Saturday, June 04, 2005

Oh, what a feeling! toyota

(okay, so this post doesn't really have anything to do with toyota, but something reminded me of the father-in-law from that billy crystal referee movie, who kept saying the jingle over and over. i'm so going to be like that when i'm old.)

you know that feeling you get on the first day of class? you stroll in, try to find a seat and take in the vibe. i usually get either a very good feeling, like 'yeah, this is going to be a good semester/year/environment/people' or just 'eh.'

but just thinking about it, that vibe is usually dead-on, and in several instances uncannily so.

*in mrs. ritzel's seventh-grade foreign language class i liked german, really liked french and loved spanish. when she gave the speech about studying abroad, i said to myself, 'oh i am SO going to spain.' Junior year in college, i found myself getting off a plane and staying with a woman whose knowledge of English consisted of 'happy birthday to you' and 'thank you.' they were some of the most amazing months of my life.

*thumbing through one of those mind-numbing books of college listings, i looked at a chart of schools with dots next to the corresponding majors they offered. as indecisive as i am, i lingered over the one with the most dots. it ended up being the only school i really applied to without even so much as looking at a campus brochure. i loved my school and i have never regretted that decision.

*i signed up to live in a dorm triple my freshman year, with strangers. the girls i was paired with didn't know each other either, but had a mutual friend who decided to enlist in the navy at the last second. they were both great roommates, and i ended up living with one of them for nearly five years. to this day i'm scared of getting a new roommate because i had gotten so lucky the first time around.

(side note: i had only spoken to the roomies on the phone before trekking down to school. i had no idea what they looked like. but on that first day, hauling my stuff up the elevator, we passed a family coming downstairs. my mom turned to me and said, 'that girl. that one in the overalls. she's your roommate.' when we got upstairs, we saw that one of them had already arrived and claimed the corner spot. she'd even put up her family photo. it was the same girl -- my long-term roommate.)

(even odder side note: when her mother saw me and my family in the lobby, she turned to her and said, 'that little girl with the long hair? i think that's your roommate.')

*i had heard about a boy this girl on my floor went to high school with. she had said he'd be perfect for me. unknowingly, i saw him at a reggae party during the first week of school. there was some kind of magnetic connection. after a formal introduction, we were together nearly six years even though we really didn't have much in common. i truly believe we'd still be driving each other nuts if we were in the same state.

*i test-drove about six cars. my car was probably number two or three. i knew i had found my match before i even put the key in the ignition, and the others were just to appease my father. i love my car; i will most definitely cry when i have to give it up.

*on the first day at a new job, i saw this girl who really looked like she didn't take any b.s. even her accent was a little intimidating, but somehow i knew i'd get along with her. several years and other jobs later, she's one of my closest friends and i even stood up in her wedding. we often say that we're of one mind.

*i attended a seminar at the place i currently work years ago and said to myself, 'i'm going to work here someday.' it was the only one of several companies where i felt that. and look, here i am, in the dungeon today.

not so uncanny, but still interestingly, nearly all of my long-term/good friends made a distinct impression when i first met them.

-one was a new girl in fifth grade that people said *looked just like me* (totally untrue; the similarities end with race)

-one i used to ogle for her gorgeous fingernails (i was a nail-biter)

-one was paired with me for frog-dissection (we had eerily similar handwriting)

-one forgot his sheet music and was trying to gank mine in the orchestra pit (even though we don't even play the same instrument)

-one was the only other sane-looking person in enriched physics (and kept me from self-destruction because of the evil teacher)

-one took me in after a 30-second long-distance phone call at the recommendation of her college roommate and then salsa-ed with me all summer. (maybe that's a testament to them -- but they aren't in touch anymore and we are)

there was one person i was going to include, whom i was very good friends with for a very long time. but i couldn't recall the moment i met her. i just spent about 10 minutes trying to remember. what did come to mind is how she totally betrayed my trust, humilated me and after all the drama, never sincerely apologized. not such a good friend in the end. i should have known; that first meeting wasn't etched in my mind.

hm. maybe there really is something to the whole *you'll just know* thing.

22 comments:

Jon said...

Forget Paris… been awhile since I’ve seen that one. I have to say, I’m jealous of your skills. I have them, but they are not very refined. For example, one of my best friends from college (whom I will be visiting in NY at the beginning of July and it’s the most excited I’ve been about anything in awhile) I had pegged all wrong. I knew his girlfriend (now wife, also a great friend of mine) pretty well because were in the same year and she was one of the other 20 English majors at my school. And I would see him around and think, “he’s really not my type of person.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. Once I got to know him because we started working at the school newspaper at the same time, we became damn near inseparable. Like I said, my skills, not as good as yours. Jealously level: Medium High.

cadiz12 said...

don't be jealous; all of this is in hindsight. the only way it would be at all useful would be if i had enough confidence to accept the good ones and give up on the duds at the start... now THAT would be a skill.

Anonymous said...

I am glad that intimidating girls with cool accents (who also know how to properly pronounce names such as Aaron vs. Erin) did not scare you off, cadiz. This accented girl immediately knew you were destined to be a great friend. I made it my mission to make you enjoy shopping. And I succeeded. Thanks for your intuitive powers, and for being one of my bestest friends.

cadiz12 said...

cc, what are the odds? i came back here to add two more. (i know, that's cheating, but it wouldn't be a real list without them.)

you don't scare me anymore; even though you eat your bagels in such an odd way.

jazz said...

i believe in the sixth sense thing. sometimes it comes in very handy.

Andy said...

I'm a big one on believing the whole "gut instinct" thing. Don't ask me how the gut knows, where it gets its brain from, but it's a smart 'un...

Follow it, trust in it... and give it plenty of good food.

Anonymous said...

Akshay:

Hindsight is a wonderful tool to have but decisions are made and one has to live by them.

It is debatable as to whether hindsight prepares one for future decision making processes.

How is the weekend thus far?

Mine has been a work weekend.

Jon said...

Yeah, I guess in hindsight, there have been a few times when I just knew. I think hindsight is very valuable though. If I know how my decisions turn out, when similar situation are presented to me, I feel like I have a better chance of making the right decision. I have been cursed with a pretty good memory though, so that helps in those situations. And while my hindsight is 20/20, I’m pretty sure my foresight is legally blind. It’s like driving a car by only looking out the rear window. By the way, that’s not recommended in the state of California. Not sure how other states feel about it. I think it’s ok in New Jersey, but hell, it’s freaking New Jersey!

cadiz12 said...

my foresight is legally blind, too. and mute. that way it can't see trouble coming, and even if by some fluke it did, it wouldn't be able to warn me. that, coupled with a fiery temper, can make for some pretty intense drama.

Jon said...

I don’t have much of a temper. I’m decidedly mellow in situations that are supposed to make me angry. The only thing that really makes me mad is Madden football for the PS2. I get so pissed when I think the computer is cheating. I’m sorry, but Jon Kitna is not that good. There’s no way he goes 20/24 with 5 TD’s and NO Int’s. It’s just not possible. He doesn’t have it in him. Ok, I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it.

cadiz12 said...

cheating of any kind is intolerable -- even if it's the computer.

one sure-fire way to piss me off? get my snapshots out of order or leave your fingerprints on them.

Unknown said...

yeah, i'm SO with you on this "you'll just know"-
is that why i hardly ever go out with anyone- cus i "just know" they're idiots? :))

Jon said...

I’m all digital these days, so I don’t have problems with fingerprints anymore. But I hate it when people don’t handle my CD’s properly. You must only touch them on the edges!! There’s a reason almost all of my CD’s are in near mint condition…

cadiz12 said...

i've really tried to get into the digital thing. i even received a really nice digcamera. but no matter how much i like it, i just can't let go of that minolta that's as old as i am. i know there's a bump on the inside cover that leaves a miniscule scratch on the film; i know that the case/strap are worn beyond recognition; i know that i could spring for a much better, sharper lens. but i just can't get the timing right on the digital -- it doesn't capture the *moment* that i want. and even though i don't have time for the darkroom anymore, nothing beats holding the prints in your hands.

Jon said...

I do miss the dark room. It’s been awhile… I kind of separate the two. I use the digital for quick spur of the moment things, but when I take pictures of my family, or when I’m feeling artsy, I bust out the Minolta SR-2. All my chemicals have gone bad by now though, and my enlarger is in need of repair, plus I just don’t have the space. There will be a very well equipped dark room on the island when I become a millionaire playboy. I say I’m all digital, but no matter how many mega pixels you get, it still can’t compare to the infinite resolution of film. Mostly I put everything on my computer though, so the digital does well for that, plus it’s so quick. My friend wants to take a stupid picture to email someone? done. It’s cool like that. My parents love the black and whites I took of all my home town landmarks with the Minolta. I think they are ok, by mom and dad love them. I think they’re just being good, supportive parents.

cadiz12 said...

nah, if they were just being supportive, they'd say something like, 'it's pretty good.' then when you'd be insulted, they'd be like, 'what! it's pretty! it's good! it's pretty good!'
(my mother, circa 1984 when she didn't quite get the nuance of 'pretty good' to mean 'average'.)

gotta love her.

have you ever shot 4X5? slr is nothing compared to the detail you can get on the negatives. the camera is cool, too. it's a freaking pain in the ass to load and develop the film. (but it's worth it)

Jon said...

Nope, I’ve been limited to the SLR so far. It’s definitely a hobby that I miss though. This is why I need to be a millionaire, so I can finally have the time and money to do the things that I want. I don’t think I’m asking for that much.

cadiz12 said...

yeah, that would be awesome. just don't forget to make that racetrack. i think people would really enjoy it.

girlspit said...

Great post. I wish I was better at judging people. I think I give them too much credit initially. I like to wait to be disappointed.

Jon said...

The dark room will be located inside the castle… and there’s no way I’d ever forget about the racetrack… I don’t think you understand my love affair with driving… like the ocean, it is deep and wide.

cadiz12 said...

i understand it a little too well.

i also know that you'll never willingly give up that motorcycle, either.

cadiz12 said...

girlspit, i am the same way; even when i already sort of know they're no good, i sit around and hope they won't disappoint, then kick myself after they do for not seeing it sooner. it's a very sad cycle.