The thing about meeting new potential friends is that you never know who might stick. It’s like dating.
“The next guy you meet could be Prince Charming,” someone might say. And you may want to strangle that person, not just for the cliché but because more often than not he’s not Prince Charming. But it’s a cliché for a reason, and one day the PC himself really could walk through that door.
That’s how it is with friends. Take this encounter, which took place at an Ugly Sweater Party not long ago.
“Rachel, I want you to meet my friend,” an old college acquaintance said. “She just moved here from New York, where she worked in publishing.”
The friend—let’s call her Chelsea—and I got to talking. I picked her brain about the book world, she politely fielded my crazy. Eventually she mentioned she was in the job market.
“There may be a position at my office,” I told her. I knew a coworker was leaving but wasn’t sure if she’d been replaced yet.
“That’d be fantastic,” she said.
When I left, Chelsea told me to keep her posted about the job. This would prove difficult since she didn’t give me any of her contact information and I’d forgotten to ask.
On Monday morning a few days later, I was on the hunt for a new girl date (and I’d heard the job was still available) so I tracked Chelsea down on Facebook. “The position’s still open, so if you’re interested definitely send me your resume,” I wrote. “Also, would you be up for getting dinner sometime soon?”
Here’s how the rest of the week went:
Tuesday: Email from Chelsea. “I got an interview! It’s on Thursday. Now I need to pick your brain at dinner.”
Wednesday: Girl date. Sushi. Work talk (mine and hers). Fun! Friend? I hope so.
Thursday afternoon: Email from Chelsea. “The interview went well! Fingers crossed.”
Thursday night: Another email. “I got the job! See you tomorrow.”
Friday morning: I arrive at my desk to see Chelsea sitting across from me. “Hey neighbor!” I say. We get to work.
And that is the story of how two girls went from strangers to coworkers (and cubicle neighbors) in the course of a week.
I know that this is an unusual tale. A case of the stars aligning and all that. But it’s true. It happened. And I share it with you to say: All the botched girl-dates and awkward encounters are worth it. You can’t give up because, when you least expect it, sometimes things work out.
MWF Seeking BFF 
Yeah!
What is an ugly sweater party?
Perhaps I should have specified – Ugly Christmas Sweater party. Where all the guests have to wear hideous Christmas sweaters. Now that I think of it, I never had to attend one of these in New York, but in Chicago they are everywhere. Could it be a regional thing?
Not sure where it originated, but did you know that there is a website that sells ugly sweaters specifically for these types of parties? http://uglysweaterstore.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/UglySweaterStore
I know the girl who runs it and she ships everywhere – there was even an article about it in Holland and photos from Switzerland this past season, so it’s definitely more than just a regional thing!
Rachel what a great feel good post, on such a gray day!….I have to admit, and wonder if other readers feel the same?, that I have come to the conclusion that you can make lots of new friendships, and hopefully one the friendships will blossom into a very close relationship….but there must be some common ground for the relationship to continue… I have yet to find that after the initial ” let’s get together”…no matter how fun, if there is no reason to see each other regularly the friendship fizzles out….
So as you can probably tell I am a tad discouraged, and this post made me smile!!!
Great story – and kind of amazing, not only that the job worked out, but that she sits right across from you! How cool, too, that you got this nice girl a job. Very awesome of you 🙂
Good things happen to nice people like you who go out of their way to help others!
Many times it can work the other way around. When you’ve pretty much given up hope–seeking BFF or romantic mate–then the person comes in your life. That saying has a ton of truth in it: “If you go looking for love, you’ll never find it.”
From my years of research, most people who have BFFs were not looking for one. POW! It just happened. That is my attitude about it now….People weren’t looking because they were quite satisfied with their social life before that BFF cam into their life. The universe tends to send people in your life when you are happy and content with the way your life already is. BFFs are simply icing on an already beautiful cake.
I haven’t given up, BUT, I have given up on “looking”.
Love it. You know I love it. ❤
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