wowza it's been a while, huh? did you miss me? i'm surprised i still remember how to post on here. i don't know why this thing has been so neglected. actually, i have a couple ideas why:
1. my blog used to be my homepage. it just made sense to me to do that -- i'm not sure why. but then all of a sudden, one day, i was feeling a bit narcisstic having my own blog be the first thing that popped up when i opened internet explorer, so i changed it to www.cnn.com. okay actually at first i changed it to www.clutchfans.net, but after a couple days i figured this wasn't as justifiable as CNN, a reliable newsource to keep me connected to the joys and pains of the rest of the world. of course, i have only taken time to browse through CNN once since making it my homepage, but that is beside the point.
2. i haven't really had anything to write home about. you know?
anyways, i guess i should give everyone who cares a quick catchmeup on my life. i am still in austin, with one week of summer school left. it's been kinda good being away from home, away from that sort of routine, but in many ways it doesn't feel like summer up here. but life has been good. good friends, good times.
so back to the point. i finally found something to write about. something that is worthy of being shared with the rest of the world. something to ignite my hands to pick up my pen (laptop) and write (type) away.
yesterday was an interesting day. i had planned to wake up at 9 AM to go to costco to pick up a new 37" lcd hdtv with alby and titus, but i was exhausted and decided to sleep a bit longer. when i woke up, they were gone to san marcos, along with titus's spacious SUV, but i said what the hey, i can fit a new 37" lcd hdtv into the back of my civic.
so i go to costco, sign up for a new membership, and all that snazz. go over to the TV section, pick out the tv, grabbed an employee who grabbed me a cart, and went and bought myself the tv.
at the register, i ask if anyone can help me pack the tv into my car. the guy says that all i have to do is bring my car to the front of the store and there will be people there to help me. jazzin', i say.
so i head outside, leave my cart with a costco employee, and wheel my car around. we try to stick the box in the backseat, and uh oh! it doesn't fit.
we continue trying for the next 20 minutes or so, and by this point, i am sweating like whoa, but all to no avail. by this time it is 4:00 pm.
i was very discouraged. i tried calling people who were in austin to see if they could drive their huge junk-in-the-trunk cars to costco to give me a hand, but i couldn't get in contact with anyone. then the costco employee who had been helping me try to load this darn thing says, "well i get off work at 4:30, and i got a truck. i can help you bring this thing home."
you know when people sometimes say things like that but don't really mean it? like when there's one slice of pizza left and somebody tells you to take it, but all the while really expecting you to decline the offer? yeah.
well this time it wasn't like that at all. there was something different about the way he said it. even though this guy was a complete stranger, i could tell that he was being genuine. so i said okay.
i spent the next 30 minutes filling up my gas tank and eating quizno's, and then i returned to costco. he was there waiting for me. he told me that what he was doing was against store policy, and if anyone found out then he would probably get fired, so i parked my car and wheeled the tv all the way to his truck in the back of the parking lot. we loaded it and got ready to leave, when all of a sudden i realized i didn't even know this guy's name. so i introduced myself and found out his name was eric.
i told him i lived near campus, and i asked him if he lived close to that area. he said no, he lived in the opposite direction, but it was okay.
so i thanked him, told him to follow me, and got in my car. the entire 15 minute drive back to penthouse, i was just thinking about how this guy could screw me so bad. he could just speed off with my tv or something, but somehow i just trusted him. then i started thinking about how i could repay him. the only thing i had on me was a $20 bill, so i thought i'd give him that to help pay for his time and help.
we got to penthouse and he helped me carry the tv up the stairs and into the apartment. i thanked him again and tried to pay him, but he just smiled and said "don't worry about it."
i asked him if there was any way i could repay him, and he just said, "next time i get a huge tv, you can help me move it." then he got in his car and drove off.
eric is quite possibly the nicest person i have ever met. and the whole ordeal has got me thinking about why people do things for each other. i think pretty much everyone does something good in order to get something in return. or maybe it's combined with a sense of obligation, be it through friendship or whatnot. but to go so out of your way for a complete stranger? for no particular reason, other than to just help someone out? that's almost unheard of.
there is some good in this world.
