...continuing on from Part One (which is actually the post BELOW this, thanks to the chronological stacking of the blog structure):
Around the same time that my friends came to visit, we also had a visit from my Dad and his partner, who had come down all the way from Queensland in their trusty 4WD. They live further away from us than my friends do, so you can imagine how frequently we don't get to see them!
Dad's visit was very much appreciated. We caught up, shared Christmas gifts, went out for lunch, took photos, and sampled Licorice Sherbet Bombs (which apparently aren't available in Queensland; my Dad actually made a point of calling into the factory while in the state, and bought a 2kg bag full of them!
They only got to apend about a week in the area before they had to drive back up, so they spent most of that time running around visiting everybody. My sister and I really only got to see them for about half a day all up, and then it was time for them to move on to the next destination.
It didn't matter too much though, because we all knew that they made the most of the time they had, and we appreciated it very much.
...A few days later, my phone rings at work. It's my sister: "Has Dad called you yet?"
It turned out, she'd just spoken to him on the phone; the day before, Dad and his partner were on their way back home, and while on the highway somewhere in New South Wales, they had collided with another vehicle at high speed.
The impact rolled their 4WD and made it a write-off; luckily for them, they both avoided serious injury, and were able to walk away, and their insurance meant that they still got a ride home (by plane this time).
It was an incredibly lucky thing that they both survived - I can't even imagine how I would feel if they had been seriously injured, or worse.
It makes me - us, my sisters and the rest of the family too - appreciate the time we had and have together.
Take care this season, folks.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Oh boy, here we go
My computer is playing up at the moment, so I'm trying to use my DSi to manage the task of posting here. Holy heck, it's much harder to do this when you're navigating semi-functional webpages on a teeny tiny screen! Let's just see how this works, hey?
...Well, that seemed to work without too much trouble - though, I doubt I'll be trading in my keyboard any time soon.
So! It's nearly That Time Of Year Again™, and everyone is frantically rushing around the shopping centres trying to prove how much they love each other via expensive and impractical gifts! Gotta love it.
I've been clever this year, and did most of the gift-shopping back as far as June (when I still had my last job). Yet, I still went through the whole "maybe I should get so-and-so a little more"...
I'll be working again on eXcemas Day this year, but only for about three hours... which means that I'll then have to do the big run-around afterwards in order to catch up with everybody. (I'll be driving for at least 3 hours afterwards!)
-----------
I got to socialise a few times this month, and all from the comfort of my home. I had a couple of friends come down for a visit - I 've known them both for at least ten years, from when we all used to study at TAFE. Unfortunately our jobs and locations keep us from seeing each other as much as we would want to nowadays, so whenever we get to meet up is a pretty big deal.
Anyways, once they'd arrived, and we did the basic catxh-up, we fell back into old habits... which were basically sitting around, talking trash and generally doing a lot of not much at all.
Oh, we did get in a few games of Beatles Rock Band too.
-----------
I have more to say but the browser won't let me enter any more characters into this text-box - damn you, Opera! - so I'll continue in the next post.
End of Part One!
...Well, that seemed to work without too much trouble - though, I doubt I'll be trading in my keyboard any time soon.
So! It's nearly That Time Of Year Again™, and everyone is frantically rushing around the shopping centres trying to prove how much they love each other via expensive and impractical gifts! Gotta love it.
I've been clever this year, and did most of the gift-shopping back as far as June (when I still had my last job). Yet, I still went through the whole "maybe I should get so-and-so a little more"...
I'll be working again on eXcemas Day this year, but only for about three hours... which means that I'll then have to do the big run-around afterwards in order to catch up with everybody. (I'll be driving for at least 3 hours afterwards!)
-----------
I got to socialise a few times this month, and all from the comfort of my home. I had a couple of friends come down for a visit - I 've known them both for at least ten years, from when we all used to study at TAFE. Unfortunately our jobs and locations keep us from seeing each other as much as we would want to nowadays, so whenever we get to meet up is a pretty big deal.
Anyways, once they'd arrived, and we did the basic catxh-up, we fell back into old habits... which were basically sitting around, talking trash and generally doing a lot of not much at all.
Oh, we did get in a few games of Beatles Rock Band too.
-----------
I have more to say but the browser won't let me enter any more characters into this text-box - damn you, Opera! - so I'll continue in the next post.
End of Part One!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wot a Wizace!
I really really really like this video.
Reyn Ouwehand has been in the business of making music for videogames for years, and has released several albums of both his own compositions and that of others. Here, he plays the theme tune from Wizball, which was composed by Martin Galway. The tune was pretty good for the humble C64, but here it sounds amazing:
Some cool and relevant links:
● Reyn's Homepage (this page scrolls horizontally b.t.w.)
● Wikipedia entry on Martin Galway
● C64Audio.com
● C64-Wiki entry on the original Wizball game
● Retrospec remake of Wizball (a free downloadable game for Windows and Mac)
Reyn Ouwehand has been in the business of making music for videogames for years, and has released several albums of both his own compositions and that of others. Here, he plays the theme tune from Wizball, which was composed by Martin Galway. The tune was pretty good for the humble C64, but here it sounds amazing:
● Reyn's Homepage (this page scrolls horizontally b.t.w.)
● Wikipedia entry on Martin Galway
● C64Audio.com
● C64-Wiki entry on the original Wizball game
● Retrospec remake of Wizball (a free downloadable game for Windows and Mac)
Thursday, December 2, 2010
So Long, November
And so, another month runs away from us all. Only 25 days to Christmas, and 31 before the year leaves us for good. It really does feel like time moves so much faster now!
So, here's a quick-ish recap of what I got up to in the last month:
I slowly got the hang of my new job. The manager said that I was the fastest person they'd ever seen at adapting to the registers, which made them happy (they are essentially the same register system that they had at the last place). However, I only wish I could have translated that same success to the rest of the tasklist; it's been so damn difficult trying to work out which knowledge I need to keep, and which skills I'm better off forgetting. The good news is that I have been improving and getting more stuff done over the month, which makes me happy.
I went and visited my friend in Warragul twice - the first time I had to leave early so I could cover someone's "sickie" at short notice. (That in itself was kinda weird, since I was still in the middle of training at that stage and felt totally out of my depth, but it was only a short shift and I managed fine.)
...The second visit to my friends was much better. We spent most of the day fooling around like friends do; we had a go at making soft drinks with a Soda Stream system, which I'd never seen in action and was very curious (long story short - it's just fizzed up water with sugary syrup added to it).
Then we tried to figure out what kind of animal was making these small holes in the backyard:
We assumed that they were yabbies (small freshwater crayfish-type animals) except that these holes were too far away from a watersource for that to make sense; didn't stop my friend from trying to coax one out by ramming a big stick into the hole.
Needless to say, it didn't really work. Maybe they were yabbies on holiday, or something. Or maybe there are bits of crustacean mashed two-foot deep into the ground... who can tell?
I was supposed to go up and visit my Dad in Queensland near the end of the month, but had to defer it until January thanks to the new job - which I was happy with. I figured I'd have to put it off even before I'd had the job interview! (I hated putting my Dad out like that, but he didn't seem to mind so much; so long as I still go up and visit him... eventually.)
I'm still having some issues adjusting to the new hours I'm keeping. I'm meant to be working from 11pm to 7am, four days a week. That basically means I sleep through the better part of the day - unless something wakes me up, like the bloody phone ringing >:{ - so when my "weekend" comes up, I have the option of either keeping my nighttime schedule, or trying to break the cycle and get at least something out of the natural daytime. So far, I've been keeping the latter, mostly to fulfill the obligations I've been making to others, but also because it's damn annoying only doing stuff at night!
Also, I've been noticing a residual tiredness, which has been affecting my sense of judgement slightly.
I also caught up with my friends from the days of the mural project. It had been several months since we'd last gathered, and I wasn't sure how much longer I would be available now that I had a job again - as it turned out, no major problem on my part, but have you ever tried to synchronise the schedules of more than three people?
Anyway, I'd been meaning to ask the art director of the project if I could buy one of her works of art - specifically one of her ink-brush pictures, of which she'd done an entire series a few years ago - and so, after perusing her collection, she surprised me by giving me this:
I naturally went straight to the picture framing place and had it professionally mounted. It's now on the wall above my computer desk, and I'm looking at it right now!
I went to the Gem, Bottle and Collectibles Expo last week. It's basically a big room full of people showing off their wares, which happen to be items of a sought-after nature (gemstones, collectible books, vintage bottles, stamps, swapcards, etc.) and for some reason I felt it necessary to spend quite a bit of money in there. I came out with some old Coca-Cola glass bottles, of the kind I barely even remember (this is going back about thirty years, before soft drinks started being sold in plastic bottles); my uncle collects Coca-Cola stuff, so he will be very pleased when he gets those.
The rest of the stuff I got was basically ROCKS, but at least they were attractive rocks. If I'd been interested at the time, I could have asked what some of them were, but that takes away from the challenge of discovery, of course! What's the value of saying "Here's a nice piece of chalcopyrite" without having the research to back it up, anyway?
And... now it's December, and I turned 32 this year. When did this happen?!? insert sound of premature mid-life crisis
But seriously, though... this year my birthday was good.
I went out for lunch with my family, and then I helped my Ma out with her Christmas shopping, which basically involved following her around and acting as a sounding board for gift ideas - "Do you think your sister would like these pearl earrings? How about we get her a hot tub?" and so on and no, those were not actual ideas.
It was rather weird, though. While we were out and about, we kept running into people who remembered me from my previous job, and they were so friendly and asked me how I was doing [fine, thanks] and if I'd scored a new job yet [yes, actually] and about how those dreadful [people from country I won't name] weren't running the old shops very well, and so on...
And my Ma thought it was so funny that it kept happening wherever we went, it became a kind of running joke, to the point where people were just saying "Oh, hello Ben!" to me on the street!
Who knows, maybe it was some Birthday Mojo thing... Anyway, once we'd got back off the street and away from my audience, we cleaned up and went out for dinner at a bistro-type place, which was also nice. And then, we went home and had cake! And then tried our hands at Beatles RockBand! (once we figured out how to make it work in two-player, that is)
And then... well, I came online and posted about it all here! And so... goodnight!
So, here's a quick-ish recap of what I got up to in the last month:
I slowly got the hang of my new job. The manager said that I was the fastest person they'd ever seen at adapting to the registers, which made them happy (they are essentially the same register system that they had at the last place). However, I only wish I could have translated that same success to the rest of the tasklist; it's been so damn difficult trying to work out which knowledge I need to keep, and which skills I'm better off forgetting. The good news is that I have been improving and getting more stuff done over the month, which makes me happy.
I went and visited my friend in Warragul twice - the first time I had to leave early so I could cover someone's "sickie" at short notice. (That in itself was kinda weird, since I was still in the middle of training at that stage and felt totally out of my depth, but it was only a short shift and I managed fine.)
...The second visit to my friends was much better. We spent most of the day fooling around like friends do; we had a go at making soft drinks with a Soda Stream system, which I'd never seen in action and was very curious (long story short - it's just fizzed up water with sugary syrup added to it).
Then we tried to figure out what kind of animal was making these small holes in the backyard:
I was supposed to go up and visit my Dad in Queensland near the end of the month, but had to defer it until January thanks to the new job - which I was happy with. I figured I'd have to put it off even before I'd had the job interview! (I hated putting my Dad out like that, but he didn't seem to mind so much; so long as I still go up and visit him... eventually.)
I'm still having some issues adjusting to the new hours I'm keeping. I'm meant to be working from 11pm to 7am, four days a week. That basically means I sleep through the better part of the day - unless something wakes me up, like the bloody phone ringing >:{ - so when my "weekend" comes up, I have the option of either keeping my nighttime schedule, or trying to break the cycle and get at least something out of the natural daytime. So far, I've been keeping the latter, mostly to fulfill the obligations I've been making to others, but also because it's damn annoying only doing stuff at night!
Also, I've been noticing a residual tiredness, which has been affecting my sense of judgement slightly.
I also caught up with my friends from the days of the mural project. It had been several months since we'd last gathered, and I wasn't sure how much longer I would be available now that I had a job again - as it turned out, no major problem on my part, but have you ever tried to synchronise the schedules of more than three people?
Anyway, I'd been meaning to ask the art director of the project if I could buy one of her works of art - specifically one of her ink-brush pictures, of which she'd done an entire series a few years ago - and so, after perusing her collection, she surprised me by giving me this:
I went to the Gem, Bottle and Collectibles Expo last week. It's basically a big room full of people showing off their wares, which happen to be items of a sought-after nature (gemstones, collectible books, vintage bottles, stamps, swapcards, etc.) and for some reason I felt it necessary to spend quite a bit of money in there. I came out with some old Coca-Cola glass bottles, of the kind I barely even remember (this is going back about thirty years, before soft drinks started being sold in plastic bottles); my uncle collects Coca-Cola stuff, so he will be very pleased when he gets those.
The rest of the stuff I got was basically ROCKS, but at least they were attractive rocks. If I'd been interested at the time, I could have asked what some of them were, but that takes away from the challenge of discovery, of course! What's the value of saying "Here's a nice piece of chalcopyrite" without having the research to back it up, anyway?
And... now it's December, and I turned 32 this year. When did this happen?!? insert sound of premature mid-life crisis
But seriously, though... this year my birthday was good.
I went out for lunch with my family, and then I helped my Ma out with her Christmas shopping, which basically involved following her around and acting as a sounding board for gift ideas - "Do you think your sister would like these pearl earrings? How about we get her a hot tub?" and so on and no, those were not actual ideas.
It was rather weird, though. While we were out and about, we kept running into people who remembered me from my previous job, and they were so friendly and asked me how I was doing [fine, thanks] and if I'd scored a new job yet [yes, actually] and about how those dreadful [people from country I won't name] weren't running the old shops very well, and so on...
And my Ma thought it was so funny that it kept happening wherever we went, it became a kind of running joke, to the point where people were just saying "Oh, hello Ben!" to me on the street!
Who knows, maybe it was some Birthday Mojo thing... Anyway, once we'd got back off the street and away from my audience, we cleaned up and went out for dinner at a bistro-type place, which was also nice. And then, we went home and had cake! And then tried our hands at Beatles RockBand! (once we figured out how to make it work in two-player, that is)
And then... well, I came online and posted about it all here! And so... goodnight!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tics Tacs - the Inverse of Kit Kats
...okay, sorry for the folks who thought my last post was TL and so DR. Basically, here's a quick catch up over what happened since September:
So now, I at least have an income again (yay!), but now I have to start worrying about keeping schedules and missing out on important social gatherings all over again (boo).
Still, it beats being on the Dole.
I got an email from my old American penpal the other week; she has a much more exciting blog than mine, not neglected or anything, but she is apparently a semi-regular reader of this one. She asked me if I were still posting anything on this thing, and I explained that I didn't have a lot to share about myself these days...
And then I remembered something; back when we first started writing to each other (which was probably waaay back in '98 or so), we used to send each other different types of confectionery. She would send me delicious Hershey's chocolate bars and Jelly Belly beans straight from the United States, and I would represent humble Australia by sending her yummy Tim Tams and Peppermint Aero bars.
Sadly, this Candy Exchange was thwarted by the change in political temperature brought about by September 11 - the US Government shortly implemented new controls on importing food into the USA, such that every food item brought into the country (whether it be a shipment of beef, a crate of oranges, or just a big crazy-looking box full of sugary crap) required lengthy documentation for each unique item, detailing where each product was made, who made it, how it was packaged, what it was made of, how many were in each pack, how tasty it was, how many the postal inspectors were allowed to sample, etc. etc. etc.
I am sorry to say that, because of my enthusiasm for the project, the registration process was ridiculously daunting, and so I failed to honour my part of the exchange.
...but I DID at least buy the candy, so that counts for something, right?
Anyway, while I was cleaning up my room the other day, I found the parcel I'd assembled a couple of years ago, and it still had some confectionery items in it! Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, a lot of the stuff in the box was spoiled; chocolate does not keep for much longer than two years (trust me on this - ick).
Before I throw all of this stuff out, I'd like to show you some of the interesting stuff we got to sample over the past couple of years, because it's kinda interesting, you know?
First up, the Kit Kat Chunky bars. In Australia, Nestlé has the license to make Kit Kats, and, along with the regular 4-finger packs, they make these over-sized single-finger bars. As many popular snacks do these days, they sometimes come in seasonal "fun" flavours; though they weren't all available at the same time, I managed to assemble a collection of them (click to see close-up):
Right Side: Chocolate Strawberry (special fundraising edition for the Pink Ribbon breast cancer charity, it has a pink strawberry wafer inside); Cookie Dough; Chocolate Overload (every element of the bar is chocolate flavoured!); Toffee Crisp.
Not Pictured: Mint Crisp; Peanut Butter (which I thought tasted foul, nothing like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups); and White Chocolate (because they never released that in a Chunky bar!)
If you're at all interested in seeing some other strangely-flavoured Kit Kat bars, click here and here for the Japanese take on them!
And continuing the colourful candy theme, we move on to Tic Tacs:
Top row: Peppermint; Spearmint; Orange; Extra Strong Mint; Apple Sour.
Bottom Row: Peppermint (in a special box for the Pink Ribbon charity); Passionfruit Mint; Lemon Mint; Mango; Tropical Acerola (which I imagine is some kind of berry?).
The first three flavours were pretty much the only variety of Tic Tac available here until about ten years ago; then they released the Extra Strong, and then the Passionfruit flavoured one (which is... an acquired taste). After that they seemed to go a bit mad with flavours. The most recent variety is Citrus Twist, which isn't included here.
I was fascinated to learn that Tic Tacs had vastly different flavours in the States; thanks to my penpal, I got to sample some Wintergreen flavored Tacs, which I was also surprised to learn were actually green - none of the above flavours have any colouring, aside from the actual box. I understand there is also a Cinnamon flavoured Tic Tac?
Learning about this sort of thing is very interesting, I think - things as simple as the food we eat can be vastly different when you travel even a short distance (like interstate), so I can only guess what someone else in another country would think of our old familiar "lollies"!
Okay, enough of the candy comparison! If anyone out there wants to find out more about the local confec., send me a comment, and I'll see what I can put up! For further recommended reading, have a look at the Candy Blog for more sweeties from around the world!
Back soon! :D
(so, how's that Loretta?)
- I lost my job
- I caught chicken pox
- I then caught a cold, or flu, or some upper respiratory infection
- thus I spent half of September sick
- and I missed out on the company break-up because I was too contagious to go
- (oh, and my sister caught the pox as well, and we both almost died apparently)
- my savings started running out at the end of the month
- so I signed up for unemployment benefits
- two days later, my tax refund arrived, which meant I didn't need to go on the Dole (d'oh!)
- I applied for a few jobs, and had my name put down for something else via my employment agency contact
- two weeks into October, I scored an interview at another service station
- I was the best candidate, and I got the job
- so now, I am employed again! :)
So now, I at least have an income again (yay!), but now I have to start worrying about keeping schedules and missing out on important social gatherings all over again (boo).
Still, it beats being on the Dole.
I got an email from my old American penpal the other week; she has a much more exciting blog than mine, not neglected or anything, but she is apparently a semi-regular reader of this one. She asked me if I were still posting anything on this thing, and I explained that I didn't have a lot to share about myself these days...
And then I remembered something; back when we first started writing to each other (which was probably waaay back in '98 or so), we used to send each other different types of confectionery. She would send me delicious Hershey's chocolate bars and Jelly Belly beans straight from the United States, and I would represent humble Australia by sending her yummy Tim Tams and Peppermint Aero bars.
Sadly, this Candy Exchange was thwarted by the change in political temperature brought about by September 11 - the US Government shortly implemented new controls on importing food into the USA, such that every food item brought into the country (whether it be a shipment of beef, a crate of oranges, or just a big crazy-looking box full of sugary crap) required lengthy documentation for each unique item, detailing where each product was made, who made it, how it was packaged, what it was made of, how many were in each pack, how tasty it was, how many the postal inspectors were allowed to sample, etc. etc. etc.
I am sorry to say that, because of my enthusiasm for the project, the registration process was ridiculously daunting, and so I failed to honour my part of the exchange.
...but I DID at least buy the candy, so that counts for something, right?
Anyway, while I was cleaning up my room the other day, I found the parcel I'd assembled a couple of years ago, and it still had some confectionery items in it! Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, a lot of the stuff in the box was spoiled; chocolate does not keep for much longer than two years (trust me on this - ick).
Before I throw all of this stuff out, I'd like to show you some of the interesting stuff we got to sample over the past couple of years, because it's kinda interesting, you know?
First up, the Kit Kat Chunky bars. In Australia, Nestlé has the license to make Kit Kats, and, along with the regular 4-finger packs, they make these over-sized single-finger bars. As many popular snacks do these days, they sometimes come in seasonal "fun" flavours; though they weren't all available at the same time, I managed to assemble a collection of them (click to see close-up):
Right Side: Chocolate Strawberry (special fundraising edition for the Pink Ribbon breast cancer charity, it has a pink strawberry wafer inside); Cookie Dough; Chocolate Overload (every element of the bar is chocolate flavoured!); Toffee Crisp.
Not Pictured: Mint Crisp; Peanut Butter (which I thought tasted foul, nothing like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups); and White Chocolate (because they never released that in a Chunky bar!)
If you're at all interested in seeing some other strangely-flavoured Kit Kat bars, click here and here for the Japanese take on them!
And continuing the colourful candy theme, we move on to Tic Tacs:
Bottom Row: Peppermint (in a special box for the Pink Ribbon charity); Passionfruit Mint; Lemon Mint; Mango; Tropical Acerola (which I imagine is some kind of berry?).
The first three flavours were pretty much the only variety of Tic Tac available here until about ten years ago; then they released the Extra Strong, and then the Passionfruit flavoured one (which is... an acquired taste). After that they seemed to go a bit mad with flavours. The most recent variety is Citrus Twist, which isn't included here.
I was fascinated to learn that Tic Tacs had vastly different flavours in the States; thanks to my penpal, I got to sample some Wintergreen flavored Tacs, which I was also surprised to learn were actually green - none of the above flavours have any colouring, aside from the actual box. I understand there is also a Cinnamon flavoured Tic Tac?
Learning about this sort of thing is very interesting, I think - things as simple as the food we eat can be vastly different when you travel even a short distance (like interstate), so I can only guess what someone else in another country would think of our old familiar "lollies"!
Okay, enough of the candy comparison! If anyone out there wants to find out more about the local confec., send me a comment, and I'll see what I can put up! For further recommended reading, have a look at the Candy Blog for more sweeties from around the world!
Back soon! :D
(so, how's that Loretta?)
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Past Two Weeks (approximately)
Tuesday 24th August
Got called in to work at the local servo at the last minute. Normally Tuesday was my day off, but my Manager argued me around; he pointed out that it will probably be the last time it will happen before the big changeover to the new fuel company. (And I figured, yeah, why not?)
About an hour later, as I come into the shop, I notice a group of young men who were having a deep conversation with the Manager. I step behind the counter and ask the Assistant Manager if he knew what was going on, and he replies, "It looks like they're the new commission agents for this site, and we've just been told we are no longer required at the end of the month."
The mood among the general day staff (most of whom were also there at the time; the rest found out later) was pretty weird - relieved to find out the truth about what was going to happen with their jobs, but unhappy that it took until the very last week of employment to find out.
The Manager went out to an urgent team-leader meeting at head office. When he came back, it transpired that just about every site in the company had been bought out by commission agents (and was in the same boat as us)... except for one other site - and it happened to be the other one I was working at. "So hey, you're the lucky one, you still managed to keep your job, at least..."
Wednesday 25th August
Went to my regular shift at the above-mentioned site. My co-worker there asked me if I'd heard the news, and I told him what I'd seen the day before. He tells me that the managers are trying to chase up the paperwork so that we can all re-apply for our positions once we change over. I go through my shift, letting my regular customers know that at least some of us will still be working here next month.
That night, I call in to the other servo to see how the night staff have taken the news. They seem well resigned to it - but they also tell me that our company made headline news on the local TV bulletin. I'd missed the 7pm broadcast, but I was still able to catch the Midnight re-screening. The story detailed how the staff had all lost their jobs in the space of a week, and brought up some archival footage of the CEO explaining how "jobs were no more secure than if he hadn't made the sale". They also had a voiceover of a 'disgruntled employee' who had called in to explain their side of the issue, and about how most of the relieved staff had mortgages and families to look after. They disguised his voice, but I still recognised him.
Thursday 26th August
Went back to work at what was apparently my only job now. During the night, and on the way there, I tried to work out how my new situation was going to work - since I only worked at that site 15 hours a week, it was not going to justify the expense of travel there and back, yet having a bit of work going would make my Unemployment benefits go a bit further. (I'd be entitled to Centrelink benefits because I would be getting less than 30 hours a week.)
When I got to work, however, my co-worker told me that they'd "hit a boulder". Apparently, while we'd been assured that all our places would be kept here, the incoming owners had either changed their minds or been misunderstood - because only the full-timers would be kept, not the part-timers. And... guess which one I was?
So...
Friday 27th August
I still went about my business as I normally did; after all, I was still getting paid by the same company (for now), and I still had a good amount of work to do (as per normal). It just felt bad that I had to go back on what I'd told everyone on Wednesday.
As it turned out, a lot of people were very understanding. There were several customers who were previously happy account-holders, but, when they tried to apply for the account card offered by the new company:
I usually left that site a bit later than most, because I like to make sure I catch everything I missed before I go. I somehow managed to leave the site about an hour and a half after normal closing time, yet I think I left the air-con going all weekend by mistake...
Saturday 28th August
Came in to a workplace that had left us with almost nothing interesting to do, aside from cook food (what's left of it), try to rearrange the shelf stock so it's neat (what's left of it), top-up the drinks (what's left of them) and serve customers (what's left of them).
You see, prior to last Tuesday's bombshell, the staff had kept the incoming orders low, so that when the big interchange happened, the shop-wide stocktake that would then take place would be a lot easier. This meant that, by the last weekend, the entire back-storeroom was EMPTY. It gave me a complete shock when I walked out there the first time, because for the six years I've been working there, I've NEVER seen the storeroom that bare before!
So yeah. Apart from the usual site-checks and things, it was business as normal.
...Oh, and I also heard from a lot of customers that they "weren't coming back to this shop next week" either. I suspected a few of the staff members had been telling the customers a few home truths too... ;)
Sunday 29th August
Last day at work, hooray! I wasn't hugely unhappy, because I knew that the Manager had organised a big event for the Last Tuesday (a big yummy BBQ to which everyone was invited!) and so I'd get to say a proper goodbye to everybody before we broke up.
It was strangely awesome just doing your job, not having to worry about doing it all over again tomorrow, and the next... knowing that you can just get stuff done, even though in a few days' time it wouldn't matter for shit. I didn't care what my co-worker did - I just left him to watch the front if he wanted to, and to cover the register if he felt like a break.
It felt great.
I ate dinner - and then I didn't feel so great.
Not totally AWFUL, mind - just like, you know, when you feel you've eaten a bit too much, or ate something that didn't agree with you.
Nah, I felt fine.
Feeling AWFUL... no, that came later.
Monday 30th August
First day as a FREE MAN, man! I'd planned to use today as a chance to say goodbye to the other folks I'd worked with at the other sites, drop off a few uniforms and keys and things, take some photos, share some memories, and generally tie things off until Tuesday, but...
Wait, what? Why do I still feel funny?
Why the hell did I sleep through three alarm clocks?!
WHY THE HELL IS IT 3PM?!?
I get up, take some paracetamol, and feel a bit better. Take a shower. Gather up the stuff I needed to take, open the mailbox, and discover -
Hey! Phone bill, I'll pay that too.
Hey! Letter from Real Estate, we're getting a house inspection in HOW MANY DAYS?!?
Okay, have to go into Estate Agent's and re-negotiate an extension on the inspection date too. (sigh)
I eventually manage to catch up with some of the folks I worked with, and drop off all of the old work-clothes I had, not that anyone else will be needing those for a while (heh-heh). I manage to pay the phone bill with interest, and get the necessary extension time to the inspection.
I am relieved...
I also discovered that the EFTPOS system went down during the day, and a lot of the sites were forced to use those old-fashioned paper vouchers (the triplicate card-swipey type)... and of course, all OUR sites were just the same (to add insult to injury, I guess). I feel bad for all the staff who couldn't care any less about explaining to customers, over and over again, "Um, they system's gone down, I'm gonna have to get some details... Oh, wait, I'm gonna have to get an authorisation code..."
Tuesday 31st August
Tuesday morning, I had trouble getting out of bed.
Around noon, I had slightly less trouble getting out of bed.
Around 2pm, I managed to get out of bed - but only just, and with pharmaceutical help.
Something was WRONG...
Got called in to work at the local servo at the last minute. Normally Tuesday was my day off, but my Manager argued me around; he pointed out that it will probably be the last time it will happen before the big changeover to the new fuel company. (And I figured, yeah, why not?)
About an hour later, as I come into the shop, I notice a group of young men who were having a deep conversation with the Manager. I step behind the counter and ask the Assistant Manager if he knew what was going on, and he replies, "It looks like they're the new commission agents for this site, and we've just been told we are no longer required at the end of the month."
REALLY.
Oh-kay, I kinda figured that this might have happened, but I was still trying to work out why they would want to remove everybody from the site, if there's only four or five of them to run it?The mood among the general day staff (most of whom were also there at the time; the rest found out later) was pretty weird - relieved to find out the truth about what was going to happen with their jobs, but unhappy that it took until the very last week of employment to find out.
The Manager went out to an urgent team-leader meeting at head office. When he came back, it transpired that just about every site in the company had been bought out by commission agents (and was in the same boat as us)... except for one other site - and it happened to be the other one I was working at. "So hey, you're the lucky one, you still managed to keep your job, at least..."
Wednesday 25th August
Went to my regular shift at the above-mentioned site. My co-worker there asked me if I'd heard the news, and I told him what I'd seen the day before. He tells me that the managers are trying to chase up the paperwork so that we can all re-apply for our positions once we change over. I go through my shift, letting my regular customers know that at least some of us will still be working here next month.
That night, I call in to the other servo to see how the night staff have taken the news. They seem well resigned to it - but they also tell me that our company made headline news on the local TV bulletin. I'd missed the 7pm broadcast, but I was still able to catch the Midnight re-screening. The story detailed how the staff had all lost their jobs in the space of a week, and brought up some archival footage of the CEO explaining how "jobs were no more secure than if he hadn't made the sale". They also had a voiceover of a 'disgruntled employee' who had called in to explain their side of the issue, and about how most of the relieved staff had mortgages and families to look after. They disguised his voice, but I still recognised him.
Thursday 26th August
Went back to work at what was apparently my only job now. During the night, and on the way there, I tried to work out how my new situation was going to work - since I only worked at that site 15 hours a week, it was not going to justify the expense of travel there and back, yet having a bit of work going would make my Unemployment benefits go a bit further. (I'd be entitled to Centrelink benefits because I would be getting less than 30 hours a week.)
When I got to work, however, my co-worker told me that they'd "hit a boulder". Apparently, while we'd been assured that all our places would be kept here, the incoming owners had either changed their minds or been misunderstood - because only the full-timers would be kept, not the part-timers. And... guess which one I was?
So...
Friday 27th August
I still went about my business as I normally did; after all, I was still getting paid by the same company (for now), and I still had a good amount of work to do (as per normal). It just felt bad that I had to go back on what I'd told everyone on Wednesday.
As it turned out, a lot of people were very understanding. There were several customers who were previously happy account-holders, but, when they tried to apply for the account card offered by the new company:
- were rejected, because the new system wouldn't allow applicants who didn't have an ABN code (in other words, wanted to use the account for personal reasons, instead of as a business or company)
- baulked when they saw how high the monthly rate was (something like $12 a month, compared to the $2 we used to charge)
- weren't sure if they would be able to freely use it all over the country, like they could with the previous cards (the new company is sort of up-and-coming, whereas we used to be like a licensee of a much bigger brand name)
I usually left that site a bit later than most, because I like to make sure I catch everything I missed before I go. I somehow managed to leave the site about an hour and a half after normal closing time, yet I think I left the air-con going all weekend by mistake...
Saturday 28th August
Came in to a workplace that had left us with almost nothing interesting to do, aside from cook food (what's left of it), try to rearrange the shelf stock so it's neat (what's left of it), top-up the drinks (what's left of them) and serve customers (what's left of them).
You see, prior to last Tuesday's bombshell, the staff had kept the incoming orders low, so that when the big interchange happened, the shop-wide stocktake that would then take place would be a lot easier. This meant that, by the last weekend, the entire back-storeroom was EMPTY. It gave me a complete shock when I walked out there the first time, because for the six years I've been working there, I've NEVER seen the storeroom that bare before!
So yeah. Apart from the usual site-checks and things, it was business as normal.
...Oh, and I also heard from a lot of customers that they "weren't coming back to this shop next week" either. I suspected a few of the staff members had been telling the customers a few home truths too... ;)
Sunday 29th August
Last day at work, hooray! I wasn't hugely unhappy, because I knew that the Manager had organised a big event for the Last Tuesday (a big yummy BBQ to which everyone was invited!) and so I'd get to say a proper goodbye to everybody before we broke up.
It was strangely awesome just doing your job, not having to worry about doing it all over again tomorrow, and the next... knowing that you can just get stuff done, even though in a few days' time it wouldn't matter for shit. I didn't care what my co-worker did - I just left him to watch the front if he wanted to, and to cover the register if he felt like a break.
It felt great.
I ate dinner - and then I didn't feel so great.
Not totally AWFUL, mind - just like, you know, when you feel you've eaten a bit too much, or ate something that didn't agree with you.
Nah, I felt fine.
Feeling AWFUL... no, that came later.
Monday 30th August
First day as a FREE MAN, man! I'd planned to use today as a chance to say goodbye to the other folks I'd worked with at the other sites, drop off a few uniforms and keys and things, take some photos, share some memories, and generally tie things off until Tuesday, but...
Wait, what? Why do I still feel funny?
Why the hell did I sleep through three alarm clocks?!
WHY THE HELL IS IT 3PM?!?
I get up, take some paracetamol, and feel a bit better. Take a shower. Gather up the stuff I needed to take, open the mailbox, and discover -
Hey! Phone bill, I'll pay that too.
Hey! Letter from Real Estate, we're getting a house inspection in HOW MANY DAYS?!?
Okay, have to go into Estate Agent's and re-negotiate an extension on the inspection date too. (sigh)
I eventually manage to catch up with some of the folks I worked with, and drop off all of the old work-clothes I had, not that anyone else will be needing those for a while (heh-heh). I manage to pay the phone bill with interest, and get the necessary extension time to the inspection.
I am relieved...
I also discovered that the EFTPOS system went down during the day, and a lot of the sites were forced to use those old-fashioned paper vouchers (the triplicate card-swipey type)... and of course, all OUR sites were just the same (to add insult to injury, I guess). I feel bad for all the staff who couldn't care any less about explaining to customers, over and over again, "Um, they system's gone down, I'm gonna have to get some details... Oh, wait, I'm gonna have to get an authorisation code..."
Tuesday 31st August
Tuesday morning, I had trouble getting out of bed.
Around noon, I had slightly less trouble getting out of bed.
Around 2pm, I managed to get out of bed - but only just, and with pharmaceutical help.
Something was WRONG...
[psst. there's more to come, but I ran outta room - stay tuned]
Sunday, August 29, 2010
One More Shift To Go
...and I'll formally be out of a job.
yes, you read that right. Drama has been afoot since last Tuesday, when we finally found out where we stood at our place of employment. After months of speculation, we have learned that the sale of our workplace to a multi-national fuel company has resulted in most of us (including myself) becoming redundant.
This Tuesday is the last day we will be trading under the current arrangement. There will be a big send-off for all the staff and regular customers to come down and see the last hours out, and I will definitely be down there to have some fun!
I know, I know, being unemployed is going to be a drag... and yet, I feel a strange sense of liberation out of this. Like I have a lot more options than I did a couple of weeks ago. yes, being job-free will be hard to get used to (again) but at least now I'll have some more time to catch up on all the stuff I missed because I was at work, like catching up with friends on the weekend, and doing more stuff around the house... and oh, I don't know, updating this sad neglected old blog, perhaps.
Yeah, let's see what happens. :)
yes, you read that right. Drama has been afoot since last Tuesday, when we finally found out where we stood at our place of employment. After months of speculation, we have learned that the sale of our workplace to a multi-national fuel company has resulted in most of us (including myself) becoming redundant.
This Tuesday is the last day we will be trading under the current arrangement. There will be a big send-off for all the staff and regular customers to come down and see the last hours out, and I will definitely be down there to have some fun!
I know, I know, being unemployed is going to be a drag... and yet, I feel a strange sense of liberation out of this. Like I have a lot more options than I did a couple of weeks ago. yes, being job-free will be hard to get used to (again) but at least now I'll have some more time to catch up on all the stuff I missed because I was at work, like catching up with friends on the weekend, and doing more stuff around the house... and oh, I don't know, updating this sad neglected old blog, perhaps.
Yeah, let's see what happens. :)
Saturday, June 12, 2010
It's been a pretty busy month so far (and I'm only a week into it).
I've managed to score a nice new (second-hand) car off my cousin - which means that now I'll be able to drive a car that I actually OWN... and give back the Volvo that I've been borrowing for the past two years. really? Two years?!
I'm also hoping to help my friend fly overseas, because she needs to renew her citizenship. Unfortunately, plane trips cost $$$$ and she don't have a lot of cash on hand at the moment...
I'm also dying to play Super Mario Galaxy 2, which isn't released until next month... (or three weeks, but who's counting?) And I'm currently playing WarioWare: DIY, which is all sorts of crazy fun - all those years of mucking around with Games Factory have paid off!
...I dreamed last night that I went up to the city with my friends, and hung about having fun in the big smoke. I think I'm about due for another Grand Day Out with my mates - who's with me?
And yes, I'm still alive.
I've managed to score a nice new (second-hand) car off my cousin - which means that now I'll be able to drive a car that I actually OWN... and give back the Volvo that I've been borrowing for the past two years. really? Two years?!
I'm also hoping to help my friend fly overseas, because she needs to renew her citizenship. Unfortunately, plane trips cost $$$$ and she don't have a lot of cash on hand at the moment...
I'm also dying to play Super Mario Galaxy 2, which isn't released until next month... (or three weeks, but who's counting?) And I'm currently playing WarioWare: DIY, which is all sorts of crazy fun - all those years of mucking around with Games Factory have paid off!
...I dreamed last night that I went up to the city with my friends, and hung about having fun in the big smoke. I think I'm about due for another Grand Day Out with my mates - who's with me?
And yes, I'm still alive.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Oh Dear
Dearie me... I think things are getting to me, because I just spent the past half hour trying to remember what my Google password was.
Don't get me wrong, I knew what it WAS, but I spelled it with a bunch of strange characters to make it harder to guess. Unfortunately, I haven't used it in a while, and I'm a little tired at the moment, so I kept getting the sequence wrong. And did you know that passwords are case sensitive too?
I think I'm going a little mad. Goodle woodle blop blip!
Don't get me wrong, I knew what it WAS, but I spelled it with a bunch of strange characters to make it harder to guess. Unfortunately, I haven't used it in a while, and I'm a little tired at the moment, so I kept getting the sequence wrong. And did you know that passwords are case sensitive too?
I think I'm going a little mad. Goodle woodle blop blip!
Monday, April 26, 2010
A Rare Sunday
...is one where I get the day work-free! Like today!
Seriously, though, I've been quite busy the past couple of months. Mostly related to worky-work, though I promised I wouldn't keep yammering about how busy I've been (I should be grateful I have a job in this economic environment, etc. etc.).
In between gigs, I've been slowly trying to re-establish contact with all my friends. I managed to sneak in another visit to my Warragul-based friend and her husband today, and I brought my sister along for the ride too - if that's technically the case when she's the one driving.
It's really good to get in touch with friends, and by that I mean actual social contact, not the plugged-in Internetty type, but the come-over-and-we'll-have-drinks-and-ANZAC-biscuits-and-talk-about-all-sorts-of-crap visit. Chat programs and Facebook do have their uses, but it's hardly as good as the real thing, is it?
I've also been working on-and-off on one of my old games that I sorta-got-finished. Will post more details when it's progressed enough to start generating interest. (though I wish I'd bothered to learn about all this Flash dealie, because people don't seem to like downloading and installing games any more... :/ )
...I hope everyone had a good ANZAC Day. Did you observe the minute of silence?
Seriously, though, I've been quite busy the past couple of months. Mostly related to worky-work, though I promised I wouldn't keep yammering about how busy I've been (I should be grateful I have a job in this economic environment, etc. etc.).
In between gigs, I've been slowly trying to re-establish contact with all my friends. I managed to sneak in another visit to my Warragul-based friend and her husband today, and I brought my sister along for the ride too - if that's technically the case when she's the one driving.
It's really good to get in touch with friends, and by that I mean actual social contact, not the plugged-in Internetty type, but the come-over-and-we'll-have-drinks-and-ANZAC-biscuits-and-talk-about-all-sorts-of-crap visit. Chat programs and Facebook do have their uses, but it's hardly as good as the real thing, is it?
I've also been working on-and-off on one of my old games that I sorta-got-finished. Will post more details when it's progressed enough to start generating interest. (though I wish I'd bothered to learn about all this Flash dealie, because people don't seem to like downloading and installing games any more... :/ )
...I hope everyone had a good ANZAC Day. Did you observe the minute of silence?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Sorry, You're Wrong!
I've been thinking about my job a lot lately.
Mostly because, though work is remarkably thin across the ground (thanks to the GFC, cheap overseas labour, competition in the field, etc.), I'm really not sure if I'm suited for the task.
I've always considered myself to be reasonably good at my job - retail work is hard, but it's not that hard, after all - but recent events have made me wonder if I'm actually suited to it. I've always been super nice to the customers, I don't steal cash or stock, I show up to all of my shifts... eventually... (blush)
My major concern here is where my loyalties lie. In the past, I've been inclined to give the customers the benefit of the doubt, but is that necessarily the best way to go about my job? The motto "The Customer is Always Right" may have held sway once upon a time, but there are some patrons who take that idea to an extreme, and assume that because you wear a polo shirt with your name on it, you become their serf, or at the very least someone of lower standing.
Should I really be giving people like this the advantage? I really ought to be giving my employers support, since they are the ones who hired me and are giving me paid employment! The fact that people are giving us money for a service doesn't mean we should be letting them get away with arrogance.
Yeah, okay. Not everyone I serve is nasty - in fact the vast majority of people I serve are civil if not kind- and I'm sure there are a few customers who could raise valid complains against me (hey, after five years I doubt anyone would have a perfect track record).
Anyway, I make this post to share another link I found: (The Customer Is) Not Always Right - which is a blog dedicated to the admittedly bizarre part of standing behind a counter... namely, the freaking weird folks you get every now and then. I could add a few interesting stories, like for instance:
I could use this post to complain about the busy two weeks I have coming up... but I won't because that's just petty and immature. (And no, that statement doesn't count as a complaint. IT DOESN'T.)
Mostly because, though work is remarkably thin across the ground (thanks to the GFC, cheap overseas labour, competition in the field, etc.), I'm really not sure if I'm suited for the task.
I've always considered myself to be reasonably good at my job - retail work is hard, but it's not that hard, after all - but recent events have made me wonder if I'm actually suited to it. I've always been super nice to the customers, I don't steal cash or stock, I show up to all of my shifts... eventually... (blush)
My major concern here is where my loyalties lie. In the past, I've been inclined to give the customers the benefit of the doubt, but is that necessarily the best way to go about my job? The motto "The Customer is Always Right" may have held sway once upon a time, but there are some patrons who take that idea to an extreme, and assume that because you wear a polo shirt with your name on it, you become their serf, or at the very least someone of lower standing.
Should I really be giving people like this the advantage? I really ought to be giving my employers support, since they are the ones who hired me and are giving me paid employment! The fact that people are giving us money for a service doesn't mean we should be letting them get away with arrogance.
Yeah, okay. Not everyone I serve is nasty - in fact the vast majority of people I serve are civil if not kind- and I'm sure there are a few customers who could raise valid complains against me (hey, after five years I doubt anyone would have a perfect track record).
Anyway, I make this post to share another link I found: (The Customer Is) Not Always Right - which is a blog dedicated to the admittedly bizarre part of standing behind a counter... namely, the freaking weird folks you get every now and then. I could add a few interesting stories, like for instance:
- the customer who refused to buy an ice cream because I'd have to touch it to do the sale (mind you, the ice cream was fully wrapped and otherwise untouched by human hands)
- the woman who called me up to make a complaint about an incident that had occurred at a totally unrelated shop
- the two stray dogs who came and hung around the petrol pumps, and sat underneath the customers' cars
- the regular customer who stopped coming because I didn't give him a piece of battered fish
- the person who moved their hired truck across the forecourt because they didn't know that Distillate and Diesel were the same fuel, and wound up running into another bowser
- the patron who asked us if we stocked a brand of catfood - while we were dealing with a fire on the forecourt (just don't ask...)
I could use this post to complain about the busy two weeks I have coming up... but I won't because that's just petty and immature. (And no, that statement doesn't count as a complaint. IT DOESN'T.)
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