\nbyXXX<\/p>\n
Two days ago, I received a frantic call from my wife who is on holiday overseas, saying that her handbag containing her mobile phone had been stolen.<\/p>\n
Immediately, I called M1 to ask for her phone line to be suspended. I was asked to provide my wife’s name, phone number, address, postal code, IC number – to all of which I gave the correct reply. Then, I was asked her date of birth. When I said I could not really remember, I was told my desperate request could not be acceded to. Weren’t the correct replies I gave earlier sufficient for them to act?<\/p>\n
As the last straw, I was told to call my wife to ask for her birth date. How could I, when her phone had been stolen!<\/p>\n
I hung up the phone and am now waiting for the phone bill to come.<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t take a fetch to conclude what\u2019s so funny about this letter. No, it\u2019s not about the telco\u2019s insistence on doing things by the book, but of this fellow writing to a widely distributed newspaper announcing to all and sundry that he doesn\u2019t remember his wife\u2019s birthday! I wonder if he was thinking clearly when he wrote this letter, because the online community responding to this letter are all having a good laugh at his expense.<\/p>\n
This letter brings to mind our wedding, like 4.5 years ago. As customs go, in order for the bridegroom to get to the bride, he has to get pass the sister-ette party. The local practice here routinely demand lots of willingness on the part of the bridegroom to basically, well, grovel and beg and do nutty things (in Western terms, it\u2019s called \u2018ragging\u2019). Having a big wallet stuffed with notes, especially of the blue kind i.e. $50, helps to grease the wheels too.<\/p>\n
In my case, I\u2019d already declared to Ling the week before our wedding that while I was willing to partake in a small bit of these customary festivities just to get into the spirit of the occasion, I was not going to beg, nor grovel, nor do demeaning things to myself just to get past the gate. Thankfully, the sisterette party heeded and obeyed \u2013 mostly. When it came to the Q&A portion, they thought they had me nailed when they asked for Ling\u2019s NRIC number \u2013 which I easily rattled off my head!<\/p>\n The long and short of it is that there are a couple of things you must always remember of your spouse. The telephone number, birthdate, and the NRIC number \u2013 and I\u2019m glad to report that I got all of them on permanently imprinted in my brain, very early on.<\/p>\n Now, if only Ling could say the same\u2026 :)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was a letter in this morning\u2019s edition of TODAY that made me chuckle. Read on: Can’t recall wife’s birthday, so no help from telco byXXX Two days ago, I received a frantic call from my wife who is on<\/p>\n![\"blog-spousal-details\"](\"https:\/\/www.chekyang.com\/musings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/blog-spousal-details.jpg\" "\\"blog-spousal-details\\"")