questions

1. How can boxes shipped via SAL* from Japan to Singapore take longer to arrive than those from Japan to Ireland? The latter took only 6 days but it’s been 8 days and no sign of my boxes yet. Ireland is a lot further than Singapore lor!

2. How is it possible that a secondary school student can own both a Samsung smart phone AND an ipod touch?

3. Why is service still so bad? I went to take passport photos at Kodak Express at Vivocity today, and was greeted by one of the most sullen faces I’ve seen in a while – complete with a potential record for least number of words exchanged. Yesterday at Olio Cafe at City Square, the manager ignored me the first time I tried getting us seated, leaving his staff – who was in the kitchen – to attend to me even though he was right in front of me. And the other service staff spoke so softly we could barely hear her. I understand that many might have been pushed into the service industry due to bad economic conditions, but one can at least try…

4. If kopi at Kopitiam that is usually sold at $1.30 per cup can go for $2 with kaya toast and 2 soft-boiled eggs, how much exactly are they making on the coffee?

 

*: japan post has this amazing option (assuming my boxes arrive soon!) called SAL. It’s slightly more expensive than surface mail but takes an eighth of the time – parcels are flown between countries but transported over land domestically, yet is significantly cheaper than airmail.