use terms of endearment when addressing him/her. Do not guess at his/her name. Use acceptable terms of endearment:

* Honey/Sweetie/Cutie

* Darling/Baby/Sugar

* Beautiful/Sexy/Gorgeous

2. Unless you are certain you have ample time, do not go through his/her belongings. If your partner is showering, you can count on having at least a few minutes of privacy to search through his/her belongings. Otherwise, do not risk it—it would be far more embarrassing to be caught searching through his/her possessions than to admit you cannot remember his/her name. (He/She may be in the same predicament.)

3. Ask leading questions while making small talk. Fishing for information is risky and can backfire by calling attention to what you are trying to do. However, if you feel you can pull it off, try to trick him/her into revealing her name:

* While getting dressed, pull out your own ID and ask him/her if he/she thinks that your hair is better now or in the picture. Laugh about how silly you used to look. Ask if he/she likes the picture on his/her license. (He/She may think that you are checking his/her age.)

* Ask him/her if he/she ever had a nickname. He/She might say, “No, just [Name].”* Ask him/her how he/she got his/her name.

4. As he/she is leaving, give him/her your business card and ask for his/hers. If he/she does not have a business card, ask him/her to write his/her vital information on yours. Tell him/her you may want to send him/her a little surprise. Do not forget to send something later in the week and make sure that you spell his/her name correctly.