Batteries

I need a new battery for my digital camera. This has caused me much anguish in the last month or so for two reasons:

1. You can't find a CR-V3 (which kevin pointed out sounds like C3PO) anywhere in this city.
2. No one understands how difficult it is to find this damn thing and most of the time my 'I can't find a battery for my camera' comment is followed by 'Why don't you just charge it?' As if if I had the option to recharge I'd be looking for a damn battery. Are you people really that dumb?! Bejebus!

So, the other day I went to this store that FINALLY had this ridiculous CR-V3 battery, which I'm still convinced is just two double A's batteries attached by a very flimsly little piece material. Anyway, the battery costs 18,000 pesos, which is roughly 36 dollars. 36! Dollars! Needless to say this price seemed a little bit, oh, excessive, and I considered storming out immediately yelling things in French and kicking babies. But then I saw they had a relatively reasonable alternative: a rechargable CR-V3. This might be something, I thought. So I had the guy bring one out and test it to make sure it works and all that jazz. And, of course, the thing didnt work. Lights were blinking and it looked like things were happening but really there was nothing except the guy from the store fiddling with some kind of screwdrivers, some little machine with numbers and this idiot battery charger that couldn't have charged Whitney Houston's ass on crack. So, he tried to tell me it doesn't work because it's 'too new.' I, in turn, gave him my very famous 'do i look THAT stupid to you, because fine i would have totally still bought this thing if you had just told me it works but now that you said that i know you're full of shit' look.

He was prompted to order up another charger to test, cocky in his feeling that the next one would either work or he'd pretend it did and sell it to me anyway. I was prompted to pick up the little paper with instructions (in english!) that came with the charger and read it. When the next charger came out — after I had already been at this store watching this guy fiddle for a charger for 25 minutes — it, again, failed to even pretend like it was charging. I then had the following conversation with the sales guy:

Me: "The light is supposed to be red when it's charging."
Sales guy: "No, no, it's charging now."
Me: "No, it has to be red when it's charging. This one is just blinking green like the other one was. That means that it's ready to charge but not that it's charging."
Sales guy: "No."
Me: "How are YOU going to tell ME how the thing works!" [pulling out little paper with instructions] "The paper that came WITH the charger says it has to be red! You can't tell me how it works, it says it right here! That light is not red"
Sales guy's friend: "Haha, you have to learn english"
Me: [cocky smile] "well, I mean that's what the paper says. See here where it says 'red'" [pointing to the word 'red' on the paper] "that says that the light has to be red. Red. Not green. I'm not going to buy some thing that doesn't work. I may as well just throw my money at you."

Suffice it to say I left that store feeling pretty awesome and knowledgeable for...well, basically for speaking english and being able to follow simple directions and sales guy felt pretty damn crunchy.

I hate sales people and love english now. Also, my mom is sending me two (!) CR-V3 batteries that she paid 15 dollars for. So, take that city of Santiago with your overpriced batteries. (Thanks mom!)

Suckers.

- E

p.s. I saw at least three really, really bratty children today that made me geniunely thank the lord for the horrible cramps I get once a month, 'cause you know if I had a kid he/she would be the world's most hyper-active spoiled terrible thing on the planet. And I'd definitely have to consider (i said consider!) accidentally driving away while he/she is peeing at a gas station - one that's very far away from home and from where our path cannot be tracked, naturally.