Guess where we went for coffee!

Yesterday, 'post the perfect Christmas' we woke to the icing on the cake.....snow! I was of course overjoyed though it is safe to say the PG, only too well aware of the 300 mile journey ahead of us, was somewhat less enthralled. My only reservation was that a tentative arrangement we had made just prior to Christmas might have to be foregone under the circumstances.

Thankfully as we set off and made our way onto the M1 the weather improved a little and we decided that we would try to fullfill our little plan. With that in mind I sent a short text to someone asking if she was free and immediately my phone rang and a cheerful voice confirmed that our litte plan was going to come together!

And so it was that PG and I made our way to the home of Kitty, she of 'Kitty's Scritchings' fame for coffee!

Kitty (left) and gemmak
This was a first for me, the first time I have managed to meet another blogger for 'real' and we had a fab time.....there was most definitely no shortage of chattering, nor of cats to cuddle and fuss. For those of you not familiar with Kitty's blog, she has four of the most beautiful friendly felines, so adorable in fact that PG made an attempt at kidnapping 'Pixel', though he was thwarted by Kitty!

Sadly we were on quite a tight schedule having a deadline by which we had to 'rescue' Ditto from the cattery. We had intended to only stay for half an hour but as we women will we managed to drag it out to nearer and hour before PG reminded us that we really ought to hit the road. Left to our own devices we could have happily sat talking all day no doubt.....whether PG or Wookie, Kittie's partner, who was unfortunately poorly and who had been given dispensation to remain in his sick bed, would have been keen on listening to us gossiping all day is another matter!

For me it was fab to get together with Kitty, I was only sorry that we couldn't disrupt her day longer, I could happily have stayed for hours chattering, cat cuddling and looking at the spectacular view from her living room window....really, you have to visit her blog to see what I mean but you won't have seen anything like it!

Hopefully, given that each time we go to my sisters or my parents we pass within four miles, we will manage to get together again sometime in the future and carry on where we left off yesterday.

Thanks Kitty, a great end to our Christmas holiday. :o)


*You can read Kitty's take on the proceedings HERE.

Snow in gemmak's-ville!

Snow....we have snow! Yayyyy.

I'm home

Finally, after the majority of the day on the road, trundling much of the time somewhat tentatively through my much wished for snow (yes, we got it today of all days when I needed to make a 300 mile drive....that'll teach me) we have arrived home from our Christmas gathering. Ditto and Tilly have been 'reclaimed', I have a cup of much needed coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other and then it's off to bed for me. Last night among the hilarity we only managed three hours sleep, tonight I'm hoping for closer to thirteen!

The day was not all bad, there was a very definite highlight, something that had been tentatively planned prior to the festivities but that we weren't sure would come to fruition ...in the event it did, but I'll leave that for tomorrow..........

Good night ;o)

Totally Tilly!

All innocence!


Inelegant repose


Just cattitude!



(Images clickable)

Memories

Happy boxing day!

Can we get back to normal now? :o)

Happy Christmas!

I'm gone

That's it, we are all packed, the presents are wrapped, the car is loaded up and Tilly is safely ensconced in her Christmas holiday home, silly I know but I am sooo gonna miss her and Ditto over the next few days :o(

We'll drop Ditto off at her temporarily residence en-route and then we are ready to hit the road and face the worst the A1 and M1 can throw at us on a Christmas eve!

You don't escape that easily though, it may be Christmas and I may not have internet access for a few days but having got this far through the year with my 'a post a day for a year' challenge I'm not going to fall at the last fence! One way or another....(and with Lisa's very generous help) you can be rest assured there will be a post here every day........ not that I imagine Bloggers servers will be disrupted by the traffic!

All that remains then before I press the 'off button' ....hell, can I find it?.... is to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas, may it be all that you wish for it to be.

I'm gone.....have a fab one guys. :o)

Audio greetings!

You thought you had escaped didn't you?..... but no chance, if I have to suffer then so do you! Having done this last year, it seems I have been 'persuaded' to do it again this year! Eekkk.

Listen here.

(File size approx. 512kb)


If you detect a very slight racket in the background..... I'll give you just one guess at who it is 'bouncing off the walls'!

Almost there!

At last, the 'big day' that all these past weeks hoo ha have been about is almost upon us, we have almost made it and surprisingly unscathed!

For me this is a one off, I saw the back of my last day at work yesterday evening and I have a whole week off for the festivities, no more retail hell for me until new years eve! Yayyyyy. This is almost unheard of, a true miracle in the sad world that is retail and corporate gain, a whole week off over Christmas just doesn't happen and for me, to the best of my memory, it hasn't happened for something approaching fifteen years! :o) Can you see my broad and cheesy smile?

So what remains to be done? I have to finish the parcel wrapping process and then pack for our impending journey tomorrow. This time it's not the 400 mile haul to London but merely 300 to my sisters in the midlands, where the 'gemmak clan' will assemble for the festivities, well most of them anyways. We get to spend almost four whole days with not only my parents but also my sister, her husband and my nieces, who I haven't seen for soooo long. I can't wait!

We will miss the 'feline brigade' of course. Ditto will be deposited in her usual holiday home tomorrow morning and Tilly, who it was decided is still too young for said establishment, is off for her holidays at a neighbours, our friends W and A who love her almost as much as we do and very kindly offered her 'room at the inn' for the festive period. I hate to leave her behind, Ditto is used to it, she knows the drill but Tilly is still relatively tiny and unaware that she is not being abandoned forever. We have taken her over the last week or two, on a couple of 'practice' visits in the hope that it would familiarise her with her temporary home and teach her that her abandonment is only temporary. On both occasions she shook like a little leaf for ten minutes but then seemed to settle down and begin investigating, so hopefully she will be fine........whether W & A are quite fully aware of what they have let themselves in for from the small tornado is another matter!

And so that's it, a day of organizing and packing and perhaps a little bit more 'playtime' on here, hell I'm going to have three whole days without internet access, I have to get my fix somehow before we leave, one more sleep and then we've made it! We're outta here and heading for our Christmas pud!

But you don't escape 'gemmak's-ville' that easily..........

....and still on customer service

Today being my last day at work before Christmas I think that one more shot at the 'idiot customer' is in order!

Enjoy :o)

Customer: "I've been ringing 0700 2300 for two days and can't get through to enquiries, can you help?".
Operator: "Where did you get that number from, sir?".
Customer: "It was on the door to the Travel Centre".
Operator: "Sir, they are our opening hours".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Samsung Electronics
Caller: "Can you give me the telephone number for Jack?"
Operator: "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand who you are talking about".
Caller: "On page 1, section 5, of the user guide it clearly states that I need to unplug the fax machine from the AC wall socket and telephone Jack before cleaning. Now, can you give me the number for Jack?"
Operator: "I think you mean the telephone point on the wall".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RAC Motoring Services
Caller: "Does your European Breakdown Policy cover me when I am travelling in Australia?"

Operator: " Doesn't the product give you a clue?"

Caller: (enquiring about legal requirements while travelling in France):
"If I register my car in France, do I have to change the steering wheel to the other side of the car?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Directory Enquiries
Caller: "I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff please".
Operator: "I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?"
Caller: "Well, it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the 'B' fell off".

Then there was the caller who asked for a knitwear company in Woven.
Operator: "Woven? Are you sure?"
Caller: "Yes. That's what it says on the label; Woven in Scotland".

On another occasion, a man making heavy breathing sounds from a phone box told a worried operator:
"I haven't got a pen, so I'm steaming up the window to write the number on".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dell Computers:
Tech Support: "I need you to right-click on the Open Desktop".
Customer: "OK".
Tech Support: "Did you get a pop-up menu?".
Customer: "No".
Tech Support: "OK. Right-Click again. Do you see a pop-up menu?"
Customer: "No".
Tech Support: "OK, sir. Can you tell me what you have done up until this point?".
Customer: "Sure. You told me to write 'click' and I wrote 'click'".
Tech Support: "OK. In the bottom left hand side of the screen, can you see the 'OK' button displayed?"
Customer: "Wow. How can you see my screen from there?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caller: "I deleted a file from my PC last week and I have just realised that I need it. If I turn my system clock back two weeks will I have my file back again?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's always one. This has got to be one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired. This is a true story from the Word Perfect Helpline, which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing the Word Perfect organization for "Termination without Cause".
Actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee. (Now I know why they record these conversations!):

Operator: "Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?"
Caller: "Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
Operator: "What sort of trouble??"
Caller: "Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."
Operator: "Went away?"
Caller: "They disappeared."
Operator: "Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"
Caller: "Nothing."
Operator: "Nothing??"
Caller: "It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
Operator: "Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out??"
Caller: "How do I tell?"
Operator: "Can you see the C: prompt on the screen??"
Caller: "What's a sea-prompt?"
Operator: "Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?"
Caller: "There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
Operator: "Does your monitor have a power indicator??"
Caller: "What's a monitor?"
Operator: "It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on??"
Caller: "I don't know."
Operator: "Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that??"
Caller: "Yes, I think so."
Operator: "Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall.
Caller: "Yes, it is."
Operator: "When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one??"
Caller: "No."
Operator: "Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."
Caller: "Okay, here it is."
Operator: "Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer."
Caller: "I can't reach."
Operator: "Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is??"
Caller: "No."
Operator: "Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over??"
Caller: "Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle - it's because it's dark."
Operator: "Dark??"
Caller: "Yes - the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window."
Operator: "Well, turn on the office light then."
Caller: "I can't."
Operator: "No? Why not??"
Caller: "Because there's a power failure."
Operator: "A power... A power failure? Aha, Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in??"
Caller: "Well, yes, I keep them in the closet."
Operator: "Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
Caller: "Really? Is it that bad?"
Operator: "Yes, I'm afraid it is."
Caller: "Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"
Operator: "Tell them you're too f*****g stupid to own a computer!!"

A seasonal thought!

Almost

It had been arranged yesterday that we make our Christmas visit to the 'outlaws', PG's parents, we were to leave directly as he finished work and spend the remainder of the afternoon and evening with them.....we didn't, at the very last moment they 'cried off' (don't ask, grrrr) which left us almost literally stood on the doorstep with nowhere to go. I suggested tentatively that we hit the shops, we had afterall expected to be making a long drive, so perhaps we could just use the opportunity of a free afternoon together and finish off our Christmas shopping? PG didn't even wince, and off we set to Edinburgh. Result!

Shopping was duly done, oh God help my credit card balances, pizza was happily devoured, the place was not horribly crowded, there was a cozy festive atmosphere despite this being a mall and we, yes even PG, enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Our final purchases made heralding the end of the annual search for interesting and inspired gifts at last, we set off home. I decided I would drive, we were in PG's enormous 'bus' and as I have to do my share of the driving south on Christmas eve I considered I needed to acquaint myself better with it.

Not ten miles from Edinburgh a light began to flash on the dashboard, accompanied by a small alarm! PG has a bad habit of allowing his petrol tank to run very low before filling and true to form we were heading toward the last drop of fuel. I diverted to the nearest town. This is a town of substantial size but it transpired, after much petrol wasting driving around in search, that even as early as 9pm there was no filling station open! Oh happy days. We called into one of those 24/7 grocery stores who confirmed the situation and sent us heading off to the nearest 'open facility'.........another ten miles away! In retrospect we would have been better going back to Edinburgh but hindsight is a marvelous thing!

By this time the situation is getting a little 'tense', we are on country roads, we don't know our way, I am miffed with PG for always letting his car run low and he is miffed with me for 'nagging', we have about 2ml of petrol in our tank, it's pouring with rain and I'm driving a 'bus' I am far from familiar with! PG's suggestion that "it doesn't matter if we grind to a halt, we (that's me) can call out the recovery service you belong to" didn't endear him to me any the more. Yeah right, like I'm gonna call out the RAC because we ran out of petrol....you are walking sunshine! Though the idea of being parked up on an unlit road with no hard shoulder in the dark and wet didn't fill me with glee.

Eventually we spied our 'Mecca', an open filling station just on the opposite side of a stop light, which of course was on stop. As we sat and waited for the lights to change to green the attendant beginning to shut up shop. Arghhhh.

I made an 'executive' decision and in my now state of near rage, jammed the car into first, checked the traffic, dropped the clutch and jumped the lights........we made it! 'Very nice attendant lady' kept one pump open just for us and we were saved!

This wasn't quite the misdemeanor it sounds. Sure, it was something the local constabulary would have 'had' me for but to access this Mecca, though I had to jump the light, I didn't have to move into the path of any traffic, only a 'keep clear' hatched area provided to keep access to the petrol station free, the junction was another 20 yards ahead .....and hell, I think I would have preferred a ticket to being stuck in nowhere's-ville for hours on end waitnig for the RAC.

So finally we made it home, laden with bags to be unpacked....at 11.30 pm to a kitten made more manic than usual by her extended time alone and without human entertainment!

Oh, but PG did buy me a flashing santa hat for my phone so I am considering forgivness...ok, I'm cheap I know!


Heh!

More 'working with Joe Public'

After yesterday's post about the trials and tribulations of working with Joe Public in a service industry, I just had to share THIS, that landed in my inbox courtesy of 'Timber', with you! If it doesn't have you spitting mad it will at least give you a giggle!

I may not be a cop or a 911 operator but I so know how the poor unsuspecting souls in the clip feel. Believe me, I may only work in retail but some people's capacity for idiocy and histrionics is truly staggering at times........ even in my little corner of the world!

Oh very nice!

The last bastion of the Tilly proof areas has been breached, she has attained enough height and strength to adeptly make her way onto the kitchen counter tops, which brings with it all manner of inherent dangers, not least of all the oven hob!

This was the one place we could put things and guarantee she couldn't hurt herself, poison herself or other wise cause harm to herself, now it is gone and along with it has come the inevitable need for almost obsessive disinfecting....... and a new 'Tilly hobby'.

From the moment she first made her way up there she made a bee-line for the pot scourer spongy thing, I had wondered a few days ago why I found it on the floor but assumed I had dropped it there by mistake. I was wrong, it was madam. Each time she ventures 'counter top-ward' her first port of call is the scourer, she picks it up in her mouth, proudly prances along the length of the top, jumps down and deposits it squarely in her litter box!!!!!! If I remove it she puts it back...again and again and again! Arghhhhhh.


Very nice, very hygienic, I can see I am going to have to find a hiding place for even that now!

This kitten is a devil cat hoot, if a little er...challenging at times, of 6 kittens I have reared never before have I encountered one quite so full of mischief!