Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Interesting Phenomena

Yes, I am duplicating the title of a posting... sort of.  But it fits.

I don't know if I'm weird or not (well, okay, I know I am, but bear with me a minute...) when it comes to any of the following, but sometimes some interesting things happen in unusual ebbs and flows.  Is this common, or something unique to me?

Phenomenon #1: Overlapping Phone Calls

I wouldn't say that I get a ton of phone calls, but I'd say I get a slightly above average number of calls on any given day.  But what is strange is that they seem to come in waves.  I won't get any calls at all for several hours, then I'll get two practically on top of one another.  Then another break of a few hours, then a few more calls back-to-back.  Almost inevitably while I'm on one call someone will beep in with another call.  I don't have any idea why this would be the case, but it certainly seems to ring true (pun intended).  The same thing happens with people coming by to visit.  Nobody for several days, then all of a sudden I have three people that want to visit at the same time.

Bottom line for you, though, my faithful readers, is that if you call and I don't answer, it's probably because somebody else called me just before you did, and we're not at a good breaking point in the conversation.  Next time try calling 2-3 minutes earlier so you're the first one.

Phenomenon #2: Repeating Melodies

Another strange one... I'll be listening to satellite radio in my truck, or watching a movie, and a song I haven't heard in years will come on.  Then within days, I'll hear that same song somewhere else. 

One of the strangest of these occurrences happened a few months ago.  I was on my way to the grocery store listening to one of those "every decade" satellite radio channels and "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon came on.  I hadn't heard that song in at least 4 years, and since she's not in my regular musical rotation, it's a song I'd probably only heard a couple of times in my life.  The song ends before I get to the store, I go inside, and after I had been there about 3-4 minutes the same song came on store PA system.  Then later that night Brooke White sang it on American Idol.  Yep, I heard the same thing twice in less than ten minutes, then again later that same day, when it had been years prior to that.

Phenomenon #3: Reiterated Vocabulary

I'm not the oldest fish in the tank, but I have been around for a little while.  And I'm one who really likes to know everything going on around me, so I pay close attention to everything.  (Gets overwhelming at times.)

So in my time on this Earth I've been exposed to a lot of English vocabulary, right?  So every once in a while I hear someone, whether it be a friend, family member, on television, or whatever, use a word that I've never heard.  At least not in all of my recollection anyway.  Then within days, just like repeating melodies, I'll hear that word used somewhere else, out of the blue.  And it usually happens several times within a short period of time.  Strange?

Phenomenon #4: Waves of Vocation

Being one who doesn't like to do the same thing day after day for long periods of time, and one who loves to learn new things, I've picked up numerous hobbies, interests, and skills.  I quite like my life being that way.  The strange thing though is that the need by other people for my various skills seems to come in waves.  I might be needed for several different programming projects for days, weeks, or months at a time.  Then that will recede and I'll be needed for doing video work for multiple projects back to back.  Then that will fade and I'll be asked to do a bunch of photography.  Or audio.  Or something with cars. 

A couple years ago I had no less than 5 friends ask me to install CD players in their cars in the course of about two weeks.  And then nothing for a very long time.  One must wonder if there is a conspiracy amongst my friends, even the ones that don't know each other, to get together and all ask me to do the same things at the same time.  It's almost surreal how often it happens.

Back to the original question

So, back to my original question, am I weird, or does stuff like this happen to everybody?

2 comments:

Colleen said...

Hmm, I have noticed things like this before. Stuff like hearing the same word I tend to think is just a case of heightened awareness. Once you've heard it and processed it you're more likely to notice it again. I'm afraid I have no logical explanation for the rest of them, but there's a thought for you. :)

This Line Is Red said...

With the songs piece, I have an interesting occurrence (sp? explorer has no spell-checker, and that word has always eluded my abilities) of that.

I tend to listen to indy, alt, and obscure music. I had just gotten hooked on this one song by a band whose cd I found in a cheapo bin at a used music store. I was playing the second track in my car, which I then parked to go into the bar for a drink after work. The bar was playing the same song, only they were ten to fifteen seconds behind me.

Shane

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