Tuesday, September 29, 2009

The P-ed off 6 Year Old


Guess what I was woken up by this morning?  Yep, the water company.  They decided to start down my end of the street (very early).  It is typical it just happens to be school holidays, the only time I get to sleep in just a little bit.  I didn't have any trouble getting my car out the driveway but had to move a whole truck to be able to get back in.  Now they've gone home leaving their heavy machinery parked up the curb and a gaping hole in the road.  But it is totally safe because they put a witches hat next to it *rolls eyes*  In my experience children are more likely to be attracted to bright orange plastic than repelled by it.  I'm hoping I don't find any little bodies in there tomorrow.  I'm keeping mine inside just to be safe. 

But I must laugh at their naivete.  In my neighbourhood that heavy machinery will either be gone or graffittied within an inch of its life by morning.  And there's absolutely no way that witches hat will still be there.  Some bogan will be proudly displaying it in their window.  Might get up early to watch the reactions  :)

On a lighter note, I thought I would share something funny that Mr 6 said.  He still has a babyish voice so you have to imagine it said in that tone.

I had just woken up (via machinery) when Mr 6 knocked on my bedroom door.  I knew he'd want me to do something so I just stayed quiet and pretended I was still asleep.  There was a slight pause then I heard 'Stuff it.  No-one's answering anyway'.  Where does he get this stuff from?  It made me laugh and laugh...

Highs of the Day
Not being dizzy when I woke up
Mr 6's comment
Spending time at the stables

Lows of the Day
Waking up to machinery
Nearly having my car crashed into by an old man cutting the corner

Goal Update
Have only been drinking one glass of Pepsi a day
Only had one glass of water today but that's still an improvement
Have been using a smaller plate and have cut down on my portions
So far so good!  Will try to add some exercise tomorrow :)


To The Creep Who Was Standing Behind me in the Supermarket - I know that you were possibly so mesmerised by my beauty in my jeans and baggy sweater that it was hard for you to stay away but if I can feel your disgusting hot breath on the back of my neck, you are standing way too close!  Trying to merge us into one being (thereby making me a person who has to wear a Jim Beam t-shirt and skin tight jeans) will not get you through the check out any faster.  Standing a couple of metres behind will produce the exact same result except I won't have your nasty spit bubbles in my hair.  And you don't have to give me a filthy look because my package of hamburger meat got caught on the conveyor belt preventing you from loading your own groceries onto it.  You could have been a good samaritan and pushed it back on instead of looking at me as though I am wasting your time.  I'm sure you have lots of places to go and lots of important things to do.  People who look like they haven't had a shower in 3 years and are shopping in Jim Beam t-shirts in the middle of a work day usually have tonnes of stuff on their schedule.  On second thought, kind of glad you didn't touch my food....

Monday, September 28, 2009

Off to a Bad Start


The first day of the new and improved me didn't go exactly to plan.  For some reason I woke up this morning, took 2 steps towards the door and fell into the wall!  Luckily I had the presence of mind to stick my body out thus avoiding the tv (with my dizzy spells and big hips, that tv is going DOWN!)  So of course I go into total hypochondriac mode and start mentally ticking of what could be causing it -- brain tumour, brain infection, brain something????

I've been to the doctors about this before and was told to use nasal spray but my sinuses were actually fine for once.  It was suggested that I may be dehydrated.  Since I hate drinking water, am addicted to Pepsi and spent the whole night with the heater on high waking up in a puddle of sweat, I thought this may be a probability.  So I drank some water, nearly electricuted myself plugging my heater into a burnt out point and passed out on my bed.  I slept for hours and woke up feeling slightly better.

Until I found the note from the water company telling me (one day in advance) that they're going to be digging up my street for the next week to relay some pipes.  Yay!  I'll only be trapped inside my house for half the school holidays.  I can feel the fun coming on already.  But don't worry, the note says they'll be sure to tell me when they'll be blocking off my driveway so I can move my car.  Move my car where exactly?  Out into the street right next to their equipment and spraying asphalt?

Noisy kids, noisy equipment, noisy road workers and unexplained dizzy spells?  I'm trying to be less negative but my life is sure making it hard :)

PS Thank you all so much for your supportive words.  It means so much to me.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The (Soon to Be) New and Improved Me!

Firstly I must apologise if this pink text is annoying you.  I just felt like being a little girly today :)

Secondly I would like to apologise for all my whining and bitching over the last couple of weeks and for basically being a misery guts.  I have had a chance to really re-evaluate my life over the last week and I have spent many hours berating myself.  But I've also come up with some solutions so its not all bad.

My first decision was to stop.  Stop what you say?  Stop everything!  Stop doing what I'm doing, stop feeling sorry for myself, stop being so lazy.....just stop.  None of those things are working for me.

My second decision was to spend today writing a list of everything I want to do and have in the future...which I did.  My next decision was to write it here, in front of you guys, to hold myself accountable for the actions I have to take for the changes I want to make. (Next action....stop pretending to be a poet)

I'm not going to list every goal I made right here right now.  For one, it would take too long and for two, it would bore you to death and I need you all to be alive and well so I can be humiliated if I do something that is not congruent with achieving my goals.  But each Sunday, I will write here a new goal for the week that I will have to have done by the next Sunday or else face all of you with my head hanging in shame.

First I am going to concentrate on my weight.  It has been a problem for me for about 4 years now.  I can't blame the kids.  My youngest is 6 (do the math).  It is all on me.  The last few years have been particularly stressful for me and when I'm stressed I eat.  My whole life I have been very skinny.  I used to be teased in high school for how skinny I was.  I didn't even put on a lot of weight when I was pregnant and snapped back into shape right after the births without dieting or exercising.  I was blessed!  I thought it would last forever.  I didn't think it was possible to put on weight.  But then it happened...I turned 30.  Everything went downhill from there.  So today I am finally taking charge!  Especially because I keep hitting things with my hips....I'm obviously still a thin girl in a fat girls body because I still think I can fit through small spaces and today I almost knocked the new tv right off the table.

I wasn't going to admit to how much weight I had stacked on but one of my goals is to be braver so here goes.....I need to lose 20kg (44 pounds).  OK now that I have confessed you can close your gaping mouths!

So here's how I'm starting:

1.  Stop drinking Pepsi and start drinking water - I am a total Pepsi addict and I actually get a ripper headache if I stop drinking it for one day so I am going to be realistic and try to wean myself off it instead of going cold turkey and ending up in a bell tower popping off Coke drinkers.  I am setting myself the goal of only one glass per day for this week.  And I will drink 8 glasses of water a day.
2.  Cut down my portion sizes - This week I will start eating from a smaller plate so I can cut down the amount I eat

OK so that's it.  Hopefully I can keep that up for the week and I'll let you know how it went next Sunday (good or bad!)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

My Shameful Weakness


I promised myself I wouldn't post anything until I caught up on all my blog reading but since I am still reading blogs from a week ago, I decided to unpromise.
Its been a crazy time and no, the changes have not been good and no, I am not going through menopause :)
Apart from Mr 6 bleeding from the head, buying and installing a new fridge and rear-ending a car out front of the school, I have been spending a lot of time contemplating a certain relationship and wondering why I am so weak.
I like to think I am a strong person. I once packed up all my stuff and a 2 year old and moved interstate by myself so I could start over. I escaped from an abusive relationship which almost killed me (literally). When Mr 6 was 3 months old, I broke my wrist (the one I write with) and still managed to keep it all together. I got through a divorce without despising my ex. To be cliche, when I get knocked down, I get back up again.
But my relationship with a certain person makes me feel ashamed of myself. It goes like this: get together, get treated like a worthless piece of crap, get dumped, sit at home while he screws every teenager in sight, get back together again. I don't know why I do it to myself. I always think it will be better the next time around and I'm always proved wrong. I feel disgusting just writing this.
I found the cartoon while looking for a picture of a broken heart and it couldn't describe the situation better. It's exactly how I feel. Why am I such a tool?
Edited: I just realised you can't really see the cartoon. She hands him her heart and says 'be careful with it..its fragile'. He drops it on the floor and says 'eh, it was worthless anyways'.

Monday, September 21, 2009

I'm Not Dead

Just a quick note to let you all know that I am still alive and to say thankyou to all those who asked if I am ok (which was really sweet btw). I can't believe its been so long since I posted anything. I'm going through some major life changes at the moment and will be back asap. I've also got a LOT of blogs to catch up on. See you soon :)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Package or What Customer Service Part 2



I didn't want to do another post about frustrating things but I need to get this off my chest. This was actually happening at the same time as the tv thing so it was doubly maddening. I was expecting a package that I needed by Thursday night. On Monday night I got an email saying there was a problem with it so I rang the package delivery service on Tuesday (I won't name names out of the kindness of my heart but it is a major delivery service in Australia, but not Australia Post). They said they don't deliver to post office boxes so I had to give them my home address. Not a problem. I gave it to them and asked when I could expect it. They said it will be delivered Thursday, which I thought was a little strange since their depot is only 20 minutes from my house, but no big deal, I was getting it Thursday and I was happy with that. So on Thursday I planned to stay home until the package came then take the tv back to the store. Best laid plans hey?

We have a big fence out the front with 2 gates, one the car goes through and one visitors can go through. You can't see through the fence so just to be sure I couldn't possibly miss the delivery guy, I opened one of the car gates and sat in the front room with the window open so if I didn't see him, I would hear him. I waited and waited. At 12:30pm I thought I would ring the depot and ask if they possibly knew the approximate arrival time. The guy tells me he's already been. I told him he hadn't. He tells me to go look in my letterbox to see if there is a card in there. I go outside and sure enough, there is the 'Sorry we missed you' card. I told the guy that I had been sitting at home waiting all day and he didn't even step onto my property. He has obviously parked the car where I couldn't see it, gotton out of his car and just stuck the card in my letterbox without even bothering to knock on the door! He told me he would get in touch with the driver and ask if he'll come back. He puts me on hold and when he finally comes back on he tells me the driver has agreed to come back and drop off my package. He'll be here by 3pm. I love the way the driver 'agreed' to come back. If he'd just knocked on the door in the first place and done his job he wouldn't have to come back.

So I sit and wait again. It gets to 3pm and he's still not here. At 3.30pm when he's still a no show and I am late picking up the kids, I ring the depot again. The chick tells me there is nothing written on the computer about my last call and the driver couldn't possibly come back as he has a set route. My package will be delivered tomorrow.

I was livid! Not only did this dingus take off with my package, the guy on the phone outright lied to me! I bet he didn't even speak to the driver at all. And his lie made me wait around all day for nothing!

I was so mad I rang the depot and asked for the complaints department. She says 'do you have a complaint with a driver or a delivery?' I said both. She says she'll put me through. Some guy answers and I said 'Is this the complaints department?' He goes 'it can be.' I said 'wow. A smartass. That explains a lot.' He asks me what the problem is. I start to tell him but I'm not more than 3 words into it when he cuts me off and says he'll take care of it. I asked him what he was going to take care of. He says he'll take care of my problem. I said how can you take care of my problem when you haven't even heard the story? He says 'ok tell me the story'. So I tell him what happened and he says 'I don't know what you expect me to do. I just work on the dock. I don't even have anything to do with international deliveries.' Aaargh! Why did the women ask me if I had a complaint with the driver or the delivery if she was just going to put me through to some random depot worker anyway???? I mean, would it have made any difference either way???

Luckily (or unluckily depending on how you look at it) he gives me a number to call to speak to the guy in charge of international deliveries. I ring him and repeat my story once again. He tells me I can drive down to the airport after 6pm and pick it up myself. Since I had a prior appointment after 6pm and due to the fact that I didn't relish an airport run to pick up a package I had already paid delivery on, I asked him why I should have to. He tells me its the only way I'm going to get my package today. I told him, fine, I will come and pick it up but he can refund me the money I paid for postage. He says to me 'you haven't been charged for delivery'. I said of course I've been charged for delivery, you don't work for free do you? He's silent for a few seconds as though he's trying to contemplate how he manages to earn a wage when nobody pays for the service. Then he says my supplier has paid the postage. I tell him that the supplier paid the postage because I paid it to them, that its included in the purchase price. I said to him 'when you buy a book from Amazon, you pay for postage. Amazon don't just send you the book out of the kindness of their hearts. They don't pay the postage for you'. Again he is dumbfounded for a while then tells me my package will be delivered tomorrow.

The next day I am overly excited because I so desperately want to have a chat with the driver. When he arrives (actually entering the property and knocking on the door this time - who would have thought a delivery driver could do that?) I asked him 'what happened yesterday?' (BTW I was very nice, not as narky on the outside as I felt on the inside) He acts like he doesn't know what I'm talking about. I said 'why didn't you come onto the property yesterday to deliver the parcel?' He tells me he wasn't the driver yesterday, that the driver called in sick this morning and he was called in at the last minute to take his place. I didn't know whether to believe him or not (after all they'd already outright lied to me). I'm not sure if the driver really was sick or if he just didn't have the guts to face me or if the driver from the day before was indeed standing in front of me right now and was just pretending he was a replacement because he was afraid I would cause a confrontation. I didn't know but I just took the package and went inside. I was too tired to argue anyway (I was going through the tv thing at the same time remember). Once again I get stuffed around and big business goes on as usual. Thanks big business...

I e-mailed the people who sent me the package to thank them. I thanked them for their helpfulness, the quality of the product and how fast they got it to me (apart from the delivery once it got to Australia of course). Then it hit me. I was just profusely thanking someone for doing the job I paid them to do! Not that they don't deserve a thankyou but when did this world become a place where doing your job became a reason to have your butt kissed? Its only noticeable because of how many people DON'T do their job.

People I am begging you. Please remember that you are not doing something for me because you think I'm fabulous. You actually get paid to do stuff for me. It is your job to do what I ask. And I am not being unreasonable with my demands. Just deliver my package when I pay you to. Don't lie to me and tell me someone is coming back when you know they're not. Why would you want to waste my time like that? When I ask for a Big Mac and a coke I would like a Big Mac and a coke, not a sprite and a chicken nugget. And is it too much to ask that the food be edible? Or that you don't sneeze on my burger? Or that its mildly warm? And once in a while, even though you may not feel like it, why not toss me a smile? I promise it won't hurt a bit. I wouldn't even think about treating you any other way.

I know this has been long and tiresome and it might not even seem like a big deal to you. But I was already stressed with the tv and Mr 16 causing me grief about school and Mr 6 being sick and everything else that has been going on and it just felt like one more thing that was sent to drive me crazy. But I feel so much better now that I have let it all out. Thanks bloggy friends. :)

Sunday, September 6, 2009

My Digital Nightmare


Well I have certainly had a frustrating couple of days! First I finally gave in and bought a digital tv with a built in HD tuner. Up until now I have refused. When the Government tells me they are going to be changing the system and I have to either replace all of my tvs or stick a set top box on all of them just so I can continue to watch mindless garbage, boring crap, mountains of infomercials and countless loud blaring ads, I get a little rebellious. While everyone has been out replacing their equipment, I have been continuing to watch my trusty old analog. But then the day came when the remote broke. I like to mute the ads because I don't need creepy people screaming at me to buy their stuff so I was heartbroken (and annoyed) at the loss. I bought one of those universal remotes. After tuning it in, I discovered it only worked on 2 channels and the mute and the volume buttons wouldn't work. It would have been funny if it wasn't so frustrating.


So I took it back to the store where the woman acted as though I was lying. 'Never had any trouble with these before' she said. 'Well you have now' I said. The remote I had bought was the top of the line one. I figured if that wasn't going to work one of the cheaper ones probably wouldn't either and did I want to waste that amount of my life trying to find out? So it was with a heavy heart I headed for the electronics store.


Now before I am accused of selling out and going against my convictions, I will state that I only bought a small one. It was for the bedroom anyway and I don't want a huge one in there. Thus far, I have not had any experience with digital television so I wasn't sure what to expect. I bought it home, took it out of the box, plugged it in, tuned it in. Except it wouldn't tune in. I kept trying and kept trying. For 2 hours I tried to tune the thing in, plugging in aerials, unplugging aerials, hooking it through the VCR (yes I still have one of those too)....they don't tell you about this on the ads. Finally, right before I had to go to pick the kids up from school, the channels appeared on the screen. They kept flashing on and off in a pixelating frenzy but they were there all the same. Sweet relief! I turned it off and went and picked up the kids.


We got home and all raced into my bedroom, having told the kids about it on the way and them getting way overexcited. I turned the tv on. No channels! After messing about with it for the whole night and half the next day, I realised that the channels would only tune in if the tv was on for about 2 hours and they would stay there as long as you never turned the tv off! I rang the store and asked if this was normal. They said it sounded like it was faulty so off to the store I go again. When I got it there the guy said (and I promise I'm not even making this up) 'Never had trouble with these tv's before'. 'That's what they all say' I said.


So I bought the new tv home. This time the channels tuned in straight away. Sweet! Then I notice that there is no channel 10. Since my favourite shows like Law & Order and Supernatural are on channel 10, there is going to be one moody cow in this house if there is no channel 10! I'm told I should use an aerial with an amplifier. Excellent because I already own an aerial with an amplifier. Plug it in, no good. I'm told I should go get a digital aerial. Back to the store I go. There I'm told that the best picture would come from an outdoor antenna. I have an outdoor antenna. Its not connected but its there. I'm told I need about 30m of coax cable and an assortment of connectors. I buy these items, get on the roof, connect the coax to the antenna, run the cable through the roof, try to get it down my wall to come out the bottom but it gets stuck on insulation and framing inside the wall so I just drill a hole through the ceiling and lower the cable through. Still no channel 10. Hours and hours pass of rearranging wires, repositioning cables, attaching and reattaching plugs and thing-a-majigs. Still no channel 10. I'm told I need a digital antenna which will cost me another $200+. They didn't mention this when they were advertising the exciting world of digital.


So now I have no channel 10, an overly pixelating channel 9 and horrible reception on the non-digital channels. But at least I have a remote....


RIP old analog tv. I will miss you....

I'm Not Ignoring You :)

Just so you know that I actually do read and appreciate your comments I'm going to quickly reply to the ones that need replying to.

To Thankyou - considering my sister will go out and buy the exact same item that I do (no matter what it is) there is probably a little bit of jealousy involved there. I sometimes get the urge to buy crazy stupid ugly things just so she will put it in her house but I am yet to waste my money being so childish (although I'm not ruling it out for the future =) Its weird because I was always jealous of her because she had a much better relationship with our mum but who knows why people think the way they do?

4evernite - I am always apologising about something too! Even when its not my fault! Someone will barge into me and I apologise. Its nuts! I blame my mother for teaching me good manners but also giving me a guilt complex. It blends together to make sure I'm constantly saying sorry to people who don't deserve it. Even when I promise myself I'll never do it again! And you put me to shame by what you were reading.

Joey - Isla Fisher doesn't even live here anymore but I agree she is a cutie :) And you also put me to shame with what you were reading. Vonnegut? Please....

Amo - It wasn't a holiday weekend here in Australia. It was Fathers Day though. Hope you had a good one. You might be able to answer a question that has been plaguing me for years. Why can't you wear white after labour day?

Xazmin - I was going to tell you what the 5th line on page 161 of Gone With The Wind was but after searching the place upside down I am unable to find it. I'm sure one of the kids has done something to it so now I am in a stroppy mood.

Cashmere Librarian - good to know the bag will be well made. Its always a bit of a risk when you buy something from somewhere you've never purchased from before. I just hope the inept people who deliver parcels in Australia don't do any damage to it before I get it! Was it Newcastle where your neighbours were staying? I'm in South Australia which is about 16 hours away from Sydney.

Metropolitan Mum - My son is 16 but he is so not ready to be a daddy! Its amazing how he can actually physically have children and if he did, no-one would take it away from him. He can barely look after himself! There are lots of 16 year old mums around here where I live. I find it quite sad that they've just given up their own childhoods like that. It is so hard. I hope my kids wait as long as possible. We have so little childhood and so many many adult years. Shame to waste it.

Summer - you better be feeling better girly :)

Twenty something Momma - It made me so happy that you presumed I had to 'flip back' to page 161. I'd have been devastated if you'd have thought I wasn't that far along yet :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend and I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your comments. I look forward to getting to know you all better =)


I know I've been off the radar for a few days. I desperately want to tell you about what happened in the last couple of days but promised myself I wouldn't post anything until I finished playing catch up with everyone else's blogs. However I have just received my first ever award! It was presented to me by the lovely Twenty-something Momma and since I am so excited that somebody has actually gone out of their way to bestow such a wonderful award onto me and since I have a Securities Analysis and Portfolio Management assignment due in this afternoon and it is making me pull my hair out, I thought this should be my number one priority.

Here are the rules for the Over the Top Award:

USE ONLY ONE WORD! It’s not as easy as you might think. Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It’s really hard to use only one-word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? Jeans
2. Your hair? Yuck!
3. Your mother? Needy
4. Your father? Absent
5. Your favorite food? Fatty
6. Your dream last night? Weird
7. Your favorite drink? Gassy
8. Your dream/goal? Travel
9. What room are you in? Bedroom
10. Your hobby? Blogging
11. Your fear? Rejection
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? USA
13. Where were you last night? Here
14. Something that you aren’t? Snobby
15. Muffins? Chocolate.
16. Wish list item? BMW
17. Where did you grow up? Australia
18. Last thing you did? Studied
19. What are you wearing? Jeans
20. Your TV? Loud
21. Your pets? Exciteable
22. Friends? Away
23. Your life? Stagnant
24. Your mood? Stressed
25. Missing someone? Always
26. Vehicle? Dirty
27. Something you’re not wearing? Hat
28. Your favorite store? Myer
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When was the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Yesterday
32. Your best friend? Funny
33. One place that I go to over and over? Foodland
34. One person who emails me regularly? Tab
35. Favorite place to eat? Home
That was quite hard to only use one word!
And now I am passing this onto these 5 wonderful bloggers:
Have fun guys and thanks again Twenty-something Momma!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Tag I'm It!

I've been tagged by the lovely TwentySomethingMomma (who by the way has the most gorgeous kids in the world - apart from my own of course)
The rules are:

1. Collect the book that you have most handy.
2. Turn to page 161.
3. Find the 5th complete sentence.
4. Cite the sentence on your blog.
5. Pass it on to 5 other bloggers.
Now I will confess that when I got this I did, for a moment, contemplate running out to the loungeroom and grabbing a copy of Gone With The Wind or some other epic classic (kind of like a 'What, this old thing? I just had it lying around' but in a book version rather than an outfit). But in the spirit of truthfulness, I did grab the book that was most handy and that was Stephen King's 'The Dark Half'.
The 5th complete sentence on page 161 is:
'Perhaps they would begin after Alan called back.'
That was kind of disappointing. I was hoping for a bit more excitement than that. But it was sort of interesting.
These are the bloggers I am tagging with this. (I put everyone in a random number generator because I hate choosing between people.)
Have fun!