Distracted Life

Well that was interesting.  Remember yesterday when I said I was going to thank someone randomly as they were walking by my on the street?  I did.  It was about 1:55 AM on Wednesday night and I was standing with my friends outside of a bar that we had just left.  People were slowly starting to file out of the various bars and clubs down the street so I found it to be an opportune time to try out my idea.

The first person that passed was a guy, walking by himself.  Right as he was approaching I looked at him and as genuinely as I could said ‘Hey, thanks man’.  He passed me and turned his head back and said ‘You’re welcome, have a good night’.  That was it.

The second was a couple, a guy and a girl walking down the street towards us.  I repeated my procedure except changed it to ‘Hey, thanks guys - have a good night’.  A similar reaction, where the girl only smiled, and the guy turned his head back and said ‘Thanks, you too.’

I found it interesting how pleasant everyone was.  In a way I kind of expected them to blow me off and just keep walking but they didn’t.  I really was truly being genuine when I thanked them, so I assume that they could sense that even in the short amount of time that we interacted.

This pattern continued with various people.  I was impressed.  Out of the six people/groups that I tried this out on, only one dude reacted negatively.  And by negatively I mean pretty much just ignored me and then turned around and gave me a weird look.

Oh well.

I really do wonder how little things like that can affect other peoples lives.  For just that second, you’re connecting with someone that you never would have normally.  Are they going to go home and think about that guy that thanked them for absolutely nothing?  Probably not, but maybe.  There have definitely been times when I thought back to a random act of kindness or just something that someone did for me that they probably don’t even remember doing.  For that moment in time, that person affected me in a way that made me remember it several years later.  Isn’t that the kind of thing that we all should be doing for each other every day?

I’m sure you’re waiting for this crazy story.

After the social experiment had taken place we were walking back to our car.  We walked past a Bank of America and I happened to look inside the glass door that led into the small room where the ATM was.  You know what I’m talking about right?  The first exterior door opens up, and then you have that tiny room where the ATM is and then through the next door takes you into the bank (which was obviously closed).

Anyway, there was some dude laying FACE DOWN with his hands spread out in the ‘I’m being arrested’ position on the ground in that little ATM room.  The guy was looking around, with his hands fully extended.  In the spirit of thanksgiving I decided to go see if he was okay.  I went in there and two of my friends watched.  I asked him if he was okay.  He responded ‘Dude, I’m under arrest I can’t go anywhere’.  What the… So I casually looked around and informed him that there were absolutely no police officers anywhere around and he wasn’t wearing any handcuffs.  I told him that he was free to go and should probably go home and sleep off that acid trip he was on.  Getting annoyed, I reached down and said ‘Give me your hand, I’m going to help you up’.  Keep in mind, this dude was well dressed… nice dress shirt, khakis, brown leather shoes.  This was not a homeless person.  He grabs my hand, I pull him up.. and he IMMEDIATELY puts me in a bear hug.  ‘You’re not leaving me man.. don’t leave me.’  Holy crap.  At this point, I’m thinking.. ‘Alright.. we’ve got a stage 9 clinger here.. evacuate evacuate!’  So he’s got me wrapped up in a bear grapple, and I use one arm to make sure he doesn’t knock us both over, and use the other to open the exterior door to take him outside.  He keeps shouting ‘Don’t leave me man, don’t leave me here.’  I ensure him that I am not going to leave him and he’ll be okay.  So we get to the corner, slowly and wobbly because he’s still got me in a death grip and all the sudden this guy starts screaming bloody murder and starts squeezing me harder and harder.  Now I am definitely not a small person-at decently over 6 feet tall and 210 lbs, this guy was not letting go.  I could have easily broken his arms off entirely, but decided to be nice to this guy who was obviously already having a rough night.  I pulled an MMA evasive maneuver and slid out from under his arms and pushed him away from me.  He starts freaking out more and at this point my friends have stepped up behind me in case anything crazy happens.  He puts his hands up like a boxer and acts like he’s ready to defend himself even though we’re all just.. standing there.  I told him to go home and get some sleep and he just says..

‘I’m not trying to be an @$$h013 man.’

He then turned and ran at a full sprint off into the darkness and we never saw him again.

The end.

Maybe I won’t help the guy who’s acting like he’s being arrested inside a bank ATM room next time.  What a crazy mofo.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so Happy Thanksgiving.  There is so much to say about Thanksgiving.  I’ve always loved it.  The food, family, the post meal nap.  What could be better?  I consider myself very lucky to at this point, still be able to be home for Thanksgiving.  It should be a time of reflection.  Too many people focus on New Years.  Resolutions and self promises that will ultimately fail.  I see it every year, the surge of people at the gym that lasts about 2-3 months until it slowly fades back to where it was all year.  We call them ‘The Resolutions’.  Let’s get out of the New Year thing and into the Thanksgiving thing.  We should be quite literally ‘Giving Thanks’ for all of the people and things in our lives that we are blessed with.  Does it matter in what way you were blessed with it?  No, only that you indeed were.

Maybe this should be a time to reach out to people.  Instead of focusing on what we are thankful for, why not give someone else something to be thankful for?  I myself am guilty of selfishness.  Have you ever thought about that fat turkey on your dining room table and how many people won’t have one this year or next?  Not only should this day be a time for family but a time to reach out to those and expand our families.

It is cold.  Not only is it cold, but it’s also windy.  The Midwest has a way of every year reminding you of where you live.  ‘Haha! Remember me?’

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.

I am going to randomly thank someone tonight as they are just walking by me.  Just to see what happens.  I think you should too.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

What can I say? I couldn’t sleep.  I got out of bed at 1:30 AM and baked a pizza.  Without even cutting it, I put the entire thing on a plate and devoured it.  It was one of those cheap pizzas from Meijer.  I will probably regret it tomorrow, but what can I say?  I was hungry.

This just became my personal blog.  People don’t need another blog with titles like ‘Get three more things done per day for a more efficient life!’.  Come on, three more things? Nah.  Get an extra hour of sleep.  Honestly that is going to help you a lot more than getting three more things done in your already packed day.  Relax.  Set time aside to just, be.

Everyone needs time to themselves.  Some famous person once said ‘Work hard, play hard’.  Ain’t that the truth.  I’m noticing incredibly short sentences.  Wack.

‘Listen to the music of the moment, maybe sing with me’.
-Was the lyric that just grazed my ears at this exact moment.

I just forever froze that moment in the blogosphere.  Ever wonder if someone else in the world is listening to your exact same song at the exact same time? (Obviously other than on the radio, duh -_-).

Good night.

I would like to say congratulations to Barack Obama.  I can truly say that I am proud of the country that I live in.  Electing this man is a huge step towards changing the U.S. for the better.

It also means that we have made great strides in the civil rights movement, and the majorities have finally moved past a time when people were judged by their sex or the color of their skin.

Thank you for all your hard work and making everything possible.