Chance Meeting

Chance meeting is a funny thing. It is totally out of your control. It is something the universe bestows on you at its own whim. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's forgettable, sometimes it is something you are thankful for and cherish for the rest of your life.


I had a chance meeting with an old friend at the National Day celebration in the embassy about 1.5 months ago. We were in Singapore all this time but never met up, and somehow our paths crossed in that one hour.


I met a fellow Singaporean at work. He's been with the bank for the past 16 years and just less than one month since I met him, he announced that he's leaving the bank and moving to Cleveland. Over many bowls of noodles and cups of coffee, I got to know this person better. He "recruited" me to help organize the first moon cake festival celebration for SG club here. It was also a mini farewell for him. If I had joined the bank one month later, I might never have the chance to know this person. If I had joined the bank ten years before, I might have the chance to work with him more and maybe know him better. All the what ifs will never end.
Above all these musings, I'm grateful to the universe for bringing us together. His words encouraged me a lot. I hope I will try harder at life when I'm back in Singapore: to take initiatives, take chances, and most of all to be more optimistic about life.