Friendship

Thankyou Mrs.M for this little reminder

Some online procrasination techniques: HIPSTERS

As I sit here and promote Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montanna (I only realised it was the same girl with the latter donning a blonde wig to get into character) 

* Miley Cyrus Latest interview here

I find myself drifting in and out of physical consciousness/cyber reality. After my cigarette & diet coke break, I find myself trying to keep awake via other online means (to appear as if I am working hard at my desk)

This is rapidly becoming my favourite: A website of Hipster photo upload, with witty captions: 

In case you werent cued in to what a Hipster is:

The modern Bohemians. A mid-twenties person who works at a low paying job, is interested in "Artsy things" Hipsters tend to swarm around the determined "Hipster" part of town, ex. Wicker Park in Chicago. Hipster Ladies should have short hair and wear thrift shop clothes and Male Hipsters should be anemically skinny to let people know that they are poor and cant afford enough food.

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hipster

From what I've gathered, Hipsters belong to a present-day American Sub culture of youths who possess inherited wealth but do not want to follow their parents' way of life: hard working, income-driven socialites. They therefore resort to dressing ironically, wasting their lives away with some kind of passion (in art, music or poetry) partying and drugs. They are the polar opposites of Yuppies (Young Professionals).

Here are a couple of m favourites to date

   s.

No, my son...

I am not Jesus

Jesus never did heroine....

"It’s actually really hard to be a pimp when all your bitches have trust funds."

If you STILL can't get a clear picture of this sub-culture, check this video out.

XOXO

Lunchtime Lusts- Lanvin and Trib 2

My lunch time lusts: LANVIN's new collection!!!

Ive always ADORED their dresses of flowing fabrics- the way the dresses would depict their worth, simply from the sheer quality of the fabric and the way they are tailored to drape over and compliment the figure. Alber Elbaz has certainly done wonders this collection- focusing on a primary colour palette makes it all the more relatable to brits!

THAT and... just WHO can resist Yves Saint Laurent's delicious bordeaux Trib 2 platforms?? Forgive me, but being five-foot-nothing certainly imprints a nerve to lust for super-high-heel-shoes. If only I can convince the boyfriend to think they in no way resemble stripper shoes...

Mind you, should I encounter such a lady in that line of work wearing a pair, I'd ask her straight away if she taught her skills and an application at her work.... ;) 

caveat emptor: getting ripped off

Well, a colleague of mine bought a pair of wet-look leggings from American Apparel-Not exactly an impulse buy, but at east one where opinions were voiced: some gave her the green-light for the daring piece of attire while others were less enthusiastic: it was to be worn at a birthday party.

Hey, no sweat though, right? if you change y

our mind at the last minute, as long as you've got the receipts- take it back in a "sellable" condition i.e. minus fag smell, foundation and bronzer stains, and any fashion faux-pas and damage to your wallet is forgiven...

   WRONG! Newsflash, people, in these times of strife and hardship, many stores have changed their return and exchanges policies. American Apparel gave her a credit note for 31 squids, and she is now looking for someone who is interested in purchasing it off of her. DO ask the salesladies before you hand them your card even if you are the least bit unsure. Gone are the days of dashing in for a 5:55pm sunday fashion fix, to try on at home and return after work on monday if it looks dodgy. Is this legal you ask?

Unfortunately, SOGA ( Sales of Goods Act 1979) only requi

res that goods "conform to contract". This means they must be as described,

fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale). Refunds must be asked for "within a reasonable time". -This is not defined and will depend on circumstances. These are the so-called "statutory rights"-which is a right to legal action under SoGA in theory lasting six years, subject to exceptions generally means that you can make a law suit against the retailers or manufacturers for unsatisfactory goods. This is why you often see on the consumer guarantees or "feedback wanted" part on the side of boxes the terms "This does not affect your Statutory rights"

So the policies that stores have maintained, giving a 28-day window of opportunity to return 'unsuitable' goods, which can certainly cover clothes that don't suit you/aren't the right size or if you simply change your mind, have merely been offered out of their 'own good nature'.

hmm...imagine that... conglomerates... good nature, cute. It is actually economically advantageous for shops to compete to satisfy customers: hence the competitive over-generous no-quibble-money back guarantees. The whole 

thing ran on credit anyway: as long as end of week sales show a figure indicating profit, it didnt really matter if they had to authorise refunds later: all on another page of the accounts sheet.

NOW that the economy isn't doing so well, some stores have changed theire returns policies, so be very careful to ask or read the fine prints:

HMV.COM for example no longer accept exchanges on unwanted items, but still gives 21 days to refund unwanted items that are sent back to them at your own cost:

Figleaves.com from last Xmas onwards no longer accepted returns on reduced-price items; and mustbe in original packaging, unworn.

For purchases made online, over the phone, via mail or digital TV there is extra protection provided by the Distance Selling Regulations. A compulsory 7 days is given for buyers to 'inspect' the goods and decide if or not they are suitable. If not, buyers must 'notify' the seller of their decision to cancel.

Watch out though, some online retailers will often not refund the postage costs, and will also force you to pay for the cost to return the goods, which may be required to be posted by a defined carrier. And even then, "proof of postage" is not always "proof of receipt"

The regulations also have their exceptions: they do not apply to

• goods bought in an auction (so not to ebay!)
• customised goods
• perishable goods- food and flowers
• CDs, DVDs, Software if unsealed
• betting and the lottery

So who the hell would sit around and sue Kellogs for a grain of sand in their cereal? My best advice is: caveat emptor: buyer beware, read or ask before you buy!

Here are some sites and some examples of their offer return policies:

http://www.asos.com: clothing, offers 14 day full refunds if clothes returned in saleable condition. Buyer is to pay for postage back, and must be sent by recorded mail.

http://www.yoox.com: clothing, offers 28 day money-back guarantee and! there is UPS paid returns sticker included: kudos!

amazon.co.uk has a complex returns policy, depending on the size of goods, the ones returned and the mode of return. Read carefully; most marketplace purchases also require buyers to pay for returns: if they accept any at all

Some brands that I am aware of that do NOT accept returns: (only exchanges)

Office shoes- in fact MOST shoe retailers do not hardly ever give out refunds

American Apparel

Benetton

Guess

The Reds and the Yellows

I've never liked the colour red.

- not on my lips, not to wear, especially not on a football shirt.

Unfortunately, this post is about fashion as much as 3 for 2 offers are about saving.

The past couple of years of political unrest in Thailand has been characterized by the polarization between supporters of the King and Present PM and the ousted PM, Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecommunications mogul who was elected prime minster and ruled for a couple of controversial terms before in late 2007, the Thai Military took over in a bloodless coup and effectively demoted him as PM. 

So what's with the colour code? The former wear yellow to symbolize their loyalty to the Thai Monarchy, inespecially the King: yellow is the colour for those born on Mondays according to Thai culture, while those robed in red support some notion of  'democracy' and are currently evoking havoc in the city of Bangkok and beyond to show support for the ousted PM Thaksin and to demand that the present PM - Cambridge and Eton-educated man Abphisit, who was recently elected as PM.

There have been a tantamount of rumours surrounding Red Shirt cladded warriors: that Thaksin himself had exchanged some collateral or even paid the Red Shirts to stage public disturbance. Their goal? to make the present PM assign so that there will be a new election run by the puppetmaster Thaksin from abroad.

At this point, the mass of Red Shirts have broken in to a hotel summit hosting representatives for Rulers of the Southeast Asia. There are road blockades consisting of parked taxis and scooters. They're burning down buses and Yesterday, the Military had decided to intervene.

Personally, I can not offer a peaceful resolution of this problem: it is almost as a see-saw situation when one primeminister is hate passionately by one side and worshipped like God, especially for those who've apparently recieved their little sum of gratitude from Thaksin instead.

Here's a little piece of satirical humor: this is an "application form" for the Red Shirts (National Democratic Front) protesting activitie

s. It'll give you a little idea of what the said demographic consists of

• 
  

Application form for the Red Shirt Demonstration Crowd

(Please fill out the sections printed out in red. We do not really care about the other sections)

the customer ISN'T always right

Here is a HILARIOUS bit of communication which took place between one of my colleagues at work and a local gym: just have a look at the CLASS (or rather, the lack thereof)
in the way the senior members of the gym replied.

I wouldn't ever voluntarily sign up for a fixed period gym membership myself as frankly, I think I'd be saving money if I jogged to the gym and throw a tenner in the foyer on a daily basis.



Gyms are known to viciously track and hunt people down to extend their memberships- with my last experience having been getting out of my gym membership by convincing the admin that I was going to get married with my researcher husband and emigrate to Guinea Bissau, to conduct research on snake venom. I had to bring my pet snake in, along with a few vials of fairy liquid and a stack of files until they finally let me cancel the year-long membership.

Below however, is wildly different from the usual approach to secure long-term credit:
I guess some businesses are really just doing far too well to care about their potential customers.


(and who said the credit crunch was hitting us so badly?)

-Original Message-----
>> From:
>> Sent: 27 January 2009 14:21
>> To: G.V. (Fitzrovia)
>> Subject: Feedback - please pass to management
>>
>> FAO: Management
>>
>> Hello,
>> Today I went to the Fitzrovia studio for a trial class and I really
>> enjoyed it. I was all set to purchase a course of 10 off peak sessions
>> until I found out that I had to choose the time and date of all 10
>> classes before I could start. I appreciate that the off peak offer is
>> a special deal hence the limited times, total body class availability
>> only and the inability to reschedule after a class is booked but I
>> think asking people to choose the time and date of all 10 classes at
>> the time of booking makes it a near impossible offer for anyone that works
> full time.
>>
>> I already pay for a gym membership which is why I am interested in the
>> reduced rate off peak offer and I understand that that comes with
>> restrictions but it is simply impractical to insist that members
>> pre-book all 10 classes and then potentially lose out if a class is
> missed.
>>
>> I hope you will reconsider this policy as I would really like to start
>> coming to Good Vibes regularly.
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,

On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 3:03 PM, Reception wrote:

>> Hi >> >>
Thank you for your email. I'm really glad that enjoyed your free trial session. I'm afraid that we do need to be quite strict on the terms and conditions of the Off Peak course as it is at such a discounted rate. Our normal sessions (10 for £150) do offer much more flexibility, these you can book as and when you like, they are valid for 6 months, and we can re-schedule the sessions as long as we have 24 hours notice. These still offer great value as we are one of the cheapest Power Plate studios in London and our training is second to none!
Please do let me know if you have any questions or if you would like to book?
All the best,
*Please note that we need at least 24hrs to cancel or re-schedule appointments

>>

> -----Original Message-----
>

From: > Sent: 28 January 2009 15:05
To: Reception >
Subject: Re: Feedback - please pass to management > >

Thanks for your reply but I think I will look to join a gym like Virgin who > offers Power Plate classes. Their membership is only £73/month so if I do 10 > classes a month the cost per class is only £7.30. I only mention this to let > you know that there are more competitive offers out there. > >
Thanks and regards

On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 3:31 PM, Reception wrote:
> Hi
>
> Thank you for your feedback. We are aware that virgin offer the Power
> Plates, but they do not have instructor led classes and so the training is
> not as effective. Our training really is second to none and we achieve some
> amazing results.
>
> Virgin will also ask you to join for at least a year. If you are willing to
> do this then we also offer a membership scheme which is £120 per month for a
> minimum of 12 months or £150 per month for 6 months. On the membership you
> get 12 sessions per month (so, roughly 3 per week). Please do let me know if
> you have any questions or would like any other information?
>
> All the best,
>
>
>
> *Please note that we need at least 24hrs to cancel or re-schedule
> appointments

-----Original Message-----
From: Sent: 28 January 2009 15:57 To: reception Subject: Re: Feedback - please pass to management I'm afraid your information is incorrect. Virgin offer a month to month membership for £73/mo and they also offer a reduced rate membership if you join for a year. This is at least the case at the Oxford Street studio. They also offer instructor led power plate classes: http://www.virginactive.co.uk/Content/Innovations/Powerplate.aspx

The letter finally reached the top level of management, who also seems to appear on the website dressed like, well this...

From: N. d. B
Date: Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 8:07 PM
Subject: RE: Feedback - please pass to management
To:
Cc:


Hello - then you should go there. We offer an excellent service that
all other gyms copy but their classes aren't that great by all
accounts. But if that is what you can afford then you should go to
Virgin.

We like have over 8,000 happy clients happy and we offer an excellent
service that we are proud of. It's no point quibbling over our and
virgins price - it's a bit like comparing Tescos and Fortnums - you
have to decide what level of service you want in life and if you are
more of a Tesco girl then good luck to you.

Best wishes.

N. d. B
x.

N.d.B holds the position of head of branch or management. I must say, never before have I seen a less dignified response, slandering the value supermarket chain, ending the letter with a sarcastic kiss. I did tell my colleague that she sounded just like she looked in her photo though... classy. I guess no matter what in some cases, the customer just isn't in the right.