Archives for February 2013

I have a question for you guys: Have you ever picked up hitchhiker or given a ride to a stranger you met somewhere? No judgment here.

My DB and I flew to Vegas for the day yesterday since we have a long weekend. We took the first flight out in the morning and the last flight back in. I always wanted to do that. My parents and aunts were also in Las Vegas for the weekend, so it worked out perfectly. My dad picked us up from the airport and we spent the day eating and walking around.

We had dinner in Chinatown before leaving, and as my dad came to pick us up, he said, “We have plenty of time before your flight, right? We’re going to drive a girl to Circus Circus. She needs a ride.”

TIMEOUT.

What?!? My DB and I watched a movie the night before called Vile on Netflix about this situation. In the movie, a girl comes up to a bunch of teenagers at a gas station and asks for a ride back to her car because she ran out of gas. She seems like a cougar, so the boy driving happily gives her a lift despite his disapproving girlfriend. She ends up smoke bombing them in the car, kidnapping them, and then they all wake up locked in a house. Can you guess the ending? I’ll give you a hint: there are no survivors.

So naturally, I’m freaking out. My mom, my DB, and I bombarded my dad with questions. Who is this girl? Why are we giving her a ride? What is she doing by herself? Where did you find her?

You have to understand, my dad has the biggest heart out of anyone I know. Whenever he sees someone in distress, he’ll come to the rescue. He’s that guy. He’ll help all of our neighbors with any fix-it problem they have. He’ll pull over to help people push a car to a gas station when they’ve run out of gas. He’ll happily jump your car when your battery dies.

He saw a tiny, Asian girl standing in the middle of the dark parking lot in Chinatown with a rolling luggage and offered her a ride because that’s what he does. We all squeezed into the car and off we went.

It was extremely awkward at first. Why would this girl get in a car with a random stranger she doesn’t know? My dad doesn’t look that friendly. We found out that she was waiting for a taxi and that she was here on a meeting with a “client.” My dad immediately asked her what kind of business she was in, oblivious to the situation. My heart was about to beat out of my chest. “Meeting” a “client” in Vegas?!?! I’m pretty sure I died at this point.

She responded that she sold clothes and was meeting with the buyer to show her products (hence the luggage). This was her first time in the states. She graduated last year from a University in China and was here alone. She had an accent, but we were all surprised at how well her English was for a first timer in the US. You could tell that she didn’t understand everything we said or asked because she’d just laugh and nod at times. That totally works, by the way. If you don’t understand someone, just laugh and nod.

We dropped her off at Circus Circus and all was well. There was no secret gang waiting for us, no smoke bombs, and no surprises. I commend this girl for having so much bravery. She traveled to a country by herself, not knowing anyone, and trusted in complete strangers. You go, girl. But next time, don’t hop into a car with people you don’t know. You never know who you’re going to be with. My parents would kill me if I ever did that.

Have I told you guys how much I love flank steak? It’s wonderfully priced and you can do so much with it. It cooks fast, too! My kind of meat. This recipe is from Get Crocked and is basically a lazy person’s way of cooking an easy meat.