My Big Pi Problem – 我的树莓派在哪

Yes, I meant Pi not Pie. Although the thought of Raspberry Pie sounds pretty good right now. But anyway, this post is about a small computer known as a Raspberry Pi.

Although I meticulously packed and created a complete list of everything we needed or our three months in Malaysia, when I got here I tore the place apart looking for my Raspberry Pi that I was sure I had packed. But after looking through every closet and room, and this place has many, I logged into my computer at home and discovered it was still there, presumably on my desk, humming away.

Well, you could say that was good news since now I could focus on other things and maybe spend some quality time relaxing by the pool, but no. It was bothering me as I had planned to spend some time trying to solve a major issue that had cropped up just before we left. I wont bore you with those details but it was some sort of gremlin that had creeped into the automation and everything went screwy just weeks before we left!

So I thought I could just find a store here in Penang that sold them and went shopping to various malls and electronics stores and, although they had heard of them, no one actually stocked them in their stores. They all said I would have to buy it online. Ok, but how? How do I get something delivered here when we don’t really have a mailbox. I could have asked the owner, but I thought that was too much trouble. So I searched online and found a company in Penang that manufactures them for local hobbyists. It was only an hour away by car so pretty doable. So simple right?

Well it turns out this company has an online store but getting them to accept a credit card proved impossible. We tried multiple times and every time our various cards were denied. So I spoke with customer support and they said I could use Direct Cash Deposit to their account and then show them I had paid and I could then pick up the Raspberry Pi at their “Self Collect” window. So the next day, after failing to find an ATM that would accept a cash deposit, I rented a bike and peddled down to the Gurney area to the Maybank where I could make the deposit at the teller window.

After successfully confirming that they got the funds, they said I could pick it up in about an hour. So I hailed a Grab and took the hour trip to Bukit Mertajam, a city across the bridge from Penang Island. Since it was a Grab taxi, and I only needed a few minutes to pick up the Pi so I negotiated a return fare, off the Grab books, so I didn’t need to wait for a new pickup.

So now, about three hours later, I am back at home. Connecting to the pi and hoping it’s delicious!

是的，我是说的Pi，不是Pie。尽管此刻一个树莓派点甜 （Raspberry Pie）听起来相当不错。但不管怎样，这篇记录是关于一个被称为树莓派（Raspberry Pi）的小型电脑。

尽管我精心列出了我们在马来西亚三个月所需的所有东西清单，当我到达这里后，我却四处翻找我确信自己已经带来了的树莓派。但是，我找遍了这个公寓里的每一个衣橱和房间，都没发现它的身影。然后我登录到我在家的电脑后发现它仍在家里，正在工作。

嗯，你可以说这是个好消息，因为现在我可以专注于其他事情，也许还可以在游泳池旁放松一下，但不行。这让我很困扰，因为我计划花一些时间尝试解决我们离开前不久出现的一个重大问题。在这里我省略细说那些细节，但那是就在我们出发的几周前，我设计的自动化系统变得乱七八糟！

所以我计划在槟城再买一个树莓派，于是去了几个购物中心和电子商店，虽然他们都听说过树莓派，但没有人实际在店里备货。他们都说我必须在线购买。好吧，当我们没有真正的邮箱时，我如何在这里收到东西呢？我本可以问房东，但我觉得那太麻烦了。所以我在网上搜索，找到了一家为本地爱好者制造树莓派的槟城公司。只需开车大约一个小时就很容易到达。很简单，对吧？

嗯，事实证明这家公司有在线商店，但让他们接受信用卡支付简直是不可能的。我们尝试了多次，每次我们的各种卡都被拒绝。所以我与客服交谈，他们说我可以直接存现金到他们的账户，然后向他们显示我的支付证明，然后我就可以到他们公司取货了。所以第二天，在未能找到一个接受现金转账的ATM后，我租了一辆自行车，踏车前往Gurney区的马来亚银行在柜台进行付款转账。

在成功确认他们收到了资金后，他们说我大约一个小时后可以取货。所以我叫了一辆Grab，花了一个小时的车程到了槟城对面的城市——武吉玛莱珠。这个公司在一片工业区，人烟稀少，Grab的司机同意在我取货的时候等我。很顺利地取到了我的树莓派！回程的车费是我和司机谈判好的，50马币，支付现金。

所以现在，大约三个小时后，我回到家里，连接好我的树莓派，希望它很美味！