I hate toads.

I hate toads. Big time.

What's so attractive about my office that these toads got to sneak into my office and hide all day long?

In the recent months, 4 toads seeked refuge in my office. They hid in each and every dark spaces they could find; under the sofa, behind the cabinets, even inside my shoe.

Everytime I spot any one of them, I'd chase them out. But they never fail to get back into my office.

This morning, the moment I stepped into my office, I smelt something. The smell of death. First thing that came to mind was my hamsters. Yeah, I've got two of them hammies in my office. They were alive and well, running in their little homes. I searched high and low for whatever died but couldn't find a trace. Since the foul smell wasn't that over-powering, I lit the aromatherapy thingie to mask the odour.

Then came noon. Came back from lunch and I almost threw everything up. But there was still no trace. Only the odour. I moved every furniture away from the wall and then I saw them.

3 toads. 1 alive and 2 dead. Squashed between a heavy cabinet and the wall. How the hell they got there, I didn't quite comprehend. I chased the live toad out of the office with a broom. I made sure it was left far far away from my office. Cleaning up the mess was, gut wrenching. The odour tried to fight its way through the towel mask I put on. Nobody could stand the pungent odour. I had to do it alone.

Job done but the odour still lingers. I hope it'll dissipate by tomorrow.

I hate toads.

duh ?

Last Friday, I took half day leave to shop for a smaller and lighter stroller for little Ellie.

I decided to try my luck at Suntec, where there's Carrefour and Kid's Mall. Both carry a wide range of strollers for infants.

Two models were shortlisted. Combi and Capella. Both were shortlisted because they were exactly what Lina and I were looking for and both were within our budget. The Combi was selling for SGD 188 and the Capella, SGD155. Only difference was that the Combi one was about 800 grams lighter, and the overall width of the stroller was a tad smaller than the Capella model. Since Lina preferred the Combi brand name over the Capella, we decided on the Combi stroller. The model was "Super Mechacal".

Since Lina was in the office, she offered to check other retailers' contact number for me so that I can compare prices. She got me contact numbers for 3 Kiddy Palace outlets, Baby Kingdom and Baby Hypermart. I called each and everyone of them. Only 1 Kiddy Palace outlet, Baby Kingdom and Baby Hypermart carry the two models that I mentioned.

What stunned me was how the sales staff conversed with me, their potential customer. An excerpt of the first conversation with Marina Square's Kiddy Palace went like this:

Me: Hello, is that Kiddy Palace at Marina Square ?

KPMS: Yes, how may I help you ?

Me: Um, I want to enquire whether your store carry the Combi stroller, model name is Super Mechacal ?

KPMS: How much is it ?

At this point during the conversation, I was taken aback. I thought they were supposed to tell me whether they carried stock for the particular model I was enquiring on and the price and so on. And so,

Me: Er, I don't know. That's one of the reasons why I am calling you.

KPMS: Oh, ok. Please hold on.

Me: Thank you.

(After about 1 minute.)

KPMS: Hi, sorry to keep you waiting. Sorry, our outlet do not have stock for the particular model. Maybe you would like to try another outlet at Toa Payoh ? Anyway, the price of the stroller is SGD 188 and there is no warranty for all our strollers.

Me: Oh, I see. Alright, thank you for the info.

Now, the next and subsequent conversations with Toa Payoh's Kiddy Palace, Baby Kingdom and Baby Hypermart tickled me.

Whenever I called and ask for the particular model that I am looking for, all the sale staffs would ask me, "How much is it?"

When I came down to calling Baby Hypermart, which was on the last in the list, the sales staff too, asked me, "How much is it?". I couldn't take it anymore and I just burst out laughing. That got the sales staff confused.

I wonder, is this some kinda new generation of sales gimmick or something. No matter what the hell it is, it sure is funny to me, the way people talk nowadays. ^_^