….of many things.

Firstly, I’m very grateful that we made it to Tampa and back. I had to take Rose to her (one of many) surgery follow appointment at USF Health (University of South Florida) on Davis Islands. It’s literally connected to Tampa General Hospital. It might be a lot smaller than ORMC (Orlando Regional Medical Center), which is affiliated with Orlando Health, but holy crap, is it busy.

There are pedestrians and drivers everywhere—all moving in a circle. The hospital is on a street named Circle Drive.

I’m just relieved we got there and back with no mechanical problems, not that there would be any. I have a good car now. I think it’s part of my psyche that thinks I don’t deserve a good car that enables me to be paranoid about vehicle breakdowns. When I first bought my Beetle in 2005, I paid cash for the whole thing. It was under extended warranty, so I was never paranoid about having mechanical problems until the warranty died. Then I was always in panic mode when I had to drive farther than 40 miles. And, I had that car for 14 years. It had to be towed because of a breakdown ONCE! Dead starter. My car spent the night in the Altamonte Mall parking lot. I’d gotten off work and it wouldn’t start. Sean (of Kim and Sean fame. They were roommates and landlords) had to come fetch me and drop me off the next day so I could get it towed to my, then, mechanic, Jose, in Longwood. He’s the only other car mechanic-genius I’ve ever had. He had to close up his shop. He was too nice to too many people by letting them pay in installments. I never screwed him over, so he bent over backwards for me. Great guy.

So, we got home safely; I’m glad. Rose got cleared to drive and she has a tentative appointment next week. I forget what will be the deciding factor for her having, or not having to drive to Tampa for that. I’m guessing she will be driving, but she hasn’t driven since June 20th. She might be nervous; if she wants and I have off I will offer to go with her. It would be fun being able to take pics while someone else steers us to a destination.

I was absolutely starving when she finished her appointment. We headed to the Starbucks on Kennedy and Dakota. It’s extremely close to University of Tampa, where I should be able to enroll for free since the College of Business is the SYKES College of Business. Yeah right. I wouldn’t be taking business classes, that’s for sure. Snooze fest. Apologies to my comptroller father, in Heaven. Even he used to joke that a general business degree was not challenging. His degree was in accounting. All the business majors I’ve ever known agreed that accounting classes were a bitch.

We drank and ate and I googled the closest Apple store. My service provider is Consumer Cellular (I’ve been thrilled with them. The best customer service ever), and I was sent a new SIM card with instructions and a tool to change it. Here we go into Paranoid Land again. I got the tray where the SIM card goes popped open, but not enough for me to pull it out all the way. I tried multiple times to get it open. It wasn’t budging. I decided to take it to Apple, again, cause I’m paranoid I’ll break it. It’s an iPhone; it’s expensive.

I discovered Tampa has two stores. One in BRANDON!!! WTF? That’s not even Tampa. It used to be this sleepy bedroom SUBURB of Tampa. Why out there? The other one was in the West Shore area. That’s West Shore, as in West Tampa, on the West Shore of Tampa Bay, as opposed to the St. Petersburg side, that’s on the EAST shore of Tampa Bay.

It sounds farther from the Starbucks we were in than it actually is—it was under five miles away. It was in the West Shore International Plaza. Ugh, a mall. I hate malls. The noise and the canned music and the consumerist people, and they are so LOUD. When I was a teenager, it was different. We hung out at tiny Seminole Mall, where we snuck in to see, The Exorcist, at the Seminole Two theaters, in about 1974, and it gave me nightmares for weeks, or Tyrone Square Mall, in St. Pete. The later of these malls was across the street from the apartment we rented until our house was done being built. The mall wasn’t yet done, but the Sears store was there. I think my parents pre-ordered our refrigerator, and washer and dryer from that store.

Anyway, teenagers still live at malls. It’s funny how I loved the experience then and loathe it now.

The Apple Genius popped that little tray open and had my SIM card into my phone in under three minutes. I said to her, “Thanks. I know I would have broken it.” She laughed and said, “No problem. You’re welcome.” Then I quizzed her on working for Apple because my last Apple store experience was in the Altamonte Mall (of dead Beetle fame), where the geniuses there brought my phone back to life after it went into a coma for three days back in May, or June. It took an hour to update, but it worked. The hour gave me time to play with ALL FOUR iPhone 14’s to which I grew very fond. Damn those Apple people. Also, I talked to three employees who explained how much of a techie you need to be to work there: that would be zero percent techie. They explained that they look for degree of creativity and people skills. Well, hello. Then I told them how I’m a frustrated writer working crazy hours I hate, and they emphatically told me to apply.

Today, back in Tampa, I asked the young lady who inserted my new SIM card how she liked working there. A lot. Yes, they are very flexible with schedules. Yes, I could probably work all days. I know Apple pays very well. Apple geniuses were regular customers at the Barnes & Noble Cafe, when I worked there. They all loved their jobs.

But, it’s at the mall. The store is very open to all that mall stimuli, and it’s retail. Hmm, I’m thinking….

I might give it a try.

Time for a shower. I didn’t expect to write anything when I sat at the edge of my bed holding my phone.

Still thinking….I do miss Tampa…a lot.

Thinking some more.