Can I please have my 18 cents back?

The other day I was having lunch with the family when I observed on the can of a Calsberg beer this competition. There was a code on the ring of the tin which you were supposed to send as a text message (SMS) to a specific number. Here is the picture of the code:

Now, the picture is not very clear but the code reads: C473$604. Another 5 people on the table confirmed that the 4th digit which is the one that was the most doubtful was a dollar sign ($). In the worst case scenario it could be an "S" but there are lines both on top and below of the character.

So I decided to send the SMS to the number. Cost of the SMS was 9cents. Here is the reply I got back:

Translated this reads: "Code C473$604 has not been accepted. Please check it and send it again. Thank you"


So just in case this was a mistake I decided to send the same code replacing "$" with the letter "S". Here we go again:

So again this reads: "Code C473S604 has not been accepted. Please check it and send it again. Thank you"

I thought that maybe the character in question could be a "5". By that time I was trying to calculate how many people have had the same luck as me and how many of these SMS are being charged to the telephone bills without the individual getting the opportunity to enter the competition.
I would very much like an answer from the distributors/ producers of Carlsberg in Cyprus but I doubt I will ever get one. I am sure that if I call them I would probably get annoyed and never get an answer, so I thought I would just post it here, hoping that many people will read it.
It is definitely not about the 18 cents, it is about the frustration and embarassment that I felt when I was fooled...

A.

If I could turn back time...

Getting in my car this Sunday morning to go to Limassol was like getting in a time machine which would take me back 15-20 years.
A routine that we used to do almost every Sunday and which I have not done for many many years.
Back then my dad used to drive the white Audi100, my mum would sit in the passengers seat and I would sit back with my two brothers..I was always in the middle. And if I ever dared to fall asleep my brothers would wake me up. Now, I had to drive my own car, following my parents. There was no question about falling asleep this time.

We met at the same house like we always did. My grandparents house in the Linopetra refugee housing..next to the gymnaseum. The gymnaseum where as kids we used to go on Sunday and play basketball with my cousins. Not much has changed in the neighborhood. Same houses, same neighbors, same schools. My aunt prepared the lunch and we sat at the same table like we always used to do. The menu did not include my grandfathers trademarked oven-baked rabbit, but my aunt surely did inherit some of my grandmother's Stella's cooking abilities. An excellent lunch, with family. And for sure as I was sitting there, I felt that I had turned back time. 20 years ago, almost every Sunday it would be the same. Only we were kids. Now we are adults and new kids have taken our place. I am sure that Loucas and Stella would have been proud of their family. After all, nowadays a loving extended family is not something you easily find.

*This blog entry is dedicated to my grandfather Loucas and grandmother Stella. Loucas, a very sincere, loving, calm person died 6 years ago. Stella a hard-working, dynamic, loving mother and grandmother died 8 years ago.

A.

Updates

It's been a while since I had an update on this blog. The truth is that my life has gotten into a routine and there are not very exciting things to write about.

Last weekend went by with nothing too special to mention. I could mention the extremely bad service at the new lounge we went to, or the idea of going to Sfinakia (bliah bliah bliah). I guess I am too old for dancing and for heavy music at closed places when it is about 100F degrees.

Saturday was pretty much pool and pilota day and Sunday was beach day. Only problem is that in order to find a spot at a beach in Cyprus on Sunday is like trying to find a needle in a haystack..unless you wake up at 6am to go to the beach. Which is obviously something that we didn't do. So we just ended up going to Mario's pool in Larnaca, playing pilota and swimming at 9pm before returning to Nicosia at 11pm, having a late night Karpouzi dinner at 12am and playing pilota.

Monday to today has been as slow as it can be. I spent most of the day in bed today because I had pain on my back and it hurt just breathing. To my relief the doctor said that it is probably only a muscle problem and should go away. As long as there are no discs problem there I am fine.

That is it for now. Looking forward for a more exciting weekend and hopefully more exciting updates on this blog.