---

1. When was the last time you bumped into someone from your past? Who were they and how and when did you first know them? Where were you when you bumped into them? What were you doing? Did you talk to that person? If yes, about what? If no, why not?
2. Are you married or in a relationship? If yes, how did you meet your partner? Who approached who? What did you say? If you are not married or not in a relationship, tell us about how you started a new friendship (either recently or as a child)?
3. Tell us about a time when you saw a famous person? What happened? If you have never seen a famous person, who would you most like to share an elevator with? Why? Would you have the courage to say anything? What would you say?
4. Are you are student or do you have a job? If you are a student, what do you study? If you have or have had a job, what do/did you do? If you are a student, how did you find your college/school/course? If you are/were in a job, how did you find it? Are you glad you took that job or chose that school? Why?
5. Tell us about a small coincidence, happening or happenstance that has changed your life in unexpected ways (other than meeting your partner, choosing your college or finding your old or current job).
6. Do you believe in fate? Why?

---

Question 1

I honestly don’t remember. I don’t go out much and since I moved to Yao City three years ago, I don’t know anyone in my local area. I’m sure I have bumped into people from my past before but no one comes to mind.

Question 2

I am married. This year will mark our ninth wedding anniversary although we’ve actually been together for something like seventeen years. I met my wife at her thirtieth birthday party. I was a guest of her friend’s boyfriend, someone I worked with at the time. I met her again at a nightclub two months later and asked her out. I think I said something like “Hey, remember me?”

Question 3

When I was a university student, I was at a protest and I saw a comedian/radio personality I knew and liked. I looked away for a moment and when I looked back at him, he was looking right at me. It was a little creepy, actually! Under the circumstances, I didn’t go over and introduce myself.

Question 4

I have a job. I’ll give you one good guess what that is. If you’d like to know more about it, please go back and read my composition for Year 1 Lesson 01!

Question 5

My name is James Usher. I grew up about fifteen minutes down the road from another guy named James Usher. Apparently we went to the same doctor and the same dentist among other things. Any time I made an appointment somewhere, people would say “Okay, so that’s James Scott Usher?” To which I would reply “No, James Andrew Usher”. It happened so often it stopped surprising me. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we westerners have middle names.

Question 6

Not really. There’s a quote from the movie “Terminator 2” that I always kind of liked: There is no fate but what we make. I guess I’m more of a determinist.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
come to mind	思い浮かぶ
mark	画する
protest	プロテスト
a little creepy	少し気味が悪い
under the circumstances	状況下で
guess	推測
down the road	道を下って
apparently	どうやら
among other things	とりわけ
quote	引用文
determinist	決定論者