sh370035.jpgこの話はちょっと過ぎた話ですけど。。
同じ部屋で一緒に住んでた沖田さんの送別会がありますた。
それで、私たち（韓国人４人と日本人２人）は、沖田さんのために
持っている材料で何を作ればいいかを話し合った結果！
韓国のトッポキとチヂミを作り始めました。
その味は本場の味、そのままでした！
一言で、超おいしかった：）
みんなお腹がいっぱいになってしまって、
コンビニまで歩いて行って、デザートを食べながら
家に帰ってきました。
翌日は沖田さんから返礼(?)がありました。
それは、、、
めっちゃおいしいケーキ！！
本当に楽しかった日々でした～～
level 2 exam is coming, and i am not doing good in studying, because i have to catch up more than half year of NOT studying or paying attention in class … wow, great. anyhow, i have the mock today, for just a section of the test, and ya, bad …
i think my chance of passing is like … less than 50% for sure, it will take a miracle to make me pass it … M I R A C L E …
and so what if i don’t pass it this time, am i in such a hurry, yes and no …
Here’s some excerpts from the the diary of the funniest man in the world, Karl Pilkington. It’s more entertaining than anything I could ever write an its a lazy excuse for a blog. Best to not make a habit of this, anyways enjoy! (if anyone actually reads this besides my girlfriend…. or maybe John)
Woke up to the news that Tony Banks had died. There was a piece on the news about how everyone was shocked. Got me thinking about an invention: a watch that counted down your life. If it said you’ve got three days left, go to the doctors. Told Suzanne about invention. She said she wouldn’t buy one. But she said that about the iPod.
A fella on the plane was reading Coy Mag. It was a fishing magazine. I glanced over and noticed he was reading the Pond of the Month article. Don’t think they could make it into a weekly magazine. There was a really fat bloke on the plane. He was playing on his PSP. While I waited to go to the toilet, I looked at what game he was playing. It was darts. He’s that fat and lazy he can’t face playing a more active game on a games console.
Sat next to an old fella. Old men’s ears and noses carry on growing as they get older. Suzanne noticed his fingers were fat too. Maybe they continue to grow. Suzanne didn’t laugh when I said that her arse had the same problem.
Funny right? Here’s great poem by the guy as well.
Ever since I moved into my guest-house in Tokyo, I have lived along side a real deceptive character. He is quite elusive as he goes by a variety of aliases, but generally he is known as Manny!!!!(or Manichan by the Japanese people in our house). When I first met him he like seemed generally normal, though not soon after he began to move in strange ways, almost disturbing ways. His actions were not easy to turn a blind eye to……then the costumes started.
One day he would look altogether normal, then the next he’d be sporting a strange white hat made of paper. I did think to myself that this was slightly odd but in all fairness he wasn’t doing anyone any harm.
A week later he took the leap from odd, to out right bizarre. He was standing in the living room, wrapped head to toe in aluminum foil, impersonating the Tin man from The Wizard of Oz. As the weeks went on he has been dressed as a wizard, a rag cladded bum and an Egyptian mummy, terrorizing everyone in the house. His most recent attire is a flouro green and pink Mohawk and an electric guitar.
I guess I shouldn’t be too critical as his wardrobe selection is involuntary and he is a 1 foot tall wooden mannequin.
Decided to write it in a form of travelog.
So. We have:
a faulty Dell XPS M1330 laptop with NVIDIA GPU issue, bought in US, currently in Japan
We need:
to replace motherboard under extended warranty
We start at Dell website, where we acquire phone numbers for US and Japan support lines.
Failure: Call to Japan lines reveals need to input Express Service Code to be allowed through the automated message.
Step 1.1: Find Service tag and Express Service Code
After a long search on US website we find vague instructions about tag which supposed to be on the backside of the laptop.
Step 1.2: Figure out correct tag
Attached picture shows not one but THREE tags, with numbers blurred out and correct one not separated from others at all. On top of that, correct tag is shown vertically, along with another, incorrect one. The only tag visible horizontally is Windows license tag.
Step 1.3: Find anything resembling that tag on the actual laptop.
Failure: A stripe of white paper is where tag was supposed to be.
Step 1a: Contact support (without service number)
Step 1a.1: Find any other means of contact on Japanese site
Failure: email requires service number.
Step 2: Use online chat feature on US site (general support)
Failure: service number is required.
Solution! Enter random numbers until one is accepted and chat session is initiated.
Step 2.1: Provide support with means to find your service number
Old emails are searched, Customer Number and Dell Purchase ID is procured. Support was able to provide us with Service tag number and Express Service code.
Step 3: Contact Dell support in Japan to have motherboard replaced.
Support line is called, Express Service code is input….
Failure: Express Service Code is not recognized.
Step 3.1: Contact online consultant from Japanese site (XPS support)
Failure: Express Service Code is not recognized.
Use random number that worked on US site.
Failure: Express Service Code is not recognized.
Step 4: Contact online consultant from US site (XPS support)
Step 4.1: Wait to be connected
Went from 20 to 7 in 20 mins, after which queue number wasn’t updated for 30 mins and chat request had to be restarted. Got from 25 to 14, gave up.
Step 4.2: Try general chat
Connected immediately. Rep tried to say that we’re in the wrong chat, requested help with the number, sent to XPS chat, got disconnected!
Step 5: Try XPS chat while restarting general
After 40 minutes in queue XPS chat goes through!
Step 6: Explain the issue to Indian supporter
Suggestion to address Japan Dell Support.
Step 7: Explain supporter that it’s impossible to contact Japan Dell Support
Offered a direct support number which will not require Service Code.
Failure: Offer forgotten as apparently such number doesn’t exist.
Step 8: Get supporter to request contact from Japanese support or organize delivery
Supporter started going to various manuals, asking questions such as “Did you run diagnostics?”, “Did you check your bios?” despite being told previously that due to video chip failure nothing is displayed on screen AT ALL (well, aside from multitude of vertical lines).
Failure: Apparently they have no ways of contacting Japanese support or in any way affecting them, they have to be contacted directly (which we cannot do for above mentioned reasons).
Step 8a: Meanwhile, in general chat…
We’re told that only hardware is under warranty, so technician visit will have to be paid.
Step 9: Call international support line
Since initial warranty wasn’t international, we need to transfer it to Japan, which we explain to supporter on the phone.
Step 10: Refuse to buy a year of international warranty
Repeat step 10
Repeat step 10
Repeat step 10
Finally, suggestion to buy a one-time support deal on site! Scream that yes, YES we want to buy it but we CAN’T! We’re now informed that we need to call another number to deal with this. Number and extension is confirmed several times with the person on the phone
Step 11: Call offered number
Failure: Extension doesn’t exist!
Step 12: Back to online chat
Two options:
1. Buy motherboard from Dell (even though it’s supposed to be covered by extended warranty? what?), have it sent to Japan, have Japanese tech come and replace it.
2. Transfer warranty rights to Japan, have motherboard covered by warranty, have Japanese tech come and replace it.
Easy choice!
Step 13: Transfer warranty to Japan
To transfer warranty to Japan, we need…. to call Japanese support.
Step 13a: Miraculous transfer of warranty!
Turns out US support CAN transfer rights to other countries after all.
Step 14: Finally send mail to Japanese support
This was already late at night – around 5 am Japanese time, after about 6 hours of uninterrupted support struggle. So next step came almost instantly, even though it took several hours for Japanese support to reply to mail.
Step 15: Get Japanese support reply
Their ruling is that after rights transfer everything will be done.
Stay tuned for updates 🙂 Laptop is not working, so updating from lounge PC. Thank god we have one in this house 🙂
元住吉は美味しくて安いパン屋が2件あります（＾0＾）
今日はその１つ、
ブレーメン商店街のコンコルドでパンの耳Get! ７４円♪
しかも今回は長かった！４均分が１つ！
これでロングピザ作ったら楽しいo（＞＜）o
と思ったけど、ゲストハウスにあるのはトースター・・・
仕方なく半分に切ってピザパン作りました。
自分で作ったお手製バターと冷蔵庫にあった食材で（＾＾）
あたしは甘いのを大好きだ。お菓子とがケーキとかアイス！！
上のレアーチズケーキは自分で作った。
実は韓国にいるときには料理とかぜんぜんしなかった。でも急に日本で料理が楽しくなった。
手作りはちょっと面倒くさいけどおいしい～また友達と一緒に食べることもたのしい～
最近は私達のハウスのマネジャー茂木さんにもあげました。:)
先だって、日ごろ溜まりに溜まった疲れを癒すべく、水道橋のラクーアへ行って来た。平日の夕方、小雨に見舞われたせいもあったのか、客数は思ったほど多くはなかった。おかげでのんびりすることが出来た。
ラクーアと一聴して、小洒落た温浴施設をつい想像してしまうが、何のことはない。今や地方にも数多くある、いわゆる“スーパー銭湯”の一つ。ただ、若い女性を意識したサービス施設も充実し、ヒーリングバーデなる、一風変わった低温サウナも数々ある。
さて、何せ初回ということで勝手が分からず。とりあえず私たちは、真っ先に温泉施設のほうへ入った。毎回、こういう施設に来るたび思うのだが、入浴前に体を洗わない人が非常に多い！中年以降世代は、ほぼ皆がそうだと断言しても良い。若い人たちは必ず全身を洗ってから、湯に浸かる。この部分に関しては、“今の若い者は！”と小言を垂れられる筋合いはない。ま、こうした小さいことを気にしていては、何事も楽しめないが。
ぼんやりと湯に浸かりながら周りを見渡すと、以外に外国人（西洋人）の姿も目に付くではないか。一つ非常に気になったのが、確信はないのだが、中近東の某問題国家出身と思しき人たちもいた。ふむ、ここは麹町からも近いし・・・。
湯から上がり、さっぱりとした体で次は低温サウナへ。温度が微妙に異なる部屋がいくつかあり、その中でのんびりと横になっているとじんわりと汗が・・・。あ、汗が・・・。
ここで初めて、順番を間違えたことに気付く。せっかく汗を流してきた体が、再び汗まみれ！低温とはいえ、強力な発汗作用！しかものぼせるくらい！
多少のぼせ気味でふらつきながら、温泉施設へ戻り、シャワーで汗を流す。かなり急ぎ足で温泉とサウナを楽しんだつもりが、出てみると５時間近く経過していた。
うむ、その気になればここは余裕で半日楽しめるところらしい。疲れが溜まった頃、もっと時間のあるときに再訪しようと思う。
今、お香をたいています。以前かったものが、まだ余っているので使ってます。 お香って結構、匂いがきついですよね。小さな部屋などで炊いたら煙たくて、咳き込みするだろうな。
大きなスペースで炊いて、ちょうどいいなと思った。今、炊いているのはユリの花の匂い
まぁまぁ。な匂いです。 皆さん、部屋でお香やアロマなど使ってますか？
良い匂いは、精神を癒してくれますよね。 不思議です。
なぜだかわかりません。今ランドではPlaystation２のゲームにはまっている人たちがいます。
よなよな、酎ハイを片手に、ひとりは骨折した指をかばいながら(リハビリ？？)、
ひとりは職場のストレスを発散させるかのように。
A「これ難しいよね クリアできない」
B「うーん 私には無理だわ みとくだけでいいや」
カナダ人T「I used to play this game but I forgot 」
とそこへあらわれたのはお疲れの韓国人M君、「ちょっといいですか」
A「はい どうぞ（君にできるかなぁ？）」
ムムム うまい！うちらがクリアできなかったところをいとも簡単にやってのけたM君、
さすがオンラインゲーム大国の人ですね・・・
