Synchronicity

Tonight I went to the final day of Sears going out of business sale. The roads were icy in the morning so I didn't get there until about 4 PM (with the idea that they would be closed at 5 PM--but in the end, they stayed open until pretty much everything was gone, at about 6 PM). On Friday night we had stopped and saw that they still had nice coats, a pergola, electric lawn mowers and snow throwers, etc. and I had meant to return just to get a coat. But when I arrived just before closing time I found that about all the shelves had been stripped clean, save for a bit of overstock (toilet seat covers but no coordinating rugs, pillow cases but no sheets, lamp bases but no shades, single panels of curtains in each color, some clothes, and some fine jewelry--all in all, lots of odds and ends.) I spent an hour carefully picking out a pair of pants, a package of pantyhose, and two curtain panels. I paid and was surprised at the value--it totaled something like $12. As I was wal...

Many times in the last year at work I have been in the process of taking messages from voicemail when the other line rings and it is the person (whose message I was listening to) calling back. Now, this is not all that strange (timing is natural, the person is simply trying to contact me again after a few hours). However, I have noticed that the second call usually comes in at the same time I am trying to figure out how to replay the message to get some detail I missed.  So picture this: me, sitting and staring kind of stupidly at my phone (I have never in the last year figured out how to replay a message on this voicemail software, but it doesn't stop me from trying to "remember" how to do it every time) and thinking really hard about the person whose message I've just listened to, when I'm interrupted by a call from them.  It happens so regularly that it has stopped seeming wierd.  I mean, I used to count it as a synch every time, but then I got so used to it t...

This morning, Monday January 7th, I remembered after crossing the parking ramp and starting down the stairs to head into work that I'd intended to bring a digital timer (a stopwatch, basically) which was sitting in the backseat of my car. I debated about going back during lunch vs. going back right then and decided that since I was already late I better forget about it for the time being. Once I got into the building I reached into my bag for my ID badge. Right in the front pocket was the timer I'd wanted to go back for. I must have avoided procrastination when I'd seen it in the back seat on Saturday night and stuck it in there, thinking it would be useful to have at work. The moment I saw it, I grinned from ear to ear: the memory of what had happened in the middle of the night the day before came back to me. My husband went to Walmart in Coralville, Iowa around 3 AM on Sunday January 6th (it's the closest place to get groceries on Sundays when our local grocery...