So.. I had an interesting weekend. I was already pissed off because I had spent Friday and a good part of Saturday sitting around in my apt. because I had nothing to do and no one to hang out with and so I decided to go for a run. After laying in bed under the covers for an hour because I could hear how ridiculous the wind sounded outside, I managed to find the motivation to brave the blustery cold weather to work up a good sweat.
Taking advantage of my sudden rush of frustration and motivation, I got all dressed and decided to go out on my balcony to feel how cold it actually was to make sure I had enough clothes on. As I walked out there, I absent-mindedly shut the door behind me without thinking about the fact that it locks from the inside when it's shut. So here I am, "fake jogging" to see how warm I feel and I turn around to go back in and realize that I'm locked out.
Now mind you, to be locked out of your apartment is one thing, BUT to be locked out, 2 stories up on a balcony with no possible way down, with no cell phone, one thin jacket on the coldest, windiest day since I've been here, with a roommate who may or may not be coming home at all, and not to mention, being a foreigner with little to no Spanish speaking skills.... is a whole different situation.
So what did I do? Start crying of course, and saying outloud to myself "I am such an idiot, I'm so screwed right now" over and over. For the first hour I debated back and forth between waiting to see if my roommate came home, to trying to ask someone who walked by for help. When the first hour had come and gone, I started trying to find ways to break in, which may or may not have included, kicking the door, attempting to break the glass window, and prying the door open with my bare hands (which also resulted in a huge blood blister on my middle finger). When I realized my attempted break-ins were hopeless, and my roommate was obviously not coming home anytime soon, I finally broke down and asked some guy walking by, we'll call him "Pepe".
In my broken Spanish I told Pepe that I could not enter my house, my keys were inside, and I didn't know what to do. What was his response? "I don't know what to do either." So I asked him to call someone to come help me. So after a brief phone conversation he told me that someone was on the way, although he wasn't sure if it was the police, a locksmith or what. So I thanked him, and he went on his way.
So at this point, I already felt better knowing someone, whoever they were, was on the way to rescue me. I began pacing back and forth trying to stay warm and dry, because it had also begun to drizzle and the wind was blowing the rain on to my balcony prison. Even better.
Now, in the distance I started to hear the ever-so-faint sound of a siren. Of course, someone must be dying or injured somewhere, but in the back of my mind, all I could really think was "Oh shit, I hope this isn't for me". The siren continued to grow louder and louder, and with each passing second, my hope to be saved from embarassment was dwindling. Sure enough, a fire truck turned on to my street, sirens blaring and lights flashing, as obnoxious as possible. The firemen pulled up in front of my balcony and asked if they were there for me. After confirming that I was their cat stuck in the tree for the day, all 5 firemen piled out of the truck with their wrenches and axes to come to my rescue.
Once they figured out they couldn't enter the apt. building or my apt. the conventional way without the key, they resorted to the only other way possible. The got the ladder down from the top of their truck and ascended to save me from my prison. I even got to wear a warm fireman jacket that was 5 sizes too big once they realized I was blue and shivering. (I felt like it was inappropriate to ask for a picture). They pryed open my door with their tools, took down my information, and my saga came to end.
Needless to say, I never went for a run, I thought I deserved to have a Grande latte from Starbucks and eat some chicken fries from Burger King instead. :)
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