Nano's and Food On The Streets, II

Last insult of the day....the red nano quit working.

No charge would hold, no music was in my ears... I stopped cold in the middle of my walk, and did what I do with everything that quits working.

I shook it.

This did not help matters one single bit.

Therefore, I went to the Apple store, signed in, ran a bunch of errands, and came back at my appointed time. There was a woman waiting with me...she had translucent skin. I was fascinated by it, and finally had to go watch the demo of Apple's scriptwriting softwear before she worried I was some perv (I was patting myself down again, looking for my phone/glasses/nano).

Paul, a delightful young man who helped me 45 minutes after my appointment time...shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but, it's a goner." Actually, he said, "I'm sorry, but, it seems your nano no longer has any functionality." I liked my version better.

"Noooooooo!", I gasped, clutching my chest and thus finding my glasses. "Why, Paul, why? It was so young. I only had it a few months!"

Paul gently patted my hand. His shirt said 'Genius'. I knew Paul would give me the technical reason for my nano's demise, and I'd pretend to understand. I put on my "I understand" face I wear when the IBMchild (the eldest) starts to discuss his work. I'm still not sure what he does...something with computers and design stuff. I smile and nod and think about what I would have named streets if I'd have gotten my dream job as a child, naming streets in a sub-division.

I saw Paul's mouth moving, and focused on him, and not on 'Walkthis Way' for the Rock-n-Roll Subdivision I had created in my head.

"What?"

The 'Genius' said, "It's not working."

"Yes, Paul, that's why I'm here. I told you that, that even the cute battery thing doesn't show up."

"Did you drop it in water or something?"

"No, I really only managed to make it work a few times. When we are done here, can you help me with the phone?"

Paul looked pained.

He did some work on a company Apple, and gave me one to play with. It confused me, so, I moved the mouse around, and went back to watching the screenwriting demo.

"Good news! We can replace it for free."

"Oh my heck!" Sometimes, I forget to curse. "How long to engrave it again?"

"Oh, we just give you one without the engraving."

"What?"

"No engraving. Just the nano. And, you'll have to have one of our colours."

That's the last I remember. I could hear sounds and see lights... but, none of it made sense. My red nano, with "as long as i'm living, my mommy you'll be" not engraved on it???

WERE THEY MAD???

No, this was unacceptable.

"How long to get an exact replacement, Paul?", I asked while another employee fanned me and someone fetched me water. "HOW LONG, PAUL??"

"Um, two weeks?"

It was deal or no deal... I took the call from the booth. Paul was a gem, and I was getting what I wanted. He did make me leave his laptop behind.

I could hear faint cheering as I left the 'Genius' (my ass) center, the nano and a shipping box in hand.

It may be a month before I'm loaded up and ready again, but, I'll be able to run my thumb over those words...and that, my friends, is the important part.




FOOD ON THE STREETS, II

I've discovered the Cart on Lafayette.... fried rice and chicken... I'm not going to question if it is or isn't chicken... on a stick. Two dollars. Everything is a dollar per item, except the eggrolls, which are three for a dollar, and chicken wings are two for a dollar.

They are all fried in the same vat of fat. This adds a certain pique flavour to your food by the end of the day, which is when I tend to purchase my supper, making me popular on the train. Sometimes, I switch out the rice for rice noodles... I'm daring that way.

I don't want to think about the ingredients, much like the tamales, it's something you push to the back of your mind as you consume your meal... still, it's tasty, filling and dead ass cheap.

booya.