Customer Service Review: Domino's Pizza

The Situation:
I had ordered Domino's Pizza for dinner, and when I sat down to eat, I discovered that it was the wrong pizza.

The Happening:
I called them. They apologised profusely and immediately sent me the correct pizza. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't get a free pizza voucher, but I was so impressed that they called me twice to find out what went wrong that I didn't care.

The Verdict:
Five star customer service. Other companies could learn from the way Domino's treats its customers. Kudos and thanks, Domino's, for making the effort.

Girl Runs Away To Avoid Arranged Marriage

From Reuters: California girl fled to escape arranged marriage:

(Reuters) - A 13-year-old Southern California girl who ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage in Pakistan has been taken into protective custody by child welfare authorities, police said on Thursday.

Jessie Marie Bender, who vanished from her home in the early morning hours of February 22, was found on Wednesday at a motel in a nearby community, where she had been hiding with the help of an uncle, San Bernardino County Sheriff's spokeswoman Roxanne Walker said.

After an investigation turned up no evidence that Jessie had been kidnapped, Walker said, detectives discovered that an uncle had taken her to a motel in nearby Apple Valley out of fear that she would be taken to Pakistan for an arranged marriage.

Walker said Jessie and her mother were American but that the girl's stepfather was a Pakistani native. It was not immediately clear if the girl's mother and stepfather are married.

For one, it's pretty incredible that something like this could happen in America, for all they boast about personal freedom. For another, I applaud her bravery in running away from and risking everything she knows to stand up for her own rights. Apparently this 13-year-old girl has more balls than certain people.

This isn't the first incidence of American families sending girls to far-off lands like Pakistan to be married off, with or without their consent. I'm glad that the real situation has come to light, and perhaps this will raise more awareness on the issue globally. I sincerely hope things turn out for the best for her.

Phoenix Jones & The Rain City Superhero Movement

So the last 1-year or so of my blog basically entails me whinging about not being loved, how the world hates me, being hurt, etc, and so on, and so forth. Not that there hasn't been damn good reason for it, but I think it's about time I stop feeling bloody sorry for myself and bring back this blog to what I do best: whinging about less personal stuff.

Don't get me wrong, there've been plenty of things that I've wanted to write about over the past year, but due to time constraints and sometimes just me being lazy and unmotivated, it's gone unnoticed.

Never fear, I have a doozy to start with: Superheroes. No. Seriously. Introducing Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superhero Movement (not to be confused with the dance crew).

Phoenix Jones is a civilian who dresses up as a superhero at night to patrol the streets and keep the citizens of Seattle safe. His costume has a bulletproof vest, knife plates, etc.. They carry non-lethal weapons, and are all trained in combat or mixed martial arts (which, as someone who has trained in kickboxing for several years, I can tell you is no joke).

The Rain City Superhero Movement is apparently 9 people including Phoenix Jones. The other members are Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88 and Penelope. There's less information around on these 8 guys, but then again, I'm not a Facebook user and can't fully access their Facebook page. I am, however, heartened by the inclusion of at least 1 female persona (I think).

If you thought they were the only people in the world crazy enough to do something, you'd be wrong. Well, you'd probably be right if you said Americans (to my knowledge). There's a website for a community of Real Life SuperHeroes (www.reallifesuperheroes.org), detailing the exploits of other masked/unmasked caped/uncaped crusaders who choose to fight crime/injustice/homelessness/etc. There's even tips on what to/what not to do.

For further reading, Suite 101 has an interesting and informative article here. And then there's always Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superhero Movement's Facebook page. And yes, the Seattle police are well aware of their existence, and can tell who is or isn't in the group (really).

Not An Elephant

People have been telling me that to forgive and forget is a desirable trait since I can remember. Later on in life, it hasn't changed, but the "people" are inevitably the people that I'm supposed to forgive and what they did are what I'm supposed to forget about. Most things are easy to forgive and forget, but it's never about the easy ones, is it? It's always the big ones that matter and affect you more than you think it has.

For example, you can forgive someone for making a mistake and doing something that breaks your trust. The question then becomes, how do you forget that it happened? How is it so easy for everyone else to forget that the last time you depended on this person for something that mattered, it didn't happen?

What happens when the thing that's supposed to be forgotten is the complete breakdown of everything you've based your life on? There are some intangible things that you build your life on and around, take for granted, depend on, assume with an unshakable faith that it will be there when you need it. How do you forget the time that you reached for it and it wasn't?

I've learned to forgive the hurt, but how do you forget how much it hurt? How do you assume it wasn't just a lie?

The Myth of the High Standard

It being Valentine's Day, I think it's only natural for the mind to turn to coupling. And, of course, the eternal question, "Where's your boyfriend?". The assumption by most is that I have high standards. Do I really? Honestly, I don't think so. I may talk the talk, but I don't really expect my boyfriends to spend lavishly on me or to take me jetsetting. I don't really expect very much. Yet, here I sit, boyfriend-less. Do I really have high standards?

The Standards:

1. My boyfriend won't lie to me (at least when it counts), because I wouldn't lie to him.
2. The girlfriend isn't outranked by anyone except family. Don't forget, we're talking about a long-term relationship here.
3. My boyfriend will remember my birthday. It's not that hard.
4. When I'm angry or upset, my boyfriend will hold me and tell me that he loves me. Same goes with when I'm insecure, hormonal, depressed, etc. It's a failsafe that works for all occasions. You know why? Because not one ex-boyfriend has ever done this for me.
5. My boyfriend wants me around.

When I tried to list that down, it was pretty hard to come up with 5, but there it is and I think the list is complete. I can't speak for other women, but I personally don't need anything more than these 5 things from my partner.

I don't think the standards are very high. They're not high expectations for anyone other than a child or a family pet, but still the only person I've ever met who hit all 5 wasn't even a boyfriend. Maybe that was my mistake.