I've said it before, and I'll say it again: It's such a small world.

Example 1: Today, I took Harmony to Santa Clara University. We stopped by a booth for Ethnic Studies, and I started chatting with Jeff, a professor in that department. The more we talked, the more we discovered our connections. I mentioned I had been active on the Asian American front at U of I back in the early 90's, and he mentioned Gene's name. Of course, I know Gene well since we were both active in Chicago. Then I mentioned that my cousin is also a professor at Santa Clara, and it turns out that they play basketball together. Finally, I also mentioned that I took Asian American Studies courses at UCLA over a decade ago, and of course it turns out that he graduated from there and is friends with the individuals who taught my classes. Arguably, these would be the same people who shaped my proactiveness in the Asian American and Taiwanese American communities, initiated my leadership paths in several arenas, influenced my career choices leading to this point in my life here in California. Now, we come full circle with Harmony, one of my "kids," soon to be a student at this very university...

Example 2: My friend Cindy has been dating Chris for years. Chris is also in that circle of talented Asian American independent film makers, and they both know Robot Stories director, Greg, well. I was very honored to meet Greg two weekends in a row here in Berkeley, and I was even slightly flattered that he actually recognized me this second time around.

Example 3: Our TAYL group went out for dinner at Taiwan Restaurant after the afternoon planning meeting. Irene mentioned she was originally from St. Louis, but I had never known that fact. I started mentioning names of the current STL TAF crew there. She remembers most of them... when they were young kids. How funny.

Example 4: Embarassing as it may sound, sooner or later, as a Berkeley resident, one is bound to bump into Will Hung of American Idol "she bangs" fame. Today was our day. I debated whether I should post that or not...