SHRINKING
December 01, 2008 07:38 PM Filed in: Personal
I've been spending so much time with Victor, Sally
and Jerry lately that I haven't had a chance to
write. Victor got sick now, though, which maybe he
caught from me since I am a bit under the weather
too, so they are resting in their room and I in mine.
It's been something of journey these few short days,
though, and I can't say what it is, but I have never
felt so connected to a group of people as these, and
they seem to say the same. It feels like we've known
each other forever and things just flow. There is a
lot more to this flow, however, than meets the eye.
So, as I mentioned before, they were renting a room across from me somewhere and their roommate, though also Korean, was totally jacking them on the price, as much as 3X what I pay for this place which I have all to myself. They made a plan to move into a townhouse, so as to have more space for themselves, but this place was owned by the same roommate. Although they say they have never discussed with her how much money they have to their name, I can only guess she must have overheard them talking about it because she wanted to charge them basically all the money they had as a deposit to get into this house. That's where their day started to spiral downhill, except that it seems there was a power protecting them.
At first they went on to online banking to try and transfer the money to pay this outrageous amount, but their internet stopped working. So next they figured they would go to Ayala, where they could both eat and use the machines there to get cash for their roommate. Upon arrival though, they were surprised to find they forgot all their cash and credit cards! Now they were hungry, upset and heavily stressed and they returned home and began a vicious fight amongst themselves. It is at this point that I surprised them with a call inviting them to dinner.
We went to a Japanese restaurant Chiba-San took me to before and had a great time eating and trying different things. After that, we stopped at a convenience store to buy $1 rum and snacks and returned to my room for drinking games and fun conversation. Jerry wasn't too into the drinking part, fearing a repeat of her previous experience. Anyway, at some point the subject of this house and the contract came up and I asked to see the contract. My eyes went wide when I saw what this person was charging them. Imagine someone simply added a zero to your monthly rent and handed you that contract. You could find nice places in New York cheaper than what they were being asked to pay! I told them under no circumstances, never sign this. I was so happy to find that they hadn't singed yet. That is when they told me the story of all the mishaps that kept them from moving forward on it. They were both happy and relieved.
I proceeded to explain about the pension house I stayed in for two months when I first arrived here, and the rates of that place, which astounded them. So, even though they had moved their stuff to the new house, since they didn't sign anything, they made plans to sneak off into the night, get all their stuff, and vanish like the wind. Realizing how money they were now going to save, they decided to stay a couple of days at a really fancy hotel before transferring to the pension house. I was there with them a couple of days and we had so much fun. Drinking games, card games, watching anime, you name it. The night before last, the last time I was with them, we had finally found something even Jerry could enjoy drinking. They were these Vodka Cruisers or something, a type of fruity drink with only 5% alcohol. The next morning, Victor and Sally went to sleep and me and Jerry went to breakfast, but I really don't remember much of it. I lost a lot of the games.
None of that, however, is what this post is about. It's about shrinking! You see, all my clothes are just plain too big! Lucky for me, while most Americans who come here cannot buy the local clothes and must use a tailor, though still super cheap compared to getting clothes in the west, I can finally buy clothes at a local shop and fit into them. Not everything, mind you, I still buy the local XL sizes, but at least I don't need custom stuff!
So today, after some experimenting on my business site which brought in some decent cash, I decided to go and buy a bit of clothes. I also decided to do a little eating at The Desert Factory. I deserve it! If these experiments on my business site continue to bring rewards, I am back in business! I already have plans on how to expand on this small success so the adventure should be going full steam again soon!
So, as I mentioned before, they were renting a room across from me somewhere and their roommate, though also Korean, was totally jacking them on the price, as much as 3X what I pay for this place which I have all to myself. They made a plan to move into a townhouse, so as to have more space for themselves, but this place was owned by the same roommate. Although they say they have never discussed with her how much money they have to their name, I can only guess she must have overheard them talking about it because she wanted to charge them basically all the money they had as a deposit to get into this house. That's where their day started to spiral downhill, except that it seems there was a power protecting them.
At first they went on to online banking to try and transfer the money to pay this outrageous amount, but their internet stopped working. So next they figured they would go to Ayala, where they could both eat and use the machines there to get cash for their roommate. Upon arrival though, they were surprised to find they forgot all their cash and credit cards! Now they were hungry, upset and heavily stressed and they returned home and began a vicious fight amongst themselves. It is at this point that I surprised them with a call inviting them to dinner.
We went to a Japanese restaurant Chiba-San took me to before and had a great time eating and trying different things. After that, we stopped at a convenience store to buy $1 rum and snacks and returned to my room for drinking games and fun conversation. Jerry wasn't too into the drinking part, fearing a repeat of her previous experience. Anyway, at some point the subject of this house and the contract came up and I asked to see the contract. My eyes went wide when I saw what this person was charging them. Imagine someone simply added a zero to your monthly rent and handed you that contract. You could find nice places in New York cheaper than what they were being asked to pay! I told them under no circumstances, never sign this. I was so happy to find that they hadn't singed yet. That is when they told me the story of all the mishaps that kept them from moving forward on it. They were both happy and relieved.
I proceeded to explain about the pension house I stayed in for two months when I first arrived here, and the rates of that place, which astounded them. So, even though they had moved their stuff to the new house, since they didn't sign anything, they made plans to sneak off into the night, get all their stuff, and vanish like the wind. Realizing how money they were now going to save, they decided to stay a couple of days at a really fancy hotel before transferring to the pension house. I was there with them a couple of days and we had so much fun. Drinking games, card games, watching anime, you name it. The night before last, the last time I was with them, we had finally found something even Jerry could enjoy drinking. They were these Vodka Cruisers or something, a type of fruity drink with only 5% alcohol. The next morning, Victor and Sally went to sleep and me and Jerry went to breakfast, but I really don't remember much of it. I lost a lot of the games.
None of that, however, is what this post is about. It's about shrinking! You see, all my clothes are just plain too big! Lucky for me, while most Americans who come here cannot buy the local clothes and must use a tailor, though still super cheap compared to getting clothes in the west, I can finally buy clothes at a local shop and fit into them. Not everything, mind you, I still buy the local XL sizes, but at least I don't need custom stuff!
So today, after some experimenting on my business site which brought in some decent cash, I decided to go and buy a bit of clothes. I also decided to do a little eating at The Desert Factory. I deserve it! If these experiments on my business site continue to bring rewards, I am back in business! I already have plans on how to expand on this small success so the adventure should be going full steam again soon!
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