After getting a new laptop two werks ago, I had to learn how to use the new mechine. This was quite a big upgrade from my eight years’ old laptop with very old software. This new laptop was full of strange new programs or software which I never encounter before. So, the learning process began slowly and gingerly. The machine actually went dark and blacked out on the second day. So I had to go back to the shop for some solutions. Thr staff had to update the operation system as it had not been updated at the factory. That took over an hour to get things in order. I was very glad for all the assistance I got from that IT shop.
I has been very busy with several errands so it took me a few days to have the quiet time to work on the new laptop. I needed fast internet speed which meant that I had to access WiFi at a secured location. It’s weekend, so I couldn’t visit a library where I could have free WiFi access. I called an old friend who worked at the university in city center where WiFi should be available everyday. Luckily, my friend had to do some work in the office on the weekend so I was welcomed to join her in her office.
I usually used the hotspot on my iPhone for connecting to the internet. But the speed seemed to be much slower after the lastest software upgrade. The staff at the mobile phone company told me she had the same problem so she changed the sim card for me. I still had to update the new system on my laptop which meant I needed the high speed connection. At first I wasn’t quite sure whether my old friend would be willing to help me out. I knew her health has been quite poorly as she caught a bad flu from her assistant. But she was very helpful and invited me to work on her office.
I always found it difficult to ask for help from other people as my past experiences with friends were quite disappointing. I often had to support and help other people in the past. But my time and energy weren’t much appreciated and people often took me for granted as if it was my duty to service their needs. So, I had to slowly back off from the social setting. Most people were just too skillful in exploiting others without much consideration. I had to stop helping others at my own expenses.
So, my old friend’s offer came as a surprise to me. I was glad to have the chance to get to know her better. When the things were running routinely normal, people could appear to be nice and sociable. Only in time of difficulty and crisis, we would have the chance to see who could be counted as true friends. The old Thai saying reflected the scarcity of good friends. “One would be very lucky to have as many true friends as the number of fingers on one hand.” Through time, this has been proven by my own experiences.
The parking space at the university was very spacious with lots of available parkjng spaces during the weekend. I followed her instructions and waited around the big lawn. This old university was very large with several football fields and lots of old trees. I had the opportunity to walk around and took photos of the old trees. The surrounding buildings were very quiet during weekends. During weekdays, the whole place would be packed with crowds and the car park would be full of cars.
I noticed a lot of workers on the lawn trying to set up a stage, as if there was going to be a concert. Several large boxes of gadgets and lightings were piled on the ground. It was quite entertaining watching those workers building the stage incrementally. I could have watched them for two or three hours so I could see a concert stage taking shape in reality. My friend arrived to take me up to her department. I could have my own working space in the meeting room while my friend worked in her small office with very low ceiling and without windows. I couldn’t possibly work in a room without windows though it was fully air conditioned. So, it was good to have the meeting room to myself.
We worked for almost two hours before the department would be closed by the staff. I did manage to upload all the software updates, but I couldn’t customise the laptop yet. All the settings and icons looked so unusual and were at the wrong places for me. I would need teo more days to get used to the new machine. It wasn’t intelligent enough to get self-organised according to my preferences. It would be nice if AI could be implemented in the laptop and adjust all the icons, colour schemes and fonts according to my command.
My friend still had the cold symptoms, her voice had almost disappeared so we couldn’t have any serious conversation. At least her spirit was very strong and lively. She was very generous and invited me to have dinner at the small Japanese restaurant near her apartment. We had known each other over ten years but we weren’t very regular in meeting up. We were both busy and occupied with our lives. My friend appreciated my outspoken habit and we often had to fight for the chance of speaking. We were both quite opinionated and argued often to win the points of discussion. I told her several times that she was too gullible and had to be more critical.
It’s very generous of her to listen to my criticism. Most Thai people couldn’t put up with my straight talk. My friend knew that I was mostly spot on with all the facts and evidence in our discussions. She had no time to do further research and investigation on the matter. She taught me to be patient and accept people’s limitations. I respected and admired her kind heart though her gullibility did exasperate me sometimes. She used to follow a doctor YouTuber who tried to persuade people to get Covid jabs every six months. I was exasperated and shocked when she confessed to me that she had five Covid vaccines! My warnings and information were brushed aside as her fear overshadowed her critical thinking.
She ended up visiting the hospital with thyroid problems for almost a year and her cyst also exploded. So, I had to force her to take detox medication for a long time. She came out much healthier than her colleagues and some had already passed away. But her immune system was devastated and the cold symptoms persisted much longer than usual. I had to remind her to take the proper supplements to boost the immune system. I couldn’t let a good friend be in poorly shape too long. I hopef that my friend would start becoming critical thinker and questioning words sprouting out by authorities and professional people.
Wishing you peace, good health and prosperity.
Stay strong and cheerful.