Daycare and Dongles

This is a Dongle.  Before today, I've never experienced one ever in my life.  I'm not sure if I'm even spelling it correctly.

This is Daycare.  Bruno went to daycare today.  For a 1st day, the administrator said he was very good.  He shy-ed away when the dogs played rough (as he does in Singapore), he slept a little, he tried playing with another skittish dog.

While Bruno was at daycare, I picked up an iron, an electric kettle, a dish-drying rack, went to a proper grocery store.  Then I ran out of hands, went back home, vacuumed and mopped, and then attempted opening a bank account, and headed to O2 to buy the dongle.  Without a local bank account, I can't get internet services provided.  So my London friend K and my husband did some research, and found a Plan B- the dongle.

The neighborhood O2 store said I could only buy the dongle on the "pay-as-you-go" plan from their store at Oxford Street.  There are only so many hours in one morning, I ended up getting a London cell phone instead.  Soon it was time to pick Bruno up.

Along with delivery and bank, Oxford Street is also in my book of Dirty British Words.  I like Oxford Street as much as say, Orchard Road in Singapore.  These are streets I try to avoid because I really like being a happy person :) :) :)

Poor Bruno and I had to get on the tube westbound to Bond Street.  When I got to the O2 store there?  I was told, after waiting for about 30 minutes, that they were out of stock.  The dragon attempted a gentle roar-  Please would you call the nearest O2 store and check if they have that in stock, and if they do, to please hold one for me?  I'll head there, NOW.

Reply-  Sorry, I can't do that, because nobody will pick up the phone.

Fair enough.  (???!!!???!!!#$^@!)

Bruno and I stepped back into the horror of Oxford Street.  At the Vodafone store, the salesperson showed me a dongle- hooray- and was just about to sell it when his colleague said-
You can't sell it to her, it's our last piece.

And said- No, we can't call our other branch for you because we don't have their number.  Oh, Miss?  Can I take a picture of your dog?

???!!!@@@!!!!  :)

At T-Mobile a few stores down, they just received stock of the latest 4G dongles- (like I really know what that means).  More importantly, I can actually buy one from them, like right that moment!  

I'm sorry, Madame, we don't take visa.

You Don't Take Visa?  On Oxford Street?

Then the Dragon remembered, this morning at the bank, she could not open a bank account (Your name is Wong Ling Tamatha on your passport, but on the water bill, it states Tamatha Wong, so you are not Tamatha Wong, but Wong Ling Tamatha, and I cannot open a bank account for you without a verified British address), but damn it, she managed to change the last of her old 20-pound notes to new ones.  And if Bruno can express patience, calm, beauty, with all the madness around him, and make it through Day 1 of Daycare in this land unscathed, so can she.