then there are blackbirds

UPS just added an extra layer of fuckery to my phone replacement headache: today they sent me an email claiming that I had to pay them C$174.50 in import fees, more than 30% of the phone price! Being suspicious, I of course turned to google, and it turns out UPS has been trying to scam people into paying exorbitant brokerage charges since at least 2010. After calling UPS, who denied that there were any fees included beyond duty and taxes, I went to the local Canadian customs office to check for myself. Turns out there ARE no duty fees for shipping a smartphone, and the provincial taxes that I'm actually supposed to pay are approximately $80. That's a ~$90 brokerage fee of dubious legality that they tried to pretend didn't exist! If you see suspicious charges for UPS or another private shipping company, heads up: it's definitely possible (if bloody inconvenient) to clear the package with customs yourself and not have to pay the broker fees. At least this is the case for Canada; I'm not sure about the rules/procedures in other international shipping contexts. >:|

In happier news:

1. The lady at the customs office was also disgusted, and spent a long time on the phone with UPS trying to help me resolve paperwork so I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of rejecting the package, getting it sent back to the warehouse, and coming back to customs to pay the taxes. UPS hung up on her, so I'll still have to do it, but I appreciated all the time and trouble she went to to give it a shot.

2. Swung by Chinatown on the way home and picked up bakery treats, baozi, fan tuan, and a few grocery items. :9

3. Practice with S tonight! Probably we'll be reviewing the choreo instead of finishing it, but hey, either way I get to dance off my frustrations.

新年快樂! Last night I:
- watched Pink (the Bollywood film) with roommate and honorary roommate, which involved some shouting at the screen and also lots of cackling about Batman!Amitabh Bachchan;
- went to an awesome Szechuan restaurant in Chinatown with them and a couple of former housemates for New Year's Eve dinner, where I enthusiastically over-ordered things, including 水煮魚* (I confused people by saying to leave some for the next day, which they interpreted as "you want to leave it at the restaurant?!"), spicy cumin chicken, and a sizzling platter of... potatoes;
- ended the night with some beer with two classmates, which is always fun for the conversational sidetracks we manage to get into. Yesterday's included anarchists, inappropriate Tinder profiles, awkward loud street conversations, and old ladies who shout back when shouted at.

Small-group socialization is so much less draining; definitely a good way to go this year. Also, it amuses me- when it doesn't kind of sadden me- that I celebrated new year with not a single other Chinese person.