記事にするかプチ悩んだけど、せっかくだから載せちゃうことにしました。
前期高齢者に突入する前日（日本時間では当日）に、岡山の先生からプレゼントを頂戴しました。
送り主からは「本人確認しないと受け取れないから、確実にスタジオに居て欲しい」と言われていました。そんで、言われたとおりに待ってたら… DoorDash という、ウーバーイーツみたいな配達をするギグワーカー登場。
来たのが、ヤバい奴をバッチリとキメていそうな兄さんで、目が虚ろ…。
「ブツを渡すから、運転免許見せろよ」←ホントにつっけんどん
…って言われました。（怖）
もし事前に話を聞いてなかったら、駅前の交番に駆け込んでいたでしょう。
明日で期限切れになる免許証（更新カードがまだ来ない！シンジ君に持ってこさせろ！＞DMV）を見せました。
そしたら、怪しい茶色い紙袋をグイと引き渡され、ギグ兄さんは退場。
この一連のプロセスは、通販でマリファナを購入する時と全く同じです。（なぜ知ってる！？）
贈ってくださった岡山の先生からは、アメックスのセンチュリオン・コンシェルジェに依頼したと伺っていたので、よもやヤク中みたいな兄さんが配達に来るとは思いもよりませんでした。
これは…配達とギフトのギャップを際立たせるという、アメックスのアレンジでしょうか？
でも、もっと豪邸に住んでいる人に同じ事やったら、ゼッタイに門を開けないと思います。(笑)
で… どんなヤバいものが入ってるのか、紙袋の中味を取り出したら…
最高にヤバいです。これはヤバすぎます！！
サロンの2012年ものが入っているではありませんか！？
これ… ネットで見たら、パーカーポイント98点の、最近の最良年です。
岡山の先生と岡山の先生、それに師長さん、ありがとうございます。
本当に嬉しいです。
このサロン様2012は、さっそくワインセラー室内に設置されたワインセラー（二重にして確実に温湿度キープ）の、最も温度が低いであろう一番下の段へと収容しました。
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嬉しくて気分はアガりまくりですが、この記事が載る頃には、隣町のスーパーへお出かけです。
オミクロン XBB1.5 に対応したファイザーのワクチンを接種してもらってくる予定。
でも新型コロナのワクチンはもう副反応が出なくて、生食打たれても判んない。(笑)
【記事後悔後更新ここから】
SAFEWAY スーパーでコミナティ® を打ってもらってきました♪
多分、明日になってもなんともないでしょう。
SAFEWAY で接種すると１割引クーポンをくれるので、15分待つ間に買い物。
いま戻って来てシャワー浴びて、あとは「らんまん」の最終回を待つばかり。
でも明日は8時からDMVで免許の更新で文句たれてきます。
帰化証明書を見せないと REAL ID を発行しないそうです。早く言え！！(怒)
【記事後悔後更新ここまで】
【記事後悔後追記ここから】
そういえば、サロンと一緒に入っていたメッセージカードがこれでした。
（名前は加工してあります）
１．名前の順序が 日本的というか…
師長さん、つまり奥様が最後です。これって… こっちではありえません。
欧米では女性の名前を先に立てます。儂もメールを差し上げる時そうしてます。
ここにセンチュリオン・コンシェルジェが気づかないのも酷いと思いました。
２．メッセージカードが、感熱のシール式プリンタ用紙でした。
気持ちは伝わるから全然かまわないんですけど、ある意味珍しいです。
単に「センチュリオンの手配で、これかい!?」って思っただけ。
【記事後悔後追記ここまで】
Today, we also have received two jars of "Heihachiro Kura Dashi Genshu 1800mL" with an alcohol content of 41% for the Autumn 2023 sale. According to the website of Kyoya Shuzo :
ReplyDelete“It will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis, limited to 50 bottles.”
From this, it's evident that it's a very exceptional item.
However, in your previous email, you mentioned :
I have already arranged for shochu to be sent to you from Kyoya Shuzo under the pretext of "Celebrating My Birthday Together" quite a while ago.
While it's only natural for us to send you a birthday gift, it is quite puzzling as to why you would send us a celebration for your own birthday. Nevertheless, we gratefully accepted it. Today, I spoke with Dr. Doi, pondering, "How many jars of premium shochu have we received so far?" It seems he has only consumed two jars. As for my "obaKoba Collection"... it's at zero as of now(lol).
The total consideration you've shown us to date far surpasses just a single bottle of Champagne Salon. We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeleteThank you again for your thoughtful gift on my birthday.
Because you arranged it thru Amex Centurion, I expected someone coming with “65” shaped balloons, flowers, etc – something fancy and surprising.
Well… it was a big surprise that our guy mentioned me at 10:20 am that DoorDash deliverer came to the studio, and that overdosed drug abusing look guy was holding a brown paperbag which is quite stereotyping of hiding intoxication in public… even he asked my photo ID and gave me that brown bag, I wasn’t sure this is from you… which was a very opposite side of surprise! (LOL)
Anyway, the inside of that brown bag is 2012 vintage of Salon! Since Chinese started purchasing renowned and expensive French wines, I wasn’t sure how expensive Salon is… so, over the Internet, I found it’s basically sold out and way over four digit dollars. I feel I can’t open this cork until 2032. Let me try living beyond that and you should stop by our home/studio before that then I can splash the cork without any guilty. Thank You.
At your side, I hope you guys enjoy that limited edition of Shochu by Kyoya. Again, I show my weakest point – I can’t resist if something indicates “limited edition.” So next week, I will preorder Casio Oshirianus watch for me again, which is limited to 1,200 worldwide.
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So… I received Comirnaty® XBB updated version yesterday, finished watching NHK drama “Ramman,” then I went to DMV office this morning to fix the problems for issuing REAL ID.
Now I am ready for the next trip to Istanbul, followed by Tokyo. Until then, I feed and groom my kitties and waiting for the return of my better-half-san.
Final words: Let’s enjoy the Life of Leftover!! (LOL)
Once again, I sincerely wish you a very happy birthday.
ReplyDeleteGiven my many years of experience, I had a bad feeling that arranging something through AmEx Centurion would turn out to be a "huge miss for a surprise birthday present." Thus, I decided to steer clear of the typical "luxurious and surprising" items, so I'm afraid I couldn't meet your expectations this time.
However, instead, you had quite the surprise with the delivery person who looked like he might have a substance abuse problem. I see, he was carrying that inconspicuous brown paper bag to hide whatever suspicious item he had in public. At least by this point, you must've been sure that there was no lovely bouquet or classy present coming your way. And to top it off, he even asked for your ID. Well, in its own unique way, it turned out to be quite an intricate surprise gift, didn't it?
When choosing the Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne, 2012, I was torn between it and the 2013 vintage. What finally made me decide on the 2012 was the fact that JAL, which you notably dislike, offers the 2013 version in their first class for flights departing from Japan (lol).
I vividly recall preparing Salon for iSO-sann a decade or so ago when he visited Okayama. Back then, I believe it was still available for just around 60,000 to 70,000 yen. Indeed, thanks to the Chinese buying up renowned and pricey French wines, Salon's price has skyrocketed.
From what I found online, the best drinking period for the 2012 Salon is "Now to 2040". So, instead of being stingy and waiting till 2032, let's both make it through these years without popping the cork till 2040. If I ever get a chance to visit your home or studio, we might be able to enjoy the Salon together, but then I'd probably feel guilty since even I could taste it with you. Please, without thinking of me, just open the bottle and enjoy it whenever you feel like. My only concern would be if iSO-sann decides to storm your place (LOL).
Regarding the delivery of your birthday present this time,
ReplyDelete"The process was exactly the same as when ordering marijuana online. I had heard from Dr. in Okayama, who kindly gifted this to me, that they had requested through the AmEx Centurion Concierge, so I never expected a delivery guy who looked like a drug addict to come. Is this an arrangement by AmEx, highlighting the disparity between the gift and the delivery process? However, if someone living in a more luxurious mansion received the same treatment, they'd definitely not open their gate. (lol)"
Due to your concerns, I reported the matter to the upper management of JPN Centurion. The message I sent them is as follows:
“It seems a gig worker from DoorDash, similar to Uber Eats, visited the Studios around 10:30 am on Thursday, September 28th, local time. He appeared to be under the influence, with a vacant look in his eyes, and demanded to see Mr. obaKoba's driver's license for identification. After Mr. obaKoba presented the license, the worker took a photo of it. This process is the same as when receiving medicinal marijuana! (Of course, Mr. obaKoba doesn't use it.) If Mr. obaKoba hadn't been informed about this in advance, he would have definitely refused to meet with the worker.
When Mr. obaKoba opened the suspicious bag that looked like thin straw paper, thankfully, the Champagne Salon inside was intact and undamaged.
Just wanted to report this to you."
In response, I received the following reply from JPN Centurion:
"Thank you very much for informing us about the delivery of the gift from the recipient. We understand that the recipient may have felt uneasy when receiving the gift. We apologize for causing concern to the recipient and our valued member.
We only received a delivery completion report from the local arranger, but we will share the information you have informed us of. The head of JPN AmEx branch will be absent until October 5th (Thursday), and will report on this matter when he returns to work on or after October 6th (Friday).
Please let us know if you have any questions. We continue to appreciate your support."
It seems that's the case.
I hope there's some improvement, but do you think the chances are slim?
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeleteThank you for reporting to Amex Centurion regarding the concerns… but for me, junkies are everywhere in Bay Area so it’s not a big deal.
Besides, for me, the biggest issue is as per I wrote on the amended part, Centurion Card Services (or Concierge) didn’t correct the sequence of senders’ names. Those must be started with your wife M-san because ladies’ name must be prioritized in Western rules. I don’t argue if you seriously considered LGBTQ+ issues and made it “gender neutral,” yet the agent at Amex Centurion should reconfirm the list of the names with asking “Are you sure Ms. Midori is the lowest prioritized? She must be the top in the list usually?” I can’t believe they didn’t ask this… they are not really an American company at all, too much localized and not an international organization.
If you report to Amex, this must be the biggest concern if someone sending a message to Western countries… but Asian countries are okay especially Afghanistan.
Bottom line, when you are sending messages to overseas, ladies’ names must be the first on the list except Afghanistan (lol). You should point this out to Amex Centurion Services who must be knowledgeable enough for these basics.
I see, even if I order through AmEx Centurion, it seems difficult to exclude delivery personnel who are drug addicts, especially since they are everywhere in the Bay Area.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue for you is that the concierge handling my account with Centurion Card Services, who, by the way, specializes in overseas travel and overseas lifestyle arrangements (how ironic…), did not correct the order of the names of the gift senders. She might have known that, according to Western rules, women's names should be prioritized. While I had informed her in advance that you have been living in the U.S. for many years, I also simultaneously mentioned that your original nationality is purely Japanese. Therefore, she might have thought it acceptable to keep the names in the Japanese sequence. However, as you pointed out, she should have rechecked the name list and asked, "Shouldn't your wife be the top priority? Normally, she should be at the top of the list, right?" I also believe this was a necessary step, and it is a fact that there was no such prior verification. Considering worse cases, even if the gift recipient this time was a clear U.S.-born individual, such prior verification might still have been absent.
From my long association with JPN AmEx, I feel it's entirely possible they wouldn't ask such questions. They are certainly not a true American company and are overly localized. As evidence of this, although they issue Centurion in various countries, the benefits and annual fees differ by country, which hardly makes them seem like an international organization. I recall a previous instance when I wrote a letter directly to the president of JPN AmEx expressing concerns about Centurion; the response included the standard phrase, "Services and benefits of AmEx products vary from country to country around the world due to local conditions."
Taking your feedback into consideration, I will report to JPN AmEx again. I will reemphasize the major concerns when sending messages to Western countries. I will make sure they are well-informed about the basic principle that, when sending messages abroad, women's names must be at the top of the list.
Yamada Denki sensei,
DeletePlease don’t report to Amex Japan since they are already adjusted for Japanese culture and they don’t have enough experiences with foreign contacts, or they might misrecognize I am Afgan. (LOL)