In the middle of the day today I stopped at a Pret A Manager to grab my favorite spicy shrimp and cilantro wrap while I reviewed a presentation I was due to give later in the day.
I was just sitting there, reviewing my fascinating presentation on positive behavior management when this sweet little Asian girl sitting next to asked if she could ask me a question. Normally in this type of situation I ignore. Well usually I wear my earbuds, not even turned on so I can sail past beggars on the subway and icky dudes trying to converse with me (that happens more and more lately but I think its because I am out in public roaming the streets in Harlem and Brooklyn for my job so I simply have more opportunity to be skeeved out and told I am beautiful by a crack head). Today I was earbud’less and in a particularly good mood so I allowed the question to be asked.
What then transpired was a very surreal and bizarre 20 minute conversation with the alternate universe version of myself. She is so beautiful it hurt to look at her and quiet and demur, She is Korean very well educated in Britain (I asked where she went to school, it’s the teacher in me) and obviously privileged (That bag was the real deal). Oh and 27.
So yeah kind of the polar opposite of a 42 year old chubby white girl with a degree from a state school, a loud mouth and a demur bank account.
He question was personal, boyfriends related which is even an odder thing to ask the stranger sitting at the next table at 11:45 in the morning, but hey that’s NYC.
She was brand new to the city, moved here from Korea via London (where her and the bf met) and was a having a bad boyfriend day and just needed girl advice.
So we chatted and it was just a really honest deep conversation to have in that setting yet it seemed totally natural at the time.
She cracked me up by saying (in all seriousness): I’m Asian so I know I’m prettier than his past girlfriends” and “Are all American men rude? Is it cultural?” (I’m a sucker for inappropriate honesty)
At the end of our conversation (I was running late!) she said to me “I never do this, but you looked nice and I’m so glad we talked, I feel better”.
The thing is I felt better too.
Not that I was felling bad before, quite to the contrary. I have been living life on a high note the past few months and today was no exception. I am just two days from a long weekend with my drummer (anticipation is so fun!) it was gorgeous out, (warm and sunny) and kind of the perect day to be running all over the city. I had also just gotten a great review from my boss and I was eating my favorite sandwich as well so I was riding the happy train. Yet this sweet confused Asian Brit with her self actualization about her beauty and insecurity about her boyfriend (who was obviously an asshole) made my day even better simply by being human. It was random and unexpected and gave me a opportunity to try and help someone I’d never met have just a little bit better of a day.
It was a good day.
It was a good day.
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