Surprised by the Kindness of Strangers

As the days close in on another week, and the sun sets from a beautiful weekend, I felt it necessary to share a recent experience of mine. Now, this experience was the result of many series of unfortunate events and had me remembering that there are kind people out there in the world still.

Let's start at the beginning. Since the end of March I had been undergoing a breakup with my other half that grew into a continuation of a lovely relationship. All breakups leave a party member damaged and even though my love was still strong (as is his) the recovery rate of a bounce back is notoriously longer than the healing of a breakup alone. You must account for the process of building back the trust and recuperating from the hurt. This has thrown me a little out of whack but I am confident things will turn out well.

Adding on to the pile is always, stress at work. When projects are moving at light speed, every little bump in the road becomes a launch into chaos and back. It doesn't make it any easier when members of your team feel entitled to treat others poorly. Thus, making a simple task an unnecessarily difficult one. When you have this going on for 2 weeks straight, any normal human being would begin to short circuit and slip into madness...and I started doing exactly that.

I felt trapped and alone. Like I wasn't smart enough or strong enough to hold my position at work. Like my inexperience prevented me from obtaining respect in the office. From there I felt like maybe it was because I didn't look the part. I tried to experiment with different "business attire" looks in order to command that level of respect I was looking for. Nothing seemed to be working. I wasn't feeling it. I thought maybe it was my hair, or my make-up, or something...but I knew I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt like I was losing myself and the person I am wasn't good enough to be in the field I'm in. I'm a nerd but social, laid back but neurotic, simple but complex, understanding but an over thinker, all these things made me feel like I wasn't meshing.

I decided to take it out in other areas. Some filtered to my other half but he wore that burden well and showed me support like I couldn't believe. Another filter was the gym. I pushed myself as hard as I could so I could feel something other than disappointment with myself. I knew I was good at being healthy and active. I took advantage of that side of me. I cranked up the intensity on all my workouts and would sweat like a beast. I didn't care what anyone thought. I wasn't at the gym to make friends or prowl on unsuspecting men like many of the girls that go to the gym I attend. I was there to de-stress and to sculpt my body into something I knew I could be proud of. I was there for me.

As I was leaving the gym on a Thursday night, I was taken by surprise. Not only will this moment have me thinking twice about going places alone but also will remind me of the kindness of strangers. It was late on this particular night, and I had just sat down in my car to get ready to go. Keys in the ignition, locked the doors, and was about to turn on the radio when I heard knocking on my drivers side window. Confused and concerned I focused in on my disturber and quickly tried to analyze if I was in immediate danger. I rolled down my window slowly and placed my hand on my gear shift.

It was a young guy, probably in his early 30s, in a purple stripped shirt with skinny jeans that if we had been friends I'd highly recommend he'd never wear again, and matching purple sneakers. He had a little spare tire in the front, an industrial ear piercing, and I noticed quickly a tongue ring as he stammered and stumbled his way through the following sentence.

"Hi there, I'm so s-sorry to startle you but I, I, I, I just really wanted to tell you that, I noticed you at the gym, and you're just so beautiful, I was hoping we c-could exchange numbers and um, uh, get together sometime." 

I was so taken aback by this that I froze for a moment. Mainly because I needed to quickly switch gears from potential attack/survival mode to socializing mode. Having my other half on my mind, I had to let the poor guy down as sweetly as I could. We spoke for a few minutes and parted ways. As odd as that encounter was, he was very respectful of my turning him down. I was extremely flattered by this and drove away smiling.

It was nice that even in my darkest hour, a complete stranger still saw all of my best qualities and was brave enough to share it with me. The kindness of this stranger was very much appreciated and was a nice additional pick me up to an extremely stressful few weeks.

I feel very blessed to have all of the wonderful people in my life that I do, and would like to take this moment to give them a public thank you to show them how much I appreciate them.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and remember there are still good people out in the world.

Give Me Some More Time in a Dream

"It was as simple as that. From then on, we stopped being a family, and became a family. In italics."

Abed couldn't have said it better, especially with the recent speculations of Chevy Chase's involvement in the NBC cult series Community. Despite all that has occurred during this last season, the cast and crew held strong in finishing up an amazing chapter of comedy history.

I'm sure you've noticed by now that our favorite love-to-hate-him character, Pierce, hasn't exactly had the spotlight in recent episodes. Luckily, the creativity and brilliance of the behind-the-scenes minds are working their magic to keep the story lines continually flavorful.

Intro to Felt Surrogacy, aired on April 11th, has made it to my top 10 favorite episodes and it took me about 5 times of viewing when I finally realized, "Wow! Pierce isn't really in this episode." What a smooth transition! Kudos to the writers, you sucked me in (like always) and the flow was so mellifluous that I didn't notice the up-coming change.

Wait, did she just say change? 

Fear not my fellow Communticans, Dan Harmon is (or really, was) hard at work ensuring for the smoothest season finale and conclusion to our favorite cult sensation. With the talent of the cast and intelligence of the writers, along with the rest of the behind-the-scenes crew, I believe we will not be disappointed.

So, what's really going on? What happened with Chevy and Dan?

Fellow cult series Community fans, it is official, Chevy Chase will no longer be a member of the cast, along with Dan Harmon no longer being a member of the crew.

"...it isn't called friend business. It's called show business."

Not only were Abed's actions cold during episode 3 of season 1, but so were Chevy Chase's and NBC/Sony Entertainment's. Just goes to show when you go up against legend Dan Harmon, you're not going to walk away victorious or without a canceled show.

The much publicized battle between Chevy and Dan, along with Chevy's notorious outbursts during filming, such as his dropping of the N-word in the presence of co-stars Yvette Nicole Brown and Donald Glover, have ultimately led to their demise on this epic comedy series.

Unfortunately, creator Dan Harmon also got the boot from higher ups at NBC/Sony Entertainment.

Whaat?!

It appears that Harmon's stubbornness in taking direction to make the show more main stream and his lack of management in handling co-star Chase, later led to his demise on the series as well. 

Can we blame him though for stetting the push to move towards a mainstream concept? The guy is a genius. I'm not sure how many creators can incorporate gangsters, zombies, clay-mation, paintball, puppets, musicals, paranormal activity, and puppies all in one complete series. AND have the story lines ALL make sense!

Not to worry though, we Communticans acknowledge the level of awesomeness of the series and would like to take this moment to say thank you to all who are a flavor in the delicious Community pie (yes, even you Chevy Chase). 

You can guarantee I will be adding season 3 and season 4 to my collection with special Community themed nights to celebrate the series lifetime. 

The Misadventures of Little Miss Jessica

I was one of those kids who always did what their parents asked of them because I never wanted to let my parents down. So I'd always look both ways before crossing the street and I'd always babysit my sister when asked. In doing so, my young childhood life was a very successful one.

One of the main things I remember my Mother saying over and over again growing up is, "don't talk to strangers because stranger danger is real." As a kid, my initial reaction was, "yea, yea uh huh" always brushing it off because I never thought anything bad would ever happen to me. I must say, my naive teenage self was extremely lucky when faced with a situation I will describe below.

It was my first month in our new house. My family lived just around the corner on both sides. One Aunt lived behind me, the other lived down the road, and my Uncle lived 2 houses away across the street. All in all, I felt pretty safe and snug in my new environment.

The sun was blazing, the pool was like bath water, and my sister was relaxing on the lawn chairs while I ran inside to answer the phone.

"Hi, this is Ashley, your neighbor across the street." said the other voice on the phone.
"Hi Ashley, how can I help you?"
"Well, my oven is busted and I was wondering if I could use your oven to make banana bread."

...I paused for a moment. What an odd request of someone.

"Umm, well my Mom isn't home and I'm not sure she'd want any company here while she's out." 

(This was mistake number one, you never want to tell or even slightly allude to anyone that you're home alone) 

"Don't worry, I know your parents and I won't be long, I'll drop off the bread, let it bake, then come back later." - said the voice in a calm manner. 

My young 13 year old mind was at peace with how youthful the voice sounded and didn't feel an initial threat.

"Ok, that's fine, I'll be waiting."

"Ok, see you soon."

Mistake number 2 was that I never asked any more questions about this person. I felt the act was harmless since the voice sounded safe. So, I told my sister and we waited by the window for "Ashley" to come. 

From my window I had a clear view of my Uncle's house (that's how close we lived to each other) and as I glanced out the window I saw a young woman walk up their steps with a big pan in hand. I thought to myself, was this Ashley? She's at the wrong house if it is and she'll probably be embarrassed.  I saw my cousin, who is a year older than me, answer the door. The conversation exchange was obvious, my cousin had pointed Ashley in the direction of my house. 

As she was walking over, she looked small, maybe about 5 foot 2 in height with messy blond hair falling out of a bun on the side of her head. She wore sweats and seemed unkempt at first glance but as she got closer her make up said otherwise. I didn't feel scared, I didn't feel nervous, and I didn't feel worried. I felt sorry for her. She seemed like a lost soul just looking to cook a banana bread, probably for a boy that she so desperately wanted to be her boyfriend.

"Hello, Ashley"
"Hiiii!" she said elongating her hello with an undertone of embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were in the other house up the road."

...I paused and slight red flag rose. She didn't know who's house she was going to?

"That's ok, come on in. I have the oven set for you."

"Perfect! Thank you so much again."

She moseyed her way in as I directed her to the kitchen were I had everything all ready to go. I wanted her in and out with no room for too much small talk. I couldn't bear to lose any more time in the sun. She put her small beat up banana bread pan in the oven then stood proudly and smiled. 

"It should be done in about 20 minutes. If you don't mind, I need to leave and go get ready. I will set a timer on my phone and return shortly. Thank you again!"

The next thing I knew she was out the door. I didn't think anything of it and wandered around until I heard the timer go off. Sure enough, no more than 5 minutes later, Ashley was on her way back down the road towards my house. 

As I was walking towards the door, she already beat me there and walked right in.

"Uhh, hello again." I said as nonchalantly as possible in an attempt to hide my dislike of her abrupt entrance. 

"Hello! I brought an extra plate to share the banana bread with you." as she pulled the bread out of the oven she quickly sliced a piece and left it on the plate near the sink. "Thank you so much again! I have to run, please tell your Mother I said hello!"

I remember thinking after the entire event happened, how strange this woman was. What really hit home for me was when I told my Mother about it. She nearly flipped inside out when I told her I hosted a stranger in our house. My Mother called Ashley to find out more details and it turns out she actually knew my Aunt and Uncle that lived up the road. Remember the house she stopped at when my cousin answered the door? She was actually half right. She just had the number wrong.

Let's just say, I made out very lucky with this encounter and my Mother (and Father) let me know this many times. I never did such a thing again.