One more astronaut...

I was vaguely watching the Discovery Channel while annoying Odd Facts, and they were doing a show on American Chopper for the astronauts.

Thats the only reference to anything space-related in this post.

Whats the best thing that you've ever done for someone? How has it made you feel afterwards?

The reason I ask is that I'm a big fan of the concept of Pay it Forward.

What!? You're making reference to a movie? Are you delusional?

No, let me explain.

Pay it forward can be summarized as follows: You do something nice for three people without asking for anything in return, and those three people do something nice for another three people. I hadn't watched or heard about that movie until about 2 years ago, but I've been doing things for people for a while now.

It all really started when I moved briefly to Ontario after ending a serious relationship (7 1/2 years). A friend of mine actually drove for 12 hours in her car with her girlfriend to pick me up.

This isn't such a big deal for most people or really good friends, but I had met this person online and I had only met the her once in person for some coffee. At the time, I didn't have much, only a few garbage bags full of clothes and a knapsack with a few reading books. Most of the larger items were still in the apartment with my ex, but I wasn't concerned. They could be boughten again.

I was moving there, without a plan, without a job, and essentially without any money. I had $500 to my name and she was letting me sleep on her couch for as long as I wanted without asking anything from me. Not a thing. No rent, I didn't have to buy my own food. Nothing. I spend $350 on a computer so that I could find a job and spend the better part of 2 weeks living with her as she would have let me stay there until the chesterfield caught fire. In the end, I left and went closer to family.

Ever since that day, I have made it my goal to help people whenever I can. (Well, except for hitchhikers, they scare me. [Too many horror movies as a kid.])

Whether its feeding friends who are pressed for cash, helping people move to another city by spending our own gas money to get there and back. Letting friends who have moved across the country live with us until they can find their own place to stay. Heck, I'll just randomly buy dinner for friends even when I'm pressed for cash.

I just can't help doing things for people. While we were both going to school, we invited a friend over to spend a few days with us. She was pregnant and going through a very hard time with the father of her child. She didn't have anywhere to stay and didn't have any money. We let her stay with us, giving her the bed while we shared the futon.

There are even times when I find myself compelled to help/assist even the people who I feel don't deserve it.

What kind of things have you done to help people out, even the ones that don't deserve it?