Coincidences

Coincidences are indeed thought provoking, i.e. things that make ya go, “Hmmmm.” (How the word “go” ever replaced “said” I’ll never know, but that’s for a future rant.)

A couple of days ago a work colleague of mine told me about two commuter trains colliding in China. The same or next day (I can’t remember) this same colleague phoned me on my way home from work to say he’d like to drop by after work to give me some documents I’d need for the following day’s site investigation. I was lying on the couch watching the news as he pulled up in front of my house. And wouldncha know it; I was watching the report of the collision of those two trains in China.

This morning my wife told me about a new fitness centre a neighbour of ours is planning to open soon. I started thinking about fitness clubs because I’ve started going to Fitness World again, and the company I work for has a reimbursement available to cover part of a fitness club membership. I was thinking I should contact our HR rep to find out how to do it. I opened a job file this morning to work on a current project, and there right in front of me was an old draft document I’d physically cut and pasted some project photos onto for a field review report, and lo and behold, on the back of it was the Health Club Reimbursement form I’d filled out in 2007. I guess I never submitted it. This was the same form I was going to look for this morning!

There was another one of those “Huh?” moments that happened in between the colliding trains and the fitness club membership reimbursement form, but I have forgotten what it was. I made a mental note of it at the time, but it seems to have been sucked from my head to blend with the ether as seemingly permanently as parfum de skunk does with my Spaniel’s big floppy ears.

But, never fear. Another coincidence has just occurred (these always occur in threes, right? Or does this count as four?) This morning I was arranging a business trip for early next week to Sechelt to conduct existing conditions reviews of some buildings. I had just finished arranging a time and place with the client when I received an email from my department manager, asking if I’d issued a proposal first. I hadn’t because I thought from the phrasing of his original email that that portion of the job was already complete. Apparently not.

Considering this assignment is out of town, I thought back to the last existing conditions review I’d done; it was in Whistler. Bingo. I’d use that as a template. I had just pulled that proposal file on screen at the exact moment that Evan, the project manager of that Whistler job, walked past my office in search of my department manager. He almost never comes into this department. I’ve seen him around here maybe twice this year.

If I could display that distinctive opening music from The Twilight Zone in easily recognizable characters (not everyone reads music), I’d do it right here.