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So I was talking with a newish co-worker today while we had some downtime. He'd only been working with us for a couple of months and we were talking about family. I mentioned that I have family in Houston and he said he did, too. He talked about his brother who is a geologist and also writes a comic. Turns out he was talking about our very own @fade.

I knew Fade was from around my area and my co-worker's last name was familiar, but I wrote it off as coincidence. Guess I should have thought more about it.

Anyone else have a story similar to that (doesn't necessarily have to involve Halforums, but if it did, bonus points)?

Well, if we are going to find links, we'll need to share where those links might be. I have connections in Duluth, MN, Minneapolis, MN, Seattle, Yakima, WA, Oxnard, CA, London, and Louisville, KY. I have former students all over the place, though.

General Specific said:

So I was talking with a newish co-worker today while we had some downtime. He'd only been working with us for a couple of months and we were talking about family. I mentioned that I have family in Houston and he said he did, too. He talked about his brother who is a geologist and also writes a comic. Turns out he was talking about our very own @fade.

I knew Fade was from around my area and my co-worker's last name was familiar, but I wrote it off as coincidence. Guess I should have thought more about it.

Anyone else have a story similar to that (doesn't necessarily have to involve Halforums, but if it did, bonus points)?

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This happens to me on Facebook all the damn time.

The most recent one was when my university classmate posted pictures of when she was a bridesmaid. I noticed that the bride was Facebook friends with my buddy from the army. I asked my classmate, she asked the bride, and it turns out the bride is my army buddy's cousin.

Another example, a girl from my postgrad course recently got a new boyfriend, and posted some pictures of them together on Facebook. I noticed my wife's elementary school classmate had clicked "like" on the photos. I bit of snooping later, and it turns out the boyfriend and my wife's classmate work together.

Oh but my favorite one was when another university classmate of mine traveled to the US after graduation, to start law school. I noticed there was a familiar name that would often "like" her posts that described her life as a law student. It turns out that it was a childhood friend of mine, who just happened to be in my classmate's class in law school. We'd lost contact ages ago, and because the name on her Facebook profile is an amalgamation of her Chinese and English names, there was no way for me to find her by searching. So if it wasn't for my classmate traveling to the US and coincidentally ending up in her class, there would've been no way for me to reconnect with her. Anyway, we reconnected, and I attended her wedding a couple of years ago. Her husband is dreamily handsome.

There are so many other examples, too. So often I get that feeling of, "wait, how do these two Facebook friends of mine know each other?"

It's kind of weird how @Officer_Charon is now Facebook friends with nearly my entire SCA circle from when I used to be involved.

The probability of this happening still just blows my mind.

Weirdest connection was when my wife @Dirona was in school. One of her classmates was from my Mom's hometown, where her parents still lived, and I had cousins growing up. Turns out one of these classmates of my wife's played hockey (and was still friends with) my cousin. And none of us were in the same cities as where they (or I) grew up.

While lost on my way back from Dayton, OH one evening, I stopped at a gas station to get directions and gas. While I was talking with the proprietor person, a voice said, "Patrick! Is that you?" It was someone from the same cabin I had been assigned to during Interlochen summer camp (located near Traverse City, MI) about 8 years prior. What a memory, that guy.

--Patrick

This one's not about (because when do I actually talk about me?) but something I witnessed. I was working with a young woman and a younger man. Another guy walks past us. The young woman says to us "that's my half brother"

To which the young man replies, "mine too."

We got a new coworker fresh from training, good person to work with. Her last name is a bit unusual for our region.
While going through files she sees a town's name (pretty far off from where we work and not in our jurisdiction at all), mentioning as an aside 'Ha, I grew up there'. Her name, the town...
That's when it hit me..

It was the town I was garrisoned with the Bundeswehr in 1992, her father was one of my unit's staff sergeants.
Girl was 1 year old and crawling aroundf their home's carpets while I stood at attention and learned artillery ballistics.

One of the days to feel old again.

Just Me said:

We got a new coworker fresh from training, good person to work with. Her last name is a bit unusual for our region.
While going through files she sees a town's name (pretty far off from where we work and not in our jurisdiction at all), mentioning as an aside 'Ha, I grew up there'. Her name, the town...
That's when it hit me..

It was the town I was garrisoned with the Bundeswehr in 1992, her father was one of my unit's staff sergeants.
Girl was 1 year old and crawling aroundf their home's carpets while I stood at attention and learned artillery ballistics.

One of the days to feel old again.

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Unless this was near Soest or Köln, I'm going to claim not being involved in this anecdote. Though I was still in Germany in '92...

I ran into my cousin in a Chicago airport. That was kind of weird.

And the security guard at a gig I did once remembered me from when he was in Marine Corps boot camp and worked with me during his week of mess duty.

Bubble181 said:

Unless this was near Soest or Köln, I'm going to claim not being involved in this anecdote. Though I was still in Germany in '92...

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It was Hemau, so you are not to blame. Near Regensburg.
4./RakArtBtl 42, equipped with the then new MARS (I was simply the desk guy there)

I went to Manhattan in 1996 with my wife. First time there. We found this friend of mine at a subway station there (who had come from the same town). That was wacky.

Less wacky, but every single time we stop at the Texas City Bucee's on the way to Galveston, we run into at least one person we know.

At my interview yesterday, my interviewer and I discovered that he was the HR manager that laid me (and a whole bunch of other folks) off back in 2004 when they moved my WaMu call center.

Gared said:

At my interview yesterday, my interviewer and I discovered that he was the HR manager that laid me (and a whole bunch of other folks) off back in 2004 when they moved my WaMu call center.

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That sounds like it could've been awkward.

--Patrick

Before he retired, my grandfather taught music at Laval University in Quebec City (specializing in clarinet).

A training partner of mine at my jiu-jitsu school, here in Gatineau, who is now a police officer, previously did a bachelor's in music at said university (drums, mainly the jazz style).

Guess who judged one of his exams? My dear old grandpa. We had a good laugh, but man, small world.

Gared said:

At my interview yesterday, my interviewer and I discovered that he was the HR manager that laid me (and a whole bunch of other folks) off back in 2004 when they moved my WaMu call center.

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Remember that cousin of mine I mentioned above? Now here's another story involving him.

My brother moved to Chicago years ago and that's where he met his now wife, a doctor there. After marrying and having a kid, they decided to move back to her hometown, Tulsa. Great, nothing weird. But in the last month she was at the hospital, she was interviewing potential resident candidates. And one of those candidates was that same cousin of ours from Canada. They put her in on the interview because they knew she married a Canadian, so they figured she'd be a better interviewer, and it turns out she's related by marriage to the guy. And Chicago is about a 22 hour drive from where we grew up, so it's not like it was Detroit/Windsor or something.

This is a bit of a weird one, and I'm sure I won't get all the details correct because it was about 11 years ago. Also gonna spoiler because it ended up being longer than I meant it to.

PatrThom said:

That sounds like it could've been awkward.

--Patrick

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Luckily, not at all. It was a really relaxed, friendly interview between two professionals who are obviously proud of their accomplishments but weren't braggarts.

I remember back when I was still updating the cosplay threads, a certain cosplayer had started lurking around the forums, only occasionally posting to help identify some unknown cosplay. Then, without even knowing it, I posted a photo of one of her cosplays.

"Oh my gosh...o.0. Thats me! Thats so fun and awesome! Aww, this pretty much has made my day. "

"You've got some nice stems there Ivy."


Four years later, and she's my best friend.

Denbrought said:

It's kind of weird how @Officer_Charon is now Facebook friends with nearly my entire SCA circle from when I used to be involved.

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Yeah, when are you coming back? We need to tilt a mug or 3!

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Officer_Charon said:

Yeah, when are you coming back? We need to tilt a mug or 3!

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Soon™. Ideally I want to get my car license, so I can move around again, and then start showing up to Depedale practices to take back my old job as a living pell.

Dude, there's events IN Carrolton, at the the Shriner's campground... hell, I think Castle Wars might be there, this year. Fool's War was, at any rate.

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Officer_Charon said:

Dude, there's events IN Carrolton, at the the Shriner's campground... hell, I think Castle Wars might be there, this year. Fool's War was, at any rate.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

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Yup yup, I'm friends with some of the organizers of St. Crispin, and used to work at the site of the Royal University. I plain don't enjoy it much if I'm not fighting. Never had much fun sitting around during the day, or drinking without being half-dead

figmentPez said:

I remember back when I was still updating the cosplay threads, a certain cosplayer had started lurking around the forums, only occasionally posting to help identify some unknown cosplay. Then, without even knowing it, I posted a photo of one of her cosplays.

"Oh my gosh...o.0. Thats me! Thats so fun and awesome! Aww, this pretty much has made my day. "

"You've got some nice stems there Ivy."


Four years later, and she's my best friend.

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Love your face!