Sometimes,
things just work out for the
better.
I had an end-of-semester gaming party planned tonight. I invited a
bunch of people (7) over. Only two of them showed up (and one of
them was 3.5 hours late). I was rather pissed. But in the middle
of the evening, we got a knock on the door. It seems that one of
the two who showed up had accidentally backed into and knocked over
the neighbors' motorcycle, causing it some minor damage. Being
the good host that I was trying to be, I went outside (since the two
friends went out anyway). I got to talking to the neighbors. Turns
out I've been living next door to a pair of otaku for four months
without even knowing it. (The cool, laid-back kind, no less - they
know anime, and are obsessed with certain aspects - the husband
everything before 1984, the wife everything Pokémon,
specifically the original Japanese cartoon, not the Americanized
version - but didn't jump on me for liking Tenchi Muyo or Ghost
in the Shell even though those were titles they hated.)
The wife pointed out that if it weren't for my friend Dan hitting
the motorcycle, we'd never have actually started talking, and we'd not
have known of the mutually-beneficial state of being neighbors.
So Dan's accident ended up being a Good Thing.
After chatting for a couple hours, I invited the neighbors to join
us and watch some anime (we settled on the first half of Macross
Plus). It was Cool.
They're a bit obsessed with Pokémon though, but hey, that's
okay. The wife works for Hastings and can get me discounts on CDs
and DVDs. :) And, since it seems that Dan (who's also an anime fan)
might end up being my housemate in the near future, there'll be all
sorts of Japanese goodness. Hey, and there's a new sushi bar
within walking distance of my house which I need to get around to
trying.
Sometimes, things just work out for the better.