A few years ago (+ a few more...) M34tb4LL and i went on our first date. Actually at the time M34tb4LL and Reggie were known only by names that were given to them at birth and the internet was a text base place were nerds went to argue about what was better - Star trek the original series - or the show that had been on TV screens for a couple of years - Star trak the next generation.
So i suppose i should say many years ago M34tb4LL and i went on our first date. We met at a cinema close to where i lived (when i was still living with the parentals) and saw a film that can only be described as a sweet romantic film that might leave you with a tear in your eye and glimmer of hope in your heart. In other words, we both left the theatre with a slightly ill feeling in our stomachs.
M34tb4LL took the tram ticket he had used to get to the cinema (our first day was a while before he got his drivers license) and the stub from the movie ticket and put them aside. In fact he saved every tram ticket, movie stub and random receipt from our outings for the first year that we were together.
I like to think that it was such a romantic gesture, keep sakes for the first year of a wonderful romance - and not that he is just a hoarder. He however say he was keeping all these as a record of how much he had spent in our first year so that if we were to split up he could claim half of the money spend back from me. Well which ever way you look at it, at least there was the cinema ticket to save and put aside.
So now i want to jump ahead to today, or at least Friday last week...
My dearest friend KTZ and i have been wanting to see the movie "Mamma Mia" since we first the rumors that i was being made, and on Friday last week we got the opportunity to go. I dropped Peanut off with his Nana and drove to a near by cinema to meet KTZ. We them had a spot of dinner (mmmm... pancakes...) and went to the box office to get tickets for the much anticipated show.
Earlier in the year i had some work for the evil over lords (the parent company of the company i work for) and as a thank you they gave me two free movie tickets - they also paid me an hourly rate for the work i did but... The tickets had to be used to by September and i thought this was as good a time as any to use the tickets.
I relinquished my tickets to the small spotty man behind the candy counter (apparently at that time in the evening there is no point manning both the box office and the candy counter - so might as well just have staff at the counter that makes the theatre more money???) as was handed our movie tickets and a receipt.
I had to do a bit of a double take at what i was given because at first glance it looked like i had only been handed three receipts! They were all the same size and all printed on the same thermal paper out of the same printer! So where was our movie tickets? the tickets that would be ripped in half as we walked towards the theatre? the ticket stub that could be saved as a (all be it lame) souvenir of the show???
It was just a plan old receipt, that looked much like the thousands of receipts that i have jammed in the bottom of my handbag - where is the romance in that!!! I should actually mention that the tickets that M34tb4LL has kept all these years were also printed on thermal paper and are now COMPLETELY unreadable, but that i not the point. They were still ticket shaped things that had the theatres logo and stuff in pretty colours printed on them - that part of the tickets is still very seeable at least. So, we might not know what movie we sent to see or when, but at least we know which multi-million dollar organisation we paid money to, but not how much money...
But on the bright side, the next time i clean out my hanadbag i will find what looks like boring old receipts but are actually theatre tickets and will be able to look at them and think to myself "oh, here are the tickets from 'Mamma Mia', that was a fun night". Then i can throw then out because they are just a couple of old receipts.
(: G
22 August 2008
01 August 2008
My cup runneth dry
Well it seems that our days of indulging in the "seen sipping" culture has come to an end.
It was announced earlier in the week that a rather well know chain of coffee shops were closing the doors on about 75% of their stores. There is (was) one outlet of these coffee shops at our local shopping centre and M34tb4LL, Peanut and I could often be seen there on a Friday night, a Saturday or Sunday afternoon - and some weeks it would be all three!!!
Most of my regular readers would know that I don't use the real names of businesses a lot of the time - why should i advertise for them when they are quite capable of doing that on their own. I do how ever like to give then aliases that (I think) kind of gives away who I am talking about. And if i was to do that this time I could call the chain of coffee shops "Idolcash", but that is just too funny for a serious post (and this is very serious!).
Starbucks was not just a place to get a drink from, it was much more than that to us. We had been going there for many years and we knew all the staff. We knew their names, we heard stories about their home life, we were even invited to one of the girls son's first birthday party!
And they all knew us, they knew our favourite drinks - and if we said "I feel like something different today", they knew what to suggest. They has seen Peanut from "Hey guys, guess what! I'm pregnant" right through to his first babycino, and second and many many more.
We really did have a proper relationship with them - they had even met our parents!
For us, it was the "well where else would we be?" place. If we planned to met anyone at our local shops it was the place that we would suggest to meet. In fact, most of the time if we planned to meet anyone they did not have to ask where to meet - it was assumed.
And it was the place that we went when we wanted to see a friendly, familiar face. The day that we went to see the evil obstetrician M34tb4LL took me to Starbucks to calm down a bit, and get some reassurance that everything was alright from friends before going to work. The day Peanut and I came home from the hospital, M34tb4LL and I bundled him into the pram and walked to Starbucks - not to the shops - we did not go window shopping or just for a walk - we went to Starbucks! The day that our poor puppy - Sheppie - passed away I went to Starbucks to have a cup of tea and just watch people walk by.
We like to people watch, it was a hobby I guess you could say, and the position that Starbucks was in our local had was ideal for indulging in this hobby.
But sadly, they have all been turned out of a job, and we have been turned away from our one of our favourite places to just go and hang out. When I found out yesterday that OUR Starbucks was one of the ones that was closing, I must admit, I did shed a tear. And this morning I went to the local to see if there was anyone there. Lucky for me there was. Though the store had it last day of trade yesterday most of the staff were there to a bit of cleaning up and I got to have a chat and let them all know that they have all been more to us than just people who served us drinks.
So I just want to finish with saying a huge thanks to all the staff of Starbucks Knox City (Victoria, Australia). We will miss you all, and we wish you all the best for the future. You all deserve the best - because the best is what you always gave to us.
): G
It was announced earlier in the week that a rather well know chain of coffee shops were closing the doors on about 75% of their stores. There is (was) one outlet of these coffee shops at our local shopping centre and M34tb4LL, Peanut and I could often be seen there on a Friday night, a Saturday or Sunday afternoon - and some weeks it would be all three!!!
Most of my regular readers would know that I don't use the real names of businesses a lot of the time - why should i advertise for them when they are quite capable of doing that on their own. I do how ever like to give then aliases that (I think) kind of gives away who I am talking about. And if i was to do that this time I could call the chain of coffee shops "Idolcash", but that is just too funny for a serious post (and this is very serious!).
Starbucks was not just a place to get a drink from, it was much more than that to us. We had been going there for many years and we knew all the staff. We knew their names, we heard stories about their home life, we were even invited to one of the girls son's first birthday party!
And they all knew us, they knew our favourite drinks - and if we said "I feel like something different today", they knew what to suggest. They has seen Peanut from "Hey guys, guess what! I'm pregnant" right through to his first babycino, and second and many many more.
We really did have a proper relationship with them - they had even met our parents!
For us, it was the "well where else would we be?" place. If we planned to met anyone at our local shops it was the place that we would suggest to meet. In fact, most of the time if we planned to meet anyone they did not have to ask where to meet - it was assumed.
And it was the place that we went when we wanted to see a friendly, familiar face. The day that we went to see the evil obstetrician M34tb4LL took me to Starbucks to calm down a bit, and get some reassurance that everything was alright from friends before going to work. The day Peanut and I came home from the hospital, M34tb4LL and I bundled him into the pram and walked to Starbucks - not to the shops - we did not go window shopping or just for a walk - we went to Starbucks! The day that our poor puppy - Sheppie - passed away I went to Starbucks to have a cup of tea and just watch people walk by.
We like to people watch, it was a hobby I guess you could say, and the position that Starbucks was in our local had was ideal for indulging in this hobby.
But sadly, they have all been turned out of a job, and we have been turned away from our one of our favourite places to just go and hang out. When I found out yesterday that OUR Starbucks was one of the ones that was closing, I must admit, I did shed a tear. And this morning I went to the local to see if there was anyone there. Lucky for me there was. Though the store had it last day of trade yesterday most of the staff were there to a bit of cleaning up and I got to have a chat and let them all know that they have all been more to us than just people who served us drinks.
So I just want to finish with saying a huge thanks to all the staff of Starbucks Knox City (Victoria, Australia). We will miss you all, and we wish you all the best for the future. You all deserve the best - because the best is what you always gave to us.
): G
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