The Boyfriend's Birthday =)
Part One - The Puzzle

haha i bet you guys have all been waiting for this entry for AGES! =p ok not all photos are in alrdy, but i guess it shld be sufficient to illustrate liao. ahaa.

ok, firstly, i must start from very very long before you were all born about 1 month ago when the idea surfaced of making a puzzle. here and there, there were deviations from the plan, but due to unforseen circumstances, one fine day 2 weeks before, i decided to stick to the jigsaw puzzle plan. so i approached qiqi who had made something similar for her baobei before. then she gave me the web and i started to 'work' on the puzzle design. but due to a silly deardear who promised me ages ago to gimme the Photoshop software and teach me how to use during hols (yes, im dumb. and yes, he is slow, now still haven't got it.. haha), i started frm scratch with our PINK AND PURPLE background done with....Microsoft Powerpoint -_-'''



and then the disaster surfaced when i tried to put my photos into the ppt slide..

like hello! where's my pretty pink and purple bg gone to! -_-''' and i haven't even added in the words!! =XX

so i figured out i shouldn't let a gone case like me spoil a pretty puzzle, i decided to engage help. and the website stated they would provide free designing and wouldn't start on the puzzle until the customer is satisfied on the design. so i happily and naively trusted them, and engaged their help.

Hi!

I would like to order the following:
....(/edit)

I've attached my desired design.. I would like to have the pink-and-purple checkered backgrd. the the rest of the photos are those that I would like to include in the design. But they look quite messy when I tried to lay them out. =X Could you pls help me a little with the designing? Also, I would like to include the words "Happy 25th Birthday!". I would like to take a look at the design asap. Thanks!

The puzzle will be properly pieced in the frame when it is sent right?

I would like it sent straight to my boyfriend's on 1st May 2008. Is it possible to arrange a specific timing?

Thanks.

Hi,

Design completed. Kindly advise.
Yup, the puzzle is already fixed for you.

Best Regards ,
(/edit) Assistant Manager

ok so it was simple, but tingting did not complain..

Hi,

It looks quite good thanks! But could i take a look at what it would look like if the circled items at the bottom are mingled among the rest of the photos with faces? Hmmm, but the quality of the picture doesn't look too good, will it be better when it's printed out proper? Oh and is it possible to have the words kind of spread over the whole picture..like maybe
Happy
25th
Birthday!
that sort of thing instead of all the words at the top? and i want the exclamation mark(!) behind 'Birthday' pls! haha thanks so much! sorry for the trouble! =)

Hi,
Design completed. Kindly advise.

Best Regards ,
(/edit) Assistant Manager

--> look at the wedding photo!!! >=(

and so tingting got uber pissed, but she tried her best to keep her cool.

Hi,

The wedding photo has been covered by the photo in the middle. pls edit it accordingly. and i noticed you've missed out the above attached photo in the puzzle. could you pls add it in? Thanks!

Regards,
Huiting

Hi,
Design completed. Kindly advise.

Best Regards ,
(/edit) Assistant Manager

the photo originally missing was the photo of me pouting. and if you haven't noticed the photos in huge rectangles are supposed to be our faces, and those in the little ovals are supposed to be 'inanimate objects'. so i thought she must have thought i looked like an inanimate object.

*breathes in.. breathes out*

Hi,

Pls edit the added picture to become the main bigger (squared) pictures.

Hi,

Design completed. Kindly advise.
Best Regards ,
(/edit) Assistant Manager

-flares up as i became an inanimate small rectangle-

i decided i could take no more of the nonsense as i had less than a week left now. so i sought the help of my pro pro designer friend Taliya! =) apparently it was the wisest choice i've ever made, apart from the part about not having made such a decision one week earlier.



see the stunning difference? professional jiu shi bu yi yang ok. she still explained to me that too many photos liao cannot add all in or else will compromise the composition balance blahblahblah. and she sent me the complete workpiece in high resolution 5+mb! but i can't post .pdf file here so...

anyway, it left me floating immensely high up in heaven as i proceeded to email the stupid assistant manager, then head down to deardear's room.

Hi,

I've asked my friend for help with the design. Sorry for any previous inconvenience caused. This will be the final design, pls use this instead.

I'll repeat my order:
(/edit)
By: Tan HuiTing
Contact: heihei_luv@hotmail.com / 92971270
Send puzzle to: (/edit the boyfriend's APPARTMENT address)
On Date: 2nd May 2008, Friday
Time: 10-11am

Pls state the total amount I would have to pay. Also, is it possible to pay by MasterCard? If not, pls send me the account no. that I need to transfer the money into by tomorrow morning. I'll only be able to do the transfer in the afternoon, before 4pm. But if MasterCard payment is allowed, I can do it anytime later.

Thanks.

Regards,
Huiting

if you're wondering why im being so weird about the payment, that's bcoz the bf is with me most of the time im in hall. so the only time i can go out to transfer money was when i have a paper, and he wouldn't be with me then. and it was stated in the web that they wouldn't start work until they received the money. so i didn't want to drag anymore coz it was already Sunday night, and my next papers were on Monday and Wednesday.

in any case, after the email was sent out on Sunday night, i went to study in deardear's room and only returned at 2+am, when i happily continued to oggle at the new design. then i realised....uh oh! the matchmakers' face not inside!!! AHHHHHHHHH! then i started panicking coz very late le. then i sms Tal and emailed her, but she didn't see it until she woke up in the morning liao. and by then it was Monday again and she had to return to work which means OTs until 12/1am. so obviously i couldn't trouble her anymore. so i just had to went ahead with the design...

and i waited and waited and waited for the Assistant Manager to reply my email. and by 10am, i was squirming worriedly. so i called her, and she didn't pick up my call. then i sms-ed her my concern about the fund transfer. and she finally replied my sms at 11+am:
Hi, you may pass me the money personally when we meet up for you to collect your puzzle on Wednesday.

??

i included in more than one of the emails that i wanted the puzzle delivered!! ....

so i called her..
Hi...
Hi...
Erm, i thought i asked for my puzzle to be delivered?
Oh, i thought you wanted to collect it personally!
... i requested for delivery in the emails.. so i have to pay an extra delivery charge right?
yeap. i'll let you know the total amount.
ok can you send me the bank account no. pls? i need it now if you need the money in by today.
okok. i send you now.
oh, can you sms it to me? i can't check my email now. i'm going out alrdy.
ok, sure.
thanks, bye.
bye.

oh it was a very young girl's voice..like younger than our age. and qiqi told me later she collected her puzzle personally last time and it was a very young sec sch looking girl. and the boss turns out to be this man who employed two xiao mei meis to help her -_-'''

anyway, i waited and waited until i went in for my paper at 1pm, and the sms didn't come. and i came out at 3.30pm, but the sms was not here yet! -starts flashing daggers-

-calls THE assistant manager, but nobody picks up-

sms-ed her to tell her to send me the account no. like now if they want the payment by Monday, or else i can only pay on Wednesday. replies: i sent it to your email already. omg. i swore i almost vommited blood on the spot. i replied to tell her i had no access to email now and told her to sms it to me. then she just said it's ok, she's outside now, can make payment on wednesday. omg i swear i wanted to kick her so badly!!

so i went back to check my email..

Hi,
We will proceed your order .

Your puzzle will be completed on 29th April,Tuesday .
You can make your payment to (/edit account no.) anytime now .

Total is $(/edit)

Drop a sms to (/edit) to inform us to check the balance when you done your payment .
It will take 2 working days for the puzzle to reach you .

Lastly ,we need the address for the puzzle to be post to .

Best Regards ,
(/edit)Assistant Manager

ok, so i sent the address AGAIN. and also, sent the final design again(the high resolution .pdf format) just in case she blur..

Hi,

I'll transfer the money on Wednesday. Just to confirm with you, attached is the final design to be sent for print - it's the one i sent to you last night.

Pls send the puzzle to
(/edit bf address).
The recepient name is (/edit bf's name).

Thanks.

and that was Monday afternoon. and on WEDNESDAY morning....
Hi,
Can you send me the file in JPEG format?

i was like so uberly horrified by the thought that she haven't finished my puzzle or sth coz The Boyfriend's bday was like the next day and i was planning to pull a i-have-no-presents-for-you, then the present will arrive at his house on Friday, then Saturday will be his bday party..so that'll be 3 happy days in a row for him! so i was apparently in a very bad mood and when i sent the .pdf file i just demanded "I want my puzzle delivered on time by Friday"

then i waited and transferred the money to her after my evo paper (around 4pm). then i sms-ed her again to tell her i had transferred my money and that i wanted my puzzle delivered by Friday. and she replied Have you sent me the JPEG file? -faints- yes, i sent it to you in the morning alrdy. i want my puzzle delivered on time by friday, as promised. I don't think it will reach by Friday. But you promised me that it will be completed on Tuesday, and you only need 2 working days to send it out. I want my puzzle delivered by Friday. But you kept changing the designs. I can only finish the puzzle earliest by tmr and send it out, but it won't arrive on time coz Thu is public holiday. if you want to get it earlier on fri or sat morning you can collect it from me personally. or you can gimme your appartment address instead of having it sent to your office. sorry abt that. You promised to complete my puzzle on TUESDAY after i finalised my design with you on MONDAY. and you promised me on the phone it will reach before FRIDAY. besides, the address i gave you was an APPARTMENT address. and what's the point of me giving you an extra delivery charge when you're asking me to collect it myself personally. I want my puzzle delivered on time by Friday. ok i'll try to rush it out and get it sent by today. can you gimme the address again? (/edit bf's address) i really need it delivered by friday. thanks.

at 6pm..
Hi i just finished the puzzle and sent it out. it'll reach earliest by Saturday morning coz tmr is a public holiday.

alarmingly, i responded by breaking down and cry. yea so i cried within 3 hours after my last paper ended. cool right. i was just so damn pissed with the stupid girl. not even my fault that the puzzle couldn't reach on time!! and i feel so upset that after spending so much time on it, it couldn't turn out the way i planned. bwah. i guess im a real sucker for wanting things to turn out the exact way i planned. you cld say im inflexible i guess. but i was just plain pissed off and disappointed by the present not being able to reach on time.

nwae, deardear ended up receiving his puzzle on saturday noon. and yay! he loves it!! ^^ his xiaomei described it as "ta hen hao xiao leh. just take the nail and kok kok kok into the wall straightaway!" hahahaa his xiaomei/my deardear is so funny! nwae i didn't get to take a proper photo except for this..
=)

ok i wanted to like blog the whole bday entry, but this took me more than 2 hours alrdy, and im quite tired of typing. haha more updates on the rest of the bday when i'm free then! =p

tchao!