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| Here is something somewhat ridiculous. I got in from the gym late
last night only to find out that the internet flow to our house had
been disconnected. I mean it was dead. Not even a weak blip was showing
on the uplink box. Why? Because they just arbitrarily decided that the
end of the semester must mean that everyone would immediately vacate
the premises or something. But it does not work that way. Different
people have individual schedules to follow and all sorts of things to
get done. I am so tired of them doing this everytime a holiday rolls
around. Any money they anticipate saving by inconveniencing me like
this has to be completely minimal at best. So now I am sitting in a
smoky internet cafe surrounded by overfilled ashtrays, sticky floors,
and uneducated country peasants who apparently do not realize that
their eyes should be focused on their computer screens instead of
gazing at civilized people who are trying to finish things up and get
out of there as soon as possible. It is more than enough to make you
groan!
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| I saw something quite funny the other night. An old man buying condoms in a
convenience store. I know we should not laugh about other people's
sexuality or anything like that. But you have to admit it. No one could ever
anticipate bumping into an elderly Chinese grandfather looking guy purchasing
a pack of condoms. Hey, though, I'm happy his mind is in the 21st century and
he's being responsible. This took place close to Nanjing Road, by the
way, the undisputed Pimp & Ho Capital of Shanghai, so I think we can all guess
exactly why he needed all the protection he could possibly get. Oh well, give him credit, he's still out there having some fun. | | |
| It never ceases to amaze me how some people here will do anything to
try and get themselves a "shortcut" but, as a result, just end up making
things ridiculously worse for themselves. The subway station at
People's Square is a perfect example. The transfer corridor between
Line 2 and Line 1 is supposed to flow in only one direction. Likewise the
transfer corridor between Line 1 and Line 2 is supposed to flow in only one
direction. This design is intended to provide a smooth transition for commuters to transfer between trains fairly easily.
Because the walk from Line 1 to Line 2 is a little bit longer, though,
many people take it upon themselves to walk in the opposite direction.
This causes tremendous problems and makes no sense at the end of the
day. Imagine 5,000 people all walking one way while 20 or 30 hardheaded
fools frantically push and shove against them trying to
cut through their flow and go the other way. By the time they finally
make it through such a huge crowd they have worked harder, and taken
longer, than if they
had just walked in the proper direction.
The really stupid thing is that there are transit officers stationed at
the Line 1 end of the transfer corridor to tell people to go the
other way. But the masses brazenly ignore them and push through anyway. This
blatant disregard for obvious rules not to mention common sense, in favor of what they think may be
convenience, is a telltale sign of bigger problems throughout their
society. Just envision morons ignoring security officials and trying to
push by in America. They would get the snot beat out of them and it
would be very much deserved.
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| Why is it that all of the KFC restaurants here, McDonald's too for that
matter, find it so hard to keep English menus readily available? It is
ridiculous. They know they are a foreign company that attracts a lot of
foreign customers. They also should know that their cashiers either
can't speak English or can't understand anything foreigners say to
them. Yet they never do one thing to make the ordering process easier.
They always have to scramble looking under the counter or running to
other registers searching for an English menu. You would think having
to do this over and over again dozens of times a day week after week should drill it into them
to keep an English menu at every register at all times. Logic
apparently has zero effect on these people though.
As an example of this stupidity, I went up to the counter to order one
day, but the cashier just stood there. I thought she spoke English
as a result. So I asked for a Mexico chicken wrap. Then she started to
panic and asked another girl to help her but the other girl said no and
quickly ran away. I'm not exaggerating about the running either. So then I
said "mei xi ge ji rou" but she refused to listen. This clueless
cashier just kept yelling for someone else to come to help her. I'm
not exaggerating about the yelling either. Finally a guy walked over
and grabbed a menu from directly in front of her and handed it to me. Then
I pointed at the Mexican chicken wrap, said "mei xi ge ji rou" again,
and she proceeded to get a really dumb look on her face. It was so fitting.
But, once again, why did she not just have an English menu ready to
avoid any potential problems in the first place? Furthermore, and most
ridiculously of all, how did she not know that she already had an English
menu right there directly in front of her on that side of the register? It does
no one any good there. They need to always keep a menu on the customer side of
every register. Why is this so difficult for them to
comprehend? Then again, this is the same country where many people refuse to
stand in civilized lines, but prefer pushing and shoving each other
like animals in an effort to place their order in front of everybody else.
I guess it all makes sense in a context like this. So they need metal
barricades for their lines and menus at every counter.
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