Valentine sunset
Monday, 14 February 2005
I will get a grip
I knew the novelty (was there ever a novelty involved?) would soon wear off. I am talking about my new found necessity to earn a living, it's wearing thin already, I have been spoilt for the last few years on the work front and getting back 'into it' is rapidly turning out not to be my idea of fun!
How do people fit everything in I wonder.....and work nigh on full time? Perhaps it just takes practice again, I used to do it. I think have to re-learn the art of NOT being so laid back!
PG and I seem to be like ships passing in the night, the cats are wondering why I am suddenly not there to attend to their every whim and all I seem to do is fall in the door tired, eat and sleep, before it all starts again.... Pah! I remember it well and along with the memory I recall why I was so glad to be out of it for those few years.
Add to that have I barely managed to post these last few days and my blog-surfing has been sadly minimal, I promise, I am still here even if I haven't commented quite as often as my norm and I will get a grip of my new routine, it's just taking me, um.....er....... a few days longer than I had anticipated to get re-organised!
How do people fit everything in I wonder.....and work nigh on full time? Perhaps it just takes practice again, I used to do it. I think have to re-learn the art of NOT being so laid back!
PG and I seem to be like ships passing in the night, the cats are wondering why I am suddenly not there to attend to their every whim and all I seem to do is fall in the door tired, eat and sleep, before it all starts again.... Pah! I remember it well and along with the memory I recall why I was so glad to be out of it for those few years.
Add to that have I barely managed to post these last few days and my blog-surfing has been sadly minimal, I promise, I am still here even if I haven't commented quite as often as my norm and I will get a grip of my new routine, it's just taking me, um.....er....... a few days longer than I had anticipated to get re-organised!
The stuff of dreams!
Ok....I wanna move to Boston!
(Click to enlarge)
Boston blizzard 2005.
Boston blizzard.
Boston blizzard.
Thanks to Michelle, for a whole power point of Boston snow.
(Click to enlarge)
Boston blizzard 2005.
Boston blizzard.
Boston blizzard.
Thanks to Michelle, for a whole power point of Boston snow.
Sunday, 13 February 2005
That's it!
No more wishing for snow, I've given up, it's just not gonna happen in any serious manner!
As I left for work this morning it began to snow, not the big fat flakes of blizzards but millions of beautiful little flakes dancing around in the wind, they continued to fall for half of my journey and then stopped as abruptly as they had started. An hour later and there were fat flakes falling in abundance as I poked my head out of the door at work. Not long later the sun broke through the cloud and melted the light white covering within minutes......and that was it, fin!
The remainder of the day was freezing cold and accompanied by 30mph winds whistling again through the broken store doors. The customers where cold, we were cold, it was a thoroughly horrible day.
Home at last and four hours later I am just begining to thaw out. I have a day off tomorrow and we have more snow forecast but this time I'm going to ignore the whole issue!
Snow? who needs it? heh.
As I left for work this morning it began to snow, not the big fat flakes of blizzards but millions of beautiful little flakes dancing around in the wind, they continued to fall for half of my journey and then stopped as abruptly as they had started. An hour later and there were fat flakes falling in abundance as I poked my head out of the door at work. Not long later the sun broke through the cloud and melted the light white covering within minutes......and that was it, fin!
The remainder of the day was freezing cold and accompanied by 30mph winds whistling again through the broken store doors. The customers where cold, we were cold, it was a thoroughly horrible day.
Home at last and four hours later I am just begining to thaw out. I have a day off tomorrow and we have more snow forecast but this time I'm going to ignore the whole issue!
Snow? who needs it? heh.
Yay......
....there is snow forecast for our little patch of Scotland today, we have a howling gale already and sub zero temperatures so it's looking hopeful.I won't be buying skiing equipment just yet mind!
Gotta run, I'm late for work.........
Gotta run, I'm late for work.........
Saturday, 12 February 2005
Bank policy
This is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by a 96 year-old
woman. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published
in the New York Times.
Oh to have this presence of mind at 40 something, let alone 96!
woman. The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published
in the New York Times.
Oh to have this presence of mind at 40 something, let alone 96!
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I
endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three
nanoseconds must have elapsed between his depositing the check and
the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it. I refer, of
course, to the automatic monthly transfer of funds from my modest
savings account, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for
only thirty-one years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief
window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of
penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has
caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas
I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try
to
contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging,
pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has recently become.
From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a
flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will
therefore
and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by
check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your
bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offense under the
Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope.
Please find attached an Application Contact Status form which I
require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight
pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank
knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies
of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary
Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation
(income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by
documented proof. In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN
number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it
cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the
number of button presses required of me to access my account balance
on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest
form of flattery.
Please allow me to level the playing field even further. When you
call me, you will now have a menu of options on my new voice mail
system to choose from.
Please press the buttons as follows:
1. To make an appointment to see me.
2. To query a missing payment.
3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my
computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later
date to the Authorized Contact.
8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 - 7.
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be
put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service.
While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music
will play for the duration of the call.
Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an
establishment fee of $50 to cover the setting up of this new
arrangement. Please credit my account after each occasion.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New
Year.
Your Humble Client,
Friday, 11 February 2005
Blogger comments
Hells bells...... just as I change to Haloscan, Blogger tart up their comments system, is it just 'pretty' I wonder, or will it work from here on in?
Er...I won't be removing Haloscan just yet!
Er...I won't be removing Haloscan just yet!
Friday's feast (35)
Appetizer - What do you want for Valentine's Day?
If I told you it wouldn't happen....it likely won't anyway but I'm hedging my bets :o)
Soup - If you could change the color of something you own, what would it be and which color would you make it?
I don't have anything I don't like the colour of, colour is important to me and I buy stuff the colour I want it or not at all. I would change the colour of my hair to lighter blonde but does one own hair??
Salad - What's your favorite day of the week and why?
Any day off...the reason? It's playtime :o)
Main Course - What excuse do you use most often?
'I'm too busy'
Dessert - Name something or someone you feel sorry for.
Any animal that has been or is being mistreated.
If I told you it wouldn't happen....it likely won't anyway but I'm hedging my bets :o)
Soup - If you could change the color of something you own, what would it be and which color would you make it?
I don't have anything I don't like the colour of, colour is important to me and I buy stuff the colour I want it or not at all. I would change the colour of my hair to lighter blonde but does one own hair??
Salad - What's your favorite day of the week and why?
Any day off...the reason? It's playtime :o)
Main Course - What excuse do you use most often?
'I'm too busy'
Dessert - Name something or someone you feel sorry for.
Any animal that has been or is being mistreated.
Daylight robbery
I am fuming, steaming, spitting fire, yup I'm angry and it's not often I 'do' angry.
My cell phone bill landed on my doormat this morning and somewhat stunning it was too......well over twice my normal charges and most items unsolicited!
A while back I stupidly fell for the 'crazy frog' advertising and feeling full of amusement I ordered said item from it's distributor, a delightful company with it seems no integrity what_ so_ ever.....yes, you guessed it JAMSTER. What kind of damn fool woman am I?
Subsequently Jamster have repeatedly sent me text messages offering more of their products, screensavers, ringtones and the like. I have never downloaded anything from them, in fact the initial and only item I requested failed to arrive, but none the less I have been charged............and at extortionate rates into the bargain!
This morning I have spent over an hour on the phone sorting out this fiasco. It seems that if one orders an item from this company a 'club' is unwittingly 'joined' allowing for these messages to be sent. Apparently if one reads the small print, though where exactly that is available is not clear, it allows for this to happen. Ok, I can live with the odd text message but it's not as simple as that. The messages they send out to members of this less than illustrious club, merely offering their products are charged, regardless of whether one chooses to download an item!!!! WTF!
The only thing I can offer in their defence is that having spent more time than I cared to embroiled in an argument on the phone this morning, they have at least agreed to refund me the charges.............though it will take them 3 weeks to do so. It sure as hell didn't take them that long to charge me!
I now await said cheque to arrive from Germany, somehow I feel this may not be the end of this, my faith in the agreed refund arriving is not high!
My cell phone bill landed on my doormat this morning and somewhat stunning it was too......well over twice my normal charges and most items unsolicited!
A while back I stupidly fell for the 'crazy frog' advertising and feeling full of amusement I ordered said item from it's distributor, a delightful company with it seems no integrity what_ so_ ever.....yes, you guessed it JAMSTER. What kind of damn fool woman am I?
Subsequently Jamster have repeatedly sent me text messages offering more of their products, screensavers, ringtones and the like. I have never downloaded anything from them, in fact the initial and only item I requested failed to arrive, but none the less I have been charged............and at extortionate rates into the bargain!
This morning I have spent over an hour on the phone sorting out this fiasco. It seems that if one orders an item from this company a 'club' is unwittingly 'joined' allowing for these messages to be sent. Apparently if one reads the small print, though where exactly that is available is not clear, it allows for this to happen. Ok, I can live with the odd text message but it's not as simple as that. The messages they send out to members of this less than illustrious club, merely offering their products are charged, regardless of whether one chooses to download an item!!!! WTF!
The only thing I can offer in their defence is that having spent more time than I cared to embroiled in an argument on the phone this morning, they have at least agreed to refund me the charges.............though it will take them 3 weeks to do so. It sure as hell didn't take them that long to charge me!
I now await said cheque to arrive from Germany, somehow I feel this may not be the end of this, my faith in the agreed refund arriving is not high!
Thursday, 10 February 2005
Cat loving queen
My, er..... loosely themed 'valentines' header images of the last few days seem to have caused a small problem (see here) for Deanna who's daughter the 'seven year old cat loving queen hangs' on her shoulder to see what 'the cat lady' has done today! Ooopsss.
So this is especially for you 'seven year old cat loving queen', in the hope that you will forgive me!
So this is especially for you 'seven year old cat loving queen', in the hope that you will forgive me!
The quarterly hair horror
The dreaded three monthly hair appointment was today! Regulars will know my dislike of this necessary evil, I have blogged it on more than one occasion. I hate it, nay detest it, the faffing, the inane conversation centered around holidays and hair colour drives me demented, luke warm instant coffee and hairdresser egos are just not my thing.
Today's foray into the nightmare that is the hair salon was, it transpired, amusingly different. This establishment is for a small town, reasonably upmarket and at least boasts well qualified stylists, post 1960's decor, (unlike it's counterparts in the town, that favour the blue rinse brigade) and a comfortingly full appointment book.
A rare calm greeted me upon my arrival, only one or two clients instead of the usual melee where apparent and thankfully my regular stylist 'Fiona' was ready and waiting for me. As time has gone by she seems to have learnt of my dislike for the usual bowing and scraping afforded clients as the norm and has relaxed a little. She knows my dread of the backwash and instructed 'hair washing junior' appropriately, to only 'wash once' and 'no conditioner', thereby affording me an early escape from this neck breaking contraption.
As time passed and she snip, snipped away we chatted comfortably about all manner of subjects, we giggled and joked and all was looking well. At this point things became a little strange, we noticed suddenly that we were alone, the other staff had all 'disappeared'. Little did we know but this hair appointment was about to become like something from an episode of a poorly written soap opera.
'Go find out where they have gone' I suggested and laughing she disappeared into the back of the building, leaving me alone and half done. Returning moments later, shaking and red faced she reported there had been a disagreement of sorts and the absent staff where embroiled in an argument concerning the perpetrator of a large number of 'strange' phone calls they had been receiving of late. This argument carried on, intermittently spilling over into the front of house when one or other of these girls appeared, pretended to be working and was then summoned back by one colleague or another in hissing whispers.
Amid all of this and without warning 'young hairwashing junior' suddenly appeared in floods of tears....enough is enough was Fiona's response and amid apologies she ushered said hairwasher briskly out of sight. She returned minutes later, hairwasher had not it seemed become involved in the cat fight as suspected, instead she had just been dumped by her boyfriend of many months..........via text message..... Nice guy...... and was still wailing uncontrollably from somewhere out of sight but most certainly not out of earshot!
Professional it was not, but damned entertaining it all was. Ok, so the luke warm instant coffee was still appalling, no change there, but the conversation was improved and the entertainment was certainly more amusing than that normally provided during the dreaded salon visit!
Oh....and in the end I did get my hair cut!
Today's foray into the nightmare that is the hair salon was, it transpired, amusingly different. This establishment is for a small town, reasonably upmarket and at least boasts well qualified stylists, post 1960's decor, (unlike it's counterparts in the town, that favour the blue rinse brigade) and a comfortingly full appointment book.
A rare calm greeted me upon my arrival, only one or two clients instead of the usual melee where apparent and thankfully my regular stylist 'Fiona' was ready and waiting for me. As time has gone by she seems to have learnt of my dislike for the usual bowing and scraping afforded clients as the norm and has relaxed a little. She knows my dread of the backwash and instructed 'hair washing junior' appropriately, to only 'wash once' and 'no conditioner', thereby affording me an early escape from this neck breaking contraption.
As time passed and she snip, snipped away we chatted comfortably about all manner of subjects, we giggled and joked and all was looking well. At this point things became a little strange, we noticed suddenly that we were alone, the other staff had all 'disappeared'. Little did we know but this hair appointment was about to become like something from an episode of a poorly written soap opera.
'Go find out where they have gone' I suggested and laughing she disappeared into the back of the building, leaving me alone and half done. Returning moments later, shaking and red faced she reported there had been a disagreement of sorts and the absent staff where embroiled in an argument concerning the perpetrator of a large number of 'strange' phone calls they had been receiving of late. This argument carried on, intermittently spilling over into the front of house when one or other of these girls appeared, pretended to be working and was then summoned back by one colleague or another in hissing whispers.
Amid all of this and without warning 'young hairwashing junior' suddenly appeared in floods of tears....enough is enough was Fiona's response and amid apologies she ushered said hairwasher briskly out of sight. She returned minutes later, hairwasher had not it seemed become involved in the cat fight as suspected, instead she had just been dumped by her boyfriend of many months..........via text message..... Nice guy...... and was still wailing uncontrollably from somewhere out of sight but most certainly not out of earshot!
Professional it was not, but damned entertaining it all was. Ok, so the luke warm instant coffee was still appalling, no change there, but the conversation was improved and the entertainment was certainly more amusing than that normally provided during the dreaded salon visit!
Oh....and in the end I did get my hair cut!
Wednesday, 9 February 2005
Happiness is a leaking tap
Since the age of 20 until I moved here to Scotland I owned the home I lived in, or rather I and my assorted ex husbands owned them. For various reasons that I won't go into here PG and are not in a position to buy a house and as a consequence rent, something the thought of which, did not fill me with glee at the outset.
Why I had a problem with renting I'm not sure, I have no children to leave property too should I turn up my toes and historically, for me it has never been a good investment. All bar one of the homes I owned lost money through a combination of circumstance and economic climate and that one I had to agree to give my share of along the oh so pleasant route to divorce!
I love the flat we live in and I love where it is but it is not mine and it has always bugged me.......until this week.
This week the plumbing seemed to spontaneously combust, first the kitchen tap sprung a leak and then last night the waste pipe under the bath gave up! Suddenly tenancy as opposed to ownership is showing it's positive side. No fighting with basin wrenches, copper piping and PTFE tape for me....nope....just call the landlord and out he comes, job done, no hassle, no financial outlay........ Yup, I reckon this renting lark isn't so bad after all!
Why I had a problem with renting I'm not sure, I have no children to leave property too should I turn up my toes and historically, for me it has never been a good investment. All bar one of the homes I owned lost money through a combination of circumstance and economic climate and that one I had to agree to give my share of along the oh so pleasant route to divorce!
I love the flat we live in and I love where it is but it is not mine and it has always bugged me.......until this week.
This week the plumbing seemed to spontaneously combust, first the kitchen tap sprung a leak and then last night the waste pipe under the bath gave up! Suddenly tenancy as opposed to ownership is showing it's positive side. No fighting with basin wrenches, copper piping and PTFE tape for me....nope....just call the landlord and out he comes, job done, no hassle, no financial outlay........ Yup, I reckon this renting lark isn't so bad after all!
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