blueswede

The Nine Faces of Dave
2004-03-14 19:40:39 (UTC)

coffee break is over, get back to work

Spring Break has come and gone, and if nothing else I'm much
more rested than I was. For once I actually had a somewhat
decent travel experience, so it looks like that little curse
has been lifted (though the airline did lose my bags). I've
done very little since getting back yesterday, save playing
my guitar, doing some homework, and working on my scarf. It
gets pretty hard to do stuff when nobody's around, and damn
near everyone who is around is dead tired from travel.

Break was uneventful; we're a week offset from the state-run
schools back home, so a good number of my compatriots are on
break this week instead. As for the few people who were on
break at the same time, they were pretty much never around.
So, I had a lot of time to deal with important stuff, things
like doing my taxes. Oh it was thrilling. I wound up owing
nothing, so I've gotten some benefit from the administration
and its cuts (though this is about all I've seen thus far).

The scarf is coming along rather well. I'm starting to get
the technique down, though I'm still pretty slow with it. I
guess as I get further along I'll probably get considerably
faster. Anyway, it's looking pretty nice, and I'm glad that
I sprung for the premium wool yarn, even if I did have to go
around the world to Australia to find a store.

On that note, I am once again amazed at the difference I see
in people's business attitudes between the States and other
countries. I bought the yarn from an Australian outfit, and
they were extremely polite and helpful. They gave me quotes
on shipping costs for faster methods (even though I ended up
not using them), and they sent a big sampler card along with
the yarn (which they shipped VERY quickly). The yarn shops
I've dealt with in this country, on the other hand, act like
they're doing you a favor by being there, and customers are
a big inconvenience to them. So, I exercised my choice as a
consumer, and took my business elsewhere. Why can't stores
here in the States be like in Canada or Australia?

But anyway, I'm back on campus now and bored out of my mind,
because everything is still closed up for break. That means
no chai for our hero, and also means that I'll have a great
deal more spare time today than can possibly be healthy. I
will find something to do, I'm sure, but I cannot guarantee
it will be anything constructive. Days like this give birth
to some really goofy ideas.

Though urban golf does sound like a lot of fun...

This is Dave, signing off.




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