Chapter #18
[1] We sat on the roof of Flynn's soon to be former house. There was a party going on downstairs. Flynn and I had driven to IKEA to buy fifteen white folded chairs (and a plastic bar stool) so we could accommodate all of his guests. He also asked one of the bartenders from Cafe to come and serve drinks. In the morning we picked up some of artswork from Jacob's boyfriend (?) house. By this time there were people in the party that even Flynn could not recognise. I was drinking the vodka with Mano which was going to make coming down the ladder more challenging. It was Easter so which I used as an excuse to get people drinking more. At the end we took a Taxi, took the exit on the [26th] and arrived at an illegal rave. It was past 2am but because we had raspberry juice and even more vodka we got in. There were people inside queining to get on an electric bull. Flynn didn't mind the queue. At the end we dropped Mano by his house near the 5th and I crossed the Bay Bridge to the sight of steam from a broken radiator.
[2] It was vodka and tonic that I drank during the party. Something to do with Jesus, Easter and the simplicity of life. We took the chairs back to IKEA (Flynn decided to keep the bar stool) and got our money back. All of that dancing and drinking was to mark his departure from the current flat. SOMA was going through a development so the building was being bought up and Flynn paid to vacate it. It was close to Starbucks and the Borders that later I would be coming back to with Ken. My trips to Trannyshack and Heklina continued now often just with Trevor. We would park the car by the [motel inn] and walk to the bar. San Francisco was now mine. One night I saw a guy in the Stud standing and enjoying the show. I immediately fell in love with him and later wondered how the universe conspired for me when I met him online. His nickname was Wanderlust, he also lived near the 5th Street exit and he gave up smoking for lent. It was to his place I went after the last night of the Model UN rather than staying for the final party.
[3] I couldn't really afford the trip to Beijing but I figured it was probably the only opportunity to go there with other people so I booked the ticket and put it on my newly acquired credit card. The occasion was the World Model UN which was going to take place just after my first (and only) gig as the Chief of Staff for the conference hosted by Berkeley. I was no longer intimidating to deal with people from Harvard especially after I had already gone to Boston to take as a delegate. I don't quite remember which country I represented. In fact, I was so intimidated by the guys from West Point that I only made one speech,a passed notes hung with Laurel and then hung out with her at Boston Common drinking wine from a plastic cup. The weather suddenly turned into a cold snow. Laurel left prematurely without any explanation either because of the hotel fire alarm or because she just had enough of the whole thing. I was in love with Alvin then and made a mistake of drunkenly making a call to tell him I missed after which he took an overnight plane destroying my weekend.
[4] All of those electric bulls and hanging out with Trevor buying him dinner was probably just a deferral to an important question looming closer and closer - what was I going to do with my life post college. Firstly, I had a loan to pay off which would kick in automatically six months if I did not continue my studying. I was still determined on going to a law school but it wouldn't happen after I had gotten a job as a paralegal and saved up some money. The math still didn't quite work but at least it was some sort of answers to my problems. While everyone around me seemed to be going to various fair jobs, I had attended one or two where former Berkeley students were praising their current employees and encouraged the room full of seniors to apply for their entries position. The whole experience was somehow intimidating so after a few applications with no successful outcome I decided to send my resume to an unpaid internship at an office of an Californian congresswoman. While I knew what my ultimate goal was here in California I wasn't really quite sure what I wanted to do afterwards.
[5] The Model UN conference was taking place at the Hilton Hotel by Union Square. I was now officially given the title of the chief of staff and along with other guy called Rob was effectively in charge of the whole logistics. We bought lots of paper from Staples, secured copy machines, printed out placards for the attendees, set up the room, etc. At our disposals were other several volunteers who would be typing resolutions and other documents. Everything started on time and with just a few bumps such as missing ids or delegates not being on the list. First day into the session I felt I didn't really have that much authority, after all we were all just being here in our free time, so I didn't mind if some of the drafts were just being copied straight into to the copiers. We appealed to the people to use clear handwriting as only the main resolutions were to be typed. It was the violation of the previous practices but who cared. I converted a corner to a meditation room so people could relax. The atmosphere of an impending disaster was fun even if not everyone got their certificates on time.
[6] I had to park the Honda somewhere by the curb of the El Cerito station and hope that it would still be there when I got back. I was running late, my clothes in the suitcase were still wet and I knew that if I missed the next train I would not be able to make it to the next flight. And I agreed to find Adrian at the airport and give him back his jacket. Out of nowhere I also met Denys. We had a quick chat but I forget where he was going. I panicked when I saw the check-in at the United's flight to Beijing was already closed. Somehow I managed to convince the nice lady to take in my suitcase. I cut through the security and ended up at my gate just in time for the boarding. The flight was long and I kept myself entertained thinking about Mano. Upon landing I saw some blue roofs and finally got to the arrival building after a lady came in to the plane and sprayed the air. I crossed the border to the sights of Starbucks and Vodafone commercials. It did not look like a communism at all.
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