Little Italy

Okay, so, I get the thing that I need from wal-mart, (apparently nobody else in san-diego knew that this wasn’t a 24 hour wal-mart, either, but they all got there closer to seven anyone thirty your room will be ready.

Well shit, so I have to kill some time now.

I decide eventually to walk down to the way.) and start hiking up the hill, thinking that maybe I can get a bus+trolley back into town?

I mean, it’s only like 5$, but then it occurs to me that.. busses and shit like exact change.

So, I hike back down and call the guy that brought me TO the wal-mart (it was 35$ last time, and we got along pretty well, so he likes me.) and he says, I have a fare, but it’s a short one, I can be there in like twenty minutes- so I say, Okay, that’s cool. I mean, I’ve been here since four thirty so what’s another twenty?

So he gets there, we head back to porto vista, he gets lost but it’s cool because I’m paying cash, so he lets me pay less than the meter actually says because it was his bad- and I suppose that it was like a huge favor, me paying him cash, so he lets me know that any time I need a cab, remainder of my trip, to give him a call- he’s not a nighttime cabby, but he does work into the night, and I found him originally at like 4, so- anytime.

Anyway, so, at the hotel, I go in, room’s still not ready. It’s the same guy tha I talked to last time, so he says, room’ll be ready at one thirty- so I have them hold my clothes bag and ask where there’s a plug for my computer and phone and stuff- they say, there’s some in the Glass Window (their restaurant) and there’s another lounge/thing on the roof of the fourth floor, and also there’s those floor ones in the lobby here.

I opt for the roof because I figure that there’s nobody up there, but I can’t find a plug, and eventually I go into the restaurant because it’s kidn of cool in there, still can’t find a plug, so I have some food.

Holy crap, okay.the 5$ for the oj was okay, because it was a pretty big OJ even if it couldn’t be refilled.

But, I decided to get the salmon and bagel because for some reason both of those things sounded good.

And. It gets here and it is this HUGE ASS PLATE (like, a foot square, no joke) with like, less than half of its area covered in food. (wtf?) so okay, that’s a little disheartening because I payed 14$ for this, but it’s a hotel, their food is overpriced, whatever.

And then I go to eat the salmon. (oh, there was some like, pepper and tomatoes and stuff on there too, chopped, to eat with the salmon.) and it’s …

Cold.

Okay, what the SHIT?! I mean, okay. It’s cooked, and At least they didn’t skimp me on the fucking bagel, but seriously. Small portion and cold? Not cool, you guys.

But the girls were nice and pretty quick, so I gave them a very small tip for that, but the food wasn’t worth what I paid for it. Quite disappointed, and hope that if I get to take advantage of the breakfast tomorrow, that it’ll be more substantial.

I’ve only killed like a half an hour at this point, so I decide to go down to the marina. I’ve already donw the boat thing once or twice, so I just look. End up finding a fellow who does name illuminations and look around his booth for awhile, before I start walking back. (I still haven’t killed that much time.) On the way I pass a 7-11, so I pop in and get some tape (to strengthen my wristband) and a water (to bring to the auditions, since it’s the only thing that we’re allowed to bring in with us.) then keep going..

Settle into the lobby, plug in my stuff, putz about for awhile, listening to the front desk to hear if any rooms are ready… call mom back, etc…

Eventually I get wind that there might be some ready as early as noon, so I wait a bit longer before going up and (there’s different people there now.) asking about my room, retrieving my bag, getting my key…

And they’ve put me in room 420, so of course I MUST call my friend Shade Koba IMMEDIATELY because he is a toker and it was amusing as hell. He doesn’t answer so I start getting ready to go to bed because goddamnig I have been up for how long now? I’m not really tired but I know that I need sleep so I crank the AC up, and what do you know, they have a sheet on top of the comforter! (which was awesome)

And I must mention this, because. Oh my god this bed is hard.

It’s not uncomfortable hard like the ones at Mendocino, it’s kind of like..

Uh, have you ever sat down on a tempurpedic memory foam mattress?

Okay, so, you know how when you sit down, it’s like hard for a moment before it starts to slowly cave in to fit you?

This is like that, except for no caving in, like. It’s just that initial oomph that you get.

Kind of strange, but beggars cannot be choosers! And otherwise I like the room. It’s very small and very simple, which lives up to its purported European-ness.

So anyway, I sleep. Get a few phone calls here and there but otherwise get in the better part of 8 hours.

Around 8 I get up (I tried to sleep again but couldn’t) so I turn on the TV, channel flip, then pull on some half-ass clothes and watershoes and go to get some ice. Can’t find the machine right away, but there’s an employee nearby and he lets me use their ice room! (thank you sir!) so I do that and go back and watch Despicable Me until that station goes fuzzy for some reason (also I am internetting at the time.)

After awhile I realize that I should eat because even though I’m not hungry, I haven’t eaten since the half of a sandwich that I’d had that morning, so I post on Facebook about how frustrating it is to not know where a mcdonalds is, and Ashley lets me know that there’s a jack in the box a few blocks away!

Short walk later, and I’m ordering a chicken sandwich of some kind and helping a lady find the rite aid. (wait, when I said that I went to a 7-11 earlier I meant rite aid.)

Eat the food, and the guy behind the counter (who was the first one to see my bracelet AND know what it means) tries to start a conversation when he’s on his break but I AM AN IDIOT and got VERY CONFUSED and ruined the opportunity for both of us. (I AM SO SORRRY YOU SEEM AWESOME SIR)

So. Uh. Walk back, ditz for a bit, set my alarm for three, and conk out!

HERE ARE PICTURES

http://www.thedesertwinds.com/travel/AmericanIdolSanDiego2011/day2