The Vampire Guy

I'm not typically the person who will start calling some one else by a name that is not rightfully their own, but when certain circumstances arise it must be done. Of course, most of these names are invented by other people simply because we don't know a person's name but we need some way to refer to them. Swing Club, for instance, is a time when it is quite necessary to have a way of refering to people who's names you've forgotten but who's faces you never will. You want to be able to turn to your friend and say, "Oh no, it's the Russian Orthodox guy who plays the trumpet, pretend like you're talking to me." Or when discussing dance partners you want to be able to say, "Johnny Reb is nice but makes me nervous and the Save-the-Whales Guy is very peppy, but too short for my height."

I haven't referred to people like that in a while, but lately there's been this guy at work who's name I don't know but I see often enough. I call him the Vampire Guy. I'm not into vampires, books or movies about them (except for the one episode that they did for El Chavo del Ocho). But this guy...if he threw on a cap, he'd be a vampire. He has a somewhat oddly angular face with a pointed chin and pale skin that makes you think he hasn't been out in the sun much lately. He has black hair that he slicks stright back, and a very slim figure that gives the impression of always being hunched over. When ever I see him he's wearing light-colored, generally white long-sleeved button down shirts and presumably black pants. So you see, all in all, he comes across as the vampire type. When I saw him on the day of our office Halloween party the thought occured to me that he didn't need a costume.

I don't say this judgementally or sarcastically or any other -ally way of saying it, but rather that his appearance surprises me every time I see him. Today, in the big kitchen, I was standing by the door when he came in and I was amazed to find that I had almost spoken out loud and said, "Here's the Vampire Guy." I really ought to find out his name and stop calling him that, but I really can't get over the fact that all he has to do is throw on a satin cap and *poof* -- We had one ready-made vampire. (insert sinister laugh here)