One of the many odd little habits I have is a penchant for collecting fortune cookie fortunes. Usually I get them from the cookies themselves (I'm a bit of an addict), but I also seem to have a talent for finding fortunes. I've found fortunes in parking lots, supermarket lobbies, various restaurants (never Chinese ones, oddly), and even once in a cathedral.

I never pay attention to the fortunes at the time. Instead, I write the date I found/got the fortune on the back of it, and I keep them in a glass bottle. When I get bored, I pull out the bottle and check the fortunes against the journal. They actually tend to match; I hear that's the thing about intentional vagueness. Every once in awhile, though, the fortune and the events match disturbingly well.

I was poking through my glass bottle today, and I came across a fortune with a back that bore a scribbled "2 June 04 University Mall parking lot." I flipped it around, and I read the fortune (that bit comes later). Something clicked in my brain, and I checked the date again. 2 June 04. I went back in the archives of Supernouveau, and I pulled up 3 June 2004. The clicky-thing in my brain got all proud of itself; June 2nd was the date when someone and I first started...I don't know, whatever you want to call it. "Seeing each other." It was the date when things went from acquaintances to "are they or aren't they?".

So, I was slightly disturbed by that, but I tucked the fortune into my pocket and the perturbation into the deep dark recesses of my mind. I drove over to Brookings to visit Chantel and a guy friend of ours. We all headed out to Perkins, and Chantel and I started talking as the guy friend browsed the menu. She's very into karma and all that crap, so I showed her the fortune and the date.

The clicky-thing in her brain went into effect, and she asked me, "Wasn't that about when you and--"

"Yeah," I interrupted. "Day of, actually. I thought it was...interesting."

"Ooh, fortune cookies!" Guy Friend interjected. "What you do with those is...well, you take the fortune, and you tack 'in bed' onto the end of it. They're better that way."

All right, at this point, I smiled. Guy Friend saw my short-lived grin, and he reached over and grabbed the fortune from me. He scanned it. Suddenly, he erupted into laughter, literally doubling over and nearly falling out of the booth. He continued to giggle like a schoolboy for the next ten minutes.

And so the lesson is learned: what hurts at first and makes you shake your head and go "Jesus" will soon become the source of someone else's infinite amusement. Silver linings and all that jazz, I guess. Finally, the fortune in question:

Trust him, but keep your eyes open.