Incomprehensible Dream Notes: Comic strip/video game, hope versus kindness, started as X-men battle but turned into mom reading, cum dress character, Tetris book inside a book (I have been watching Big Mouth, hence the cum dress character I think. Also, Hope versus Kindness? Jesus, both would be nice.)
I woke up to incessant group texts from one of those Nanjing groups. I had to mute all notifications.
For breakfast, I ate (you guessed it) 3 pears. I think the pears may be starting to turn. I may have to throw them away soon.
I spend ten minutes looking for my keys. They are in the bathroom. Then I can't find the little piece of paper with Metal's number. I start to really freak out. Metal is definitely the one. My soul mate. I finally find it after searching for about 30 minutes. It's in the garbage can. Wanting not to seem overly eager, I blog for a bit before finally trying to add Metal on WeChat. I then water Bertie, who leaks all over my table.
I have a phone interview with a school in Shanghai. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
I cook rice again. Today, I burn it. I can't waste rice though, so I pour some soy sauce, oyster sauce, and pepper on and eat it anyways.
At work, I keep checking to see if Metal has added me yet. She hasn't. I waited a while to request her, she's probably just waiting to add me. She definitely gave me her real number though, her profile picture is her and she looks amazing. Oh Metal, my one and only! To tide me over, I start shooting the shit with Fernanda over text. We mostly complain about work. Oh Fernanda, my two and only!
Because I'm still hungry, I continue to chow down on wedding candies during ever break.
The monotony is starting to get to me. My lesson plans don't change. I'm still teaching all the same things I have the whole time I have been here. (Pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, notebook, backpack.)
During a break, I went into the other teacher's lounge and saw Laura and Cindy sitting alone and chatting.
"Hey sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting, I just was wondering, or, hoping I guess. Could you guys maybe tutor me in Chinese during breaks? My lack of Chinese is really making life difficult and it would really be helpful."
Complete silence.
"I mean, you don't have to, I would just really appreciate it."
"We teach English. We don't know how to teach Chinese."
"Oh, uh, okay."
I leave, tail between my legs. Laura runs back into my office after me.
"Riley! Riley!"
"Yes?" (There's that hope again.)
"Do you have google translate?"
"Yes"
"That can maybe help you."
"Ok."
Laura leaves. I steal some more toilet paper from the children's bathroom and take another nasty ass shit in the teacher's office. Josie tries to enter, thank god I locked the door.
Peter talked to me a little today, just to ask about my eBike and buying groceries, but still. At least it's not the silent treatment. I know Peter and I annoy each other, but that's sort of all I have.
Before our next class, Sakey starts playing a song in English. I have never heard it before, but I go ask her about it. She starts to make fun of me for always carrying my water bottle with me everywhere. I call it my teddy bear and she laughs. After work though, Sakey doesn't say good bye to me. I'm sure she didn't think anything of it or do anything intentionally, but still, it hurts. Sakey, my three and only? What the hell is wrong with me?
Fernanda and I have been texting all day, but Metal still hasn't added me. I become worried my first request didn't go through so I send another one. Then I really freak out. I think I've ruined my chances with Metal. What the fuck is wrong with me? Two friends requests in one day? You dumb idiot, that's the definition of needy. God Dammit. Maybe only one went through, maybe I still have a chance.
I grab the beer that Ian gave me the other night from the fridge and try to open it with the back of a pair of scissors for about 15 minutes. Then, I realize one of my knives actually has a bottle opener on the back of it and open it quite easily. Is everyone as absent-minded as me or is this slipping into completely unrelatable?
After I finish my drink, I want another one. I am able to transfer 30 RMB into my WeChat from my bank account because I guess I at least had that much. (I tried 50 at first, but they said I didn't have the funds.) I grab Benji and take him out for a ride, but because it is after 10 pm, everything is closed. I finally find an open liquor store, but my money hasn't transferred yet. When I get home, I see that the phone company took the 30 RMB as soon as I transferred it. I don't know how they are allowed to do that, especially since I just paid them, but there ain't a ton I can do about it. So I go home and go to bed. I guess I didn't really need a second beer anyway.