Okay. So I procrastinated in sending a card out and thus I chose to order flowers online to send it to mom for her birthday. The typical cina in me thought the most “value for money” would be the potted rose plant. It looked really cute, okay? Let me show you what I mean.

I chose the pink one because it looked sweeter than the yellow.

When I got the email this morning confirming that my order has been delivered, I called mom to ask if she liked what she saw. I was even confident I’d get a happy, excited, gushy response. Instead, she went, “Oh…uhmm…next time don’t waste this kind of money okay.”

“Oh. Why? You don’t like it?”

Then she went on to say that it’s the thought that counts and I asked her how did it look like. She told me that when she got the box, there was soil all over in the box. She thinks the box was not stored upright during delivery. There’s the other issue about the plant being botak of its leaves and flowers. Basically what she described was a half dead (if not dead and dried!) plant. I was shocked and I felt really bad that she received such a lousy gift. I know it wasn’t my fault in the delivery of it (unless if it’s someone wanting to carry out a really sick joke) but I felt so embarrassed that she got what she got – how would you feel when you receive half dead flowers from a loved one? Exactly! I was expecting this lush looking plant (refer to screen shot at the top)!

I went online to check out their guarantee and searched for reviews of their services – you guessed it, it has happened to other people before. Honestly, how do they make the money? From people who do not complain? Mom said she will get Emily’s help to snap a photo of the plant and send it to me. I thought I may need that before I lodge a complaint. I only thought of making the complaint after reading their guarantee – GUARANTEE okay?

—

QUOTE:

[We guarantee that all our flowers, plants and preserved items will last at least 7 days or your money back. If for any reason you are not satisfied with the freshness of your flowers, please call or email us and we will gladly replace the bouquet or refund your money. Potted plants have an extended guarantee of 14 days.]

—

FOURTEEN DAYS! If they meant from the time they were harvested from the fields, that should leave us about 10 days minus delivery, etc. – because they say they ship fresh from growers.

Since they say I could call or email, I decided to email:

—

QUOTE:

[I made an order for a potted pink rose on 7/21/10 to be delivered on 7/23/10. When I received the confirmation email that my order has been delivered, I called my mother to ask if she liked it. I was disappointed and shocked to hear that the plant was missing its leaves and only a few buds remained. The box was also apparently not stored in a upright position during delivery because the soil was all over in the box when she opened it.

Your website's guarantees items would last at least 7 days - and potted plants have an extended guarantee of 14 days!

I am not sure if I'd like a replacement if the replacement is anything like what my mother received today. If you are able to send a replacement pot that fits your advertisement (or at least, a viable plant and not a half dead one), I'd be glad to have it sent to my mother, else I'd rather receive a refund.

Please advise, thank you.]

—

I felt really stink to complain but hey, if it was not EXACTLY the same, I understand – but we’re talking about viability of a plant. This gift is suppose to “last for years”.

The reply was quite prompt – offering replacement or refund or store vouchers. I checked with mom and she said she didn’t want to go through another lot of sad looking plant (in the reply email, no mention of guaranteeing the state of the plant) arriving at the office. I asked for the refund and got another email not too long after informing me that it will take 5-7 days to fully process it.

—

QUOTE:

[Please accept our sincere apologies for the way the rose plant was delivered]

—

Apologies accepted but I am not too sure if I’d want to use their services in the future again. You can’t blame me for being spooked the first time. Here’s also hoping that there would be no problems with the refund because I read a feedback saying “it’s been FOUR MONTHS and I’m still waiting for my refund!”

At the end of it, let me show you how the plant looked like. This was taken as a screen shot when I was on Skype with mom:

P/S: I think I didn’t fit a “blockquote” option into my theme so it’s not coming up properly. Time to change theme soon!

And he gives me realistic expectations.

He says, “BOOM!” when he put on my mock glasses to emphasize to me how different things look like when I have them on.

He remembers my phobia about sticking something into my eye (okay, he probably wrote notes down but it was nice he actually reads what he writes!)

He reminds me (a little) of MrBean when he does an impersonation of someone having no problem putting contacts on.

Thus, he has a sense of humour.

He is just 20 steps away from work.

So now I “have” my “lady doctor” and an optometrist. Who knows what’s next?

Picked up from work on 6th May, somewhere past 12pm…and it was left sitting around till near 8am the next day to be sent to Auckland????????????? Then it takes ANOTHER day to be processed and sent out from Auckland only after 4pm today.

Not happy at all.

I’m just glad (some kind of irony here) that the arrival day/time of those stuff does not matter anymore. I just expected more from this company, especially when I am paying (what I feel) a premium price for their service.

A small piece of date scone, a small piece of cheese scone, a banana cupcake and coffee.
That was what I had for breakfast. BREAKFAST! Oh, did I mention they were all home made?

Anyway, there I was, sitting in the kitchen at 650am having breakfast – who would’ve thought FeR would be willing to get up early so that she would be out of her flatmate’s hair (read: first to use the bathroom!), have enough time to eat and then start walking to work.

The sky is dark and the sun isn’t out yet to greet you – who would be jumping out of bed? If only we start our day according to when the sun comes out…but that thought would be insane when the days are longer. Can you imagine waking up at 430am to start work? Eeeps!

Carmen lit the first fire yesterday. It’s not THAT cold but this house wasn’t built for winters. Despite the encouragement from the government (in the form of an amount of money) to get landlords to insulate houses, ours didn’t take the bait. Apparently he didn’t think the house was worth “fixing up”. Oh well! At least he didn’t fix it up and use it as means to increase our rent (yes, I’m trying to be positive here!) – besides, I’ve got enough blankets to wrap myself up like a spring roll.

Must be tough for bears when it’s winter and they can’t fall asleep.

Mom offered to go with me today. Thanks, mom!

I ain’t looking too happy!

The iconic bridge. Mom took this picture.

Even with an extra person to help find the road name we were after, we still got lost. After the BIG hassle, we stopped a side to look at their map (which had a plastic cover that was warped and opaque as a result of being in harsh weather – it took a bit of effort to even read the map!). You know what?

*shakes fist at Google Maps*
(and other online maps!)

Get your names right! Or at least, make sure it’s current!
Went on a wild goose chase for TWO days because the road did not exist in Putrajaya! It was known as another name.

After getting our passes, we went in and mom bumped into her ex-colleague when he was being a bit tetchy about me not wearing my pass (the clip was broken).

It didn’t take too long but when I got my certificate, I noticed that my name was truncated. Had to wait for just a tad bit longer for them to rectify it and then we went back to Seremban for RJ chicken rice!
Oh yes, we (or rather, I) had a long list of things that I wanted to do today. We didn’t make it to Mantin for the noodles but it’s okay. We made it for chicken rice!

The uncle is still here!

This stall has been here since…as far as I could remember. We used to live just a short walk away from here (#95!!!) and I used to walk to my piano lessons, too.

Masses of crunch fried chopped garlic.

Let’s start!

We went to Jusco to get some things (namely masking tape and Dermalogica products – but on that faithful day, I found out the shop is no longer there!). Walked across the carpark to get some documents certified and back again for coffee+toast.

I’m going to miss this convenience of Jusco being just outside of GSH.

Went to Tesco to wash my car (at this point of time, I’ve decided to sell Phoebe to Roe’s mom) so that she’d be presentable for her new owner. It’s a bittersweet time.

So proud to see her all shiny but at the same time, so sad.

Last of everything today – I’m flying back tomorrow. I’m reluctant to go.

Of all times, of all places – I feel unexplainably afraid of exploring a place on my own here in HK.

What happened to the “fun and adventure: the solo edition”?
What happened to, “it’s okay, I will find it”?
What happened to, “I don’t care what they think of me, I will just walk around taking pictures”?
What happened to, “Wheeeee! I’ve never been here before and I can’t wait to see everything”?
What happened to, “now I can BE in the places I watched on TV!”?

Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to be here! It’s ALL NEW! Also, it’s been a while since I’ve seen some comforting, familiar-from-home faces. I don’t know if they are sick of guests but I sure am glappy (glad+happy…just thought of it myself! ) to see them!

I saw the red 的士 (taxi) and squealed at Paul and Hazel, “Oooo! The red taxi!”

I saw the 小巴 (minibus) when we walked back to the apartment after supper and squealed, “Oooo! Look! Minibus! Just like in the TVB dramas!”

Why would exploring on my own be daunting? Why do I worry about people scolding me if I didn’t know the rules or ways? Why would I be afraid, here and now about eating alone? Maybe it’s the fear of crowds (oh-no-what-have-I-done-to-myself-to-make-me-seemingly-enochlophobic??) and the faster pace that is different from what I’m used (by now).

Hmmm…I guess the main holdback is the fear of being rushed, me being slow. Does that make sense? I’m not used to this but then again, why would I be bothered? I’m a tourist on my leisurely time.

Perhaps I should’ve used my past hour to get a bowl of 皮蛋瘦肉粥 (century egg+pork porridge) from CongeeOne down the road and snapped some pictures of the quiet(er) streets…should have done that instead of sitting down here, contemplating and worrying about things that are not.

[This reminds me of the song from TheSoundOfMusic - "My heart should be wildly rejoicing, oh, what's the matter with me?" "And here I am facing adventure...then why am I so scared?" "I must dream of the things I am seeking, I am seeking the courage I lack."]

The MUST’s are:
1. RJ chicken rice
2. Mantin’s pork noodle
3. Wan tan mee
4. Satay

I can’t believe I did not get to eat wan tan mee last trip! I would like to put dim sum on the list but I’m heading to HK first…sooooo…

I’ve cleared the fridge of food and left two bits of chicken for Carmen to use when cooking dinner for Forrest. Final meal today would be croissants stuffed with egg mayo filling. Better get started on boiling those eggs.

Oh, as usual, bag not packed yet.

“Have you got malt?”
“Uh…I don’t think so. What is it used for?”
“You DON’T KNOW what malt is?! Didn’t your mother give it to you when you were growing up??!!”

Stupid cow.
I wouldn’t be as calm as Amanda (I was standing at the side fuming on her behalf) to answer her nicely and tried to check if Dunks had them. Bengong betul.

Go get Ovaltine or Milo or Horlicks. They sell it at the supermarket.
If you want the liquid form, try health food stores.

Don’t just shoot your mouth off at us with unnecessary mention of our mothers. Not cool!

On December 18th (it was a Friday) I took my driver’s practical test and passed. Wheeee!!!
ChupaChups were given by Amanda (I shamelessly asked for them if I didn’t pass my test – to cheer me up, y’see) and she said it can be congratulatory ones.

I received my licence on the 30th of December – as you can see, I’ve got a confused/constipated is-it-there?-smile.

Well, I’ve been told that I am not to smile in passport photos. When I had this picture taken at the AA centre, the lady said, “Look at the camera. Smile, if you want to.” The camera was positioned on my left, but the seat I was on was not facing the camera…and I was confused if I could smile or not.

The end result is a picture of me, looking slightly to my left and a little confused/constipated smile.

I think I took this picture before Christmas – anyone keen to get a mini Spongebob drum set?