The Sixth Degree

Whiling away the time at my parents', I casually leafed through an old slip-in photo album when I came back home for Raya last year. I had found it lying in one of the chest cabinet's drawers near to the dining area. On hindsight, serendipity might have played a hand in prodding me to take a look.

The bulk of the photos was from my parents' (plus Shol) trip to Europe. To London and the Netherlands. Circa 1991. Madurodam and Amsterdam had welcome them first prior to my own Dutch sojourn. Various snapshots from their travelling, most prominently of which were those of my dad's 'milestone' event in London. Nothing out of the ordinary as I had seen this film roll before.

About two weeks ago however, the significance of these photos came to light during an online conversation with a fellow blogger. The missing piece to my 'mental' jigsaw puzzle was finally put in place.

Kak Teh buzzed me via YM regarding a remark I left at another blogger's site to which I wrote something to the effect that my father used to work in RTM. Her interest was piqued because she had done some collaborations with RTM in the past and was wondering if she knew my dad.

I told her that my father was an engineer with RTM in the '70s and considering that Kak Teh was in the broadcasting section, the chances that they know each other were quite slim. The topic then shifted to daily routine, projects and travels.

Out of a sudden, in the middle of cyberspace chatting, something clicked in my head. I solved the puzzle and quickly typed away. My dad represented Malaysia in the first ever World Scrabble Championship in London. Do you remember that?

Kak Teh's answer was a resounding yes. Yes, Yes, Yes! The sheer coincidence blew both of us away. She was the reporter in those photos which I flipped through during Raya. It took some time putting my finger on the lovely figure hovering over my parents since Kak Teh had not donned the tudung then. But that familiar, winsome smile gave it away.

She was covering the World Championship event for a newspaper - I've forgotten which one - whereas her husband did a similar piece for TV3. She remembered meeting my parents where they ate lunch together before the interview commenced. My father and her husband somewhat hit it off being hailed from the same state and all. They could be seen yakking away in their mother tongue. :)

When I sms-ed my mother about this uncanny coincidence, she also replied that she remembers Kak Teh. Mama even spelled out her full (binti) name, sent her regards and remarked "Anak-anak dia mesti dah besar sekarang."(Her children must've all grown up now) Indeed!

Another instance of this Six Degrees of Separation also happened around the same time I found out that Kak Teh is 'two steps' away from me. Fellow blogger, Blabs viewed the floral-infused photos we had taken in Keukenhof and thereafter sent me an eye-opening email. Apparently, her husband took a peek at those photos and instantly recognised my husband! Turns out, they used to work with each another at one point in their career. This was quite an amusing discovery, to say the least.

It dawned on me that sooner or later, this small world phenomenon would catch up with me. Especially since I'm not at all incognito in this blogging realm. I am bound to meet (or rather, know) someone who knows someone who knows me. Or someone who knows any members of my family, my significant other or close relatives. The permutations are endless.

Conversely, this natural, effortless phenomenon clearly explains how I ended up treading on the cultured blog of my sister's ex-boyfriend's ex-wife (is that confusing?) and how I learned about the short-lived blog of my husband's senior in college. And today, I stepped into the blog territory of an ex-colleague who wreaked some (thankfully, impermanent) havoc in my former professional life. Thinking back, I was the one who let her/him get to me when I could have chosen not to bite the bait. Ahh, those were the greenhorn times....

Where was I? Oh yes, six degrees.

The strong evidence for the Six Degrees concept must be a contributing factor as to why some bloggers choose the anonymous (or semi-anonymous) route in their entries, profiles, and/or subject matters. For professional, personal or some other arcane reasons, they do not want to be discovered by anyone who might have an indication to their real-life identity. On the other hand, some bloggers thrive at the prospect of a public disclosure, for a host of different reasons. They revel in making new friends, bumping into old friends, vindicating their stances or flourishing their opinions. Whatever their fancies, each to his or her own, so goes the saying.

Without a doubt, the world IS small and thanks to advanced technology, shrinking by the second. It would be futile to ignore this very fact, particularly when you enter a public domain such as blogging (Unless of course, you opt to open your blog to only a selected crop of readers). It's something one must really consider and weigh the pros and cons.

Taking after the addictive Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game, I do wonder whether, perchance, there's a blogger out there who actually knows me firsthand? Maybe a kakak from Chicago, a treasured acquaintance from work, or a long-lost childhood friend. On the flip side of it, a disgruntled co-worker, a mean-spirited distant cousin or a former friend? ;-)