During my stint as a key media relations person in one of Abu Dhabi’s top five-star hotels, one of the perks I enjoyed was my active involvement in photoshoots and broadcasting activities of celebrities at local and international scales.
I was the media representative of the hotel so that whenever a crew from CNN, BBC, Abu Dhabi Media and the like needed an ideal venue for one of their episodes to shoot, I was just a call away to confirm, organize and attend to their needs on site.
Becky Anderson for CNN’s Connect The World was one of our regulars. Enjoyed watching Richard Quest, also from CNN, doing his admirable trademark hosting in person for Quest Means Business. Had the whole Infinity pool area closed for a couple of hours for a video ad with international tennis heartthrobs Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, in which I was giggling like a girl while trying not to forget the whole activity was part of my job. In case the event would turn into a mess, I was definitely to blame.
Then one fine day while I was straining my eyes on the computer for one of our promotional materials that I needed to finalize, an unwanted phone call broke the silence in our office. The call obliged me to go check what appeared to be an unexpected photo session in one of the hotel’s high-end restaurants. If my memory serves me right it was the Abu Dhabi Film Festival season. I walked in the heat of the sun grumping to myself like a kid.
My angry mood didn’t turn around until I saw that familiar charming face I watched many times but only on TV. He stopped talking to one of the organizers to greet me with a handshake. The proper greeting etiquette I’d usually do without much thought because it became my second nature failed me right then and there. I was shaking hands with this gentleman who I recognized from Hollywood with a wide grin on my face but not being able to remember his name! Trying not to giggle or freak out like a regular fan and maintaining my poise as the hotel’s envoy, I kept my cool in vain while my thoughts started waging war against each other, raising their voices such as, “He’s the (then) husband of Miranda Kerr!” or “He’s Legolas in Lord Of The Rings trilogy!” It was utterly a mental block! Films clips of him started reeling like a movie in my head but the one thing I desperately needed to know was not even accessible.
Since then, I suffered for years forgetting Orlando Bloom’s name everytime I would see him on TV. It would take me several minutes, if I was lucky, to recall it, but most of the time I would fail to do so. Not until recently I recovered it (finally!) but the syndrome, which now I call the Orlando Bloom syndrome, remains. There are instances when I see someone, who I’ve personally known for years, enter into a situation that gives me a shock, I tend to forget their names temporarily.
It definitely sounds funny. On a deeper medical thought, can someone let me know whether this is something new to explore? If there’s a term for this already, let me know. Until then, it’s still coined as the Orlando Bloom syndrome :-)
Boy, brains sure are complicated!