Okay So My Day In Berkeley Today Was Pretty Whack, Yo.
But I didn't really realize it until I recited the entire day's events to Lucio, then I saw how silly it all was. *Ahem*
So as some of you know, I had school today. Today's class was "Scriptwriting and Storyboarding" from 7:00-10:00 PM. I did not attend class today- why is half the story.
Today was my mother's birthday and I spent the day doing various things with her, shopping, eating, and hanging out, whatever. It was very nice. Eventually I make my way back to my dad's, I get my stuff, I'm ready for class. Mother was actually going to give me a ride to Berkeley as a nice little drive together, but decides it would actually be faster for me if I took BART from Fruitvale. I play along with her little scheme, and I am soon enough at Fruitvale station.
I realize then that I have never actually ridden BART on my own. I know, I know, it is just by incident that I have not. It's fine, I take Richmond train to Downtown Berkeley...right? It is Downtown Berkeley, right? I ask about three people, and they all tell me that I am on the right side, and I take Richmond train, yadda yadda. So I wait for my train. It arrives and I sit down next to some Buddhist monk reading a child's novel (with big text and all) and enjoy the scenery. I am of course, wary of all the stops, and a bit paranoid. Eventually the train hits Berkeley, and of my view from the window I can clearly see I am definitely in Berkeley now, so against all better logic, I decide to get off here (the stop was not Downtown Berkeley), where I see some other students getting off. I walk off the train out of the station and strike a manly pose. I have arrived in Berkeley. I look around and realize I am about 30-40 minutes of walking distance from where I assume the direction of my school is. I have clearly gotten off too early. I run back to the escalator and see that my train has closed doors, and leaving. Okay, so I walk back out.
Status:
"Scriptwriting and Storyboarding": 7:00 PM.
The Time: 6:50 PM.
...I'm doing great.
I evaluate my options. I could walk, but I quickly dismiss that idea because it would have to be the most straightforward, but the most grueling way of getting there- I would arrive very late. There's gotta be a more clever way to do this. I could get back on the train... it just left, it would automatically take another 15(give or take one or two) minutes for the another Richmond train to come again- I don't like the idea of just sitting for a train to come, I have ten minutes! Oh, there's a taxi out here, should I take the cab? Hmmmm...
Lo and behold, I get inside the godforsaken taxi. This proved to be the stupidest thing besides getting off at the wrong stop, but then again not getting off at my stop sort of screwed me in any way of getting there on time, the taxi seemed the most efficient way of getting from point A to point B, now! I get in the taxi and tell the man I need to get to Berkeley City College. Makes sense, right? Instead of him just nodding and driving away, he starts saying a bunch of stuff I don't know what the hell is he saying. I couldn't remember the exact street it was on, but I was naming the one's it was near. He could have gone to those. (It was fucking Shattuck, by the way)
"I wanna go to Berkeley City College."
"College St.? Ashby? College and Ashby?"(translation)
"Uh, Berkeley City College? Vista?"
"Yes yes, College St., by Ashby"
"It is a college, but I don't think that's the street, I mean, that might be it. It's not Cal. You know Berkeley City College, right?"
"Uuuh, College Street I am fairly certain."(translation)
"Okay let's just try that..."
He drives away, and being in the car immediately costs me $2.40. It's funny to think that if I said never mind, and just got out of the car, I would still have to hand him $2.40 for not going anywhere. So he starts to drive and immediately goes down a street I can tell is farther from Shattuck, he took a right. I say nothing. The money is adding up, we've gone nowhere and it's four bucks. This already feels bad. It smells.
Oh shit, he's driving to Cal. Not only is he driving to Cal but he's going the long way. Fucker. I see a street that we should turn left on, to get me even remotely closure to Shattuck again, but I apparently tell him too late and he says he'll do it at the next left- but instead, he goes straight for a long ass time until we hit College St. Double shit, I recognize College and I feel like an idiot, I know this street. It’s a long fucking street and we're at the very beginning of it. I look at the meter and it's on six bucks. I am not close to Cal, I am definitely not close to BCC, he has driven me nowhere for too long and I want this to end while the endin' is good.
Imagine a square, with four corners, where I need to be is the middle, Cal is the top-right hand corner (where we are heading), I'm in the bottom-right corner, I am near nothing, and it is costing me money. I have him pull over somewhere about 70% up College Street at a 51 bus stop. The grand total of failure was $7.60. I give him ten and he gives me one-dollar back, and another in a Sackajewweeuh coin, which took him five minutes to find. I curse his name, and he rides off into the sunset. Fucker! Goddamn it's 7:15. I am waiting for a bus- which will take time - and riding it will take eve more time, and walking from it will take another minute. I am fucked. I then wait next to a cross-eyed blind man for the 51. It does take another 15 minutes.
I take a painful ride over to Shattuck, and it's useless, I am cripplingly late for my class. The last two times I've been there, people have had a problem being on time, but it was pissing my teacher off, she said the next time she would just lock the door after 15 minutes or so. I decided I would hold her to that. I didn't want to be some douche-bag and just walk in, I have my pride, I missed the class. I go to Doug's house to get my binder (which I needed anyways) because I forgot it last time. I yell at his window for a few minutes and give up. He's not there. What the fuck do I do now? I know- I'll see a movie. I am very hungry but I decide to see a movie while the times are available.
I go to Shattuck Cinema's and catch the 7:40 Wicker Man. I go inside to find a theatre all to myself. I kick back and enjoy what feels like a Silent Hill clone(even though I acknowledge Wicker Man 2007 is a remake of the old cult classic) with less gore, and monsters. It's got everything else Silent Hill offers, though. Rescuing children, creepy cult, cult shit, cult, y'know. But mostly the feel came from the rational minded protagonist exploring a strange and fucked up environment, discovering things as he/she goes along and under impending danger the whole time, but under no circumstance does it ever get so scary they stop, god knows why. I left completely wowed. I mean Holy crap, just check it out.
I leave the theatre and am very hungry. I got to Mel’s Drive-In for some tried and true grub. I am very tempted to get some fucking pancakes*drools* but I get a burger and cheese fries instead. About five minutes later I see a plate of burger and fries sitting and the kitchen counter- waiting to be served to the customer. I immediately think it's mine, and wait patiently for the waiters to do their mother-fucking job. But they don't. I wait ten minutes! Just typing this infuriates me. I am staring at my own goddamn food and the waiters are walking right past it, around it, near it, lingering near the kitchen counter, just ignoring the food I ordered to eat because I'm pay for it and I am so *$3#$@% hungry. I realize it might not be mine, but then get more upset realizing it doesn't matter because it's still someone’s food and just like me they're waiting for it and it's already made but the waiters are incompetent as always. I witness their retarded hijinks behind the counter for long enough before I start to walk up, and behind it, and they ask me what I am doing. I point to my food tiredly and tell them that I'm pretty sure that's my food- right there. Right goddamn there. They can tell I've pretty much been watching it, and they look confused, look at one another and one finally grabs the plate and apologize. His dumbass almost hands me the plate there, but I walk back to my table and let him follow me. He then puts the plate down and says:
"Sorry about that homie."
I give him a look that I feel probably expresses %100 genuinely "You are idiots I am very hungry."
I finish my whole plate in about 8 minutes and pay them with the last 12 dollars in my pocket. No tip. Not only could I not afford it, but it's not like any of the waiters helped me even once while I was eating either.
I left full and a much happier man. Boy did I feel good. My stomach was visibly larger, even through my coat.
I needed to meet a girl names Rea, to get the notes from tonight, and also to give her notes from a class with me she missed on Tuesday, but to no avail. She doesn't answer her damn phone. She gives me her number, and doesn't answer- insolence.
I went back to Doug’s house to get my binder, he was not answering my love cries- unfortunate.
The buss ride home, save for some incredibly talented singing black girls, was uneventful. When they left the bus I was actually saddened. I want to marry a black woman...
When I got home I told Jane everything that happened today. She seemed to think it was pretty crazy, too, and then we went driving until one on Bayfarm. Her car is awesome. The most awesome car I've ever driven. I've driven three.
So yeah, today was a learning experience, and I spent 56 dollars.
________________
Oh! And here's a great webcomic by VG Cats parraleling my thoughts exactly of Pirates of the Carribean 2:
So as some of you know, I had school today. Today's class was "Scriptwriting and Storyboarding" from 7:00-10:00 PM. I did not attend class today- why is half the story.
Today was my mother's birthday and I spent the day doing various things with her, shopping, eating, and hanging out, whatever. It was very nice. Eventually I make my way back to my dad's, I get my stuff, I'm ready for class. Mother was actually going to give me a ride to Berkeley as a nice little drive together, but decides it would actually be faster for me if I took BART from Fruitvale. I play along with her little scheme, and I am soon enough at Fruitvale station.
I realize then that I have never actually ridden BART on my own. I know, I know, it is just by incident that I have not. It's fine, I take Richmond train to Downtown Berkeley...right? It is Downtown Berkeley, right? I ask about three people, and they all tell me that I am on the right side, and I take Richmond train, yadda yadda. So I wait for my train. It arrives and I sit down next to some Buddhist monk reading a child's novel (with big text and all) and enjoy the scenery. I am of course, wary of all the stops, and a bit paranoid. Eventually the train hits Berkeley, and of my view from the window I can clearly see I am definitely in Berkeley now, so against all better logic, I decide to get off here (the stop was not Downtown Berkeley), where I see some other students getting off. I walk off the train out of the station and strike a manly pose. I have arrived in Berkeley. I look around and realize I am about 30-40 minutes of walking distance from where I assume the direction of my school is. I have clearly gotten off too early. I run back to the escalator and see that my train has closed doors, and leaving. Okay, so I walk back out.
Status:
"Scriptwriting and Storyboarding": 7:00 PM.
The Time: 6:50 PM.
...I'm doing great.
I evaluate my options. I could walk, but I quickly dismiss that idea because it would have to be the most straightforward, but the most grueling way of getting there- I would arrive very late. There's gotta be a more clever way to do this. I could get back on the train... it just left, it would automatically take another 15(give or take one or two) minutes for the another Richmond train to come again- I don't like the idea of just sitting for a train to come, I have ten minutes! Oh, there's a taxi out here, should I take the cab? Hmmmm...
Lo and behold, I get inside the godforsaken taxi. This proved to be the stupidest thing besides getting off at the wrong stop, but then again not getting off at my stop sort of screwed me in any way of getting there on time, the taxi seemed the most efficient way of getting from point A to point B, now! I get in the taxi and tell the man I need to get to Berkeley City College. Makes sense, right? Instead of him just nodding and driving away, he starts saying a bunch of stuff I don't know what the hell is he saying. I couldn't remember the exact street it was on, but I was naming the one's it was near. He could have gone to those. (It was fucking Shattuck, by the way)
"I wanna go to Berkeley City College."
"College St.? Ashby? College and Ashby?"(translation)
"Uh, Berkeley City College? Vista?"
"Yes yes, College St., by Ashby"
"It is a college, but I don't think that's the street, I mean, that might be it. It's not Cal. You know Berkeley City College, right?"
"Uuuh, College Street I am fairly certain."(translation)
"Okay let's just try that..."
He drives away, and being in the car immediately costs me $2.40. It's funny to think that if I said never mind, and just got out of the car, I would still have to hand him $2.40 for not going anywhere. So he starts to drive and immediately goes down a street I can tell is farther from Shattuck, he took a right. I say nothing. The money is adding up, we've gone nowhere and it's four bucks. This already feels bad. It smells.
Oh shit, he's driving to Cal. Not only is he driving to Cal but he's going the long way. Fucker. I see a street that we should turn left on, to get me even remotely closure to Shattuck again, but I apparently tell him too late and he says he'll do it at the next left- but instead, he goes straight for a long ass time until we hit College St. Double shit, I recognize College and I feel like an idiot, I know this street. It’s a long fucking street and we're at the very beginning of it. I look at the meter and it's on six bucks. I am not close to Cal, I am definitely not close to BCC, he has driven me nowhere for too long and I want this to end while the endin' is good.
Imagine a square, with four corners, where I need to be is the middle, Cal is the top-right hand corner (where we are heading), I'm in the bottom-right corner, I am near nothing, and it is costing me money. I have him pull over somewhere about 70% up College Street at a 51 bus stop. The grand total of failure was $7.60. I give him ten and he gives me one-dollar back, and another in a Sackajewweeuh coin, which took him five minutes to find. I curse his name, and he rides off into the sunset. Fucker! Goddamn it's 7:15. I am waiting for a bus- which will take time - and riding it will take eve more time, and walking from it will take another minute. I am fucked. I then wait next to a cross-eyed blind man for the 51. It does take another 15 minutes.
I take a painful ride over to Shattuck, and it's useless, I am cripplingly late for my class. The last two times I've been there, people have had a problem being on time, but it was pissing my teacher off, she said the next time she would just lock the door after 15 minutes or so. I decided I would hold her to that. I didn't want to be some douche-bag and just walk in, I have my pride, I missed the class. I go to Doug's house to get my binder (which I needed anyways) because I forgot it last time. I yell at his window for a few minutes and give up. He's not there. What the fuck do I do now? I know- I'll see a movie. I am very hungry but I decide to see a movie while the times are available.
I go to Shattuck Cinema's and catch the 7:40 Wicker Man. I go inside to find a theatre all to myself. I kick back and enjoy what feels like a Silent Hill clone(even though I acknowledge Wicker Man 2007 is a remake of the old cult classic) with less gore, and monsters. It's got everything else Silent Hill offers, though. Rescuing children, creepy cult, cult shit, cult, y'know. But mostly the feel came from the rational minded protagonist exploring a strange and fucked up environment, discovering things as he/she goes along and under impending danger the whole time, but under no circumstance does it ever get so scary they stop, god knows why. I left completely wowed. I mean Holy crap, just check it out.
I leave the theatre and am very hungry. I got to Mel’s Drive-In for some tried and true grub. I am very tempted to get some fucking pancakes*drools* but I get a burger and cheese fries instead. About five minutes later I see a plate of burger and fries sitting and the kitchen counter- waiting to be served to the customer. I immediately think it's mine, and wait patiently for the waiters to do their mother-fucking job. But they don't. I wait ten minutes! Just typing this infuriates me. I am staring at my own goddamn food and the waiters are walking right past it, around it, near it, lingering near the kitchen counter, just ignoring the food I ordered to eat because I'm pay for it and I am so *$3#$@% hungry. I realize it might not be mine, but then get more upset realizing it doesn't matter because it's still someone’s food and just like me they're waiting for it and it's already made but the waiters are incompetent as always. I witness their retarded hijinks behind the counter for long enough before I start to walk up, and behind it, and they ask me what I am doing. I point to my food tiredly and tell them that I'm pretty sure that's my food- right there. Right goddamn there. They can tell I've pretty much been watching it, and they look confused, look at one another and one finally grabs the plate and apologize. His dumbass almost hands me the plate there, but I walk back to my table and let him follow me. He then puts the plate down and says:
"Sorry about that homie."
I give him a look that I feel probably expresses %100 genuinely "You are idiots I am very hungry."
I finish my whole plate in about 8 minutes and pay them with the last 12 dollars in my pocket. No tip. Not only could I not afford it, but it's not like any of the waiters helped me even once while I was eating either.
I left full and a much happier man. Boy did I feel good. My stomach was visibly larger, even through my coat.
I needed to meet a girl names Rea, to get the notes from tonight, and also to give her notes from a class with me she missed on Tuesday, but to no avail. She doesn't answer her damn phone. She gives me her number, and doesn't answer- insolence.
I went back to Doug’s house to get my binder, he was not answering my love cries- unfortunate.
The buss ride home, save for some incredibly talented singing black girls, was uneventful. When they left the bus I was actually saddened. I want to marry a black woman...
When I got home I told Jane everything that happened today. She seemed to think it was pretty crazy, too, and then we went driving until one on Bayfarm. Her car is awesome. The most awesome car I've ever driven. I've driven three.
So yeah, today was a learning experience, and I spent 56 dollars.
________________
Oh! And here's a great webcomic by VG Cats parraleling my thoughts exactly of Pirates of the Carribean 2: