[This entry was written prior to Hurricane Sandy devastating the east coast. Obviously my scenario is nothing in comparison to what my family and friends back east are going through and my thoughts and prayers are with all of them during this recovery period]
Tucked comfortably now into my upright seat on a flight to eastside America, I'm smiling from my random run-in at LAX with a friend I haven't seen in almost three years. Life can be funny like that sometimes...where random occurrences give way to pleasant surprises.
Take these past couple weeks, for instance. The story starts with me and some homies reconnecting at the Abbot Kinney festival in Venice Beach. Hopping on our bikes, my buddies Matt Berberi, Jon Foo, and myself cruised the streets of Venice looking to make our lazy Sunday a funday.
Laughing and pedaling for about 7 hours, we called it a night around 1AM and headed to our respective homes. As I careened into my driveway, I noticed a small post-it note on my door.
"Hi, a water pipe broke in my apartment but the plumber has already come over. He said that the problem is fixed for now…"
That's an odd thing to come home to. But I didn't think too much of it. Things like this happen. And at first glance, everything in my place looked tip top, so I sat down at my desk to unwind as I recapped the day's events. Taking a big yawn, my parched lips needed some refreshment, so I sauntered into my kitchen.
Splish. Splash. Splosh.
Frozen in my tracks, my eyes slowly made their way down to my feet, only to catch a glimpse of my toes swimming in an inch of water. I flicked the light switch and my eyes couldn't believe what they were taking in. My kitchen looked like it was the battlefield for one of the most epic watergun fights ever. The walls, my appliances, my food…soaked. The floors and counters were filthy from where the water came gushing into my apartment. I stepped into my bathroom to grab a towel, but none were dry. Every towel became a victim of the ferocious broken water pipe's wrath and the bathroom saw no mercy. Half of my apartment had been converted into a waterpark without my approval and my things were soaked and ruined.
I slept that night on the dry(er) side of my bed (go ahead, make the "he wets his bed" jokes) and woke up bright and early to call my landlord. He already knew why I was calling and we sussed out the plans. They'd come in and assess the damage and make the proper repairs, as well as reimburse me fully for all the things I'd need to replace.
In came the renovation crew. They took a look at the situation and then looked at each other. Words were exchanged. After a while, Tony, the head of the crew, approached me saying, "This is worse than we thought." At that, holes were drilled into the walls. The ceilings were ripped out. I didn't expect it, but my place was getting a full makeover. And because of all the dust and odors circulating through the air and powdering overtop of all my things, there was no way I could stay in my apartment in a healthy manner. My landlord promised me they would compensate me as well for any lodging charges that would be incurred, as they'd much rather pay a lodging fee than a medical bill.
And now, the twist.
Searching for a place to stay for the next week, I checked out this new website that my friends had been raving about, airbnb.com. Essentially, home and apartment owners rent out their places to travelers, much like a hotel or bed & breakfast, but instead you're staying at someone's residence. So I scoured my neighborhood as I wanted to be close to my place and my things. Results for neighboring communities popped up, so I sifted through to find the most ideal place to stay during the construction. Then I saw an apartment on my street. Cool! That should be close. But as I scrolled through the apartment's photos, some things began to look more and more familiar, until I realized: this is right next door!
The setup was perfect, I definitely wanted to contact the owner and see if her place was available for the next week. I click on her profile and read through it. 31 years old. Advertising. Educated in Virginia. Graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University. Wait. Just. One. Second.
I'm 31. I studied advertising. I went to school in Virginia. I graduated from VCU. This was getting weird.
The both of us ended up connecting and found out we shared mutual friends. After sorting through the particulars and paperwork, I ended up crashing at her pad for the week, practically at arm's length to my own place. An ideal setup, a pleasant surprise.
Sometimes life hands you unexpected challenges that take control out of your hands. It may appear filthy, damp, complicated, and just plain difficult. But if you maintain an optimistic mood in your soul, focus your mind on the positive, and continue to offer love to everyone and even to the circumstances, the air will clear to allow you to smile through the oddities. You may even discover treasures right before your eyes that might have been overlooked before. This remarkable experience, though wild and unpredictable, unfolded into something pretty amazing!
Oh and by the way, the old friend I ran into at the airport earlier today is a guy who's well-known for unexpected twists in his movies, M. Night Shymalan.
Tucked comfortably now into my upright seat on a flight to eastside America, I'm smiling from my random run-in at LAX with a friend I haven't seen in almost three years. Life can be funny like that sometimes...where random occurrences give way to pleasant surprises.
Take these past couple weeks, for instance. The story starts with me and some homies reconnecting at the Abbot Kinney festival in Venice Beach. Hopping on our bikes, my buddies Matt Berberi, Jon Foo, and myself cruised the streets of Venice looking to make our lazy Sunday a funday.
Laughing and pedaling for about 7 hours, we called it a night around 1AM and headed to our respective homes. As I careened into my driveway, I noticed a small post-it note on my door.
"Hi, a water pipe broke in my apartment but the plumber has already come over. He said that the problem is fixed for now…"
That's an odd thing to come home to. But I didn't think too much of it. Things like this happen. And at first glance, everything in my place looked tip top, so I sat down at my desk to unwind as I recapped the day's events. Taking a big yawn, my parched lips needed some refreshment, so I sauntered into my kitchen.
Splish. Splash. Splosh.
Frozen in my tracks, my eyes slowly made their way down to my feet, only to catch a glimpse of my toes swimming in an inch of water. I flicked the light switch and my eyes couldn't believe what they were taking in. My kitchen looked like it was the battlefield for one of the most epic watergun fights ever. The walls, my appliances, my food…soaked. The floors and counters were filthy from where the water came gushing into my apartment. I stepped into my bathroom to grab a towel, but none were dry. Every towel became a victim of the ferocious broken water pipe's wrath and the bathroom saw no mercy. Half of my apartment had been converted into a waterpark without my approval and my things were soaked and ruined.
I slept that night on the dry(er) side of my bed (go ahead, make the "he wets his bed" jokes) and woke up bright and early to call my landlord. He already knew why I was calling and we sussed out the plans. They'd come in and assess the damage and make the proper repairs, as well as reimburse me fully for all the things I'd need to replace.
In came the renovation crew. They took a look at the situation and then looked at each other. Words were exchanged. After a while, Tony, the head of the crew, approached me saying, "This is worse than we thought." At that, holes were drilled into the walls. The ceilings were ripped out. I didn't expect it, but my place was getting a full makeover. And because of all the dust and odors circulating through the air and powdering overtop of all my things, there was no way I could stay in my apartment in a healthy manner. My landlord promised me they would compensate me as well for any lodging charges that would be incurred, as they'd much rather pay a lodging fee than a medical bill.
And now, the twist.
Searching for a place to stay for the next week, I checked out this new website that my friends had been raving about, airbnb.com. Essentially, home and apartment owners rent out their places to travelers, much like a hotel or bed & breakfast, but instead you're staying at someone's residence. So I scoured my neighborhood as I wanted to be close to my place and my things. Results for neighboring communities popped up, so I sifted through to find the most ideal place to stay during the construction. Then I saw an apartment on my street. Cool! That should be close. But as I scrolled through the apartment's photos, some things began to look more and more familiar, until I realized: this is right next door!
I'm 31. I studied advertising. I went to school in Virginia. I graduated from VCU. This was getting weird.
The both of us ended up connecting and found out we shared mutual friends. After sorting through the particulars and paperwork, I ended up crashing at her pad for the week, practically at arm's length to my own place. An ideal setup, a pleasant surprise.
Sometimes life hands you unexpected challenges that take control out of your hands. It may appear filthy, damp, complicated, and just plain difficult. But if you maintain an optimistic mood in your soul, focus your mind on the positive, and continue to offer love to everyone and even to the circumstances, the air will clear to allow you to smile through the oddities. You may even discover treasures right before your eyes that might have been overlooked before. This remarkable experience, though wild and unpredictable, unfolded into something pretty amazing!
