I often order things via internet because that way I don't have to leave the house to go to a store. However sometimes I'd like to know more before I buy something. So I send an e-mail with a few questions. Easy, right? It is really disturbing how hard it is for people to actually answer all your questions at once. And sometimes it's even worse; you have to send 3 mails to get the real answers you wanted because they apparently did not understand you and just guessed what you wanted. Or they avoid a straight answer. People, come on, how hard can it be?

Perhaps it's an effect of the easier communication: you just rattle away on your keyboard and press 'send' (or in some cases crtl+s) instead of painstakingly writing it out with a pen on paper. The last method makes you think about what you are going to write, because you don't want to spend precious time starting all over again. To get your message right, you probably read and reread the request carefully and thus the chance that you will actually answer it all and correctly is bigger. At least, that is my theory.

Of course I'm not saying we should go back to the slow way of writing letters, but it would be nice if people would actually spend some thought on what they are trying to communicate. And this is not only the case for friends or colleagues, but also (as this post was about) for vendors. And I thought that helping your costumer was very important in that branch.

In the last two weeks I received from 3 different vendors such short and incomplete (and sometimes almost rude) messages that it made me hesitate to buy from them. In the first case it was a small hobby shop, so I can imagine that the people who answer the mail there don't do it professionally and they were cheapest. In the second case I really needed the stuff from that shop and now in the third case I might just find me some other store to get the information and the goods that I want because this one not only takes 3 attempts to get an answer; in some answers he contradicts himself or brings in new and confusing information.

Now that that's out of my system, a short recap. My thumb is healing pretty well, the piece of flesh I put back in place seems to stay put and connect again. The 'slotavond' of Musilon was very nice. I even had the guts to sing a solo there: Once upon a December from Anastasia, which earned me an applause. I signed up for the lessons 'solo singing' at Theaterobers Educatief for September and I started to lucet, though all I have produced so far are short irregular pieces of cord. Most of the supplies for our tent upgrade are deliverd, so that's what will be keeping us occupied until the Summoning.