Contact with the Enemy
Yeah, I'm pretty sure I've already used at least part of the "mice and men" quote somewhere in another post. (Incidentally, I was surprised to find that this one, as with so many others, is paraphrased.) Anyway, here are a few things that I thought would go off without respective hitches lately:
1. The main reason I chose a Kinect over a Wii Fit for exercise was that I could also play Final Fantasy XIII on it. I never bothered to get a PS3 for the previous two, particularly considering one of them was an MMO, but this one (along with its actual sequel) is the first that actually warranted an introduction on Yuri na Hi-Bi. Sadly, after looking more closely, I found that the only Japanese version on Xbox 360 was the "international" version of the English-dubbed game. So I'll be listening to dialogue where I know how awkward it sounds, but at least I should be able to see what the original lines were in the subtitles. And XXX-2 is slated to be simultaneously released on both systems in Japan before any in America, so that problem shouldn't repeat itself.
2. Even after figuring out how to close the food waste container properly, I still found flies nesting in it. (I know they could've gotten in when it was open, that's only once every several days at best, so at least it isn't airtight.) So if the government's waste management system doesn't give me a bin that can prevent this, how is it supposed to work? (I admit that it may have been defective or damaged, but I have no way of knowing, other than buying more and trying them all for weeks to see whether or not they work, which would be irritating.) Admittedly, I don't actually sign the lease I've asked the manager to prepare until tomorrow, but I don't want to go to the trouble of finding a new apartment and moving unless I need it. At this point, I'm just leaving the food in the sieve I use to keep it out of the drain, so I run water over it every few hours, which hopefully should be enough to discourage them from laying eggs there.
3. Despite my having checked my exact address on their Website, the Clear modem I bought doesn't seem to be able to deal with the fact that there are buildings in Seattle. Unless I can find a way to create a connection out of nowhere by going through all the troubleshooting advice (or lug my computer somewhere else and find that the modem doesn't work anywhere), I guess I'll have to go back to paying $60 a month for DSL alone.
4. Upon reflection, I realized that if I go to Booty Bay tomorrow, it'll be just as congested as a capital city, so I'd still be disconnected every few seconds while there under my $60 DSL from the city.
5. When I walked into the office, the optician took one look and said it was impossible ever to fix them. Apparently there is no way to buy other frames of the same shape that are on display, and I can't even order new ones until I go in for the appointment this week, because any people who deal with customers would have given me those options. So I'm going to be procrastinating about computer stuff like fixing the series of tubes and answering my email for another couple of weeks, at least.
Finally, I promised that I would talk about my current earworm, although now that I think about it, it doesn't really fit on the list. I have been called by (323) 606-7227 more than half a dozen times in the last few weeks. I didn't pick up because I didn't even recognize the area code, but apparently it's the Human Rights Commission. A poster here has an idea why they don't leave messages, but persistent telemarketers are still damned annoying, regardless of the cause. The only reason an unemployed guy like me even donated anything was because it was the remaining balance on a gift card, which can't be used unless you get a transaction of exactly that amount. So this is the first time I'm keeping a number on file so I know not to answer the phone.