The Drunkard's Walk

There's a book called "The Drunkard's Walk" by Leonard Mlodinow, and it's all about randomness and how there's really no such thing as destiny or fate, that life is made up of coincidences. People create connections between one random event to another because they want there to be some sort of control, some sense of reason in a completely unreasonable world.

It's an interesting read, nothing earth-shattering, but he raises some pretty good points. One example of over-reaching Mlodinow gives showcases a recent lottery winner describing why he picked those specific numbers. The winner said he picked the number 7 because two other numbers, 5 and 3, played a significant role in his life and 5 +3 is 7. Anyone who's graduated beyond first grade math can tell you that 5 + 3 does not equal 7. Mlodinow states people are so desperate to find a cause for things that happen in their life that they go out of their way to find it. Another example is a person trying to find a pattern behind the flickering of a candle flame. There has to be a reason because randomness is just too chaotic for anyone to handle.

I recently sent my resume to the editor of Rhode Island Monthly, in hopes of gaining a spot on the coveted staff of their Brides publication. There was no ad for any open positions, I am simply reaching out to anything and everything that's even remotely editorial related. I think it's actually become tradition for me to send an email to the Editor-in-Chief of Rhode Island Monthly, asking if there are any openings on their masthead. She responded within a couple days, saying she appreciated the interest and while there were no current openings at Brides, she would keep my resume on file. A few days go by, I get rejected by another job without even an interview, and I make my daily visit to craigslist. But wait. What is this? An Editorial Assistant position? Full-time? AT RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY??? No. It's too good to be true. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe my stellar cover letter indicating unadulterated interest in their publications led the Editor to open a position just for me. Naturally, they have to advertise, to make it look legit, but surely they must be saving this job for me. I mean, it's too big of a coincidence not to be related.

Maybe this Leonard guy is wrong. Maybe things really do happen for a reason. I'm just saying...