Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Coincidences

I've noticed lately a disturbing trend:
It seems like when I see someone that either annoys me or attracts me, that person will be a major factor in my short term life experience.
An example: I can't count the number of times that I have seen a family or person in an airport that annoy me: a family of uppity high-maintenance ski people... They get in my way in the ticket line. I can barely hold back my disgust as they butt into the security line in front of me. They end up taking 30 chairs at the departure gate, and eat stinky food (think Cin a Bon or something with extra onions.) The same family ends up sitting around me on the plane, being generally obnoxious- wrinkling wrappers, whiny kids and the poor tortured mother trying to keep everyone happy. Believe it or not- they are usually the people, 2000 miles away from home, that try to snag my bag. Arrrrgh.
Or what about the lady that gets on the parking shuttle in her obnoxious rayon leopard print shirt? Holds up both the ticket and the security lines. Takes half an hour to decide what kind of burrito to order, ends up right in front of me on a plane and LEANS BACK HER SEAT!!!! After trying to avoid her at the other end, she barrels through me to get her zebra print luggage off the roller before I can get mine.
Here's a completely true story that happened the other day:
I was approaching a parking spot at Costco. Suddenly, a minivan comes screeching around the corner, almost hits me and races toward the door. A person jumps out and hurries to the door of the store. Meanwhile I calmly exit my vehicle and walk inside.
The person from the minivan suddenly realizes that she has forgotten her purse, so she runs loudly to the van (which is blocking my walking path) and gets her purse, wallet, shopping list and the Costco mailer ad.
She hustles into the store. I think to myself: "That person is in such a hurry, I'd be willing to bet we have several issues here.
Sure enough. In walking around the store, this lady is stomping and grunting from sale item to sale item with all the grace and finesse of a stampeding herd of water buffalo.
I get some bread- here she comes- a high-speed, u-turning mission to pick up the sale muffins.
I go to find some paper towels, she screeches up behind me and nearly plows me over while picking up some cat food.
When I escape to the frozen food area, I can hear the distinctive tromping of her pseudo-designer shoes, coming to cut me off, to u-turn in front of me and then stop suddenly.
After no less than 5 near-death experiences, she finally races off to the checkstand. Wow. barely survived that one...

So what is it? Why do I have repeated encounters with the people who bother me the most?
I do have the same thing occasionally with people that I like or don't bother me. But usually it is people that make me craaaaaaazy.

Coincidence or cosmic conspiracy?

2 comments:

KACG said...

I think you are just paying attention to the wrong people. Maybe you should watch where YOU are going. I can't believe you got in that ladies way so many times! Sheesh!

Scott M. Stringham said...

Cosmic Conspiracy.