Word of Today: Frustration

What's that song from the early 90s I think... oh yeah, Soul Asylem - Misery. (May've misspelled the band's name there). Anyway, I can just think of the line "Frustrated Incorporated!" I know I'm a foreigner who doesn't speak more than a few words of Korean and I know how I feel as an American when people are like that where I live... but I really wanted to knock some teeth out today. To start off with, I went to exchange traveler's checks this morning at Woori Bank. The guy spoke more of my language than I did of his, so props to him. But I had ONE traveler's check that I wanted to exchange. I handed it to him along with my passport-- protocol for every other place I've exchanged money. Well he's trying to get me to open an account or something, he's taking down all my info, asking me where I live, calling my boss, etc. I'm not a fraud, you have my signature and my picture right there and it's all anyone else needs. So he kept trying to tell me that my address was necessary. I gave it to him not understanding why it's relevant. He gives me this other paper to fill out, I do. He wants my signature on the sheet saying that they can deposit the money into my account. NO! I WANT CASH! I handed him the check with my left hand, but with my right hand I pulled a 5000 won to me. I said "exchange?" He said yes. We went back and forth. I asked if I could exchange the check for cash. He writes on the paper, "Possible." So I took the sheet I filled out, my passport, my traveler's check, my boss's business card, and said "Thank you" to him in his language. He writes, "Busy" on the paper, followed by a "10 min" and tried to tell me that they have to call my bank/issuer of traveler's check to validate it. Listen buster, everyone else just watches me sign the thing and then forks over the cash. You don't need my life story to give me a hundred dollars worth of won! So he writes "12 min" and I wrote down, "I have already been here for 25 min" and he said, "Sorry!" And I said "Thank you" again in Korean, nodded politely to him, and left. There was a trail of steam following me the entire way home. I was so frustrated and confused! So I go home, get dressed, head to work. I get dirty eyed by some sleezy car salesmen on the way. One makes a remark, I ignore them and brush past heading to my school. He turns and watches me walk. Get a LIFE! But I'm ever conscious of being "that American" so I try extra hard to be courteous and avoid being nasty and leaving a bad impression, and rather than knock him out like I know I could have in one lick (he's half my size), I just kept going. Then I get to school, and there's no one here. The security man calls the director who tells him that we open at 1. Great, I'm an hour and fifteen early. I pull out my notebook and start being productive while I wait. The little man returns and opens the second floor. That's great b/c I then have a/c and a computer, but I can't start prepping for class b/c the 3rd floor is still closed. When everyone finally arrives and we're eating lunch (the director has treated everyone to lunch every single day!!) the Assistant Director asks me where I was last night. "At home?" I answer. "We went to have beer" she says. Well I guess I missed the memo!!! Oh well, they'll do it again, but I hope I didn't give the impression that I'm anti-social in the first week! So then I'm checking e-mail and CNN and reading about the absolutely awful status of things at home due to Katrina. My family seems to all be okay, but there are at least 3 in New Orleans I haven't heard from, including one cousin (with a husband and 11 month old) who had/has a house in Luling-- and I heard the Westbank got it pretty bad. (http://earth.google.com/) One friend's house was on the canal where the levee broke, another was 3 blocks from it and has her car and everything there. Or did. She also told me that a girl we know lost her father in the hurricane. My roommate's brother is a policeman who will have to work 12 hour shifts for the next 3 weeks-- and that's probably minimum. Her dad's office building has water up to the 3rd floor. Her sister-in-law is a nurse in Hammond whose hospital is accepting many of the airlifted patients from New Orleans. I actually teared up when I read her e-mail. I read on CNN about babies in ICU. And then, all these losers in gangs and whatnot are threatening a fight/riot of some sort? Seriously, all the ones with guns should nip that in the bud on the spot. I'm all about a no tolerance policy for these looters and gangs. To be so low in such an unheard of state of despair is of the lowest possible character. Including the 20 year old guy who looted a bus and drove up at the Astrodome (which is apparently becoming the new Superdome, as they are now housing all those who stayed behind in NO), expecting to get free goods I guess. He should be beaten to a pulp for wasting the gas and energy of those who had to waste time telling him to get the heck out. I got an email talking about the madness and mayhem at LSU at the PMAC and Field House where they are treating those coming in from New Orleans. One guy at Southgate Towers ordered 2,000 body bags. Mayor Nagin of New Orleans initially would not give death toll estimates, but is now saying minimum hundreds, likely thousands. They say the scene is worse than any movie. Slidell is pretty much gone, I'm told. Their mayor doesn't even know where his wife and child are. I e-mailed a friend in Pass Christian to see if he made it out, as I heard that Mississippi town is also flattened, but haven't heard back. I heard that tigerdroppings' OT loungs is a good place for info. From the same source, who works for the LPSC, we hear that BellSouth has lost almost all of their facilities. A friend in California (but from BR) said that Entergy has to rebuild. It seems that water in the city could be there until Christmas, which would mean that it would be several months after that before electricity is restored. My friends in school in NO may have to take classes at LSU as "visiting students" and for those in med school, I don't even know. I'm told that Lamar U in Beaumont is also taking New Orleans students. It's times like these when you find out what people are made of-- both the good and the bad. From those who are working nonstop to help those trapped in attics and on rooftops, and those working nonstop to steal what they can for themselves or break out of jail and take hostages, generators from ambulances, etc.


Copyright 2005 Olivia R. Reed