Calling all civic minded people...

I've had enough of the rising fuel prices. Truly, it's become a real issue and as I am out on the road in my car or on my scooter, I notice it - there are just less cars out there. People are avoiding their cars. So, I have taken onboard someone else's idea.

Boycott fuel stations on September 22.

It's that simple. I was watching TV tonight and one current affair show, which I won't name, because I don't want unwanted attention basically publicised it. They said that the fuel companies would lose about $4billion on that day. That's a lot of money folks.

So, that's what I am doing that day. And you know, it doesn't take much to boycott them. Buy your fuel the day before, or the day after, but send them a message that says we're united and we are pissed.



Now resuming normal programming...

Pretty in Pink

Pretty in Pink,
originally uploaded by Sams76.

This is what I got up to today :)

I am hit and miss with my photography right now.

Today was a definite hit.
Let me know what you think, any comments and criticisms would be appreciated :)

Frank and incensed...

I swear, what is it with the world? How many times have I logged onto a blog I've read regularly, only to see they have quit their blogging world because their real worlds have become too difficult, or something like that. I'm incensed, honestly. I know I have no right to judge and I'm trying not to, but blogging for me is exactly the opposite. You see, I started blogging about 5 years ago to relieve myself of all the crap and stress I was going through. It was an outlet, a place to air my thoughts and just be me. It was about me free-thinking, verbalising the things that I didn't know I was thinking. I never considered for a minute in the early days that anyone was reading my diary. It was for me, I was anonymous and I could be myself.

So, why are people dropping like flies, letting their real worlds get in the way of their diaries - let's face it, this is what places like blogger are for - they are diaries. I just dont get it. I don't think I've ever considered letting my real world dictate my diary. I do rememebr about 18 months, maybe longer than that, some girl who I had never met, decided to ridicule me and accuse me of disparaging people, writing about others who she figured didn't want to be the subject of my diary - becdause you see, she knew these people - not!! What got her hackles up was that I had written some comments about a town I had previously lived in. I didn't beleive, and don't believe now that I had written anything negative about these places. It was my opinion of the place. However, she decided it warranted an attack email.

Anyway, my point is, I told her to bugger off. I said my piece and then I ignored her emails - rather, I blocked them. She'd had her say and that was it. I had given her her five minutes and my opinion was of it was that if she wanted to pursue it, she could open up her own diary and express her comments.

Ok, I've said my piece. So, people don't stop blogging, because the only people you are hurting are yourselves and you are giving in to those who wanted you to stop, or didn't like what they read.

As for my weekend, we began house hunting. Rather, we looked at suburbs to see which ones we could afford. It was kinda fun.

5 Questions for Sam...

Peep's Sheep has offered me the following challenge - answer five questions and then offer up the same courtesy to my blog readers. So here goes!

1. You can only have one for the rest of eternity. Sugar or Caffeine?

That's such an unfair question! You know my weakness!! ARGH! Caffeine, in the form of Coca Cola is my life raft! I don't drink coffee, so if I want a pick me up, that's it. ARGH!@ But sugar, like chocolate is my friend! I guess I would have to say Caffeine, though I am concerned that some chocolate has caffeine in it and also sugar, so what happens then?? No wait, maybe I should have chocolate, because there are other fizzy drinks I could drink!! Hrm! See, it's a dilemma!

2. Your mum needs you. Would you move back home? It might be for a long time.

I have often thought about this. My answer is probably going to shock, but simply put, I wouldnt move home. My mother would agree with this, but I would bring her to my home and take care of her there. It would be more comfortable for all and we would be better equipped to take care of her. Besides, my mother's strict instructions are to leave her at home, don't put her in "that bloody Fair*view nursing home!" and bury her in a potato sack! *laugh*

3. Kay contacts you. What say you?

Hrm. Kay contacts me. The real question is, why would Kay contact me?! If she contacted me, and she hadn't changed, she would probably be delusional about who I was, and what her expectations were. Basically, I probably would listen to her and wait for that moment when I knew for certain that there was definitely a reason why we don't speak. You see, she wouldn't have changed and I have changed and we would not get along. So, like everyone, she gets the benefit of doubt, I'll listen to what she has to say and then I'd probably thank her for getting in touch with me and we would part ways.

But let's face it, she won't contact me, because people like her and people like me don't mix. Yeh?

4. Surgery to change your most troublesome physical aspect (not your eyes, but some other part of you that you may wish to change or fix) becomes an option, but someone you don't know and will never know has to die. Do you go ahead?

If it's only a troublesome physical aspect and it wasn't debilitating or constituted a disability, I wouldn't have the surgery. Say my eyes, I've lived with short sightedness since I was 6 - that's 23 years ago. I have lived with it, I can continue to live with it, so I wouldn't take someone else's eyes!

5. You are at a party with Bert Newton. You've been told not to mention his head to ANYONE, not even the wait staff. Can you control yourself?

Yep, I can do that. Easy question. Old Bert Newton is a legend. I've seen worse faces and heads, so it shouldn't be an issue! I might linger for a longer view, as he is known as 'old Moon face', but I probably wouldn't be game to say anything, because why would I? That's kinda rude, dontcha think??



Ok everyone. Maybe my answers are a bit boring, oh well!! If you want me to make up a batch for you, please let me know by commenting. The rules are fairly simple. You must answer all questions truthfully, publish them on your blog and do as I have done - invite others to join in.

It's easy and thought provoking and I sound like a tv voice over!!!

Time for some more breakfast and then time for work!!

Anti social behaviour...

I have always prided myself on being someone who could communicate. In fact, I was always told that I had an above average ability to articulate myself clearly, in any forum and in any format. In other words, I was versatile in my communicative abilities. So, imagine my complete and utter annoyance when I realised today, that I am phone-phobic.

Yep. I've become far too reliant on email and online communication and to be perfectly honest, I'm not comfortable with talking on the phone anymore. I have friends whom live close to me, and obviously others who don't, but I don't talk to them via phone. In fact, I've realised just how much I have avoided it, to the point where I will communicate via sms to arrange to meet up etc. I'm pathetic.

Even at work, I would much rather discuss an issue via email, than on the phone or in person. Though even then, I would prefer the phone than the in=person discussion. So, that's a bit of a contradiction, isn't it?

So, am I just a product of our day and age? Have we all become too reliant on technology, that we are losing our perception of how to communicate? It's just unsociable. I mean, personally I believe that the internet and email, sms etc have really paved the way in communication. But the critical element of this is: If It's Used Properly!

So, I have developed a blog, I communicate and articulate my thoughts through my blog. I share my thoughts and feelings, I observe my surroundings and make comment. I share every element of my life to a world I don't know. That's pretty brave communication. People put their photos online, some are more risque than others, you can research just about anything. It's an infinite.

Anyway, that's my thoughts. I am a self diagnosed regressed communicator. I have undone what is probably a pretty sought-after talent - the ability to be comfortable in all forums of communication. Must work on being able to talk on the phone. Must avoid SMS communication.

Too much spending, not enough money...

That's the story of my life. However, it's not going to stop me and it didn't today!

You see, today was meant to be about going to Snowgum and getting Glen's free pair of shoes. Now, this is a story in itself, which I shall now tell as comically and as interesting as I can. Glen likes to wear hiking boots. He likes his hiking boots. In fact, he basically only owns one pair of shoes - his hiking boots. Therefore, it is safe to assume that he lives in them. They smell. They smell baaaad! He's had them for 2 1/2 years! He bought them from Snowgum. So, when the soles started to come apart etc, he decided it was time to purchase a new pair. These suckers aren't cheap. Some can be as expensive as $400!!! So, I guess purchasing a new pair of shoes every 2.5 years, isn't so bad, right?

So, he marches into the store and tries on new shoes. In the meantime, of course, he has to take off his smelly, mouldy shoes to get the others on. The shop assistant notices and asks him where he got them from. They story occurs and they say, "Oh, well we can send them back to the warehouse and see if they might give you a new pair." Glen says yeh sure, but purchases another completely different pair - as his old pair will be vanishing and he will be a hobo with no shoes until then.

On Thursday, he gets a call. His NEW pair of shoes are in - they will be replacing the new ones, they say to him on the phone! We picked them up today, so now, for the first time in Glen's life, he actually owns more than one pair of shoes!! So, I suspect it'll just take twice as long for them to go green and mouldy and smelly! Hurrah!!! I have a friend who brought back her shoes today to the story - this is like the 5th pair which she's brought back. She's been doing this for a few years. You see, these shoes are meant to last, so when hers started letting in water, they told her to bring them back. So, she'll get another pair of new shoes.

Ladies and gentlemen, do you see where I am heading with this? Buy hiking boots - they will literally last you a lifetime, as new! ;)

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In other news, Snowgum was having a sale today, so I finally purchased a goretex rain jacket, which was originally $350, but was reduced to $199! B-A-R-G-A-I-N! Of course, it probably won't rain for another two years now!

We also made the mistake of going to DFO in Moorabbin and you know, we walked out with these kickarse drinking glasses, which were further reduced from their reduced price and then we bought a Jamie Oliver Tefal scanpan fry pan, which was reduced by half price.

Spent way too much money today folks.

Security...

It's fairly rare when you can pinpoint the exact moment in a new job, when you suddenly realise that, "Yes, you are going to like it here," and "Yes, you will make it past your 3 month probation, because your boss does value you and isn't kicking themselves for hiring you."

I had a moment today. And I knew it was the moment. I was so conscious of it, I could have revelled in it, to the oblivion of my colleagues and dangerously, to the oblivion of my manager, who was presently on the phone to me at the time.

Today, I was told what every employee should be told, but rarely isn't.

That I was adding value. That I was a valued employee. I have been officially recognised as someone who adds value to my team, who complements my manager's working style and who makes their job easier and much more easier than normal. You see, my manager, I don't think, has ever had subordinates to manage. I think she has managed the division on her own, with no one else to assist and no one else to rely on. I don't think she has had that support, that second pair of eyes to watch out.

Today was a bit of a 'moment' for me. The story goes a little like this. I was asked by K yesterday to compose an email to a number of senior management people, reminding them of their obligations on a project we're working on. Having been through this sort of thing before, I am all too familiar with the pitfalls of such projects and involvement, so I knew just how to word the email as to make it overtly clear of K's expectation of this group. The email was not backwards in coming forwards on their expected level of commitment and cooperation they must provide this project. The email spoke about the ramifications of their lack of commitment and how her terrier, ie ME, would be onto them so fast, they wouldn't know what hit them. I guess you could say, I went out on a bit of a limb, wording the email the way I did. There was no subtly to the email, it was shooting straight from the hip.

Well, she gushed. She gooed. She loved the emailed. She was so pleased to finally work with someone who understand the pressures of our jobs. Who seemed to be able to come out and communicate the basic intentions of our group. She went onto to say that she was so pleased to work with someone who complemented her working style and how she knew we would work so well together. In gibberish, this meant "I'm so going to keep you come the 3 month review and I can't believe I found someone so cool to work with!". Ok, it wasn't gibberish. It was a compliment. I was pleased to receive, because although I actually hadn't considered not being here after the 3 month review, it was rather settling to really feel like I was adding value and bringing some experience and skills to the group, which were not already there.

Then I realised something that now pisses me off.

Managers fail to remember what it was like, what it is like, to be reporting to a manager. They forget the insecurities and high expectations placed on them. They fail to acknowledge the lengths to which their staff go to, to ensure they look good and that the team operates smoothly. This made me mad, because once upon a time, they were reporting to managers and were making their managers look good.

Have I lost you yet? Good.

So, it's just nice to work with someone, who is really committed to her job and the organisation, but also understands the contributions of her team, and how her team makes her look good and gets her job done easier.

I think it was a moment of clarity for me today. The only reason why I think it was so blatantly obvious to me was because, in a nutshell, I've just come from reporting to the boss from hell, who was so self absorbed, I'm surprised she knew where her ass was. I used to work for someone who couldn't manage her emotions, let alone her staff and division. Who didn't understand the real work her staff actually performed, but insisted on making them work more. Who didn't offer that human element to her team, which was sorely lacking. All the while, HR was ever aware of this stupid scenario and allowed the 5th person - yes, 5th person to resign from under her leadership - yeh, mismanagement is a better word.

Anyway, I think I've kinda moved on. It sounds a bit sentimental, but it's not. But it's like that old saying, if you allow others to treat you like shit, then you will feel like shit.