The US Open is upon us! Can you tell that I’m excited? I only have plans to go twice this year, which bums me out. I’m too damn busy — but yes — I’m going — and with Cris both times — and with others too. A few weeks ago, I saw our favorite US Open bartender, Chance, at Swine, and the excitement of the upcoming tournament began to grow in me. The Prosecco bar outside of Arthur Ashe Stadium is where Chance works — and it’s just amazing and lovely. I could really just sit there the entire time and watch the tennis on the big TV screen, but I think we will probably go in and watch it live as well. We have pretty good seats after all.
When I saw Chance, I decided to take a photo of him and Cris — here they are. Cris thinks that Chance makes him look straight in this photo. I have to agree. Cris looks very manly up against this awesome-bartender-with-the-great-legs-in-women’s-overalls.
At any rate, it was good to see Chance — and it will be even better when we see him this week over Prosecco. And really, what’s the point of this blog entry anyway? I will tell you. I realized last night that I have had two chances of fate that would be good to tell you about — so here goes:
1. About a week into my brains explosion hospital stay in 2012, Kamil came to visit and tell me that she was leaving for her annual trip to London with her parents that night. By this time, I believe we knew I wasn’t going to die— and well — it’s London. How could you not be psyched to do that? Anyway — she went. And on the flight home, she and her father sat next to a woman and chatted with her. Just by chance, they discovered that her husband is a doctor in the very same brain unit that I was in. And to top it off even more so, this doctor also happens to be related to Kamil and her father. What are the chances that they would be sitting next to this random woman on a plane, they would talk to her, they would find out she is married to a brain doctor, and then discover that they’re actually related to them? Shit. Go figure. But it was a very lucky thing for me because that doctor (their relative) was very helpful to me as I struggled through my recovery.
2. The other chance of fate I wanted to talk about began when I happened to have a breakfast this week with this cool Hollywood dude. As the group got to talking, the subject of animals and how they fear vacuums came up. (Don’t ask.) Anyway — this cool Hollywood dude pronounced to the group that all animals are afraid of vacuum cleaners. And I quickly and emphatically told him that I absolutely know a cat that is definitely not afraid of vacuums. And that would be my cat, Stevie Wonder. (Macy Gray is terrified of them.) I also explained that I have a video of Stevie loving on my Dyson — and this cool dude quickly requested that I email it to him. Anyway, long story short, my cats then became a topic of conversation (which of course you know I love), and then this cool dude asked me where in NYC I live. I told him “Alphabet City”…. and he said, “I know it well. My father was an attorney in Alphabet City for many, many years.” I then said, “His office didn’t happen to be on Avenue B and 2nd, did it?” And he said, “Yes. Actually, it was.” I then said, “I’ve met your father.” The guy looked absolutely stunned and totally psyched that I had met his father. Like what are the chances that I had been into this father’s office, with a sign outside that said “Abogados” on a random block in Alphabet City? But I had. My neighbor and I went in there years ago to ask him for advice on how to deal with our building’s management company. We sat their for a while and chatted with this abogado (cool Hollywood dude’s father), and got some pointers.
It was just a cool, cool chance of fate that I had met this dude’s father. And it made the breakfast all the more amusing.
So — I guess the lesson of the day is that there are many chances in life. There’s one who is an awesome bartender at the US Open, and then there are these random chances of fate, where you just think, “wow, it really is a small, small world.”
As a special present, I’m including a link to the video of Stevie and the vacuum cleaner. Dora took this one day a year or so ago. I hope it works.
headgameswithmelissamenta 