A serious conversation with Henry about marriage

I talked to Henry about the marriage, and he said something that I had never thought about it.

"Why don't you consider an Iranian student in our university? Ella, S..., N...  are all good girls. You can date one of them. They are different from those whom live in Iran. I can say they are at the top 1% best girls of Iran. They are independent and strong. It is not trivial that they came to another country and are living by their own. Even if you just want to know how to be around the women, a Persian girl can help you better. You will have better understanding because of the same culture." Henry said.

Although I have my own excuses not to date them, but he was right. These girls were very different from those whom I had seen in Iran. Although they are not as pretty as some of the girls I have seen, they are much better in other aspects. If I want to choose between them, I may choose Ella. We might not be a good match, but at least I don't dislike her. She is a good girl. 

Changing tires 1

Me and Henry went to change the tires of my car. I didn't want to go there alone, so I asked Henry to come with me. That dealer had a contract with a tire shop, and we went to get tires. Unfortunately, they didn't have four tires so I got only two used tires. I need to come here again.

Lunch at Honson's house

I spent all my weekend with Hansen and Henry. Hansen cooked us a Persian food. He is a very good cooker.

First day school with my car

I had registered for the parking permit, but I haven't got it yet. In fact, it was not required to wait for the permit to be posted. I could print a temporary permit and use it, but I didn't know it until yesterday. It took me twenty minutes to get to the school.

I lost my way when I wanted to go back home. I spent one hour after that to find best parking lots for tomorrow and other days.

A girl whom liked me

I was in the student union, and a girl saw me. She was a few steps farther  I saw her, and she smiled at me. I turned my face, and I went out of the building. She walked a little faster to get there, and I kept the door open for her, and she thanked me. "Is there any way out there?" she asked. "No. Here is the only way." I answered. She walked toward me because there was no way there. "It is my first semester here, and today is my first day; so, I don't know the ways yet. How about you?" she said. "This is my second year here." I answered. "Where is the activity center?" she asked. "It is over there." I answered. "Thanks." she said. She wanted to walk faster and leave me, but she changed her mind and adjusted her steps with me. [Please say something. Ask me anything. I like you. Look at me. Please, please, please. We are getting to the end of this way, and I need to go that way, and we may never see each other again.] She though all these things to herself. I wanted to talk to her, but I couldn't do that. "Thank you again. Bye. [I have no other choice to go that way, but if you ask me I can come with you or you can come with me]" she said when we got to the fork. "Bye." I answered, and our path got separated. I saw her fasting her steps, and going farther and farther.

"Why didn't you talk to her? Did you want anyone better? She was new here, and she definitely didn't have any boyfriend. She was obviously into you. She smiled at you when you were in the building. She walked next to you. She said bye when she couldn't say anything. Why did you let her go?" A voice inside of me said. I have no answer. "She was not that pretty. If I wanted to date her, I couldn't date anyone better." I rationalized my behavior. I probably lost one of my good chances here.

Bringing Martin's car from a tow company

I was at school that Martin called me. He was very upset and angry. They towed his car early in the morning only because of the direction of his car in the parking was reverse, instead of car's head toward the parking, he parked it as car's tail toward the parking. I have never heard such a thing before that the direction of the car can also be important in the parking.

I suggested him to go there as soon as possible to avoid extra charges and possible damages to the car. It was a little far from our university. Martin drove my car. They made a stronghold to prevent possible fights because of their services. "I read all the reviews about them. They are very bad. They damage the cars. They don't take responsibility. They don't even listen to you. All they want is a money that is not fair." Martin said. When Martin wanted to pay the price, the representative who was an old woman asked for cash. We didn't have 160$ cash with us, and they didn't accept cards.

Martin: "Who has this amount of money in his pocket. Why didn't you tell me that ATM is not working? You could put a comment in the apartment management."

She: "It happened today. Our device is broken today only."

Martin: "OK. Why didn't you answer the phone? This money that you get is not fair. You damaged my car, and you don't take cards, and you don't even answer your phone."

She: "You can use the ATM."

Martin to me: "She is a liar. I read in the reviews about that. This is always like that. They intentionally don't take cards to force you get the cash from this ATM that charges you 5$ more because of nothing."

Me: "OK. Let's find a bank here, and not give them this 5$."

I found a bank that was 8 minutes away from there, and we went there and we got the cash. I suggested to go there only because I didn't want Martin to pay unfair 5$ extra to these guys."

We went back and we got the car. She asked to bring her three statements from different body shops for the damage that happened to the car to reimburse the money, but Martin didn't have time to do that. I didn't feel confident to drive because it was the first time that I wanted to drive after that accident, but I had no other choice. We choose a longer road to have a safer drive. Marin drove his car, and I drove my car.

I was happy because my new car was useful the first day that I bought it. It was useful to a person who helped me to buy it yesterday. I hope it to be continued.

A day in playground with Kane and his girlfriend

When I went back home, I saw Kane a his girl friend, and her beautiful daughter. She was only 2-3 years old. "Oh, my god. Now there are two beautiful girls here. How they get divorced when they have such amazing kids?" I thought to myself.  Kane invited me to join them going to a playground. I went with them. 

A few days ago, I was in the living room and Raina was watching a TV show from Netflix. I saw a girl in that show.

Me: "She looks like Selena Gomez." 

Raina: "She is Selena Gomez." 

Me: "Selena is an actress? I didn't know that." 

Kane: "Yes. And she is living somewhere near here in Texas." 

Me: "Really?!" 

Kane: "Yes. Do you have a crush on her?" 

Me: "No. I don't."

Kane: "Who do you have a crush on?"

Me: "No one!"

Kane: "It is impossible. Everybody has a crush on someone. My crush is .... (I didn't know her.)"

Raina: "No, I don't have a crush on anybody."

Kane: "You do. You like Justin Beiber."

Raina: "No, I don't. I don't like him because he acts so lame."

Kane (to me): "OK. I know you have a crush on Selena."

Me: "No. Actually, I like Selena's friend."

Kane: "Oooo, I see. That's why when I said Selena is here, you got surprised. You thought that you might see her and her friend here. OK. Tell me who is her friend."

Me: "I don't tell you."

Kane insisted, but I didn't tell her.

When we went to the playground, he and his girlfriend started to ask me about Selena's friend again. I didn't tell them. I didn't even want to tell them.

Raina and that girl played in the playground. Raina is one of the most amazing girls that I have ever seen. She asked her father to go there for swing, but her father didn't want to change his place, so said, "We can't come with you there, maybe you wanted to play here again. Play here." and Raina accepted it without even being resented about what her father said. I wish someday I had a girl just like her.

In the our way to the home two strange things happened. First, Kane said, "You have to tell us. If you don't, I leave Raina here!" and her girlfriend said, "And I throw my daughter to that window." I said, "Do whatever you want, I am not gonna tell you." But it was a shock for me. I hadn't been a month that I was there, and they knew that how much do I love children, and they wanted to use it to tell them what I didn't want to tell them. What if ...?
Second thing happened when her girlfriend's daughter asked her mom to hug here because she was tired and she couldn't walk anymore. I asked her to hug her, and her mom also asked her, and she accepted. I hugged her, and we continued. "We both saw it that he hugged your daughter. We should call the police, and I am a witness." Kane said. He was kidding, but it really turned me down. I pretended that I didn't hear it because they were a few steps behind me, and I didn't hear the rest of his words as I was thinking about this issue. It really made me upset.

I bought a car

I saw a 2010 Corolla in cars.com website, and it sounded to me that it was a very good car. It was high millage regarding the age of the car (near 87000 miles), and that's why it was cheaper. I talked to Martin about it, and he was not sure. "You can buy a Camry 2006 with this price. Camry s are better cars. I think that it is better to wait for another Camry." Martin said. He was right, but it was very hard to find a good car, and I didn't want to take his time, and Camry was very rare.

I saw several cars

Martin helped me to see a few cars. At first, I saw a Toyota Camry 2006. It was a very good car, but I didn't like its color. I decided to buy it because of the price and the condition of the car. It was late in the night, and we couldn't show it to a mechanic. "If someone came with cash, and wanted to buy the car without showing it to a mechanic, I sell the car to him." He said. "I can't buy a car without inspection." I said. We scheduled an appointment for Wednesday to buy the car, but a few minutes before our appointment, he sent me a text, and said that the car was sold.

Then, we saw another car. It was 2005 Corolla S. We went and saw the car. When I decided to buy it, I noticed that it had hail damage. I didn't want to buy a car with hail damage because of the insurance issues, and she didn't even want to reduce her price. When I saw the car, I knew that this was not the car that I gonna buy, but I had this feeling that maybe my feeling doesn't work these days.

Later, we saw another Camry 2006. He bought the car from an auction. I unintentionally saw his buying documents. He had paid 6400$ for the car. I didn't like that car at all since it was very dirty inside. I had a very bad feeling about the car. Then, he said that he bought it from the bank auction, and it shouldn't have any mechanical problem. I unintentionally got this feeling that the owner of this car put a curse on whomever buy the car. However, I didn't want to take Martin's time to go and see cars. So, I offered him to buy it for 7300$, but he didn't accept it. And we didn't buy that car.

Starlight

These days I listen to Taylor's Starlight song. I like it because of "We dream impossible things!"

First Sickness in the US

I got food poisoning today. I can't believe it. It was a very bad experience. I missed my mom so bad because of that. I remembered that time when she was cooking soup for me whenever I was sick. I remembered last time I went with my father to hospital. But now, I am completely alone. No one can help me. I tried to call Martin to buy me some soup, but he didn't answer. I slept all the day. I went to Target, and it took me one hour to walk and get some ready-to-make soup. The soup, however, was good.

I am tired :)

There is an Iranian group here who reads Masnavi once a month. I go there sometimes like today.

I went with Honsen, Henry and some other guys. In the way back home, we sat in the Honsen's car.

Honsen: "I am tired."
Henry: "If you are tired, let me drive."
Me: "If you are tired of your car, let me drive."

And all laughed.I talked to Kane about it, and he called it, "a book party." I didn't know this word.

I passed my qualifying exam

I received an email today that I passed my qualifying exam. It was not a surprise, but I really needed to hear that. It was a serious pain if it was required to take it again. So, I am happy about it. It released all the stresses of this stressful exam.

Beautiful neighborhood

It is true that I don't have a car, and I need to walk 20 minutes to get the bus stop everyday, but I really enjoy this walk. It seems that I am walking in a park everyday. In addition, it was a surprise when I heard someone said good morning to me today. It is very nice that I hear this every morning when I go to school.

This neighbor is family-oriented too. I saw moms and fathers that walk with their children to school everyday.


It is dark, however, in the night, and I need to buy a car as soon as possible. These days I search for a car everyday to find one.

First amazing day in new home

It was late in the night when my flight landed. Martin came to the airport, and brought me to my new home. It was very dark. I didn't know that my new home was in a dark neighborhood. It was 2 am that I went to my bed.

I woke up around 10 am in the morning. I opened my room's door slightly to see if anyone is awake or not. I heard a kid's game music. It was Raina's game music. She was playing with her Wii games. I was so excited. It sounded to me that I was experiencing something that I could never experience before. I went to the living room and say good morning to her. She was incredibly beautiful. I prepared cereal for her breakfast, and I sat there and watched how she was playing that game. Kane thanked me when he woke up for giving her daughter her breakfast. Kane was friendly overall.

In the afternoon, we went to Walmart for shopping. Since I didn't have a car, it was so hard to go shopping alone, so we went together. Then, Kane offered me to go with them to their friends' house. I accepted his offer because I wanted to see their friends and their living style. His girlfriend also came with us. She was a very young girl. I didn't know how she decided to date an older person like Kane.

They had a barbecue party that night. It was so hard for me to mingle with them. I couldn't even understand many of their words. I tried to answer their questions or say my opinions, but I couldn't have a good conversation and communication with them. There were three families there, and there were three kids including Raina. Kids played in the backyard before the sunset. I was also there. They had a big dog that I scared of it. So, I tried to stay far from it.

The boy asked Raina and the other girl to do something, but the girls were unwilling to do that. I couldn't understand what he asked. Then he tried to mock them because of being scared to do that. "Girls are girls." Raina said to that boy. It happened again after two hours when we were inside. I noticed that American children define borders for their gender when they are a kid. Girls accept that they are girls and they know that they are different in some cases. Although they play together, they know their borders.

I talked to a woman from England who had a very nice British accent. She explained to me about her husband's surgery, but I couldn't understand many things. Their dinner was good. I ate a vegetarian burger that had the same taste as a non-vegetarian burger. I don't know how they can produce these tastes with only vegetables.

That woman asked Kane's girlfriend about her age, and she said 24. Then, she asked more about her, and she talked about her daughter. I couldn't believe it at all. She was only 24, and she had a three years old daughter, and she was divorced. And now she was dating an older guy who also was divorced and had a 7-8 years old daughter. "Is it American way of living?" I asked Kane. "Yes. More than 60 percent of the couples divorce here in the US." I didn't want to ask more about his divorce experience.

After dinner, one of the women there asked everybody if they were interested in Karaoke. I didn't know what Karaoke is. We went to the living room, and she started to sing like a singer on a music. I imagined my mom that time how she could do that, and it was very funny because it was no way that my mom do what she did, I mean singing like that where there are strangers (like me) in the house.

They also asked me to sing on one of the songs. I didn't know none of the English songs. Then, they asked me to sing a song by Michael Jackson named Billie Jean. I gave it a try. They laughed at my singing to the death! I have never heard that song before, but they enjoyed my singing :) "

For the first time, I figured out how talented Michael Jackson was. How could someone sing something like this and people pay for it?

Billie Jean Is Not My Lover
She's Just A Girl Who Claims That I Am The One
But The Kid Is Not My Son
She Says I Am The One, But The Kid Is Not My Son

I still can't believe that I sang such a song. It was probably one of the most strange thing that I have ever did in my life.

In the car, in the way back home, they started to talk about the party. It was amazing because sometimes my mom and my father used to do that. "It was gross when she said how old are you." Kane's girlfriend said. "I am 24, how old are you?" I didn't say that, but this was something that I wish I could say.

Overall, it was an unexpected good day. I didn't know that living in this house could be like that.

a conversation with Justin's wife

I went to Justin's home to get my bike. I had a conversation with Justin and his wife.

Justin: "How was your travel?"
Me: "It was good. But I didn't enjoy it as much as I should because I was alone."
Justin: "I hope that next time you go there with your wife."
Me: "I don't think that it is possible." [Could I marry Taylor that soon? No way.]
Justin's wife: "Why not. You can marry very soon. Your situation is very good. I mean, I think that no one in Iran would say no to you. And here..., it should be the same. I can say at least 80% of the girls don't say no to you. You just need to pick one."
Me: [Where is Taylor? Is she in the 0.001% of those 20% who say no to me?] "You might be right. In fact, I was not picky. Two times, It was close that I marry someone, but those girls didn't like me. My situation was not as good as now, but it was better than many others when I was in a college. I don't know, but it is a complicated situation.

I thought about Justin's wife saying. Maybe she was right. But I don't want to marry anybody. I want to marry someone special whom I really love, and she loves me back. I just couldn't find anyone to be like that.

Chapter Three - The lost success

I am done with the second chapter, and I start to write chapter three today. I would like to name this chapter, "The Lost Success" because Woody is going to change his situation from a loser to a winner. This year was a very bad year for Woody, and it may still continue a few months, but I am pretty sure that "these things will change."

San Diego Day 6 - Bye Bye San Diego

San Diego was the most amazing city that I have ever seen in my life. It really changed my mind about how awesome a city can be. It was ten times better than Vienna, the best city that I had ever seen before. I am very happy that I had this chance in my life to see this city.

Before entering the plane, I found this sentence on the wall.

"If you come to Southern California, you can change everything about yourself."

Although it said that this sentence is a myth, and no one can do that, I gonna believe in that because "There is no myth if you keep on believing." Woody!

I really like to change this bad year. I had many stress and depression, and I was not successful at all this year. I need to do something special for the next year. I know that this year is not finished yet, but I need a CHANGE in my life, and I would like to experience it as soon as possible. I sat in the airplane and thought about these things. Bye Bye San Diego.