The time I drove to Compton

You're now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.

I was looking for my boss. The founder/CEO of our agency.

My plan to quickly drop by his house for a work-related meeting turned into a nightmare-ish one hour long stressventure that made me reflect on my work ethic and fear for my life. In the end, it was quite simple - he had mistyped his address, and the address he initially gave me did not exist in real life but existed in two different places on stupid google maps. But you see, I was not aware of this until he called me on my way home. 

So in between me getting in the car to drive to his place and the call he FINALLY made back to me, I:

-drove around the same neighborhood 5 times, scaring one gardening grandma who walked inside her house on my third round, looking back at me twice to make sure I wasn't getting out of my car.

-drove to two different zip codes, one being in the heart of Compton

-called my boss 6 times and left 2 voicemails

-questioned if my boss really lived in Compton and convinced myself that if any boss lived in Compton, it would be my boss because he lived there to really be "one" with the community.

-went to a post office and creepily asked where my boss' house was

-wondered if I was really that blind/stupid to be unable to find a darn house

-wondered how long I should search for my boss' house before it was okay for me to give up

-wondered if giving up would reflect poorly on my work ethic

-wondered if i passed the test. If it was a test.

-almost pissed my pants when a homeless guy knocked on my window while I was looking down at my phone to call my boss

-saw a fight take place between neighbors/sisters/lovers? Hair was pulled.

-vowed never to park on a random street in Compton ever again

-wrote an email to my boss describing how I risked my life for him

-deleted the first email and wrote a serious email that I really did try looking for his house and that I was going home since it was getting quite dark

-stopped by Popeye's because I really really needed to pee, and left the place with a bucket of fried chicken and still needing to pee (the bathroom was unusable).

What I learned:

-my boss does NOT live in Compton no matter how empathetic he is

-Popeye's from Compton tastes better (maybe because I risked my life for it)

-I need a raise

P.S. For the abridged version of this story, go here.

P.P.S. There was a bullet proof glass between me and the cash register/food pick-up area at Popeye's.

Intense.

Intense like this picture...

Me, post-Compton.