Adventures in Guangzhou!

Going along with the theme of this post, I've had some major technological difficulties in recent days. I've been chain-watching a ton of "West Wing" episodes in the last few weeks and I think President Bartlet put it best when he said that "the worst problems always come from the things we take for granted." Sure, he was referring to the cleanliness of beef products, but I think deep down he really meant my computer. My trusty G4 powerbook is currently out of commission, and potentially on the way to becoming a really grandiose coaster.

Something as simple as plugging the power cord into the computer--an action we've all done hundreds of times--may be the end of this computer and I'm still reeling in shock. I guess it put it in at juuuuust the wrong angle and pushed at it with juuuuuust the wrong amount of force and voila--it's busted. Now in the States this would be a problem but not a catastrophe. I'd reluctantly trudge out to one of dozens of Apple Stores in the area, shove the machine in front of a so-called "genius," and get the thing fixed. But here? In China I have learned that things are never so simple.

First I had to enlist Kelly to look up the address online for the one and only authorized repair shop in the city. Tucked away on the 7th floor of an unmarked building, my confidence was waning. After waiting in line (and boxing out two ladies who tried to cut me in line), I attempted to explain the problem to the guy at the counter. Forunately, he understood the problem despite my lack of Chinese vocabulary for things like "cord," and "power source." Unfortunately, I didn't have my entire hard drive backed up. We had a conversation that went something like this:
Him- Do you have important data on your computer?
Me- Of course.
Him- Is it all backed up?
Me- Unfortunately not.
Him- Well we can't take it unless you have it backed up.
Me- I understand, but how can I back it up when my battery's dead and power charger can't be connected?
Him- You can't.
Me- So what do you suggest I do?
Him- Back up all of your data.
Me- But I can't do that.
Him- Correct.

We went back and forth like that a while longer until I decided that my computer was not getting fixed in Guangzhou. On the way back to my apartment, I stopped by one of the other Apple authorized resellers and inquired about the price of a new charger (which I would need to buy at some point in the future). They quoted me a price approaching $200 which I couldn't even believe. I started to bargain with them but walked out almost immediately. And, naturally, to make matter even worse, on the bus ride home I took out my iPod and noticed that one of the earbuds was broken. Perfect.

So on and on I went, trying to figure out how in the world to go about getting my computer fixed. In the process of my research, I discovered that I managed to buy my computer about two weeks before they took my model off the shelves. So, despite being only three and a half years old, they've virtually stopped making any of the parts anymore. I suppose it makes sense but it made me really mad that they wouldn't have told me at the time--hey, why don't you wait ten days and buy the new model? It will look a little better AND last longer! Oh well.

It became clear pretty quickly that I was going to have to cross the border and get assistance in Hong Kong. I figured there would be several options for Apple stores in HK but actually they too only have authorized resellers. Something about Chinese government regulations? Who knows. Anyhow, I found out where the repair place was and headed out with my fingers crossed. Though also tucked away on the 20th floor of a building in Causeway Bay, the employees spoke English and managed to look up which parts needed to be replaced. Though the woman helping me had to check with her supervisor whether they could still acquire the part I needed, she did take the computer from me and said to come back in two weeks. Right now I am cautiously optimistic but I really don't know.

What I do is that my entire day to day existence changes without my computer. It's scary. What did we do without them? I don't compulsively check my email. Job searching seems almost impossible. Powerpoints are automatically left out of lesson planning. My knowledge of world news goes down to a single check of nytimes.com a day. My level of Yankees news goes down to almost nothing. On the other hand, I played football today with some of my old students for twice as long as I may have otherwise so maybe it's a good thing. No reason to be attached to the computer all the time, right? God forbid I ever get a blackberry...