today's coincidence

[abbzug]

this afternoon, Z and i attended the birthday party of her BFF, O., from school (her first such party!). while chatting with O's mom, she asked me where i was from, and i of course had to go through the long, circuitous story of where i have lived and worked and schooled. i mentioned having lived out west and that i worked in sequoia national park for a long time, and she got a funny look on her face and told me that her husband had worked in sequoia too, some years ago. we started talking, and it turns out that we actually worked in the park at the same time, for the same company, during my last season there in 1996! also turns out that he washed dishes for a while in the restaurant that i managed there. interestingly, neither of us has any memory of one another, though we could easily talk about some of the same people, and have the same memory of some of that summer's events. that was a weird season for me - as management, i suddenly became very excluded from everyone, the hourly wagers, was never invited to all the parties, never went to their employee housing area, rarely saw but a few of my closest friends. so even when he brought out photos, i really didn't recognize the people he was friends with, and he didn't know my friends. though, it didn't help that he is clearly really bad at remembering names.

but still, that's all quite a funny coincidence! i love when stuff like that happens.

on another note, being at that party made me really want some damn friends here. this couple is very cool - a fact i suspected but further confirmed by sneaking a look at their bookshelf when i was getting my coat and that the mom knew immediately the writer for whom Z was named -and i hope that we will become friends with them. it helps that our children are inseparable :-)