Day 2: When in Berkeley...

 27 May, 2022

When in Berkeley...

Day 2 started just like it's supposed to.
When in Berkeley, my first trip usually takes me back to Mark's gym. I had no idea how lucky I got since Friday mornings were the only in-person classes he was offering, otherwise he kept his classes on Zoom. Either way, it was nice, there were three of us: John, another guy and me. Mark greeted me with a hug - I was really happy to see Mark, John and the other guy from good old times. I enjoyed training with Jon and it was time to do it together again. Sport and this place is a weird kind of addiction. Something I just cannot get enough of. I guess it's because it's where it all began. Being fat, beginning to lose weight, getting fit. It was later on in 2019 in Hungary when I realized that I was sport. I'm really myself when I work out. But I developed the thirst to do more here in Berkeley. Why? Because I started lifting weights, by gaining strength, my performance improved along with the capacity to deal with more. And then I wanted more. Is how triathlon came into my life.
The training was good, not very intense, however I was sad about that I could only come in person once per week. But there was not much I could do about it.

Artís: a life that changed after the pandemic
It was not really just the gym but also cafes: they did not go back to normal life since Covid. Artis used to be constantly full. Not it was barren with only a few people sitting inside, tables drawn fairly distantly away from each other and yet the worst was: plastic cups. I got a croissant to eat and a coffee to drink - all in plastic. When I asked, they said, "Oh sorry, that's because we do not do sit-ins." I frankly just wanted to ask less kindly, "Oh really? I mean, it doesn't look like it - I mean what are these people doing?" But I just walked away with my pour over in a plastic cup instead." They literally had no plates and mugs, even though their mugs used to look and feel really cool.
All in all, I was surprised to see it there and later in other parts of Berkeley and SF how much people did not go back to normal yet. Compared to Hungary, where everything went back to exactly the way it was as soon as possible. Except hybrid work lifestyle, cafés and gyms operate just like before and the number of people attending gym classes online has significantly decreased if not nullified. I can also sense how people are now inherently more afraid to socialize. It was simply a shock to my system. I couldn't get it.
Would you have imagined back 3 years ago that out of 3 movie theaters in Berkeley 2 would shut down simply because people are not going anymore?! It's insane. My heart is also breaking because I would always go and at least watch one movie during my stay in my favorite spot: Shattuck cinemas. 

Artís: the place to meet - runners and triathletes
New people! It all started with getting the wrong adapter, which I realized late at night yesterday when I wanted to charge my laptop. I had training from 8am and wanted to use my laptop in the café after. That meant I would have to find a place that was open (Target) at 7am and actually on my way to the training. I finally was about to get to the glorious moment of plugging my laptop in when the lady in the corner, closer to the plug asked me how she could fit her charger next to my gigantic adapter. The answer was, "You can't." So I kindly asked her to let me charge first as I had 0% battery left and that I would let her know once it charged a sufficient amount. If that was not enough, I soon gently asked the guy next table if I could charge my phone using his charger. That was Jon. I explained the situation about the wrong adapter and travelling when he asked me where I was from and why I was here. "I'm from Hungary and I came here to do the Escape Alcatraz."
It turned out Jon was runner "I usually run marathons." So we delved deep into a conversation about sports. Soon we talked even more about my race and my deepest fear,
"I'm more afraid of the water temperature and the currents. But I mean I practised swimming in stormy lakes back home."
"That's good and more of that is what you should do before the race while you're here. Like swim in the Bay everyday," Jon recommended.
"I'm planning to. There's this group called Odyssey Open Water Swimming Club and they organize these sessions. I'm going to join those." Suddenly the lady in the corner also joined in,
"I'm sorry I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I used to be a triathlete. Now with this race, the escape, I had three of my friends die in it. Are you an agressive swimmer?"
"No."
"Well then you just need to make sure that you let them go first, avoid the crowds since I heard some people get pushed down and they can't get back up." - it seemed like a good advice but I was not going to try to swim with the front pack anyway. In races, I generally manage to find my spot well even if I suffer a bit until I get there.
"Thank you. I hope I'll be fine."
"Where're you from again, you said...?"
"Hungary."
"Oh, you won't die." I frankly was not sure how she jumped to that conclusion but oh well. Finally something was about not dying but my surviving whether that was due to my nationality or anything else did not really matter at that point.

Bike
I gave my bike to the people in Trek Bicycles to have it reassembled. They did not give false promises to get it done by noon but I was secretly hoping what if they did. However, it was not the case. Unfortunately I had to sit around in Artís until 1:30 pm since they would not call me. That was messing things up pretty much, as I agreed to meet Mariann, who even despite my very short notice agreed to accompany me to do the Alcatraz tour on Friday at 6:30pm. Since she works in Richmond, I planned to complete my two-hour bike training by 3 or 3:30pm latest biking there from Berkeley. However, my bike was not ready so we rearranged things with her and agreed to meet in Downtown Berkeley for late lunch/early dinner. Until that was messed up again when I received a call that my bike was ready at 3:30pm.
Eventually, we met at Trek Bicycle shop to pick it up, took it back to my place and went out to have dinner and managed to start catching up. It was interesting to hear about her experience of coming to the US. It sounded like she did not really like living her, nor the general mentality and attitude. She said I should not commit the same mistake as she did and move here.