Oh, and in "Random" notes--I just finally figured out that I know a West Coast Random and know of an East Coast Random...and they are most definitely not the same person. This belated realization definitely explains some confusion on my part in trying to figure out why people were talking about people that I didn't think they could or would know, and that the context made no sense.
I had just been chalking it up to, well, you know...Randomness...