Saturday, June 14, 2008

A very, very bad day

As if my week wasn't bad enough.

I was so tired that I skipped a rare drinking session at the Sky Bar, Traders Hotel with my fellow co-workers yesterday. To a person who doesn't really drink and hardly socializes, it was a chance of a lifetime. Instead I opted for a dinner session at Pho Hoa, a Vietnamese restaurant at The Curve, with another group of colleagues.

Back home, I was all but exhausted.

After an out of sorts Friday, I managed to get a good night sleep. I thought a good night sleep would have ended all miseries. I'm gonna have to think again.

Today I have to send my broken Belkin USB hub (broken power adapter to be precise) to All IT, Digital Mall. As I drive by the still-under-renovation RHB Bank just across Digital Mall, I step on the brake pedal as a car parked at the side if the road moves out right in front of me.

I don't use to park this close to Digital Mall. Getting a parking spot around the mall is usually a friggin' nightmare. I thought it would be a great chance and without second thought, I park straight into the empty spot.

At the All IT technical support booth, they accept my warranty claim. My Belkin USB hub comes with a lifetime warranty but since it's been more than a year since the purchase, they explain a 30-buck transportation fee will be required. I don't really mind the charge as it's gonna save me a trip to the unfamiliar OUG Garden.

I place the warranty documents into a plastic bag I brought along and it happens to be an All IT bag. I then walk around the store looking for a replacement USB hub. Yes I can't afford to wait for the broken one to get repaired.

Having made my pick, I'm on my way to the cashier, only to realize I'm not having enough cash. I return the goods to the shelf, go downstairs and across the street to the nearby RHB Bank.

Did I mention the RHB Bank was under renovation? The work makes ATM machines in the bank inaccessible. I head back to Digital Mall with frustration and get the cash I need from an ATM machine on the ground floor, costing me some several minutes which proved to be precious later in the day.

Back at All IT, I went back to the shelf to get my stuff. As I bend down to reach for one of the items, my glasses catches a shelf hanger, leaving a 5cm scratch mark on the right lens. Ouch! It hurts. It hurts as thought it poked right into my eye. To make things worse, it's a new pair of glasses that cost me a good 700 bucks and I got it just a month ago.

Check out that mark man! It's 5cm in length, and it's permanent!
(I'm actually pretty impressed by my Canon Powershot S2's Super Macro mode. Awesome close-up!)


Finally I'm done with my shopping, paid for the stuff and about to make a move, but something isn't feeling right. It was then only I realize the plastic bag that I have been carrying is no longer in my possession and I can't remember when and where I left it behind.

I ask and look around the store, scrutinizing every corner that I have been to earlier today to no avail. After a 30-minute search I finally found it at a service desk in the store. Apparently someone must have found it and placed it there.

I have had enough today. I just wanna get out of here and leave this very building as quick as I can. My car is just right across the street and guess what? Someone is already there before I do -- an MBPJ officer. A 100-buck traffic ticket is on its way out from his little portable printer. I'm penalized for parking my vehicle at an undesignated parking space and what frustrates most is the fact that I was just minutes short.

Here's my traffic ticket. Nice layout and watermark. 2-tone printing. Not bad considering it's a, umm, government production.

Guess what? Mr. Officer and I share the same birth date! Woo-hoo! He's exactly one year older.

The only line on the ticket that people care most about.

Had I not left that plastic bag behind; had I not left Digital Mall to look for an ATM; had I had enough cash in the first place, I might have already been on my way home, and my glasses would still be clean, new, and scratch-free.

It's all opportunity cost.

The lenses on my glasses are under warranty, unfortunately it doesn't cover scratches, be it deliberate or unintentional. It's ok, I can live with it.

So with all these unnecessary spending, am I still getting myself a new Pocket PC phone?

Hell no!

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