An Amazing Trip to the Amazon
I wanted to visit Amazon today to see if they had any jobs available. It was 3:30, and getting dark, and I hoped to get out there before it was too cold. Amazon's only eight blocks away, so I figured I'd just walk it. Little did I know.
It was a heavy drizzle outside, as we're in the midst of our third storm right now, so I took my new umbrella. The difference in this storm is much higher winds- gusts up to 90 mph, coming from all directions at the top of Beacon Hill. About two blocks out of the house a gust came up in front of me, twisting the umbrella in my hands, reversing it inside-out. Fairly easy to fix, directing the umbrella against the wind. But then a few steps later, another gust of wind, again twisting the umbrella inside-out. And then buffeted by winds from the right, and then the left, and the umbrella was half-stripped of it's metal fittings, with the metal pulled apart. Another gust, and the metal supporting rod bent in two. I was left with a tattered remnant, holding it at an angle to shelter me the remainder of the walk, with the cloth shaking in the wind like an unfastened sail, occasionally keeping the rain off.
At Amazon I found out that job listings are online or on a phone jobline, so I headed back. But this time, into the rain, and without an umbrella. (The Amazon receptionist had been kind enough to put it into the trash for me.) And I discovered that not only was it raining, and windy, but incredibly cold. Cold like I experienced on a fishing trawler in Autumn in the Bering Sea. Within half a block my face felt frozen off, and I ducked into a busstop shelter to warm up my face, vigorously rubbing it with my hands. A woman was in there as well, waiting for the bus.
As I left, I heard her behind me, clicking her mouth, like a Moroccan guy trying to get a woman's attention. I turned around, and she was gesturing with her eyes, and continued clicking. I thought at first she was saying hello to a friend getting out of the car, but she continued, and walked over to me.
"Due Date?" she said. I couldn't understand her, and she had to repeat it a couple times. My first thought was something related to due diligence, and I couldn't figure out why she was wanting to make sure that it was done. Finally she was clear. "Do you wanna date?"
Ah! "No, I'm sorry, I'm a Christian. But thank you for asking." I'm really not sure...why I said thank you. It just felt like it was important to be polite.
It's not the first time this has occurred. In Dearborn, Michigan, a woman indicated with her hand that she needed a ride, as I was heading home. I picked her up, and told her I was just going to the South End, asking where she was going. She laid her hand on my leg and said, "Whereever you're going, honey." I immediately dropped her off and called my girlfriend to let her know what had happened.
I'm not sure why this happens to me. I must have a certain quality. I sometimes have very interesting days. Maybe it comes from all those years living in a brothel as a baby.
It was a heavy drizzle outside, as we're in the midst of our third storm right now, so I took my new umbrella. The difference in this storm is much higher winds- gusts up to 90 mph, coming from all directions at the top of Beacon Hill. About two blocks out of the house a gust came up in front of me, twisting the umbrella in my hands, reversing it inside-out. Fairly easy to fix, directing the umbrella against the wind. But then a few steps later, another gust of wind, again twisting the umbrella inside-out. And then buffeted by winds from the right, and then the left, and the umbrella was half-stripped of it's metal fittings, with the metal pulled apart. Another gust, and the metal supporting rod bent in two. I was left with a tattered remnant, holding it at an angle to shelter me the remainder of the walk, with the cloth shaking in the wind like an unfastened sail, occasionally keeping the rain off.
At Amazon I found out that job listings are online or on a phone jobline, so I headed back. But this time, into the rain, and without an umbrella. (The Amazon receptionist had been kind enough to put it into the trash for me.) And I discovered that not only was it raining, and windy, but incredibly cold. Cold like I experienced on a fishing trawler in Autumn in the Bering Sea. Within half a block my face felt frozen off, and I ducked into a busstop shelter to warm up my face, vigorously rubbing it with my hands. A woman was in there as well, waiting for the bus.
As I left, I heard her behind me, clicking her mouth, like a Moroccan guy trying to get a woman's attention. I turned around, and she was gesturing with her eyes, and continued clicking. I thought at first she was saying hello to a friend getting out of the car, but she continued, and walked over to me.
"Due Date?" she said. I couldn't understand her, and she had to repeat it a couple times. My first thought was something related to due diligence, and I couldn't figure out why she was wanting to make sure that it was done. Finally she was clear. "Do you wanna date?"
Ah! "No, I'm sorry, I'm a Christian. But thank you for asking." I'm really not sure...why I said thank you. It just felt like it was important to be polite.
It's not the first time this has occurred. In Dearborn, Michigan, a woman indicated with her hand that she needed a ride, as I was heading home. I picked her up, and told her I was just going to the South End, asking where she was going. She laid her hand on my leg and said, "Whereever you're going, honey." I immediately dropped her off and called my girlfriend to let her know what had happened.
I'm not sure why this happens to me. I must have a certain quality. I sometimes have very interesting days. Maybe it comes from all those years living in a brothel as a baby.
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