Monday, March 03, 2008

Pay it forward? Fuck that, stock up.

I dislike the idea of paying something forward. Because, what if something bad happens and nobody is there to help you out. Instead, I take the backwards approach: have a good deed surplus, so that way when something happens, you're prepared.

Take for example the events that occurred over the last 36 hours or so. It may be less, but I'm too lazy to subtract it out. Maybe it's closer to 25 hours. Whatever.

Last night, I got off of work at around 1:00am, and got back to Farragut West at around 1:30, give or take. Swiping out of the turnstile, I see two people staring at the fare machine, apparently trying to figure out how to add value to their Metro cards. If it was me, I wouldn't like being in the position, so I stopped, and walked them through the process. No big deal. It was late, they were trying to catch the next train out (like 2 minutes away), and I was in no particular rush. It must be my Connecticut upbringing. Anyway, I didn't even give the whole thing a second thought--that is, until tonight.

Big night tonight. I took the girlfriend out to eat in Georgetown at this Vietnamese restaurant. (Full disclosure: I had already eaten so I sat there and watched her.) Anyway, little did I know it, but I had left my Blackberry (yeah, yeah, I have one) sitting on the table at the restaurant. About half a block away, this guy--who clearly didn't work at the restaurant--came running up to us and asked, "Is this your phone?" Amazing! I hadn't even thought about it, and I would have never dreamed of looking at the restaurant.

I really do believe that good things do happen to good people (most of the time), and that good deeds repay each other.

So in conclusion, don't pay good deeds forward, rather, collect back-pay.

Oh and one more thing. How rude of me. Please welcome Jason as our newest full-time writer. That puts our numbers up to two. Jason's an overall great guy (even if you don't know him, you know him, you know?), and along with being a lot smarter than I am, he has some really cool insights and perspectives.

That's all for now, but be sure to stay tuned next week for: When Blondes Attack: An Introspective

1 comment:

Lulu said...

couldn't agree more. why pay it forward when you can hoard it all for yourself? haha