I am a ball of nerves.

Today I had a bit of a frightening experience.

I was very heavy hearted, and I really felt like I needed to get outside, go for a walk. Usually when I'm home alone I don't like to venture too much outside of my house, especially when I don't have access to a car. Well, I decided to disregard that and went for a walk.

It could only have been 5 minutes into my walk when I was passed by this man on a bike. No big deal, right? Every one's entitled to ride a bike, no matter what gender. But I felt really uncomfortable with how he looked at me... It wasn't a quick glance... and it scared me. I kept walking, though, because, after all, he was on a bike, he was already far ahead of me, and I didn't have to worry about him anymore. I thought he was long gone.

Quite a ways down the road, I was surprised to find that he passed me again. He had stopped somewhere that I couldn't see, and, wouldn't you know, he decided to start biking again when I passed by.

I was getting a little nervous, at this point... blame it on TV, if you want, but I did not have a good feeling at all. I decided to turn off onto a path I knew lead me to a road closer to home, and he somehow got to the back alley that crossed the path before me. He kept biking, of course (as was his style), and I was pretty much freaked out. I ran when I was he couldn't see me behind bushes, but walked when I got to the end of them. I didn't want him to think I was scared! When I looked over my shoulder to see if he was gone, I found him stopped between two buildings, looking at me. That was all the encouragement I needed.

I kicked it into high gear as soon as I was out of his sight, and picked the most hidden route home. I avoided long open streets, took as many turns as possible, and finally got home by walking along the grass behind the houses on my street, entering my house through the back door.

When I got inside, doors locked, the doorbell rang. Wow, that just about pushed me over the edge.

Thankfully, it was someone I knew here to pick up my sister's bike. Silly Andrea, there was nothing to be afraid of!

You might think that I'm really paranoid. Well, I am. I probably worked myself up way too much. The guy was probably watching me cuz I was giving him an entertaining show. But what can I say? I think of a thousand possibilities at once, and my brain gets over-loaded.

Ahhh, well, that was the mentally dysfunctional moment of the day. Maybe tomorrow I'll take a bike instead.