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August 26, 2000 |
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I got a call this morning. It must've been about 10am. It was Pam. I was supposed arrive at her place by noon, since she was
expecting a mattress delivery for her guest bedroom. She would've been
there, except that she was dealing with movers at her current place, so
thus I volunteered to be there when they arrived… but I wasn't supposed
to be woken up for another half hour.
They called and asked if it might be delivered earlier, say about
forty-five minutes from now, and thus she called and asked me. It only
takes about ten minutes to get to her new place from mine, and I was awake
already. I figured the delivery guys wouldn't care if I looked dead…
which I did. I told her I could.
I brought my backpack. I'm not sure precisely why, since I was only
thinking of bringing it if I were to wait for potentially three hours, and
that would not be the case now. You'll have to forgive me I'm working on
very little brain power. It's morning.
I arrived and proceeded to fall asleep on the floor, since there was no
furniture. I fell asleep in what was to be Pam's
bedroom. I did at least plug my notebook into the electrical outlet and
charged the battery for a while. The windows were inexplicably still open
and it was a chilly morning, so I shut them. Fresh air is one thing, but
this is ridiculous.
It still took them some time to arrive, so in effect they were about an
hour late. They called from downstairs. The delivery process was simply
amazing. I might have taken them four minutes to put the thing
together. And just like that they were gone.
I went back to my place and got a few more winks.
It was about four in the afternoon before I woke again. I said that I would drive them to the new apartment and I would. It wasn't a big deal really. We wouldn't all fit in my car of course, so I elected to drive her new car. It was, after all, at her new place. I drove to her new place and picked up her car.
If you remember, I had met her parents before, though at the time I was only one of the people her daughter happened to know in Seattle. Now, I'm the dreaded boyfriend and I'm not sure precisely what they expect. I suppose it's not like meeting a complete stranger, because they had met me months before. I suppose that now they're simply seeing me in a different light. I don't know really, I suppose it's just like knowing many people and getting along with many people, but there are few people who you would feel comfortable dating your sister for instance. I can only imagine being a parent is more difficult.
Still, I was in my best behavior. The "my" being instrumental here, since I'm not like most people you would meet. Many people have called me an irritant, and to tell you the truth I can't really deny that. Although, I was trying not to do that today.
Seeing her parents again was fine. They're nice people really. They didn't even give me the "Are you sleeping with my daughter?" look. Although I suppose I don't really know, since I have never crossed path parents before. So all in all it is a new experience for me.
Pam's place was all packed, well, mostly packed there were only a handful of items left to pack. Her parents' luggage was still in the hallway, since they knew they would not be spending the night. Pam asked if we may take more things to her new place. My only concern is for enough capacity for the luggage and the items.
Since her parents were spending the night at her new place, there was some debate as to where the coffee maker went. You know, I do have somewhat of a dependence on caffeine, I realize that and I understand it. It is not so bad where I cannot function without it. It is not a question of where I get my first cup. There are days where I may not have any at all, although they're a little painful and sluggish. Coffee people are not like this. Seriously folks, it was like talking about a dire necessity for life. "Uhmm, no really you take the oxygen tank; I have gills"
I was staying out of the argument, although I briefly thought about snatching it myself and telling them both that neither of them was entitled to it. I thought better of it, thank goodness. There you go, I want to be pissing off my girlfriend and her mom? I don't think so. We took the coffeemaker to her new place.
The trip across the bridge was uneventful, her car was not so full that it was obstructing my view. I would've hated that. I've driven that way, but late at night. This was smack in the middle of the afternoon in Seattle. Not a good thing. Miami drivers I wouldn't care about so much, they drive assertively, but they generally know how to avoid problems. Seattle folks are typically oblivious; that's worse.
We arrive at her new place uneventfully. During the trip her father was trying to track precisely which roads we took. I suppose that I can't blame him, but I typically observe if I'm that interested. I also have a pretty good memory when it comes to directions. There are some things that I don't remember well. Names for instance, I can't remember names well.
Her place was bare as you might imagine, save the dishes… and the new bed. Otherwise they were getting settled in. Including the coffeemaker. I suppose that I would have my share of conflicts like this with my mom, although we typically debate other issues, like why she doesn't speak English yet.
We were all pretty hungry by that time, so we decided to get some food. I'm familiar with this part of town, so it was simply a matter of picking something out. I'm also not sure about how adventurous their taste were. I myself did not really have Indian, Thai, or Greek food until after college. Come to think of it, I didn't have sushi for the first time until a few years ago either. I wasn't about to assume anything.
I did remember that I had to call my cousin Ling at 7pm. I had told her that I would try to help her with some of the problems that she was having with her computer.
We ended up going to Shamiana, which was only about ten minutes from her new place. Life is so much simpler on the Eastside. The dinner was good as usual, although I was preoccupied with calling my cousin. I had given her my word, I wasn't about to break it. I took a break during dinner and stepped outside to call her, she wasn't home yet so I elected to call her later.
Okay, now there was the issue with the entertainment center. You see, her new place is wired for cable above the fireplace, which is a perfect place to put the television really. It is out of the way, elevated; you can't lose really. The problem is that her parents were the ones who gave her the entertainment center, and apparently were not terribly fond of the idea of her getting rid of it. I wasn't about to get into this debate either.
Eventually, I drove Pam back to her old place where she still and a few more things to pack. I drove her back in my car, which I feel more comfortable in. I can certainly drive SUV's, I'm just ethically opposed to them. She hasn't become disenchanted with her new car and returned it; well, not yet anyway.
Once we got back to her place, I stayed for a while. She had a long day ahead of her, and I didn't really want to take up too much of her time. We did spend the time quite nicely though.
August 26, 2000