Encounters

I’m pretty much settled in my life and daily routines. Sometimes I’ll do the chit chat with the cashier while checking out or have someone ask me for directions. But those are in their own way within the contexts of my expected daily life and encounters. But I’ve had some funny encounters that are worth noting, if for nothing other than that they were outside the normal types I come across.





Two weeks ago I was heading home on the subway after an evening meeting. I was checking emails on my blackberry pearl and the guy standing in front of me commented on the size. He had a blackberry too, but the larger type. He was with his girlfriend, who was sitting next to me, and were heading back home to Fitchburg after a night in the north end – as evidence by a box of Mike’s pastries (yum). Anyways, had a fun conversation on the ride. He’s a graphic student and we talked about the sustainable field emerging. It was a nice encounter – meeting someone who would never otherwise be in my social sphere. Plus I loved the accent – working class Boston is the best way I know how to describe it. I realized I don’t really talk much on my commute. Only if I know the person – which happens occasionally.





And then last night, again, I was on the subway on my way home, playing a new app I had just downloaded called Unblock Me. It’s basically the Traffic Jam game but with wooden blocks instead of cars. I like the thinking puzzle type games and like to think it plays to my strength in logic games. Well, I was just getting started, listening to the two guys talking next to me. They were self-admittedly a little drunk coming home from a sports event most likely. The guy sitting next to me asks me about the game and what the goal is. I explain it and the younger guy standing in front of him says he has figured it out. I told them to go ahead and move the pieces on the phone and by golly he got it. It just goes to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. These guys were working class Boston – thick accents and all. We got talking and the younger guy said that when he was a freshman in high school he asked to sit for the remedial class and ended up getting a 140 on the test. It turns out they gave him an IQ test and instead of testing down to a lower and easier level like he wanted he got placed in AP courses with hours of homework. He said he just liked those type of puzzle like questions. His father wasn’t happy with his results. It makes you wonder about the whole nature versus nurture debate. Anyways it was a fun interaction and passed the time quickly on my crowded commute home. (Oh and I totally forgot, the younger guy showed me all this wonderful graffiti art he's done around Boston. He kept the pictures on his phone which I thought was a bit self incriminating if he got caught. But great work).





And finally, this morning, I was rushing to get something out for work. I had been working through our marketing department to get the graphic layout done up properly. We sub this work out to a graphic design firm in Glasgow. And since my work contact at our Glasgow office was in meetings I just went ahead and called the guy at the graphic company to discuss the latest iteration and the final revision needed. I get transferred to him and introduce myself and he was amazed he was getting a call from the US. I forget how cool that can be when you don’t work with people outside of your country. That was me until this job. It was just a nice little pure moment of wonder. And he was a great guy – enjoyed working with him – could even understand his accent.





So I guess the lesson learned is that I need to start calling more people in other countries and using my phone on the subway and then I’ll meet new people. But perhaps not at the same time.