This afternoon I went for what should have been a relaxing walk on the relatively easy Nos. 7 and 8 trails in the Dakeng 大坑 area. However, as I was starting to wrap things up and head back downhill to my parked scooter, I noticed that the bottom of my right hiking boot was starting to peel off...again. This had happened earlier this year, back in April, and at that time my wife took the boot in to be repaired. It seems the repair work lasted all of...four months. So now I'm wondering who to blame. The choices are:
a.) the sporting goods store in Taichung 台中 which sold me the boots in the first place in the spring of last year;
b.) the elderly gentleman who repaired the boot;
c.) the middle-aged woman selling produce in the parking lot for the hiking trails (and whose food stands took up almost all the space on a public staircase) who had a good, long laugh at the hapless foreign barbarian and his equally hapless footwear;
d.) my wife, who came to the decision that a senior citizen working from a stand in a traditional market was more eminently qualified to fix my broken boot than the trained technicians at a professional repair service, or:
e.) all of the above.
As for f.) my fault, that isn't an option, as these are supposed to be hiking boots, dammit, and I was using them in the way the good lord (or the gods) intended.
Now, if here were Japan, or perhaps even Taipei 台北, I could just bring the boot in to the nearest branch of a company like Mr. Minit and have the job done right the first time. Unfortunately, if I mention this to my beloved, I will probably be accused of "complaining about Taiwan (again)". So, instead, I've got to figure out a way of subtly convincing Pamela that seeing as this is the year 2011 and not 1961, we don't have to use the same services that her mother would utilize in these sorts of situations.
Wish me luck.
An example of the fine craftsmanship and attention to detail for which Taiwan is noted
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