During my lunch break today I braved the elements …
During my lunch break today I braved the elements go out and find a bank to cash in my winning receipt in the receipt lottery here. It’s only NT$200, the price of a decent dinner, but I’ll take what I can get. I had to walk all the way over to Zhongxiao E. Road to find the Changhua Bank, where I waited for half an hour to be told that I can only get my pittance on the 5th. Oh, well.
Earlier on I had received an email from my friend and former sword instructor Seamus, who gave me homework in the form of picking a fight with someone and losing. (Sound familiar?) Anyway, as I was waiting in the bank I noticed that the solitary, middle-aged guard’s gun strap was loose, his back to me. If I wanted to, I could have grabbed his gun, hopped over the counter and robbed the place blind. I had my sunglasses and bandana on, so it would have been somewhat difficult to identify me. After mulling it over for a bit, I concluded that this probably wasn’t exactly the kind of fight Seamus had had in mind. And besides, I think I’ll get my book out first before I pursue a life of crime. I’m just not a spur-of-the-moment-bank-robbery kind of guy. I like to plan things a little better than that. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right. I’m such a boring guy; it’s no wonder I haven’t had a date in aeons.
After the bank I had lunch at the Subway in the basement of one of the department stores near here. My server turned out to be an ex-pilot who was recently fired from Eva Air. He was Chinese-American but couldn’t read Chinese, which is kind of wierd as that branch of Subway is the only one I’ve seen that doesn’t include an English menu. He seemed nice. I gave him some tips on sub sandwich-making, as he was just learning. Maybe next time he’ll give me some flying tips.
Our company’s annual Wei-ya party kicks off in a couple of hours. I never did come up with any sort of costume, so I guess I’ll just have to go as John Cusack. The whole affair is being held basically in a tent, which is a questionable decision in this awful weather. Hopefully the money they saved by doing this is going to a worthy cause, such as our year-end bonuses, rather than silly prizes. First of all, I’m not lucky enough to win anything significant, and second, I prefer cash (see thoughts in bank as related above).
“So what did you win in the office lottery?” one of my co-workers asked me as I added water to my hot chocolate powder in the kitchen. I just held up my Starbucks coffee mug and got an incredulous stare in return. “But that’s impossible!” he said. “Who’s that unlucky?”
I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” Seriously, though, that’s not bad luck. I don’t really care about stuff. I have plenty of stuff already, too much really. Stuff isn’t the point, and not worth getting all riled up over.
Man, I’ve never given much credence to the old rule that you’re not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition, but I’m pretty sure ending a sentence with two prepositions would make Mrs. Vanartsdalen, my fifth-grade English teacher, slap me up ‘side the head.
