I remember when the San Jose Mercury News had at least three thick classified sections daily.

I remember wondering what the value was of the “Employers” listings on the front page of the classifieds — column after column of one-line ads, each with the name of a company (no contact information, just the name), and wondering even more why some companies had multiple ads there, especially since the listings were in alphabetical order.

I remember thinking that it would be environmentally sounder if I could get my Merc without the classifieds.

As I was reading today’s ever-smaller Merc, I noticed a house ad on the next-to-last page of the Sports section:

“Beginning Monday, March 30, our Classified print section will appear Wednesdays through Sundays only.”

Be careful what you wish for; you may get it.

Yesterday, I went to Fat Wok for a farewell luncheon for three of my coworkers. Despite the occasion, a good time was had by all, and, as usual for a Chinese restaurant, we had fortune cookies for dessert. Mine read:

“You will find your solution where you least expect it.”

I thought it would have been more appropriate when I was actively debugging code, but I still liked it.

This morning, I noticed that Mike Nelson, one of my former managers, had commented on my late-night Facebook status with a fortune cookie of his own; I responded with my vague recollection of this fortune.

And later, when I went to bring in the recycling bins, I discovered the fortune sitting on the ground beside the bin, though everything else had been taken away properly. So I brought it back inside to re-recycle, but thought I’d get the text properly memorialized, because it must be telling me something…right?

Either that, or I’m about to finally understand the final episode of Battlestar Galactica.