#1019: Another of life's disappointments

Hey, it's another update! This one is, of course, more or less straight from reality. In fairness, it was a complete assembled package for about $1200, or the base model plus a bunch of options for the customer to install to bring it to the same functionality for a little over $1000. But still, if there's a special price you have to be a special person to qualify for, shouldn't it be lower than the regular price? You end up with the same printer, and $200 is a fair bit of money for the labour of unpacking and plugging in the optional parts.

So, while finishing up Last Exile on the fiendish handheld device, I happened to see a preview for Stellvia (because I'd ripped the entire DVDs including extras), and I was reminded that although I didn't like Stellvia, I very much liked the theme song, and had always meant to look up who had recorded it. Turns out it was a JPop act called "Angela." Not an easy search query to find on the Net, but I managed to find some samples of their other work, and liked that too, so when I recently got my paycheque from UofW, I ordered some of their CDs. I also ordered the laser printer, a purchase I've been planning for months, and a couple other items from vendors located in Southern Ontario. The printer itself was from a place in Toronto - I did online ordering at all only because I have no easy means of transporting such a bulky item and needed it delivered.

That was Thursday night. The CDs arrived today - I note just two business days later because of the long weekend. Maybe even one business day, the way sharp-practicing shippers tend to count. Though it needed my signature and I was out, so I didn't actually receive the package. I can go pick it up first thing tomorrow. Anyway, that package came from Tokyo. The other items, shipped from places like Markham, have not arrived yet; and this evening I finally got the email from the laser printer people telling me that because of this stupid Federal Government pricing thing, their package, to be shipped from Toronto just a couple kilometers away from my apartment, would in fact not be shipped at all. Shipping prices for all these items were comparable. Conclusion: I live nearer Tokyo than Markham. I guess I already knew that.

I've stopped posting my near-daily life status updates, and taken down the past ones, because I wasn't getting what I wanted from them. If you weren't reading those, well, no great loss to you, then. Though the fact that not many people were reading them was part of why I was disappointed. You might see occasional comments on my life in this space, and that may be a good thing because it gives me an incentive to write more comic strips to have excuses to post fresh news postings.

Last night I attended a group event at which one of the organizers offered to get me laid by means of making a general group announcement. He said it had worked for others before. I had given no indication of needing or wanting such a favour, so I don't know if it's his standard offer to all new members, or what, but I'd have given it serious consideration if I'd been sure that the scope would be limited to women.