Getting back into gear

Dropped off the dead hdd for RMA this morning. RMA stands for "Return Material Authorization", but it's easier to think of it as "Replace Mine (with) Another".

Since it's still under warranty (thank goodness for the older 3-year warranty scheme), they will either repair it or provide an equivalent (or sometimes better) replacement. Most likely I'll get a reconditioned piece - one that's previously been repaired and certified as working. I should hear from them again in five working days.

(Working days. Business days. Hah! Some places don't count Saturday as a "working day", but their employees have to haul their butts to work all the same. What a sham. What's wrong with "before next Tuesday"?)

Even though I have a work-issue laptop, I'm reluctant to use it at home.. kind of silly, I know. But it bugs me that my main machine is down. The trip photos are sitting in the portable harddisk, but I'd rather not process them until my PC is functional again. Sorry about the delay.

Work is annoying, but then again, what's new? People are moving, some up and some out, and it's always sad to see stalwarts calling it quits and mugwarts getting rewarded. But life's unfair.

Here's a parting shot dredged from my photo archive - a prayer tablet with an interesting wish, one of many thousands hung at the Meiji-Jingu Shrine in Tokyo. The photo was taken in Aug '03.



Happy thought of the day: dinner's at Buko Nero tonight. :D