Boyfriend Maiyuu and I have decided to get satellite TV installed. We subscribed years ago to UBC (now True Visions), but quit, as the fare became too dull.
Since then, television appears to have improved, or maybe our tastes have changed. We decided to give it another go, and on Friday signed up during a visit to the local shopping mall, where True Vision keeps a booth.
The man from True said he would send electricians to install the satellite dish on Saturday. Before then, I had to withdraw B3,600 from the bank to pay them.
That's the connection fee, which includes a refundable B2000 deposit.
On Saturday morning, I walked to the local branch of my bank, about five minutes from my condo.
When I arrived at the cash machine outside, I put in my card, and keyed in my password. It rejected it, and told me to try again. I tried one variation of the password. It rejected that, too.
I tried the original password again, even though the machine had already rejected it. Then the machine swallowed the card, and told me to contact my bank.
I called boyfriend Maiyuu in a small panic. I had not anticipated this.
'Can you transfer money from my account?
'No. Why should I be able to do that?'
Maiyuu opened a bank account for me years ago, as an offshoot of one of his own accounts. Just not this one, unfortunately.
'The ATM has swallowed my card,' I said.
Maiyuuu unleashed a couple of expletives, then hung up the phone in disgust. I called him back twice, but he refused to talk, and hung up again.
Maiyuu had been looking forward to getting satellite TV installed. He missed sleep the night before, he was so excited.
'The True people have already called to confirm a time,' he said.
Maiyuu did not have enough cash in the bank to cover the connection fee. Neither did I.
I did manage to find B2000 in a drawer. Maiyuu said he would ask Bom, from the condo office, if we could borrow the rest.
'He forgot his password and the machine swallowed his card,' Maiyuu told her on the phone, matter-of-factly.
I went down to the office, where Bom handed me B2000 in cash.
'I must be getting old. I put in the wrong password. I thought I remembered it, but I didn't,' I said.
'You're not told, just forgetful,' she said. 'But don't forget to pay me back on Monday.'
Fifteen minutes later, two electricians arrived at our condo. They spent half an hour putting in wires, and attaching a satellite dish to the outside wall next to the window.
On our first afternoon of satellite television, I watched three American dramas. On our first night, Maiyuu and I watched the first concert from the first-ever Academy Fantasia season, held way back in 2004.
When I am watching something which does not appeal to Maiyuu, he cooks instead. When he watches something I do not like, I play on the computer.
Maiyuu picked up a television remote, and tapped my head with it.
'Next time, you should try to concentrate,' he said.
Postscript: Maiyuu has asked me if I would like to rise with him at 6am tomorrow to watch the Academy Awards, which start at that time. I want to talk him out of that plan before we go to bed, as I would like a longer sleep.
Rising at 6am is overkill as the ceremony doesn't begin until 8am Bangkok time. It airs live in the USA at 8pm Eastern Standard Time, which is 12 hours ahead of Bangkok, or 5pm Pacific Standard Time in Hollywood, which is 15 hours ahead of Bangkok. Is Maiyuu perhaps having his own "senior moment"?
ReplyDelete