I (30s) bought a house about 6 months ago and moved into a neighborhood where people are actually friendly. I'm terrible with names, especially when meeting several new people over time. So I started a note on my phone where I write down my neighbors' names and a short descriptor to help me remember. Things like “glasses,” “funny guy,” “always walking dog,” etc.

It’s not meant to be creepy, just something to help me be a better neighbor and not forget people I talk to regularly.

Today I was walking home and bumped into a neighbor I’ve talked to a few times. Nice guy, but I totally blanked on his name. After we said goodbye, I pulled out my phone to check my list and… he turned around to ask me something right as I was looking at it.

He saw his name, and next to it, I had written “beard face.” (he has a thick beard all over his face)

He laughed and said something like, “Did you just write ‘beard face' next to my name?” I awkwardly explained that I keep a list so I don’t forget people, and he kinda chuckled, but I could tell he wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about it.

I’m not 100% sure if he saw any of the other names on the list because I’ve got some creative ones like:

Boops: for the old neighbor with big boobs and, uh, an unfortunate face. It’s short for boobs + oops.

Grimace: a guy who always wears a purple hoodie and frowns like he’s mid existential crisis. He kind of looks like Grimace. It's so funny.

Grassman: a guy who mows his lawn like three times a week.

So yeah. Now I’m paranoid he saw more than just “beard"and will take things out of context.