by Adam Smith
Shahar, a night shift as well. He did not seem to be all jolly about it like he would usually be. He was in his mid-thirties and had no plans for future but to sleep with as many women as he possibly could and make as much money at The Firm as his charm could allow him.
I sat next to him and asked "What's up Shahar?" he looked at me and smirked "My life is not what I have imagined when I was little..." he started. "I don't enjoy it the way I should besides, when I was a kid, I dreamt about making a difference in the world, not just being another pawn on the big board of a corporate world!" I smiled with a full smile and said "Wait a second, you do make a difference even in your position, did you know that there is a percentage of the sales that you make that goes as a donation to kids with disabilities?" entire minibus seemed to listen to our conversation suddenly. He said "really?" "Yeah! Just look it up! Or better approach Ifat and ask about it, you might come up with a better mind out of it." "Thanks man! It does seem like there is a purpose to what I do, now" "Your welcome!" I said and tapped him on a shoulder.
"Now, excuse me but I have to practice my Polish" I said. "Polish? What! Are you going to Poland or something?" I thought about it for a moment and whispered so only he could hear that "I might fall into polish women." I said. He has cracked into a deliberate laugh for, as long as, a minute and then made a serious face and asked the last question before we got to the airport "What! Local chicks aren't doing the trick, anymore?" I did not know what to answer, I said "I simply want to be excited, that's all." We both laughed as we went out of the minibus letting the driver scan our working chips with an app on his phone. The way to the Firm's stores was a lengthy one as no one was in a rush, we just chatted with each other and that's all. Funny poets may write about this place one day, how many lives it as affected and how many people it has delivered to their homelands and others who found here themselves at the beginning of their journey.
Finally, at the dining room, we all scanned our fingers and prepared for the battle royal. Each of us proceeded to his position. Surprisingly, this night has had a very few flights scheduled. All that we did was sit on our chairs, stared at the ceiling and talked to each other. During the first few hours, there were very few customers and I personally served only one. It was a young bearded Georgian man, he was very calm and bought only tobacco and the rolling paper. He bought several packs and wanted to buy even more, however, the system had a limit upon the amount of tobacco you can purchase.
I made him aware of that tiny rule and he even didn't blink and accepted his fate of buying only the amount allowed by the policy. The guy was calm, however, hardly talkative, I supposed this kind of features rarely gets along in the same person. The fuzzy feeling in my belly made suspicious that there may appear a huge wave of customers, soon. And the feeling was correct like if there was a burst and they all wanted to dump their cash in The Firm's pockets.
People are hard to understand, but when you do, you can leverage that understanding in your favor. That's what the owner of the Firm did and also he did a good job remaining anonymous to the world and to his peers.
When the wave has passed, I finally got my well-deserved break. The TV at the dining room was streaming some sort of an American comedy flick. Not many of those who were in the room engaged in laughing at the jokes made by the actors. People tried to hold their shit together by drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. I decided I'd make myself a cup of tea. Obviously not a popular decision among the borders of the dining room, at the moment. I also ate a Granny Smith apple. My favorite type of apples. There is a myth of how the Apple Company has chosen its name. Some say that Steve Jobs took the symbolism from The Bible, Genesis. When the biblical Adam took the forbidden fruit, which later in the epoch of Renaissance was symbolized by the apple, and took a bite of it, making himself conscious of his nakedness and other things. The Apple icon is an apple that sustained a bite, obviously, the consumer is a seeker of knowledge that takes a bite of the forbidden fruit.
It was time to get back to work when the actors on the TV produced another joke that was in fact mildly funny, "Are you seriously alone all of the time?" "No, I have a man who stares at my teeth every morning and every evening, when I brush them..."
While walking along the corridor, I noticed how much cargo has arrived to resupply the storage of the products on the shelves. The logistics crew were listening to some Middle Eastern music very loud which I honestly couldn't stand. It had to double up the pace towards the stage. The cash boxes I mean.
Once there, I thanked the girl that swapped with me for the break and continued serving the slowly approaching wave of customers. They all were in their senior years and had some kind of tour organized just for their group in Sicily. I joked and asked a couple from the same group if they liked fish. They smiled and laughed, it warmed my heart. The side pockets of my jacket were torn on the inside, however, they still could hold objects inside. Of course, it is strictly prohibited to carry sharp objects at the area of the airport and the store, especially for the employees.
So, I had to leave even the keys inside of my bag, however, the pockets and the policies were allowing me to carry napkins. I pulled a napkin and dried my forehead and eyes so they would stop dripping.
When impossible becomes possible, people still believe that the rest of things that are considered impossible will remain so. Why I'm telling you this? Perhaps, because I'm bored or because I thought I'd never make it to the sales average rate that I was put up to.
It has taken me way too much time to get there but today was the day that Elena approached me and said "Way the go!".
After I got home at the beginning of the day, out of any energy, I reevaluated my position towards life. Perhaps, you should make a lemonade if life gives you lemons. In case of apples? Make an apple juice.
The rest of the day I've spent sleeping and resting. No dreams this time. Just an ordinary deep sleep. That's it.
After waking up at about 8 PM. I decided I will have to give that addiction of Shahar's a try in my life as well. I've put on black shorts and a white T-shirt and went out to the groceries to purchase a tiny bottle of the red label for 37.99 NIS. Walking back home, not as hastily as I used to, I looked around and let the fresh air go up my nostrils and nourish my body and brain.
The sky is fascinating in our city.
Unlocking all of the doors could have taken more time when you were drunk so I decided I'd drink the whiskey at the apartment itself, even though the evening was lovely indeed. Anyhow, I opened the bottle by Lana, I did not bother to pour any of the containers into the glass. I just said "YOLO Lana!" and took a sip. I wasn't that good with substances at the time but I have to say that after a couple more of sips, I decided that this tiny bottle probably was going to last me for the week.
After all of that, Lana and I still were not drunk but we felt slightly closer. Joking. I took a shower and tried to read some more of the manuals as there were not much left, I practically took everything from what I had to know. The only thing that stopped me from the execution of the operation is the lack of money for the test and the arrival of that tiny flash drive I've ordered from Amazon. Without that, I'd probably never be able to transfer the Trojan to the system.
The fun part about this device is that the code boots itself into the system once you plug it into the host computer. It sifts through the original files and infects those that are crucial for money transfer.
Yes, Data Mining is a big thing. If you want a safe job, go ahead and study it.
Fortunately, all of that wasn't that far away. Suddenly, my phone rang. It was dad, calling from Argentina. I wondered what time it was there right now. I've picked the phone and answered the call. "Hello! How are you, dad?" "Hello, Adi! Something really bad has happened, your grandpas and grandma’s house burned down." I was stuttered for a moment as I did not get it at first he was talking about the grandpa and grandma from his side, I have not met them ever before in my life. Also, I
did not know they had a house.
So naturally, I was a bit confused and skeptical, so I played it safe with the continuation of the conversation "oh, I've never seen their house. Could you send me the pictures so I could have an idea of how bad it is? Also, are the two of them fine?" "The dog burnt live, but they are fine. I don't know what I am going to do, Adi... They are old and need their nature, we are living in my one-room apartment right now." I saw the pictures he has sent and honestly felt bad for them "I'll try to help. But I need a month. I will call you when I can. I have a busy schedule right now. Hold on papa." "How is mother?" "Oh, she is doing fine. Quiet well, to be honest." "I see..." A long silence followed. "Don't worry dad, I'll do my best to help you out." "Gracias Adi!" I hung up on the phone and approached the table with Lana on it. I took few more sips of the Red Label. The situation had to sink. It was a very unkind fate to stay houseless at a very old age. In fact, it was unkind to stay houseless at any age for anyone.
I had to think what I can do. What I could do. I think one month, they could hold. And if my plan would work, their problem would be solved swiftly enough.
I wanted to have some bonfire and just sit there and listen to the cracking of the burning wood. Unfortunately, there was no possibility to do anything like that in my area at this time and on this budget. But where there is thought, and where Lana is, there is a solution. I Googled for "Cracking Fire Sounds" and one of the results been mynoise.net
It turned out to be the perfect simulation of a bonfire. Exactly what I've been looking for.
I've closed my eyes and a memory from my childhood overtook me, it was when I, father and mother still were a family. We did some camping back in Argentina and enjoyed the fire through the night. It was poetic. Now, when I opened my eyes and looked at the screen, Lana still was producing sounds of cracking fire. I lowered the volume and went on to sleep.
After all, tomorrow is another day.
The alarm rang exactly at 8 AM as I have set it. Waking up became easier with time. I've turned off the fire sounds because they became annoying at this point. Two hours prior to the time to get to the airport is plenty of time. But anyway, I prepared myself ahead of time. Got dressed, brushed my teeth and packed the lunch. I had an hour and a half to burn.
"The madness behind your dreams is not in fear of failure but rather in fear of, in fact, getting what you really want." I scribbled that and browsed the web on Lana to get the latest tech news, the web could provide.
Tech Crunch had some interesting developments going on. However, nothing was as impressive as successful Space X launches and ARKit. Space X reused some rockets and by the use of their out of this world technology, they managed to launch them into our atmosphere and then landed them at a very incredible manner that awed the whole world. The video, showing the entire sequence is outstandingly satisfying to watch. I enjoyed every bit of it.
And now ARKit, Apple got over themselves again. I think it's the biggest thing at the company since Steve Jobs has passed away, although you never know what their labs are secretly brewing for the dollars and amusement of their fans.
ARKit is a technology that allows the merging of virtual reality with ordinary world. It's like a creator of differently sized projections from the apple products (iPhones, iPads) into the outer world. It is Epic. You got to see it to understand. There are so many applications to this thing that only by thinking of it, my head got spinning.
Anyhow, I wandered around the net for about half an hour to conclude, that if everything goes well with my plan I might invest some of my money in this new technology. I stood up and stretched a bit, letting my muscles feel that they are still of value. I've poured water into the electric teapot and turned it on. After a minute or two, the button clicked letting me know that the water has boiled and it's already hot. I made tea and It was a fine morning and I had twenty minutes left before the pickup. I knew I couldn't browse anymore or try and have a nap because you know, I might not be able to wake on time. So, I simply sat there and slowly sipped the tea I cooked and enjoyed the rays of sun entering my room from the large window that covered most of the kitchen.
The ride was sort of fine this time. The driver was an experienced one, so nobody had to tell him where to stop to pick up our fellow. It all turned to be a really good and smooth ride. Once we got to the airport, I even got surprised at the timing and how fast we got there. It was not so simple not to think about the amount of work I had to face that day, because the number of people at the airport was intimidating, to say the least.
That day, I had no privilege to attend my favorite number six. It was already taken. And I was directed to number 2 instead. It's the outmost right cash box. One of those that get the least amount of customers and crappiest kind of neighboring cashiers. I said to myself, I won't let it ruin my day and simply took the cash handed to me and went to serve the crowd with the proper smile and attitude we've been taught to.
There were plenty of cute looking girls that day, flirting with some other male cashiers over the cash boxes rows. However, I've got nothing and all that just reinforced my desire to execute my plan and start enjoying life, as soon as, I possibly could.
By 2 PM, I hated all and everyone but did not let myself show it out, although I'm sure if you could read my mind you'd send me home, jail or mental institute. It depends on your kindness.
At 2:30 PM, I got my break and went straight to the restroom for men, to splash some cold water on my face. The sinks of the restrooms at the airport were out of it and very annoying. I realized they were designed to save water, however, it was unpractical if you had to have the water streaming longer than three seconds. In order to activate the sink, you have to put your hand next to a little peep hole over there and only then the water would flow. I kind of got used to it and even found a more practical solution to this sink and the use of it. I would keep one hand close to the peephole without ever removing it while using the other to wash my face or to clean my nose out of snuffles, if I had to. Sorry for such details.
Anyhow, I washed my face and it made me feel much better. The only thing that was left was to dry my face from all that water. There is no paper at the restroom, but the air blowers that are supposed to dry your hands. There is always an option of going into a cabin and grabbing a toilet paper and applying it. However, at this time the cabins were taken and I couldn't let my valuable break time get wasted, so I went into the employee's dining room and to the kitchen. There always been a large roll of harsh paper for drying hands after you wash them.
I grabbed a long piece, tore it off the roll and dried my face. The result of this was pure calmness and relaxation. At least to the point, that I could allow myself exhale with a certain ease. Next, I took the lunch box and dined with spaghetti and corn. I hadn't got much free time left afterward, so all I could was to take a mental refugee in my plan and go back to number 2 reinforced by an old saying, that everything will pass, even this.
I wish I could find a reason to go home sooner, however, the issue with it is that there is no ride home, even if they give a permission, what is also very unlikely. So, I sucked it all up and continued to serve gracefully. Even though, at the end I've lost it and simply began acting like a robot. Well, I better get this, than no work at all. Finally, at 7 PM, I got home as jaded as the sun after 7 Billion years of shining.
The only thing that was left was to brush my teeth and fall asleep, in order, to get a proper charge. Fortunately enough, this night was quiet and the bed felt cozy, so I had a wonderful sleep.
No dreams but a good sleep nonetheless.
When I woke up and got off the bed, the feeling of martyrdom was far behind.
And a brand new day was ahead, more than that it was a day off, which was double good for me.
The morning started with a warm cup of coffee and a bowl of Quaker. Healthy, nutritious breakfast, that's all a good man needs to feel energized in the morning. A shower was swift and comforting, as we
ll as, sanitizing. All in all, the day began with a right foot and I thanked the Gods for this.
The construction next to me was going full throttle. I had to get out of the apartment, in order, not to go completely bonkers. I've dressed into my black shorts and a gray short sleeves T-Shirt. Sunglasses are a must in Israel, especially during the summer. Wallet and ID in pocket, phone is charged, I made my way out. The day was exceptionally sunny, but I didn't really care. There was wind and it apparently made the heat more bearable.
"Is Morocco-English a thing?" asked an old lady with a dark hair headed man. He giggled and replied "I might believe you could find a movement like that, if there is no such thing, yet" I smiled with a broad smile and stepped into the bus stop, waiting for my free ride to Tel-Aviv. They still were jokingly planning to research this topic but all I could think of was a cold one that I should get when I get to any bar in Tel-Aviv. Possibly... no, most likely! There are Moroccans who speak English, and they even might be worthy specimens of females among them. However, it is not part of my plan. And you probably could guess that I personally put the mission above anything else and until it is done, nothing else matters. Nothing at all.
While riding through all that debris in which southern Tel-Avivians are living, I was enjoying my humble observations and all of the sun you could get on your face through the window of the bus.
Back in high school, when we were traveling into unique locations, we had bulletproof windows on our school buses. It was kind of a gig that not even all of the tourists got. Anyhow, once I arrived at Ibn Gbirol, I've stopped at the tiny walk through the memory lane and got myself thinking, and most importantly walking to the well-desired bottle of beer.
I've found some bars that were opened and walked in. There weren't any people around, so I had to ask if it's open. The perky looking bartenders replied in confirmation to that question. I sat on the central stool, in front of her. It was hard to concentrate on her smile, when she possessed such naturally amazing breasts. However, you master that skill with time. How lovely I thought "A girl, a beer and we are alone...". I'd like "Heineken please!" "Sure" she said. I could say that she could say that I was into her. I grabbed the bottle and took a sip. "You are new here, aren't you? Haven't seen you around." "Yes" she said "It's my first week" I was shooting blind and hitting the target. "So, how has it been so far, do you like it here?" She kept on cleaning some of the glasses and I thought... never mind what I thought. "You know a girl like that couldn't wish for anything else, my entire family is into beverage businesses.