A White Day to Remember!

White Day (and for those of you not familiar with Asian culture...something similar to Valentines Day) for me was by far the most romantic day of my life.

Well, it didn't get romantic until I arrived home very very late Saturday night/Sunday morning after our Presentation Competition at school. I was feeling lethargic and ready for bed. I go upstairs and try to put in my door code so I can snuggle in my bed...and then all of the sudden something dreadful happens. The light that usually turns on when I hit the key pad on my door isn't shining. I pushed the button again, thinking there must have been some communication error between myself and the door. But still, no response. The door had officially declared it's resignation from functioning.

Sooo what do I do? I have no key...I go down to the lobby to attempt to communicate with the security guards that something is amiss. Well, what do you know when I reach B1 (the lobby) a security guard is walking in the elevator. I explain to him in impeccable charades exactly what is going on. Making a complete jerk out of myself using a combination of hand signals, strange noises, and broken Korean AND English (I often find myself talking like a retard utilizing half sentences and desultory words) I finally have explained the situation. However, the problem is still at large. He tries the door, I suppose thinking that he has some sort of Korean magic touch that will make the door open. I mean, yes, I do suppose the door and I don't speak the same language...and I really do mean that because "she", on a regular basis, whispers sweet nothings to me in Korean when I open and lock the door. I admit, I'm a bit bitter that the security guard has a certain relationship with my door, that I may never be able to obtain. Either way his attempt to speak to "her" was nothing but a ginormous failure.

He tells me he will tell the engineer about the door and he will fix it. I say thank you...thinking this will only take a little while I go to the PC house that is in my apartment. I wait about an hour and head back up to my room...I am now fully prepared to crawl into my bed. Well, what do you know, still no light. So, at this point I go back down to the main floor...and repeat the original explanation process adding a few more ambiguous sounds, just for good measure.

After finally resorting to the dictionary on my phone, communication is complete. They are going to put new batteries in my door. The security guard is quite eager to help me out...he grabs my hand and tells me how cold I am...then being the gentleman he is gets his space heater and points it at my feet. We wait for about 5 minutes while he makes some phone calls. Then, he takes me to this room by the garage where another guy is waiting. He asks me if I speak Korean...obviously I say no...IF I did, in fact, know Korean I probably would not be in this predicament at all.

Then, the security guard that brought me there asks me if I want something warm to drink...obviously using different terminology. I accept. He brings me some coffee while the other guy is busy photocopying my ARC card. He comes back with a cup. I take it from him, and then he notices that the machine they use for the hot coffee is actually out of coffee beans. Well, he was far more upset about it than I was because he started yelling at the other guy about how they need to refill the machine...I could understand because of his telling gestures. They got my name (or so I thought) and after I signed something...probably selling myself for prostitution or something...they told me they were going to buy me some batteries and fix my door.

We went back to the lobby and resumed our cozy conversation by the heater...and when I say conversation I mean he just smiles dumbfoundedly at me the whole time. 5 warm minutes go by and we head up to my apartment. We wait about 1 minute and the other guy shows up. They open my door and insert the new batteries. The guy then calls me Baker, which I guess he assumes is my first name...I correct him, and then thank them for all their help. Finally, I get some rest...well at least for a little while. The moral of the story is that the door and I have rekindled our bond and our White Day tiff is a thing of the past.
As an added bonus the security guard now tries to say my name when he greets me...
Happy White Day, my friends and family...I miss you dearly!!!