About a month ago I had a very nice, very unexpected reunion.  My friend Jeff came to San Francisco. We first met eight years ago in Vancouver.  Jeff came into my bookstore and bought a book from me.  Later that night, we were in the same online chat room and accidentally realized that we had met earlier that day in the real world.  We hung out the next few months together in Vancouver.  Coincidentally, I had vacation plans in England that spring, where Jeff was doing an exchange.  I moved back to Toronto that summer, and Jeff returned there to Ryerson in the fall.  Jeff moved away the next year, pursuing his goal of breaking into the film industry.  Over the next few years, we stayed in touch online -- remaining up-to-date on each others endeavours.  When I moved to California I got in touch with Jeff who was working for a production company in Hollywood.  Somehow, we never managed to connect in person until recently.

 

It got me thinking: 50 years ago, we would have met in a bookstore and the story would have ended there.  Even if we had somehow made a connection the likelihood that our friendship could have survived eight years, four cities and three countries seems fairly unlikely.  Even by today's standards, the fact that we have found ourselves able to meet up in such diverse places has a certain degree of serendipity.

 

More recently, I have become aware of how online communities remove the "luck" factor and produce virtual reunions on-demand.  I had always shied away from Friendster and Myspace, thinking myself too busy and too old to join.  Friends recently nagged me to join Facebook.  I figured I may as well give it a shot, and see what all of the fuss was about.

 

In the week that I have been a member, I have connected with 21 "Friends."  Classmates from high school, undergrad, grad school, coworkers from Chapters and Old Navy and even family members have found me.  I've found out about people's lives, careers, marriages, kids...  People used to go to class reunions wondering "what ever happened too..."  Well, wonder no longer.

 

I struggle to finish writing this entry in my blog wondering: is this better, is this progress? Am I happier, richer or more complete for all of the reunions?  I don't think I have a clever answer.  In the end, this is just the world we're living in.  I used to watch movies and wonder where I had seen people or whatever happened...  ?  Now, I just surf over to www.imdb.com (often on my phone) and check out their credits and biography.  It seems inevitable that in our brave new world we'll find ways on keeping up with anyone and everyone we once knew.

 - The Indigo Girls

 

 

It's been a while since I have writted in my online diary.  Things are good.  Work is busy and rewarding.  I have a workout partner who keeps me focused and commited.  Family is closeby -- and I am lucky to have seen so much of them in recent months.  Luckier still that we all get along.  My circle of friends here has steadily grown.  I have even begun regularly bumping into people I know when I am out -- a true milestone for a "home."

 

As ever, I am a bit of a pop-culture hound.  Recent films have included The Namesake (see it) and Perfect Stranger (skip it!).  For TV I have been watching the Sci-Fi soap Heroes religiously.  The amount of story they cram into a single episode is incredible.  By contrast, I have been renting The Greatest American Hero from the Eighties.  It might be an unfair comparison, but while GAH has a soft place in my heart, the writing by is so convoluted and meandering that it's tough to watch.  Television has become so much more clever and mature...  Speaking of superheroes, I am planning to see Lynda Carter (aka Wonder Woman) do her cabaret act in San Francisco soon.  I figured it would make a good story no matter how the show turned out.

 

In a few weeks, my friend Greg and I are going cycling in Ireland, so I know I will have more to write about then.  Until then, everything is getting closer to fine.

 

Regards,

Josh