I have made friends in far places and in unlikely instances.  I received a replacement for my new $36.00 printer which worked perfectly until I used a double size black cartridge.  This new replacement printer did the same thing: it told me that the black double size ink cartridge was unacceptable despite it being sold by Hewlett-Packard.  The new friends I made yesterday were in Alabama calling them to complain about the Computer for it suddenly sulked and would not transmit e-mails.  The two other people involved were from Manila and tried to work out the problem with the new printer.

The reason for this essay is to pass on a technique I have learned through trial and error.  Instead of high dudgeon expressed in very mean terms for the inconvenience problems with my internet connections, hardware and software I have not been surly as I really feel.  I tone down impatience and just listen to the foreign accents (one only in Manila - hard to follow).  I try not to ask questions about which I have hundreds.  Instead, I listen carefully and try all the things I am asked to do.

Somewhere in the lengthy period of time in which I tie up my household communications, I lightly ask where my helper from Dell or HP is calling from.  I usually get a friendly answer for I ask in a friendly way.  Then we are off to comparing notes on the weather and my new friend on the other end of the telephone line goes off on how awful some places have and how cold it is in Manila, pretty warm in Alabama and, I add, how balmy the weather is in South Florida.

One interesting bit of information I have picked up over the years dealing with foreign friends is that they all have it in for Microsoft.  My machine tells me on occasion that errors have occurred with my Outlook Express and that I should tell Microsoft about it.  My buddies from Alabama, Mumbai to Manila all tell me the same thing.  I am given the choice of telling Microsoft about the problem or to click "cancel".  Each of these now close friends automatically tell me to cancel telling Microsoft about this problem.  I don't know why and they are reluctant to tell me a trade secret.

But, despite the long telephone tie ups and my dutifully checking "don't send" messages to Microsoft, I seemed to be able to remember the drill of doing this and that and, Lo and Get Hold, my newest printer seems to be working just fine while my Manila partner tells me he has to go and talk to the higher ups to inform them about my great distress.  I think I am going to get the regular size black cartridge and see how that works. It is nice to have friends in far places. The longest call was the next day with Tom in India.