This past weekend, i basically sat at home. i had no money so i couldn't really go anywhere. i think the low point was when aileen paid for almost everything, even though she basically had the same amount of money as i did. i scrounged up all my change and we paid for almost half of the the movie rentals and in 'n out using change alone. i played basketball at an indoor gym, and because i had no cash, i used 12 quarters.... laundry money from college. sad, sad life. i couldn't even pump a full tank of gas for my car because i needed to have SOME cash left in my checking account. the blockbuster we went to rent movies was not the one we usually go to, but a smaller one on alcatraz and telegraph - they were advertising $2.99 for a new release and $1.99 for a regular rental. good times... good times....

the movies we rented were "Happenstance," which starred Audrey Tautou from "Amelie," and "Mulholland Drive." "Happenstance" was an interesting and cute date film, which played on the idea that every small grain can move a mountain. aileen commented that it was just like "Serendipity," but good. "Mullholand Drive" was definitely a film about... something... but that will remain unknown. "Happenstance" got me thinking about all the little decisions that play a role in the pipeline of life, specifically when choosing a place to eat. choosing a place to eat with a friend always takes so much effort, because it's always "where do you want to go?" "i dunno, whatever" and some form of variation on that. it would always resort to flipping a coin or choosing a number after narrowing it down to a couple of choices. my schema would start with these questions:
1) "what kind of food do you want to eat?"
if the person says "i don't know", proceed to question 2. otherwise, make selection or flip coin.
2) "asian or non-asian?"
if asian, list choices. if non-asian, proceed to question 3.
3) "okay... mexican, italian, american, pizza...?"
after choosing ethnicity, list choices. if party still does not know, proceed to question 4.
4) "okay, pick a number between 1 and 4."
1=north, 2=west, 3=east, 4=south - this method works best if you are standing on the corner of telegraph or durant, but can still work anywhere else. after party chooses a number, list restaurants that are available in that direction. for example, party chooses 3, which is east. choices would be "durant square, IB's, La Burrita, Orchid, etc." from there, go back to question 2. after choice is made, get some grub. if choice still hasn't been made, just walk in front of a restaurant, and by then, the party will have either eliminated everything down to one or two restaurants, or just pick restaurant at random. if narrowed down to two choices, flip coin or play "eanie, meanie, miney, mo"

now i know this process is quite complicated, but it always forces the other person to make the choice. for me, i rarely ever care where we go because my taste buds have been disintegrated from eating too many spicy foods, thus making everything bland and edible. so what does this have to do with "Happenstance?" well, it relates because no matter how much or how little time and effort you spend on choosing a place to satisfy your stomach, it's all in the greater purpose that has already been planned. for instance, think about a time when you and a friend went out to eat - and think about what went on during your meal... the conversations, the jokes, and how things either failed miserably or blossomed... and now think of a place where else that could have happened. i'll put my money (yes, ALL of it), that the same conversation and outcome would not and could not have happened elsewhere. so that's how it fits into the grand scheme of life... that even the smallest most insignificant decisions, such as choosing a place to eat, can make the biggest impact on two people's lives. we are so not in control of ourselves. we have no say.