Unexpected....

A few weeks ago an acquaintance had called me up to check that I was free on the evening of March 12th.  He said that a friend of his from Vancouver would be in Yonezawa that night and he wanted me to meet his friend.  I said I had no plans that night and it was agreed upon to get together.

Last night I was sitting at home and the fellow gave me a call.  I agreed to meet him at the bar where we had first met, a place called Nishiki which is run by a Chinese lady.  I got there before my acquaintance's party so I just took a seat and nursed my drink.

About 20 minutes later my acquaintance arrived with a party of about 7 people in tow.  I transferred my seat over to an area which could accommodate the larger group.  As I did so I recognized one of the women.  It was Sachiko.  I had met her in January at the annual Yonezawa International Relations Association mochitsuki.  She was a bit surprised to see me.  Next an elder fellow I had never met before addressed me in Chinese.  Sachiko quickly explained to him that I didn't speak Chinese.

As we started to get settled down one fellow looked at me straight and called out me name.  "Is that you!" he exclaimed.  I looked at him.  Didn't immediately recognize him.  Then he mentioned TELUS.  I thought to myself, "Wait a minute, this guy looks familiar!". 

Long story short...yes, he was a former co-worker.  His name is Raymond.  We had worked together on a project back in the late 1990s.  He had left TELUS in 2005.  Presently, he's in Japan to visit his son who works in Tokyo.  The acquaintance of mine knows Raymond through Raymond's brother.

Needless to say this improbable reunion was quite a treat.  I don't think scale of the improbability of it has quite sunk in yet.  I must say this is one of the biggest surprises I've ever had!