I've been watching, and yes, rewatching a boot camp reality tv show. It is inspiring television, let me tell you! The recruits were forced to do a five-kilometer hike carrying a 180-kilo log. When they had reached their destination, the drill sergeant said, simply, "Do it again."
The camera crew asked one recruit if he thought it was unfair. "This is life," he said without malice; even with humor, he said that. His forehead sweaty, a rye laugh: this is life. I love that.
I don't often think I have a lot of grit. I can give up pretty easily. Even if I don't give up, I am prone to complaining.
But here are two times when I didn't give up recently, because I was thinking about how much stamina and humor the recruits on this show had.
1. When I was doing a really challenging section of workout, I kept going. Burpee-pushup-box-jumps. It's a real thing.
2. When I had to pay our internet bill, and tried no fewer than eight ATMs.
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Here is where I catch myself. If I truly had grit, perhaps I would not go on to tell you the particulars of the inconvenience this entailed. But you cannot possibly grasp the difficulty of the situation unless I explain. Someone with grit may not need you to grasp the situation. But I do need you to understand, if I can make it happen at all.
Here goes.
We had not received an internet bill for at least two months. The reminders I had placed on my phone were not enough for me, and the internet was shut off as of yesterday evening. I boarded the bus headed toward the city immediately after work, and made a beeline for the Maroc Telecom where one pays for internet. This is distinct from the Maroc Telecom where one buys internet.
I had no Moroccan money, only US money, and needed to find an ATM where I could withdraw dirhams using my US bank card.
I walked from ATM to ATM looking for a working, international-friendly one. After covering two kilometers in walking, I managed to get 400 dirhams, plenty to cover the bill, from a BMCE kiosk. Ah, but pause! I had recently heard you could pay your bill at a Telecom kiosk nearby! This I attempted to do with my US card. No luck. I went inside. I'm sorry, no, we don't accept payment here, that one is 600 meters down the street.
Briskly walking back four blocks to the Maroc Telecom where we pay, the agent there told me we in fact now owed two months of internet, not one.
"OH!? Could I see those bills, please?"
"We don't give print-outs here. That one is 600 meters down the street."
"Forget it." Still, quite the pickle, considering my limited cash. We tried my American card, no way. I needed more cash.
"When do you close?"
"In 15 minutes."
"I will return!"
And I did. And I paid it.
If I had not been watching Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week on repeat for the last two weeks, would I have had the determination to try two Credit Du Maroc, two Banque Populaire, one Societe Generale, one BMCE, and three Attijariwafa ATMs in my attempts to pay the Hydra-headed bill? I doubt it.
