you get what you accept

8:13 a.m. i ordered ice cream from cara mia through foodpanda.

8:16 a.m. i received a call from cara mia confirming my order.  and then, ta-daaan!  the caller asked if it's okay if they deliver my order in the afternoon.

me:  'huh?!  your delivery fee is P80 (usual is P54) and you're going to deliver in the afternoon???'

caller:  'we schedule our riders, ma'am, and they're all out.'

me:  'hmmm...  if you're going to deliver in the afternoon just cancel my order.'

caller:  'we'll just try to schedule it earlier, ma'am.'

me:  'okay.  thanks.  but if it will be afternoon please just cancel.'

9:39 a.m. my ice cream arrived.

was i demanding or what?  🤔

new normal

friend inviting me to watch a movie...  he'd be at his place; i'd be at mine.  we'd be at different cities watching the same movie at the same time.

#SocialDistancing 😷😂

literal

handing my niece lab test results...

me:  'i got two copies.  this one leave here.  the other bring home.  put it someplace where you can easily see it.'

niece:  'i'll post it on the refrigerator.'

me:  'what?!'

niece chuckles:  'everytime you open the ref you'll see it.'

how appetizing 😂

other factors

friend:  'if a guy tells you <blah-blah-blah>, would you believe him?'

me:  'it depends...  i think i'll know whether someone is sincere or not...'

friend:  'no, you won't!  if that were the case you would not have fallen for <toot>.'

huh?!

nyahaha...

lemme explain!!!

he was sincere.
we simply don't make a good match.
those are two different things.

help

at 7-eleven...  guy not allowed to stay inside because he did not have a face shield...

(he asked whether he could just put on his helmet but the 7-eleven crew said no.)

after my transaction, i passed him outside the store...

me:  'would you like me to just buy for you?'

guy:  'yes...  yes...  <inaudible>...'

me:  'what?'

guy:  '<i heard hit>...  cigarette...'

me:  'hit?'

guy:  '<i heard hit>...  one pack...'

me:  'the brand is hit?'

guy:  '<i again heard hit>...'

me:  'hit???  sorry i'm not familiar with cigarettes...  i don't smoke...'

guy:  'never mind...  i'll just get my face shield at the office...'

ooops...  i'm not sure whether
he misunderstood my apologies as an objection to buy
or
he simply got frustrated because i could not hear him right.
(we were speaking through face masks with additional face shield for me.)

i should just have asked him to spell...

anyway, now i'm wondering what brand that was supposed to be 🤔

hold it

supposed to pay quezon city real property taxes last friday.  satellite office, however, would not accept payments as the system was down.

office personnel:  'what year are you paying, 2020 or 2021?'

me:  '2021...  next year...'

office personnel:  'you can pay up to march next year....  you'll still be entitled to the discount.'

me:  'really?  are you sure?'

office personnel:  'yes!'

me:  'in taguig, deadline for discount is year-end...  prior year...'

office personnel:  'in quezon city, it's march...'

me: 'would the discount be the same whether i pay this year or in march?'

office personnel:  'yes, 20% for full payment...'

me:  'good...  i'll just pay in march then...'

upside to the downtime 😊

inefficient

my mom and i opened three separate accounts at landbank - ali mall on november 25, december 10 and december 18.

all three times, they give you your ATM card and a piece of paper at the 'end' of account opening.  you're supposed to go to the ATM and activate your PIN according to the instructions on the paper.

all three times, PIN activation was unsuccessful and you had to return the card to landbank.  the manager would then go on the computer, return your card to you and ask you to retry.

all three times PIN activation was successful on the retry.

i don't know whether going to the ATM twice is really part of the design
or
all three times someone just missed a step hence the retry.

either way the process needs improvement.

ticket closed

at the bank early to open an account...  guard said they are offline and advised me to go to this other branch...  unlike the others who left after being told that, i stayed...

me:  'if i go to another branch, that will be my branch of account forever.  i'd rather open here.  since when have you been offline?'

guard:  'since yesterday.'

me:  'did you ever go online yesterday?'

guard:  'the system was up and down yesterday.'

me:  'ok...  i was in I.T.  before...  i'm sure your technical people are working on it now and they know the bank opens at this time...  i'll wait...'

true enough, the system went up around an hour after start of banking hours.  not quite on time but fixed eventually.

i feel you, guys.  thanks. 😊

simplify

on voice call with a friend...  czechoslovakia cropped up in the conversation...

friend:  'good thing this is a call...  if message, i'll still have to think of the spelling...'

me:  'if this were a text message i'll just say it's not in the philippines.'

😂

no dice

playing shopee poly...  i had zero points...

i clicked the die...
ta-daaan!  -50 points!

oh?
so what!  hahaha...
no loss...
actually, i felt like i won 50 points 🙃

messy

november 11 (11.11) i ordered something online.


november 19 the parcel arrived in the philippines from china.

december 4 my order was cancelled and my payment was refunded.

i checked the cancellation details:
Cancelled by Shopee
Cancel Reason:  Non payment

eh?

i paid!
in fact i was refunded.

i checked with Help Centre.
the agent told me that the parcel was lost.  🤦‍♀️😞

hmmm...  lost but tagged as non payment? 🤔

what a disorder in this order. 😂

override

i ordered

- one magnum classic pint
- one magnum almond stick
- one magnum white stick
from eds minimart through foodpanda yesterday.

when my order arrived, there were
- one magnum almond pint
- one magnum classic stick
- one magnum white stick
instead.

i thought it was a mistake.  but no, it was deliberate.  the rider said my choice of pint was not available and the store said the order cannot be cancelled so they switched items.

eh?!
i could have shrugged it off if it were a mistake but it being intentional kinda pissed me off.  you don't just change customer's orders.
(the rider said he tried to call me but i was not answering my phone.  i actually heard his ring but instead of picking up i immediately went outside thinking he was already there.  he wasn't.  i went back inside and texted the number that rang me asking who it was.  i did not get a reply.)

i know stores can cancel  specific items and entire orders.  that very same store has cancelled a magnum classic pint i ordered before.

one time i ordered water and a stick of magnum almond from 7-eleven also through foodpanda.  when my order arrived, it was just the magnum.  my choice of water was not available so the store did not send any.  that was just water!  they easily could have sent another brand or size but they did not.  i prefer that.

i pay.  i choose.

look and see

the battery indicator on my dashboard lit up as i was about to drive off from the grocery today.  i therefore went to the motolite website to check what i should order for delivery tomorrow.  so there the batteries were, different specs, different colors.

i know i've had both gold and white (enduro) before.  i want to get one that's the same as what i have now.  weird though, i can't recall whether the battery i currently have is white or gold.  i open my hood every single time i go out!

i see the battery frequently yet its color did not leave a mark on me.

i'm wondering now what other things i look at but do not see.

honesty

my mom's blind masseuse said she tests her guides with money.  she knows a bill is P100 and asks her guide how much it is.  there's a guide who said it's just P20.  sometimes she tests with P50 and even with that there are those who do not tell the truth.

she said, 'imagine, such a small amount and they lie?'

i'm definitely neither justifying nor condoning the liars
(i used to tell my staff, it's okay to make mistakes but it is not okay to lie.  i said if they err, i could still defend them.  the moment they lie, they're on their own.  that is something i won't tolerate.)
but to some P50 or P100 is not a small amount.  what's a pittance to one might already be a fortune to another.

but yeah, there are those who lie for a pittance.
there are even those who lie for nothing.
no gain whatsoever, they just lie, period.
pathological.

now if you lie for P50,
what would you do for P100?  for P300?  P500?  P1,000 and so on?

if you lie for nothing, what would you do for something?

Luke 16:10.