i think the thing that ppl without memory problems don’t realize is that in order for ppl with memory problems to benefit from writing things down so they don’t forget to do something later they have to:
remember that they should write the thing down
remember where they put their journal/agenda/etc
remember what they have to write down
then later they have to:
remember that they even wrote down a reminder
remember, again where they put their journal/agenda/etc
remember to actually do the thing after checking, which is an actual problem ppl with memory and executive functioning problems struggle with
and it’s like, a hurdle upon a hurdle upon a hurdle, which means it won’t always work, and for some people it won’t even work at all
and it’s suggested to us so often? so yeah we know “writing things down can be beneficial”, you don’t have to keep beating it into us and then getting angry when it doesn’t magically cure us
I want to punch whoever came up with the phrase “the customer is always right” because the customer is wrong, like really fucking wrong, 97% of the time.
“I want the tacos with the hard shells” Me:“ ma'am we don’t serve hard shell tacos. We have a soft flour tortilla or soft corn tortilla” “Oh. Then I want the corn. Those are the hard shell ones right?” Me:“no, ma'am, we don’t serve hard shell tacos. We have flour or corn tortillas” “Flour or corn? So…which ones are the hard ones?” -.-.-.- “Hey the lettuce from the salad bar doesn’t taste right.” “Uh sir we don’t have a salad bar. That’s the decorative kale for our salsa bar. It’s not meant to be eaten” “Well if it’s not meant to be eaten why are you serving it?!” “Sir, it’s decorative. We aren’t serving it.” -.-.-.- “What’s this extra charge on my receipt? Why are you charging me extra? I demand to talk to a manager!!” “Sir that’s the tax, it’s 5% in our state.” “No you’re trying to steal from me, I’ll have you fired!” “Sir, it says right there that it’s the tax.” -.-.-.-
Good god the list could go on forever
“Why aren’t you scanning my coupon?” “Because it’s expired, Ma'am.” “Well, can’t you just run it anyway and just… Not tell anyone?” “No ma'am, the cash register knows all the coupons and it will detect that this one’s expired.” “That’s not fair! You can’t just send people coupons and not let them use them when they’re only a day late!” “Ma'am, I-” “Can’t you just run it??” “No, ma'am. I can’t. It’s imposs-” “THEN FIND ME SOMEONE WHO CAN!!”
I can’t count the number of times customers will claim to know our prices better than us and the managers.
“Can you write ‘Happy Birthday Rachel’ on this really small cake?” “I’m sorry sir, I cannot fit that on the cake since there is not enough room, but I can try to fit ‘Rachel’ and give you a Happy Birthday pick to put on it” “Well someone else did it last time so you should be able to too” “Sir I am new and I do not have as much experience as the others who are not here today” “CANT YOU JUST WRITE HAPPY BIRTHDAY RACHEL ON IT” “I already told you sir, I cannot but I can give you a pick-” “I ALWAYS have a problem with you people I want to speak to the manager”
Think I’ll escape the Beijing heatwave in a cinema tomorrow
Oh. Wow.
This is film for every Chinese kid who grew up on 西游记/Journey To The West and stories of 孙悟空/Sun Wukong. This is a film for every Chinese kid who wished they could hang out with the Handsome Monkey King and imagined what it would be like to watch 齐天大圣/ Great Sage Equaling Heaven fight. This is a beautifully, lovingly animated film that is utterly and unmistakably Chinese.
It’s not a complicated story. Kid accidentally releases Sun Wukong from his prison under the mountain, Wukong and kid slowly become friends, there are children who need saving and a monster/妖怪Yaoguai to defeat. It’s not canon with “The journey to the West” but it’s not completely not canon either. The kid is 江流儿jiangliuer(lit. baby delivered by river) and he’s fun and cute and energetic, but those who have read the original books immediately realise that jiangliuer is the childhood name of 玄奘/Xuanzang the Tang Dynasty monk who Sun Wukong is destined to lead to the west (india). 猪八戒/Zhu Bajie/Pigsy turns up but he’s not Bajie yet because he hasn’t given that name, he’s just the fallen Heavenly Marshal turned into a pig. 老沙/Sandy doesn’t turn up but 小白龙/White Dragon does and the white dragon is one of the most beautifully rendered creatures in the whole film, which is saying a lot because the whole film is beautiful. From the clouds to the falling stones, to the water and textures and the use of space and depth and kinetic fun action scenes, this is a gorgeous-looking animated film unlike anything that China has produced before, and my mainland Chinese friends are incredibly proud of it.
The story is thoroughly enjoyable, but it’s all just a means for Chinese people to see their most famous and popular childhood hero onscreen in a way he’s never been done before. Wukong in this film is not the playful, fun-loving handsome Monkey King, he’s a fallen and defeated Wukong who has suffered 400 years of imprisonment and humiliation, and is restrained to a mere fraction of his full power by a remnant of Buddha’s shackles on his arm. Being landed with a kid who keeps reminding him of how he’s supposed to be the 齐天大圣Great Sage Equaling Heaven and believing in him when he won’t believe in himself doesn’t make his mood any better. It’s all build up to the climax and pay-off the audience knows is coming and breathlessly waits for: the moment when the Great Sage Equaling Heaven is unleashed in his full glory, walking on clouds clad in armour and red cloak pulling out his golden cudgel preparing to wreak absolute destruction on the demon which has challenged him. And when that happened, my Chinese-kid-self cheered.
I can’t describe how happy this film makes me. As someone who grew up on “Journey to the West” this is the first time I’ve seen Sun Wukong and his power done in a way that looks and feels epic. The opening scene of the Heavenly forces fighting the Great Sage in the clouds is the first time I’ve ever seen that fight done in gravity-defying justice and alone makes the 3D worth paying out for. There are so many moments where my friends and I gasped and laughed (the monsters are both frightening and hilarious, and Bajie is so much fun to watch) and the credits are adorable. jiangliuer is not just he-who-will-become-the-Tang-Monk-in-a-next-life, he’s the stand in for every Chinese kid who wishes they could be friends with Sun Wukong and watch in wonder as he fights. And when a baby is told, “Don’t be afraid, the Great Sage will protect you” it’s what so many Chinese parents have told their children who are afraid of monsters in the dark.
If this film gets released outside China I absolutely recommend seeing it, but in the meantime I plan on being a Chinese kid of ten years old again and watching this film at least once more before I leave Beijing.
He pulled a sword out of his fucking head while looking like Chaos. Win.
Saw this with some friends because it was the only movie in the cinema that day with simple enough Chinese for me to understand and wow, this was a great movie! Can’t wait to see what other animated movies China comes out with in the future cos this was just visually wow and a really charming and lovable movie.
The Customer Is Not Always Right: Needs To Press Paws
(I am cashier at a pet store. I see a man walk into the store, pick up a large and expensive coffee table book on show dogs, and get in my line. My manager has warned me, and shown me a picture of this man. He tries to convince cashiers to give him a refund for items he has just stolen. I immediately page my manager, who, unbeknownst to me, is tied up with a minor medical emergency in the back of the store.)
Thief:
“I want to return this item.”
Me:
“Do you have a receipt?”
Thief:
“No.”
Me:
“I’m very sorry, sir. Without a receipt, I cannot give you a refund.”
Thief:
“Give me a refund.”
Me:
“Sir, I watched you pick that book up when you came in. I know you did not buy it.”
Thief:
“Give me the f****** money, or I’ll kick your a**.”
(Most of the customers in my line start backing away.)
Me:
“Sir, I cannot give you any money, and if you leave with that item I will call the police. Please leave the store.”
Thief:
“You little a**-hole!”
(The thief grabs the front of my shirt, and rears his arm back to punch me. I throw my arms up to shield my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a flash of movement. The next thing I see is a spatter of blood on my counter, and the man out cold on the floor with a bloody nose. My manager, with a paramedic from the earlier emergency, walks up.)
Manager:
“What the heck just happened?”
(As I tell my story, an assistant manager calls the police, opens another line, and checks out the waiting customers. The paramedic starts checking on the man, who has a clearly broken nose. The man slowly regains consciousness, and points to me.)
Thief:
“She assaulted me! I’m going to sue!”
(I talk to the police.)
Me:
“He grabbed me, but I never hit him. I don’t know how he got hurt!”
(The man, a known criminal, is handcuffed and put in the police car. The officers and my manager go to review the security cameras. About ten minutes later, I get called to come back to the office.)
Manager:
“You have got to watch this!”
(The camera footage clearly shows the man getting the book, getting in line, arguing with me, and then grabbing my shirt. At that moment, the customer in line after him, a tiny, middle-aged Asian woman, leaps up, grabs the hair on the back of his head, slams his face into my counter, and then calmly steps back to where she had been standing. She did it so quickly, that we have to run the footage back on slow to see exactly what she had done. After the thief is out cold, she walks over to the new line that the assistant manager opened, buys her bag of cat food with cash, and leaves without a word. Apparently, the other customers either didn’t see what she did, or decided to keep their mouths shut. We have no idea who she is, and we never see her again. The thief was charged with assault on me, and arrested. Wherever you are lady, thanks! You’re my personal super hero!)
If I mispronounce your name because it is foreign to my tongue, correct me.
I don’t purposefully allow the accents of your name to fall flat on my tongue like the European English demands or the language to sound chopped and misheard.
If I don’t say your name correctly, don’t shrug and say it’s ok because people have been doing it all your life. Your mother worked hard to name you that name, with all its syllables and apostrophes and hyphens and inflection.
I don’t want to disrespect your heritage, your culture, your great grandmother or grandfather and their struggle.
If I mispronounce your name, forgive me, but don’t let it happen again. Make sure everyone knows your name.
