UK Service Sucks But It Could Be Worse

It has been four months since I’d moved into my new home which had exposed the massive deterioration in the service sector in the UK. There was a time, which seems like a distance memory now, where service was top notch. First class mail would be delivered the following day or the day after at the latest. Now it could be a week. One letter was delivered three weeks late! An appointment for a telecom engineer can be arranged within the week. Now you have to wait three to four weeks for the engineer to pay a visit.

Thankfully, nearly all of the problems have been resolved with the mattress arriving yesterday albeit at 7.30AM! The first mattress delivered in November was the wrong one and was returned. It took two months before a refund was credited. A new mattress was ordered at the end of December and somehow my order “got lost in the system.”   

I’m not even going to detail all the mishaps and problems as it will probably irk me and my blood pressure needs to stay stable. Suffice to say, all that remained was the delivery of my microwave which should have arrived yesterday but didn’t. This was the second time a redelivery for the microwave was arranged and the parcel failed to appear. The courier in question is DHL. It stands for Damaged, Hidden or Lost.

Several hundred pages were ripped out in-between

What was your worst service-related situation?

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Drop A Comment Please (because I’m such a comment whore)

I had the pleasure of meeting Chris in person when I was in Thailand. Chris was probably one of the last subscribers to regularly drop comments on my blog before my hiatus. In his post where he’d disclosed some information about himself and the benefits of blogging on xanga, Chris mentioned only about 10-20% of his subscribers ever dropped a comment and said “Hello”. The remainder could be blogging stalkers! I do agree that commenting on someone’s blog will open up a communication channel and a new friendship could blossom. If Chris and I didn’t comment on each other’s blog then it is doubtful we would have met during my time in Bangkok.

Back in the day (when I’d lived in Amsterdam) where I’d blogged regularly, my subscriber base was over 400 and my estimate is that around 50 subscribers ever commented on my blog. And I have met quite a lot of that 50 during my travels, some of whom have become good friends to this day. There are still a couple I maintain contact with but never had the opportunity to meet in person yet. As more people I subscribe to lost interest in blogging and the amount of comments diminished, I guess I began to lose interest too. Plus I had moved back to London and discovered free time for blogging was rapidly becoming a luxury. Xanga losing all my photos pre-2005 and not responding to my messages played a significant part. I’m still pissed off about that. Since the layout change I have no idea how many subscribers but it still looks like a lot.

For some reason I have rediscovered my motivation for blogging but whether that is sustainable remains to be seen. So for new readers – and old – please drop a comment and say “Hello”. Let’s make this community a welcoming confluence of social interaction.

For New Readers

Something about my blogging style:

I blog about anything and everything… from the mundane to the controversial. Some might find my style can be too abrasive and blunt for their taste. I also poke fun at anything and anyone irrespective of nationality, gender, sexual preference and eating habits. If you think you might take it personally then please do not subscribe or read my blog.

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Hopeful Kiwi Immigrant

A New Zealander is hoping to emigrate to Australia and arrives at Brisbane airport on a beautiful sunny morning full of optimism for the future.

“What is your business in Australia?” politely asks the customs officer.

“I want to emigrate to Australia.”

“Do you have a criminal record?”

Stunned, the crestfallen Kiwi replies, “Geez bro, I didn’t think you still needed one!”

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Europe According To…

 

The Chinese Jay Sean?

Another Asian from London is hoping to make his mark in the R ‘n’ B community: Stevie Hoang. I work for a music television company and it was heartening to see his music video playing in a chart show. I hope his latest single, No Coming Back, receive heavy rotation.

After all, Hoang needs all the exposure if he is emulate that other Asian Londoner – Jay Sean. After many years of success in his native UK, Jay Sean finally cracked the USA last year. Although it is great to see an Asian break into the music scene on a global scale dominated by Caucasians and Blacks with the odd Latina, my only criticism is: did Jay Sean really need to adopt a generic non-Asian stage name to do so?

Is Jay Sean, real name Kamaljit Singh Jhooti, attempting to hide his ethnicity in order to gain global success? He could have just as easily adopt a stage name such as Jay Singh. Anyway, kudos to Stevie for maintaining his surname Hoang as an artist. 

 

Lazy Journalism For Mixed Asians?

When Tiger Woods won his first major PGA tournament, he was hailed as the first “Black” and “African-American” golfer to do so and will inspire black kids to follow suit. Rarely, if at all, was the mention that he is actually half Thai Chinese. He should have been hailed as the first Black Asian golfer to win a major PGA tournament. Woods actually also has a small dose of Native American and Dutch blood in his genetic makeup. 

I always read and hear in the media (mostly British) of other personalities being referred to as just “Black” when it clearly isn’t the case. I wish these lazy journalists use the correct term.

“Black” personalities who are actually Black Asian or Afro Asian or Blasian: 

Singer Amerie who is half Korean

Olympic decathlon champion Bryan Clay who is half Japanese

Model and actor Tyson Beckford who is a quarter Chinese 

Singer songwriter Ne-Yo who is a quarter Chinese

 

Singer Cassie who is half Filipina

And then there is the “Latino”:

Singer Enrique Iglesias who is half Filipino

*sorry for the typo earlier if you’re from the Philippines

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Irish Petrol Station

A petrol station owner in Dublin was trying to increase his sales. So, he put up a sign that read, ‘Free Sex with Fill-Up.’

Soon Paddy pulled in, filled his tank and asked for his free sex. The owner told him to pick a number from 1 to 10. If he guessed correctly, he would get his free sex.

Paddy guessed 8, and the proprietor said, ‘You were close. The number was 7. Sorry. No sex this time.’

A week later, Paddy, along with his friend Mick, pulled in for another fill-up. Again he asked for his free sex. The proprietor again gave him the same story, and asked him to guess the correct number.

Paddy guessed 2 this time. The proprietor said, ‘Sorry, it was 3. You were close, but no free sex this time.’

As they were driving away, Mick said to Paddy, ‘I think that game is rigged and he doesn’t really give away free sex.’

Paddy replied, ‘No it ain’t, Mick. It’s not rigged at all at all. My wife won twice last week.’ 

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What’s Really In Australia

 

 

Happy Year Of The Tiger

&

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

…even though I don’t give a toss about either but some folks do apparently.

The former I couldn’t care less. It’s all Chinese superstitious nonsense. I rate it leagues below Christmas. And Christmas is just for kids. The latter is just a marketing gimmick to proliferate consumerism. I mean, why would you need one day in a year to tell someone you love them and that they are special? Especially the manifestation of that love in a form of an expensive gift and an overpriced mediocre dinner at an overbooked restaurant? 

It’s has been eons since I’d blogged properly and good to know the cynicism in me is still flowing freely!

And before anyone start jabbing their finger at me with the overused remark “No wonder he’s single”, I was recently in a relationship and I was the one who dumped her. And as a couple of friends earnestly pointed out, dating in London is expensive. I was pretty glad to be out of that relationship. The money I would have spent on her I now spend on myself. Or rather my new home. Being the techno-geek that I am, I’d invested in a new bundle of home entertainment and it is my pride and joy. They give me hours of pleasure without being needy, clingy, desperate, bigmouthed and smouldering.

Being single again, I was able to independently revisit Thailand last month. Photos on the way.

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There’s A Fly In My Champagne

A multi-national company held a reception to celebrate their success. The waiter gave each guest a glass of champagne, but on inspection, each guest noticed that their glass contained a fly.

* The Swede asked for new champagne in the same glass
* The Englishman demanded to have new champagne in a new glass
* The German picked the fly out and drank the champagne
* The Russian drank the champagne, fly and all
* The Chinese ate the fly but left the champagne
* The Israeli caught the fly and sold it to the Chinese
* The Italian drank two thirds of the champagne and then demanded to have a new glass
* The Norwegian took the fly and went off to fish
* The Irishman ground the fly and mixed it in the champagne, which he then donated to the Englishman
* The American sued the restaurant and claimed for a $50 million compensation
* The Scotsman grabbed the fly by the throat and shouted, ‘Now spit out all that you swallowed.’

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Flasher Imminent