All these happen at the checkout so quickly that, seriously, how many people actually look at their receipt and check if it’s correct before they leave the premises?

I’ve always tried to at least scan through my receipt, although not always, especially when I’m in a hurry. Lately however, I’ve been particular about checking my receipt, after one too many incidents where I ended up being overcharged. Surprisingly, or maybe not, I’ve never been undercharged.

It all started when I was being charged a lot for some toothbrush that I thought I’ve found a great promotional deal on. Upon recheck of the price, apparently the item on promotion wasn’t the one that I’ve bought. That was a case of mislabelling, or so I was told. Except this “practice” seems to be more widespread than ever. It happened several times that I started scrutinising every detail on the labels to ensure that I’ve picked up the right item. I’m nearly not surprised anymore on seeing similar items placed side by side, with ambiguous promotional sign placed in front. Pick the wrong one and you could be paying a good deal more.

As extension to that, I also started paying more attention to my grocery receipts. It is astonishing, how often I’d still be overcharged. I would have imagined, now that I have ensure I’ve picked the right items in relation to the prices displayed, and with the barcoding system, this shouldn’t happen. But no, I’m still being charged more. They are usually items that are marked to have reduction in prices, except somehow at the check out, the deduction didn’t happen - I would have been charged the full price!

Of course, the shops normally have policy that if you found such discrepancies, they will refund the difference. But the onus to this is, as a consumer, you need to be aware of every little details of your purchase and you will have to alert them of this. Surely as a merchant, they also have the responsibility to ensure their system is working correctly and that the customers are paying more than they should. However, when overcharging is happening nearly everytime I shop, I have pretty much lost the confident and trust in the merchant.

I query such discrepancy every time, even when the amount is negligible. And even when the queue behind me is long and everyone’s getting impatient. I refuse to let them think they can get away with such small deception each time. Little by little, if people don’t notice nor query it, they can make a pretty profit out of it!

At the same time, flights are arriving in Dublin airport with fresh-faced students, be it someone from Europe on an Erasmus exchange or someone who’s here and registered as a fully-fledged international student. For the Europeans, their main worry would most likely be competing with the Irish for accommodations. And maybe a small sense of inadequacy in using English 24/7 for the first time in their lives. For the non-Europeans though, add on another (major) headache - the immigration.

This article in Irish Times today highlights the immigration issue that every foreigner faces in this country - the procedures involved in making sure your entry and residency status in this country is legal and above board. But as pointed out in this article, the immigration procedures are arbitrarily carried out and trying to pinpoint on guidelines is a mammoth task for many.

If you are an international student who applies for a visa while still residing in your home country, this is the minimum guideline from the immigration service website. The international students office in your education institution should also be able to provide assistance and further information that you require.

For continuing students, things should be more straight forward as there would be a record file in place and one who also already have some experience dealing with the immigration bureau. Please note that the processing fee for visa this year has increased from €100 to €150.

The following is a list of minimum documentations that everyone applying visa in person should be aware of, and hopefully these would be all that would be asked to produce. The thought of re-queuing outside the GNIB office with hundreds of other students should be an encouragement for anyone at all to ensure he/she has all documentation at hand the first time round.

• Passport, with at least 6 months validity post-course completion date
• Letter from college, certifying that you are a registered student with fees paid
• Valid student card, obtained following registration week in college
• Bank statement showing sufficient funding, or letter from sponsor
• Proof of course attendance, particularly if attending private colleges e.g. DBS
• Evidence of private medical/health/personal insurance
• Specific bank giro of €150 for processing fee, or credit card to pay this amount

[Note: this is only a guideline, and is by no means exhaustive. The invididual immigration officers dealing with the cases may exercise their rights in requiring more documentations and in approving/declining the visa applications.]

I am uncertain of this year’s application procedure (this has been changing several times in the past years) so I would just write on what I know based on last year. While the immigration bureau on Burgh Quay opened its door at 8am, students were asked to queue outside (it snaked around to the back to the building/block even) before numbered tickets were distributed starting at 9.30am. The number of tickets distributed per day was limited. Someone who was too far back at the queue may not get a number and would have to return another day.

A good book and a music player won’t go astray while one waits for his/her turn inside the office once a numbered ticket is obtained. For some, based on the number given, it could well be hours before their turn to talk to an immigration officer. Some people leave to return later, but my advice on this is, if you’re doing that, time it smartly. If your number is called and you miss it because you’re not there, then you’re back to square one and will have to queue again another day.

A few minor things. Be courteous and respectful. Turn off the mobile phone. Put it on silent otherwise. The office will most likely be packed this time of year so your bag doesn’t need a seat. Hours spent at the immigration bureau is frustrating, but everyone is in the same boat. Good luck!

If you have any other tips, or have been at the bureau recently, share it with us through the comment box.

What’s your thought on it? Were anyone in the audience of the debate? (And I wonder if it was L&H Society that organised this debate?)

* * * * *

In Ireland last week, in front of hundreds of students at University College Dublin, I participated in a debate on whether pornography is destructive or harmless. Numerous speakers on the pro-pornography side argued that pornography was a central part of women’s liberation, a point which met with thunderous cheers from the women in the audience. When it was my turn to speak, I asked the young women present to raise their hands if they needed a man. Not one hand went up. I then told them that commensurate with the degree to which men are becoming immature, porn-obsessed schoolboys, women are giving up on the hope of ever finding a noble, well-mannered gentleman. As women confront the vulgar reality of how men treat them, they discover that becoming masturbatory material to men is not particularly liberating.

The despair of Dublin’s women was mirrored the next evening in a conversation with a twenty-nine year old woman who told me that she had given up on finding a good man because the men in Dublin were conditioned ‘to treat women as orifices.’ She said, ‘A huge number of women play along by coming out on Friday and Saturday nights in their skimpy mini-skirts in the freezing cold, getting completely drunk and doing anything the guys want in the mistaken belief that somehow this will bring them love. After a few years they give up on men and become like me.’

Nowhere in the Western world are we raising a generation of men who pride themselves on their restraint and respect toward women. We are likewise failing to cultivate women who refuse to be complicit in their own degradation and who insist that their sexuality be shared with a man only in the context of a serious and tangible romantic commitment. It’s a man’s world. Women just live in it.

This is even true in marriage as more and more relationship experts blame a cheating husband on his wife. If a man is unfaithful, they argue, it is often due to the fact that he feels lonely and unappreciated by his wife. By recognizing that their husbands have emotional and sexual needs which wives may be ignoring, a wife can win her husband back and ensure that he does not stray.

A few months ago I mentioned that this was the position taken by Dr. Laura Schlesinger after the Eliot Spitzer affair and it has since been echoed by other relationship writers.

But this attempt to blame the victim ignores the fact that the principle reason men womanize is to shore up their broken egos. There are so many damaged husbands who think that a nurturing stranger who both desires him and wishes to be an ear to his pain will be a salve to his painfully low self-esteem. In many cases, these are husbands who have wives who could not be more devoted, who give them sex whenever they want, who pine for them to come home at night, all to no avail. No matter how much she huffs and puffs, she cannot inflate his perforated ego.

Would we really suggest that, as Elizabeth Edwards ran around the country with incurable cancer catering to her husband’s yearning to be president, he cheated on her because she wasn’t caring enough? After Silla Ward Spitzer garnered national ridicule by quite literally standing by her husband in his greatest moment of shame, would we inflict the final insult on her by telling her that her husband hung out with hookers because of her neglect?

In this age of husbands who are sports and TV addicts, I dare say that there are probably more wives who are ignored by their husbands than the reverse. But women seem much more capable of controlling themselves and deciding that a husband’s neglect is no excuse to corrupt one’s character and become immoral. Indeed, the only way to truly affair-proof one’s marriage is to decide that the pleasure of righteous action and moral heroism by far outstrips anything that can be experienced in illicit sex. This is something magical in a man’s ability to turn down an opportunity to stray and walk away from the encounter a devoted husband and moral giant. One of the prime reasons we all suffer from low self-esteem these days is that we are not the people we want to be. Becoming a liar and a cheat is probably not, in the long run, going to make us feel a whole lot better about ourselves. But deciding to behave righteously even when we are in pain will.

To be sure, wives should of course work to reach their husband’s buried emotions. Contrary to what many women believe, men are intimacy seekers. In these challenging financial times, wives should ask their husbands not, ‘How did your day go?,’ but, ‘How do you feel about all the convulsions in your company?’ They should nurture their men’s hearts and do their best to address their pain. But in the final analysis, if a husband cheats, it’s his fault. Period. He has his own selfishness and ingratitude to blame.

As I survey the current cultural landscape I often wonder, where have all the gentlemen gone? Our movies are filled with male bathroom humor. Our sporting heroes like Alex Rodriquez can’t seem to respect their commitments. Our college campuses are filled with frat boy party animals for whom womanizing is an integral part of ‘higher’ education. Do men today only aspire to an internet startup but not to refined character? Do they yearn for the Forbes Four Hundred list but not to set an example for their own sons of how a great man honors his wife and prioritizes his family?

There was a likable young man I met in Dublin who was very smart but also very cynical. As I spoke with him he shared with me his desire to be recognized as a great director. He also said, matter-of-factly, that when he meets a woman he is unapologetic about trying to have sex with her. When I asked him if he wanted children, he said, “I love my future children enough not to have them. I would inevitably mess them up.” Of course, by the same logic he might as well never try and make a movie. But then, great directors get Academy Awards while gentleman receive no public accolades other than the knowledge that they alone among men tamed and harnessed the beast within.

[Rabbi Shmuley Boteach hosts a daily national radio show on "Oprah and Friends." His most recent book is the 'The Broken American Male.' (St. Martin's Press) www.shmuley.com]

* * * * *

Nonetheless, after the fun that was last night of Dublin Culture Night, there’s more activities for arts lover coming up in a few days, namely Ranelagh Arts Festival 2008. The festival runs from Tuesday 23 September to Sunday 28 September.

The festival is in its 4th reincarnation, with various events to be held in and around Ranelagh (of course), where some would be free, some free but ticketed (so order those you want now!) and some are plainly ticketed. You can either order them online or at the box office, which is the front snug of Smyth’s Pub on Ranelagh Road.

There will be song and dance, comedy nights, photography competition, open air movies, poetry reading, family fun day, children’s pirate parade, free food tasting and many many more. [Check the full programme in PDF]

I think this is a brilliant initiative to bring the people who lives in and around Ranelagh village together, while promoting this urban village to everyone else. I’ve marked out a couple of jazz events and comedy nights to check out, and perhaps will brave the crowd on Sunday for some free food at Ranelagh Gardens. ;-)

The Temple Bar Cultural Trust is bring the Dublin Culture Night for the third year running, and it’s all starting at 5pm. Think culture and you’ll get galleries, museums, theatres and the likes, and for this special day, they’re opening till late (well, very late for most of these places actually) - give or take 11pm/midnight - and there will be no entre fees charged.

The comprehensive list of events can be found on the Culture Night website, and there are some awesome and unusual line ups too, including Filipino Tribal Dance (Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, 6.45pm), Yodel (Old City, Temple Bar, 6pm & 8pm), 2D and 3D building illumination (3 different locations) and for anyone wanting to go and visit Leinster House, have a look at this press release and ring in to see if they have any places/tickets still available.

Lots and lots of dance and music all over the city, which will add to the liveliness that’s ever the hallmark of Dublin on any good old weekend. That’s the spirit we should all maintain, and I hope you have a fantastic evening, enjoying all the free goodies on offer! :D

One of the latest blogs drawn to my attention is that of the President of Dublin City University - Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski - entitled University Blog. He muses some, shares his hobbies and favourites (he is gadget-loving and also totally into A Fine Frenzy), and talks about education and stuff.

While everything is pretty in University Blog, there’s a disgruntled academic in DCU who has started blogging too (at more or less the same time). Academic Tenure in Ireland is bent on informing everyone of the precarious position an academic could face given the same Professor above-mentioned challenged the traditional sense of a “tenure”.

Interesting to see scandals within Irish higher education institution aired so publicly. It makes me wonder how much more juicy scandals there may be that we never know about… :rolleyes:

Update 2nd Sept : I was pointed to yet another blog, also confusingly/deliberately called University Blog, but with a tagline that this is the diary of an University Professor. This is a very young blog of a month old but its objective is similar to that of Academic Tenure in Ireland. Watch out, more bashing!

Lidl Treats was started to dispel the “shame” in shopping at Lidl - it’s strange, in my opinion, to have people complaining about prices then would be ashamed of being seen shopping somewhere where the prices are reasonable - and to show, how products from Lidl can be comparable in quality and value to products in other supermarkets, if not of better value. However, it’s not always just downright approval for all the products from Lidl, and Kate does point out if she prefers particular products over another of the same line. Frank opinion is always a good thing.

For any sceptics out there, Kate also pointed out that she’s not on Lidl’s payroll (scroll down to comments section). In fact, she was a little sorry about the choice of the name for the site, because it’s going to be limiting on what she blogs about.

I wonder if there is someone out there writing about Aldi Treats…

In case you’re also interested in what a couple other bloggers are saying about value for money and other consumer related issues, have a look at Irish Times Pricewatch blog, Value Ireland and Money Guide Ireland as well.

There are several performances that caught my attention, including Mozart’s The Magic Flute but in South African way, Barabbas’ Circus (this reminds me of The 7 Fingers’ Traces from last year, but more colourful and I suspect equally entertaining), and Kafka’s Metamorphosis which looks to be spectacular as the show collaborates with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

I understood from a couple of friends that the booking system went a bit crazy last week shortly after the online booking opened. A trip to the box office to clarify things up (i.e. to check if booking actually went through or not etc) ended up taking over an hour as there was quite a large number of people who were there after encountering the same issues with online booking, on top of normal theatre goers who were trying to purchase tickets directly.

It was frustrating and therefore I had opted to steer clear for a few days before making my move. Let’s hope all these are now sorted. At the very least, by the time I try to get my tickets. ;-)

The season starts today and will run for 5 weeks in total. Showtime of 1pm makes it a bit awkward for anyone who’s stuck at work, but otherwise for those around in the city centre, this could be a nice place for extended lunch break if you could afford such flexibility.

• Thursday 07.08.2008 - Così Fan Tutte (Mozart)
• Thursday 14.08.2008 - Alcina (Handel)
• Thursday 21.08.2008 - La Bohème (Puccini)
• Thursday 28.08.2008 - The Barber of Seville (Rossini)
• Thursday 04.09.2008 - Don Pasquale (Donizetti)

Now, just one thing to bear in mind. These are not going to be one of those highly elaborated opera sets so don’t expect one like those in Arena di Verona, or something like that. The enjoyment lies in appreciating operatic music with a limited number of cast members. This perhaps require just that little bit more from the cast than usual, in order to continue captivating the audience.

Hopefully the weather will hold up (I know, the last few days have been rubbish weatherwise) and with a little blue sky over the head, this should be fun. I wonder if I could sneak out from work for a bit today…

Sean has also came up with some fun stuff for the Hubbers - in the form of Scavenger Hunt! Today marked the first round of this photo hunting competition, which challenged the participants to find and photograph 5 items per a list provided. The number of items may also change from one challenge to another. The other prerequisite is photos must be shot for the purpose of this hunt only, so a proof (i.e. logo/sign indicating Metblogs) must be present in each of the photos. Gregg won the first round in just less than 3 hours, so well done!!!

I tried hunting for the photos after work, but barely got hold of two images before it started pouring. So much for thinking I could continue tomorrow… :p

In any case, if you’re not yet a Hubber, why not sign up to be one now? Chat to the authors - there is a group specific for Dublin Metblogs - and get to know other people on the network a bit more too. Your profile is customable with different backgrounds and colour schemes, and addition of photos and music will cheer the page up quite a bit too. Give it a try.

Have a good weekend everyone, and see you around.