I'm not having much luck with computers at the moment.
The last post was fully typed before explorer decide to close by itself. It's become an act that happens constantly & is getting more frequent, to the point that a browser isn't stable for any more than 15 minutes!
I've reinstalled various versions of Windows on this system & nothing is stable. Even Windows XP has been removed & it was supposed to be the most stable one of all!
My other bit of grief is Spam & massive quantities that are coming from Yahoo.com addresses. I sent them a message about it on the bizarre off chance that they might respond.
I know such a message would be completely pointless, but I was so pissed off at the time, it all flowed from my fingers rather easily.
They did respond with the reasons why I sent the message to the wrong department & couldn't be helped. They then list all the email addresses which may be more appropriate. That's fine, except for the requirement that the complaint relates directly to the Yahoo.com account that I am using. I have no such account! It's the Yahoo.com accounts of these spammers that are the problem!
1. What are your favorite ways to relax and unwind?
Being the music freak that I am, my favourite way to relax is to strap on the red Fender strat & crank out some classic Dire Straits & Crowded House tunes. It must also be loud but with no heavy metal crap anywhere in the vacinity.
2. What do you do the moment you get home from work/school/errands?
The first thing I do is to dive into some jeans & a t-shirt & get detached from the day at work.
3. What are your favorite aromatherapeutic smells?
I don't enjoy those essential oils that have become a highly expensive craze. All they do is cause headaches, even the essences that are supposed to help headaches!
Give me natural smells, such as flowers, freshly cut grass & the steam from a summer rain on hot concrete. All natural, all good.
4. Do you feel more relaxed with a group of friends or hanging out by yourself?
I eventually bore myself, so casual conversation with close friends is the way to go.
5. What is something that you feel is relaxing but most people don't?
Probably the loud music thing from number one. Either that, or my taste in music!
Received a letter from my insurance company regarding the premiums for my car.
A couple of months ago, I received the invoice for these premiums & checked the payment details to ensure the amounts were still being taken directly from my bank account each month, which it did. It seems they actually have me down as paying in one lump sum on their records after my decision during last year to finalise the payments & save the monthly admin fee.
This current letter had the privilege of letting me know that my insurance had lapsed at midnight on 25th August. Therefore for the last four weeks, I’ve been driving around completely oblivious to the fact that if I managed to take on a large stationery object, I’d be footing the bill!
I paid the notice to get it all back on track, but I’ll certainly be driving carefully till that payment gets processed!
About six hours work over the weekend gives a refreshed face to the site. I’ve wanted to update the title banners for ages but only received the required inspiration on Saturday.
Hopefully it all works, if you find something that is truly stuffed, let me know.
If anyone loaded the site after around 10pm last night & 10am this morning, the titles would have caused extreme grief. I’ve used a bit of stolen code to pick a random title for each refresh, but after upload found that it preloaded all 26 different titles. Sorry to those that tried to access the site. All fixed now!
It’s after midday on Monday & Friday is long gone, but in light of the last post, the Friday Five just needs to be performed.
1. Would you say that you're good at keeping in touch with people?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no! I love catching up with people I haven’t seen for a while, but I know I should do it more often, rather than waiting for others to contact me.
2. Which communication method do you usually prefer/use: e-mail, telephone, snail mail, blog comments, or meeting in person? Why?
E-mail is incredibly handy for keeping in contact, but over the phone or in person is always best.
3. Do you have an instant messenger program? How many? Why/why not? How often do you use it?
Of course. Whether they get used regularly or not is another thing. MSN Messenger, AIM & ICQ all sit on my computer at home. They have so many options built in that are a pain in the bum when installed, that I’m hesitant in using them. So far ICQ is the only one I’ve met people through, but these days the majority that use it are psychos distributing porn.
4. Do most of your close friends live nearby or far away?
Thankfully, most are close by around Adelaide. Quite a few are venturing overseas for holidays & work reasons, but they still manage to keep in touch. MSN Messenger is great for friends overseas.
5. Are you an "out of sight, out of mind" person, or do you believe that "distance makes the heart grow fonder"?
I think that distance does make the heart grow fonder. The longer someone is away, the more you miss them & begin to wonder where or how they are.
Well, the end of an era has come & gone for the Golf Club’s receptionist. Young Kristy has been with the club for four & a bit years & is a friend to the majority of members inside & outside of work.
I’ve kept reminding her that she will learn a lot working for an accounting firm & will do well. I’m personally going to miss her.
After thinking about it the other night, I’ve concluded that during the past two years we’ve been working together, we have seen more of each other than of anyone else, including family & friends. Eight hours a day, five days a week, it soon adds up.
After such a long time working here, the tears that flowed were built around the uncertainty of new endeavors, the loss of immediate job stability & the feeling of walking away from close colleagues & people that have influenced & shaped parts of her life. It’s a difficult & scary move to make, but will ultimately be worth while.
From personal experience, changing jobs is not as hard as it seems. Making the effort to stay in touch maintains friendships & invariably more are made by entering a new industry. Overall, you benefit by meeting new people rather than losing them.
My final hug & kiss on Friday night was a goodbye, but also a hello, to a friendship away from the confines of an office. I know Kristy will have the occasional read of this site & it’ll be a good way to keep in contact. I had to “pinky swear” on Friday night to stay in touch & I’m quite happy to abide by that promise!
The real estate market is having a boom period in Adelaide & prices have been out of control for about the last year or so. The blame falls at the feet of a piddley little interest rate & a few handouts given by the Government to boost the publics’ confidence to take the plunge into property.
All those individuals that would not have previously been able to buy or build a home, have taken up this golden opportunity. Now that rates are rising, quite a few of these same people who were coerced into borrowing as much as possible, are having extreme difficulty coping.
Eventually, the people that have bought overpriced properties, will not be able to pay their mortgages, the property will be sold at a loss, the banks will lose out with defaulted loans & the Government will come under pressure for placing more people below the poverty line.
Thankfully, I may be able to leech off these failures by being able to pick up a cheap home! For the short term though, I’ll have to wait.
Yesterday, I attended an auction for a two bedroom unit about five minutes from my parents. It was one of six well presented units with a 5 x 12 foot backyard. A realistic price would have been between $90k to $110k.
A couple made an opening bid before auction & from the look of them, thought they had the place all wrapped up at $100k. When it hit $105k, they walked in disgust.
After about twenty minutes and an increase in bids of $5,000 then $2,500, the whole thing was wrapped up at a tidy $147,500!!
A decent sized three bedroom house with a large backyard can be bought for the same money, in the same suburb!
I’ve also been looking through the Web for a new watch. So far, nothing has prompted me to go searching through local jewelry stores, but now my current watch has had its battery die, now is as good as ever.
That sounds like I change watches every time the battery runs flat, but that’s not the case. I don’t think you can have too many watches & it’s good to have one’s which match the occasion.
I’m looking for a good quality watch with a different coloured face. Red is the preferred colour & more manufacturers are making them.
I’ve so far looked at Swatch, Swiss Army & now Fossil. Like most overseas products, distribution is limited & puts Swiss Army right out of the question. Those that do stock them are also the retailers the sell Tag Hauer & Rolex and have the occasional armed guard walking the beat at the front door.
Swatch come up with some really good designs, but my past experience has shown they are bloody big when attached to my arm & look highly out of place.
Which leaves Fossil. I checked out their web site last night & their stuff looks good. Hey, they even have a range where the watch face changes between two colours on demand! I plan to have a look through the Sunglass Hut at Glenelg which stocks the brand sometime soon.
If I can’t find anything, I’ll get the battery changed sooner rather than later because my arm is feeling rather naked!
I’ve decided that Australia is too far away from the rest of the world.
That’s a good thing if you’re talking terrorism, but an absolute bugger if you want something that’s available on the internet to those above the equator.
I’ve been doing a bit of online shopping for some guitar equipment but with little success. What I’ve been searching for is a quality delay pedal to recreate those U2, “Where the streets have no name” echo sounds.
On the net there are so many to choose from, but in Australia distribution is pretty scarce. The really good equipment is brought over in limited quantities & then sold at insane prices. The rough guide I use is to take the US price & double it for the Australian equivalent.
This theory has worked for my guitar & amp but when it comes to effects pedals, it goes right out the window. A “Line 6 DM4” delay modeler goes for around US$250. The same thing sold through Australian dealers was A$1000+. Insane.
However, after all that, I went looking in a few local music stores to find a Danelectro Dan-Echo pedal which the salesperson discounted on the spot by about 15%. The eventual result was a delay pedal for a significant amount less than the US$ retail price doubled. Sure it’s not an amazing, authentic tape echo unit, but it sounds pretty good, weighs a tonne & is strong enough to be used as a missile in the war against terror, should they need any assistance.
I don’t exactly know what this proves, other than, sometimes it still pays to shop in real, staff-manned stores rather than over this here, fandangled electronic medium.
Now, if you’ve read the really big post from Friday, you’ll know that life is not all rosy with the Glenelg Golf Club Inc.
Well, I’m so over it now, that I’m in the market for another gig. Everything from now on is just funny.
The latest & greatest achievement of our GM is his effort with human resources & our available position of “Administration Assistant”. So far he has read through the various applications & then handballed the pile to a committee member to do some selecting.
From those which are selected, I’ll suggest the one’s which best fit the position. The GM will then contact those people on Saturday & have them come in for an interview on Monday.
So far, so good. Then it all goes pear shaped….
The plan is that the best of the interviewees will spend a day as work experience & then one will be taken on as a temp while other applicants are interviewed!
Basically, he’s going to employ someone on the proviso that they will be sacked if anyone comes along that is better!
What? It's Friday Five time again? Well, here goes:
1. What was/is your favorite subject in school? Why?
In my final year of high school, I would say that "legal studies" was a favourite. Probably because it was interesting compared to the other subjects I was doing at the time.
2. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
Thinking back, good old Frank who taught the above subject was the first person I can remember who treated all students as adults & held everyone on an equal footing.
3. What is your favorite memory of school?
This is a really tough one! There are so many memories that are carried away from the school years, both good & bad. To single out one is near impossible. I'll have to pass on this one.
4. What was your favorite recess game?
Handball was the game of choice. Played so much of it, I'm surprised I didn't wear my hand out. A tennis ball and a concrete area with a few lines on it. Doesn't get much simpler than that!
5. What did you hate most about school?
Where do I start? I was never overly great at school, but I had "alright" grades. My final year was mainly socialising, so it didn't go so great. It wasn't until I entered University, that I realised how much easier it is to manage your own learning progress without having to sit in a room with someone looking over your shoulder!
The last few days have been near perfect weather-wise. A bit blowy, but being inside, that doesn’t matter anyway. Looks like the warmer seasons are now coming to fruition, which will hopefully make up last year's summer that wasn't.
I’ve had a whole lot on my mind during the past week or so & it’s all been bad.
I walked into work last Thursday morning after only a couple hours sleep, racking my brain as to my next employment move. The inability of the General Manager has caused significant difficulty in actually performing my job, in which case being employed with the Golf club has outlasted it’s usefulness to me & the club itself.
In assessing my next move, young Kristy, our receptionist/admin assistant pulled the pin & gave a couple of weeks notice. Good luck to her, getting in before both myself & Dave, our membership officer & finding a job which will be more progressive than her current role.
For myself, Kristy’s move is a bit of a change to the game plan. I think that my amount of leverage within the office is more substantial & I see part of my role as being to run the office in the most professional manner as possible. With the employment of someone to fill the new vacancy, I can hopefully provide direction for the office & limit the General Manager’s influence on the operations of the office.
Friday night saw the most deplorable behaviour by the GM. Three issues were raised when he approached Kristy regarding her period of notice required to leave the club.
Firstly, without checking his facts, he has assumed that a four-week notice period existed when in fact only two are necessary. He then decided that his proof existed in a letter, which merely mentioned the state award under which Kristy was employed. At no time did he consult the actual award which, with myself being in charge of all payroll operations, I have on hand. Instead, he took a punt & got it wrong.
Secondly, upon having is error presented to him on a platter, he maintained his belief in his own piss-poor abilities and an apology never became a thought in his mind.
Thirdly & finally! In order to assert his authority on the staff, when he confronted Kristy regarding her notice, he was almost vindictive, telling her to cancel her trip to Melbourne because she was obliged to give the club four weeks. It was said with sarcasm & a “what are you going to do about it” snide attitude.
I was well within my rights to take him aside & tell him he was out of line. I would have, but I had other plans…..
After last week’s altercations, Dave & myself spoke to the Captain of the club on Monday morning. It gave both the Captain & myself a bit of insight into a man who has been working for too bloody long to not know how an office works & what needs to be done day to day.
Thankfully, the GM has & is about to trip himself up. He’s come up with a staff appraisal system & has asked that the trial run be performed on him. This will occur, but it’s unlikely to just be a trial run but a fully fledged review, hopefully bringing a couple of truths home in the process.
Tuesday saw the presentation of a brand new employment contract. Why I should need to sign a second contract with a full year left on the current one? I am not one hundred percent on the goal he is trying to achieve by reviewing everyone’s’ contract, other than to have all salary reviews fall at the same time each year, thereby limiting his work load throughout the year.
I managed to piss him off by yet again trying to sway him regarding a certain office I wish to occupy. The discussion took about 45 mins but ended nowhere. He sat there thinking he had won the battle until I closed the meeting saying that my job specification must reflect the added work dealing with phone calls, members, etc. He was not impressed & was visibly angry, but he needs to both be logical & fair.
I think he’s beginning to see that he no longer works with brain dead football players & may actually need to think before he speaks. The bitching will continue…..
Arlene was a girl that I fell for at the end of primary school & at the start of high school. Being in different classes, etc. meant that we only saw each other in passing. Then one day Arlene & her whole family disappeared. Nothing sinister, but I've heard nothing since from her.
Her older sister Karen was diagnosed with diabetes just prior to their leaving. From the way everything happened, treatment was required from interstate & I have a recollection of something to do with Sydney. Karen & I ended up as friends & I can remember the moment we actually met, but why we met is a mystery. She never knew that I was close to Arlene or even knew her youngest sister, Susan, so I know that our meeting was seperate from everthing else. I remember Susan & I used to pick on one another for fun. She would be in her early twenties now & I doubt I could ever recognise her.
It's odd how If you get along with one member of a family, you tend to end up getting along with all of them. Normally, it's a sister thing. The closest female friends I have all have sisters that I get along with equally well. Unfortunately, that hasn't increased my chances of finding love.
Anyway, being the above date & the stigma which is now attached to it, shadows Arlene's special day. I hope that worldly events can be put to the background & the day can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Making a few little changes at the moment, so a few areas may be down for a day or more, maybe longer, perhaps weeks, I don't know!
I actually have a really big post that I half wrote today. It'll be posted soon, but it's one big session on my hassles with my job so it may not be all that interesting a read.
Hey, that's what blogs are for. An airing stuff that needs to be written & put in a form where the thoughts can be analysed in an ordered context!
I'm doing this on a Saturday night after a very disturbing week & I know there's a fair bit more to come next week, so my peeves at this very moment are quite extensive. If I could single one peeve from the masses, I would pick "the assertion of fictitious authority". To make this a bit simpler, it's the person that feels they are better than you & try to make you look inferior in front of a crowd for their own personal gain. In fact, that sounds a lot like our immature General Manager at the moment!
2. What irritating habits do you have?
I bite my nails. Enough said!
3. Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be?
Every now & then, I'll try to stop myself from biting them, but it always ends up failing. I know that some people notice immediately, but some people that have known me for years have noticed & been really shocked that they hadn't realised sooner! I've been biting since I was real little, so it's never easy to stop. One day....
4. What grosses you out more than anything else? Why?
There's not much these days that freaks me out. I think that the constant bombardment of horrible images which permeates the air-waves lends itself to being a great desensitising tool. I must admit that I'm never overly comfortable about seeing anyone get nailed in the groin. I always tend to feel the pain, though I think everyone shares this experience!
5. What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do?
I have a whole lot of respect for people that work in hospitals. From the doctors & nurses that I've met over the years, there is a lot of enjoyment gained from seeing someone getting better, but it's an environment that I could never visualising myself in.
I laugh at all the people that own those crappy Nokia mobile phones! Ha, Ha, Ha!
No really, Nokia has done an amazing amount of exploitation with their range of phones that are quite simply devoid of reliability. I don’t know one solitary person that has made it through their full contract period with the original phone intact.
My sister has had three phones in less than two years & has even had to overlap & payout contracts in order to maintain airwave mobility. My office colleagues have both had problems, but still stand by the beloved Nokia brand.
My first mobile was an Ericsson & my current phone is also an Ericsson. Two phones have lasted me approx. six years. The only reason for a change was to update & obtain WAP abilities (can’t live without live share price updates!). Has my current T20s been faultless? Unfortunately not. After one full year, the phone went spastic & required serious surgery. In the end it wasn’t a problem with the phone but the charger which wasn’t exactly an original product from Ericsson. The charger fried the battery & subsequently the phone.
In three months, I’ll again be out of contract & the phone can again be updated. Whether I’ll update is questionable as my little phone is flawless in its operation & the size of the phone is perfect.
I have been checking out the SonyEriccson web site for their current phones & I’m a big fan of the T68i. All rather flash & funky & around the same size as the T20 but whether it’s worth it or not is another thing.
I don’t want to go down the Nokia path & buy something that’s not as good as what I currently own for the sake of having a new phone with a few useless, trendy features. Oops, Im’ starting to sound like all those Nokia users!
I walked away from a limited edition, double CD package a while ago, thinking that the artist was probably going to get a bit irritating after a while.
Yesterday, I took the plunge & bought the same band's new album. Now I fully regret not buying the above.
The new album "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" is really good. It's an odd combination of music styles, but they work well together to create a very satisfying album. I've been a Neil Finn fan for a while & I'm starting to get into U2's older releases & a combination of these two styles would get pretty close to the sound of this album.
May have to search around for that limited edition of Parachutes hidden in one of Adelaide's obscure CD stores!
I've always been a fan of the X-Files. I still remember seeing the pilot episode all those years ago & thinking, "How cool is this!"
All good things must come to an end & it has done in the US, whilst the rest of us here in Australia are still waiting for the ninth & final season to begin. We were promised July, but that & August have now come & gone. Still waiting?..
Thankfully, the void created by the lack of the Files has been filled by the series "24". Again, "How cool is this!". I love big conspiracy stories & so far this is a good one. We've made it up to 9am & I've been on the edge of my seat for most of that time. I know the show has won numerous awards overseas but how the hell would they ever come up with a second series??
With one year of my contract remaining, I'm starting to reassess my position with the club & what I really want to do in the future. I think it's pretty safe to say that web page design is out of the question. There are two ring links to the side that only show up once the mouse is rolled over them!! If anyone knows what is up with that, I'll be very happy to make the changes.
Anyway, I don't know what to do at the end of my contract. I seriously don't want to have anything to do with the accounting industry & I'm looking into tourism & hospitality as favourite options.
I'd love to be working in a large hotel & on a cruise ship in some sort of management role, but that means going back to uni to do some rather in depth studying. Doing such courses also require a certain number of hours working in the industry that must be performed during the course. It's therefore impossible to hold down a full time job while studying!
Maybe I could just sit back & get the welfare payments like the other half of the population!
1. What's your favorite piece of clothing that you currently own?
I recently bought the coolest dark green jeans from Colorado. Unfortunately, there's not a hell of a lot of other clothing that goes well with them! Let me just say, they happen to be the comfiest darn pants I own!
2. What piece of clothing do you most want to acquire?
I got so hooked on the above jeans, that I went back to the store to try the other colours, only to find out they were incredibly popular & had sold out! I don't normally have a huge "want" for clothes, but tend to buy something if it catches my eye & then looks good on.
3. What piece of clothing can you not bring yourself to get rid of? Why?
Only after a piece of clothing has been sitting in my cupboard, unworn, for at least a couple of years, does it take on "throw-out" status. Therefore, after those couple of years, it's not really all that hard to say goodbye! I do have a 26 Red shirt that looks like crap & is way too big for me! It has only been worn a few time, but I can't possibly throw it out because it cleans classes really well & never scratches!
4. What piece of clothing do you look your best in?
Would not have a clue! I don't think I've actually found anything I look really good in yet, but I'm trying. I find it so much easier to tell someone else what looks good on them rather than match something to myself!
5. What has been your biggest fashion accident?
Fashion accidents have all but disappeared, since I became old enough & wise enough to buy my own clothes. Enough said!
