CPK Collisions ~ A Haunting Edition

10/27/24 Update: Today Starbucks extended its promotion and I got my points!

I certainly never saw this coming and I am fine with that. It has been quite a while since I experienced one of those discombobulated situations that without proper timing would not come into being. I will explain, but it will take awhile.

Last evening I was thinking deeply about a past love, the one who got away. Most of the men in my life were wrong for me. I am not certain if this one was “right” , but he got me clearly and fully. The resonance and energy was intense and enduring. The love I felt was palpable. But clearly it had an expiration date. I recalled that we met right before my birthday ( just two days before ) and how Scorpion we both are. Maybe this is why we met close to the degree of my Sun and his Mars and Moon?

This morning it was about getting some Starbucks points and gas for my car. I was unmotivated and quite hungry by the time I was ready to leave. My app wasn’t working and it said there were issues. I called my local store and was told the outage was national. What is with all the outages lately? I was instructed to call corporate. That took an eternity and morning turned into the afternoon. I decided to go for lunch instead, near the gas station that I frequent. I arrived and realized how much time has gone by. It seems that life is requiring more steps and tasks, sucking the time out of the day. I had a great interaction with the waiter and seemed happy to be seated with bread on the way. I enjoyed my food and decided to dawdle. I went back to tell the waiter how much I appreciate this CPK location. I tried their classic barbeque chicken pizza, which I may not have ever eaten before. I enjoyed it and would order it again. It seems like I have been there for hours but I am not really sure. About 5 seconds after walking out to the lot someone says wait or stop! I do not remember exactly, but I heard a woman’s voice. I thought maybe I left something in the restaurant. It seemed likely considering the week I had. However this was not the case. The next thing she said was ” Didn’t you work at DHS ? ” I certainly have not heard that recently. I said yes. I did not recognize this woman. Often the people who appear to know me I cannot place. Occasionally they are colleagues I remember working with. The woman introduced herself and I knew her name but thought she worked in clerical. Apparently she worked on the same floor with me as a social worker. We agreed we did not know each other well. At least I had that part right! She was very positive and radiated kindness. Apparently she began work there in 1983 and stayed until around 2016 or so. This adds up because she was there 32 years. She swears I haven’t changed at all. C’mon?

I told her my age and that I was 26 when I arrived. She started there before me and is a bit older. She looks quite youthful I thought. I was incredibly present, really paying attention and asking her questions that I were on my mind previously. I was curious what was so memorable about me that people immediately recognize me? She said it had to do partially with my style of dress. Frankly I never thought of that. We knew many of the same people and she moved up to a high level within the agency. She went on to say that I was well thought of, caring and empathic and a good worker. That was nice to hear. I asked her if perhaps I was known because of notoriety and she clearly seemed sincere when she said that was not the case. I did get myself in some messy situations over the years, but maybe it was not universally known. We talked for what seemed a long time and I felt grateful.

As I sat in my car I realized that my first Collision post took place in the same locale, the Plymouth Meeting Mall, back in 2013. This was the second post of my blog. It also had to do with my former employer and you can read about it here. In fact, I mentioned the person who was featured in that post while speaking to this colleague today. She also knew her. She also knew the love of my life. I only referenced him briefly, as he worked on the floor where she met me all those years ago. So here I stood talking with someone who knew the man I was reminiscing over last night. It almost seems like I was being led to her.

Like the morning I met him, timing interfered greatly with my plans. If the
Starbucks app was working I would not have seen her today. I want to mention that while sitting in the booth at CPK, I went back to the app and it was up and running. At the time I thought, perhaps I should have waited at home a bit longer. After all, I was hungry for breakfast and today was the last day to earn my points. I wasn’t really supposed to be here at this time, but lately I have had to pivot to get by. Sometimes I have to course correct a few times a day. This entirely scenario seems incredibly fated, especially since the app was up and running once I decide to go eat elsewhere. Sooo very Scorpio.

Yet it was a blessing to truly be seen today. And to learn more about how I was perceived by others in a way that was insightful. I would not have anticipated this opportunity. I have not felt this way in who knows how long. I received something I needed in a way that I never would have expected. Which brings me to my Create My Day exercises. That is a story for another time….