Well, I actually arrived on Guam a few days ago, but until now I haven’t had access to the internets. I had every intention of making a short post detailing my new flight attendant fetish during the stop over in Honolulu, Hawaii, but the airport was devoid of any wifi signals, and I had to seriously hunt for an outlet that was in one piece to even charge my notebook. I suppose it was for the best though, since that sentiment about airplane stewardesses didn’t hold through the second 8-hour leg of the trip.
In all seriousness though, the trip was fine despite me playing CnC with Melvin and Jer till 3 in the morning the day of my flight (had to get up at 5). I honestly expected to have issues with the traveling since I was leaving the continent and would have to go through stacks of paperworks and such in the airports. Luckily, it all turned out alright and I guess I was just worrying too much.
Guam itself has been… well, I don’t want to say that my stay has been an ordeal, but I’m trying to find a proper word to convey how I feel about this all. I was born in Tamuning and spent most of my childhood here, so the island feels far from foreign, but I really feel like I’m a tourist anyway. I’ve been here for all of 4 days and I’m not sure how much positive progress I’ve made so far. I feel like I’ve adjusted well (to the surplus of ants, wild dogs, and lack of hot water), but it all feels like pointless effort.
The thing I really need is a job and right now, the search isn’t going too well. I came here with the intention of trying to work at the PDN, but I was feeling more confident about it when my aunt (who used to write for them) told me she was going to turn in my portfolio for me about a month ago. Well, that managed to not happen, so now I’m planning to borrow my grandmother’s car and head up there to turn in my resume/portfolio myself.
That’s another related issue by the way. I originally came to Guam with the idea of helping my grandmother out since her health hasn’t been the best recently (what with the aneurysm a good while back), but as the date of our tip grew closer I began to think of it as more of a new start (kinda). I’ve always wanted to come back to Guam and I’ve envisioned having a new fully independent adult life here.
Where I’ve ended up is staying in an apartment that my grandmother owns (essentially making me a freeloading tenant till I’m employed). On top of that, the apartment is right next door to hers and actually has a door that actually connects the two’s living rooms. Yeah, also that door has long been broken off. So basically the apartment feels more like a section of one long house. Doesn’t help that since the apartment used to be inhabited by my aunt, the whole place is covered in her and my grandmother’s things. We’re talking filled closets, toiletries of indeterminable age, tacky decorations predating the mid 90′s, etc. So yeah, I feel like a tourist or just someone who’s ‘visiting family’.
Even with these living arrangements and having to borrow cars or bum rides, I don’t think I would be feeling as awkward if it wasn’t for a disturbing phone call I received from my mom two days ago. She rang me up at 10 at night (calling through my cousin’s house since my cellphone didn’t work and the land line at my grandma’s house doesn’t work) to tell me that she wanted me to come back home. At first I was like, yeah, that’s cute, my mom’s getting empty nest syndrome or something and joking around, but she seriously was insisting she send me a plane ticket back home the next day. I was like, “umm, why?”
Well, apparently, my mom was under the impression that my grandmother didn’t want me here. Well, sure enough, I came here to help my Grandmother out, but on Guam she’s a lot less helpless than elsewhere, so I mean, I don’t have much help to offer. It’s actually a good thing, IMO, that means her health is getting way better. The issue is that ever since the aneurysm, her short term memory has been shot which leads her to being ridiculously paranoid about everything. I’d rather not go into specifics, but the situation leads her to getting pissed at people for little to nothing. On top of that, she’s developed the nasty habit of talking shit about people behind their backs. Everyone of course realizes that this is a new behavior that came after the previously mentioned aneurysm business, so nobody really takes it seriously, but you know, when you hear about the shit she says it bugs you just a little.
Concerning me and my situation, I’ve heard a real loopy one. My grandmother’s been telling my cousin that she doesn’t understand why I’m here since thus far she claims to have been taking more care of me than I have of her (fair enough, though a lot of it (all the freaking food) came unrequested). Well, I don’t think it’d be right to get into what that whole issue is leading into either. Wow, I’m cutting out so many specifics lol.
So getting off these depressing notes, Guam’s really something else. The island’s just gorgeous and I really can’t wait to go for a drive with my camera. I’m positively amused at how I’m unable to stay up past 10pm anymore. My previously effed up sleep schedule works perfectly here. I sleep at 10, then the goddamn roosters crow at 6 in the morning without fail to wake me up. Bathing in cold water’s cool I guess (haw haw), and now that I have net I’m more or less comfy with my usual business.
I’m really yearning to get my own car. I have in mind something small, old and cheap like my old car (91 Celica GT) and hopefully just as if not more sporty (not exactly a challenging requirement really). Mostly because I’d feel a lot better knowing that I’d be using my own car and not something I have to share or worry about messing up. Yeah, that’s right, these roads are freaking awesome. Long sweeping mountain passes and such that go on for miles, I love em. I’ve been seeing a lot of these signs (in Ryan-vision)!
Yeah yeah, seriously though, I better get to bed. Tomorrow mornin’ I’ll be hitting up PDN and other locales to see whether or not I’ll have to return home to the mainland with my tail between my legs. haha
Adios~
This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 6:06 am and is filed under Another Blog, Tourism, Whining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
