Customer Service or the lack of it!

Goodness! What is this world coming to?

Hubby went to a certain GP at E**** Mall, enquired about the flu vaccine and was absolutely stunned at the service, or should I say the total lack of service he received.

He walked through the door, saw a lady cleaning the glass panels and stood there for a minute, waiting for her to attend to him. She decided that the glass panels were more important and continued on with her task. "Ahem...excuse me, may I know how much does this clinic charge for the flu vaccine?" She finally turned her attention from the panels to Hubby for a split second before rewarding him with a blank stare.

Then, a voice boomed from within the confines of the clinic, "$45". Hubby glimpsed the back of a man sitting at a desk in a farther room and deduced that he must be the doctor.

"Oh? I though it is usually about $20+?", asked Hubby.

"Sure, if you have 100 people taking the jab, I can charge $20+."

"OK, never mind then. Thanks."

However, the doctor continued jabbering on "...and if you have 200 people, I can even go lower...."

The whole exchange took place with Hubby looking at the doctor's back. The good doctor did not feel it was necessary to turn round to make eye contact. Nope, he was not attending to any patient. In fact, there were no patients at all. We thought it is basic courtesy and good etiquette to look at the person you are speaking to. Apparently not everyone agrees with us on this point.

Oh by the way, Hubby took the flu vaccine at another clinic on the same day.....for just $25.

First school fight

The school called up to inform that Big Buddy was involved in a fight with his friend. His first school fight!

The Scenario
Everyone was in class, working at the table on the worksheets Teacher set for them.

The Incident
Big Buddy looked at J's work and commented that it was "Not nice!". J got upset and threw Big Buddy's worksheet onto the floor, Big Buddy retaliated by crushing J's worksheet and that started the fight. Teacher had to intervene to separate both boys and make each apologise to each other.

The Result
Big Buddy received a tiny scratch on his nose.

When Big Buddy came home, I asked him why he told J that his drawing was not nice. "It's really not nice what!" was his reply with a frown on his face. Well, I give him credit for his honesty but err....zero for his sensitivity. Using simple language and plenty of examples, I explained to him about loving and being nice to his friends and how exercising sensitivity is one aspect of respecting our friends.

Big Buddy looked at him with a serious look as he digested all that I said but seriously, I do not really know if he fully understood it all. Anyway, he is just a 3-year-old boy, some concepts may just take more time to be grasped.

In fact, looking around, some adults do not seem to have learnt this lesson yet too.

Laziness

After a bout of illness, I had been away from the gym since April. No justifiable reason for the long absence, just pure laziness. Somehow the longer you stay away, the harder it is to get back. I am not giving excuses but hey, I am sure you experienced it yourself, have you not?


Well, something someone said recently jolted me into action and so I went back to my gym workouts this week. This time round, I included additional routines into the sessions - leg raises and time on the exercise bikes.

Cycling on this exercise bike is quite therapeutic. I was actually contemplating bringing a book to read while peddling away on this machine. However, my favourite piece of gym equipment is still the elliptical. I love the jaunty wide-ranging movements and when the right workout music comes on, I caught myself almost dancing away on it!

So far so good, for this week. I managed to hit the gym for an hour and a half before settling down to work. Let us see how I fare in the weeks to come .....

An excellent dinner

Hubby and I went to the much raved-about Morton's The Steakhouse to celebrate my birthday. We had heard about its steaks and wondered if they were really that good.

Instead of making a statement with its entrance, the restaurant went against the norm with a nondescript-looking wooden door set along a dimly lit corner of the lobby, hidden behind a pillar. The ambience inside was cosy with dim lightings but suggesting a jovial non-stuffy mood. The reception was warm, staff immediately greeted me with a 'Happy Birthday' upon realising from their reservation system that we were celebrating my birthday.

We were led to one of the booth seats lining a wall; we were given one right in the centre of the room, according us an excellent view of the restaurant going-ons. To our surprise and pleasure, instead of leaving us to slide ungracefully into our booth seat, our server moved the whole table, enabling us to sit down with ease.

Not fancying any liquer, we ordered mocktails for pre-dinner drinks - Bull Sour for Hubby and I had Passion. After a short while, we had a preview of Morton's offerings when a waiter brought a whole trolley of raw meat and vegetables and proceeded to rattle off the whole dinner menu while displaying the full range of cuts. For appetisers, we decided to go with the Colossal Shrimp Cocktail and Lobster Bisque. We were recommended a single serving of Filet Mignon for each of us and we had Lyonnaise Potatoes and Sauteed Mushrooms as sides to go with the entrees as Morton's does not serve sides with their steaks.

The Shrimp Cocktail was not too bad, the shrimps were sweet, fresh and huge. I did not quite like the Lobster Bisque though as it had a bitter aftertaste although it was rich and thick. They were thoughtful enough to split the order into two dishes when informed that we would be sharing the soup. The complimentary Onion Loaf was delicious, with a wonderful aroma of warm baked bread infused with onions.

The steaks were excellent, done according to our preferences. It had a slightly charred look on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside. The mushrooms were pretty run-of-the-mill but the Lyonnaise potatoes were tasty, albeit slightly on the oily side. We were warned by our server that portions were going to be large but when the steaks arrived, they did not look too daunting. In fact, we thought we should have no problem finishing them together with the sides. How wrong we were! Halfway through, we suddenly became conscious of how our stomachs were filling up. So try as we did, we had to leave some of the sides unfinished.

We did not want to leave without trying some of the desserts and so we had the Key Lime Pie. I was also presented with a complimentary serving of the Morton's Lengendary Hot Chocolate Cake. The servers did the usual cliche thing of singing the Happy Birthday song but with a difference as they proceeded to snap a photo of Hubby and I, which was later given to me as a souvenir of our visit.

Both desserts were wonderful. The chocolate cake satisfied my sweet tooth while the tangy Key Lime Pie was a fitting finish to a great dining experience.

Birthday Thoughts

As my birthday rolls round once again, I seem to be in a more reflective mood this year.

I ponder over the past years of my life and wonder what the future beholds. I savour my past achievements with a mixture of pride and nostalgia, and wonder what new milestone has my name on it. I look at my children and see my future in theirs too.

Over the years, I have mellowed down a lot. I see my character refined with each significant event, my maturity developed with each situation I encountered and my perspective of life moulded by the experiences I had been through. I am now more introspective, valuing quiet moments over boisterous partying, treasuring a few good friends rather than a sea of acquaintances.

Last weekend's sermon touched on God's covenant and anointing for a new season. How apt it was for this phase of my life. I felt that for the past few years, I have been in a phrase of repose. Whereas over the past few months, I have sensed that I am on the brink of something big and about to ride on the crest of the next big wave.

Oh Lord, bless me and lead me. Bring me into the next chapter of my life.

I love Pocoyo

I first met Pocoyo and his friends last month when we stumbled onto their program on Disney Playhouse. It had a very different concept for a children's program which to my surprise, worked! Big Buddy, and even Little Buddy, enjoy it very much.



The program revolves around the adventures of Pocoyo and his friends, Elly, Pato, Loula and Sleepy Bird as they explore the world around them. The characters are depicted in bold block colours with very little accessories. To further minimise distraction, the usage of props is kept to a minimal and when present, are always integral to the storyline. All these help young children focus on the main points. The storylines are simple, often exploring a single concept per show. Narrator Stephen Fry does a great job as he guides Pocoyo along, often engaging the viewer to participate too.

As for me, I love the artwork, humour and the antics.

Hey, I sound as if I am Zinkia Entertainment's spokesman, raving on and on about this precocious little boy! Anyway, I invite you to check it out and let me know what you think.

Can I go to the pet shop?

Over the weekend, we asked Big Buddy where would he like to go and he requested to visit the pet shop. I suppose most children enjoy small animals and both Big Buddy and Little Buddy are no exception. Both are avid animal lovers and they love visiting pet shops, parks and the zoo.

Some of our neighbours are pet owners and whenever Little Buddy meets them walking their dogs, they willingly allow him to hold the leash and walk the dog for them. To my surprise, he is unafraid to approach large dogs and has even made friends with several furry friends.