Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Here's the list of things I'd be willing to stand in an insanely long line at 6am for:

1)Seeing Michael Jackson in concert
2)Prince backed by the The Roots

That's it. That's the list. I damn sure would not be in line at 6am, in 80 degree heat, just for a damn phone. Yet as I type this, there are about 70-80 people lined up across the street at the AT&T store on 14th and New York Ave, waiting to get their grubby little hands on an iPhone4. The intensity on the faces of each one of this individuals was downright scary. There was no smiling, no talking in the line, no offers for a coffee run, there were just mean mugs, and occasional glances towards the front of the line to see if the doors to the store had finally opened.

What drives people towards this type of behavior? Why the rush to get a phone that could quite possibly be upgraded and surpassed in a year or less? Its just a damn phone. If someone could explain this phenomenon to me, I'd really appreciate it.

I've written about my lack of air conditioning in the building I reside in, and I am happy to report that it is finally working the way it always should have been. It went out for several hours on Saturday, but it magically righted itself that night. Still, there were approxmiately 10-14 days when it was not working AT ALL. As a result, I tried to organize a coup attempt in my building, by contacting several tenants via email, and suggesting that they request rent reduction next month. I realized it was a long shot, but given that I fried in that apartment when the temps were well over 90 degrees I thought it worth a shot. But yesterday, one of the other building tenants said that she spoke to the rental office, and our request has been denied because the cost to fix the A/C was allegedly so expensive.

I think that's bullshit, and I am investigating my other options. But that is not the real inconvenience here.

The real inconvenience is that now, as a result of these wonderful emails between tenants, I cannot just go in and out of the building without speaking to anyone anymore. This morning when I came back from my run, and while I was sweaty and out of breath, one of my fellow building mates asked me if I was Rashad, started talking to me about the A/C (I was too tired to pay attention), and talked to me non-stop in the elevator until she thankfully got off on the third floor. Yesterday during my walk home, one my other neighbors just started talking to me about our A/C situation, and it took me a minute to figure who the hell she was. The days of me going in and out of that building with me giving little more than a head nod as acknowledgment, are long gone...

That being said (yeah I'm on a tangent now), I think the tenants talking and uniting is a beautiful thing, and I think we should take this one step further. I think everyone should take a picture with their name and the apt number, and we should put the pics in the lobby yearbook style. That way, I won't feel pressured to remember everyone's name all the time, and we take this communal atmosphere to a higher level. I wonder if how much support I could get for that..

Doin' It Again - The Roots feat. John Legend
This is a great song to a)workout to and b)pump loud at your desk or as soon as you get in the car.

2 comments:

Neil MacLean said...

Not saying this would change your opinion at all, but I assume you don't have an iphone?

rashad said...

I do not..should i take that plunge?