I am an Idiot: The Story of My Keys

In my first post titled "I am an Idiot" I explained how I had to wipe the memory on my brand new cell phone merely three hours after getting it because I forgot the passcode that I set up after five minutes. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that I am an idiot. Here is some more.

In this edition of "I am an Idiot," I lost all of my keys.
Good times.

Last night I was rushing out the door because I had plans to go out with someone and I was trying not to be late. (I was 8 minutes late, of course 🙁) I called an Uber. I took the Uber. Almost four hours later, when I returned to my apartment, I learned that I had lost my keys. All of them.

The keys I normally keep on my keychain include:
My two apartment keys
The key to my parents' house
My car key
My work keys
My bike key

I had no idea what a huge pain it would be to think about replacing all these keys until I realized that I didn't have them. Why did I keep my spare apartment key on the same keychain as my regular apartment key? That was dumb. Also the office in which the spare work keys are found can only be opened by my regular work keys.

I knocked on the door to my apartment several times but got no answer. Moments later my wonderful roommate called me and I confirmed that I was the one at the door, not a random stranger. I explained that I lost my keys. Suffice to say, it's a good thing that she was home and let me back inside.

Backtracking, I knew almost immediately where I had left the keys: in the Uber I took going out. A quick call confirmed this. I waited up for an hour until he returned my keys. He was very nice about it, for which I am grateful. 

Lessons learned. I put my spare apartment key on a different keychain today, just to be safe. I'd rather lose my phone than lose my keys: you can back up all the information on a cell phone but you can't do the same for a key.

 

 

Long Walks

In addition to running, for the past three days I have been taking five mile walks. I've been going on walks to clear my mind and get out of the house. It snowed here recently and it hasn't quite melted yet; the sidewalks are still icy but the roads are mostly clear.

Today I went on my last walk before classes start. I walked from my apartment to the middle of UNC's campus and back. That's a little under five miles. It was still daylight when I started, at 3:30pm, and dark, 6:20pm, when I returned home. I stopped in a thrift shop for a little while along the way.

When on these walks, I listened to Gloria Steinem's My Life on the Road, an autobiography about to her anecdotes about grassroots organizing, journalism, political campaigns, and how travel is important to understanding the world. I tried to take Steinem's experiences as a model for what I want out of my own travels. Including walks.

Some interesting things happened on today's walk. About a mile in, I was walking down the icy sidewalk on W Main Street in Carrboro when somebody honked at me. I looked around, headphones in, and saw a bearded white man in a bright blue SUV point and glare at me as he drove past. I normally don't react to being honked at - it happens all the time when I go running - but I have to admit that I was a little afraid that this man was going to pull over somewhere and confront me. Luckily he didn't. It was light out at this point.

Nothing happened while I was on campus. Everything but the dining hall and student stores were closed. That being said, there were many students milling about, eagerly anticipating the start of the semester tomorrow.

On my way back from campus, it began to get dark. Gloria Steinem's audiobook narrator talked to me about how she held discussions with women about voting for candidates based on the issues they supported rather than strictly on party lines. I accidentally stared at one of my professors as he got out of his car to go into Fedex. We made brief eye contact and he turned away quickly. I was amused. Either he didn't recognize me in that fleeting moment, or he just wanted to avoid having to see or say hello to someone he knew but didn't really want to talk to. I get that. I do that too.

In Carrboro, a middle aged white man on a bicycle stopped me and asked me for 25 cents. Smart, I thought. No one gets upset about giving someone 25 cents. He asked me what my name was. I smiled and politely told him my name was Mary. As I fished a coin out of my wallet and handed it to him, he asked if I had a boyfriend, obviously asking so that if I didn't, he could somehow repay me for the 25 cents. I grimaced. "Yup, I have a boyfriend, isn't that crazy." He said "oh well," still cheerful, perhaps a little drunk. "Hey, can I have a hug?" "No, sorry," I said, and walked away. He yelled "Thank you, Mary!" a few times after me. It was close to sunset, across the street from Cat's Cradle, a concert venue near the grocery store.

Moments later, I crossed the street. A woman I was passing asked me if she could borrow a dollar. I said absolutely, and gave her a dollar. I asked her how she was doing today, and she said she was fine. Just getting out for a little bit to enjoy the sunshine after being stuck inside all day. I told her that's what I was doing too. She had a pretty smile.

I don't tell about me giving money to people just to make myself look good- that's not the point, I'm not seeking validation for being a charitable person or anything -but
A) to point out that there are a lot of people in this area, even in this very safe area to live in, who probably don't have enough money to buy food or bus tickets on a regular basis, and
B) I was trying to be more open to people addressing me while I was walking down the street.
I was much more comfortable giving this woman a dollar than giving that other man a quarter.

The PTA Thrift Shop was open today, so I stopped inside to see if there was anything worth buying. I was looking for board games, but I didn't want Harley Davidson Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, or a puzzle, which was mostly what there was aside from more children's games. I found but did not buy a Twilight water bottle that was "Team Jacob." Really missed my chance there, I know.

There was a man in the thrift shop who seemed very enthusiastic about coming back next week on his birthday. One of the cashiers told him she'd make him a birthday cake, which got him so excited. He was turning 61 soon. The cashiers were cordial and very patient with him, telling him that they'd have pineapple upside down cake for him when he came in next week. They giggled with relief when he he left, but only said good things about him. Another man came in a short while later and one of the cashiers commented to the other that one of their regulars had shown up again. It hadn't really occurred to me, but of course there must be regulars at the thrift shop. Regulars looking for something to flip for a profit, maybe.

In passing the bus stop by my apartment complex, an older woman said to me, "Hey! Come here." I was a little unsure, but nonetheless I turned around and walked over to her. She told me I had a beautiful nose. I said that that was very nice of her to say. She told me that I had a beautiful nose and that I shouldn't get it broken. Her nose had been broken, she said, and now it wasn't straight, although it looked fine to me. "Come here and look," she said. "Look at this. Do you see this scar?" It was a scar that stretched from her ear down to the middle of her cheek. "My husband did that to me. He hit me and he broke my nose and he hurt my face. If your husband ever hits you, LEAVE." Astonished, I promised her that I would.

Finally, when I was walking up to my apartment, someone in a truck waved at me, and who should it be but my boss and Alex! They had just dropped off my neighbor, who also works at Campus Rec. I was pleasantly surprised to see them.


Normally, I don't walk to and from campus for school. I ride the bus or ride my bike. In her book, Gloria Steinem says that she doesn't drive, herself, because she finds community in public transportation. I interacted with more people than I expected to on today's walk, and although I can't make a sweeping statement about being "forever changed," I can at least say that it's worth making yourself a tiny bit uncomfortable to make conversation with the people around you. You never know what they might have to say.