San Antonio, TX
Monday December 2, 2002
Okay, today is December second of 2002. Let's see, I'm pissed off because I didn't take my tape recorder with me when I got on the bus this morning. I left it at home. Now I'm just finishing my badass day and I'm going to just chill out and talk about it. I'm out here on the back porch smoking a cigarette. ::burp:: Excuse me, hehe.
Well, let's see. This day started this morning. I went to bed last night early. Well not really that early. I crashed out around midnight. I asked my mom if she had an alarm clock I could borrow because I needed to wake up five forty five in the morning. I asked her what time she was waking up and she said six thirty. She went and got me an alarm clock and set it for me. Some talking alarm clock, and..umm I can't think right now.
Anyway the next morning I woke up before five forty five, at five thirty. I just woke up by myself. I didn't need an alarm clock. I took a shower last night so I didn't think I needed to take another one. I had a really good day planned. Today, December second, is the day when they're supposed to auction off all my belongings that U-Haul confiscated back when I went on my trip to Alpine, Texas. I was excited thinking I was going to get all my stuff back. I held out on cashing my very last check for like a week. I told myself, "I got a hundred and sixty, I'm going to go see how much of my stuff I can buy back." Me thinking this whole time that they were going to auction off individual items.
Okay, so I got up early. I caught the bus at six thirty six. I got to the grocery store at six fifty and caught the 605 bus from the grocery store to University Hospital. I got to the hospital around seven twenty. Then I got on the 534 which goes down Wurzbach. It's the bus that my ex-girlfriend catches to work. I caught that bus there to North Star Mall. Shit, I can't remember what time it was. From there, I caught the number 4 bus which goes down San Pedro to Basse, which is where the U-Haul main office is. Okay, now I can remember what time it was. Umm, let's see, it was like eight forty five when I got to the mall. I was like shit, I think I'm supposed to be there at nine. That's when the auction starts. Damnit, I'm going to be late.
Umm, let me back up a little. I still hadn't cashed my check. Damn, I need to find a place to cash my check. I should've done that yesterday, but I messed up. You know me and not wanting to plan things and letting things happen. Before, at the hospital I asked myself where the hell am I going to cash this check at? Maybe I'll find a check-cashing place down by the U-Haul place. I remembered oh, I can cash it at HEB, the grocery store on Wurzbach and I10. I caught the bus to that HEB and got off. Around then it was about seven something. Oh wait, why am I talking about the HEB? Let me rewind this and listen to what I said.
Anyway, I had backed up to, umm, I'm all messed up on my timeline here. I backed up to when I got the idea to stop at the HEB and cash my check. Oh, this is where I can remember what time it was now. The customer service department doesn't open until nine 'o clock and it was about seven forty five. I asked the lady that was already behind the desk, "Excuse me ma'am. There's no way you can cash this check right now? It's a payroll check, it's good." She told me she couldn't, that I had to wait until they opened at nine. I asked her if she knew of any check cashing place near San Pedro and Basse. She told me there was another HEB on San Pedro and Oblate. I walked out and waited for the bus to come. Oh yeah, at the HEB I bought a pack of Marlboro Mediums. I think that my throat got so messed up because I was smoking those unfiltered Buglers for months. I had started thinking filters were a scam, but umm, I guess they're not. Anyway, I had bought me a pack of cigarettes which were remarkably cheap the way cigarettes are costing these days. They were like three fifty. Then I walked out to the bus stop. I packed them really good to leave a big gap at the end of the cigarettes. Then I went down to the bus stop and grabbed my little sack of weed that was in my pocket. I pinched a little bit out of that and rolled it up into a little ball between my fingers and I spiked my cigarette. I took a hit and thought, "Oh cool, now I can wait for the bus." I didn't know what time it was going to come. I just chilled out and waited for the bus. It finally came and I took it to North Star Mall, where my exgirlfriend works at Macy's. At the stop at the mall I felt like having another hit. I spiked another cigarette and smoked it.
I was sitting there waiting for the bus and there was this black dude there. I asked him if he was waiting for the number 4 bus and he said no, that he was waiting for the 647. I started talking to him and telling him about all my ideas. He seemed impressed and began talking about the bible and stuff. His bus came and he had to go. I told him goodbye, that my name was Victor and he might hear about me soon. He asked me if I was going to stay in town for a while and I told him no, that I was heading to California soon.
Anyway, my bus came finally and I caught it. I just then remembered I still had to cash my check. I stopped at Oblate and walked into the HEB and to the customer service desk. It was open by then, it was past eight. She took my check and she tried to run it through the little machine, but it kept beeping at her. She asked me if I had ever cashed a check there before. I told her no, but that I really needed this money to get my stuff back at an auction. She tried running it through again to no avail. She handed me the check and asked me if I could straighten it out for her. I straightened it out a little and it still wouldn't work. "Damn!" I thought. I asked her if there was a check-cashing place around there and she told me there was one right across the street. I was already late for the auction so I took off running with my stick.
When I got outside I was looking for the Ace check-cashing sign but I didn't see it anywhere. Did she mean across the street to the left or to the right? I stood there for a second and went eeny-meeny-miny-mo and picked the right side. I ran a little way and still didn't see the sign. I started walking to the left and still didn't see it. I walked back in the HEB and to the customer service counter and asked the lady exactly where it was. I was all panting and out of breath. She told me it was across the street from the Walgreen's. I ran out there, looked across the street and spotted two different places that said "financial" on them. I thought, "Hmm, maybe they can cash my check there." I walked to the first place and asked the lady inside, "Excuse me, is there any way you can cash a payroll check?" She answered no and told me the Ace check-cashing place was at the end of the office complex. I thanked her and booked it out the door.
At the end of the complex I spotted the place I needed. I got there and it was eighty fifty eight. I saw the girl inside and waved at her, but I don't think she saw me. I thought, "Oh well, I just have to be patient." She finally buzzed the door open. I walked up to her and she asked me, "Have you ever cashed a check here before?" I told her no and she told me there was a three dollar fee for the first time. I told her I didn't care, that I needed some cash. I filled out the little application and she asked me what my boss' name was. I told her Jim. She wrote it down, took my application and gave me the cash. she gave me a hundred and sixty two and the check was for like one seventy four. Argh, money.
I now had a wad of cash in my wallet and I thought hmm, maybe I'll walk all the way to the U-Haul place. It's only about four blocks from here. I knew that the buses passed by there pretty often but I had just gotten off a bus. When I got off it, another one was right in front of us, so I didn't expect one to come anytime soon. The traffic was heavy so I just started walking down the middle of the street in the turning lane. About every fifty steps or so I would turn around to see if a bus was coming. I was about halfway there and I saw a bus, so I walked to the curb. It stopped and I boarded it. It took me right to the U-Haul place.
Now, the U-Haul place rents out storage units. People sometimes don't pay their rent and U-Haul ends up losing money because they can't rent out the unit. To free up the space they just auction the contents off to the highest bidder. I walked into the U-Haul place and I asked the guy who knew who I was, "Hey man, I'm late. Did they already auction my stuff off?" He told me they hadn't even started. Alright, cool. I went outside and spiked another cigarette and smoked it. I saw these people just sitting there and I asked them if they were there for the auction. They were hauling all this other stuff and it seemed like they had already been to another U-Haul auction in town. I asked them what time it was and they told me it was about to be eleven. I thought, "Damn, the guy told me it was at nine."
Actually, before I had gone out to smoke my cigarette I talked to one of the head-honchos there and I asked him when are they going to have the auction. He told me there wasn't a set time. That they would go around all the stores in town and have them. He said they usually started them around eight and they hadn't been to that store yet. I asked oh, so it might be a long time? He told me it would probably be sometime in the afternoon. I went across the street to the Whataburger and bought me a breakfast on a bun. After I ate I walked back and went inside. The guy inside told me that some more people had shown up and they were probably going to have the auction soon. He told me to keep an eye out and when I saw a lot of people lining up, to follow them. I walked outside and struck up a conversation with the other people waiting. I said, "Wow, I just found out about these. I'm sure you can find some great deals at these auctions. I should come back every month." They were hauling all this furniture they had gotten at another auction that morning. They told me they had gotten it all for a hundred and twenty fuck bucks. That's when I got a little more excited. I asked them, "You mean they don't auction off the pieces individually? They sell the entire unit and you got a whole one for just a hundred and twenty five? They told me yes and I said I was going to try and buy my own stuff back and I had a hundred and sixty dollars. They were almost positive I would get it all back.
Anyway, I waited a long time and the auction finally started. All these people showed up. They all knew about the U-Haul auctions they had every month. I learned today that that's where thrift stores get a lot of their stuff. They are only auctioning three units today. They auction them because people don't pay for them. They just abandon their stuff. The guy was like a real auction guy. He talked real fast like the guys at the sheep auctions. Going once, going twice, and shit like that. Somebody bought the first one for a hundred and sixty and mine was the second one. When they opened up my unit I said. "That's every worldly possession I own." One guy shouted, "This is this guys stuff!" The unit before they opened mine was taking up the whole thing, and mine was only occupying the back corner. It didn't look like everything was there. I knew there would be some stuff missing.
When everyone else saw it, they all started making fun of it and calling it trash. That made me feel better because I doubted anyone else would bid on it. Also, because they knew it was mine. The bids start at five dollars so as soon as they opened the door I yelled five dollars! No one else bid on it. The auctioneer asked, "Do I have ten?" No one said anything. Then the auctioneer turned to me and said, "We don't usually do this, but give me fifteen and it's yours." Hell yeah!
I got all my stuff back for just fifteen dollars! Those bastards wanted me to pay four thousand! Haha, suckers. Happy day. I got all my clothes back. My whole wardrobe, including clothes I will need to walk/hitch-hike to California soon. I'm almost ready now.
When I finally got to wade through all my belongings, a lot of the good stuff was missing. My German Adidas Turnbeutel drawstring backpack, which some guy from IRC sent me from German Ebay was gone. I kept everything in that bag. I had my CD player/CDs, toothbrush/paste, a folder with all my reports and documents, band aids, all my bus schedules and anything else I needed. When I lost that bag a part of me died. I don't know who took it. Actually, I kind of felt it wasn't going to be there. It was too good a find. I was also expecting to get back my badass Polo jacket which Chasity's mom had bought me. That was missing too. I was excited about getting my Nike sandals back too. I found one, but that's all I found. Just one. It was kind of a bittersweet day. Now I have to figure out how I'm going to get this stuff home. They told me I had forty eight hours. I called my old architect boss Chris who had a truck. He's all, ahh that's another story that proves how money can't buy happiness because he's miserable right now and he's an architect. All my pirated software was missing too. Hehe, like I can't just download it all again. Oh well though, I got my clothes back.
I walked up to this lady in the lobby and she told me, "I am so glad you got all your stuff back. You really lucked out." I asked her, "Do you have a car?" She told me that her car had broken down earlier and she was waiting on the tow-truck. I told her thanks anyway. I had to figure out how I was going to get home. I told her, "See, I don't plan things. This is a total play-it-by-ear day." I grabbed my pocket calendar. I had a few ideas. I thought to call my friend Brian Moreno who gives me rides sometimes, but nobody answered. Then I called my friend Andrea, with no answer too. Aww shit. Who else am I going to call?
I called my friend Carlos. Bob answered and Bob has a Blazer which I could use to move all my shit in one trip. Bob said he couldn't help me because he was taking off soon. I asked him if Carlos was there and he put him on. Carlos agreed to come help me out. Thing is Carlos drives a Mazda Miata. At least I could make one small trip with Carlos. He was willing to help me too. Carlos arrived and we went to my unit and I stuffed as much as my clothes into his tiny car. I filled up the trunk and he kept the top up and I just squeezed as much clothes into it as possible. I got most of my clothes in it. There was still a lot of stuff left, so I thought I'd go home and get on AOL and ask people on AOL if they could help me out.
Carlos and I drove to my house and I chunked all my stuff in my mom's garage. Carlos asked me, "Oh, can I get online and check my email?" I told him yes, but I needed to get on AOL and ask around for help with the rest of my stuff. Carlos was looking for some girl and he asked me, "What website can I go to find people?" I told him, "Carlos, I'm going to go smoke a cigarette, but when I get back I need to get on the computer so I can find someone on AOL with a truck that will help me get the rest of my shit." I went and smoked, returned and Carlos took off.
I got on the computer and opened up my 'numbers' file which is just a simple reference text file I've used for years to keep phone numbers, links and email addresses. I typed a couple lines into my text file. I just thought of responses people would have to my asking for this favor and it would be faster if I just copied and pasted them out of my file. Here are the lines:
I started messaging every person in the San Antonio chatroom hoping someone would bite. It was just like fishing. Everybody was telling me they didn't have a truck. This one guy who's screen name was panamanian21 or something told me he could help me out, but that he didn't have a truck, just a car. That we could get my clothes at least. He asked me where I was from. I told him I was Puertorican/German/Panamanian/Italian. He said he was Panamanian which I could deduce from his screen name. I asked him where he lived and he said close to Fredericksburg. I went, "Oh, what apartments?" I know Medical Center like the back of my hand. I used to deliver pizza there for two years. He told me and I said I knew exactly where they were. Even gave him his own address. Right then it was about five minutes after the hour and I have to leave the house around twenty five to get to the bus stop in time. I told him I had enough time to catch the bus and get to Medical Center. I asked him if he could pick me up from University Hospital. I then told him, "Actually, if the buses are running right, I could probably go all the way to your apartments and we can take off from there." I asked him what time would be more convenient for him and he told me four o' clock. I told him I probably wouldn't be able to get out there until four thirty or five. I asked him for his phone number and he gave it to me.
I walked to the bus stop and eventually got to University Hospital and used the payphone. I was going to call the guy and tell him I was at the hospital and that I'd be over there pretty soon. I called and it just rang a couple time and it went beep beep beep. Aww, shit. This guy left me his friggin' pager. Great, and this is a payphone so I can't leave a number so he can call back. I'm just going to go over by his apartments and see if I can find someone with a cellphone who won't mind answering a page. I caught the 604 to Medical and Fairhaven, which was close to his apartments. There's a little business strip with some cleaners, a Habib mart and a Greek restaurant. I went in the Habib mart and I asked the guy if I could borrow his phone. He didn't speak English too well and pointed to the payphone outside. Damnit, I can't page someone from a payphone. I tried next door and the guy also didn't let me use his phone. I went in the Greek restaurant and asked to borrow the phone. The guy tells me, "What did you need?" He was all reluctant and didn't want to help me but he ended up dialing the number for me. I asked him if he minded if I paged someone from his restaurant and waited for the call. He got mad, hung up the phone and told me to leave. Oh well.
I walked all the way up to the Texaco and I got the idea to just ask someone with a truck that pulled in for gas if they could help me out. I would offer them money. I just started asking people in front of the Texaco. I approached people in trucks and asked them, "Do you have time to help me out? I'll give you twenty bucks." This girl told me, "Oh no, this is my last dollar. I'm so sorry." I told her I wasn't asking her for money. That I wanted to give her twenty bucks if she helped me out with her truck.
I got shot down like five or six times and I thought hmm, who can I call? Then I thought of Dickhead-Ryan, he had a truck. Now back when I lived in my cool apartment with Chasity I used to go over to Dickhead-Ryan's and smoke him out and give him free software. He now thinks I'm crazy for my ideas because he's all about money, even though he doesn't have a social life without AOL, doesn't work, is twenty one and just mooches off his parents. He doesn't know any responsibility and yet he thinks I'm crazy. Earlier, when I was asking people on AOL for help, Ryan had already told me no.
I called Dickhead-Ryan and the second he heard me offer twenty bucks he said he was on his way. Money-hungry bitch. He got to the Texaco around six fifteen and we took off towards the U-Haul place. I had to be there before seven when they closed. Ryan got lost though. He can't drive worth a shit. Instead of getting on Loop 410 to San Pedro to the U-Haul place, we ended up going straight on I10. I suggested we hop on Hildebrand so we'd be on the access road. We got up to Vance Jackson and Ryan turns left for some reason. I asked him, "Why did you turn?" He looked all surprised, "Oh, we were supposed to go straight?" I told him yeah, but it was a longer way to go. I told him to hurry because I needed to be there by seven. We cut all the way down this one street to Vance Jackson, then we turned right on Vance Jackson and got back on I10 and stayed on the access road. Ugh, Ryan turned on a wrong street again and ended up cutting through this neighborhood. I didn't know what street we were on but we came up to Blanco. I know Blanco runs parallel to San Pedro and San Pedro is where the U-Haul place is. We finally got to the U-Haul place around six fifty. The lady buzzed us in and Ryan and I went to the unit where my stuff was. We emptied everything out and Ryan took me home.
I got all my stuff back today and now I'm home. Shit, I just got home and my brother was on the computer. My mom noticed that I had arrived and I heard her yell I GOT THE COMPUTER NEXT! Aww shit, I want to type up some stuff. Actually, when I got home and started unloading the stuff out of Ryan's truck, I was just dumping it all in my mom's messy garage. She came out there and started bitching at me telling me if I left, she was just going to throw all my stuff away. She pisses me off so much. I told her, "Mom, you are a pack-rat and everyone knows it. All you do is keep junk. You can't keep my junk for a while?" She never goes into the garage. She's fit all the junk she can into it. It's had the same shit in there for years, but as soon as I put my shit in there she needs the space or something. When I first came back from Big Spring I had offered to clean the garage for her if she would let me use it as an office. She refused for some stupid reason. I think it's just because she didn't want me to have my way. She never does. She would tell me, "I pay for this house, I deserve to use this garage however I want to." I told her, "That's the thing mom, you don't use this garage. When was the last time you even opened the door to it?"
We were inside arguing and she just wouldn't shut up so I just walked out of the room. When I came back she was still going. I told her, "Ok mom, that's enough. You're right and I'm wrong. I will get my stuff out of there. You've made yourself crystal-clear. There is no need to argue or yell anymore." She started yelling at me some more and I stopped her and said, "DO NOT raise your voice at me for no reason, mom." She immediately jumped on the computer and I went outside to smoke a cigarette.
Here I am with my tape recorder documenting this day. I've had such a badass day. I got a lot of my stuff back and I had this great idea. I'm going to have me a garage sale. I don't need most of that shit. I've lived without it for months. I've got some quality clothes and some other good stuff. Any money I make from the garage sale will help me out on my walk to California. Okay, later on. I'm going to smoke me another cigarette.
Okay, I smoked another cigarette and there's nothing to do. My mom's going to be on the computer forever. Oh yeah, I can listen to my tape of what I've done today, just to kill time. I rewound it all the way because the tape I'm recording on now has my whole Thanksgiving experience on it. It'll be interesting listening to it. Anyway, I listened to it for a while then I got bored. I decided a warm shower would be nice then. That's what I'm going to do, take a shower.
I also got the idea if I get bored tonight to walk to Carlos'. I walked inside the house from the back porch and I see my mom sitting in the living room watching TV. I asked her, "Whoa, is the computer free, mom?" She told me no, that my little bother was on it. I go in there and he's all chatting away with all his buddies on AOL Instant Messenger. I asked my mom if she had it reserved after my brother was finished. I was expecting her to tell me yes and she actually told me no. Wow, I might actually get some computer time tonight. I'm going to take a shower. Hehe, my goatee kicks ass.
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