Mitch & Roland: #31 Fro

Despite the continuation of my general computer woes, I present a new cartoon after such a long drought (finally). I should - fingers crossed - have the Internet working on my computer by the end of this day.

Should.

This Price Tag is a House of Lies

Good gracious, this has been the longest period between blog entries for some time. I've been so busy rediscovering the glories of Canada, that I've not committed nearly enough attention to this site. Apologies all around.

Since I've returned there are certain things about Korea that I miss. First off, tax. After living two years in a country where 95% of businesses mark the price with taxes included, I got sort of used to having everything work out to nice even numbers. I see something priced at 3000 won, I pay 3000 won, and life goes on. Now, for the last several weeks I look at prices and think that's what I'll pay. I get exact change ready and then I'm thrown for a loop when the total comes to some bullshit number like $4.37. Also, in Korea, no one tips and nobody expects you to tip. On several occasions when I tried to tip someone for some food, I was met with a near aggressive refusal of it. So now I'm back to calculating how much extra I should give, and it's annoying.

And speaking of annoying, yesterday when I was using an ATM at my bank the machine ate my card. That's a first for me. It started to come out, but the card got wedged on seemingly nothing. It was in too far for me to grab, so the machine fussed with it for about five seconds and then went "Screw it!" and sucked the card back in. Next I heard the card get shredded and dumped into the ATM's furnace.

I called the help line written on the ATM and was informed by a woman that my card had been lost and I should go to my bank soon to get a replacement. That didn't seem much like help, more like a statement of the obvious:

"Sir, unfortunately you won't be able to retrieve your card from the machine, so I recommend visiting your local branch and getting a new bank card."

"...Oh? I thought you were going to help me. Like explain to me how to open this sucker up and get it back. I got tools here, if that's a problem."

Computer Woes: That's how it goes

It's been really great to be back at home and in Canada in general. I've found myself quite busy with friends, family, and general work to be done at home. I've spent a lot of time sorting through all of my junk and deciding what to toss. My lord, why have I kept everything since the beginning of time? There's no reason to hold on to junior high arithmetic papers.

Also, I've spent oodles of time trying to get my stupid computer working. Despite my efforts, it is still not completely operational. Apparently, when you don't use a computer for a long long time (let's say two years), the computer craps its pants and forgets how to work entirely. Since returning I've had to buy a new battery and a new memory card. Plus, I can't get my Internet router to work, and every time I turn on the computer a new problem pops up, whether its the mouse not working, or the screen coming up black.

It's pretty sad when you think about how fragile computers are, especially since we depend so highly on them. I found an old Betamax VCR in my closet this week which hadn't been used in forever. I plugged the sucker in, and sure enough it still worked. I mean, beta is crummy, but at least it endures. What messed up my computer? Not using it! It's not like I kicked in the screen, left it out in the snow, or packed in away in a shed with boxes of industrial magnets. I just left it in my room, safe from the elements. And it still barfed all over itself.

Arrived!

I've finally made it back to Canada, and after a good nights sleep I feel somewhat closer to human than I did upon touching down at Halifax Airport. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: That flight is a trial of human endurance.

If I could describe air travel in two words it would be "engulfing stress", so it didn't help when I watched luggage being destroyed at Toronto Airport. While I was making my connecting flight I had to claim my baggage and then pass it along to the next flight. First off, that pisses me off right there. Thousands of dollars for plane tickets, and enumerable security and tracking systems, yet they couldn't just direct my bags to my connecting flight.Everything is tagged and marked. Just pass it along!

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, destroyed luggage. When I went to pick up my bags at the baggage claim conveyor belt, so many bags had come out and filled the belt that they began pressing together and crushing one another. The most distressing part was that there was a worker on top of the conveyor system at the controls...doing nothing. I watched a large hard plastic suitcase shatter apart, and others crack and groan as they bent and folded together. I have no idea what that guy was thinking. When suitcases are bursting open like squeezed eggs, it's time to stop the flow of bags and do something.

Anyway, enough about that. I'm here and already the stress has washed away. Time to get back to drawing.