...the Wise, the Witty, and the Waste of your time...

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

PS

I will post pictures and a few details on our SO MUCH FUN trip to Australia soon!

Work Shmerk

I know what you're thinking, THREE blogs in TWO weeks! WHAT has HAPPENED!?

Yes... thats a good question. I'll tell you. I'll just get cozy between my new friend, Kleenix and my old friend, Chocolate and tell you.

It would seem that my job is finally over. And, in keeping with the spirit of things, it was pretty much ended as badly as possible. I was simply called and told not to show up for the first half of my shift the next day. So I didn't. When I got there for the second half I was greeted with a "revised schedule" for the week (yes thats right, the current week, not the coming week!) and all my shifts have been abruptly canceled except cooking and cleaning (seriously!) and there was a letter saying that as of April 1st I would be considered "on call" status.

So there ya go. I wasn't technically fired, and technically I was given a month's notice of my change in status but it was so much formal bull...stuff. Because realistically "you're off our schedule" means "go find a new job" and realistically giving me a grand total of 8 hours a week starting yesterday makes my month's notice kind of a slap in the face.

And, to add insult to injury, they couldn't even do any of this face to face. I found these notes in my box with no explanation and there wasn't any management around to elaborate. I did corner the office manager later in the day and ask what was going on and the story is that it's all based on availability and because I placed limitation on mine, I was no longer needed. Its funny, I thought hiring someone as "part timer" meant that they worked "part of the time." Are you allowed to can someone because you as the boss decided you've changed your mind? Probably not, which is why I got the "you'll be on call" garbage.

Of course I'm asking myself, was I doing a rotten job? Maybe I was, I don't know, certainly not intentionally. Either way it's over. I'm officially handing in my notice (in person, that'll really rock their boat! They'll have to look me in the eye!) next week on a day when I'm pretty sure the boss will be present. (I haven't personally seen him since Christmas) It feels abominably coward-like to just stick it in his letter box.

You know, I'm feeling lots of things right now but the main thing I'm feeling is RELIEF!! The Kleenix and Chocolate picture thankfully, is inaccurate; only added for dramatic effect. I'm incredibly sad that I never got to see my clients one last time and tell them goodbye, but other than that, I'm just glad its over. I've been dreading this for months and now that its finally happened, its just done! Its like dreading getting your teeth pulled. Having it done isn't great but its SO much nicer to have it BEHIND you than IN FRONT of you! I feel like I've been packing around Mr. McWhatshisname on my shoulders for months and yesterday.....yesterday he fell off! Adios!

I will admit I AM a tiny bit irritated at the fact that just last Sunday I'd accepted a new job (which actually doesn't start until September, but still!) and due to his insanely good timing, I don't get the satisfaction of properly quitting! But that's probably for the best.

So anyway...yeah.. I've had plenty of time to think about this...and actually that (time) has been quite nice. My kitchen floor is finally mopped after needing it for many weeks and my laundry is clean and it's mild enough to take a run outside and I have time to do all of these things...as well as blog...and do homework!

Plus it's spring here...spring is a great time for new beginnings. Things could be worse. I could still work there.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Ginger Cookies!

THE best kind of cookies to have with milk! I could eat 4 or 5 right now!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Money from God

As soon as our feet touched Australian soil (or rather, Australian tile in the airport) Justin developed an intense desire for real Turkish kebabs. Not shish-kebabs, kebab kebabs. Also called döner kebabs or kebaps. Real Turkish, spit roasted, yogurt sauced, pide-y (Turkish bread) goodness! The Turkish version of a Greek pita or gyro or a Mexican taco. Mmmmm....kebabs....

Pardon me while my eyes glaze over and drool begins to pool. You see, I've just had all my wisdom teeth pried from my head and eating in the past 24 hours has consisted of things I can mash onto the roof of my mouth with my tongue and swallow partially whole so I find myself particularly stimulated by images of tasty, meaty morsels tonight!

Yes so...Justin really wanted kebabs is what I was saying. Shortly into our vacation we set out to find some proper kebabs and found a cute little establishment tucked quietly into a small space on a busy street. I'm sure our lobsteresque skin revealed our tourist status even before we opened our mouths (Justin thought he'd be "cute" and call me Sebastian, I wasn't the least bit amused!) but the man behind the counter was happy to oblige us with some dinner! I hardly understood a word he said but it didn't seem to matter and in no time flat he'd whipped us up some fairly hefty kebabs. Half would have filled me but I wouldn't stop until my eyes were bulging.

As we sat and munched, a few people straggled in and out but being in the presence of fantastic company with a mouthful of scrumptulescent food, we really paid no attention. That is, until Steph suddenly snapped to attention and announced, "Hey, thats money on the ground!!" And sure enough it was. Money. On the ground. Just lying there. No people, no owners, not even our happy cook. Just money. It was only $5 but hey...it was $5!

It's funny how being in this situation we all immediately acted a little guilty, a little shifty. Should we? Should we not? How long had it been there? Who had dropped it? Was it bad to pick it up? Should we give it to the Kebab man? Find a homeless person?

In the end I picked it up. Obviously the one with the bluntest conscience, I reasoned that it was silly to just let it sit there. We hadn't the slightest clue who it originally belonged to. We weren't stealing. I didn't sneak over to it, I marched. I decided to view it as money from heaven, and as all money from heaven should be spent, it was designated our icecream fund! So off to Woolworth's we went.

However, God did get the last laugh! We couldn't believe our blessed luck of the evening when we discovered that the very largest tub (5L) of icecream was in fact, on sale for a mere $3.98!! Bug eyed, we snatched it up with our greedy little paws and drooled all the way to the counter, even snagging a $1 chocolate bar on the way, because free money should be fully spent! Imagine our reactions when our poor cashier announced our total to be $10.90! "What? Why? Um that sign said it was $3.98! Are you sure?" She had no sympathy on us (and no idea she was ruining our free icecream from God) so we paid for our tub of sugar and cream.

What would you have done?

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

...of bags and eels...

Of course I would post my lofty goals of blogging regularly...right before we go on vacation. Good timing.

However, enough on that, no time to feel truly guilty because I'm in AUSTRALIA!! At long last, we are actually here!! The trip was good, loooong...but then, we expected that. What we DIDN'T expect was that we would arrive and our luggage would not. And that the next day, it still wouldn't arrive. And the following day?...still nothing. Are we on vacation wearing and rewearing the same clothes? Yes, yes we are. Thank goodness we both knew we were leaving one temperature and entering a vastly different - warmer - temperature so both of us had stuck one change of summer clothes into our carry-ons! And, as a complete last minute after thought, I'd even thrown a handful of underwear into my bag!

Apparently the last two flights from Hawaii have left ALL their luggage behind because of cyclones or something insignificant like that so at this moment there are hundreds of bags sitting at the airport in mass confusion and lots and lots of smelly vacationers! It could in fact be a lot worse but it is pretty sad that Justin came dying to surf and his surf board is somewhere between Hawaii and Australia in who knows who's hands and in who knows what kind of condition. It did not ease his mind when, as we were standing in line with many others to report missing bags, we saw amidst the mess of hundreds of lost bags, someone else's surf board under stacks of luggage, its tip at a sickening angle to the body of the board. Ouch! One good thing is that my schoolbooks are indeed lost in the luggage and so, oopsies, I can't study right now! Too bad.

Anyway, aside from that we are absolutely delighted with the opportunity to be here, HERE, right NOW!! We both bought some beach attire, Justin borrowed a surf board, our friends are here, the beach is here....really, what else do we need!?

After shopping for the necessary items yesterday we spent several hours on a beautiful beach. Brad and Justin surfed their hearts out and Steph and I....well....we rescued a fish. Sort of. Meaning it was sort of a fish and sort of not. And we sort of rescued it and sort of...not.

So we were laying on the beach and suddenly realized there was a huge ugly fish, at least a meter long, splashing and flopping in an extremely shallow stream. After observing it and talking to it (swim fish, no no...go to your right...you're going the wrong way!) for about 30 minutes we realized it was dying right in front of us because the stream was redirecting and leaving it almost entirely exposed to the hot sun and only its head was under water. In fact, there was already a very dead fish only feet away, testament to what this one's end would be!

Being very tender hearted we couldn't bear to think of it just dying right in front of us, ugly or not, so we found 2 sticks and for the next 20-30 minutes worked like crazy women. Steph dug out little trenches trying to redirect the stream and I started shoving the slimy thing toward the ocean, both of us shrieking every time it moved or I accidentally touched it. So there we are, in our bikinis, screaming, shoving, digging, and hollering like PE coaches, "Swim fish, swim!! Come on, you can DO IT!"

Finally, in a moment of intoxicating triumph, we got it close enough that an incoming wave submerged it completely and we watched our flagging fish come to life and swim out into the welcoming ocean! We were ecstatic! We had heroically, faced our fear of a huge slimy fish and singlehandedly saved its life!!

When Brad and Justin came in for a break we regaled them with every exciting detail, pointing out the dead fish and how we saved its brother! Both of them immediately said, "Um...yeah thats an eel!" Siiiiiiiick! We saved an EEL! It had crossed our mind because it was really quite ugly and long but....siiiick.

And thats not all. They then informed us that it was in fact, a FRESH water eel.......

Well, we tried. And we feel we are better people for it!