I'm taking a break from tshirt packing, stock-checking and rearranging them into new boxes. A new stock of Gold tshirts just arrived yesterday and I hadn't even had time to check the stock yet.
But this time, I have two helpers...the Fuzzy Lumpkin Sisters (still fuzzy because of today's Frontlining).
A new stock of Gold. Old is always gold. Our Gold tshirts are still selling very well.
I managed to get some same-sized boxes to store the tshirts so that I can stack them up neatly. As it is, my son already says the house looks like a warehouse! Well, he is right about that...for now.
We have four designs now, and in 14 sizes. I'll bet no other tshirt brand caters to so many body shapes and sizes! Well, I didn't want anyone to be left out in wearing our tshirts. We used to even have Baby 22 last time, but I think 14 sizes is about all I handle! We also have the special order Size 50, occasionally, for the "big friendly bears"!
Be assured that all our shirts have been checked throughly by our quality control supervisors. They impose the most stringent standards, too.
They even check the boxes where it is stored.
Er, wrong box, little ones. That's Cow, Bunny and Tiger's rest-box.
Poor Bobby got lost amongst the boxes.
While I was packing these tshirts, I got thinking about how I get to meet ALL kinds of people in the course of running AnimalCare. There are those absolutely wonderful people; strangers at first, good friends after that. They speak up for you, support you from afar, comfort you when you're down, and yet you've never even met them. There are also those anonymous commenters - I (sort of) know who is who from their language by now. I mean, I can tell, "oh, this is that Anon, and that is that Anon." There's the one who is really sweet and would always give useful advice. There are many who are very caring. There are the outspoken ones, too. And then, there's the one who simply cannot stand it when I humanise animals! All wonderful people....who mean well. I appreciate all your comments very much. Keep 'em coming, please, so that I won't be engaged in lonesome writing!
You may not know this, but whenever I receive comments, I really thank the heavens above for creating the affinity between me and all these wonderful, polite, educated and very decent people and not those gangster-types who patronise some other forums. Have you seen the types of comments the gangster-like people write? It makes your hair stand on end - they are vicious, obnoxious and even rude.
I'm glad we don't attract those kinds here, except for that one instance during the ear-notching fiasco. That obnoxious woman bombarded us with the most unpleasant comments for two days, under the guise of various pseudonyms except her own name! Oh well, good riddance to her! May we never meet her again for many, many lifetimes.
So, talking about tshirts, even in the course of selling these tshirts, I meet all kinds of people. There are those absolutely wonderful folks who, once you send them the link, will write out all the sizes neatly, give me their postal address and make payment promptly - those are the ones sent from heaven and thankfully, there are MANY of those. There are those who make the effort to collect orders from their colleagues, family and friends - thank you!
But there are also the odd ones who do the strangest things! Some insist that I decide the size for them and their family. I can't do that - I don't even know who they are and have never seen them before!
And the most difficult kind are those who make an appointment to collect the tshirts from me, but do not turn up. I would have already changed my plans and end up wasting a whole evening waiting for them. When they don't turn up, I ask if I could send by post instead, but no, they insist on coming, so another appointment has to be made.
Gosh, I have a life, too, please.
On weekday afternoons, I'm usually at the vets after work. On weekends, I'm out on my public speaking rounds or fund-raising for AnimalCare. Otherwise, how can we afford to keep sponsoring all these spay-neuter and medical cases on an almost daily basis? Funds got to keep coming in. It's hard work that takes up a lot of time.
So, sometimes when I say I really cannot meet you, it means I really cannot. I hope you understand. This is especially so now since I'm also packing to move house soon. There is so much I need to do.
Postal orders is really easier when the order is small. The postal charge could be the same as the petrol you spend in driving to my house! If you wish to view the tshirts, you could do so at our upcoming events. Just write to me and I'll tell you where we'd be. But if you could just measure your chest and follow the guidelines in the link, most people get their sizes right straight away. We've sold thousands of tshirts now, mostly by post, and only two people said they got it wrong but that's because they did not measure their chest and follow the guidelines in the link.
Moving on to vet appointments now, we have those who do not turn up on time at the vet's and when they finally come, there is no apology at all. The appointment has been made, the vets are waiting, I am waiting, the slot is reserved and some do not even turn up. Another animal has been deprived of that slot. It is also not fair to the vet.
If there is a legitimate reason (car break down, unforeseen traffic madness, etc.), I can totally understand but sometimes, it is just a case of bad planning or the tidak-apa attitude or a total disrespect for time. I feel really horrible when this happens and I have to apologise to the vets, yet some Malaysians still have not learnt that the infamous Malaysian "rubber time" is one heck of a bad habit and HAS to change.
The Japanese are 30 minutes EARLY for any appointment. That's their way of life.
Recently, we had an appointment made for a lady to get her cat neutered. One day before, she could not decide whether she wanted our vet or her own vet. I told her to please make up her mind as the appointment had already been made. She was supposed to get back to me the next day but she did not. I texted her but there was no reply at all. When I finally called her in the evening, she said nonchalantly, "Oh, I'm doing it at my own vet." Gosh, couldn't you have told me? The appointment has already been made for your cat and now, another animal has been deprived of that slot. I guess for some people, they don't see the bigger picture. I had to quickly cancel the appointment and apologise to the vet.
And there are also those who promise to re-donate to our fund for medical treatments rendered, but do not pay. If they did not want to pay in the first place, then why promise? Yes, we ASK for a donation, but we do not insist. So, I have to thicken my skin and keep writing to ask, "Hello there....you said you would donate, er...are you ready to donate yet, because I need to close my accounts." Some would reply, yes, yes, we'll donate (and do it, or don't do it!). Some would simply ignore my email as in "Er...do I know you?". I suppose those are the ones whom I won't see again. Well, never mind, at least that's how we weed them out! And eventually, it is the good, honest and genuine people who will remain. At least I have a "weeding system" here! Not a very good one, but you'll really see a person's true colours when it comes to things like this.
Not easy, eh?
Nope, not easy at all....
I've got to manage our funds carefully so that we can go on.....and we have no debts. Never had and never will because if we have no more money, AnimalCare will just close shop. We have no overheads, no admin, no nothing. Just vet's bills to pay.
Ultimately, it boils down to this: The world is not just about us, but also about others. We have to look a bit further than ourselves and our needs and consider others' as well. Having said that, we also cannot expect others to behave the way we would like them to....so, this is all about learning, isn't it? Learning to deal with all kinds of people, learning to drop all expectations, learning to accept some things as they are, and finally, learning to still smile and go on at the end of the day.
Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be.....
Enough reflections for now, I had better get back to my tshirt packing....
I just got all the ladies tshirts sorted out properly in these boxes. We have a sale this Sunday and another one next week, so it's massive repacking again.
Now, for the Sports....
It's going to be a mighty long night for me....
Goodnight, folks.
P.S. The plus point of having to do all this, besides raising funds for AnimalCare is that I will develop muscles in my arms! Free workout! These boxes are really heavy. And there is another shipment arriving next week in time for that event. More free workout comin' up!
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