It's a Small World After All

When I was living in NYC, one of the biggest cities in the world, I always said it was such a small world. Sure, the island of Manhattan is only 13 miles long, but there are roughly 11 million people on that small ass island. Nonetheless, I always had these small-town, strange encounters. Now that I am living across the planet in Hawaii, I am still experiencing the same freaky small-town occurrances.

I was at the Hyatt Kauai on Thursday night for my event and I started talking to one of the banquet servers. I tell him I am from South Jersey. He tells me he is from the Jersey Shore and that he grew up in Avalon. I tell him my sister is getting married this summer in Cape May. He tells me his parents now live in Cape May. Small world, huh.

Ryan met a friend this year at school. Turns out he is from Boston (Ryan is from Cape Cod). After talking they realize that were both at the same track meet one year in high school and raced against one another. Then they talk some more and realize that they worked one block away from one another in NYC at the same time. Now they are both at Univerisity of Hawaii together, both getting their architecture doctorate. Coincidence? No such thing.

Last night, Ryan and I hit up some new wine bar in Waikiki. The manager comes over, sits down at our table and starts talking to us. He is from NYC. Shocker. He is flipping out when we tell him we moved to Hawaii from NYC. Ryan and the manager start talking -- they know the same promotors in NYC. For some reason, Ryan starts talking about the old club Chaos (the original one that was on West Broadway before it closed and moved to Houston Street) and the guy jumps up from his seat and screams, "I OPENED CHAOS"!! We made several more connections over the next hour with this guy, but it didn't matter how many more, because we already knew it was a small world.

This kind of stuff happens to me all the time, no matter where I am -- work, vacation, NYC, Hawaii, NJ, clubs, bars -- doesn't matter. And I actually love it when it happens -- I love a good connection. But more so than that, I love that good small-town feeling in world that is so big, yet so small.