This is a bit of a blog with a Peanut cross over but, let's face it - the topic is all about me!
As many of you know, shopping is a bit of hobby of mine. I love hunting for a bit of a bargain and have been known to hold off on buying a much prized find in the hopes that I can find it at a better price.
But of course there are also times where I just stumble onto a bargain that is not only too good to pass up - but too good to be true. There have been a couple of these experiences lately, and it is these said experiences that are the topic of my blog today.
The first shopping bargain that I am going to retell to you happened a couple of weeks before Peanut's birthday. It was a stinking hot day and my mother-in-law (Peanut's Nana) was staying in a caravan on the Rosebud foreshore. Do I need to go on tell you what Peanut and I decided to do for the day?
Anyway, so we got to Rosebud at about lunch time and thought we would have a little bit of a look at where the tide was at on the beach first. Mother-in-law and I thought it would be better to go back to the caravan and have some lunch rather than go for a swim straight away. And of course after we had lunch we thought it might be better to take a walk to the shops to let lunch settle - and also so that Peanut could have a nap in the pram.
For those of you who have not been to Rosebud... there is really not too much to the shopping centre, it is nothing like our local shopping centre! There is a Coles, a Target and a Kmart and a handful of little shops. But that does not stop me from looking for a bargain. Or in the case of the day in question, stumbling onto one.
Mother-in-law wanted to have a look for a birthday present for Peanut, and had been thinking of getting him a toy truck of some description and we went into both Target and Kmart to have a bit of a look at the toy truck options in these two stores. While we were looking around the shelves in Target, we both commented on the fact that the price/description tags did not seem to match the toys that were there. While we looked at all the trucks and got a collection together to take to a scanner (to find out what the price of each actually was) I noticed a red tag on the shelf with the price '36c'. I pointed it out my mother-in-law and we both laughed at the thought that the twin pack of Tonka trucks would be for '36c'. Then we started to walk off in search for a scanner to get some prices on the trucks we had picked up.
I then thought - i might double check that label and see what the item was that they were selling for 36c. I went back to the shelf and the label read 'Tonka 2 pack' - that was it, so I picked up the toy and took it with me. I thought, it wouldn't hurt scanning it just in case it was 36c (but I was very sure that it wouldn't be that price).
Well to cut what has already been a pretty long story short - the set of two Tonka trucks scanned at 36c, all three times we scanned it!!! It also scanned up at 36c when we took it to the cash register - and the woman who served us did not question the price, just congratulated us on our find. And might I add that Peanut indeed enjoys playing with his two Tonka trucks.
The second find of the century (can you have two finds of the century?) was only last Friday. I had to go on a bit shoe shopping excursion. No, not for me, Peanut had grown out of his shoes and had been wearing a pair I had borrowed from a friend for a week.
I had found the cutest pair of Reebok sneakers for him at the kids shoe shop at our local shopping centre that were $29.95 reduced from $79.95 and was feeling pretty happy with myself. But I was half debating whether to get a pair of sandals as well. I was thinking that we are getting to the end of summer, but then again there is no guarantee that the warmer weather will stop when the month rolls over. He does have a pair of sandals that fit him now, but then they are not sturdy enough for him wear all day and Definitely not good enough for wearing while playing outside at daycare.
So I needed to find a pair of sandals that were good quality but did not cost much money - and were therefore a justifiable cost. And little did I know when I started looking that I would find that exact thing!
I walked from end of the shopping centre to the other looking at every shop that carried shoes for children, and as I got to Myer - the last shop in the centre I had left to look in, I was no closer to getting a pair of sandals for Peanut. And the funny thing was I did not hold any hopes of finding anything, but we made our way to the kids shoe department anyway.
When we got there, there was a sign that read "one day only, 50% off already reduced children's shoes". But of course a special like this was useless if there was not a pair of size 5 1/2 sandals, in a style that will offer the protection that a day in childcare will demand. They had to be good quality so they would be comfortable as well as sturdy, they had to be a price that I could justify and they had to be in a colour that went with most of Peanut's clothes. All that was a bit of an ask.
I looked on the sales table and I found - without much searching - a pair of navy blue, leather, size 5 1/2, Clarkes sandals. They fitted every item on my check list including the price. The sandals original price was $69.95, then they had been reduced to $41.00, plus with the one day only 50% savings they came out at just $20.50.
But here is the best part my bargain find - I had a $20.00 Myer gift card that had been sent to me because I am part of their shopping rewards program! So that means in actual fact the sandals have put me 50c out of pocket!
Hunting for a bargain may be one thing, but finds like this only come once in a life time! Or in this case once every couple of weeks. I know I have said it before but I feel it needs to be said again - I am, therefore I shop.
(: G
21 February 2009
14 January 2009
Been seen sipping lately?
Since our beloved Starbucks was closed M34tb4LL and i have not had an outlet for our coffee sipping / people watching passion. Sure, there are other coffee places at our local shopping centre and where the Starbucks used to be there is now a new coffee place - but it is not the same.
We quickly realised that it is not just the coffee that attracted us to the previously mentioned coffee shop, it was the people. The friends that we made at the Starbucks were far more important to us than the coffee they made for us. It was a place for us to go on a lazy Friday evening and just sit back, watch the busy shoppers passing by and have a bit of a chat and share a few laughs with the Starbucks staff.
And yes, i know that both M34tb4LL and myself have done a tribute post about the closing of our beloved Starbucks store but i am going to ramble on again...
But, the ramble is not just in a nostalgic fashion! No!!! M34tb4LL and i have indulged in our seen sipping habit lately!!!!!
On the weekend we made a special trip to a suburb that is much closer to the CBD than we live. Those darn speciality stores that won't make the effort to open stores in the suburbs! But anyway, since we were in the area we decided to have a bit of walk around - look in the other shops - randomly spend some money.
It was while we were wondering down the street that we saw (and of course remember that not all Starbucks in Australia had been closed) a Starbucks store. We thought about not going in, that it was not the same seeing as the people there had no idea of who we were, but nostalgia got the better of us and we gave in to the offer of coffee goodness.
While we drank our drinks, and reminisced about the taste that we had not enjoyed in nearly six months. I made the comment to M34tb4LL that it almost felt like we were cheating on past lover (??? how can it be cheating if the lover is in the past ???) AND it was at the that moment that one of the girls that had worked at Starbucks entered the store!
So the Starbucks experience was complete. Not only were we able to enjoy the drinks that Starbucks do so well, but we got to have them with a familiar face to Starbucks - all be it on the other side of the counter.
You couldn't help but think that if we had gone into the store on our way down the street rather than on the way back, or if we had not gone in at all (as we were half thinking of doing) we would have never known she was there.
(: G
We quickly realised that it is not just the coffee that attracted us to the previously mentioned coffee shop, it was the people. The friends that we made at the Starbucks were far more important to us than the coffee they made for us. It was a place for us to go on a lazy Friday evening and just sit back, watch the busy shoppers passing by and have a bit of a chat and share a few laughs with the Starbucks staff.
And yes, i know that both M34tb4LL and myself have done a tribute post about the closing of our beloved Starbucks store but i am going to ramble on again...
But, the ramble is not just in a nostalgic fashion! No!!! M34tb4LL and i have indulged in our seen sipping habit lately!!!!!
On the weekend we made a special trip to a suburb that is much closer to the CBD than we live. Those darn speciality stores that won't make the effort to open stores in the suburbs! But anyway, since we were in the area we decided to have a bit of walk around - look in the other shops - randomly spend some money.
It was while we were wondering down the street that we saw (and of course remember that not all Starbucks in Australia had been closed) a Starbucks store. We thought about not going in, that it was not the same seeing as the people there had no idea of who we were, but nostalgia got the better of us and we gave in to the offer of coffee goodness.
While we drank our drinks, and reminisced about the taste that we had not enjoyed in nearly six months. I made the comment to M34tb4LL that it almost felt like we were cheating on past lover (??? how can it be cheating if the lover is in the past ???) AND it was at the that moment that one of the girls that had worked at Starbucks entered the store!
So the Starbucks experience was complete. Not only were we able to enjoy the drinks that Starbucks do so well, but we got to have them with a familiar face to Starbucks - all be it on the other side of the counter.
You couldn't help but think that if we had gone into the store on our way down the street rather than on the way back, or if we had not gone in at all (as we were half thinking of doing) we would have never known she was there.
(: G
16 November 2008
The Non-Events of a Neglectful Blogger
It has been a while since I have done a blog! Even by my standards it has been a while!!!
But to catch you all (??? whoever maybe left after all this time ???) up I am going to fill you'll in on one of the more exciting things that has happened in the past three months -
Got a new car! Well when i say new, I mean new to me. My old was having a few problems. And by a few I mean a lot. The air-con was not working and if it was, it wouldn't have been because I knocked the pulley thing off the bottom of the car when I ran over a traffic island. The re-demister was not working, but would randomly turn on when... the radio would randomly stop working. The central locking did not work and on the few occasions that M34tb4LL did manage to get it working for me it nearly flattened the battery. Two out of the four electric windows did not work and a third was on the way out. Two of the tires were going to need placing sometime in the near future, and the spare was probably flat, I don't know. And a host of other little, niggly things that were either on their way out or completely gone and been held together with just sticky tape and dirt.
But there was one other thing, some might call it a major thing, that was not working properly on the car - the brakes. Now you don't have to have a car, or even know how to drive to know that brakes come in handy when driving. And the brakes on my car would slow me as long as I pumped the pedal till it 'stuck' and did not just 'sponge' all the way to the floor of the car. Lets just say that when I was a traffic light I got in the habit of putting the car into park very quickly.
So my new car has... Well everything that my old car didn't including brakes that work! And it is a station wagon! I got my 'Mum's mobile'.
And unlike my old car I can fit the pram in the boot! In fact I can fit the pram, the port-a-cot, a jumbo box of nappies, a heavily packed nappy bag and a big bag of child entertainment AND still have room to spare!
Now what happened to my old car? Well here is the fun bit! I drove it to a car yard that had a sign out the front saying "We pay cash for cars". They told me that they would give me $230 and deal with all the paperwork (vic roads stuff) and that would be that. So I jumped back into my car and drove it to local wreckers yard. They paid me $250 for the car and gave me the number plates that I then took to vic roads and within a couple of weeks was mailed a cheque for about $375! I'm so glad I looked at a second option other than just going to the car yard.
My new little silver buzz box, it is very pretty. And being silver, it does not show up the dirt on it as much as my old green car - that is one of the most important things, yes?
(: G
But to catch you all (??? whoever maybe left after all this time ???) up I am going to fill you'll in on one of the more exciting things that has happened in the past three months -
Got a new car! Well when i say new, I mean new to me. My old was having a few problems. And by a few I mean a lot. The air-con was not working and if it was, it wouldn't have been because I knocked the pulley thing off the bottom of the car when I ran over a traffic island. The re-demister was not working, but would randomly turn on when... the radio would randomly stop working. The central locking did not work and on the few occasions that M34tb4LL did manage to get it working for me it nearly flattened the battery. Two out of the four electric windows did not work and a third was on the way out. Two of the tires were going to need placing sometime in the near future, and the spare was probably flat, I don't know. And a host of other little, niggly things that were either on their way out or completely gone and been held together with just sticky tape and dirt.
But there was one other thing, some might call it a major thing, that was not working properly on the car - the brakes. Now you don't have to have a car, or even know how to drive to know that brakes come in handy when driving. And the brakes on my car would slow me as long as I pumped the pedal till it 'stuck' and did not just 'sponge' all the way to the floor of the car. Lets just say that when I was a traffic light I got in the habit of putting the car into park very quickly.
So my new car has... Well everything that my old car didn't including brakes that work! And it is a station wagon! I got my 'Mum's mobile'.
And unlike my old car I can fit the pram in the boot! In fact I can fit the pram, the port-a-cot, a jumbo box of nappies, a heavily packed nappy bag and a big bag of child entertainment AND still have room to spare!
Now what happened to my old car? Well here is the fun bit! I drove it to a car yard that had a sign out the front saying "We pay cash for cars". They told me that they would give me $230 and deal with all the paperwork (vic roads stuff) and that would be that. So I jumped back into my car and drove it to local wreckers yard. They paid me $250 for the car and gave me the number plates that I then took to vic roads and within a couple of weeks was mailed a cheque for about $375! I'm so glad I looked at a second option other than just going to the car yard.
My new little silver buzz box, it is very pretty. And being silver, it does not show up the dirt on it as much as my old green car - that is one of the most important things, yes?
(: G
22 August 2008
Receipts for romance
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
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
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
09 July 2008
Sad
Well, it has come to this, i am talking to myself way to much.
In the past i have been told people that they enjoy reading my blog, but that i do not blog often enough. My response is that there is not that much going on in my life that i think people would find interesting.
There are times that i think to myself "hmm, should blog about that" but then i have the memory of a, umm, you know, a thing with holes in it, you use it to drain... stuff... never mind. So in short i either forget to blog or forget what i was going to blog about.
But in the main time, i do not end up blogging as often as my loyal readers would like, and i think that my loyal readers are slowly finding other blogs to be loyal to.
My site meter has been showing me a decline on the number of daily visitor and i can understand why. Why come to a site that rarely gets updated, and when it does get updated is it anything of real content? or just mindless self pity ramblings like this!
But will i continue to blog? of course! As often as i have been? of course! And will other people be entertained with my thoughts? of course?!?!?!
(: G
In the past i have been told people that they enjoy reading my blog, but that i do not blog often enough. My response is that there is not that much going on in my life that i think people would find interesting.
There are times that i think to myself "hmm, should blog about that" but then i have the memory of a, umm, you know, a thing with holes in it, you use it to drain... stuff... never mind. So in short i either forget to blog or forget what i was going to blog about.
But in the main time, i do not end up blogging as often as my loyal readers would like, and i think that my loyal readers are slowly finding other blogs to be loyal to.
My site meter has been showing me a decline on the number of daily visitor and i can understand why. Why come to a site that rarely gets updated, and when it does get updated is it anything of real content? or just mindless self pity ramblings like this!
But will i continue to blog? of course! As often as i have been? of course! And will other people be entertained with my thoughts? of course?!?!?!
(: G
16 June 2008
Out with the old...
Tee hee! I did something a little cheeky today and I am kind of proud of it might I say.
For the past, ummm, about seven months now I have been working for the place that made me redundant (I'm sure I have told that story already, if not - just try to keep up). I went back there for a three week, temp job. The job I am doing now is very different from the original three week job and seems to have no end in sight (sam place though).
When I went back to work (let's call my workplace Sunshine Hall), I was not on the books of any temp agencies. And seeing as to work in a temp job being on the books with a temp agency is kind of necessary. To fix this problem I was introduced to a temp agency (which, for the sake of this story, I am going to call Straws) , placed on their books as a temp worker at Sunshine Hall.
So Straws did not have to 'find' me, interview me, source potential jobs for me - all they had to do was process my initial paperwork, pay me on a weekly basis and bill Sunshine Hall. All they have had to do for the past seven months is sit back, click a few button and collect money!
And there have been a few occasions where I, or someone from Sunshine Hall has had questions for Straws and they have been less efficient at providing answers.
In fact the last time I rang Straws with a question I was told that the consultant that was my contact had left some time ago. However they did offer me a new consultant if I wanted one! But that was about a month ago and I have not heard from anyone so I can only make the assumption that I am still consultantless.
So back to what I did today...
I meet with a very lovely lady (actually I had met her before, but that is a different story) from a more 'boutique' temp agency (lets call it Pow) than Straws. She was more than happy to listen to the idea of rather than being paid through Straws, i would be paid through her agency. After my little talk with Pow, the HR manger of Sunshine Hall called Straws and told them that as of Friday this week, i will be no longer needed.
So as off Monday next week i will no longer be part of the Straws "team' and i will be part of the Pow "family". I am keen to find out if a consultant (if there is one around) from Straws contacts me to see if i need help with a new placement now that my time with Sunshine has "finished".
(: G
For the past, ummm, about seven months now I have been working for the place that made me redundant (I'm sure I have told that story already, if not - just try to keep up). I went back there for a three week, temp job. The job I am doing now is very different from the original three week job and seems to have no end in sight (sam place though).
When I went back to work (let's call my workplace Sunshine Hall), I was not on the books of any temp agencies. And seeing as to work in a temp job being on the books with a temp agency is kind of necessary. To fix this problem I was introduced to a temp agency (which, for the sake of this story, I am going to call Straws) , placed on their books as a temp worker at Sunshine Hall.
So Straws did not have to 'find' me, interview me, source potential jobs for me - all they had to do was process my initial paperwork, pay me on a weekly basis and bill Sunshine Hall. All they have had to do for the past seven months is sit back, click a few button and collect money!
And there have been a few occasions where I, or someone from Sunshine Hall has had questions for Straws and they have been less efficient at providing answers.
In fact the last time I rang Straws with a question I was told that the consultant that was my contact had left some time ago. However they did offer me a new consultant if I wanted one! But that was about a month ago and I have not heard from anyone so I can only make the assumption that I am still consultantless.
So back to what I did today...
I meet with a very lovely lady (actually I had met her before, but that is a different story) from a more 'boutique' temp agency (lets call it Pow) than Straws. She was more than happy to listen to the idea of rather than being paid through Straws, i would be paid through her agency. After my little talk with Pow, the HR manger of Sunshine Hall called Straws and told them that as of Friday this week, i will be no longer needed.
So as off Monday next week i will no longer be part of the Straws "team' and i will be part of the Pow "family". I am keen to find out if a consultant (if there is one around) from Straws contacts me to see if i need help with a new placement now that my time with Sunshine has "finished".
(: G
10 May 2008
Mission accomplished!!!
Well, earlier this afternoon i accomplished something i do not think i have managed to do before. I know i have tried (many many times) but i do not believe i have succeeded - till now!
I don't know what it is that has stopped me from reaching this goal before, I know of many people who have done it many times - i have even sat and watched people make it all the way to the finish. I think i have, in the past, coached people along, help them find the right path but i have not actually don't myself.
I am quite proud of myself for this achievement!
So do you want to know what it is that i have done?
I have finished the console game - "Super Paper Mario" (for the Wii). I have had access to and owned may consoles over the past however many years and I have played many games, but i can't remember a time that i have actually finished a game by myself.
Well, when i say by myself i did a bit of looking up hints when i got stuck and did not know which way I was supposed to go, and M34tb4LL did help me get through certain parts of the game (only a minute or two here or there) when my aim was not as keen as his and i was getting frustrated. But i still finished the game!!!
So this afternoon we took the game, along with another that we bought and turned out to be crap, to the local game shop and traded them in for a new game that we have had our eye on.
Which brings to another point...
The trade in price for both games was about $30, don't mind that - we have had fun with the game, gotten our moneys worth out of it. But the shop will then resell this game for only $5 less than the price of the game new! If you don't know how much these games sell for, that is a mark up of about $65!!! So i then ask the question - why bother buying a second game when you can get a brand new one for only $5 more?
It might not make sense, but... I FINISHED a game. Well done me.
(: G
I don't know what it is that has stopped me from reaching this goal before, I know of many people who have done it many times - i have even sat and watched people make it all the way to the finish. I think i have, in the past, coached people along, help them find the right path but i have not actually don't myself.
I am quite proud of myself for this achievement!
So do you want to know what it is that i have done?
I have finished the console game - "Super Paper Mario" (for the Wii). I have had access to and owned may consoles over the past however many years and I have played many games, but i can't remember a time that i have actually finished a game by myself.
Well, when i say by myself i did a bit of looking up hints when i got stuck and did not know which way I was supposed to go, and M34tb4LL did help me get through certain parts of the game (only a minute or two here or there) when my aim was not as keen as his and i was getting frustrated. But i still finished the game!!!
So this afternoon we took the game, along with another that we bought and turned out to be crap, to the local game shop and traded them in for a new game that we have had our eye on.
Which brings to another point...
The trade in price for both games was about $30, don't mind that - we have had fun with the game, gotten our moneys worth out of it. But the shop will then resell this game for only $5 less than the price of the game new! If you don't know how much these games sell for, that is a mark up of about $65!!! So i then ask the question - why bother buying a second game when you can get a brand new one for only $5 more?
It might not make sense, but... I FINISHED a game. Well done me.
(: G
01 May 2008
Not much going on really...
Except work and being sick!
Since Christmas this family has a about three rounds of the common cold, a couple of cases of bronchitis / pharyngitis / conjunctivitis and a rather nasty bout of gastro - and it is only May!!!
And through all this it has had to be business as usual at work. The temp job I started back in... um, I think it was late November (maybe early December), have I mentioned that I am back at work? Well to give you the cliff notes I started as a temp on a three week project at the same place that made me redundant back in April last year! Have I mentioned I was made redundant? Well the three week project turned into six weeks and then they decided they needed in another department - but still temp...
So I am still working there, as a temp, and the job they have me doing may have an end in sight - I can't see it though. And rather than being told "We'll need you for another few weeks" or "can you stay till the end of Smarch" I am just "here till further notice"!
I don't mind the work i'm doing, I am writing training manuals and process and procedure documents, but I'm not fond of the whole state of limbo thing. Plus (going back to the family full of illness thing) if I don't work - i don't get paid! That is kind of how temping works, but if I'm not well enough to go to work I don't get paid AND we still have to pay for child care!
There has been some talk lately around the office, seeing as there is a mountain of stuff for me to get to, about me doing it as a permanent roll in the business. That would be nice, or maybe it is really time for me to get my butt into gear and look for permanent work somewhere else.
If only there was way that I could make money by blogging - really money that is!
(: G
Since Christmas this family has a about three rounds of the common cold, a couple of cases of bronchitis / pharyngitis / conjunctivitis and a rather nasty bout of gastro - and it is only May!!!
And through all this it has had to be business as usual at work. The temp job I started back in... um, I think it was late November (maybe early December), have I mentioned that I am back at work? Well to give you the cliff notes I started as a temp on a three week project at the same place that made me redundant back in April last year! Have I mentioned I was made redundant? Well the three week project turned into six weeks and then they decided they needed in another department - but still temp...
So I am still working there, as a temp, and the job they have me doing may have an end in sight - I can't see it though. And rather than being told "We'll need you for another few weeks" or "can you stay till the end of Smarch" I am just "here till further notice"!
I don't mind the work i'm doing, I am writing training manuals and process and procedure documents, but I'm not fond of the whole state of limbo thing. Plus (going back to the family full of illness thing) if I don't work - i don't get paid! That is kind of how temping works, but if I'm not well enough to go to work I don't get paid AND we still have to pay for child care!
There has been some talk lately around the office, seeing as there is a mountain of stuff for me to get to, about me doing it as a permanent roll in the business. That would be nice, or maybe it is really time for me to get my butt into gear and look for permanent work somewhere else.
If only there was way that I could make money by blogging - really money that is!
(: G
25 March 2008
Express THIS!!!
Have you ever popped into the supermarket for a few items, run out of bread, low on milk, short on some sort of little life essential? and once you have grabbed those half a dozen item headed to the express check out line only to find a family of four doing their weekly shop in front of you?
Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit with that question - but not by much.
A couple of days ago i run to the local supermarket to grab a few ingrediants for dinner. I checked the contents of my basket and counted seven items. At our local the express lane has a sign that states "12 or less items". So the fact that i had seven items i headed to the express lane - quick in, quick out - or so i thought...
Infront of me was a couple with a trolley that obviously had more than twelve items. As they unloaded the items onto the counter. And might i add that the counter is small and not designed for too many items. So as they unloaded their shopping i counted - twenty six items!!!
And my did the girlie at the checkout put them in their place, telling them that it is not exceptable for them to be using the express lane.
.............
................
....................
OH NO WAIT!!! She did not say anything like that, in fact she said nothing at all!!!
When i got to the counter i asked if she ever says to people that they should not have come through the express lane with more items than they are supposed to. She just shrugged her shoulders and told me that people did all the time, there was not much she can do about it.
She continued to scan my purchases and i paid and started to leave the supermarket. It was at this point that i realised that i had forgotten one thing. So i went back, got the final item and went back to the express checkout lane - after all i had only one item this time.
And would you know it, but the person in front of me had a trolley with a rather suspicious number of items. I waited till the person in front of me was being served and once again counted the number of items. Twenty one, twenty one items in the twelve items or less checkout. This time i was served by a different person and so i asked that person if they ever say anything. She told me that hse is tempted but not game enough to actually try it.
Not game enough? what does she think the customers are going to do if she point out the fact that they are at the wrong checkout, which I'm pretty sure they are aware of already.
So here is my idea - let's take back the express!!! We should at least point out to these people who have no ability to count the error they have made in the lane they are queuing at. Or as i have been tempted to do, pushing in front of them and when they object simply say that you did not know they were in the queue because they obviously have too many items to be.
And now i shall end this rant by telling you that yesterday while at the supermarket, i went through the 12 item or less lane with thirteen items - hey thirteen is not twenty three!
(: G
Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit with that question - but not by much.
A couple of days ago i run to the local supermarket to grab a few ingrediants for dinner. I checked the contents of my basket and counted seven items. At our local the express lane has a sign that states "12 or less items". So the fact that i had seven items i headed to the express lane - quick in, quick out - or so i thought...
Infront of me was a couple with a trolley that obviously had more than twelve items. As they unloaded the items onto the counter. And might i add that the counter is small and not designed for too many items. So as they unloaded their shopping i counted - twenty six items!!!
And my did the girlie at the checkout put them in their place, telling them that it is not exceptable for them to be using the express lane.
.............
................
....................
OH NO WAIT!!! She did not say anything like that, in fact she said nothing at all!!!
When i got to the counter i asked if she ever says to people that they should not have come through the express lane with more items than they are supposed to. She just shrugged her shoulders and told me that people did all the time, there was not much she can do about it.
She continued to scan my purchases and i paid and started to leave the supermarket. It was at this point that i realised that i had forgotten one thing. So i went back, got the final item and went back to the express checkout lane - after all i had only one item this time.
And would you know it, but the person in front of me had a trolley with a rather suspicious number of items. I waited till the person in front of me was being served and once again counted the number of items. Twenty one, twenty one items in the twelve items or less checkout. This time i was served by a different person and so i asked that person if they ever say anything. She told me that hse is tempted but not game enough to actually try it.
Not game enough? what does she think the customers are going to do if she point out the fact that they are at the wrong checkout, which I'm pretty sure they are aware of already.
So here is my idea - let's take back the express!!! We should at least point out to these people who have no ability to count the error they have made in the lane they are queuing at. Or as i have been tempted to do, pushing in front of them and when they object simply say that you did not know they were in the queue because they obviously have too many items to be.
And now i shall end this rant by telling you that yesterday while at the supermarket, i went through the 12 item or less lane with thirteen items - hey thirteen is not twenty three!
(: G
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