It’s a small, small world...

According to Wikipedia, San Francisco has a population of roughly 750,000 and is the second most densely populated city in the U.S. There are a LOT of people here. I’ve heard a rumor that you could go to a different restaurant every night for the rest of your life and never eat at the same place twice. How is it possible that I can avoid eating at the same restaurant, but I can’t seem to stay away from people who just know a little too much about me? Why does the world sometime seem so small?

I went to a birthday party at Swig the other night for a good friend from school. He has a lot of friends, having been born and raised in the Bay Area and then working for many years here. I was chatting and dancing with my drunken friend and his friend from work, Amy, and her friend, Mr. Brief Encounter. The friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend, Mr. Brief Encounter, started chatting with me – he was friendly, flirtatious, and nice. He called me violent and socially irresponsible in a teasing way. It was one of those conversations that’s fun and entertaining but totally forgettable when it’s over…just something to do to pass the time.

Well, it’s forgettable until it shows up in your email…

This is a first.

We met the other night at Swig (you forswearing community service, me expounding, perhaps tediously, on the virtues of charity). While I doubt either of us thought too much of the brief talk, you did mention a penchant for weaponry, and a distant bell went off somewhere in my head. When I realized the next day that I had "met" you before, via what is likely the only profile this side of Asia making mention of your martial arts style, I took a closer look, and I thought you sounded cool enough to almost be forgiven for not having a social conscience. :)

I still have no idea why a single woman in graduate school would choose to play on the relatively level playing field of online dating, but if you check out my profile and anything strikes you, let me know. At the very least, I think I remember you saying you just moved to the Mission hood, so if you need someone to help you keep up the torrid pace of going out 4-5 nights a week, I might be able to help.

-Mr. Brief Encounter

Okay, very, very cute email. Lots of bonus points for that. But, he already knows way too much. In my book, knowledge is power and right now, he has too much.

Sometimes I forget that I have a Match.com profile out there and that it is a personal ad. And perhaps everyone and their brothers have looked at this ad and I don’t know about it. And I have no control over this information outflow. This world is just too freaking small!

Perhaps Disney knows a thing or two about dating…