This past weekend, me and Javy went to Oahu to attend Camp Cool, which was given by the Assistive Technology Resource Center. However, this blog is not about that. That will be for another blog after our final camp day.
Instead, I want to share some hope that there are some very good people in this world. For a mom, like me, that means everything. So first, a little background......
Me and money have never gotten along. It never sticks with me nor has my back. Maybe, it's because when I have a little extra, I tend to live like an aristocrat, even if its like 5 extra bucks. I do stupid things, like the time whenever we went to New York and I paid $100 extra dollars for crappy seats at Headwig and the Angry Inch. Or the time I wanted to treat my brother and sister to a high class meal at the Jazz Factory. I told them order what you like, Steak, martinis, the works. Then when I gave my credit card to the waitress, I was shocked to hear her reply, "We don't take Chevron cards." (That's a really good way to get out of paying for a really expensive meal, btw, wink wink)
With that said, why should my excursions to Oahu be any different. The first time I took Javy to the doctor on Oahu, I had no clue, how the heck I was going to get Javy from the airport to The Queen's Medical Center. I had some erroneous notion that there would be a shuttle (free, of course). I was doing good to buy the airplane tickets, so I definitely couldn't afford anything else but free. We ended up taking a cab which cost $30 bucks and I had to charge it on a credit card. ($30 bucks, again, to get back to the airport.) Even the taxi driver was telling me, "This is too expensive for you, next time take the bus." Then there was the time, that I had no clue that my bank account was overdrawn until I was inside the airport, at Starbucks, of course and my debit card was declined. Talk about panic. Me and Javy had to spend all day in Oahu and I hadn't even fed him breakfast. Luckily, I saw a friend and borrowed $20 to get us through the day. Then panicked, again, when we got home and I realized that we had no money to pay for parking. Thankfully, another friend gave me $20. If it was only myself, it wouldn't be no big thing, but with a Javy to take care of, too, Sheesh!
So I want to share with you, our latest excursion to Oahu. Our trip was totally paid for: the hotel, rental car and airplane tickets, you might be asking, how in the world could I screw this one up. Well, I just didn't think about it, that's how. The week went by and I started thinking, we've got a trip to Oahu, I better set some money aside for food and stuff. I had $127 in my bank accounts and $72 in cash from cleaning out all the piggy banks, I thought that was enough.
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| Me and Javy's wheels |
So here's how it went down: I gave $10 to the porter who helped us from the airplane seat to the rental car. He even waited for the shuttle with me and put Javy's wheelchair on the shuttle, really nice guy. I gave the shuttle driver $2, just because that's what you're supposed to do when people provide services for you. The rental car company required that I give them a credit card so that they could put $100 on hold, just in case, I decided to enter the Ford Taurus in a drag race. Even though it's all paid for, but it was like a deposit that just gets put back into your account after you return the car. This is just in the first hour of arrival. At this point, I was down to $60 cash and $27 in my bank account.
So me and Javy cruise on over in our new set of wheels, with leather seats, to the Ala Moana Hotel. We're stoked, life is good. Checking in, the guy asks for a credit card to put a $50 deposit on. I handed him my debit card, without a care in the world. Declined. I guess the rental car thing was immediate. First, I'm in panic mode, that's all I have. Then I remember the $60 and I start to reach for it. All of a sudden my mama bear instincts come back to me and I explain to the guy that we'll just have to sleep in the car because that was all the money that I had and it was for feeding my son and I wasn't going to give that up. The guy still very calmly gets the manager. I explain my situation and then I start crying and I'm all shamed so I never lifted my head up. He, graciously, agrees to waive the deposit. I'm so grateful, but I never lift my head up. It's when we were walking towards our room that I notice that everyone around us seems to be cheering us on. One gentlemen approached us and asked if everything was resolved. I replied that we were good. I believe that he was ready to step in to pay the deposit if they hadn't waived it. After that, I know I should've been stressed but really I was feeling very blessed.
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| Me and Javy sharing a booth at the LikeLike Drive Inn |
Second day, Friday, I call mom and ask her to deposit about $100 to compensate for the rest of the trip or until I get paid on Saturday. I'm still kind of walking on cloud 9 because I'm really touched that everyone had our back. Me and Javy venture out to get some breakfast. We end up at the LikeLike Drive Inn with pancakes, sausage, eggs, the works, basically. After that, we go get a bottle of water. As we're entering the store, a guy outside the, in a wheelchair, asks if I can spare some change. Before I can use any reasoning skills, I pull out one of my precious $20's and I say, I've been blessed so now I can bless you, cause Lord knows that's the only way we can get by, so bless you my friend.
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| Our Mauka view |
The day goes by, we pay $20 to get the car out of the parking garage, we cruise around. Lunchtime-I wanted to find something that Javy would eat so I choose Sbarro's lasagna at the food court. It's kind of cheap, too. Thinking that mom had deposited some money into our account, I hand the cashier my debit card. Declined. I still had like $14 cash so I start ask if something can be put back. Before I can, I see that someone has put more cash on our tray. It's the lady behind us. I'm just like, God Bless you! Still, it's hard to get stressed in times like this, especially when you've just had a complete stranger bless you.
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| Hanging at the park-Ala Moana |
I hope that no one thinks I'm advocating going to Oahu without a cent in the world and letting others take care of you. This weekend, we will go back, and it will be much better, I actually have money, I think. Better check, lol. But I just want to share good things, especially when it can give hope.
