Of Coincidences
There are lots of coincidences in life.Sometimes you dont even know it when you encountered it.Your shoulders might have brushed pass this man at the mall,and tomorrow morning you meet him again in the part.Well,thats a coincidence without you actually noticing it.

Then there are the really weird ones.The ones that keep you up at night thinking over and over.Coincidences are fun when you dont take them seriously.Or else you might just end up like Alex from Final Destinations.Paranoid.Life is full of surprises,and a lot of these so called "Surprises" are dominated by "Coincidences".They might just mean something,a design or a pattern from somewhere.Perhaps the superior being?Or maybe the other side.Well,we never know.Tony Todd's character in "Final Destination" said:

"In death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes."

Coincidences are everywhere.You see them everyday,but you dont know it.You feel it at times,but you dont see it.As for myself,a little coincidence yesterday night with a friend of mine surprised me in a pleasent way.

Alright,so i met a friend online through a forum.As an active "Forumer" as we like to call ourselves,its easy to make friends from different ages and different backgrounds.I visit the ComingSoon Boards really often,and i am considered a "Elder" over there.After all,i have almost 15000 posts on that board.Amazing,isnt it?Anyway,so yesterday i was talking to this girl via MSN.The conversation was fine,since nothing went wrong whatsoever.I shall not reveal her name or age,since she's very particular about her identity being revealed online.So she was asking me where i live,and i told her about how i live beside my school,and it being both a blessing and a curse.Here's the conversation(I shall refer to her as Silver):

Me,"If you happen to take 156 and passes my school,you will see a bunch of old looking condominiums.Thats were i live."
Silver,"Chuan Park?"
Me,"Yeah.Chuan Park."
Silver,"Remember my Taiwanese friend i told you about?She lives there."
Me,"Oh really.I dont remember any Taiwanese around me."
Silver,"Well,her parents are here.But she went to the US."
Me,"Oh wait.Her name is Hsin Yi or something?"
Silver,"You know her?"
Me,"Yeah.My sister went on a tour around Taiwan with an organisation with her once.My parents know her parents,and we talked once or twice.14th floor isnt it?"

Its a small world.Really small.So small it feels crammed up and its suffocating.Everybody knows everybody.Which is a pretty interesting thing sometimes,considering how i am linked to certain celebrities through some friends somehow.For example,Daphne from Singapore Idol is Darren's classmate.Darren happens to be my bandmate.Nigel was my 1st 3 months SRJC classmate.Tracy was my Primary School classmate.Nigel,knows Tracy.Tracy's childhood friend is Kimberly.And Kimberly happens to be my neighbour on the second floor.Imagine the odds.

Isnt this scary sometimes?It creeps me out.But of course,the bunch of us just laugh it off and go "You know her too?"The designs and patterns of life.Intriguing and complexed.I wonder if anybody can break the code someday.The code of coincidence,perhaps life itself if what Tony Todd said was true.Of course,with the assumption that since there are no coincidences in death,life is coincidence.

Well,let me give you some examples of extra ordinary coincidences concerning Abraham Lincoln and John.F.Kennedy.Its pretty famous,and im sure some of you might have read it before.Here we go:

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846.
John F. Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.
Both Presidents were shot on a Friday.
Both were shot in the head.
Lincoln's secretary, Kennedy, warned him not to go to the theatre.
Kennedy's secretary, Lincoln, warned him not to go to Dallas.
Both were assassinated by Southerners.
Both were succeeded by Southerners.
Both successors were named Johnson.
Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.
Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.
Lincoln sat in Box 7 at Ford's Theatre.
Kennedy rode in car 7 in the Dallas motorcade.
Shortly after his father was assassinated, Robert T. Lincoln moved to a home located at 3014 N Street, N.W., in Georgetown.
Shortly after his father was assassinated, JFK jr and the Kennedy family moved to a home located at 3017 N Street, N.W., in Georgetown.
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839.
Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939.
Booth ran from the theater and was caught in a warehouse.
Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theater.

There are a lot more,but i dont really feel like posting them.The above were some of the creepier ones in my reckoning.Oh well,if we dont take it seriously they are just fun facts of life to share with friends.Or,you can take it as one of those "I-Know-And-You-Dont!" things to show off.Whatever it is,we cannot deny the power of coincidences have on our lives.If JFK knew about his coincidences with Abraham Lincoln,perhaps he might not have went to Dallas and get assassinated.Coincidences seem to determine life and death now,and if we can break that code,we can prevent death.Isnt it a scary thought?

Perhaps we should look at these coincidences as miracles.Here's what Mel Gibson's character said in "Signs".In this quote he is telling Joaquin Pheonix's character about his thoughts about the alien invasion.

"People break down into two groups when the experience something lucky. Group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in Group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation isn't fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in the Group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?"

Well,its up to you do decide.Coincidences?Or miracles.It depends.On you.

Song of the Day---Who Will I Run To by Kiley Dean