Serendipity
Life's little disappointments & annoyances
Last Sunday was "satisfy-our-craving-and-curiosity day" for me and my husband. He wanted to check out this new store that was selling musical instruments and books, while I was salivating and craving for cheese. Yes, cheese, the moldier, the better. But what do you know, hubby went out of the store disappointed because instead of seeing the complete paraphernalia for Rock Star Supernova, he saw violins and flutes. Now, there is nothing wrong with violins; they just aren't his cup of tea, or instrument for that matter.
As for my cheese fix, after days of imagining thick slabs of Swiss cheese, generous slices of creamy Brie, Gorgonzola or Camembert cheeses, I got a platter of paper thin slices of three kinds of cheese that all tasted like ordinary Cheddar to me. (And 'paper thin' meant I could see my husband's face through the triangle slices, and there weren't any holes on the cheese -- that was how thin they were.) I don't have anything against the rest of the menu or the service of the newly-opened food and coffee establishment because I've heard a lot of good reviews from friends; it's just that I have a huge fixation for cheese and was extremely disappointed with the limited choices and the pathetically thin slices. Oh well, the perils and disappointments of living (and eating) in a third world country such as ours.
Speaking of disappointments, what ever happened to this mall that once claimed to be the best shopping and entertainment establishment in the city? In the few times I've been there these past two months, I have come face to face with tuyo, tabagak and other interesting varieties of the ubiquitous dried fish. I get disoriented every time this happens as I have to check my surroundings just so I can convince myself that I'm in a mall and not in the wet market. I'm not trying to be a snob here because I love to eat dried fish, but it's just so irritating to be bumping into tabagak (and other similar looking creatures) in the mall when I want to see more pleasant things. I cringe at the thought of what I'll be seeing next, will it be fresh fish, meat, chicken or worse, a slew of deplorably produced and organized shows that are as bad as the smell of tabagak? (At least the tabagak agrees more with my stomach than the mall entertainment -- which I will credit to the lame-brained, cock-eyed Ninja in charge of the mall's events.) Should I wear my galoshes the next time I go malling or opt for the better mall instead, which ironically, is the one near the wet market?
And, have you ever felt that you were just one extremely dense and rude sales person away from entirely losing it? I had an encounter the other day with such a person on the phone when I complained about the PC I bought from this over-priced computer store. (The store's name by the way, pertains to the hacker slang meaning "small quantity". Go figure it out.) Instead of apologizing for their substandard PC parts and products or offering solutions to my problem, she told her boss without the decency of covering the phone's mouthpiece, that I was a difficult customer who was yakking and complaining about their computers. Of course, the equally rude owner of the store dismissed me like I was some pesky dog and not a paying and loyal customer by saying that she couldn't do anything about my PC's broken keyboard. In short, thank you for buying a lousy, problematic product from us but no thank you, we can't help you, hell, we can't even apologize for all the trouble we've caused you.
Isn't it that the customer is always right? And even if he or she is not, store owners should train their people on the right way to handle complaints. We spend good money on products we buy from your stores, I think it's but proper for you to give us the treatment and service we deserve.
If you have any suggestions on how to deal with some of life's annoyances and disappointments, give me a ring or send me an email. Maybe we can talk about what we can do to get back at these irritants over a serving of tuyo or a platter of cheese.
Happy Birthday to two of the most important people in my life: To Papa and to my only sister Cecille -- may the two of you won't ever be bothered by life's little disappointments and annoyances and instead be blessed with success and happiness. God bless you!