And the Winner is...

If you've never had an Oscar party where everyone dresses up in formal wear, you should. Adults don't get enough chances to really dress up for a night out. Well, adults that I know anyway. Perhaps if we were all Hollywood moguls, then yes, tuxedos and evening gowns would be a staple at parties and the inevitable charity functions. But here in the midwest, the very formal evening was a treat and, oddly enough, a bit like Prom...without all the limos and dancing.

You'll have to forgive my blog - sometimes it feels like it's airing on a syndicated network, always just a few days behind the original airdate (Laila knows what I'm talking about).

Since today was uber-busy and my mind is still reeling from all the excitement of, I'm posting a blog that I originally posted on my former blog on February 14th, 2006. No, it has nothing to do with Valentine's Day or my incredibly beautiful girlfriend. It has to do with a little phenomoneon I like to call...

MY CELLULAR DOPPELGANGER!
(originally blogged on 2/14/06 - I warn you, it's another lengthy one...)

So last night I get a phone call. Not a surprise, really, considering how much of my life I spend jacked into a phone; but what was out of sorts this time was that I didn't recognize the number. So off to voicemail land went the call. This is where the mystery begins.

Checking the voice mail later, I'm greeted with a loud, drawn out, "Jerrreeemmy" followed by a quickly puncuated message of which I understood little (he sounded like a politician or a clichéd film-noir newspaper editor). Now, don't misunderstand - each word coming out of his mouth was crystal, but strung together the sentence had no relevance to me, named people I'd never heard of (i.e. his name, Bob, -yes I know a Bobb, but this was not him), and insisted that I was to call back to set up a meeting or something with this other guy (Mark - and I know lots of Marks, but not that one) who sounded busy and important.

I didn't call back last night as I was in the midst of writing and figured I'd get back to him at lunch today - just to see who this guy was and more so, to see who the important busy guy was.

Didn't have to wait. Bob called this morning. THREE TIMES (maybe more if you count the dropped call). Once again, unrecognized number. Once again, voicemail land. Hoping upon hope that maybe this message would shed some much needed light on the subject, I was frustrated as the message was more cryptic.

But then I listened to it again. A.D.S. Three letters and a last name of the important busy guy, Mark. 10 seconds and one Google later, I found this busy important guy is a CFO and VP of some manufacturing company in Hilliard, Ohio (a 'burb of Columbus for the non-locals). Basically - there was no reason in the 'verse that I would be trading calendars with the mystery Bob to set an appointment with this CFO Mark.

Finally I call back. I had to know. And after some more phone tag, we had each on the phone. Here's the convo:

MYSTERY BOB: Jeerreemmy.
ME: Yeah, Bob.
MYSTERY BOB: How are ya?
ME: Good, Bob. But I have to say - I'm not quite clear on what your phone call was regarding.
MYSTERY BOB: A. D. S. (said so matter-of-fact, you'd have thought he'd just told me the meaning of life).
ME: Yeah, I'm sorry but I'm still not sure what this has to do with me or who Mark is. I'm hoping you had some light you can shed on this for me.
MYSTERY BOB: Is this Jeremy [garbled last name].
ME: What was that last name?
MYSTERY BOB: Wood. Jeremy Wood.
ME: Sony. My last name is Sony, not Wood.
MYSTERY BOB: This isn't Jeremy at Conflux? (now which part of "my last name is Sony" do you think he missed?)
ME: No, sorry.
MYSTERY BOB: Well ain't that funny? I got a number close to yours and you're both named Jeremy. Sorry for the confusion.

The conversation ended with the obligatory well wishes and all that. But here's the scary thing -- not the first time this has happened to me.

A while back I get a random message about something I ordered or won or something that I know I didn't do and shouldn't have and it was from T.J. Maxx ('cos you know how discount women's clothing is my achilles heel and all).

Same thing - I call to find out why someone has my name when they shouldn't and the nice lady who answers is trying to confirm who I am (You work in downtown Columbus, right? On Broad? This is corporate promotion - companies give out gift certificates and your name was submitted...). To make a long story short (Too late.), it turns out they were looking for another Jeremy, a Jeremy whose number was VERY close to mine (I think some numbers were transposed, but that's about it), and the best of that story - this Jeremy she was looking for works downtown. On Broad Street. About 2 buildings away from me.

I wonder now if it's the same guy....eerie.
And now I wonder if he gets calls for me and is wondering who this Sony guy is.
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Sorry for the rerun (though to many of you, this is all new, albeit a bit behind schedule from the original airdate -- just like those pesky syndicated networks -- so I hope you still enjoyed the tale of the cellular doppelganger)!