Either I was just a victim of mistaken identity, or I just had an encounter with someone I should know but for the life of me couldn't remember. I went down to the vending machines (I don't go down there often, but I was hungry and my snack drawer is empty), and a woman whom I could swear I've never met before in my entire life walked up beside me and said, in a joking tone of voice one usually reserves for solid acquaintances, "What are you doing here?"

I looked at her, expecting it to be someone I know, and then I'm sure I must have looked confused as I stood there and went "Um," waiting for her to let me off the awkward-conversation-with-a-stranger hook by telling me she thought I was someone else. But did she? No.

"Checking out the food?" she asked.

"Um... yeah."

At this point, either she hadn't registered the fact that I was not who she thought, or she decided the least embarrassing thing to do would be to keep talking like she knew me, or--and this possibility is the most bothersome--she did in fact know me and I'm scum for having no idea who she was, because she launched into an entirely one-sided conversation about the contents of the vending machine, which included something about Twizzlers, but I couldn't be sure exactly what she was saying, because I was reeling from the confusion, and I think I came pretty close to going into shock.

Finally she offered a friendly goodbye and left, and I eventually recovered enough to buy my junk food and retreat back to the safety of my own floor.

Whether or not I should have known her, the incident did nothing to disprove my theorem that, with a few exceptions, people are generally frightening beings who should be avoided at all costs.

Note to self: Restock snack drawer by Monday.