Every once in awhile I forget where I currently live, post doc city. Needless to state much more, it’s a whole different place than where I grew up on the other side of the world. Funny enough though, I seem to forget every once in a while, like these last couple of weeks when I’ve encountered some of those things that make me go “ahh…. Maybe not the best plan silly! What was I thinking?”.
Let me just go through one of these things that makes me go “ah” (other people might not really go ah… ). I think it at least gives me some credit that I haven’t mentioned any of this to my family nor friends since I’m not too sure they’d approve or see the funny. Although, one of the things I realized was that I’m getting visitors in a few weeks and my friend’s boyfriend wasn’t too keen on visiting. Although,he was even less inclined to let my friend go alone to “that city since it is DANGEROUS”. My friend replied “well, chall has lived there for many years now and she hasn’t gotten killed or attacked yet” … ehh… I’m not really going to tell her too many details, and especially not right now when they’ve already booked flights and stuff.
So, one of these nights I realized driving home from a friend out in the suburbs that I needed gas. I had thought about it earlier in the day but gotten off work a bit late and therefore didn’t fill the car on the way out… Although, I got a bit worried since I saw the needle heading down to ‘E’. I therefore did what a responsible person does, and pulled into a gas station and up to the pump. Somewhere here I probably should’ve realized that if the “credit card function” on the machine is cancelled so you have to go in and pay with cash and tell the person behind the counter than you need gas for $20, maybe there is a reason for that? Not to mention that certain neighborhoods might not be the best to visit on a Friday night?!
Well, I’d already gone inside when this thought occurred to me and I wasn’t going to leave then (plus that getting stranded in the middle of the road without gas is just plain too embarrassing) . Silly me, not feeling scared or anything, although I was quite clearly not like the other clientele in there…. The woman who stood next by the counter while I handed over my 20 commented that my accent pointed out that “I was not from here” – her male friend next to her smiled and showed his golden grill while he looked at me and her. I don’t know why I just didn’t keep my mouth shut, but I guess like always, I’ve learned ignoring people usually leads to more problems than others. So, I stated that I wasn’t indeed not from around here (anyone could’ve done the math by looking at me in the store but hey…) but had moved here awhile back. She shooed and smiled and said that it was so cool that I was from exotic place (I’m pretty sure she had no idea where I am from but again, not arguing at 11 pm in a gas station in some neighborhood where I probably shouldn’t have been in the first place) and that with my hot body (yeah?!*) and that accent and exotic story – “I’d make a killing strippin’”.
She offered to take me over to the place where she worked in case I wanted to make more money than my current day job or just “to get some extra cash”… I just smiled and said “thanks, I’d need to think about it but it was so nice of her to say that” and with that I moved out towards my car to go home. After that exchange it really didn’t face me as much coming back home realizing that there were two men getting into a car outside when I clearly could see a gun from one of their belts…. Did someone say “de sensitized”? Another place indeed…
*A part of me thinks this is the best comment evah! I’ve never been offered a compliment that I would have the body to strip or do nude jobs… (apart from Croquis) so either my weight loss/exercise has paid off, or (which I might be inclined to think) she was sort of bending the truth… or the strippers at her place are slightly bigger than the “average stripper I’ve seen in all the Hollywood movies” and while in Vegas? Anyway, I spent half the way driving home thinking about what had happened and trying to visualize me in a strip joint. Needless to say (?) I couldn’t help but laugh since I would most likely not “kill with my mad skillz” but rather not really working the pole as much as falling on the floor and suffocate while trying to suck in that tummy….
23 comments:
wow. just wow. with my jaw on the floor
That is scary and funny at the same time!
SM> I know, like I have THAT great body that ppl wanna see. So kewl, right?!
:P
(It's not that worse than Surrey Vancouver you know.... ;) while I can name drop some places I've been)
Oh the things you encounter when you find yourself in a hood there you, clearly, shouldn't be... Along those lines are a funny story of a friend who was coming to visit me while I was still living in Baltimore. Since she had never seen NYC we decided to go on a little site visit. She was very scared about this part of the trip for a long time, and I didn't tell her until we were in NYC that Baltimore is actually a much much more dangerous place...
Like SM, my jaw is on the floor too.
Can't imagine experiencing anything like this on this side of the Atlantic...
well Pika, to be fair - I've had some interesting experiences on the other side of the Atlantic too. Granted, I was about 20 and back packing in some odd countries but still ^^
One night my girl friends and I were bullied by the local "madams" since they thought we were occupying their corner... well, we were merely waiting to the lights to turn green and not get killed in traffic. (somewhere here I need to point out that we did not have skanky clothes on. We were just on vacation in the summer ;) )
somebody once asked me the question if I wanted to be a dancer. In a club in the UK...
Nice. A compliment is a compliment right? It's funny how those stories can go, sometimes you are just humming along and then see something you didn't expect to see. Other times I have been lost and worried I was in "bad part of town" and then strangers treated me really nice and helped me out. It's a mad world.
Maria: I don't know why your comment didn't show the last time... but yes, that would b my thoughts too - Baltimore is worse ^^ I remember another trip to Atlanta when I was trying to explain to my friend that "just because we knew we we were on the map didn't mean we knew WHERE we were..." (and no, they didn't get that until they saw the bars on the windows of the gas stations we passed..... huh....
lin: surely they were just giving you a compliment, right? ;)
FrauTech: exactly, a compliment shouldn't be turned down... but maybe not encouraged all the time? It s truly a mad world out there.
Alyssa: yes, isn't it. It's more funny afterwards and less scary. at the time, I was wondering what I was doing... as one can think when one realizes that you are in a "not the best place at that time" ... ;)
That is an awesome, crazy story! The guns would have scared me silly though! (not used to them at ALL. I don't even like seeing cops with guns).
Cath> I'm not saying I am not scared when I see guns but the last couple of weeks I've seen more than the first year so... I guess at some point I just don't have the energy to get scared?
(or I'm just tired and stupid? there's a thought... :) )
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You do find trouble girl....
LMAO! Hey, it's always good to know you can fall back on striping if you can't make it in science. :)
Tidy, i didn't do nothing.
MXX> yeah you see, that's where this is more obviously a lie than nothing else. I mean, who the hell starts their stripping career when they are mid30ies?
And I doubt I'd make any money. I'm really not that sexy/good at dancing/good looking. sad truth but true. Of course, seen through a haze of smoke and drunk eyes in the dark - all cats are grey, aren't they?
LMAO!
One of my relatives visited me when I was in Postdoc City and as we were coming out of the gas station, she asked what the red dots were on the ground. Turned out there had been a stabbing there the night before. I told her it was paint. I figured she didn't need to know that.
PiT> I'd gone with ketchup from a bad fast food place ... I know what you mean. There are things I have decided that my relatives don't need to know. When they visit, it's all about smoke and mirrors ;)
Hahahaha somehow I think it's a funny story, although the guns must have been a bit scary.
I used to live in this fancy part of Amsterdam and yet every other month or so someone was shot there (perhaps I exagerate slightly here, but still). The rich criminals also like to live in quiet neighbourhoods right ... (oh and was living in someone's attic, because I was a poor student ;) )
The cash only option is the sign. Back in my hometown that was how you could tell if you were in a nice area or...not. Though even the not nice areas were fine during the day, just a little more colorful. I would always get gas during the day. Partly because I'm paranoid about running out of gas. Partly because I wanted to avoid the sketchy gas stations at night.
You do get desensitized. After living in Baltimore for a few years, I remember sitting in my car one evening on my way home from lab and some guy walking by holding the largest handgun in his hand I've ever seen. He just looked like he wanted to cross the street, so I figured I'd let him, he crossed and waved thanks and we each went our separate ways.
Namnezia: yeah... I remember the first time I saw a gun in this town. Boy, I got sober real fast. Like microsecond fast. I recalled that moment earlier this year when I didn't even see the gun laying on the table next to the guy when I've had some drinks. (It was an odd situation and it was a legal gun and all, I just didn't register it was there.) odd is the word me thinks....
As for your story, it's not mch you could do though, is there? I mean, you didn't have a bullet proof car or nothing?! ;)
Nina: I wonder if that is where I've been in Amsterdam, not to mention in Rotterdam.... ;) every town has its places.
Bashir: Yes, I should've picked it up prior to walking in but once you open the door - in for a penny in for a pound, right?!
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