Near misses

I often think about the small margin on either side of an event where it may or may not have happened just as it did.  I refer to it often, usually when I say something without thinking like "well, that could have been worse!" But I've been thinking about it a lot lately as things just sort of fall into place in all parts of my life.

I met my best friend Nicole when my family moved south and I went to public school in 8th grade. She was a little older (by 51 weeks and I'll never let her forget!), a little cooler (older brother in a band) and we never really got to know each other until a biology class in college. It was my first HUGE lecture hall class and I said hello to her but when she asked to sit near me, I told her I was saving seats for two other friends...friends who came to mean absolutely nothing to me. I'm glad she decided to give it another shot, after I so rudely rejected her, and become my lab partner. She's my sister and I can't imagine not having her in my life.

I was living on campus when Todd and I first started dating and if you've ever been to UCI, you've been lost at UCI. It's a campus built on oddly-shaped concentric circles and then built out at random intervals. If you see it from the sky, it just looks like a mess. Anyway, he came to pick me up on our first date and couldn't find my apartment, and, after about a half hour, he tells me he almost gave up. I'm glad he parked. That was almost 6 years ago - December 28, 2004 was our first date.

After college, I was working at a local nonprofit and not making enough money to pay my bills. I was living off credit cards and praying my students loans would disappear. A friend from the radio station I worked at called me and asked if I'd like to apply at her work - more money, better benefits, etc. I interviewed and was denied; HR told me I was not selected. I was sort of devastated but decided to keep looking. Two weeks later they called to tell me the other candidate turned it down and that I was selected after all. That was 4 years ago and I've now been promoted twice.

And then last week I ran into a former coworker in my old department and we talked a bit about what was going on in our lives. She told me she was looking to upgrade from her condo to a house closer to her kids and was regretful as she would likely lose money, having bought it at the top of the market. I suggested to her that she rent it out but she thought that sounded like more trouble than it's worth and what if the renters are nuts etc....until I asked about maybe Todd and I renting it. The space is larger and less expensive than our old place (300+ more square feet, $300 less each month) and the timeline works for her. She can have reliable renters who can keep her place nice, save money for their own house, and she can wait out the market to gain back the equity she lost in the downturn.  So, we're going to draft an agreement after the first of the year and we'll move in sometime in May.

Maybe, as Eugenia's mom would say, someone really is always watching.