Hunter turns one in ten days. That went really fast. He's been walking, running more like, for two months already and he is covered in bruises from his multiple stacks. The only thing he hasn't mastered is climbing out of his cot.
Because of all the uni I've been neglecting almost all my own writing. I've beta read some work for others. One was decent, but the other was an immensely woeful Mary Sue situation in a bones fic. Angela, post-Roxie. It was bad. The author seemed upset that I wasn't a fan of het work, but really, it was a shameless sex fantasy.
Sex fantasy isn't a bad thing, but people shouldn't try and pass it off as fiction.
I've also been thinking about joining roller derby (before Whip It came out, mind you) and once I've saved enough cash for derby-grade gear and the insurance, I'll be all over that.
Never tell your boss that the OH&S in your store is a joke, and that all of the management policies are just talk. Chances are, he'll promote you to someplace where you have to implement the policy yourself.
Never show up your supervisor, even if he is an incompetent dickhead. His girlfriend will call you a bitch! (Oooooh....)
Never assume nightfill staff know how to do anything other than scratch their asses. You'll be bitterly disappointed if you do.
Never call Urgent Helpdesk. They rarely help, and find nothing urgent.
Never assume customers know anything about anything. They often know nothing about everything.
And, lastly, never break up a fight between two customers. You only get a black eye and detained for questioning by the cops.
/Myweekofhell.
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- I Am At:Australia, New South Wales
Sunday arvos are great. Hunter is watching In The Night Garden on DVD which is like, crack-smoking middle aged white Poms programming for little kids, so it's queer as, but he loves it. Ryan is out for a run, since he's in training for joining the police force and everything, so I'm chilling, drinking some coffee, watching youtube clips and having MSN verbal smackdown with my brother.
This what things should be like.
Customer one: You have a box of Harry Potter Blu-Rays in your catalogue that starts this week.
Me: Yes.
C1: I went to JB Hifi and they said they can do it for $80, which is cheaper than yours.
Me: But they can't.
C1: I was just over there.
Me: Yes, but they can't offer you that item.
C1: And why not?
Me: Because our catalogue states that the item is exclusive to Big W stores. Which means they don't even sell it.
C1: Oh, it must have been EzyDVD then.
Me: But it is exclusive to us, which means that no other retail chain, independent, or legal Blu Ray distributor can offer you that item.
C1: I know what exclusive means.
Me: So, being an exclusive product, I can't drop the price on that.
C1: Well, if you won't match competitors prices, I'll go elsewhere.
Me: You can't get it... oh whatever. Have a nice day.
The complete idiocy! Then I ran into Katie who works at sound and vision at KMart and she said the lady took our catalogue in there and asked what price they were selling it for. Boneheads. Katie pointed out that no-one sells it but us, and she was pissed. I love it when people blatantly lie to me.
C2: Hi I'm here to exchange this playstation game.
Me: Have you been to the courtesy desk to start the exchange?
C2: No, I was told to come here.
[Sidebar - normally I'd send them back down the front, but the girls would have called me down there anyway, so I figured I'd deal with her and then take it all to them after]
Me: Is the disc faulty?
C2: No.
Me: Is the game still sealed?
C2: No. It wasn't sealed when I got it.
Me: Um, the broken seal is attached to the case still.
C2: Oh. No, I want to exchange it.
Me: Have you played it already?
C2: Yes, my kids did. It's too hard for them, I want to get a different one.
Me: I'm sorry, we don't do exchanges on used games for change of mind.
C2: But it's too hard for them.
Me: I understand that, but you've used the item, it's not faulty and I can't exchange it.
C2: But I spoke to you on Saturday and you said I could bring it back, I remember asking for your name, and it was you.
Me: I don't work on Saturdays.
C2: Maybe it was Friday.
Me: Today is my first day back after twelve days on sick leave, and your receipt says you purchased it on Tuesday. You did not speak to me.
C2: Are you sure.
Me: Absolutely one hundred percent positive, and I can get a doctor to prove it if you like.
C2: Maybe the name was Sarah?
Me: We have two Sarah's in the store and neither of them work in this department.
C2: Carla?
Me: No-one here by that name. I'm sorry, but we can't help you.
C2: Fine, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do with this game now. Biggest waste of twenty dollars ever.
[She left, but moments later, my phone rings and it's Sammi Kay from the front desk]
Me: Hey Sammi
SK: Hey do we do exchange for change of mind? I have a lady here with a playstation game.
Me: No. Does she have a green jacket and jeans on?
SK: Yes.
Me: Explain to her that she was already told no and asking other staff members will not change that outcome.
SK: Ok kiddo.
[End call. Until two minutes later]
SK: Dude, she was pissed.
Me: I don't care if she was literally steaming from the ears.
SK: She said she was going to take it to another store and tell them it was faulty.
So I called the nearest three stores and warned them. I have yet to hear whether she tried that. Part of me hopes she does.
- I Am At:Australia!
- I Am Feeling:
annoyed
I read the Twilight series. Everyone I know had been harping on and on and on about it. At first, I was quite reluctant. I'd heard bits about the plot and characters and it didn't entirely attract me. I mean, it's a love story essentially, and My Summer of Love notwithstanding, I don't do love stories. But vampires, different matter. So more and more people told me to read it, and I caved.
Lord, I should remember to always, ALWAYS trust my own instincts.
I hated it.
For a few reasons, naturally. Lets peruse the list, shall we?
1. Stephenie Meyer completely messes with all mythological basis for vampires. The "vampires" in her book sparkle in the daylight. WTF? Vampires don't sparkle, they burst into god-damn flames and die. I realise she was taking some literary license, but to turn on YEARS of accepted mythology makes it all seem a little arrogant.
2. Bella has some serious fucking problems. She's incredibly pretentious and rude. She spends a good portion of the first book raving incessantly about how Forks is boring, and everyone is boring, and so far beneath her standards. They're all BORING and stupid and BORING and kill me now. Even when people are extending their friendship, she merely sniffs at it. Next problem? It takes her only a few days to fall in love with Edward and want to spend the rest of eternity with him. Defined-through-relationship much? The entire series is built around the fact that in this short span of time, she meets Edward, falls in everlasting love with him, decides she wants to be a vampire, coerces him and his family into giving her what she wants, and basically making her ACTUAL family feel really bad about it. If I had known Bella Swan, I would have beaten the shit out of her.
3. Edward is a creepy stalker. Like, woah. He sniffs people all the time. He lingers outside houses, waits in trees, doesn't play nice with males in Bella's life. But, creepy SNIFFING. Ew.
4. Jacob Black is a pedophile. He falls in love with an infant. INFANT. Like someone my little sister's age falling in love with my son. Shall I summon the chorus? EEEWWWWWWW. There's nothing OK about it, werewolf or not. Infants do not have those sorts of relationships. Sorry, Jacob. You weren't that bad for a small portion of the series, but then you fucking IMPRINTED ON A BABY.
5. Renesmee. Really? Why didn't Edward tell her that name was shit-house?
6. On a different note, I found the entire series quite slow-moving. I don't think Breaking Dawn should have been so long, they could have cut about a third of the book out. It's definitely not my style of writing. I like something fast-paced, unapologetic, and with at least one central character that has SOME redeeming quality. Interestingly, my twin read Meyer's other book, The Host, and said it was ridiculously bad. I'm not overly surprised.
So, clearly, I'm not a fan of this series. But now, when I get into arguments with people about how SHIT Twilight is, they can't say, "You haven't read it, you don't know." Because I have. And it still sucked. Like the t-shirt says, kids...
- I Am Listening To:Back In The USSR - The Beatles
So, again I disappeared momentarily. Again, I had a throat and chest infection... At least it wasn't swine flu. That would have sucked. Pigs are so evil in their germ spreading capabilities.
My life has been decidedly mundane lately. It's mainly just me stalking people on facebook (people I know, I'm not completely pathetic) and neglecting Uni work. I haven't listened to a single lecture yet, and we are nine weeks in. I've still completed two assessments and got a credit and distinction. But it is quite easy to fake awesome understanding in a pop culture class.
I'm still waiting to find out whether I need to change courses to become a qualified English and Media teacher. The course of study I'm doing now was recognized as enough, until last semester. So I either need to change courses (which means picking completely new subjects for the rest of the year) or change unis altogether. Ew.
I hate incompetent enrolment staff.
My doctor is running late again. My appointment was at 9:30. How could they get this late when they have only been open for an hour?on Friday they were an hour and twenty minutes late and I got the shits and yelled at them because it turns out no-one had even put my chart in the doctors tray. And that was far too ridiculous.
Ooh my turn.
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- I Am At:Australia, New South Wales
- I Am Listening To:I'm Excited - Little Birdy
Like he was kind enough to give the buying/distributing and merchandising department warning before he had a massive coronary and died, just so the idiots who live around here can feel like they were true fans, which they AREN'T, because if they were, they would have bought the fucking CD while he was alive.
So, clearly I work in entertainment and photo retail. I'm surrounded by large televisions and various radios, stereos all day. Several people came into my store, and told me in incredibly superior tones, "I don't know if you heard, but Michael Jackson died today."
After which I gestured to the televisions, all of which were tuned to a news station running a reel of MJ.
"Oh, I just wanted to make sure you knew."
The fuck?
So that made my day shitty. The downer part came later, when I realised that today is June 26. My friend in Cali shipped out to Afghanistan today. That kills me a little. I thought all my friends, Australian and American, were done being shipped into warzones for god knows what reason. He's got no idea how long his deployment is, and he doesn't know how long it'll be before he will be able to contact anyone. And that scares the shit out of me, because when it comes to other people I know and am rather fond of, I like to know everyone is OK and safe.
Benji, stay safe, and hurry home to San Diego. Call me when you get there and we can sing the chicken song.
Sorry about the massive bummer post.
FUCKFACE.
He also told the boss not to tell him what to do, because he doesn't like it when people give him orders. The boss raised her eyebrows and ever so politely told him that she would do whatever the hell she wanted because it was her business, and then, before she walked away asked him if he didn't take orders, how his fiancee ever had sex with him, because there's no way he could ever please her without being told what to do.
I'm sure the girls in the back office pissed themselves for about thirty minutes. I know I struggled to keep a straight face for a while.
Anyway, an old friend of mine brought her daughter up for the weekend. Madeleine is two and a half and adorable. She has this habit of saying, in a really confused voice, "Whaaaaaat?" Then following it up with a giant WTF face. Here is a photo of her and said face.
I also want to take this opportunity to tell you all, that my son can now stand on his own and crawl up the god damn stairs, which I didn't realise until he was halfway up (I was cooking dinner at the time). Here is a picture of biscuit face.
I love biscuit face. He looks so impressed with the fact that he scored that biscuit, and like he's sayin, "I enjoyed it, too!"
Got nothing else.
But really, all is well, so I'm happy.
Finished my first Uni subjects. Sociology was evil but I got a credit. Education was better, got a distinction. Pop culture and Education 2 start today! I just realised my fourth study period continues over Christmas. ASS.
Wanna see a pic of my boy?
- I Am Feeling:
cheerful - I Am Listening To:summarize - little birdy
So, now, without any further delay, I present:
( Massive Picspam of The Boy )
- I Am Listening To:Sunrise Over Sea - John Butler
I want everyone to take responsibility for their own god damn actions. 1...2...3.
I was watching one of those delightful current affairs programs last night and discovered some total dickpuller is suing the Crown Casino in Melbourne because they used fancy gimmicks to get him to gamble and lose around 37 million aussie dollars. What. The. Hellz.
Other good suing stories I know of... Two teens sued the NSW board of studies because they jigged school one day and got hit by a car. They argued that the school should have been able to control their truancy. THEY WON.
A man is currently in a legal battle with a car manufacturer (I won't say which one) demanding they pay his 12 unpaid high range speeding fines because they created the car capable of breaking the speed limits.
MAN UP GENERAL SOCIETY, AND LEARN TO OWN YOUR OWN SHIT.
Happy New Year.
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Oh, sorry, I think I might have got a wee bit carried away. Mildly.
On another note, this headline makes me laugh.
US anti-kidnap expert kidnapped in Mexico
Oh, the irony.
That is all.
- I Am Listening To:Chemical Dreams - George
This is going to be quick. I just read an article on www.ninemsn.com.au that said that teachers shouldn't use red pens to mark students work because it could damage their mental health, due to the colour red being "aggressive".
What.
The.
Hellz.
The country is in economic crisis, unemployment is on the rise, seventy percent of the country is still technically in drought and some dickhead is concerned about the colour pen teachers are using?
Oh, for fucks sake.
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I don't know why. I just do. Though this morning someone decided to wake up at four thirty am and have party time... He wasn't upset, he just didn't want to sleep. WELL I BLOODY DID.
But if that's the worst of my problems, that's awesome.
I feel compelled to wish the americans a happy turkey day. I know I'd be stoked for another public holiday... So high five to you guys.
Why is it that every time I dress my son in the morning, he waits until he's completely dressed and clean and then makes a mess in his nappy? Then I have to undress, change and redress him? Which
Is what I gotta do now. Sigh.
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I feel compelled to talk about last night's NCIS... I was a little disappointed in the end. Michelle should just be plain old evil, not evil cause they'll kill her kid if she's not. I miss the days when people on TV were evil JUST BECAUSE. Also... they seemed to have conveniently forgotten that she SHOT Langer. Shot him dead. They don't just let you go for that sort of shit.
On another note, I recall I recently posted saying that I wanted more Ziva asskicking.... Thank you, PTB. She got her whoop-ass on and I enjoyed it. I would totally watch a show that was just about Ziva being all stealthy hard ass mossad assassin ninja. Which is really bad grammar, but who gives a rats?
I also ignored the stupid Tony/Ziva subtext.
I need a cup of coffee... which I will now get. I must say, the worst part about being pregnant - apart from, you know, labour, was easily not being able to drink my eight to ten cups of heavily caffeinated beverages per day. I have an addiction. Not a problem, an addiction. The first ten days after I gave up coffee I was an evil evil wench of doom. And decaf? SHITHOUSE. Not even worth making. It's a defeatist concept anyway.
OK? Shiny.
- I Am Listening To:Yes, I Know - Pow Wow Now
But I am missing the Ziva ass-kicking. I distinctly remember her being more hardass in her earlier seasons. She'd be beating the shit out of people and scaring them with her Mossad!Ninja! eyes. And I swear to all that is holy if they hook Ziva and Tony up, I'll kill someone.
It's been so long since I ranted about television on here, I'm almost feeling nostalgic.
Almost.
The list of shows I must watch has changed anyway. Sort of. NCIS, Bones, Criminal Minds and Life.
Yup, Life.
Today is my three year wedding anniversary. Three years isn't that long a time, but it feels like forever - in the good sense, not the bad one.
Have a great day!
- I Am Listening To:Watch Out Boys - Magic Dirt
But more importantly - ME! I know I disappeared off the internets for a while there, but I had good reasons. I moved. Twice. I had big fights with Telstra (you're shocked, I know) about my awesome internet. I got pneumonia. Not the standard, "Oh, I've got pneumonia..." kind. The kind where they hook you up to oxygen tanks and keep you sedated while trying to siphon all the fluid and shit out of your lungs in a hospital bed.
The coolest thing that's happened, though, is behind the cut. ( Click for yays. )
- I Am At:My house. Where else?
- I Am Feeling:meh. which is now a word.
- I Am Listening To:Pray for the Band Latoya! by Juliette and the Licks
Then yesterday I got a phonecall from a different department of Telstra wondering whether I was happy with the current services I was receiving. I laughed at her. Poor woman.
But I'm still alive.
And I have to tell you something,
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
greenovalfruit. About Commander in Chief. Remember we bitched about the exorbitant price tag? Well, now it's retailing for thirty seven bucks in Big W stores. So as soon as I get paid, I'm buying that bitch right up. Nothing much else has been happening. My work roster has just changed so now I'm working thirty two hours over four day periods... which means I now get weekends plus Tuesdays off. That's way better than thirty over five days.
I just wanted to check in with y'all.
Not much going on in the land of me, just work and stuff. Right now I'm bumming around listening to Missy Higgins' new CD which I love, and eating Fruche. It's great.
Work's been average. I fought with the photoprocessor and now it is my submissive little bitch and does exactly what I want it to. EXACTLY. Turns out you just have to kick it's ass and it works great.
I've been trying to buy Dark Angel on DVD for years now, and I didn't want to buy it for sixty bucks like they charge at JB Hifi. Today I opened a box of stock at work and there were DA Boxsets! I was wicked excited, and even moreso when I scanned them and they cost $30! I win again! I totally hoarded them under the counter for my own selfish gain. I also had some Arrested Development under there. Damn i love that show it's just so funny.
My hands are cold. I tore a bunch of skin off my knuckles today and it looks like I'm some kind of hardass boxer or something. It made for amusing jokes about kickin people's ass.
Just checking in.
Surely not? I'm posting?
HELLO, LAND OF PEOPLE I HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO IN FOREVER!
I am back online after eleven weeks. That's right, eleven. But now I'm here with some perfectly good explanations. I moved into the new house in early April. Phone lines not connected, so we called Telstra to come and hook them up. When they got here, it was discovered that when the landlord had the place built (because 'tis brand new) she didn't have the telecom cables connected the perimeter box or the exchange. So Telstra guy had to arrange for that. That occurred, but NOBODY CAME TO CONNECT THE ACTUAL PHONE LINES. Bastards. We called daily for around six weeks, but nobody would come. They sent us an interim mobile phone which doesn't support internet, and it was so shit we couldn't hear anything anyone said to us. Last week a guy came to connect the phones, he tested them and said it was fine, but we would be unable to use our phone or internet until FRIDAY. Friday the 15th. Bastards.
The funniest part was that Telstra still sent us phone bills and internet bills. Stupid fuckers. I yelled at Telstra staff members. Apparently line repairs have absolutely no connection and share no data with the department who send the bills out. Bull. Shit.
Anyway, I've been gone for a long long time and I have a few things to say.
I got a gig playing substitute in a pop-rock band called The Second Row. Just local stuff, when their guitarist or bassist can't make it, they call me up and off I go. It's some brainless fun and keeps my musicalness from going dead. Bascially these are guys who listen to a lot of Switchfoot, Dashboard Confessional, End of Fashion and Eskimo Joe.
My real job (at Big W) is going awesome. I've been there less than six months, and I'm already staff member of the month. That's right. I am impressing head honchos all over the place, and people are knowing my name. I also have regular fights with the photoprocessor, and I hate it. I've had three separate days of nosebleeds from developing chemicals exploding onto the floor (common occurence) and have had neuro testing to make sure it literally didn't fry my brain. I'm fine. Turns out what was wrong with the processor was a five cent piece of plastic called a C-clip that had dropped to the underside of the drying table. AND IT FUCKED EVERYTHING UP.
One of my most hated parts of work is dealing with movie reps who come into the store and bitch at me. We have a lot of our displays and stuff determined by head office, but these bitches come in and move shit around. I was instructed by my immediate boss (and good buddy of mine) that they are not to touch anything without seeing me or her, and if they did, I could tell them to get the hell out of the store and take all their stock off the stands. I was in the process of explaining this to our Sony and Paramount reps, who didn't take it well, and then Sony lady tried to get violent with me. She grabbed my upper arm and shoved me into a display of Spiderman Robosapiens, cut the side of my head open on some fixtures. Customers saw her doing this and alerted another staff member who called security. SHE ACTUALLY GOT ARRESTED. LITERALLY. Customers signed affidavits, I made a statement, they had security footage. Apparently I don't have to testify in court, because Security guy is going in my place with video, photographs and a statement from me. It was amusing. It wasn't even that bad, the damage, but hey, that'll learn the reps not to fuck with me. YOU GET ARRESTED.
Also to do with work - - I have the biggest fattest girlcrush on my night manager. She's tiny and cute and awesome, and she's amusing. But, married, and stuff. I told her too, I was like, "Dude, I have the biggest girlcrush on you." She was all, "Cool! I haven't lost the mojo." She's very touchy and grabby, so work is a great place to be. I was telling the Husband about her, and one day he was picking me up from work and he came in to see me and he said, "I just met your boss. I see why you're crushing on her. I'm fucking crushing on her. I think everyone is crushing on her." She's like that. She makes the whole world fall in love with her.
It was my birthday on the 9th and it was grand. I got a prez everyday for a week leading up to my b'day from the Husband (he's real good with presents and stuff) and then on the actualy day he took me out to dinner and then we went driving down Kiama and while we were driving, he arranged for all my friends from overseas to call me! It was so fucking awesome, because, like, Heather is a mother now, and JOOOOOdie! Ez the drama queen and Kuo Sing! The Ku! Then we got cold and went to see Pirates 3. I could marry Johnny Depp. I had to work the morning of my b'day, but it was OK because Tash and CuteBoss bought me chocolate and made me a card. They're so cool.
My new house is going grand and as soon as the weather gets nice I'll take some shots from the balconies (multiple) because it really is a pretty view.
A shout out to ![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
greenovalfruit because she kept the love up while I was disconnected. I love you big time, Angela. You're the bomb.
Please love me now that I'm alive!
- I Am Listening To:Oh, I want you whole and complete, after dark, after dark
