*Gasp* Chivalry Does Exist!
Yes, chivalry really does exist in this remarkable day and age! And I have just had the experience to prove it! I haven’t really updated this blog for quite awhile now, but trust me, this experience most definitely needs some blog time!
Being in such a hurry yesterday, I parked my car in a no-parking zone just behind Octagon building. (Yes, I know what you’re thinking! I used to do it before in the late evenings when I’m just gonna get something quick from the 15th floor, and I never got caught!) This time though, things were different.
After getting something upstairs for just like 15 mins, when I came back down, my car had this orange contraption strapped to the wheel, making it immovable. And there was this red notice on my windshield wiper, telling me that I had to go to this municipality to pay the fine because of illegal parking.
After endless seconds of trying to get the damned contraption off my car without any luck, my knight in shining armor finally arrived!!!
In the olden days, it used to be that the damsel in distress was saved by a knight in shining armor atop a white, noble steed. My knight in shining armor came with a sidekick, driving by in this white Jeep-like car (Sorry, I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to car models, but it looked like a Rav4 or something similar).
With cars continually passing by trying to get a glimpse of the crazy girl attempting a karate maneuver to the wheel of her car, he was the only one who rolled down his window, stopped, and informed me that any attempts that I’d make in removing it would be wasted, that it needed a key to get it open, and that I should just go to the municipality to pay the fine. Well, I didnt really know him, so I still continued to figure out a way to bust it open (haha), but apparently no luck.
I thought the guy had moved on already, but then his sidekick came down the car and asked me if I needed a ride to the municipality. Well, initially I wasnt really keen on it, seeing as how it has already been ingrained in my subconscious by my mother ever since kindergarten not to talk to strangers and not to accept anything from strangers! Possibilities of kidnapping (hey, my family doesnt have any money to ransom me!) and other possible disasters raced through my mind. But the thought that I had an appointment coming and I had to finish my volume this month made me accept their offer.
And they really went out of their way just to drive me to the municipality! The guy’s name was Paul. He was Chinese, like me, and he studied in Xavier which is the exclusive boy’s school across ours. Dont know what batch he graduated though, he said that he was pretty old already. Guessing his age, I think he’s probably in his late twenties to early thirties. He said that he lives in Pacific Star building, which is the condo behind Octagon, and that he had offices in Rizal and Tektite. Forgot to ask him what line of business he was in, though. Drat!
Meanwhile, his sidekick was actually an employee of his, forgot the name though. The guy’s wife is actually a Registrar in my high school, ICA! Talk about a small world!
Well anyways, when we got to the municipality which was a pretty short ride, I thought they were just gonna leave me there, but then Paul asked his sidekick to accompany and help me with the transaction. He even asked me if I brought enough money with me to pay for the fine, which is usually around P1,500. If I had said that I didnt have any cash, I have absolutely no doubt that he probably would have lent me the money! Imagine: me, a perfect stranger whom he has never laid eyes on till just a few minutes ago!
Both of them accompanied me in handling the transaction, and then after, they drove me back to my car where I was to wait for someone to unscrew the orange thing. I got Paul’s number and gave him my card. (I cant believe I got a new bump for the day because of this unfortunate situation!)
My gosh, I dont know what I would have done without Paul there to save the day! I probably would have had to call my mom and gotten an earful in the process! I really thanked him from the bottom of my heart, and told him to ring me if he ever needed anything. My gosh, I was so amazed and touched that someone who didnt even know me, to whom I was a perfect stranger, would help me in my little dilemma. I dont even know if I would have done the same if the situation were reversed! But trust me, now that I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of things, I probably will. 
So I went back inside Octagon because the “unlocker” or patroller or whatever you call them hasnt arrived yet. When I came back out, the security guard there told me that the orange thingie was finally removed.
There was a guy there standing next to my car, and he asked me if I was Nicole. I replied yeah, and he introduced himself as Paul’s friend. Paul apparently asked him to check up on me to see whether I was okay. He introduced himself as Kokoy, and he apparently works from home as a business analyst for a company in Emerald Avenue. (Another bump!>_<) By this time, I was really, really touched after seeing the extent that Paul went to in order to help me, even though he just met me and doesn’t even know me. More power to you, Paul! If only there are a lot of guys in this world like you, chicks would be lining up in droves!!!
