No, this isn't another, presumably about the Leafs, hockey post! First of all the game tonight was so long, I just don't have the energy to talk about it, and secondly, a blog friend gently pointed out that I've been "pretty into" hockey recently, so I felt that I should give any non-hockey/non-playoff-following readers a break. =Þ
After much searching, I have finally found a copy of the "Marmalade Boy Final Edition" cd up for auction on ebay. The only problem is, the seller only ships within the US. ARGH!! Now I'm in the unhappy positioning of having to ask my friend in the States to do me the favour of accepting the shipment, if I win, and sending it to me here in Canada. Regardless of whether or not my friend actually would mind doing this for me, I hate having to ask. It's such a hassle, and at a time when I know that my friend really doesn't need any extra work. =/
So, as much as I love Canada, there are times when I almost--almost but not quite--wish that I either lived in the States, or Canada and the States were more connected, via common currency, together as one country, or something. It sounds preposterous, even to me, I know, but these are the frustrations of years of a Canadian otaku speaking.
Why is it so much more difficult to get stuff in Canada than the States? I don't know, I really don't know why, but it is, and that's a fact. There are theatrical releases in the States that Canadians never get. Way more conventions are held in the US than in Canada. Many major cities in the US have anime stores, while most stores in Canada merely carry anime. Lots of anime items are available through ebay, but the currency of auctions is almost always US dollars, and that's a big hassle considering the current exchange rate. The supplier for my main local anime retailer either isn't getting, or doesn't want to send Pioneer dvds to Canada, for some reason, so I've had to look to more expensive sources to finish off my Ayashi no Ceres collection. Some fansub distributors, like Kodocha, refuse to ship to Canada, making it necessary to search for high quality fansubs from non-source distributors. The list of grievances just goes on and on.
As patriotic as I am, I can't help but wonder how much easier life as an otaku would be if we had a common Canada-US currency. I wouldn't always have to do mental conversions to make sure that the price was still reasonable in Canadian dollars. *sigh* But I love Canada, I really do, so I guess I'll just have to deal with the hassle. =Þ
