Monday, October 19, 2015

A helping hand

Travelling alone as a girl can be so much fun. As long as we skip the part where we have the carry all the bags and luggage with us. I still remember the moment i was dropped off to the place i was going to stay in, all round me was nothing but the houses, trees, a crystal clear sky and the bright sun which i admitted it was so beautiful and tranquil that i could not believe i would be so lucky to be living in a place like this. Oh, and of course, my luggage. I had two luggage with me and for the first time in nowhere where only one or two people were in sight in the whole area, i spent a lot of time trying to move the luggage to find where i could enter. Lets not mention i walked around in a circle only found out later the entrance was just very near of where i was dropped off... Gladly the snow storm has passed a week ago so i could move one luggage at a time to go around the house. I was desperate for help but simply no one was there and even there was one, he did not stop.... I still remember you...though i forgot how you look like...

   As time go by, carrying luggage and bags was no longer a problem once i settled in. I can go to the supermarkets and ended up with two or 6 plastic bags filled with groceries spread along my arms but that wasn't a big deal as a bus was there to pick up from the supermarket and drop off just a 30 seconds walk away from my room. Okay, maybe a minute. But you see the point, it was that close.


   Then once in a full moon, i forgot what it was, i decided to spend big on that week's groceries. Big on prices as well as the variety of food. I usually would grab 6-7 different types of veggies, some packs of pasta, 4-5 types of fruits, packs of vita coco and smart water, salmon, 3 cartons of almond/cashew milk and maybe some necessities i need for the week. And on that Saturday, i went to Whole foods to complete my weekly grocery shopping. For Saturday shopping, it was a different bus, the bus doesn't stop right in front of my room, instead it would take me quite a walk about 13 minutes to get back home. It doesn't seem so far if you were there as you can basically see the house but i have no idea why it would still take me at least 10 minutes to walk there.






  So off the bus i went, i had two whole foods paper bags filled with food on each of my hand plus a green environmental friendly one up on my shoulder, or the arm as it kept sliding off my shoulder. it was so heavy i did not know why but probably was because of the fluids that i had to keep putting the bag on the floor and switched them across my shoulder. Yeah, you guessed it, i was kind of hoping someone would help so basically i was doing this kind of action as a) it was really heavy and i really had to switch the bags to my other hand and b) no lies, i was hoping someone would help me to pick a bag or two, or all...

   Having the experience of my traumatic luggage move-in situation, i kind of knew that was never going to happen and i had to crawl my way back to my room. Just when i was about the walk again right after i picked up the bags from the floor, a guy walked beside me and asked, 'do you need help?"  Thanks god there was a person, offering help. But as usual and polite i have to be, i said no, "i'm good, thanks". What on earth was i thinking, i don't know. As i continued to walk a step forward, the bag slid off my shoulder again and the guy went, "ah-ha, you do need help." And there i could not defense no more, I gave him an expression that kind of says, ya, it's too heavy. As quickly as how my mind changed, i slid off the heaviest bag over the whole foods paper bag which is the green bag on the floor and asked him to help me carry it. Okay it could not be over the paper bag, so what i did was to place the paper bag on the floor, slid off the green bag and handed it to him. How generous i was.

   Anyway, i was full of heartfelt gratitude that at last a bag lifter hero came to save my bags and i no longer had to crawl back to my room. What's more, we started to hold a small conversation along the walk back home. Unfortunately, i could not remember your name nor your face now but it was so nice having someone to casually walk up to you and help you with your bags and chit-chat about your life and the point he insisted to carry the bags back to my room, well living room, and then left was so nice. I remember telling him 3 times like it's okay, i can carry the bag myself now, it just 2 minutes away, it's just 30 seconds away, it's just around the corner... but the bag was carried till the last minute, the last mile. I thank you again for that.

   As people always say, 'you have two hands, one to help yourself, the second to help others.'