Wiehagen (semi-soft coincidence)

1. This evening I looked at the photos of Wiehagen, Germany, that my sister took on a recent trip there. (It’s charming–a rustic farming hamlet!)

2. Right after I had finished poring over them, preparing to do some chores, I turned on KEXP…and a German song was on (Tine Kindermann), rather unusually.

Missouri

1. I was at Black Water cafe on a Saturday morning, typing up a poem about Missouri for a friend’s zine (although the poem was to be rejected–yes, from a zine–because of “length”). The poem depicts the scenery of a road trip through southeast Missouri.

2. A few moments after I’d finished editing it, I hear someone behind me loudly say–to a departing friend about a sports team–”I love Missouri. I love the way Missouri looks.”

Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo & Juliet”

1. I needed something new to listen to at work today, so I went to the CD collection, browsed it for a few moments, and selected a recording of Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo & Juliet.”

2. After lunch I received an email from Seattle Symphony’s Campus Club, a program I subscribe to that offers students discounted tickets to some symphony  performances. I almost never pay attention to the Seattle Symphony calendar, but I will glance at the cheap Campus Club offerings… That day the email was advertising an upcoming performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo & Juliet.”

“Lettuce be your market” (joint coincidence)

1. I am a fan of MacPherson’s produce market on Beacon Hill. My friend R introduced me to it, and we have been there several times together. Recently, though, I was driving past it and noticed for the first time a sign painted on one of its outside walls: “Lettuce be your market.” I love using “lettuce” instead of “let us” and do so whenever I can. I emailed R to tell her that I had noticed the sign and that it “officially seals it as my favorite place to buy produce.”

2. R replies the following day, writing “me too! we went by on wed.s going to jules maes with ross and i saw and thought the same. same damn thang.” And I believe her.

Craftsman

1. I am house-sitting for a friend in Tacoma. She lives in a charming Craftsman house, which I have been admiring with gusto. It has piqued my already fairly keen interest in Craftsman houses, and this morning I looked up the history of Craftsman architecture, which is also referred to as the American Arts & Crafts style. 

2. This afternoon the director of the library where I work sent us an email notification explaining that he will be out of the office tomorrow and Monday because he is attending the 17th annual Craftsman Weekend, which is “the largest and most comprehensive salute to the Arts & Crafts Movement in the Western United States.”

Elves

1. On the bus this morning, I glanced over the shoulder of my seatmate to see what book she was reading, and my eyes settled on one sentence: “Today I was Photo Elf for the eldest Santa.” (David Sedaris?)

2. Moments later, I turned to my iPhone to read an email, and the sender finished it by calling me by a nickname he hadn’t used in a long time: Elfochka (“Little Elf”).

Stump

1. At work today, there was an in-depth discussion about nicknames for coworkers that have recently been circulating (openly and in good humor): “Bump” for the pregnant lass, “Rump” for the slender miss with the surprisingly substantial you-know. D suggested that all staff be given nicknames that rhyme with “bump” and “rump.” D compiled a list of such words and even taped the list near my desk, so we could think about it. Having busted my toe Thursday night, I was, without hesitation, assigned the nickname “Stump.”

2. At home tonight with my busted toe put up, I watched a flick I’d plucked from the library collection before leaving work: “Eastern Promises.” In it, Viggo Mortensen’s character reveals that in prison he was given the nickname “The Stump.”

Pink Floyd (soft coincidence)

(I call this a soft coincidence because both the timing isn’t all that close and none of the people or places involved are, as far as I know, related.)

1. Yesterday the administrative assistant at the library, an older man with a strong East Coast accent, came to my desk asking if we have any Pink Floyd CDs. The discussion went on for a few minutes and distinctly amused me, I think because for some reason I didn’t expect him to be interested in Pink Floyd.

2. This morning I went to Top Pot. There was a very long line, and the place was busy, but my eye was caught by one guy in line in particular. A bit later, I went to sit at a stool in the window, but a guy who had just come in with his laptop asked nicely if he could sit there because an outlet was nearby. So I moved to a different stool, which, I realized a few minutes later, happened to be facing the guy who had caught my eye and who was now sitting out on the sidewalk with a couple of people. I looked at him a little more as I drank my coffee and realized he looked a lot like this guy I had a relationship with in college. The similarity was so strong, I had to really scrutinize him for a few moments. Finally I decided it wasn’t him; then I noticed he was wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt.

Fire in Tacoma (guest coincidence)

A librarian I work with told me that

1. He had been at a campus safety training earlier in the afternoon and, back at his desk, was looking at a document about a problem with people who pulled prank fire alarms in the WCG building.

2. A few minutes later, getting back to work scanning old photos of Tacoma for a photography database project, he came across a photo of the very same building on fire in 1908.

Adios

1. I just read a work mass email that was sent to me yesterday afternoon, and the person signed it “adios.” I remember thinking that was a funny way to end an email and that I don’t see that word too often.

2. Probably not more than five minutes later, as I am still working on the Internet and half listening to “Weekend America,” an interview ends and the interviewee’s last word is “adios!”