StephSF
StephSF

Serendipitous Moments

Whether you like it or not, or not, believe in it or not, seek it out or believe that it comes to you, we all have those moments that seem to just happen for a reason, and in such a friendly city as San Francisco, they seem to happen more often than other places. I thought it would be a fun place to share those stories.

Last week, I was doing a program in Yerba Buena Gardens and setting up an obstacle course. A nice guy in his mid-20s came up and started talking to me, and asked what I was doing. When I told him that I was doing a team building program for a bunch of lawyers, he burst out laughing and said that he HAD to stick around to watch this. Well, he was true to his word, ended up sticking around for the afternoon, and it turns out he works for the Apple store and is able to get me a significant discount on a new computer (see previous post on Mac repairs). I love this city sometimes...
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Here's my serendipitous moment, pigbacking off of yours. I've been doing this writing project for a while for a guy that wants me to write articles on key words--you know to attract the Google Web Crawler--and last week I had to write on "Team Building Process." I, of course, thought of you as I was writing it. I thought, "If StephSF ever runs across this she will laugh at how ridiculous it is." I really don't know anything about "Team Building" but I didn't let that stop me from throwing up 600 words on.

I'd give you a sample but I can't until it actually posts. Perhaps when it does I will give you the link so you can have a good laugh.
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StephSF
StephSF 2yrs+
That is awesome! I've done some SEO writing work as well, and am dying to hear what you had to write (by the way, I am sooo glad that this is the mass exposure that team building is getting...insert sarcasm here. No judgment on your work, though).

Send that article my way when you can because I am incredibly curious now.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
I'm not generally a big believer in serendipity but I had something like that happen to me when I was younger. When I was nine my dad disappeared--(he was a pilot and the cargo plane he was on never made it to its destination). Anyway, during that period while my family was trying to get the US Navy to keep looking for signs of the wreckage we lived in LA, and my mom who was out of it asked these random neigbhors to help take care of me. They had this son who was my age and we became close friends for about a month or so while my family waited. He helped keep me sane in what was a pretty crazy time.

Anyway, years later, when I was in high school I made friends with this guy who had just been transferred to the school (I was new there too relatively) and we hung around for a while--went hiking (you'll appreciate that detail), shot the breeze...

Then, a few weeks after we had been friends for a while, I happened to mention that my dad had disappeared (without giving any further detail) and he suddenly started filling in the story--which totally freaked me out. It turned out it was the same neigbhor from years before. Neither one of us recognized eachother from our younger selves--it was a total coincidence that we met again. He actually became one of my closest friends in high school. What are the chances of that--of all the millions of people I could have run across, bumping into him after all those years. (Very strange!)
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StephSF
StephSF 2yrs+
WOW, that is a great story! So sorry to hear about your dad - that is pretty insane. But that is crazy that the two of you reconnected after all those years and ended up at the same high school - almost as crazy as the fact that neither one of you recognized the other!
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Well we were nine and eleven the first time and only knew eachother for a few months, so I guess its not that crazy--I was fifteen when we met again in highschool so we both had sprouted, etc.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
The thing about most serendipitous moments is that when you actually look at them, it is less a matter of things suddenly coming together because of luck than it is because we are suddenly aware of something we weren't before. So it is like being Brazilian--as you know I was born in Rio--everywhere I go I am much more aware of Brazilian people than other people are. My wife, who is American, was never aware of Brazilian people until she met me, but now she spots them a mile away. At first, though, it seemed to her like the country was being invaded by Brazilians because she was always noticing where ever she went. Of course, they were always there, it just that after meeting me she had her antanae peeled for them.

Ironically, I am not very Brazilian in appearance, accent or mannerisms.
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StephSF
StephSF 2yrs+
I agree - serendipity is kind of a controversial term. I think a lot of it has to do with seeking it out. I wouldn't have gotten that MacBook offer if I weren't as outgoing and forthcoming with my personal problems to complete strangers, nor would I have met this person if I weren't doing a weird job that draws a fair amount of attention.

I do think that living in a diverse and populous area leads to a higher number of these moments, and it is cool to share these coincidental stories.
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Tracypie
Tracypie 2yrs+
Ah, serendipity - great movie by the way.

I think I have had quite a serendipitous year actually - too long to go into details. But I also like to think of it as good social networking. ;-)
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
Serendipity--there is a part of that film that takes place in SF doesn't it? The female lead lives in SF, I think or her fiancee does? Anyway that could count as an SF film, I suppose. (Of course, it mostly takes place in N.Y. like a lot of those movies.
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StephSF
StephSF 2yrs+
Yep, I've actually been to the restaurant several times - it's located on the Upper East Side several blocks east of Central Park South, next to Bloomingdale's and Dylan's Candy Bar. The wait there is at least an hour, unless you can pull celebrity status, and the restaurant almost feels like an antique shop one the inside.

Their famous frozen hot chocolate is about $10 for essentially a chocolate milk shake, but, like all their other desserts, is more than big enough to share. Despite the grotesque wait and the overpriced food and drinks, it is worth going to at least once as it is a quintessential New York place.
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NightOwlnOrinda
NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+
No one does Christmas like New York does Christmas. Not inside the US anyway. California is just not really a winter place--even though we do have great skiing.

The ending of that movie in Central Park is great too. Its really yet another of those love letters to the Big Apple--like Woody's Manhattan (and just about every other movie he has done).
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