An individual living in Southern California without a car lives life severely handicapped. SoCal doesn't have the transportation system that most tourist destinations of the world have - where you can step out to a major street and pick up a bus, a train or even a cab. The Orange County Transit Authority (OCTA), the bus system in the OC, are known for their great service, but it doesn't do anyone any good if the bus does not come around at times that you would like it to. In my area, the bus only comes during peak hours – a few hours in the morning and the afternoon - at an hour's interval. During the weekends or holidays, it does not come at all. So, every time I get invited to leave my little foxhole – the duplex of a building comprising The Neighborhood Cup and the Aliso Viejo Library, I take the opportunity.
Yesterday was sunny and a pleasant day for a ride southbound to the quiet coastal city of San Clemente CA. We made arrangements a few days in advance and at about 9AM, my friend and sometimes client, Joy, picked me up from the Neighborhood Cup - my de facto office. We met each other at the Cup several months ago. Last holiday season, I crafted a “Business Plan” and a “Non-Profit Proposal” to acquire a property for an orphanage that she was trying to establish. This was around the time when my Mac G4 was stolen. She was partly responsible for helping me acquire this HP G62 PC that I now have. She advanced me some of the funds to purchase the computer.
Joy is a trained psychiatric nurse and wanted to ship a crib to Haiti for children that she met while there on a humanitarian trip earlier in the year. We had to go to her storage in San Clemente where the crib was being stored. She made plans for a return trip to Haiti and wanted to send it off before she departed. I offered to help her pack so I can physically remove myself from my cubby hole and get refreshed. I get so cooped up at my usual corner, anchored by all the bags I have to carry, that a trip has a tendency of turning into a welcome self-medication session. The ocean breeze that meets and greets a commuter riding down PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) is so refreshing it's very much like therapy.
The crib needed two large boxes rigged together to contain it. In time we were able to somehow wrap the boxes around the crib, ready for shipment. We wrapped it with bubble wrap and carefully taped the seams together insuring that it does not accidentally bust open while in transit. The last thing you need happen on a humanitarian trip is an accidental garage sale because all your stuff is on the side of the road like an impromptu bazaar. Pleased with the results, off we went to Mission Viejo Mall and the Apple Store for an appointment with what they aptly refer to as “Geniuses”. Joy had some last minute computer-related questions she wanted to resolve before she went off to Haiti where I suspect Apple Geniuses may be in short supply.
I became a reluctant IBM-compatible PC turn-coat out of sheer necessity. I could not purchase a Mac computer to replace my stolen Mac G4 because of the price. I purchased my HP for less than $325 plus tax after the $50 mail-in rebate. So, as she went to the Apple Store, I sat in front of the Microsoft Store to connect to their wireless internet. There would have been a sense of impropriety had I gone to the Apple Store to use their wireless with my HP. At 11AM I got to see a well produced and insightful report from Erin Burnett of CNBC who was covering the events in Egypt – where the besieged dictator is now desperately trying to calm the population. Seemingly overnight their united voice turned to raucous denunciations of his leadership. Fortunately, there have been no reports of bloodshed. I heard he just fired his cabinet, creating this picture in my head of a leader who was also the lowly follower because he was the only one left to hear his orders. It's not a good mental picture to entertain no matter how you look at it. Lucky are those dictators who leave their countries unscathed.
I was back at the library before 3PM and was there until they closed at 9PM. I ended the evening at the Aliso Viejo Barnes & Noble where they close at 11PM. Sometimes, all we really need is a day out of the office.
