My Special Thanks Go To...

I owe many thanks to Adrian, which I had expressed before. But I didn't get the chance to really explain why I owed him a lot, so I am taking this opportunity to tell the story on how I met him.

I went to the Starbucks few days ago to use their free WiFi service. I sat in a corner, outdoor, just checking the local job postings and sending out my resumes with nice cover letters, then one of the staffs came to me and asked me if I had ordered any drinks.

I had some money left. But I needed to reserve these money because I have no idea when will I get money again. So I told the Starbucks staff that I was actually waiting for a friend.

"I am sorry sir, but I have noticed that you are here quite often, using the WiFi without purchasing any drinks," the young man said.

I stumbled for words. I struggled to find an excuse. But I couldn't. So I smiled at him, packed my things, and apologized profoundly. As I was about to leave, a man sitting not far away stopped the Starbucks staff while he was walking towards the counter. They exchanged few words while I was ready to go.

The man stood up and walked towards me.

"Hi."

I looked at him, and I said my hello.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry but I overheard the conversation. Is everything okay?"

It has been a long time since I really talk to someone, but it wasn't something easy to say, so I just nodded to him.

"Come, let me buy you a coffee so you can continue your work using the WiFi."

I declined his kindness, and I was about to go towards my car.

"I have noticed you here a few times, and that is the reason why I approached you to speak to you."

I looked at him, surprised that someone would pay attention to me.

"Please, have a seat. I have already told the Starbucks staff to bring out a coffee, and I don't want to have caffeine overdose, so please help me out by drinking the coffee," he smiled at me.

As I was sitting down, the Starbucks staff brought out a freshly brewed coffee. It has been a long time since I tasted coffee, so I took a sniff, enjoyed the aroma, and sipped the coffee slowly.

He didn't say a word. He just sat there, looking at me. He respected my privacy and didn't want to pry, and he was waiting for me to start the conversation. I spoke up first, and then the conversation begun, and I told him about my situation, how I ended up like this. He listened, without saying much, nodding most of the time.

It has been months since I really talked to someone. Some of my ex-colleagues looked down on me and avoided me. I don't have much friends, and that was the first time I spoke about myself, telling the stories, and during the conversation, I almost broke down in tears.

When I was done, both of us sat there, silence blanketed us, and we remained like that for a good one minute, at least.

Finally, he started to speak.

"Don't worry. Life is like that. We have our good times, and we have our bad times. Right now you are going through a very difficult time, which I can relate to, but don't give up. We all had our fair share of mistakes in life, but the most important thing is that we learn from our own mistakes and try to improve our life in the future."

I remained quiet and I was slowly digesting what he was saying. It was true, for many times I was contemplating on giving up, and then I remembered the tough time I had when I ran away from home years ago. His words gave me courage and I began to think about the future, making mental notes on the mistakes that I had made, and suddenly, the next day wasn't that dreadful anymore.

"I'll tell you what. The people in this Starbucks outlet know me quite well as I come here often, so I will inform them that whenever you order, the drinks will be on my tab. This way, you can continue to come here and apply for jobs on the internet," he said, without a hint of sympathy.

I looked at him, dumbfounded. I must have looked like an idiot or something, because he added quickly, "Please don't get me wrong. I don't mean to insult you. I had been through rough patches before, and to be honest, I am not doing that well right now but I still can afford a few cups of coffee to help out."

Yup, I was right. He said those without a hint of sympathy, but with doses of empathy.

"Thanks, but I can't," I told him.

"I insist, but it is really up to you if you want to take up the offer," he smiled.


"Thank you," I said, and making mental notes on how not to abuse this offer.

Then he told me about blogging.

"I blog, but I am only a small time blogger. Why don't you blog about your stories? First of all, it can serve as lessons to others not to repeat your mistakes. Secondly, you will have a channel to express your feelings because you can only take so much, and one day you might just explode from emotional overflow. Thirdly, you can make some money through advertisement. I can't guarantee the earnings, as I am only getting very small sum. But if your blog can become popular, those extra income might be useful."

I contemplated for a while, but decided that I got nothing to lose. Besides, if the advertising money is good, I might be able to afford Starbucks.

He gave me the details like Blogger.com, Nuffnang, and etc.

"But I have a problem," I told him.

He didn't ask. All he did was waiting for me to tell him my problem.

"I don't have a bank account. All my accounts were frozen, so even if I get the payment, I can't deposit it."

"Well, if you trust me, I can add your new blog into my account, and whenever there is a payment, I will just cash it out and pass you the money. Is that okay?"

I trust my intuition. I believe, or should I say, I can sense that, this man has a kind soul and he won't cheat me. So I agreed to it.

Well, you should have guessed it. This man is Adrian.

He didn't look down on me. When all my acquaintance try to avoid me, he was there to give me the courage not to give up but continue to fight. He even took time to review my resume and gave me his opinions on things to add or remove. Also, he introduced me to blogging so that I can channel out my frustrations, despairs, disappointments and upsets instead of keeping everything to myself.

Thank you, Adrian. I am so lucky to get to know you.

Also, it came to me as a surprise that there are so many people that care. A lot of these blog visitors are strangers to me, but they had shown me that people are capable of affections and care no matter how rich or poor you are. I would like to thank you for showing me the support, which means a lot to me and I really appreciate it.

By the way, there is no need to seek my permission to link me or to tell people about tis blog. I will remain annoynomous, but please feel free to link me. If my stories can teach just one person something, then it's worth all the blogging effort.

PS to Adrian: Sorry, I am still new to this so I don't know how to link you. I don't even know your blog address.