one of these things just doesn't belong

Do you guys ever get freaked out when you see someone in a place you don't normally see them? Where they don't fit, in your mind?

For example:

• A guy from the bus walking on 4th Avenue. I only see him on the bus. And there he was, not on the bus. Very strange.

• A girl from the gym walking on 3rd Avenue. I see this girl ALL the time -- on the treadmill, in the locker room, at the water fountain. But on 3rd Avenue? I did a double take then shuddered.

• Another guy from the gym who happens to work in my building. I'm on the elevator, just staring at him. Finally I get up the nerve, "do you work out at 24-hour Fitness?" and he says, "you sure do look familiar." Now I call him my "gym buddy." He works on the 30th floor. I'm very proud of myself for making the connection.

• A guy from my business finance class at BYU at the bus stop on 6th and Olive. I didn't even know he lived in Seattle.

• A guy from work at the Safeway. Now THAT was weird. All I could say was, "Gatorade for 88 cents... now that's a great deal!"

I remember back when I was a giddy BYU co-ed I had this problem -- kind of -- every summer and fall. During the summer, I'd be somewhere like Ocean City, Maryland, or working at the Olive Garden (which I have mentioned before is the most awesomest job ever), and I'd see someone and say to myself "no way! Dave from Comms 201!" or "it's the guy from my intramural Frisbee team!"

But, interestingly enough, it was just my mind playing tricks on me. They WEREN'T the same person. I guess my problems are getting worse, since the bulleted instances above ARE the same people, and I have to reconcile that in my head, collect myself, and move on.

I wonder what I would do if I saw someone FAMOUS on the street? Brad Pitt in the Seattle Library? "Now wait a sec... he belongs in a movie! Or a tabloid! Not at a library!" I'd flip.

But, to finish the BYU-mistaken-identity story, I'd go back to school in the fall, and have the SAME problem. I'd see people all over campus (32,000+ students, I think, at the time), and I'd be convinced I knew them from high school or 6th grade Girl Scouts or the dealership where I bought my car. It was never the case.

Which makes me wonder if we all do have a twin somewhere. And I keep running into yours on the streets of Seattle. Or maybe it's you. Oh geez, who knows.