Thursday, July 05, 2007
New not-so-toy
Got my new laptop, finally... and there is something to be said for MAC... The economist wondered, a few issues ago, what it was about MAC that inspired almost religious dedication from users... I'm wondering what it is about my computer that can't run Picasa (unless I use bootcamp) that is making my feel like I should cover every inch of it with protection (which is what I've already done, probably adding another half kg to the weight!).
Dunno... but perhaps there's something to a name... when I was a kid, I loved going to McDonalds... now, I'm a dedicated MAC cosmetics user, and now to become a MAC computer user. There's must be something about MAC?
Well, anyhow, the fact that I have time to blog right now means that for some reason I am up well before my alarm clock rang, despite having less than four hours sleep (never mind, the plane is a good place to catch up). Well, it's not some reason. It's that I should have slept on my brother's floor. The room I'm sleeping in has these thin bamboo blinds that not only don't block out the sunlight, but also are completely see-through (re: I can't get changed in the room at night - I have to stay in the bathroom or risk becoming an unwitting porn-star). This well-lighted situation at 6-ish in the morning means that I wake up thinking it's past 8 and I've missed my ride with my brother. It also means that, before going back to sleep, Alba (my dog) spends five minutes licking my blanket somewhere around the area where my knee is located.
And now she's snoring. Loud. Bitch! (well, it's a she)
Hmmm... this time my oldest brother doesn't have a new car (well, it's only been half a year), but there's a new terrier in the house, instead, which Indy (who I haven't seen yet) has named "A-Kiu". A-Kiu does not mean anything in Thai, and I'm almost certain some Japanese or Chinese ghost must have possessed my nephew when that happened... anyone with a good knowledge of either language or in possession of a good dictionary?
My hands are covered in scratches, too, so I can only assume that the evil spirit has transferred itself into A-Kiu (who has very sharp nails), so we may be looking at the angry ghost of some deceased samurai, ninja, or emperor's concubine.
Aaaah...the mysteries...
My trip to Thailand was Murphy's delight. Everything that could go wrong at the airport, did go wrong. So Sid's idea was to not mention that I've got a carry-on bag and just check in my 26.6 kg suitcase. Fine, no probs there. The check-in lady was even Finnish and struck up a conversation with me!
But the moment I walked through the door leading to customs, this short, fat, sour-looking man points me to a scale and well... surprise surprise, 8 kilos over carry-on allowance! So he sends me back... and this cute wog guard who I passed earlier smiles sweetly and tries to negotiate on my behalf with the fat prick, but to no avail.
Back at check-in, the lady (not the Finnish one this time, but French) gives me a good scolding for not having mentioned my carry-on. Then is about to charge me for the eccess... and is generally sour... but then, change of tack... Suddenly she smiles, whispers that I don't have to pay anything - her supervisor just left! Awesome!!! But then inside, my passport is too new for old Australian equipment at customs and I end up having to wait half an hour with all the deportees while they scan my passport with the one, single new machine.
I get paged for my flight.
On the Thai side, the customs saw my two bottles of wine in the scan and decided they wanted to see it. So after I'd unpacked half my suitcase and couldn't find them, they changed their mind and decided to trust that I wasn't carrying illegal substances after all. Thank-god they didn't ask to see my books. I'd still be sitting at the censorship bureau or something.
Time for a shower...
Daeshious, I MISS YOU!!!! Don't have a mobile here, so might not be able to call you until I get to Finland!
fon @ 6:50 AM link to post * *