Elyse Sewell ([info]elysesewell) wrote,
2007-02-07 15:17:00

macs repeal

It was making me batshit with anxiety to come home and see my new MacBook lurking on my desk, threatening me with unwelcome challenges. Why endure the soul turmoil of learning the operating system when, for the same price as the MacBook, I could buy the newest version of my NEC laptop, a new iPod, a silk Marc Fakobs dress from the China knockoff mall, and still have enough left for a Diet Coke and a dime sack? It made perfect sense, and I was awash with relief when I decided to return it.

Until I went back to fucking Fortress World, the grandaddy of all HK electronic stores, and discovered that I'd made an ass out of u and me when I assumed they would have a return policy. I kept remembering Marty taking his beer-soaked iPod into the Apple store in Portland and the cashier replacing it with a brand-new one before he could even finish saying, "Uh, I spilled some Tecate on this." Things ain't the same in Hong Kong! Fortress World will not exchange the computer. They will refund my money only after gouging a US$400 penalty. If I claim the machine has a factory defect, I must prove it to the manager. I tried everything to get them to take it back, then I made my long-suffering agency call and try everything again in Cantonese. No dice.

I felt as wretched as the most hideous sculpture of all time, a little piece I like to call "Doggy Style."


Then I went and got a questionable haircut, came home to find a large jackhammer-intensive construction project occuring immediately outside my apartment window, and I started feeling as wretched as the shoes from my speed-catalog job yesterday.


But anyway. It was cosmically stupid not to check the return policy at Fortress World, but the truth is I was eager to own a Mac and probably would have bought it even if I had known I wouldn't be able to return it. So now I must pretend this fiasco never happened, shake off my stuck-with-a-macitude, retire this NEC forever and start mastering the Mac. I will not get Windows XP for it. I will not be in a snit about it. In a month, I will surely love it, and the MacBook will know who's boss. Me!

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[info]twinkletits

February 7 2007, 07:22:08 UTC 5 years ago

I can't stop laughing at the sculpture.

And good luck with the Mac.

Anonymous

February 7 2007, 21:38:25 UTC 5 years ago

SCULPTURE!

I don't know if you have EVER been to Princeton, New Jersey, but thats where I'm from, and In the middle of campus there is that EXACT same statue. For REAL. That just blew my mind.

I used to climb on it when I was a little kid! We called it either the donut or the 8. Obvious reasons for either.

Anonymous

5 years ago

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Anonymous

5 years ago

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[info]kashimori

5 years ago

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[info]tacofordinner

February 7 2007, 07:22:38 UTC 5 years ago

Dear god, those shoes.

Anonymous

February 8 2007, 10:44:07 UTC 5 years ago

what? channnnnnnel knock offs?

or should we say 'inspired'?
hehehehehehheehhe.........

[info]annamaryse

February 7 2007, 07:24:36 UTC 5 years ago

Oh Elyse, thank you so much for posting today... and those shoes? I know someone who would KILL for those bootieful sandals... hahaha I am so serious, they're absolutely ghetto fabulous.

[info]mharvster

February 7 2007, 07:25:32 UTC 5 years ago

I actually JUST bought a mac last week as well and can understand some of your frustrations. This is definitely my big switch from the PC and it's taking painstaking time and effort to figure everything out. I like it for the most part but there are a few irritating things I haven't found a way around yet.

Good luck with yours!

PS...I loved your new video blog. Now that you're keeping your macbook you should certainly continue with more of that business.

[info]lithium_glitter

February 7 2007, 07:28:21 UTC 5 years ago

Those are some ass-ugly shoes, indeed.

I hope you learn to love your Mac. Or give up and pawn it after it freezes up for the zillionth time. Either way.

[info]evil_holls

February 7 2007, 07:32:59 UTC 5 years ago

you could always try to sell it on ebay, see if you get your money back.

[info]athenaworth

February 7 2007, 19:11:28 UTC 5 years ago

That's actually a really good idea. Especially since you're a 'net celebrity. You could probably get all of your money back if you did it that way.

[info]starstattootoo

February 7 2007, 07:36:29 UTC 5 years ago

Or there is always eBay.

I bet the hip cachet of owning a Mac once used by Revered Blogger, Published Photographer, International Fashion Icon, The Guy From The Shins Girlfriend, and America's Very First Third-to-Next Top Model Miss Elyse Sewell would add some monetary value to make up for the used-laptop factor.

Add in a smelly sock and some perv will pay top dollar.

Anonymous

February 7 2007, 07:59:41 UTC 5 years ago

Mac vs. Jesus

Actually its not really the Mac itself that is annoying. It is its cultish followers that gets to you. A little bit like with Jesus and Christians, if you get my point.

You will probably learn to, if not like it, at least to respect it. Just stay away from the cultists. They have a tendency to be as narrowminded as the bible quoting black ex-pageant queen I saw on this reality show a couple of years back.

[info]pajmo

5 years ago

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[info]onionist

5 years ago

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[info]pajmo

5 years ago

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5 years ago

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[info]rukh214

February 7 2007, 08:00:07 UTC 5 years ago

hi elyse - you (obviously) don't know me, but i saw you on ANTM and was a big fan. I've been reading your blog surreptitiously for some time, and decided to add you as a friend (but I'd been keeping up regardless.) Just thought I should "introduce" myself.

I was also considering getting a mac notebook, but the price in comparison to a windows notebook was exorbitant. now it shall be a windows laptop; sorry for the lack of shadenfreude =). now i am quite glad with my decision.

there are still stores out there with "no return policies"??! yikes - whod've thunk?

[info]buffy_kitten

February 7 2007, 08:00:49 UTC 5 years ago

Those MacBooks are gorgeous, but even I (a Mac girl since I was tiny) have some difficulty navigating my mum's work one.

That said, Macs in general are wonderful and well worth the initial trials. My old iMac hasn't crashed once since I deleted The Sims from it two years ago. And who can resists the sleekness of their style?

Anonymous

February 7 2007, 08:09:10 UTC 5 years ago

well, why the hell not get xp for it? why not run both?

http://www.parallels.com

make sure you have extra RAM. lots of it.

[info]isla_quack

February 7 2007, 08:14:41 UTC 5 years ago

as far as im concern,
hong kong shops don't usually allow customers to return things..

come to australia-
you can exchange / return practically anything with a receipt :)

[info]akustatik_

February 7 2007, 08:15:45 UTC 5 years ago

THAT'S THE SPIRIT. OWN that piece of mac sex!
but not the shoes.

[info]scotophobic

February 7 2007, 20:50:08 UTC 5 years ago

ICON LOVE!!!!!!

Anonymous

5 years ago

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[info]saxshackdan

February 7 2007, 08:17:19 UTC 5 years ago

No, trust me, the Mac will grow on you. I'm using a Dell laptop these days, one of the nicest money can buy, and I still miss my old iMac. It's just that X factor, I don't know what it is.

One cool thing you can do with a Mac is fuck around on GarageBand. You can record your own songs, do podcasts, that kind of thing. Your music-inclined boyfriend should be able to help you figure it out, although it's pretty intuitive.

[info]chanelsunglasse

January 26 2011, 13:20:32 UTC 1 year ago

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[info]optica8

February 7 2007, 08:19:29 UTC 5 years ago

It's the poor workman who blames their tools...

I have no idea what that means, but my father used to say it to me all the time. I got my StealthBook about 2 months ago and now love it. I still work with a PC at work and teach web crap in Unix (meh), but all in all love my lil black SmackBook. I can't imagine using a regular track pad anymore. The two finger scrolling just seems so intuitive after awhile.

The other cool thing is that there are lots of people who love to write cool software for Macs n' just give er away. For example I ♥ Del.icio.us library (http://www.delicious-monster.com/) and think Desktop Manger is just dandy (http://desktopmanager.berlios.de/screenshots.php).

Anonymous

February 7 2007, 08:24:39 UTC 5 years ago

Dear Elyse!

I hope you read this. My name is Jenny (21, from Germany) and I`m so a big fan of you. Here in Germany they send now the first season of Americas next Topmodel.

Your livejournal is the funniest thing I`ve ever found in world wide web! I love it.

My english is not very brilliant, so I need the help of my dictionary (heavenly invention). So I sit at the PC to read this livejournal, need a minute to find an unknown word in my dictionary and than: I laugh ;-D
I`m scared of choke one day, because I`m not able to stop. I really nearly died as I read your article about the dried lizard!

To your Mac- Problems: Fucking technic!!! I have an CD- recorder which doesn`t play pirated CD`s. And I have a lot of them! But what should I do? Maybe throw out the window (and when I have good luck, the recorder kills an unbearable neighbour)!

I like these shoes on the photo!!!!!

Maybe you can answer my comment? PLEASEEEE!!!! (Sorry, I became hysteric *LOL*)

All the best to you (and your dried lizard! What`s it`s name?),

Kisses from Germany, JENNY

(PS: Maybe I made some English- mistakes! SO DON`T LAUGH ABOUT IT! ;-)

[info]nitribitt

February 7 2007, 08:55:02 UTC 5 years ago

Re: Dear Elyse!

was, erst jetzt läuft die erste staffel von ANTM in deutschland? die hinken aber ziemlich hinterher.

for all non german speakers, i just said that i am surprised that german tv is showing ANTM cycle 1 in the moment. they are way behind.

cheers from the german guy who lives in switzerland now.

Anonymous

5 years ago

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[info]sunnydalegirl

5 years ago

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[info]xxkillingme

5 years ago

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[info]elysesewell

5 years ago

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5 years ago

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[info]taniaion

February 7 2007, 08:30:10 UTC 5 years ago

i feel the same way about my pc at home

such a beast after sailing so fast during the day,
to have to deal with strange quick keys
i have a wacom at work that i love so much,
especially for retouching,
being at home just does not compare.

*hearts, love*
t.

[info]e_ticket

February 7 2007, 08:30:52 UTC 5 years ago

Deep breaths. Your Mac and you will get along fine, methinks.

I use both XP and Mac, but prefer Mac when it comes to laptops. I'm on my third Mac laptop (two powerbooks and now a MacBookPro) after nearly a decade of Sony and Toshiba laptops, and they seem to adapt to travel better, or at least they have in my travels around the world. :)

And now your new laptop has a built-in videocamera -- more vLogs, please! ;)

[info]optica8

February 7 2007, 08:45:51 UTC 5 years ago

Maybe this will help...

http://bbspot.com/News/2003/01/os_quiz.php

[info]yo_soy_matadora

February 7 2007, 08:59:36 UTC 5 years ago

What a tremendously bizarre piece of footwear. Who knew there was a market for open-toe(foot) boots?

[info]heyzeus888

February 7 2007, 09:13:44 UTC 5 years ago

How To Fix Your MacBook

Hi Elyse,

Sorry to hear that you are having problems with your NEW MacBook. BTW, did you get the BLACK one or the WHITE one?

Here are some Mac articles that may help you tame your MacBook....

1. How to avoiding the Bat Signal (tm) by putting your MacBook into a DEEP SLEEP (i.e. Hibernate mode):
http://andrewescobar.com/archive/2005/11/11/how-to-safe-sleep-your-mac/

2. How to "hide the nekkid shots" from iPhoto. This article on rebuilding the iPhoto Library may help:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107947

3. How to "hide the nekkid shots" from being indexed and found by Spotlight:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2160.html

Hope these articles help and not too geeky.

Mike

Anonymous

February 7 2007, 09:14:35 UTC 5 years ago

You'll master that mac!

Just give it some time, I'm sure you'll love it! :)

[info]kyriesanctus

February 7 2007, 09:21:31 UTC 5 years ago

Note to self: no tech shopping or second-guessing in Hong Kong.

Return policies suck no matter where you are, though. I bought a brand new video game, $39, right? I go to return it, and just because the shrink wrap was off, I only get $11 for it. The clincher is that I didn't even remove the shrink wrap--it was my mother. (I wish I could say she owes me $28, but, eh, what you gonna do?)

Good luck with your Mac. I've heard good things, but, I'unno, I'm such a PC kind of person.

[info]zetai

February 7 2007, 09:26:03 UTC 5 years ago

Apple is like that

No discounts, and no returns (at least at resellers): "Bend over, consumers!" Oh, wait, that's why you inserted the doggystyle pic, which sculpture appears to have suffered a vigorous DPing, and mentioned the jackhammering, too. If you'd bought the Mac with an American Oppress card, you might have been able to return it anyway. I don't know if that card feature works outside the US.

Ship it back home and sell it on craigslist (free ads). Charge twice what it's worth like everyone else does. You might even get that much as a big celebrity 'n' stuff. Screw ebay and their gouging fees and attitude.

In the alternative, swallow the bulging restocking fee and skip the new iPod and the dime bag.

If you do keep the Mac, don't get rid of the NEC just yet. It's handy to have a second computer on hand when the first one goes out.

[info]periwinkle thanks you for the foot pr0n. I'm feeling sorry for the cow that had to die to produce that boot.

Anonymous

February 7 2007, 09:35:56 UTC 5 years ago

I get this picture in my head of Calvin (from Calvin and Hobbes) and his bike :)

His dad (the mac-enthusiast) imposing the wonders of the bike on Calvin...

Good luck with the mac :)

[info]lunargirrl

February 7 2007, 09:38:57 UTC 5 years ago

haha, i actually think the boots are pretty awesome! XD
don't shoot me! i'm a sucker for weird fashion tho.

i'd like them more strict in the design, less frilly.
but i'd definitely coo over these and want to use them
in my photoshoots too.

[info]whosapalandrome

February 7 2007, 14:45:11 UTC 5 years ago

re. shoes

dude, I would totally rock them if they came in kelly green leather. Then again, this coming from someone who's trying to non-ironically revive the fanny pack.
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