(First off, to DowntownMom: Yes, "Heathers" was my introduction to Christian Slater. And he looked hot in that movie, too, smoking cigarettes and everything. But I'd forgotten what a total psycho his character was. Still, he conjured up fantasies for me about being with the "bad boy", someone who's just a little dangerous.)OK... Now that my movie's over, here's the full story regarding today's moneymaking adventure:
I'm out walking in the rain, on my way home, minding my own business, have over two miles to go, when a minivan pulls up alongside me and I hear a voice say "Excuse me." I turn and look into the vehicle and there's a pleasant-looking young Asian guy behind the wheel. I figure he's going to ask me for directions, but he has a bigger request: "Will you deliver this bouquet of flowers to someone's door for me? I don't want to get out and do it myself, and I'll pay you ten bucks if you do."
I feel a little strange -- what an odd request -- but my intuition seems to be telling me it's OK, so I agree. I get into the van with him and off we go.
A few minutes later he pulls over to the curb on Halsted Street, across the street from this nail salon. He tells me that's the address. "Tell them these are for Gama," he tells me. There's a bit of a language barrier between us, so I ask him to repeat the name, then I exit the van with the flowers, cross the street and enter the nail salon. I'm wondering why a nail salon is open for business today... who the heck gets their nails done on the 4th of July, anyway?
Inside the salon, it's all Asian people working there... and I recall the Bette Midler episode of "Seinfeld" (which just aired yesterday here) where Elaine goes to the nail salon where all the Korean women work and they talk behind her back.
Anyway, they've never heard of Gama. No one working there by that name. I exit still carrying the flower bouquet.
At this point I'm worried the guy with the van might have taken off or something, and I'll be stuck holding a bouquet of flowers not knowing what to do with it... but no, he's still there, parked with his blinkers on. I explain the situation to him, and he gets on his cellphone and makes a call, talking in some foreign language or other.
Afterward, he apologizes. He got the name wrong. "These are for Gina," he says.
So back across the street, and back into the salon. Only one problem: They never heard of a Gina, either. They tell me to check at the yogurt shop right next door, as the two shops share the same street address.
Into the yogurt shop... They don't know a Gina (or a Gama) either.
By now I'm wondering if I'm on Candid Camera (or whatever the modern-day Reality TV equivalent might be).
Back to the van. The guy makes yet another phone call. Turns out he has the wrong address. He says the nail salon is at Belmont and Clark and asks me if that's nearby and if I know how to get there. Yes, it is, and yes, I do. He explains he is from Wisconsin and doesn't know his way around Chicago. I ask him if he drove all the way down from Wisconsin to deliver those flowers, and he says Yes. Something about the delivery services won't do it today because it's a holiday, won't do it until Monday, and he needs to get these delivered today because it's someone's birthday.
So, we find the other nail salon with the same name, half a mile away from the first one. I take the flowers yet again and walk in. Everyone is Asian at this one, too.
They have a Gina working there! Success! Turns out it is her birthday, just as the guy told me. They ask me if I'm going to sing, too, but I'm not prepared for that, so I don't.
I return to the van. The guy asks me if he can drop me off anywhere. I need to stop at the Jewel near my home for a couple things, and it's nearby, so he takes me there.
The guy thanks me for my help and gives me $19, more than he'd initially offered me (perhaps to make up for those couple of snags we experienced). And at the second nail salon, they had tipped me $5.
So... $24 for a few minutes' "work"... Not bad.
I never did get the full story on exactly who this guy was. I'm deducing he was doing a favor for a friend...?
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