So, yesterday was a bad day.
Now, my morning bus picks me up in Oakmont around 6:23am every day, and I usually get to town by 7:15am. That gives me 10-15 minutes to walk from Fifth Ave. to my office on First Ave. I usually like to run a few errands during those few minutes, and some rough mornings require a trip to Crazy Mocha.
--->I have been avoiding Starbucks like the plague since Pumpkin Spice Lattes came back a few weeks ago. I LOVE THEM! It is honestly something I look forward to every year, and stupidly, I made Jeff a promise that we'd have our first Pumpkin Spice Lattes of the year together on our next day off work. BIG MISTAKE! We're planning to wait until my birthday (Monday) to go to Starbucks for a coffee date before seeing The Lion King 3D movie. I am so excited for Monday! But, needless to say, I've been very good at keeping my word in this promise. I don't even linger at the Starbucks door, hoping to catch a whiff of Pumpkin Spice or see the glossy marketing visual of this fabulous Mecca of coffee drinks. I just look and walk the other way with a pout on my face.
So yesterday morning, my normal routine was interrupted. My bus goes up Grant St. from Liberty Ave. when it gets Downtown. We go right by the Federal Building, Steel Tower, Courthouse and Greyhound Bus Station every morning. That morning, all four of those buildings experienced some drama to say the very least.
Apparently, a passenger of one of the Greyhound buses yesterday morning got off their bus and pressed a fire alarm. She was already on the radar with this action, and it wasn't even 7 a.m. Secondly, there was a 'suspicious bag' left near the courthouse. Or, was it the Federal Building? I don't think the media really nailed that detail down officially. And third, there was another 'suspicious bag' left "somewhere" on Third Street.
Pittsburgh, in all of its hopes to become the next big news story (but never quite achieves that goal), had Grant St. blocked off from Liberty Ave. to Seventh Ave. with a total of eight police cars. There were also officers on patrol outside the Federal Building, turning pedestrians to walk away or on the other side of the road. Cars were backed up all across town, even all the way to the Liberty Bridge on the opposite side of town. Yay for rush hour delays being delayed.
Officers on foot. Check.
Fire truck. Check.
Two ambulances. Check.
Two bomb squad trucks. Check.
Sheriff van. Check.
So my little Oakmont Flyer bus turned up Liberty Ave. and detoured to Seventh from Strawberry St. in a total of 15 minutes worth of traffic jams. Finally the bus started letting passengers off on Grant St., but stopped letting people off right before my stop. We sat on Grant St. for another 5-8 minutes before turning down Fifth Ave. and skipping my usual bus stop. Instead, I finally got off the bus on Wood Street, left to walk 9 blocks in the rain, skipping my errands and being about 7 minutes late to work.
SO NOT THE WAY TO START ANY DAY!
Later, Pittsburgh unraveled this 'gripping' story. The bomb squad never detonated the bags, instead they just unzipped them. It turned out they were both bags of the same woman that set off the fire alarms at the Greyhound station earlier in the morning. It also turned out that the bags just contained clothes and various toiletries. Fabulous. I wish they had blown them up so she could be inconvenienced, just like half of the morning rush hour.
So, the rest of the day was pretty average and slow at work. My stomach was killing me from eating pasta and a chocolate chip cookie for dinner all night and continued into the next day. Work was dull, to say the least. And the sky was gray and unhappy too.
At 4 p.m. I left work and started my walk to my bus stop on Fifth Ave., only to wait an extra 15 minutes for my late bus. Not even three blocks up the street, my bus driver pulls over and calls his boss that some lights starting flashing on our bus and it was 'about to break down.' A crazy woman was knocking on the door to let her on (or something), but it wasn't a bus stop.
Crazy Pittsburghers are out in abundance today!
My bus driver decided to 'risk it' and keep driving as normal, but the by the time we got on the East Busway, he pulled over and turned into the garage. We had to get on a new bus and get a full bus situated again. More delays...
I got home 35 minutes later than usual, and I was feeling sick. And, in general, I wasn't a happy camper. My Facebook status when I got home was actually "So let's cross September 15, 2011 off the calendar forever starting now. And the rest of this past damn week :)" and I meant every word of it.
I ended my bad mood by saying "Today was a bad day" and hoped for a good day soon.
My good day came sooner than I expected.
This morning, I woke up after a really good night of sleep. My 3 mile run and uphill walk definitely rocked my to sleep by 9 p.m. and I was more than thankful for it this morning. I wasn't even craving coffee until I left work! I had tea instead.
So, today's morning commute was a lot smoother and I got into town with plenty of time to spare to start my morning routine and get to work early. I stopped by Crazy Mocha, even though I knew I didn't 'need' coffee today. I wanted to get a chai tea soy latte. While I was in line, another lady walked up in line and smiled at me. I smiled back.
"Did you already pay for your coffee?" She asked me.
"No, not yet..." I said, thinking maybe she was in a huge hurry or something.
"Don't. It's on me," she said with another excited smile. She showed me a BOGO Crazy Mocha coupon.
"Well, I'm not getting coffee. Does it still work? Are you sure you don't want to save that?" I asked, shocked.
"Nope. It's on me. Please, let me. I hope you have a great weekend."
And with that, she shooed me away from the barista and espresso machine, counter and assorted pastries.
When does that happen anymore? I try to do the right thing and always make a point to do good deeds, hoping someday I'll receive a good deed in return. But, I never honestly expect to get a return of kindness from a stranger. I was blown away and so thankful. It was exactly the boost I needed to get me to work and have a fantastic last day before a long weekend with Jeff for our birthdays. Work was the last thing I wanted to do yesterday, and after that act of kindness, I had a fabulous day at work.
This weekend is full of exciting parties and events, and this week has been the longest week of my life (Or at least since the week before the cruise to Bermuda in August). I hate feeling distracted or under-motivated at work. I love to do my best every day and excel. So, it killed me even more to have such bad, slow and impatient days all week. Sometimes you need something totally unexpected---Like a good deed from a stranger---to knock a new perspective into you. Today went by fast, and I rarely felt tired. I felt accomplished leaving work.
Jeff's last day at Gullifty's is today, and they're throwing him a going away party after work tonight. We're both going, and it should be a nice, relaxed time. Tomorrow is our joint birthday party, eating yummy Mexican food and drinking margaritas with friends. Sunday is Steelers Sunday. And, Monday we both have off from work and we'll be seeing The Lion King 3D, drinking Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes at lunch and eating Nicky's Thai Kitchen and Banana's Foster for my birthday dinner. Things look so much brighter than they did just yesterday, and I can't help but think how important it is to maintain perspective, no matter how 'lame' the day or week may seem. I may not have a party every night to look forward to, but I have a bunch of things to be thankful for every night. With that, I am getting ready to go on a run in my new (birthday gift to myself) running shoes. They're lime green and turquoise, and I am obsessed with them.
My perspective has done a 180 in less than 24 hours. When was the last time you received a good deed or gave an act of kindness that caused this to happen in your life? I'd love to hear.
Have a beautiful weekend, loves.
XOXO
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