Stranger Danger? Not so much . . .

Maggie and I have totally fallen off the wagon, guys, and I'm sorry. School just started, and it has been insane and exhausting for both of us. I'm gonna try to get us back on track, though, I promise!

As for this week's topic, I also have two stories. The first is offered because the second . . . maybe doesn't quite count? I dunno; I'll let you all be the judge.

So story #1:

It was one of those winter days in BG -- you all know the ones I mean. Biting wind, freezing temperatures, the whole nine yards. Well, I have sensitive eyes. I always have. They water at the drop of a hat, which is why I've always had the amazing ability to make myself cry on command.

Well, this winter day, the wind was awful, and my eyes were just streaming from it. I could barely see where I was going. And some fellow student walking in the other direction stopped me and asked, very concerned, "Oh my God, are you okay? Is anything wrong?" Because she thought I was crying because I was upset.

It was really sweet, in a time when we barely slow down to give acquaintances more than a "Hey, how are you doing?/Fine thanks" exchange, for a stranger to stop a crying girl to make sure everything was all right.

Story #2:

I make friends with people on the internet. I write fanfiction, as you all know, and I have been doing so for quite some time. And one of my internet friends, Sarah, became my friend because of some of my Ron/Hermione fanfiction. We started chatting back and forth about Harry Potter and what have you, and eventually became really close.

Now, Sarah lives in England, and so when I was going on my London trip back in 2009, I posted on my blog asking for sights I should make sure to see, and Sarah asked if I would be interested in/not creeped out by meeting in person. Of course I was (she's not the stranger of this story, don't worry).

So we set up a time and place to meet on the trip's mostly free day, and the two of us wandered around the city together for most of the day and had a wonderful time finding places my ancestors were buried and debating Harry Potter and being schooled in English history (I was the one doing the schooling, ironically enough), and around dinnertime, Sarah asked if I wanted to meet another Harry Potter internet person who lived in the city.

Stranger danger! But I said sure, and met Sheri, who was (and still is) a lovely person even if I don't care at all about her guinea pigs, and they took me to a Mexican restaurant in London and we spent the meal discussing differences in language between the UK and US, and Sheri and I have been friends ever since!