Last Friday, I met some of the missus' new friends and it turned out pretty cool. A night of bizarre coincidences!
First of all, we're blabbing about music because this other guy manages bands and one of his bands we were going to see that night, which he says are "from Chicago." Mindlessly, I mention Voivod and the fact that Piggy just died and he's like, "Yeah, I was never really into Voivod." When we get to the club later, not only do I know the bouncer, who is also in a band that this guy had been looking to manage, but also, when his band "from Chicago" finally gets on stage, the bassist is wearing a Voivod t-shirt of all things! I point this out to him and he laughs. A minute later, I realize this bassist is from my hometown, Buttfuck NY, and I actually opened for his old band in my old band back in '92-ish. So, I lean over and say, "Was this dude ever in a band named [x] and he says, "YEAH!" I then point out that this dude is from my hometown of [z] and he goes, "YEAH! Oh that's right!" Oddly, this guy also happens to be his partner in band-management and lives in NY somewhere, so I'm not sure how this band is "from Chicago." ???
Small world.
But, smaller still, after the show, I go up to the bassist (Steve) and say, "Hey, remember me?" and he goes, "Holy Shit!" and all of a sudden introduces me to all my old college buddies who are in the room and look completely different now. It seems that most of the people I hung out with from Buttfuck, NY actually ended up moving to NYC and are all tattooed up and playing in bands.
Other kind of nice coincidences were that me and this other dude were both big fans of and had spoke to at some length: Joey Ramone, Iggy Pop, Joan Jett and Kim Fowley, who we both agreed was nuts. He'd also been following a lot of my friends' obscure bands and was fans of a few bands that I worked closely with for a couple years creating their artwork and stuff.
UNFORTUNATELY, he likes Springsteen and doesn't seem to like anything mildly "weird". He said he's mostly a classic rock guy at heart.
But, it was cool for once to meet some new people -- and this dude was probably dreading meeting me (you know how guys are about being 'introduced' to their "new friends" via their girlfriends) -- and it turns out we had way more in common than I bet he could've ever suspected... except that Springsteen sucks.
― The Coolest Guy Ever, Tuesday, 6 September 2005 11:56 (twenty years ago)
Backpacking round Europe this summer was a whole world of coincidences, but mainly cos backpackers inhabit a parallel universe all of their own.
e.g. meet English dude on barcrawl in Prague (he notices my British Sea Power t-shirt and starts chatting). 2 weeks later I'm in my hostel in Amsterdam and who should be moseying around the bar but Prague guy! Didn't recognise me initially but he remembered rightly after I jogged his memory.
Also, we stayed in the same room in Krakow as a bunch of lads from Manchester Uni. We chatted a bit but didn't make friends as such. They were also going to Budapest next but we didn't think any more of it until a few days later when me and my mates were at the end of our street in Budapest on our way to a particular bar when we almost literally bump into the Manchester boys on the corner who, improbably, were looking for the same bar. We had a good night and got to know them belatedly.
Thirdly, also in Amsterdam, I was in a falafel place waiting to be served when I absent-mindedly gaze out the door and spot 2 girls from home (Belfast) ambling down the street. Turns out they were just there for the night and flying to the States the next day. Much "Oh my God!" and hugging ensued.
― Crackity (Crackity Jones), Tuesday, 6 September 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)
seven years pass...
In the library this morning, something made me think of a guy I worked with in campus radio in the late '80s who would die very young a decade later. I looked to see if there was anything online and found a site all about him. Turns out he was born on my dad's 24th birthday, and he died on my 38th.
― clemenza, Saturday, 29 December 2012 17:47 (thirteen years ago)
six months pass...
Did something I normally wouldn't do last night: tagged along on a cruise around the Toronto Islands that my cousin-in-law hosts every year for his employees. (Was going to put this on one of the two cruise threads, but I thought the four-hour duration was a little insufficient.) As I sat waiting for departure, I hear my cousin-in-law (still on the dock waiting for last-minute arrivals) say, "One of your ex-students is on board." Unbelievable: a girl I taught in grade 5 almost 15 years ago, now just finishing medical school. Turns out her dad has worked for my cousin-in-law's company for years. Great to see her, somewhat inhibiting at first: "I was planning on getting drunk tonight." Which I did, but there were enough people on board that her proximity was not a problem.
― clemenza, Sunday, 7 July 2013 17:19 (twelve years ago)