When I Like Them

It is good to be home.  That was a long one.  My younger daughter was home when I got here and was kind to hang out with me as I pulled two weeks of dirty laundry out from my bag and schlepped it over to the washing room area.  For some reason I’d thought to buy everyone soccer shirts from the match I’d seen in Curitiba and I now present this to her, with something less than full confidence that was a good idea.

You play a song, then I play a song.   She and I bond this way.  She is over the moon because BTS, her band, have a new tune out.  Soon she has a new tune by the group leader up on the screen.  RM, seemingly the only member of the group with solid English, is my fave, for sure.  He raps well and, speaking at the U.N. for example was rather articulate.  This new tune (looking now, I can’t seem to find it on line.  Will have to ask:  And it is “Map of the Soul: Persona 'Persona' Comeback Trailer”) is actually quite funky.  And I know she likes it when I like them. 

Yesterday I was finally able to drop my phone off with Kevin.  Our phone-fixer man out at the club house.  The poor old iPhone six has been in its worst fix ever.  The motherboard appears to be shot (Kevin’s diagnosis) and I must press repeatedly, forcefully at odd intervals for the touch screen to activate a particular app.  Then, once in, say Wechat, it continues to feel pressure and types out randomly, sometimes sending randomly.  I’ve had friends and business contacts ask me if I was alright, after receiving messages from me like:  “Ha J L L,,,IHAH@234”  and other such nonsense.

But Kevin warned me.  He’d need the phone for at least twenty-four hours.  This is daunting in the modern world.  No Wechat?  No Di Di?  I sent out a few emails to key people saying I would be soon going dark and to keep it to email.  But my daughter, crafty lass that she is said: “Why do you use the stupid web-based link for Wechat?  It will quickly log you out.  You should use the app from the app store instead.  I see.  And she’s right.  Eighteen hours later I still have Wechat access on my Mac.  But I really don’t know how I’ll make it down to the city and back without my Di Di app.  These days only tourists and bumpkins hail a cab.

Sunday 3/31/19