Monday, January 04, 2016

Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?

Happy New Year everyone!

My roommates in the hostel and I got along well. None of us are English Natives, we all spoke English enough to understand each other. One of us was an English teacher (pointing at self), so we were all set.

One of the girls was German. She was 20 or so. It was her first time in The US, the Chinese girl had been just about to all the 50 states but 5 or so. She's my hero! She told me that back in the day, Greyhound used to have a yearly pass. She would buy it in the beginning of the year and travel to as many destinations as she wished. That's what I need! MegaBus can only take you to so many destinations. Greyhound takes you all over the country but they're not as cheap. Sometimes, it's cheaper to fly than take Greyhound. The Korean girls had been to Montana and other parts of the Us but it was their first time in California. We had good times, getting to know each other.

I went to bed early my first night and got up early the following morning. I had a long list of things still to do. I had enough time. It is just one city after all!  I just didn't want to put things off and end up rushing. I checked out Japantown, or whatever they call it. It was on my list. The Korean girls told me about Castro district, it's like the West Hollywood (LA) or the Chelsea (New York) of San Francisco. In other words, it's the gay village of the town. I ain't mad at that! They also told me that they saw a naked man walking the streets over there. I wanted to see Castro and I wanted to sea the naked man. Lo and Behold, I saw both! I even stole a shot of the naked man, he saw me, and turned around to face my tablet as I was snapping away.

I went to Treasure island. It's an island but not much treasurable! I mean, it's a neighborhood, with people living in cookie cutter houses. That's it! Not much sightseeing, I am glad I went, check that off my list! I think there's so much they can do with that space. But what do I know? I'm just a girl from Africa! They have nice views of Downtown SF from treasure island, I'll give them that, and of Alcatraz. I did all that, and posed for more pictures. I took the same bus back downtown.

I checked out other parts of town, went to the malls, window shopped, took more pictures. I also went to the main attraction in San Fran: The Golden Gate Bridge! It was so cold around the bridge! It must have been the breeze from the sea. the bridge is over the ocean, somewhat. I was freezing my hinds off.

Just before I left for San Fran, I got a new phone. I had been getting notifications from my service provider about my phone being due for an upgrade. I didn't have a contract, so I didn't quite understand what they were on about. They also promised me a new cellphone. I didn't get that either, like, what was in it for them?

One day, I finally called them to find out what the deal was. They told me that the phone I was using was outdated, they wanted to recycle my old phone and give me a new one for free. What? I'm in! I took the bus to the phone shop and a nice lady helped me swap. I got a cute phone, A little bigger than the old one I had. I case for the new phone cost almost half as much as the phone. Even though I wasn't paying for the phone,  thought that was ridiculous. I had been having trouble talking on the phone in my house, some network situation. I had two spots where service was kinda flowing. I was fed up of all that. The new phone fixed all that in that it allowed for calls via wi fi. I have wi fi at home, so I was able to talk on the phone freely. That was amazing. Especially from a free phone. I ordered a case on eBay for the new phone as soon as I got home.. I can't get used to using a phone without a case. For me, that's better than insurance. It's cheap and you pay once and for all.

I received my cell case the morning I was heading to San Fran, it was perfect timing. I had already dropped the phone in the bathroom. It fell flat on its face. I was convinced it broke, but I did that whole, It's fine, take a deep breath. I picked it up, looked at it, and it was fine. Whew! I had a cute pink booklet type case for the phone, which wasn't quite the same shade as the case of the tablet, but what are you gonna do?

Back to San Fran, three weeks after I got the new phone, I'm on my bucket list vacation on top of the Golden Gate bridge and boom! The phone falls! I was freezing and trying to take my first picture on the bridge. I wasn't that worried because I had the casing and I try not to go there when something happens. The first thing I try to think is that everything will be OK. Well, not that time! The phone had given in! It had lines all across the screen It still worked but it was looking rather depressing. I took a few pictures and then whacked it, hoping it would snap out of its silliness... it got worse! I tried to whack it again, to make it go back to how it was before I whacked it to get back to normalcy. You got it! It got even worse! Oh well! I took a bit of a walk on the bridge as planned. I didn't want the breaking of my amazing three week phone to steal my shine. I still wanted to enjoy myself. I wasn't going to go back to the bridge. There were other places I still wanted to enjoy in the city. I needed the phone for directions back to the hostel.

After my mini walk, ducking the cyclists and every other person who seemed to be taking videos on the bridge, I headed to the bus stop. At this point, the phone screen was hopeless. Luckily, I had gotten a map from the hostel which I kept in my handbag for just in case. Thanks to my job at The AA (Automobile Association of South Africa. The South African equivalent of AAA/Triple A), I now know how to read maps. We used to joke about black people not being able to read maps. Not this black person! I took two buses back to the hostel feeling rather somber about the phone.

I got back to the dorm and tucked myself in. Just before bed, I decided to call my service providers. I didn't know what I was going to tell them but it was worth a shot. Needless to say, without insurance, there was nothing they could do about it. After that call, I was so sad and so frustrated at the same time. I decided to go there! I was alone in the dorm, thankfully! I got off the call and just sobbed. It was a good cry too! The voices in my head were so loud that, well, they usually are! Like, when I'm deep in thought, then I bump into someone or something, I usually wonder if they heard me think. That loud! Well, I may have actually been talking and crying, who knows, but  in the midst of it all, after about 5-10 minutes, I heard a voice on the other side of the phone, 'Mam! Mam! Are you ok mam?"

Are you fcking kidding me? The call didn't disconnect! That guy was there the whole time I thought I was alone!

3 comments:

  1. I was hoping that after indulging himself in your private moment he could offer you a new phone. Especially after waiting such a,long time to ask you if you were ok

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL un exchange foe spying on me, right?
      That mofo owes me!

      Delete
  2. I was hoping that after indulging himself in your private moment he could offer you a new phone. Especially after waiting such a,long time to ask you if you were ok

    ReplyDelete