Category: 2005

Categories
2005

Space, The Final Frontier

JAXA Astronaut Soichi Noguchi waves at his spacewalking crewmate, Astronaut Steve Robinson

i watched the STS-114 Discovery Space Shuttle launch live on NASA TV on July 27th. NASA TV was also showing a live feed into the Control Rooms when the Mars Pathfinder landed on Mars and recently when Deep Impact smashed into Comet Tempel 1. watching these missions and the first pictures and images that are beamed back from millions of miles away is such an exhilirating experience. I hope space travel becomes affordable for normal passengers within my lifetime. i would absoluetly go up in space if i had the chance to. the revolution has already started with the successful completion of the Ansari X Prize and the upcoming Virgin Galactic. Trump should throw in his support and announce a Trump Tower on the Moon!!

Categories
2005

Two Hundred Dollar Bills

Tonight on the way home from work I spontaneously decided to stop at the convenient store so I could pick up a delicious six pack of Sam Adam’s summer ale. It’s a nice wheat brew that’s a bit like a hefeweizen. I dropped my prize on the counter and the man behind it instantly said “ID.”

Not “ID, please” or “May I see your ID” but a pretty matter-of-fact “ID.”

I already had my wallet in my hand, though, so it wasn’t much trouble to open it and slide my driver’s license out and place it into his hands.

“This driver’s license is expired” he says to me.

I’m not going to deny it – my driver’s license is expired by almost a month now. However, the driver’s license explicitly states that I was born in 1978 so its expiration shouldn’t be much of an issue.

“Yeah, it’s expired,” I said. “But that shouldn’t really matter. It still shows the year I was born and I’m obviously way over the age limit required to buy beer so…”

“But it’s expired.” He looked at me with a very serious business expression.

“I realize it’s expired, sir, but it still shows the year I was born, regardless.”

He then gave me what I swear to God is one of the blankest, most confused and dumbfounded looks I have ever received in my life. He just sort of stared at me as if what I had been saying was some sort of voodoo science that made no sense. Then comprehension slowly dawned on his face.

“Six fifty-three.” He said, again very matter of factly.

I had exactly two hundred dollars in my wallet in the form of two one hundred dollar bills. I handed him one.

“Oh, no, I don’t have change for this.” He said, disappointingly.

Keep in mind that by this time there were at least four or five people behind me in line shuffling their feet. I was already embarrassed, regardless of whether it was my fault or not that we were having this delay, so I was ready to just leave and accept the fact that I wouldn’t have any golden ale tonight when…

“Here” the guy said from behind me, slipping me five twenty dollar bills. I handed him my hundred. I guess there are still good people in the world.

“Oh, thanks.” I said. Problem solved.

I handed a twenty dollar bill to the cashier. He plinked open the register as if none of this were odd and gave me my change. Thank God that ordeal was over.

I moved my stuff off to the side and started stuffing change into my wallet so the next guy could buy his stuff. I didn’t want to hold anybody up anymore. I heard the cashier give him his total which was just a couple of dollars. Then I heard, “I don’t have change for that.”

I turned my head and saw the guy who just helped me holding what was moments ago my hundred dollar bill.

“But this is all I have”, he said.

At this point I’m fucking dumbfounded. This guy just gave me five twenties knowing that I needed them because the cashier couldn’t give me change for a hundred. Then he immediately tried to use the same bill to buy his pastry and energy drink.

The guy looked at me. I looked at him. The cashier looked at us both like we were the biggest idiots he had ever come across in his life. Four people in line stared incredulously at my new friend and I.

I handed the cashier a ten dollar bill and said, “here, use this” and without question he did. The guy buying the pastry and energy drink mumbled a weak “thanks” and hurried out before I could even get my change.

I don’t have a clever way to end this story because I’m still pissed off I paid for some asshole’s pastry. The end.

[ shack ]

Categories
2005 Events

APPU Congress in Seoul

Korea is hosting this year’s A.P.P.U (Asian Pacific Postal Union) Congress in Seoul from May 30th to June 4th. Honorably I am taking part in the Congress as one of the organizing staff. So before the actual congress, I had to get some training.

The training was for three days and started on this past Monday. There were 13 people for training. I had already met them before when we had pre meeting at the head quarters. The training centre is located the middle part of South Korea. It is called training centre but we think of it as a resort place cuz while we stay there, we can have a lot of fun. no left over work, no seniors, and no lack of sleep. We were supposed to learn so many things for three days. That means we didn’t learn so many things.. hehe.. we learned “International Manners, Convention English, Process of Communicating in International Convention, Public Speech, and Negotiation”.

Yesterday, when we, the 13 organizing members, heard what we should tell the guests from foreign countries about the congress registration, I thought it would be nice if everything is written on paper. Later at night I wrote something with a lot of asking to sikander… I was thinking I would make a small casual note for guests. He urged me leave the note and to go to bed as it was very late at night saying he will be online in the morning as well. I took a deep deep sleep and woke up to find this wonderful, beautiful looking guide on my monitor. It looked very neat and official looking. My co-workers were shocked that I made that very careful and so useful writing. But the funny part was that they praised me for the official look of the document… but I didn’t tell that sikander did it… hehe he wouldn’t take a credit for it cuz he can’t.. he is all the way in Canada.

My first responsibility was to meet and greet the delegate from Kiribati which is a collection of 33 islands somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. At first I was very nervous to meet this Mr. Williams from Kiribati. No matter how small country he is coming from, I am meeting him as a representative of korea. I took care of my hair and clothes when I saw the “Arrived” sign on the flights arrival board. Then I waited, waited, and kept waiting… and waiting.. I thought I missed him and worried about him so much. But finally a bit dark middle aged old man in casual clothes (a bit disappointing looking, I expected someone either very decent looking in a luxurious suit or in traditional pacific ocean looking clothes) gave a look to the picket my partner was holding. thanks god… we finally found him.. no room for nervousness anymore.. just happy to find the representative from kiribati. so so nice to meet you, mr. kiribati.


I had learned “Ko na mauri” which means “Hello” in Kiribati language. I also had the small guide for him about what he should do after he reaches his hotel. After the meeting at the airport we went in the limosuine bus to the Sheraton Walker Hill Hotel for check-in. Tomorrow, while some of the other staff are at the airport meeting other delegates, I have to know about all the facilities and their locations in the hotel and figure out how to run the VIP room. Oh, did I tell you that I am responsible for the “VIP Room” ? I don’t know how many VIPs i can meet once the Congress starts on Monday but I hope I can take pictures of every VIP who visits here.