I really like the apartment building I live in and one of the reasons is that I have awesome porteros. Porteros are men who guard the entrance to the building, take care of all the mail, will call taxis to come, open the door for everyone, call me when there's a visitor to make sure I know who they are, etc. The list goes on and on. I'm fairly certain they know every person in the building including (but not limited to) their kids, their pets, their vehicles, their eating habits and their daily routine. I'm serious. These men are incredible. Almost every apartment building has them. In my building there are 2 porteros that rotate 12 hour shifts. One from 6 AM - 6 PM and then they switch and the other goes from 6 PM- 6AM. They do this 6 days a week, get one day off, and then switch who has morning or night. Can you imagine a work schedule like that? Plus, they probably get paid very minimally.
Well, tonight I found a secret skill of one of my porteros. At 5:00 tonight I decided I should go for a run. I got on my clothes and hurried out the door. As I hit the stairwell I looked outside, oh man the sky was not happy. It was promising a downpour. Hm..to go or not to go, that was my question. I turned back to my apartment 3 times only to re-convince myself to go. Maybe it wouldn't rain. Heck, why don't I just ask my portero what he thinks.
Down I went to the front desk and I asked his opinion, "What do you think about this weather. Is it going to rain?"
"One second, let me check" he responded as he stepped outside and looked at the clouds, "You have 30 minutes".
"30 minutes? Perfect. Me voy!"
So off I went running. I made it to the track and did my work out. I glanced at my watch and I had been gone for 30 minutes. Oh boy, I better get home. I usually walk home as a cool down but today I kept running. The sky was swelling with water droplets. Of course I didn't think to bring money for a taxi in case it rained. Drip. Drip. Drip. 37 minutes. My portero was right!
Drip. Drip. Drip. Jog. Jog. Jog.
As I neared my apartment the clouds let loose. 43 minutes from start: torrential downpour. Run. Run. Run. By now I'm one block from my apartment and sprinting (thankfully it was downhill). I reached the front door and I'm drenched. Drenched and laughing. My portero smiles as he lets me in and gently scolds me with a tease, "I told you 30 minutes."
Yes he did. Yes he did.
My portero: guard, protector, weather predictor!
Well, tonight I found a secret skill of one of my porteros. At 5:00 tonight I decided I should go for a run. I got on my clothes and hurried out the door. As I hit the stairwell I looked outside, oh man the sky was not happy. It was promising a downpour. Hm..to go or not to go, that was my question. I turned back to my apartment 3 times only to re-convince myself to go. Maybe it wouldn't rain. Heck, why don't I just ask my portero what he thinks.
Down I went to the front desk and I asked his opinion, "What do you think about this weather. Is it going to rain?"
"One second, let me check" he responded as he stepped outside and looked at the clouds, "You have 30 minutes".
"30 minutes? Perfect. Me voy!"
So off I went running. I made it to the track and did my work out. I glanced at my watch and I had been gone for 30 minutes. Oh boy, I better get home. I usually walk home as a cool down but today I kept running. The sky was swelling with water droplets. Of course I didn't think to bring money for a taxi in case it rained. Drip. Drip. Drip. 37 minutes. My portero was right!
Drip. Drip. Drip. Jog. Jog. Jog.
As I neared my apartment the clouds let loose. 43 minutes from start: torrential downpour. Run. Run. Run. By now I'm one block from my apartment and sprinting (thankfully it was downhill). I reached the front door and I'm drenched. Drenched and laughing. My portero smiles as he lets me in and gently scolds me with a tease, "I told you 30 minutes."
Yes he did. Yes he did.
My portero: guard, protector, weather predictor!
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