Stalked

A few days ago at my local subway station, I was followed by a suspicious man. It all began when I got on an elevator with three men. I pressed the button for my floor and looked at the other men to see if they needed me to press a button for them. The suspicious man nodded when I pressed the button for my floor.  I instantly got bad vibes from this man because he was not carrying a briefcase or car keys and it didn't seem like he had a car to go to. We both exited the elevator and began to walk down the same parking lot aisle. I had a feeling that he was following me because as I mentioned, he was not holding car keys and was wearing a hoodie so I looked him straight in the eyes and  I pulled out my cell phone and pretended to call my boyfriend and I turned around to head toward the elevator/stairs.  The man turned from walking toward the cars to follow me back toward the stairs and elevators then he stopped walking and asked me if he could buy a cigarette from me. I am not a smoker. I don't smell like cigarettes, nor was I carrying a box of cigarettes so clearly this man made up an excuse to make it seem like he was following me for that reason. I yelled "NO" and ran up the stairs to the floor where my car was. He didn't follow me up the stairs, but as I drove down the parking deck, the man was still on the fourth floor where he was following me. If he really wanted cigarettes, he would be on the first floor where all of the people exit the train and he would be asking them. I usually see the good in people, but due to this man's suspicious actions, I am convinced that had I not looked him in the eye and had I not been aware of my surroundings, he would have done me harm. I drove down to the bottom floor and reported him to the subway police. In general, I am a super paranoid person and after being a nanny for many years, I have grown eyes in the back of my head. I am always looking over my shoulders and I always look at people in the eyes and pay attention to people's actions. I took a three hour self defense course a few years ago and the stuff that I learned has stuck with me. I hope that by reading this article, you remember how important it is to pay attention to your surroundings. Here are some tips that I have for parking deck safety.

1. Be aware of your surroundings. Look people in the eyes.

2. If you are in a parking deck, keep your car keys in one hand and your cell phone in the other. Take your earphones out and pay attention to the people around you and the cars that are moving past you.

3. Don't listen to loud music with headphones in the parking deck.

4. Don't stay in your car for too long before leaving the parking deck.  Lock your car as soon as you get in.

5. If you feel like you are being followed, pretend to be on the phone with somebody.

6. When in doubt, run! Who cares if you look stupid? Better to look stupid then to risk being in a bad situation.

Valentine's Day From Hell

I don't even know where to begin. This past summer, I was and extra in the film Endless Love so my friends and I had planned to shoot a music video, go to dinner at 7:00, then see Endless Love at 9:40. My friend Patrick and I were going to meet up at 5:30 to shoot the music video. I arrived to the parking deck of the shopping plaza where were meeting, took the key out of ignition, put it in my purse then went to put something in my trunk. I left my purse in the passenger seat of the car, so when I walked to my trunk, my car door locked. I panicked. Luckily I managed to tell Patrick where I was parked before I locked my phone and purse in the car. He got there and knew something was wrong. I called my mom who works in Midtown to see if she happened to have a spare key of my car. Nope! I made her come to meet us at the shopping plaza so she could give me some money. My mom managed to get there within fifteen minutes of the incident. My purse was not visible so Patrick and I just decided to go meet up with our friends because we all had a dinner reservation at 7:00.  We got to the restaurant ten minutes late which is no big deal, only two of our guests where and they were seated. I apologized to them for being late, because I was the host. Then we all sat down and looked at the menus. There were no prices on the menu! Then we see that the menu is smaller than the one posted online. The manager comes up to us and tells us that it's a fixed menu and it's a $45 minimum per person. My friends and I are broke, we're just normal people, most of us are college students between 20-25, $45 is a lot of money. Imagine how guilty I felt. I had no idea it was a fixed menu. The hostess who took our reservation was supposed to tell us that it was a fixed menu and she was supposed to take our credit card number to hold the reservation. She did neither of . Two of our friends decided to leave which was very smart of them and for some idiotic reason the rest of us stayed. We got our appetizer, dinner, and dessert that came with the $45 dollars and were not really pleased with the waitress. She talked so much trash about us right in front of our faces. So then we looked at movie times and the movie time that we planned to go to was sold out. Could anything else go wrong? We decided to go to the 12:15 showing of the movie. Unfortunately, our friends who left the restaurant had already bought tickets to the 9:40 so they had to go see it without us.  We got the bills and holy moly it was expensive. We regretted staying at the restaurant, but every other place was booked anyway. Also, we weren't going to a shitty restaurant on Valentine's Day. Patrick and I went ahead and returned to the parking deck, I called my roadside assistance and they came and unlocked my car in time before the movie. It only took them ten minutes after I called them to show up to my car. Patrick and I went ahead and shot his music video and our friends went shopping for a little while then Patrick left and didn't stay for the movie so I stayed with my friends Corinne, Sav, Jessie, Willi and three guys whose names I forgot. Sorry y'all. The movie sucked! It was still interesting for us, because we were in it and it saw a familiar face every two seconds in the film, but I would not recommend anyone pay to go see it unless you are a teenage girl. I love Alex Pettyfer so I enjoyed seeing his face, but  the film itself was not that good. So corny. After the movie I gave my friend a ride home then I plugged in my address to find out how to get home and my GPS on my phone did not work. It started pouring, I could barely see anything. I had to roll down my window and ask someone how to get to the highway.. I finally made it home at 3:30. Although locking my keys in the car and the expensive dinner were disastrous, the most fun part was seeing the movie and shooting my friend Patrick's video, but I was really stressed from everything that had happened that it was hard to enjoy myself at some parts.  It's been a stressful year for me to be honest. I haven't been feeling like myself so I went to the doctor and got blood work and I didn't get very good blood test results. I have to go back this week for more blood work and another checkup so that's also been adding to my stress, but things can only get better from here right?

Here are some pictures from last night...

I love you Dad!

My father passed away on November 18, 2001 from lung cancer. There are not enough words to express how amazing of a father, husband, brother and friend, and alarm salesman he was.  Everybody loved him. He was an extremely giving person.  One time, he let a homeless man come have a meal and take a shower at our house.  He was so giving that when he was dying  he wrote my sister and I birthday cards up until our 20s, he also wrote graduation cards and wedding cards for us. He even recorded a video for us. I haven't had the courage to watch it to this day. On my eighth birthday, he wrote me a song that he would play on the piano. I now have it framed and it will always be very special to me.  My mom, sister, and I were spoiled to have him in our lives. He treated us like princesses not because of buying material things, but he was Mr. Mom.  He would pick us from school, play with us, cook for us, clean the house and help my mom in a lot of ways. He taught me how to play the piano by ear. People say that I got his sense of humor and his good singing voice. I'm always flattered when people tell me that I remind them of him.  I hope to one day find a man who can be as good of a husband and father as he was. There's a lot more that I could write, but I'm going to keep it short and sweet and share some pictures of him instead . He had these huge goofy glasses that I absolutely loved. When he finally got modernized glasses, I asked him to wear the old ones.  A small part of my heart will always be missing. Nobody can ever replace my love that I have for my dad. I love you dad and I miss you every single dad. I am lucky to have had you in my life.

Resolutions for 2014

These are not in any specific order. I'm just typing them as they come to my mind.

1. Volunteer more.

2.  To get all As for my last semester of college.

3. Stop going out to eat as much.

4. Make time for loved ones.

5. Procrastinate less.

6. Run at least a mile a day Monday- Friday.

7. Keep in better touch with family.

8.  Eat breakfast every day.

9. Run a 10k

10. Get a job after graduating college.

11. Go to both of my grandma's 80th birthday parties (TX and MX)

12.  Visit my little sister more.

13. Trust people more.

How To Move On After A Bad Relationship

My friends and I have dated quite a few jerks. All it took was one jerk for me to realize what kind of guy not to date. Here's some advice that we have on how to move on after a bad relationship.

1. Cut all ties.

Not all relationships end badly or are unhealthy, but if that's the case you should cut all forms of communication with your ex. First, delete their number from your phone. Do not contact them. If they contact you and start to harass you, block their number. If they start sending you text messages through the internet, change your number. Changing your phone number may cost money, but it is definitely worth it. Blocking them on Facebook and Twitter will also help you move on a little easier.  Lastly, if they keep harassing you and showing up to your house, get a restraining order.

2. Talk to somebody.

Don't bottle up your emotions. Talk to your friends and family. If the relationship was verbally, mentally, or physically abusive, seek counseling. It's unhealthy for you to not talk to other people about it. Many people do not realize that emotional/mental abuse can be more harmful to a person than physical abuse.

3. Don't go back.

After any relationship ends you may feel lonely and surprisingly you might even miss your ex even if they treated you like dirt. No matter what, do not go back especially if it was an abusive relationship. You cannot change a person, only they can change themselves . They may apologize, send you flowers, but that does not excuse them treating you poorly. You have your friends and family to help you get through it.

4. Stay single for a while.

Don't hop into a relationship right after the breakup just because you don't like being alone. You will need time to heal after whatever you went through.

5. Stay positive.

You will find love again. Not everybody is like your ex. Don't give up on finding happiness, but don't rush into anything either and don't someone just to date.

Thoughts….

This past weekend was a sad weekend for a lot of people and for my community. First of all, it was the first anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy. I didn't know any of the families whose kids were killed, but as a former nanny and someone who adores children, my heart was so sad for them. I sat glued to the television for three days last year trying to comprehend the terrible tragedy that occured. I found myself crying a lot this weekend for these families and these kids that would never get to grow up. In addition to the Sandy Hook anniversary, something tragic happened in my community... the son of an acquaintance committed suicide. He was only fourteen years old.  I know the mother of the young man and she is such a nice lady and didn't deserve this at all, nobody does. All of these deaths have gotten me thinking about how much we take for granted, the dumb things we stress about, and all of the complaining that we do. My mom and sister are the only family I have here in Atlanta.  They drive me crazy and we argue over some of the dumbest things, but lately I've tried to not get annoyed over small, stupid things. What if my mom or sister got taken away from me? How would I feel if the last moments we spent together were arguing over dumb things? I would never forgive myself if anything happened to them. They are the most important people in my life. I hear people complain about their parents, but they just need to stop and think of everything that they do for them. They may annoy the hell out of you, but usually it's for your own good. I've personally lost a father and I cringe whenever someone complains about their father, because I'd give one of my lungs away to have my dad here today. I'll probably add more to this blog later, but my point is we need to appreciate our loved ones and stop bitching about them because they may be gone at the blink of an eye and the things that we usually argue about really aren't worth arguing about.