des ennuis

I recently got some tax documents that declare that I owe Uncle Jang, the Korean government, 1.6 million won. Now, had this come to me last year, I'd have been spitting nails. This year, however, I can just yawn, which is a good feeling. Admittedly, this does put a dent in the hull of my unsinkable budget, but it's not that big a deal, especially as I can figure out which corners to cut. That's a good feeling. All the same, I'm a bit rankled about having to pay such a lump sum; up to now, I've been pampered by universities that did my taxes for me. That may no longer be the case if the Golden Goose doesn't provide tax-filing services. Not to worry; I can muck my way through this with an online dictionary and help from my boss.

Another thing giving me shit, though, is my cell phone. After years of not doing anything, Samsung/Android decided the time had come to do a system-wide update of my operating system. Such updates arrive unbidden, and in this case, I wasn't given an option as to whether to update, unlike the polite way Apple approaches Mac OS updates (with Mac, you can opt to remain with an antiquated OS). So I updated my Samsung Galaxy S4 (this is a pre-explosion-era phone, so no worries), then one of the programs suddenly went wild today and basically crashed everything. I had no choice but to go online and do a search for my phone's particular problem. Luckily, it was easy to find several online forums that dealt with problems similar enough to mine. I quickly discovered how to root out the offending program and rebuild my phone's various screens, including the home screen. This sort of problem annoys me because it was preventable—a completely unnecessary waste of time. By the time I finish rebuilding my screens tonight, I'll simply be right back where I started before all hell broke loose.

It also looks as though my post-election party tomorrow is going to fall through: two of my projected four guests are sick; one of the sick guys said he definitely can't make it, while the other announced he's been sick all week, which I take to mean that he'll probably be sick tomorrow. I'm going to try to reschedule the gathering for Sunday, November 20. I'm not a fan of Sunday parties because I have to go to work the very next day, but if Sunday is the best day for everyone, then so be it.