The internet is great for many things. News updates, mundane blogs, endless amounts of porn and perhaps best of all, online shopping. However, ordering something online may be quick and easy, but you then have to wait for whatever it is you’ve ordered to be delivered. And in most cases the item you’ve ordered will be delivered requiring a signature, which means you need to be at home when the delivery takes place – and if you’re not and the delivery driver can’t be arsed to knock on a neighbours door then you need to arrange a redelivery.

So in order to be at home for the delivery you take the day off work, and then realise that you’re paralysed at home until the delivery arrives. You can’t go out, you daren’t go to the toilet and if you get up too late you’re even too scared to take shower. Of course this sort of worry could be relieved if you knew roughly when your package might arrive, but no, the best you can hope for is something along the lines of “Your item will be delivered between 8:30am and 7:30pm”. Well thank you very much, I’ll be sure to make myself available during those hours. Perhaps you could also advise me if night will follow day?

Of course, you could be lucky and you could be the first drop off for the days deliveries, but it’s more likely you’ll be one of the last and you’ll spend the day anxiously waiting for that knock on the door, checking the online ‘track and trace’ facility every 10 minutes hoping that somehow it’ll have been updated to “He’s just pulling around your corner now, love”. And the waiting inevitably adds to the excitement, which in turn just heightens the sense of anti-climax when you’ve got what you ordered.

It is exciting waiting for something though. And then unwrapping the carefully packaged goods, the brown paper, Styrofoam peanuts, the endless amount of plastic bags and brown tape and then the challenge of fitting all of this crap into your bin. Still, you could leave it by the bin so the neighbours can see that you’ve just bought a huge box full of sex toys computer equipment. It’s like Christmas, but it’s a present from yourself to yourself – and you know what’s inside. But hey, it beats a pair of socks from that long last Uncle who you can’t stand. It’s so exciting that some people even record the whole event and put it on YouTube forever preserving the moment.

Anyway, this is only relevant if your delivery driver actually makes it your house. But when he doesn’t and you have to phone Parcel Force to rearrange delivery and take another day of work (I would have my delivery sent to my work place, but it’s too big to carry home and I can’t be doing with endless questions from nosey colleagues), it leaves a bitter taste. So once more, I will be in the hands of the delivery gods tomorrow waiting for my special delivery. Maybe one day it’ll click and I’ll take the day off work and go to an actual shop to buy what I need? I don’t know, I like the excitement of home deliveries, it’s just a pity they don’t always arrive when they’re supposed to.

And what is there to complain about with high street shopping……

The Isle of Man Post Office warns of a postal scam which leads to a costly phone call is operating in the Isle of Man…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: cheap phones. The blog is also related to: orange mobile phones.

I’ve now spent the best part of my last TWO Saturdays on a goose chase, and it still ain’t over.

My mother sent me a package via registered post from Australia. It normally takes a week or two for a letter to arrive here, however after the third week with no sign of a package, it was time to chase things up here in Thailand. Armed with only the Registered Post number of the package from Australia, our journey began.

Wednesday 28th Oct:

• Call the reception of our condo, asking if they’ve received any delivery slips for my package. We are advised no.
• Call the closest post office to our condo in Phra Khanong. They advise they don’t have our package, but as we live on the other side of the khlong from the Phra Khanong post office, our package would have been sent to Bang Na Post Office.
• Call Bang Na Post Office, who advise us they received the package, and sent the delivery slip to our condo.
  Call our condo with this new information. They now remember they did get this slip, but because the address was not complete (it contained the name of the condo, but not the room number), they immediately returned it to the post office. useless…
• Call Bang Na Post Office with this detail, and after some searching they’ve found the paper. Advise us to come on down and pick it up. Fine, the traffic to Bang Na sucks, so we’ll go on the weekend to get it. But at least you’ve got it.

Saturday 31st October

• Go to Bang Na Post office with passport ID and Registered mail number to pick up package. Office attendant asks for delivery slip. We don’t have it – it was never delivered. But this guy said you have it. Office attendant looks for slip and package.
• Office attendant returns, and asks again if we have the slip. No, it hasn’t appeared in our bag over the last 10 minutes. Office attendant tries to call post office staff member who claims to have found the slip, but he’s left for the south for the weekend, and has his phone turned off.
• Office staff searches for another 30 minutes, but can’t find anything. Apologizes to us, and asks us to come again once this staff member is back. I got up early on a Saturday for this???

Wednesday 4th November

• Call Bang Na post office, and staff member is back at work. He confirms they have the slip, however as the slip was returned to them by the condo, the package has been sent to the head post office in Laksi. Advises that we’ll need to come to Bang Na to get the slip, then Laksi with the slip to get the package. You’ve gotta be kidding me…

Saturday 7th November

• Go to Bang Na post office. All staff members are there, and we pick up the slip no problems. Copy of slip made for us to take. Copy costs 2 baht. Bargain… At least we have the slip…
• Taxi to Laksi post office (which feels like an army campus). Security allows us in with the slip, and takes us to the mail processing room. Staff member takes delivery slip and looks up package in the system. Advises us that the package is at Hua Lamphong Post office customs centre. As the package slip was returned by the conto to the post office, we must first go to the police station to have a form completed to confirm the slip was returned wrongfully. WHAT!?!
• Floor manager hears our story, and is compassionate and helpful (as much as he can be when someone else has told us to drive to the other side of a city for a package that is actually on the other side of the city.) He completes a form which means we don’t need to go to the police station.

So now, we’ve gotta go to Hua Lamphong on a working day to go to the customs department. It’s a government department, so only open on the weekdays. Here’s a simple map of things with approximate one way distances. Thus far we’ve almost covered 80km from the various round trips. Nice miles!

View Larger Map

Having never been into a sorting room of a post office before (it was never high on my wish list), it is actually kinda interesting to see who does it and how it’s done. It hasn’t inspired me to apply for a job in a mail sorting room (the Bang Na post office is set in the 1950’s!!), but hey, just gives some insight, that’s all. I would have liked to takes some photo’s, but I didn’t think taking a photo of a workplace and postal sorting service would go down well.

Things I noticed are:

• All behind the scenes staff at the post office are blokes. ALL of them.
• It’s surprisingly easy to wander into a mail sorting room of the Bang Na post office.
• Sorting facilities are done completely by hand, and rely on people throwing the mail into different bags according to the address. In truth I don’t know what I’d expect if it wasn’t done by hand, but still, seems very basic and makes me wonder how the packages we sent can make it there (and in my experiences, they do).
• Most staff members we dealt with were happy to help. (sometimes a little slowly).
• Laksi post office uses sorting boxes labelled “Property of the United States Post Office”. Yep, all the big scandals break here.

Yet more surprises today! I walked into the office to learn that further Royal Mail strikes due to happen have been called-off until the New Year. So I suppose this is good news for the Small business? I guess so – however since the Royal Mail has lost so much business as a result of these strikes I have to question whether anyone would notice if postal strikes went ahead or not?!

The tragic comedy of the situation as a result of this is the increasing number of postal workers who are going to lose their jobs as a result of the Royal Mail’s loss of integrity and business. Thank you The Communication Workers Union (CWU) – you did a Hell of a job stopping those job losses didn’t you?!

However, excellent news nonetheless – at least we’ll get those all important Christmas cards this year! What a relief! I don’t know how I would have coped if I had to email everyone to say Happy Christmas! Let’s face it – with the loss of business from online retailers such as Amazon it’s unlikely that much in the way of parcels will be sent via Royal Mail unless it’s sent by members of the public – and I wouldn’t be surprised if members of the public have moved their parcel delivery requirements to the Royal Mail’s competitors such as Parcel2Go and TNT.

Other Sources:

BCC expresses anger at Royal Mail

BBC – Royal mail strikes halted

The Times – Christmas truce called in the postal dispute

Some weeks back, my German Brother, Gregor said he’d be sending me some kind of comic that he thought I’d really like. And yesterday I received a notice from the post office saying I had to come pick up a parcel (which of posted a picture of). It could’ve only meant one thing!!! So today I cycled out to the post office and grabbed the little gift. This is all so exciting to me because very rarely do I purchase things online or receive gifts from the other end of the world. So here it is! Super happy about it! Thanks Greg! if you ever read this :p

The Bumper Book Of Bunny Suicides by Andy Riley sent all the way from the Netherlands to my crib over here in tiny Singapore.

have not been doing much lately, here’s a mini visual update.
Couple of days ago, I went and got a rad haircut, hopefully I wouldn’t have to cut my hair anymore till I’m done with the army.

Here’s some shit lying around the place.

And this, is what came in the mail today! I think I might know what it is, but we’ll see when I head to the post office today! Woo!

The old man opened the door.

I’ve a parcel for you, said the post lady.

Oh fantastic, said the man in a high, wheezy voice: It’s from my son. He’s away in Australia. Married. I have two granddaughters.

Can you sign here, asked the post lady. Here, I’ve a pen.

The old man signed: You’ve made my day, he said.

No problem.

The post lady took the pen, nodded and headed back to the rusty gate and the road of little houses.

In his living room, sat in his chair, the man unpacked his parcel slowly – and began to sob.

The mix of different flavors is simply amazing. Try it and I am sure, that you will like it.

2 beet root cooked
200 gr. cream goat cheese
8 black olives
1 tablespoon acacia honey
4 walnuts
3 sprigs fresh parsley
3 basil leaves
8 black olives
4 Souffle molds
Balsamic Cream
Salt and pepper

Peel the beet root and cut into very fine slices. Give goat’s cheese in a bowl. Cut  olives into fine dice. Porous walnuts in a pan and then finely grind in a mortar. Cut basil and parsley very finely.

Mix the goat cheese with olives, walnuts, parsley, basil and honey. Season with salt and pepper.

Put  the beet root slices into the molds, so they hang out a bit. Distribute the goat cheese in the forms. Pursue  the overlapping slices. Leave for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Put onto plates and garnish with balsamic cream.

jelly hello!

So, we’ve recently been having a clear out of the jelly archives. We have a huge drive full of images in random places for various clients, just happily collecting pixel-dust.  Chelsie stumbled across one particular folder which is just fantastic! These were drawn by Neil Duerden, Jan Kallwejt and Sim Marriott around this time last year, for our favourite postal service – the Royal Mail.

With the current strike action and warnings in the news about getting your Christmas Cards in the post NOW! the use of a snow plough does seem a little appropriate…

Qeila Store ” Package Clay Souvenir “

Clay2 tempel ini biasanya dipakai untuk ditempel di invitation, souvenir,kue tart & parcel. So, buat kamu yg punya usaha seperti yg diatas, buruan deh liat2. Siapa tau ada yang menarik & cocok buat ngembangin usahanya.Untuk Souvenir juga bisa loo..

Kode C001-C019 & C023 order min.2lsn

Trimakasih Dateng di site Qeila Store ya,,. bisa di lihat – lihat dulu jangan lupa Order ya.. Qeila Store pasti cute N chic bgt buat cewek dinamis saat ini dan tetep gk ninggalin budaya kita…

Re_xui02@yahoo.com

By : Qeila Store

Donald Grant opened the door to see who was there. It was the postman with a shoebox sized parcel, it was even registered. He signed, closed the door and put the parcel on the table. It was then that the problems began for Donald.

“Who would send me a parcel?” was his first thought. He had a closer look at the box. It had been wrapped carefully in brown packing paper, probably to ensure that it arrived safely and was also bound with string. He scrutinized the handwriting on the box, but was even more left in doubt, he just could not recognise it.

Donald was not used to receiving parcels, especially when they looked so anonymous. Of course, he got the usual rubbish from advertising companies and there was the odd item that he might have ordered, but this parcel was no such thing. It had no sender on it and the address was written in a bright red ink. He shook the parcel and it seemed that something inside was moving. It sounded like a single object, something quite hard.

“Shall I open it? No, I will have some dinner first. No good opening parcels on an empty stomach” and so he prepared a meal. He lived on his own in a small apartment, but he was a very neat person. He hated people that were messy. Just could not envisage that anyone could live somewhere that was not tidy. No, in Donald’s world everything was in its place.

Donald had never married, but this also had its reasons. There was just no woman good enough for his tastes. He had met a few, gone out with them, but he soon noticed that they were not up to his organised standards. All they had to do was open their handbag and Donald could see how untidy the owner was. Generally when the lady had to search for something, perhaps a handkerchief, or her purse he felt sick just looking. No, he must have order in his life.

Another thing that really annoyed him were stains. You think you have found someone on your own level of intelligence and then taking a closer look you find that your date is wearing a blouse with a stain on the sleeve, or even worse on the collar. Such things should not be allowed.

After dinner Donald was just about to have a sleep when the parcel again caught his eye. Still on the table with an inviting shape as if saying “Please open me”, but Donald was tired.

It was soon evening and the parcel was still not opened.

“Donald don’t be silly” he said to himself. It is just a normal cardboard box, although the writing in red ink does look strange.

To take his mind off the unknown parcel, he decided to switch the television on. He just caught the news.

“Typical” he thought “what the human race is coming to” when they were bringing a report about a corpse that had again been discovered sitting on a park bench. It was the fifth found body found over the last six months. The strange thing was that the corpses were all so well organised. They were sitting nicely arranged and there were no clues, just a cut throat, but no blood. It seemed that the murderer had taken time to clean up the place of the crime.

Donald decided to change the television station and watch something more relaxing. He was annoyed but after changing through at least ten stations showing horror and murder, he eventually found something to his taste: a hospital series, showing his favourite nurses and doctors, all such nice clean antiseptic people.

He was getting ready for bed but then decided no, that parcel must be opened. If it was a time bomb it would have exploded some time ago. He removed the parcel to the kitchen and put his special rubber gloves on, after all you never know, perhaps someone was sending him some sort of powder infected with a virus disease. You just cannot trust anyone these days.

He took the scissors and cut the string and then removed the packing paper, folding it neatly, in case he might need it again. He also rolled the string into a ball and placed it in one of the drawers in the kitchen, where other such bundles of string were kept.  The parcel was ready to be opened. He lifted the lid.

Now Donald’s problem was that he was one of those so called split personality types. Today he was honest organised Donald, going through his daily routine and keeping everything in order. When he sent himself the parcel containing the Swiss officer’s army knife, covered in blood from his last victim, he was not Donald the nice, but his other half, Donald the ripper I suppose you could say. Donald the ripper would have recognised the handwriting on the parcel immediately, but, of course, Donald the nice did not know of the existence of his other half who also had a different style of writing. He was naturally horrified at what he found in the parcel.

When he woke up the next morning he took another look at the knife and cleaned it completely, he even sterilised it, he had to be careful with any evidence that could be found. “That will come in handy this evening” was his last thought. The box was still lying in the kitchen on the table; he just threw it onto the floor, not bothering about the mess

Couriers are 100% behind Boxby’s idea to scrap courier vans over 5 years old

Boxby have had a huge response to the idea of scrapping vans that are more than 5 years old.  Many small courier companies buy ex parcel company fleet vans, and the vans have high mileage and high levels of wear and tear when the smaller courier companies acquire them. 

Boxby wants the government to reduce the age limit for scrapping vans from 5 years from the existing level of 8 years, enabling the couriers to replace their inefficient knackered out vehicles with a modern environmentally better fuel efficient vehicle.

I would like to conclude that international shipping is faster compared to Vpost, borderlinx or any other 3rd party services for US shipment. Well, that’s provided the merchandise has international shipping service provided and have discount for it. =D

I have 2 experiences with Victoria’s Secret. One shipped via Borderlinx and one through International Shipment. The latter arrives in 11 days. while the previous was lost in the shipment. It never reach my suite in borderlinx. Luckily, VS still compensate for my order and re-shipped my order via UPS for free! whaha~ Well…this is after 1 month plus after I have placed my order!! =(

I know some people have been asking me what’s so good about VS? It is because of its sexy designs? Materials? or?

Hmmm….I’m not sure either. I just love this brand.I’m not a person who will go for sexy lingerie. I just like a particular design of theirs that is hard to find in SG. Maybe I’m just too lazy to go shop for that design. =P

The most enjoyable thing about online shopping is the  excitement that I get everytime my mum told me I got a parcel!!!!! The joy of receiving and opening up the parcel….It has the same analogy as a kid opening up his/her birthday present….They will just rip the paper apart and take out their present and smile widely at the same time telling their parents that it’s blah blah blah…..the toy that they have been eyeing for. So….that’s exactly how I feel whenever I receive my online order!!!!! whahha~ I’m a kid at heart ok!

Too bad some brand jus dun offer international shipping. But arent Baths and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret from the same Co?????? Hmmm….

I love Singapore!!!!!!! I love the Merlion……ROARZzzZZz~~~~~~~

Sidenote:

私はあなたから真実を知りたい.

Hi,

Mau sharing-sharing foto aja hasil jualan Parcel Lebaran ini.

Total Toko Kue Lebah Koening menjual 16 Parcel. Lumayan juga sih! Target sih menjual 20, tapi ternyata tidak mudah juga menjualnya.

Ada 3 type Parcel:

1. Parcel Mini dengan 5 kue kering, 2 meringue mini dan 2 kaleng kerupuk mini berisikan Momogi.
2. Parcel Lebah dengan 2 kue kering, 2 kaleng kerupuk dengan jajanan jaman dulu dan berbagai item lainnya.
3. Parcel Madu hampir sama dengan Parcel Lebah dengan tambahan item dan panci (disediakan oleh yang membeli)

Memang berbeda jauh sih dengan sketch ide-nya.

Tapi lumayan senang juga, customer happy dengan parcelnya. Kaleng kerupuknya juga bisa dipakai kembali.

Salam,

Lebah Koening

Panen lebaran bagi pengusaha ritel merata dirasakan pada tipa-tiap musim lebaran

Potongan harga yang ditawarkan pusat-pusat perbelanjaan menjelang Lebaran tahun ini benar-benar mampu mendongkrak jumlah pengunjung omzet maupun mal. Di antara berbagai jenis barang yang ditawarkan, produk fashion, khususnya pakaian anak, mencatat porsi kenaikan yang paling tinggi.

Menurut Tjipto Suparmin, Regional Manager PT Matahari Department Store (MDS) Area Jawa Timur, Bali, Nusra, dan Kalimantan, pada Lebaran tahun ini pihaknya mampu menaikkan omzet hingga 20 persen. Kontribusi tertinggi berasal dari penjualan pakaian anak-anak, yakni sekitar 30 persen.

“Untuk menghadapi peak season Lebaran kali in, kami sudah menambah stok barang antara empat hingga lima kali lipat dari stok normal,” ucap Tjipto kemarin. Dia mencontohkan, penambahan stok pakaian mencapai 5 juta potong, sedangkan sepatu sebanyak 500 ribu pasang.

Secara terpisah Ketua DPD Asosiasi Pengelola Pusat Belanja Indonesia (APPBI) Jatim, Didy Wulyadi Simson mengatakan, indikator kenaikan omzet mal juga bisa dilihat dari jumlah pengunjung yang datang per hari. Dia memperkirakan rata-rata jumlah pengunjung tiap mal pada peak season Lebaran mencapai 45 ribu orang, Angka itu naik sekitar 30 persen dibanding hari-hari normal.

“Pada hari normal, jumlah pengunjung sekitar 35 ribu orang. Lonjakan pengunjung sudah terasa sejak H-10 Lebaran dan mulai menurun ketika hari-H. Sebab, saat itu tidak semua mal tetap beroperasi seperti biasa,” ucapnya.

Dia menjelaskan, kebijakan mal tetap beroperasi pada hari Lebaran diserahkan pada masing-masing manajemen. Oleh karena itu, ada manajemen mal yang menetapkan agar tetap beroperasi dengan jam buka lebih siang. Akan tetapi, ada pusat perbelanjaan menutup total tempat mereka dan mulai beroperasi normal setelahnya. (JPNN)

Está llegando… esta mañana ya todo impaciente me he puesto a mirar en un momentito cómo estaba el pedido y de pronto cuando he visto esto… vaya que me ha entrado un cosquilleo por el estómago…

En fin, vienen Berghaus Calisto, RG1, SS Tech-T, Deluge, algunos accesorios de LightMyFire y un par de cosillas más…

Así que mañana en cuanto salga de trabajar me voy directo y disparado a por el paquete que me imagino se lo habrán dejado a la vecina o algo, no sé. Otra cosa, el seguimiento… así si da gusto ver las cosas; mirad, el localizador es ParcelForce y bueno, fijaro en los detalles, día a día e incluso las horas…

]]> http://somewhereonearth.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/too-early-for-christmas/ Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:45:06 +0000 somewhereonearth http://somewhereonearth.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/too-early-for-christmas/

Christmas!! It’s one of the things I’m thankful for. I love Christmas! Who doesn’t? After all, when you say Christmas you say gifts… and snow… and carols… You’ll only hear the Christmas carols on the radio more than two months from now. So is it too early to think about Christmas? I think the holiday season is always too short. It’s like a break you take once a year. And you just can’t get enough.

Christmas is all about joy, about hope. Aren’t people kinder and warmer at heart then? At Christmas people tend to think about others more than any other time. It’s a time when you want to share the joy with your neighbor. Here are some Christmas classics: families gathered around the Christmas tree, sharing gifts; groups of teens caroling on the streets to the delight of the listeners; people giving cookies and hot tea to the freezing carolers; children cuddling up in a cozy spot near the fireplace.

But this is where many children will spend Christmas:

No Christmas tree, except for the community Christmas tree in front of the City Hall. No fireplace, except for burning rubber and plastic to keep them warm. No fancy meal, except for the leftovers thrown in the trash by the wealthy. For some, no family at all. And definitely no gifts.

Last year, COMUNIA initiated a Christmas parcel project called “Give them Christmas” (DĂRUIEŞTE UN CRĂCIUN). We all had the opportunity to make a Christmas gift ourselves, and bring joy to the needy people, to orphan kids, to families that live below the poverty line, and to old people forgotten in the elderly homes. Five hundred parcels containing basic food, toys and school supplies were collected and distributed. The reward was more than seeing a smile on many sorrowful faces.

Noticing the impact this project had in our community, this year we are even more motivated to take the initiative. And we want something bigger. Think TWICE as big as last year! Because this year, as well, there will be people without the Christmas joy, there will be kids without the Christmas meal, there will be old people without someone visiting for years and years. Together with you, we will give them joy for Christmas, in the shape and size of a shoe box filled with goodies. If you understand the true meaning of Christmas, show that you care and get involved. You can personally make a gift or you can give the value of a gift to be made by COMUNIA. Here you can find details with the content of a Christmas box.

You have the power to give a poor child a “MERRY CHRISTMAS”! Don’t just say it, do something before it’s too late! Give them Christmas right now!

It’s NOT too early to think about Christmas!  I am already dreaming of a white Christmas…

Hari-hari terakhir menjelang tutup warung libur lebaran, pesanan dari orang2 sakti alias pelanggan setia memang nggak bisa dilawan, hehehe, walopun mixer udah masuk gudang, jadinya dibongkar lagi, hahahaha…

Cakenya pesanan mbak Linda, cupcakesnya pesanan mbak Shinta… Terima kasih yaaa bisa buat beli sendal baru, horeee!

Request mbak Linda, ada cewek rambut panjang, sama ketupat, lainnya terserah, heheheh… Thank you mbaak buahnya

Karna kurir udah nggak bisa nganter2 lagi, jadi tadi pake kurir paki aja, hihihih…. Nganter ke rumah mbak Shinta di lebak bulus, deuhhhh orangnya cuantik banget, hehehehe…. ada orang2an, ketupat dan bedug… tengkiyuuu mbak cantik…

Sampai jumpa lagi setelah lebaran ya!