Then and Now 26 - Odds and Ends 2
Time: Before I got married.
I have an odd memory that starts and ends abruptly. The first thing I remember was walking down a dark street at night, and passing by a little shop that sold ice cream. The road was a wide and normally busy one, but it was so late that I was the only one there.
I walked through the peaceful night all the way up to an intriguing sight: the road forked in two directions and houses lined both sides of both roads, and above them were awnings that looked like they had just been put up. Judging from the abundant number of trash bins and the tons of closed stores all around, I figured it was some kind of outdoor shopping market, or the awnings might have indicated a wedding party had been thrown there shortly before.
In any case, I arrived there when everything was closed and nobody was around. When I walked down the streets and peeked into the stores here and there, I felt like I was exploring a ghost town that had cleared out overnight. It was not only a peaceful night for me, but a little mysterious, too.
-----
A day or two after I first arrived at the hostel, I was talking to the daughter of the owner in the local language. I wanted to get to know her better, so I invited her out to get lunch with me downstairs. She refused without hesitation, and being surrounded by foreigners who probably asked her out on a daily basis, I didn't blame her.
I assured her that I didn't have any intentions of starting a relationship, and that I just wondered if she wanted something to eat. She perked up suddenly and agreed, so we went downstairs to get two boxed lunches and bring them back to the hostel to eat. Up there, she, her friend who had come by and I talked for a while about the things I could do and the places I could visit while I was in the main city.
A bit later, I went downstairs and bought my first bottle of hair gel, specifically asking for the strongest brand they had. After I bought it, I went back upstairs and spiked my hair for the first time in my life, and I couldn't believe how handsome I looked in the mirror. I went out to the front desk to ask the owner's daughter what she thought, and she said it looked really good. Ego buffeted, I went downstairs to go walk around the city for a while, rocking my new look.
-----
For the first few weeks at my bud's aunt's place, I was still a bit overweight by maybe twenty or thirty pounds, so I decided to go on a very low calorie diet. But to make sure I didn't get sick, my bud and I went to a nutrition store so I could buy a big bottle of Centrum. I didn't know much of the local language, and my bud wanted me to learn by immersion, so I stumbled out what I could to buy the vitamins. Speaking very slowly and clearly, the workers there helped me find the best deal for the most vitamins to suit my diet. When we found a good bottle, I bought it, thanked them, then my bud and I went home.
I went back just a day or two later to say thanks for all their help, and I tried to use simple words to ask if they got a bonus if I became a member of the store, because I wanted to pay them back for their assistance. I ended up saying something like, "If I go together with your store, will your boss give you money?"
I guess I didn't say the right words, or it was too simple, because all I got were blank stares and nods that didn't mean anything. I thanked them again, and walked out of the store, red-faced but smiling, to join up with my bud. I looked back to see them all laughing nervously and waving goodbye. Foolish or not, I'm glad my poor language skills were enough to give them a story to tell about the dumb foreigner who came in and couldn't yet speak a lick of their language.
-----
One time at the underground mall near the subway station, I was walking by a couple of stores and taking in the sights. I was drawn to a few of the electronics shops, being a huge nerd and all, and was seeing what I could see of the games that the locals enjoyed and played. I'll never forget walking by the card and miniatures shop where some local guys were playing a card game: they were as scraggly and heavily overweight/underweight as the nerds I knew back in the card shops I used to go to.
But even more, I noticed the smell. Worlds away and experiencing an entirely different culture, and the funk of unwashed nerd BO was exactly the same as it was back home. That reek made me think of home, though I really wish it hadn't.
-----
As I made more and more friends on the internet from my apartment, I started getting many peoples' phone numbers and email addresses to contact them. Another thing I got were dozens of peoples' screen handles for different chat programs. I gave them all my information, then logged onto chat every few days to see who was on.
Every single time, I was suddenly bombarded with eight or ten messages from people wanting to talk with me. It was tiring talking with so many people at the same time, especially since I was making so many friends and acquaintances that I couldn't remember half of who I was talking to. I actually started avoiding going online just so I wouldn't be furiously typing stories and jokes to a dozen people more than a few days a week. But I still tried to find time to say hello to everyone online when I could, and spent at least an hour chatting every time until my hands twisted into claws from typing so fast and much. I met up with a couple of them and they became good friends during my single life, but most of them were internet-only acquaintances.
One of them, Yvonne, was an eighteen year old local girl, fresh in college, and super cute. We talked online several times a week about the experiences of foreigners in this country, and whether or not she would date one. I cracked a joke that she shouldn't, because most of the foreigners here were fat, old, bald and smelled like cheese. She was on video cam for that chat, and I saw her laughing uproariously.
We also talked quite a bit about sex: sex before marriage, her period, dating foreigners, all kinds of topics. I probably would have pursued something more with her if I didn't start dating my wife a month or two after I moved to my apartment.
As for today...
I woke up at 9:00.
I played cars with my son.
I roughhoused with him.
My wife woke up.
I talked with her.
I ate lunch.
I took my son to the arcade, then we went home.
I watched TV.
I played cars with my son.
He and my wife took a nap.
I played video games.
My wife and son woke up, so I turned off the computer.
She went to work.
I played cars with my son.
I played video games.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I ate dinner.
I cleaned up the floor and table.
I folded and put away a mountain of dry clothes.
I did the dishes.
I slept.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Then and Now 25 - Typical Day
Then and Now 25 - Typical Day
Time: Late 2007, dating my wife.
For the sake of this Then and Now, I'm going to refer to my wife as my girlfriend.
Before we got married, my girlfriend and I had a great relationship. I'll detail how we got together in another Then and Now, and focus on how we usually spent our time together in this one.
I had two and a half days off during my time working at my school: Sunday and Tuesday were completely off, and every hour after 12:00 on Saturday was also completely free. My girlfriend and I usually got together on Saturday night after I had some time to adventure and hang with friends in the afternoon, and we stayed together until Sunday night when work was about to begin again for the both of us. Because we hardly ever spent any time on Tuesday, which was the day I usually stayed at home all day (or sometimes went to the city to look around), our typical day was Sunday.
She would usually come to my house around 8:00 or 9:00 on Saturday night, and I would go downstairs to open the security door to let her in. We would talk and joke around for our little trip upstairs, then after we got inside and she had taken a shower, we had about an hour or so for sex. After that, we would either sleep until early Sunday morning, or we would spend a little time watching TV or talking before finally drifting off.
I remember her doing this little quiz where she kept asking me to repeat her full name in the middle of the night. It was a joke that we shared to pretend that I was some kind of playboy who didn't remember the names of the hundreds of women he had slept with. One night, while especially tired, she asked me for the fifth or sixth time. I teasingly mumbled, "Could you just let me sleep?" She giggled, squeezed me tight, and we were off to dreamland.
When we weren't heading outside to look around, window shop, explore the main city or just take a walk, we usually had sex again in the morning, then napped until noon or so. After that, it was just the two of us spending time together. We had all kinds of activities planned and ready to go and I have a few Then and Now posts planned for later on some stuff we did outside the apartment, but inside my place, it was a very relaxing time. I think it might do to just have a couple of experiences written down here to give a taste of our good times together.
I remember us watching DVDs together, and me sharing some of my favorite shows from America: Sliders, Stargate SG-1, our mutual favorite Alf, and several others. I would always go downstairs to the supermarket to get us some popcorn and a few other goodies, just to make the movie experience complete. She was always very attentive and interested in everything we watched, and even had a dream or two of sliding or exploring other worlds while at my place.
There was another time where we were done with sex and DVDs for the day, and she insisted that I just go ahead and do what I usually did at my house, and not to worry about her. So I did: I took out my laptop, and started playing Jedi Academy. She didn't even pull out a book or turn on the TV, and instead watched me play, something she hasn't done since we married. I still remember starting the game and playing through the tutorial stage after the ship crash, pulling out my lightsaber and cutting down a tree to cross a river. When I got to the other side, I started cutting up a rock. She laughed and asked me why I was doing that, and I just answered, "I dunno. I just felt like it." She laughed again, like it was the funniest or silliest thing she had ever seen.
I also remember another time with a strange problem: every time my girl came over to see me on the weekend, she would immediately pull out my mop and broom and start cleaning the floor, even though it already looked fine. It kind of annoyed me and I asked her to stop and just come to bed to be with me, and not only did she listen to me, but she needlessly wrote me an apology letter later about not doing it again, even writing "Go to hell, mop!" Comparing my girlfriend to my wife today, who expects me to do almost all the cleaning, is as clear as night and day.
If there is any confusion as to why there are so few Then and Now posts related to my time while dating my girl, then the reason here is plain: we spent many weekends together doing basically the same fun stuff, and writing a separate Then and Now for each of them would be pointless and boring. This Then and Now, while only number 25, describes one or two dozen days of peace, fun, sex and good times between my girlfriend and me.
I haven't seen that girl in years.
Time: Late 2007, dating my wife.
For the sake of this Then and Now, I'm going to refer to my wife as my girlfriend.
Before we got married, my girlfriend and I had a great relationship. I'll detail how we got together in another Then and Now, and focus on how we usually spent our time together in this one.
I had two and a half days off during my time working at my school: Sunday and Tuesday were completely off, and every hour after 12:00 on Saturday was also completely free. My girlfriend and I usually got together on Saturday night after I had some time to adventure and hang with friends in the afternoon, and we stayed together until Sunday night when work was about to begin again for the both of us. Because we hardly ever spent any time on Tuesday, which was the day I usually stayed at home all day (or sometimes went to the city to look around), our typical day was Sunday.
She would usually come to my house around 8:00 or 9:00 on Saturday night, and I would go downstairs to open the security door to let her in. We would talk and joke around for our little trip upstairs, then after we got inside and she had taken a shower, we had about an hour or so for sex. After that, we would either sleep until early Sunday morning, or we would spend a little time watching TV or talking before finally drifting off.
I remember her doing this little quiz where she kept asking me to repeat her full name in the middle of the night. It was a joke that we shared to pretend that I was some kind of playboy who didn't remember the names of the hundreds of women he had slept with. One night, while especially tired, she asked me for the fifth or sixth time. I teasingly mumbled, "Could you just let me sleep?" She giggled, squeezed me tight, and we were off to dreamland.
When we weren't heading outside to look around, window shop, explore the main city or just take a walk, we usually had sex again in the morning, then napped until noon or so. After that, it was just the two of us spending time together. We had all kinds of activities planned and ready to go and I have a few Then and Now posts planned for later on some stuff we did outside the apartment, but inside my place, it was a very relaxing time. I think it might do to just have a couple of experiences written down here to give a taste of our good times together.
I remember us watching DVDs together, and me sharing some of my favorite shows from America: Sliders, Stargate SG-1, our mutual favorite Alf, and several others. I would always go downstairs to the supermarket to get us some popcorn and a few other goodies, just to make the movie experience complete. She was always very attentive and interested in everything we watched, and even had a dream or two of sliding or exploring other worlds while at my place.
There was another time where we were done with sex and DVDs for the day, and she insisted that I just go ahead and do what I usually did at my house, and not to worry about her. So I did: I took out my laptop, and started playing Jedi Academy. She didn't even pull out a book or turn on the TV, and instead watched me play, something she hasn't done since we married. I still remember starting the game and playing through the tutorial stage after the ship crash, pulling out my lightsaber and cutting down a tree to cross a river. When I got to the other side, I started cutting up a rock. She laughed and asked me why I was doing that, and I just answered, "I dunno. I just felt like it." She laughed again, like it was the funniest or silliest thing she had ever seen.
I also remember another time with a strange problem: every time my girl came over to see me on the weekend, she would immediately pull out my mop and broom and start cleaning the floor, even though it already looked fine. It kind of annoyed me and I asked her to stop and just come to bed to be with me, and not only did she listen to me, but she needlessly wrote me an apology letter later about not doing it again, even writing "Go to hell, mop!" Comparing my girlfriend to my wife today, who expects me to do almost all the cleaning, is as clear as night and day.
If there is any confusion as to why there are so few Then and Now posts related to my time while dating my girl, then the reason here is plain: we spent many weekends together doing basically the same fun stuff, and writing a separate Then and Now for each of them would be pointless and boring. This Then and Now, while only number 25, describes one or two dozen days of peace, fun, sex and good times between my girlfriend and me.
I haven't seen that girl in years.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Then and Now 24 - Movies
Then and Now 24 - Movies
Time: Mid-2007, at my bud's aunt's place.
I've always been a fan of the Harry Potter movies, though I've never read the books. My best friend was also a big fan, to the point where he actually bought one of its awful tie-in games to play on his PS2. We actually went out twice, two grown adults, to go see a Harry Potter movie in the theaters just so we could keep the ticket stubs as mementos. Both he and I decided we were going to collect a stub for each of the movies that would come out, just to prove that we had been there when the Potter craze started.
I saw all four of the first movies and kept the ticket stubs in my memories box, but I didn't catch the fifth one before I left America. So when I got to this country, I was happy to see that it was still playing in the theaters, and that I would have a chance to get another ticket stub, this time in a foreign language.
I asked my bud if he wanted to go, but he stubbornly refused, not being a fan of the series, so I shrugged and decided to head out on my own. I got my wallet, dressed up and headed downstairs past the many pieces of furniture that my bud's aunt sold, and out onto the street.
My bud and I had been to the movie theater area several times before. After turning right on the sidewalk outside of his aunt's store, I followed the low overhang of the buildings above me, and the awnings of the stores next to me, until I found a little alley and turned right on it. Above and ahead of me was a little dentist's office. I still remember the name and how it was written in English, and how it contained a pun that only a speaker of both English and the local language would be able to understand. I walked through a little outdoor market, with little stalls in the middle of the road and several more lining the curb, selling clothes, bags and other items. And finally, I came to the "busy" part of the sleepy city my bud and I lived in.
The movie theater was sandwiched between two other shops, and were it not for the posters outside, would have seemed like a regular store. I went inside and bought a ticket, some popcorn and a Pepsi with the words I had just learned a week prior, and went downstairs to find my seat. The girl who took my ticket was an absolute knockout. I chatted her up a bit in the local language, but because my skills were still poor, I broke off my attempts to get to know her prematurely to go in and find my seat.
At the time, I rationalized that I was probably going to be moving to the main city in a few weeks, and I shouldn't start something with a girl that I couldn't finish. In truth, though, I was still a bit shy and unsure of how to proceed with conversations with people, and not just because they were in the local language. I had been so out of practice with talking to strangers in my depressed days that I had to re-learn all the basics of social interaction, and I still faltered here and there. Regardless, I was still feeling quite good. I had some good eats and an awesome movie to watch, and I was doing it all by my lonesome. Little by little, I was coming out of my shell.
The movie was excellent, through and through: subtitled in the local language and in spoken English, so I had a chance to practice my language skills as I enjoyed it. When it was finished, I headed out in the fading light to meet back up with my friend at his aunt's place.
He was inside, playing PSP and watching some TV. His laptop was on and sitting next to him on a little table, and he was playing some of his favorite tunes, but the only two songs I remember him playing at that moment were "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and "California Love." We flipped stations for a while, until we finally settled on a movie channel that plays lots of subtitled B-movies from America. Unlike most of the people I knew back in America, my bud wasn't the type to constantly overtalk and snark on bad movies, incessantly pointing out fake CGI or plot holes that are plainly obvious to anyone else watching them. My best friend, my bud and I, all three of us, preferred to have fun and just roll with it.
Watching that channel over several weeks, my bud and I had lots of fun with those movies. We would make bets on who would survive or who would die, and I always bet against John Rhys-Davies, one of my favorite actors, who seems to die in every B-movie he's in. We would talk about what weapons or tactics we would use to fight the giant random animal monster that was eating people. Or we would try to find familiar faces and remember other movies they had been in.
The movie we watched that night was about a giant Pterodactyl flying around and killing a bunch of people. We flipped to other channels a couple of times, but that stupid dinosaur kept pulling us back. When we had watched about half the movie, "Love Rollercoaster" started to play on my bud's laptop. When the chorus came up, I got this big, stupid grin on my face and started to sing along. "Pterodactyl... of love! Pterodactyl... ooh hoo hoo hoo!" I sang. My bud busted up laughing, and we both sang together on the next part: "Your love is like, a Pterodactyl baby baby! I wanna ride!"
Every time we came back to that movie from flipping around the TV, one or both of us would just start singing again, and we would stay on the flick even longer than the time before. That song was a little joke between us for the next entire month; we sang it almost every day for no reason at all.
I loved that channel. In fact, there was a man I saw in almost every B-movie that my bud and I watched together, who was a very natural actor and very fit. He started to grow on me, little by little. When I got internet access in the hostel about two months later, I did some research and found out his name: Mark Dacascos. Whenever I see him in any movie, or just watch a B-movie in general, I can't help but feel nostalgic for those old days before I got married, and the good times I once had.
As for today...
I woke up at 10:00.
I ate lunch.
I played video games.
I took my son to the arcade, then we went home.
I played cars with him.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I ate dinner.
I surfed the net.
I showered my son.
I cleaned up the floor and table.
I did the dishes.
I slept.
Time: Mid-2007, at my bud's aunt's place.
I've always been a fan of the Harry Potter movies, though I've never read the books. My best friend was also a big fan, to the point where he actually bought one of its awful tie-in games to play on his PS2. We actually went out twice, two grown adults, to go see a Harry Potter movie in the theaters just so we could keep the ticket stubs as mementos. Both he and I decided we were going to collect a stub for each of the movies that would come out, just to prove that we had been there when the Potter craze started.
I saw all four of the first movies and kept the ticket stubs in my memories box, but I didn't catch the fifth one before I left America. So when I got to this country, I was happy to see that it was still playing in the theaters, and that I would have a chance to get another ticket stub, this time in a foreign language.
I asked my bud if he wanted to go, but he stubbornly refused, not being a fan of the series, so I shrugged and decided to head out on my own. I got my wallet, dressed up and headed downstairs past the many pieces of furniture that my bud's aunt sold, and out onto the street.
My bud and I had been to the movie theater area several times before. After turning right on the sidewalk outside of his aunt's store, I followed the low overhang of the buildings above me, and the awnings of the stores next to me, until I found a little alley and turned right on it. Above and ahead of me was a little dentist's office. I still remember the name and how it was written in English, and how it contained a pun that only a speaker of both English and the local language would be able to understand. I walked through a little outdoor market, with little stalls in the middle of the road and several more lining the curb, selling clothes, bags and other items. And finally, I came to the "busy" part of the sleepy city my bud and I lived in.
The movie theater was sandwiched between two other shops, and were it not for the posters outside, would have seemed like a regular store. I went inside and bought a ticket, some popcorn and a Pepsi with the words I had just learned a week prior, and went downstairs to find my seat. The girl who took my ticket was an absolute knockout. I chatted her up a bit in the local language, but because my skills were still poor, I broke off my attempts to get to know her prematurely to go in and find my seat.
At the time, I rationalized that I was probably going to be moving to the main city in a few weeks, and I shouldn't start something with a girl that I couldn't finish. In truth, though, I was still a bit shy and unsure of how to proceed with conversations with people, and not just because they were in the local language. I had been so out of practice with talking to strangers in my depressed days that I had to re-learn all the basics of social interaction, and I still faltered here and there. Regardless, I was still feeling quite good. I had some good eats and an awesome movie to watch, and I was doing it all by my lonesome. Little by little, I was coming out of my shell.
The movie was excellent, through and through: subtitled in the local language and in spoken English, so I had a chance to practice my language skills as I enjoyed it. When it was finished, I headed out in the fading light to meet back up with my friend at his aunt's place.
He was inside, playing PSP and watching some TV. His laptop was on and sitting next to him on a little table, and he was playing some of his favorite tunes, but the only two songs I remember him playing at that moment were "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and "California Love." We flipped stations for a while, until we finally settled on a movie channel that plays lots of subtitled B-movies from America. Unlike most of the people I knew back in America, my bud wasn't the type to constantly overtalk and snark on bad movies, incessantly pointing out fake CGI or plot holes that are plainly obvious to anyone else watching them. My best friend, my bud and I, all three of us, preferred to have fun and just roll with it.
Watching that channel over several weeks, my bud and I had lots of fun with those movies. We would make bets on who would survive or who would die, and I always bet against John Rhys-Davies, one of my favorite actors, who seems to die in every B-movie he's in. We would talk about what weapons or tactics we would use to fight the giant random animal monster that was eating people. Or we would try to find familiar faces and remember other movies they had been in.
The movie we watched that night was about a giant Pterodactyl flying around and killing a bunch of people. We flipped to other channels a couple of times, but that stupid dinosaur kept pulling us back. When we had watched about half the movie, "Love Rollercoaster" started to play on my bud's laptop. When the chorus came up, I got this big, stupid grin on my face and started to sing along. "Pterodactyl... of love! Pterodactyl... ooh hoo hoo hoo!" I sang. My bud busted up laughing, and we both sang together on the next part: "Your love is like, a Pterodactyl baby baby! I wanna ride!"
Every time we came back to that movie from flipping around the TV, one or both of us would just start singing again, and we would stay on the flick even longer than the time before. That song was a little joke between us for the next entire month; we sang it almost every day for no reason at all.
I loved that channel. In fact, there was a man I saw in almost every B-movie that my bud and I watched together, who was a very natural actor and very fit. He started to grow on me, little by little. When I got internet access in the hostel about two months later, I did some research and found out his name: Mark Dacascos. Whenever I see him in any movie, or just watch a B-movie in general, I can't help but feel nostalgic for those old days before I got married, and the good times I once had.
As for today...
I woke up at 10:00.
I ate lunch.
I played video games.
I took my son to the arcade, then we went home.
I played cars with him.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I ate dinner.
I surfed the net.
I showered my son.
I cleaned up the floor and table.
I did the dishes.
I slept.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Then and Now 23 - May's Gift
Then and Now 23 - May's Gift
Time: Late 2007, single and at my apartment.
This was the last time I ever saw May.
I got an email from her while I was at my apartment one day, and she asked if she wanted me to come meet her in the main city. I don't remember if this was her apartment that she had moved to, or her friend's, but I agreed and we set up a time to meet. It was a long subway ride before I got to her stop, and this was the first time I had been to that area.
The walk to her place was very relaxing. I started out by following a throng of people past a construction zone, which was one of many. It seemed like there were tall buildings being built everywhere I looked, with cranes, trucks and other heavy vehicles swinging and driving all over. Next, I made my way down a street with several thin trees growing from places on the sidewalk. It seemed like a very nice place to live, in all honesty.
It was the middle of the afternoon when I got to her apartment. I phoned her, and she came out to let me in. The main stairwell was wallpapered and carpeted, unlike my place, where it was just made of dirty concrete. We went past several other people's apartments until we came to our destination. The place was very clean, of course, being a girl's place and all: there was a TV hanging on the wall and a couple of couches circled around a coffee table, and May, her friend and I were all seated around it. We talked for an hour or two, though I don't remember what about. At some point, we decided to go out and get something to eat at a restaurant in the tower I went to during Then and Now 7.
Before that, though, May went to her room and pulled out a binder full of DVDs. She asked me to take a look through it, and wondered if there was anything I wanted to borrow. I thumbed through it for a bit and saw some local movies, a couple of ones I kind of knew from back home... and then, I saw it: Battlefield Earth. I had to borrow that turkey and watch it completely for the first time, and May was more than happy to let me take it.
The three of us went off to the restaurant on the second or third floor of the tower, and ate some hamburgers and hot dogs. May and I talked about the land beach from Then and Now 3 with her friend, and we highly recommended that she check it out, too. Later, we climbed up a couple of floors to go to a bookstore, and spent some time comparing the titles of books I knew in America (Harry Potter, for one) to the translations. I even got tested in my reading skill by those two, and I was a bit surprised that I could read several sentences without liberally peppering my translations with "something, something" for words I didn't know.
After that, night had set in, and it had started to rain. The three of us huddled under my umbrella, and we found ourselves outside in the darkness, waiting for a bus to take us all home. When one finally came, we all boarded, and off we went on a peaceful trip down darkened streets, with only the streetlights and illuminated shops to light our way back. Both May's friend and I had long since gotten accustomed to one another, so we opened up and spent a lot more time joking around than in our first few hours together. When we reached the place where I would be taking the subway back to my city, May opened up a bag that she had been carrying the entire time, and pulled out a piece of cardboard with a pattern of flowers and birds on one side, and a message on the other. "This is for you," she said.
I smiled like an idiot. She was giving me a birthday present, when I had barely mentioned before that the date was coming up soon. The gift was decorated from top to bottom with tiny squares of construction paper glued to the board, and a message was written letter by letter on the squares. It looked like it took a long time to make it.
I just fished it out of my memories box. It says:
Hey (my name):
Happy
Birthday
That is so
cool meet
you in (name of the hostel we stayed at)
room and
contact
till now
(Happy birthday written in the local language)
(Happy birthday written in the local language again)
Your
friend May
I barely knew this girl, and had only been out with her once or twice, but she made something so awesome for me. I had to bite my lip to keep from tearing up at the great gift she had made me. After I thanked her profusely, May, her friend and I all parted ways.
As for today...
I woke up at 11:00.
My wife went out to get lunch.
I surfed the net.
My wife came home, so I turned off the computer.
I ate lunch.
I watched TV.
I took a nap.
I woke up.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I ate dinner.
I cleaned up the floor and table.
I folded and put away dry clothes.
I did the dishes.
I slept.
Time: Late 2007, single and at my apartment.
This was the last time I ever saw May.
I got an email from her while I was at my apartment one day, and she asked if she wanted me to come meet her in the main city. I don't remember if this was her apartment that she had moved to, or her friend's, but I agreed and we set up a time to meet. It was a long subway ride before I got to her stop, and this was the first time I had been to that area.
The walk to her place was very relaxing. I started out by following a throng of people past a construction zone, which was one of many. It seemed like there were tall buildings being built everywhere I looked, with cranes, trucks and other heavy vehicles swinging and driving all over. Next, I made my way down a street with several thin trees growing from places on the sidewalk. It seemed like a very nice place to live, in all honesty.
It was the middle of the afternoon when I got to her apartment. I phoned her, and she came out to let me in. The main stairwell was wallpapered and carpeted, unlike my place, where it was just made of dirty concrete. We went past several other people's apartments until we came to our destination. The place was very clean, of course, being a girl's place and all: there was a TV hanging on the wall and a couple of couches circled around a coffee table, and May, her friend and I were all seated around it. We talked for an hour or two, though I don't remember what about. At some point, we decided to go out and get something to eat at a restaurant in the tower I went to during Then and Now 7.
Before that, though, May went to her room and pulled out a binder full of DVDs. She asked me to take a look through it, and wondered if there was anything I wanted to borrow. I thumbed through it for a bit and saw some local movies, a couple of ones I kind of knew from back home... and then, I saw it: Battlefield Earth. I had to borrow that turkey and watch it completely for the first time, and May was more than happy to let me take it.
The three of us went off to the restaurant on the second or third floor of the tower, and ate some hamburgers and hot dogs. May and I talked about the land beach from Then and Now 3 with her friend, and we highly recommended that she check it out, too. Later, we climbed up a couple of floors to go to a bookstore, and spent some time comparing the titles of books I knew in America (Harry Potter, for one) to the translations. I even got tested in my reading skill by those two, and I was a bit surprised that I could read several sentences without liberally peppering my translations with "something, something" for words I didn't know.
After that, night had set in, and it had started to rain. The three of us huddled under my umbrella, and we found ourselves outside in the darkness, waiting for a bus to take us all home. When one finally came, we all boarded, and off we went on a peaceful trip down darkened streets, with only the streetlights and illuminated shops to light our way back. Both May's friend and I had long since gotten accustomed to one another, so we opened up and spent a lot more time joking around than in our first few hours together. When we reached the place where I would be taking the subway back to my city, May opened up a bag that she had been carrying the entire time, and pulled out a piece of cardboard with a pattern of flowers and birds on one side, and a message on the other. "This is for you," she said.
I smiled like an idiot. She was giving me a birthday present, when I had barely mentioned before that the date was coming up soon. The gift was decorated from top to bottom with tiny squares of construction paper glued to the board, and a message was written letter by letter on the squares. It looked like it took a long time to make it.
I just fished it out of my memories box. It says:
Hey (my name):
Happy
Birthday
That is so
cool meet
you in (name of the hostel we stayed at)
room and
contact
till now
(Happy birthday written in the local language)
(Happy birthday written in the local language again)
Your
friend May
I barely knew this girl, and had only been out with her once or twice, but she made something so awesome for me. I had to bite my lip to keep from tearing up at the great gift she had made me. After I thanked her profusely, May, her friend and I all parted ways.
As for today...
I woke up at 11:00.
My wife went out to get lunch.
I surfed the net.
My wife came home, so I turned off the computer.
I ate lunch.
I watched TV.
I took a nap.
I woke up.
I went to work.
I taught students.
I came home.
I ate dinner.
I cleaned up the floor and table.
I folded and put away dry clothes.
I did the dishes.
I slept.
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