Project Kengikat

Day 4 for ME

// December 17th, 2009 // Uncategorized

This is the week leading into my 41st birthday and I said it would be a week of firsts for me and it has been just that, but before I get started with my awesome week I just want so share how things could have gone off track if I allowed them to.

Last week I made the huge mistake of ordering cable from Time Warner and right from the time the Tech answered the phone to take the order things were bad. I know I’ve talked about customer service before and how it seems to be lacking from many large corporation…I would even say it is missing from most business’s here in this country. It seems that the customer is no longer paramount, but the enemy. So many large and even small business’s hide from the very people who allow them to remain in business. Phone trees are getting more increasingly harder to navigate and getting someone live online is even harder. Even when you do get someone it is clear that you, the customer, are the one who is at fault and the business has done nothing wrong.

To make a long story short Time Warner Cable was very dishonest and deceptive throughout the entireencounter, they even charged my credit card twice and acted like they never charged it. In addition after several calls and three emails to the office office of the president no resolved was ever offered to me. Time Warner also has not made the repairs to the wall jacks they removed nor have they repaired hole they placed in the wall. I finally had to call my back to dispute the charges because Time Warner acts as if they’ve done nothing wrong. Today alone Time Warner has called me 7 times asking me if I want to reschedule a tech to come out and do the install for cable.

Sunday was the start of my focus on me and making sure I do more to keep myself healthy. So far my body is doing an awesome job handling the HIV and I want to make certain that I am doing all I can to help my body, by getting to the gym, eating right, reducing stress and taking better care of me. So far I have been to the gym, bike riding and even out walking, I’ve paid closer attention to that I am eating and have really tried to cut out all the late night snacking. That part has been really hard, but I am working on it each and ever day and with the passing of each day I am getting better.

Monday was a day for the gym and walking. I also had to go out and buy Christmas cards to mail of to friend and loved ones. I am even going to mail cards to my uncle who lives out of state. I also had the chance to laugh and talk with a cousin that I have not seen in such a long time, not since we were kids. They moved away while we were in Jr. high school and the distance took a toll of us keeping in touch with each other. It was so awesome to spend two hours talking and laughing with him. He has three kids now and live has been pretty crazy for him as well. Really cool that we were able to share some of our ups and downs throughout our lives

Tuesday was filled with bike riding and mud. WOW, I sat out to go bike riding to find some mud so I could get me and my bike equally dirty and that is just what I did. I spent about an hour bike riding and getting all filled with mud and dirt. There was even some time to enjoy nature and the peaceful wonder of God and how awesome it is to be able to live in a place like Southern California. During homelessness so many people told me that I should leave Southern California because of the hard time I had, but this has always been my home and it will always be my home. Furthermore running away from something just to make things better for myself would not have made things better for anyone, not even me. That only would have landed me in yet another place where I would have been homeless. Moreover, I dont run from nothing. I face it head on and deal with it as best I can.

I ended my day of biking in the mud with a trip to the post office for stamps for my Christmas cards, RiteAide for more cards and then the gym. Although I was really beat from the long day of bike riding I still made sure I got my butt to the gym. However I did not do any cardio because I was really tired from all the bike riding. It was all weights for me. My dinner was some of the whole chicken and roasted vegetables I made at the beginning of the week. WOW it was still really yummy and has even saved me some time in the kitchen this week

Today was a lot of fun. I was up early and spoke with my niece for a while and then I headed out to get my tree. However this was not before I finally finished addressing the rest of my Christmas cards and getting stamps on them. My goal was to get them in the mail today, but once again that did not happen, because my day was filled with so much running around and I even had a job interview and by the time I was done the post office was clsoed.

My fun started at the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles, a mall that is in desperate need of a major make over and deep cleaning. This place is the worst place to shop for anything, but I needed to hit Wal-Mart because I needed to buy some cheap clothes. The parking lot was packed and filled with rude people shopping with their loud, crying and ugly kid who should have been in school learning something or at the very least bothering their teacher instead causing their parents to yell and scream at them and make threats to beat the “shit, fuck” or “hell” out of them. I told one lady I dared her to do it. LOL.

After getting stuck in a line that was not moving for more then 25 minutes I walked toward the middle of this store where more then just prices were falling, towards the escalator to see if things moved quicker in the market. I was so happy I did this, but at first look I knew I had made a mistake, but after taking a really close look at one line I saw that there were in fact two registers, but people were only lining up for one, so I smiled, said excuse me and walked to the register where only one woman was in line. I looked back and everyone was looking at me like I was stupid for walking to the register. After I started placing my items on the belt, three people walked up behind me and asked “are you open” and when the checker looked at her light and said “yes, my light is on aint it?” I laughed and got a nasty glare from the lady who asked the silly ass question. I paid for my items and walked out.

When I first pulled into the parking lot I saw the Downtown LA skyline against the snow capped mountain and that how cool it would be so snap a picture of it and even film it for my youtube channel. However after seeing how rude and nasty people were being to one another when parking spaces opened up I thought it would be best to simply find a place to park and do this later. So when I finished and as I was driving out I did just this. If you watch my youtube channel and see the video you will see the security truck making it’s way towards me. I should have left the camera on and right when I turned it off I said to myself “I sure hope they are not about to tell me I cant take pictures” and just as I got out the car to snap the picture of the skyline and the snow capped mountain this woman took her truck and blocked me in, jumped out with her radio pointed at me and demanded I give her my camera. I laughed at her and told her to get out my picture. She began to yell and screen and tell me I was breaking the law. I asked her what law and she told me that I could not take pictures of the Downtown LA skyline.

I laughed more and moved to the other side so I could take my picture and this is when she told me she wascalling for backup and I laughed even more. She told me not to move cause I was going to be big trouble. I laughed even harder and she jumped back in her truck and she for me not to move. This is when a guy rolled up on a motorized three wheel bike and asked me what was going on. I told him and he laughed too. Then a few minutes later another guy walked over and he laughed and told me there was no problem and told me he was sorry for her behavior. Just as I got back in the car she rolled up again and this is when I took my camera back out and filmed it. I couldnt hear what she was saying, but her and that nappy wig she had on were not happy that I was not in plastic cuffs. Please be sure to watch my youtube channel for this part of my very fun filled day.

The next stop was for a tree and I am glad I had gone over to LA, because the same tree type of tree was nearly $70 or more in Hollywood. I paid far less then this and I got a great tree. But after getting the awesome tree finding items to put on the tree became a complete adventure that was filled with lots of stores and plenty of funny situations including my visit to the West Hollywood Target where three able body young people thought it would be cool to ride in the motor carts because they were filming for their youtube channel. However they failed to think that someone might need these motor carts because they were really cripple or might really have a hard time walking around this huge store. But hey it was for their youtube channel and that was all that counted right?

After many stops and a day of finding my tree and getting the things to go on it, I was home and the tree was filled with awesome bright lights and shinny break resistant bulbs. This is my first Christmas tree that I’ve purchased for myself and some have said that I really didnt need one and how this was a huge waste of money (MY MONEY), I really could give two shakes of a rats ass about what they think is the best thing for me. If it were left up to them I would still be homeless and crying on some corners or even fighting for my belongings. BUT, it’s not up to them and it never has been and they get no say in what I do with MY MONEY. Just like I dont get a say in what they want to do or what is and is not  important or holds some significance in their life. It’s always funny to me how people are so damn quick to tell me what I dont need, how I should be spending my time or what I need for MY APARTMENT and MY LIFE.

So my tree is up and it looks great. I love the smell of a fresh tree when I walk through the door and I love how the room is filled with cool colored lights. I love that I spent the day doing what I wanted to  do and doing things for myself, not thinking twice about what someone else wants me to have or how they would want me to spend my day, my time and my money.

Tomorrow is Thursday and I will wake and hit the gym early because the plan is to hit the gym twice. I will also go hiking and to the post office. I will clean my apartment paying close attention to my bathroom. LOL. I will call and speak with some friends and once again I will spend yet another day doing what I want to do and how I want to do it. I will also finally spend time going through my photos  to finally complete my gallery style wall as you walk into my place.

Right now I am about to wash the dished, take a bath and jump into my warm bed and enjoy a great nightssleep. But before I fall asleep I will give thanks to God for allowing me yet another day to smile, live, breathe, exist and enjoy yet another day in this awesome life he has seen fit to bless me with. My 40th birthday started off so awesome and it is ending so awesome as well. I am so looking forward to my 41st birthday where I will be joining family and friends for dinner and then an awesome night of bowling.

I am smiling right now and this smile is for ME and that feels awesome!!!