Another SARS Moment

I think I mention before that I will tell you about the time I stupidly got locked out of my own apartment! Lol…Good times, good times… So this happened during the Sars epidemic. Those days I couldn’t even go to my own classes because the schools in Beijing were closing their gate to keep students outside (except the “xiao mai bu fu wu yuan,” the sales ladies) from getting in and “contaminating” the rest of campus civilization. Another reason was to keep people in the school from getting out, which people still did despite restrictions. These are universities in Beijing. I believe it was all of universities in China not letting students in school! But they were letting the woman who sell cake in the store go in.

During this time, schools have asked foreign students to go back home to their countries and come back when things have calmed down. Remember I was one of the few stuck-in-Beijing-SARS-survivors? Yah, so that day, my roommates were going back to Korea. It was early morning and I was helping them take their luggages downstairs to help get them into a taxi. I remember it actually crossed my mind; I was thinking, now that I’m alone, if I get locked out, there’ll be no one to open the door for me. That thought went through my head in one split second without me putting any emphasis on it, because it was something that never happened before (as all things that eventually happen are). So right after they left, I got back in the house and started cleaning. To sort of start my “new” life alone. It was a beautiful windy morning, the sun was up and shinning and everything was quiet because everyone thought they could get the disease by walking outside. I should explain first that the key we used was not just one of those typical flat keys. We had one of those complicated crossed keys; hard to copy and hard to pick. So I was wearing my house cleaning clothes, I remember my shorts were one of those boxers short types with little pink and red hearts on it. At one point I had to take the trash out, and as soon as I stepped out, a gust of wind from the hallway window swooshed my iron door shut! I stood frozen with two bags of trash, one on each hand, still a bit in denial of what just happened. Then I looked down and stared at my pocket-less outfit. S@#t!! I put the trash where I intentionally wanted them to be first and started thinking about what to do. Call the landlord and admit stupidity? No need, no phone!

Then I remembered a few months ago, when my next door neighbour couldn't get in his apartment and had asked to borrow my key. I decided not to debate how another household key was going to help me get into my apartment, nor that if it could, how dangerous that would actually mean. I knocked, or rang my neighbours door, can't remember exactly, and a different guy I didn't recognize answered the door. I told him my problem and watched his eyes laugh at my pink and red hearted boxer shorts. He says he can't help. I explain to him that last time his friend asked me for my keys to open up their place. He says their door was originally messed up and so any key would've helped. I said thanks. What now? Who should I look for? Didn't have nobody's number, and certainly didn't have a phone with me. So I held my head high and made my way down to the main front desk to ask for help. Of course they couldn't break my door down but they did have the number for somebody who opened locks; they gave me the number. I go to a nearby Chinese convenience store to use their phone (all in my “cute outfit”). I plead with the store manager if I could use his phone for free and pay him later by explaining what happened. He believed me right away for some reason and handed me the phone. I made arrangements to meet the lock picker.

I learned a lot of interesting things about lock pickers that day, except “how” to pick locks. I never knew they were really concerned about picking the right locks for the right person, because the first thing he asked me was that he needed to see my passport as soon as he opens the door to prove I really am the one staying in the apartment. Also, I might've been duped, but before he got to work, he explained the price to me, he said with the crossed styled key it was harder to pick locks and that it was going to cost me, if I remember correctly, 250rmb, or 300rmb, can't really remember. I couldn't believe it cost that much! But I had no choice, I thought maybe, I'll have him pick the lock and try to bargain with him later.

As he worked, I asked him some questions to practice my Chinese and pass the time. It turned out he made a living out of picking locks because he got to do 3-5 doors daily on an average day around Wang Jing. All my ego heard was, “yay! I'm not alone! There are people getting themselves locked out on a daily basis!” He told of certain nationalities he doesn't enjoy dealing with and the whys. We talked and talked, but those are the only ones I really remember from that talk. He did eventually open my door and it was such a feeling of pure relief! I showed him my passport (he threatened that he'll have to lock the door once again if I couldn't prove I lived in it. I thought that was cool). Oh and I paid him full (so sue me). Now tell me that wasn't an eventful morning.