Strangers and Creepers

In my time here in New York I have gained an appreciation for those who have prioritized their own humanity over their fear of creeps or malevolent strangers, but I certainly can't blame people for prioritizing the latter. 

Within a week my friend Meghan found herself being stalked by a grand total of 3 creeps!

It would seem woman have a choice when it comes to strangers.  

1. Either play it safe and act mean or put on the expressionless "dead pan face" in order to scare creepy men (or woman per chance) away and risk meeting someone who's just outgoing.

2. Or be friendly to everyone and risk being stalked or annoyed by Creeps.

Both sides have extreme negatives and positives really, but I think what's important here is developing a fine balance between the two, though I would have to say woman should lean more towards the 2nd choice and it has nothing to do with creeps or dating.

If you go around carrying around a pissed look everywhere you go in the city everyday on the way to your 9-5 job, you'll actually start to feel yourself becoming the expression that you are posing in order to increase your defense.  In other words, you will become a more derogitory  person, not to mention the fact that if a majority of people choose No.1, things will start looking a lot more depressing than they really are.  

Smile! Restore a little bit of faith in your neighbor's humanity!

I know I'm sounding like some crazy optimist...well, actually maybe I am.  But I'm a prepared optimist! Prepared! 

How It Is

My outlook on things, I go into each situation hoping for the best, but still physically and mentally preparing for the worst.  This way I don't suffer from the psychological roller coaster of situations as much.  Does this mean I am less emotionally expressive then the average person? Sometimes. 

 With a more optimistic view on strangers, these 

awesome German women met the homeless Perdie!

We had even gained another friend named Ghyda (from Lebanon) 

along the way! She spotted our craziness and asked 

if she could spend the remainder of the new year with us!

We gladly accepted.

It would seem that there is a balance that is necessary to enjoy life and stay safe/stress free both simultaneously.  Our healthy diets are structured in the same way.  You always hear about how the best diets for our bodies are ones with a balance of each food group.  No matter what you eat, if you eat too much of it, you'll suffer the consequences, whether it's Sugar, Fat, Salt, Caffeine, Fruit, and yes, even vegetables.

Our actions can be examined in the same way.  If you go around greeting EVERY stranger with a smile, you might meet some really nice genuinely honest people, but you are almost sure to meet some real wack-jobs.  On the other hand if you close yourself emotionally off from the world, you'll be a bit safer but you'll also probably kill the potential of meeting cool people randomly.

It's your call, you decide where your balance should be!

Oh?! You wanna know what's up with me these days? Ah, nothing but the usual.  Dealing with crazy numb-nut realtors and finally locking down this apt. FINALLY. 

Also working on some PSA edits for black history month at work. So far so good, but there's a serious lack of footage so cutting these videos can sometimes be as agitating as a car alarm going off in a neighborhood full of talkative dogs, but that's film!

Also stay tuned, I'm going to put together another "Editing With Perdie" video very soon where I talk about creative editing strategies to maximize the awesomeness of your videos.

Peace out everyone, stay safe!

- Perdie