Yesterday marked a famous day in human history, sort of a sequel hallmark to November 12.
Yesterday marked the day in which the streets are truly no longer safe, because I bought myself a shiny old car. A 98 Lancer GLi Coupe, with a mere 32000km on the odometer, quite the steal despite the ridicule I've copped so far for buying a Lancer.
Everything is being sorted out now, there's some paperwork to sign and I have to fork over practically all of my moneys, but the important thing is that I'll have me some wheels.
28 January, 2008
26 January, 2008
Bookkeepers Rejoice As Guitar Hero Wins
So the Triple J Hottest 100 is over with for the year.
Regina Spektor's Real Love came in at a paltry #29, which is disappointing and of course practically everything else I've voted for did poorly as well. I think the highest ranked song I voted for was Soko's I'll Kill Her at #9, everything else came somewhere between #21 and #72 or didn't rank at all in the case of Sonata Arctica (which is pretty expected).
Although that's nothing, considering the big news from the day.
Silverchair's Straight Lines came in #2 instead of winning, like everyone expected (matter of fact it was the strongly backed favourite to win, and if it did win I'm sure the bookkeepers would have had to pay out a fair bit of money) and was beaten by Muse's Knights of Cydonia, a song which had practically no radio play and isn't even the best song on the album (which is in fact a good album, go "buy" it. Now.).
So how did a song by a British band which didn't see much radio play and is practically unheard of in the mainstream audience manage to win the world's biggest music poll?
Why it's quite simple. They cheated.
You see, Knights of Cydonia is one of the tracks playable in Guitar Hero 3, one of the my favourites in fact, despite it being one of the more difficult songs. So, like many other songs from GH3, they've experienced even greater success after the release of the game, meaning they got paid money to make more money.
Regina Spektor's Real Love came in at a paltry #29, which is disappointing and of course practically everything else I've voted for did poorly as well. I think the highest ranked song I voted for was Soko's I'll Kill Her at #9, everything else came somewhere between #21 and #72 or didn't rank at all in the case of Sonata Arctica (which is pretty expected).
Although that's nothing, considering the big news from the day.
Silverchair's Straight Lines came in #2 instead of winning, like everyone expected (matter of fact it was the strongly backed favourite to win, and if it did win I'm sure the bookkeepers would have had to pay out a fair bit of money) and was beaten by Muse's Knights of Cydonia, a song which had practically no radio play and isn't even the best song on the album (which is in fact a good album, go "buy" it. Now.).
So how did a song by a British band which didn't see much radio play and is practically unheard of in the mainstream audience manage to win the world's biggest music poll?
Why it's quite simple. They cheated.
You see, Knights of Cydonia is one of the tracks playable in Guitar Hero 3, one of the my favourites in fact, despite it being one of the more difficult songs. So, like many other songs from GH3, they've experienced even greater success after the release of the game, meaning they got paid money to make more money.
Sudden Realisations Can Suck
Everyone surely knows what a "Eureka! moment" is. What most people don't realise is that a sudden great idea is not the only way things can happen, the reverse of the "Eureka" or as I like to think of it "Akerue" is when you have a sudden realisation about something and see that it's all just going wrong.
I had one about that little story I was putting together, as much as I thought it would be a good story and that it might have even been genuinely interesting, it was a love story at it's core and I wouldn't write something that I wouldn't want to read. Obviously, this means my little "Akerue" moment was that I had wasted all that time thinking of developing the story.
Sure, I'll keep the fun stuff from it, but the core of the story needs complete revision so for now I'm just going to go develop random characters so that I can work a story around the new characters as something that I want to write.
I had one about that little story I was putting together, as much as I thought it would be a good story and that it might have even been genuinely interesting, it was a love story at it's core and I wouldn't write something that I wouldn't want to read. Obviously, this means my little "Akerue" moment was that I had wasted all that time thinking of developing the story.
Sure, I'll keep the fun stuff from it, but the core of the story needs complete revision so for now I'm just going to go develop random characters so that I can work a story around the new characters as something that I want to write.
21 January, 2008
Simpsons Already Did It
So I was watching the Simpsons the other day and I came to a sad realisation. If you pick and mix a few key plot points from the various Simpsons episodes to have aired in the last god knows how many years. . . you get the story I was putting together.
I don't know if this is a bad thing, that I'm really stretching for excuses not to continue on with my little project or it just means that because the Simpsons has been on the air for so damn long you could string together various plot elements from the 410 or so episodes thus far and you've covered every story ever told.
Considering their penchant for parodying pop culture, it definitely means a lot of stories are covered, throw in the fact that occasionally they actually think of a good original plot and the fact that most stories can be boiled down to base elements which could be seen anywhere. . . it's probably safe to assume that stringing together plot elements seen in the Simpsons is pretty much akin to stringing together any random plot elements that come to mind is about the same.
Originality is dead, I blame Matt Groening.
I don't know if this is a bad thing, that I'm really stretching for excuses not to continue on with my little project or it just means that because the Simpsons has been on the air for so damn long you could string together various plot elements from the 410 or so episodes thus far and you've covered every story ever told.
Considering their penchant for parodying pop culture, it definitely means a lot of stories are covered, throw in the fact that occasionally they actually think of a good original plot and the fact that most stories can be boiled down to base elements which could be seen anywhere. . . it's probably safe to assume that stringing together plot elements seen in the Simpsons is pretty much akin to stringing together any random plot elements that come to mind is about the same.
Originality is dead, I blame Matt Groening.
20 January, 2008
So That's What A Car Is!
This weekend was spent looking at cars. I looked at a grand total of two cars, both shit, but on the plus side, I have a baseline for Civics and Lancers, they're good cars it seems, I just need to find one that isn't due to die.
You know what? I just can't be bothered going into detail on this one, cars are just too much effort for me, the sooner this is over the better off I'll be. Plus, I'll have a car.
And yes, I am deliberately making this post a lot shorter than the last one to balance out the tl;dr from last time.
You know what? I just can't be bothered going into detail on this one, cars are just too much effort for me, the sooner this is over the better off I'll be. Plus, I'll have a car.
And yes, I am deliberately making this post a lot shorter than the last one to balance out the tl;dr from last time.
16 January, 2008
Dear Diary
For those that don't keep track, for the last week or so I've been jotting notes down in a notebook I keep in my work bag whenever I'm bored or have nothing else to do. Which basically equates to when I'm on the bus. The little notebook I normally write in has already filled up, and the A4 book is just too awkward to write in on a bus so I bought a new handbook to jot down thoughts and observations. Obviously this is essentially a journal, but I prefer to call it my "mini notebook" in the case of the little book, "not-mini notebook" for the A4 one, and the new A5 one is "not mini but not 'not-mini' notebook".
Today, I'm feeling lazy, so I'm just going to write what I wrote on the bus home. With some comments tacked on. Italics for what I wrote, normal font for comments.
And so the experiment continues with the mini notebook effectively full (to the point I can't be bothered writing anymore in it) and the not-mini simply too large and inconvenient for my general usage.
Introductions are rare, but I had this blog entry in mind when I wrote this.
Thus, I have purchased this not-mini but not "not-mini" notebook to see if it holds up any better. Admittedly, with the huge spirals, I have low expectations for it's use, but there doesn't appear to be much paper in this thing, so I don't think this will last long enough to be an issue.
Note to self, buy non-shitty notebooks in the future.
Of course, the purchase of this notebook delayed me after work, meaning I missed both the 155 & 135 buses, leaving me to catch the infamously overcrowded 130. Which also has the side effect that I have to walk home from Mains Rd instead of ending up right next to my house.
It's not that bad aside from being terribly late.
Late buses are evil.
Anyhow, after filling up one notebook, I feel urged to comment on how effective this venture has been so far. All-in-all, I'd say it's pretty good; the brain juices are flowing, for some (probably unrelated) reason I'm more focused at work (for the better part anyhow) and it's almost like there is progress being made on that little novel I was concocting. Some might say "great success!" and I'd be obliged to smack them for quoting Borat.
BOOYAKASHA!
Self-observation and ironic quoting helps pass the time apparently.
Still need to look for a car though, need to get in contact with the owner of the '01 Lancer, what with me somewhat interested in making that vehicle mine, and mine alone.
Possessive be I, says you? Only for possessions!
At this point the guy next to me was playing his PSP and my iPod had run out of batteries, so I decided to resort to cheap, simple jokes to have something to write about. For some reason it really helps me if there is something on in the background, like music.
Looks like this book be slightly easier to write in too. Now I only have the bus and my handwriting to blame.
Took a few tries to work out what this one said. My handwriting sucks and ever tried writing on a moving bus? It's hard. Hard like a rock! Not to mention that the mini notebook was impossible to write on because I held it in the palm of my hand, which is a pain and a half, and then another half.
As a completely random observation, as many of the things in these notebooks are, putting pen to paper seems remarkably effective for making thoughts almost remotely good. . . er. Instead of drifting from one thought to another I focus on the one, revising it mentally as my pen races to catch up.
It does mean less of the interesting points are jotted down, but at least what makes it down is "refined".
It's true, but I have to admit, the random thought process I have it more fun. Hopefully as I get more used to writing, I'll be able to keep up with what I'm thinking and have my normal thoughts on paper instead of these highly revised editions, which are somewhat dull in comparison.
Buses are too much hassle, all this sitting and waiting, standing and waiting. . . very dull. Not to mention the long walk home afterwards.
Buses suck.
I've already walked from Queen St to work to Adelaide St to work to Adelaide St to Queen St to work to Post Office Square to Queen St. Oh, and there was the sprint to the bus this morning too. Far too much exercise for this little rabbit, especially in this hot, humid weather.
I can't be bothered to work out the exact distance, but Queen St to work is something like 750m. I'd say it's roughly 4.5km though. I'd like to note the "X to Y to Z" format was deliberate in order to make things seem worse than they were towards the end of it. Is there anything wrong in making text look like it's dragging on and on to convey the point of something dragging on and on? I think not.
It would be fun to just get myself in the mindset of a character and write away like this. Forcing different perspectives out of meself for fun and profit. Could even be a useful tool in getting ready to become an aspiring author. Which is, of course, the next step for me before the final stage of "dejected, talentless hack".
I make no assumptions that I have talent, but every once in a while I have an idea that I think might help my writing. In this case, writing things like this in a random character's perspective helps give the character depth and I personally believe that every action a fictional character takes has to be understandable, even if the explanation is given later. Basically, people shouldn't do things "just because" but because that's who they are and the readers understand that.
Come on bus, take me home. I has me some chocolate in my bag. Rich, dark, tasty chocolate. Go bus, go!
Buses really suck.
Dark chocolate does not.
I always seem to associate a familiar environment with a person, typically someone I know who lives near there or I've been there with many times. The top of Kessels Rd makes me think of Jane, Parkway St reminds me of Carlos, the bit near Mac High or Rob etc. Come to think of it, landmarks or areas I frequent solo/with multiple people don't get that association, so there is no thrilling conclusion to the observation.
Sometimes random observations and realisations I have lead nowhere, this is why a lot of my jokes fail miserably, because it all works the same. Although obviously in cases like this, they don't work in any way, shape or form. Of course, I'm just writing whatever I'm thinking at the time, so in the other notebooks there's quite a few bits like this.
With that pointless remark over with, I'm getting off the bus soon so I'm done with the writing.
Aside from this last bit whilst we're stuck at traffic lights.
Availability of places to spend moolah = empty pockets. Willpower is for chumps!
I always seem to be running out of money whenever I go places where I can spend money. . . I generally do. My willpower does not compare at all to my spending power.
And with that, we're done. Hope you've enjoyed this insight into me noggin and tune in next time where we return to regular programming.
Today, I'm feeling lazy, so I'm just going to write what I wrote on the bus home. With some comments tacked on. Italics for what I wrote, normal font for comments.
And so the experiment continues with the mini notebook effectively full (to the point I can't be bothered writing anymore in it) and the not-mini simply too large and inconvenient for my general usage.
Introductions are rare, but I had this blog entry in mind when I wrote this.
Thus, I have purchased this not-mini but not "not-mini" notebook to see if it holds up any better. Admittedly, with the huge spirals, I have low expectations for it's use, but there doesn't appear to be much paper in this thing, so I don't think this will last long enough to be an issue.
Note to self, buy non-shitty notebooks in the future.
Of course, the purchase of this notebook delayed me after work, meaning I missed both the 155 & 135 buses, leaving me to catch the infamously overcrowded 130. Which also has the side effect that I have to walk home from Mains Rd instead of ending up right next to my house.
It's not that bad aside from being terribly late.
Late buses are evil.
Anyhow, after filling up one notebook, I feel urged to comment on how effective this venture has been so far. All-in-all, I'd say it's pretty good; the brain juices are flowing, for some (probably unrelated) reason I'm more focused at work (for the better part anyhow) and it's almost like there is progress being made on that little novel I was concocting. Some might say "great success!" and I'd be obliged to smack them for quoting Borat.
BOOYAKASHA!
Self-observation and ironic quoting helps pass the time apparently.
Still need to look for a car though, need to get in contact with the owner of the '01 Lancer, what with me somewhat interested in making that vehicle mine, and mine alone.
Possessive be I, says you? Only for possessions!
At this point the guy next to me was playing his PSP and my iPod had run out of batteries, so I decided to resort to cheap, simple jokes to have something to write about. For some reason it really helps me if there is something on in the background, like music.
Looks like this book be slightly easier to write in too. Now I only have the bus and my handwriting to blame.
Took a few tries to work out what this one said. My handwriting sucks and ever tried writing on a moving bus? It's hard. Hard like a rock! Not to mention that the mini notebook was impossible to write on because I held it in the palm of my hand, which is a pain and a half, and then another half.
As a completely random observation, as many of the things in these notebooks are, putting pen to paper seems remarkably effective for making thoughts almost remotely good. . . er. Instead of drifting from one thought to another I focus on the one, revising it mentally as my pen races to catch up.
It does mean less of the interesting points are jotted down, but at least what makes it down is "refined".
It's true, but I have to admit, the random thought process I have it more fun. Hopefully as I get more used to writing, I'll be able to keep up with what I'm thinking and have my normal thoughts on paper instead of these highly revised editions, which are somewhat dull in comparison.
Buses are too much hassle, all this sitting and waiting, standing and waiting. . . very dull. Not to mention the long walk home afterwards.
Buses suck.
I've already walked from Queen St to work to Adelaide St to work to Adelaide St to Queen St to work to Post Office Square to Queen St. Oh, and there was the sprint to the bus this morning too. Far too much exercise for this little rabbit, especially in this hot, humid weather.
I can't be bothered to work out the exact distance, but Queen St to work is something like 750m. I'd say it's roughly 4.5km though. I'd like to note the "X to Y to Z" format was deliberate in order to make things seem worse than they were towards the end of it. Is there anything wrong in making text look like it's dragging on and on to convey the point of something dragging on and on? I think not.
It would be fun to just get myself in the mindset of a character and write away like this. Forcing different perspectives out of meself for fun and profit. Could even be a useful tool in getting ready to become an aspiring author. Which is, of course, the next step for me before the final stage of "dejected, talentless hack".
I make no assumptions that I have talent, but every once in a while I have an idea that I think might help my writing. In this case, writing things like this in a random character's perspective helps give the character depth and I personally believe that every action a fictional character takes has to be understandable, even if the explanation is given later. Basically, people shouldn't do things "just because" but because that's who they are and the readers understand that.
Come on bus, take me home. I has me some chocolate in my bag. Rich, dark, tasty chocolate. Go bus, go!
Buses really suck.
Dark chocolate does not.
I always seem to associate a familiar environment with a person, typically someone I know who lives near there or I've been there with many times. The top of Kessels Rd makes me think of Jane, Parkway St reminds me of Carlos, the bit near Mac High or Rob etc. Come to think of it, landmarks or areas I frequent solo/with multiple people don't get that association, so there is no thrilling conclusion to the observation.
Sometimes random observations and realisations I have lead nowhere, this is why a lot of my jokes fail miserably, because it all works the same. Although obviously in cases like this, they don't work in any way, shape or form. Of course, I'm just writing whatever I'm thinking at the time, so in the other notebooks there's quite a few bits like this.
With that pointless remark over with, I'm getting off the bus soon so I'm done with the writing.
Aside from this last bit whilst we're stuck at traffic lights.
Availability of places to spend moolah = empty pockets. Willpower is for chumps!
I always seem to be running out of money whenever I go places where I can spend money. . . I generally do. My willpower does not compare at all to my spending power.
And with that, we're done. Hope you've enjoyed this insight into me noggin and tune in next time where we return to regular programming.
14 January, 2008
Interstate Wanderings
A lot of things are happening rather quickly at work right now. Seems we're working on the whole expansion thing, so interstate offices are being opened.
More specifically, we're renting suites to use for meetings because the cost of serviced meeting rooms is getting expensive and having something more reliable may be the go.
This means that someone has to go down to Sydney next week to oversee the installation of signage and the delivery of furniture. That someone will be me, a person with no other use in the office but to sit around a vacant room telling guys to dump furniture in certain areas whilst tapping away on my laptop looking important.
Because I will be taking my laptop down with me to work on my little writing attempt. . . which is finally starting to take a real shape. Got meself a good idea of how the majority of the plot will work, decent character outlines and various other things that might be useful in writing a book.
Some of it has even been written down!
At this rate, I may attempt actually writing in the next week or so.
Whilst in Sydney, being paid to do nothing in particular.
More specifically, we're renting suites to use for meetings because the cost of serviced meeting rooms is getting expensive and having something more reliable may be the go.
This means that someone has to go down to Sydney next week to oversee the installation of signage and the delivery of furniture. That someone will be me, a person with no other use in the office but to sit around a vacant room telling guys to dump furniture in certain areas whilst tapping away on my laptop looking important.
Because I will be taking my laptop down with me to work on my little writing attempt. . . which is finally starting to take a real shape. Got meself a good idea of how the majority of the plot will work, decent character outlines and various other things that might be useful in writing a book.
Some of it has even been written down!
At this rate, I may attempt actually writing in the next week or so.
Whilst in Sydney, being paid to do nothing in particular.
12 January, 2008
Real Love
A short simple entry today.
The Triple J Hottest 100 voting opened recently and after reading a shitty little article in mX about the current betting on which song would win, I realised something had to be done.
You see, Silverchair - Straight Lines is the current favourite to win, and let's face it, it's going to take a lot of effort to knock that song off the top, despite the fact that it sucks. Silverchair has really fallen from their previous awesomeness with songs like Ana's Song, Anthem for the Year 2000 and of course, Freak, quite simply their new stuff is terrible, almost like an entirely new band.
Powderfinger will no doubt be successful this year as well, despite their latest album sucking.
I could go into detail about how since Daniel Johns no longer lines in a world of pain (dude has as pretty messy medical history) and Bernard Fanning is no longer a heroin addict, but that's I'm not an American politician, I won't make my candidate look good by slandering the others, especially seeing as they made their best material when they were at their lowest as human beings.
No, instead I wish to draw everyone's attention to Regina Spektor's magnificent cover of Real Love, which she has performed at numerous concerts and live on the "Like A Version" segment of Robbie Buck's program on Triple J.
It is by far the best song I've heard in recent memory, Real Love just grabs my attention and holds it, you believe the vulnerability, the fragility, the haunting emotion that Regina projects so perfectly . Quite simply, it's beautiful and no other song eligible for entry in the Hottest 100 comes close to it in terms of pure brilliance.
Now, far be it from me to infringe on your freedom to think for yourself, but Real Love is an outsider to do well in the Hottest 100 right now, you see the general formula for success is that it is highly played/requested on Triple J (which is is) and also receives equal amount of support on commercial radio. That's why Silverchair is the favourite, because they've pretty much saturated all radio stations with their latest album, and it's also why Powderfinger normally dominates, because it's basically unAustralian to dislike them. Regina Spektor, despite her ridiculous talent does not get any commercial radio play that I know of and from what I can tell is virtually unknown to the greater majority of Australians, to their obvious loss.
So back to not infringing on your freedom of thought.
Go to the Hottest 100 page, click on "Vote Now" and then create a shortlist of songs (it's all listed on the site in enough detail to sort it out). Make sure that Regina Spektor - Real Love is on your shortlist.
Select up to 10 songs from that shortlist, make sure Real Love is one of those songs and vote for them.
The rest of the process is pretty simple.
The Triple J Hottest 100 voting opened recently and after reading a shitty little article in mX about the current betting on which song would win, I realised something had to be done.
You see, Silverchair - Straight Lines is the current favourite to win, and let's face it, it's going to take a lot of effort to knock that song off the top, despite the fact that it sucks. Silverchair has really fallen from their previous awesomeness with songs like Ana's Song, Anthem for the Year 2000 and of course, Freak, quite simply their new stuff is terrible, almost like an entirely new band.
Powderfinger will no doubt be successful this year as well, despite their latest album sucking.
I could go into detail about how since Daniel Johns no longer lines in a world of pain (dude has as pretty messy medical history) and Bernard Fanning is no longer a heroin addict, but that's I'm not an American politician, I won't make my candidate look good by slandering the others, especially seeing as they made their best material when they were at their lowest as human beings.
No, instead I wish to draw everyone's attention to Regina Spektor's magnificent cover of Real Love, which she has performed at numerous concerts and live on the "Like A Version" segment of Robbie Buck's program on Triple J.
It is by far the best song I've heard in recent memory, Real Love just grabs my attention and holds it, you believe the vulnerability, the fragility, the haunting emotion that Regina projects so perfectly . Quite simply, it's beautiful and no other song eligible for entry in the Hottest 100 comes close to it in terms of pure brilliance.
Now, far be it from me to infringe on your freedom to think for yourself, but Real Love is an outsider to do well in the Hottest 100 right now, you see the general formula for success is that it is highly played/requested on Triple J (which is is) and also receives equal amount of support on commercial radio. That's why Silverchair is the favourite, because they've pretty much saturated all radio stations with their latest album, and it's also why Powderfinger normally dominates, because it's basically unAustralian to dislike them. Regina Spektor, despite her ridiculous talent does not get any commercial radio play that I know of and from what I can tell is virtually unknown to the greater majority of Australians, to their obvious loss.
So back to not infringing on your freedom of thought.
Go to the Hottest 100 page, click on "Vote Now" and then create a shortlist of songs (it's all listed on the site in enough detail to sort it out). Make sure that Regina Spektor - Real Love is on your shortlist.
Select up to 10 songs from that shortlist, make sure Real Love is one of those songs and vote for them.
The rest of the process is pretty simple.
09 January, 2008
Happy Happy Joy Joy
Apparently this blog is too pessimistic and full of complaints.
Somehow I should have seen that coming, but oddly enough, despite the fact that most of this blog contains somewhat negative views that's mainly because I find it a) funnier, b) easier and most importantly c) more interesting to write. Honestly, I'm not that negative in reality, it's just how I like to present things.
So because of this observation, today's entry will be all happy, sunshine and flowers and puppy dog tails and other things associated with youthful joy.
I have an extraordinary knack to buy discount fast food. It's probably related to my years of "service" in the industry, but it appears that somehow the majority of the time I'm buying fast food it's for less than the full price. Oh, and this is without vouchers, vouchers are for less lazy people.
The odd thing about this innate ability of mine to get crappy non-food for cheap is that I only really noticed it yesterday, after I worked out the reason I didn't pay full price on Monday for my Subway was not because of an error by the guy at the register but because he gave me 10% deliberately. A realisation that came after it happened again. Nearly managed to get a free upgrade to a meal at Hungry Jacks the same day as well when the manager misread the screen, if I wasn't honest I would have had proof that I don't need to be directly involved for this discounting to occur. . . but alas, I didn't want the guy who took my order to get in trouble (and I had a bus to catch so I didn't have time for more than a burger *insert shifty eyed emoticon here*).
Discounts like these tend to happen more often at places I've worked, Subways, Hungry Jacks and that kebab store in Sunnybank Plaza . . . although I've got myself discounts at various KFCs as well somehow (I think that most have a "centre employee" discount and they thought I worked at the shopping centre we were in). So I'm drawing a bit of a blank why this regularly happens. . .
Must be my startlingly bubbly personality I guess.
Somehow I should have seen that coming, but oddly enough, despite the fact that most of this blog contains somewhat negative views that's mainly because I find it a) funnier, b) easier and most importantly c) more interesting to write. Honestly, I'm not that negative in reality, it's just how I like to present things.
So because of this observation, today's entry will be all happy, sunshine and flowers and puppy dog tails and other things associated with youthful joy.
I have an extraordinary knack to buy discount fast food. It's probably related to my years of "service" in the industry, but it appears that somehow the majority of the time I'm buying fast food it's for less than the full price. Oh, and this is without vouchers, vouchers are for less lazy people.
The odd thing about this innate ability of mine to get crappy non-food for cheap is that I only really noticed it yesterday, after I worked out the reason I didn't pay full price on Monday for my Subway was not because of an error by the guy at the register but because he gave me 10% deliberately. A realisation that came after it happened again. Nearly managed to get a free upgrade to a meal at Hungry Jacks the same day as well when the manager misread the screen, if I wasn't honest I would have had proof that I don't need to be directly involved for this discounting to occur. . . but alas, I didn't want the guy who took my order to get in trouble (and I had a bus to catch so I didn't have time for more than a burger *insert shifty eyed emoticon here*).
Discounts like these tend to happen more often at places I've worked, Subways, Hungry Jacks and that kebab store in Sunnybank Plaza . . . although I've got myself discounts at various KFCs as well somehow (I think that most have a "centre employee" discount and they thought I worked at the shopping centre we were in). So I'm drawing a bit of a blank why this regularly happens. . .
Must be my startlingly bubbly personality I guess.
06 January, 2008
Rain, Rain, Go Away.
It's a little bit wet today. A lot bit wet, if you want to be precise but let's not bother with details, the important thing is that I woke up this early afternoon to some high humidity and a clingy dog who could apparently see this coming.
That's right, my dull-witted pet seemed to know the water was incoming and decided that was a good excuse to come say "hello" and get a little attention. It would have been better if he just closed the windows because there are now several extremely wet patches of carpet around the house, which is normally a sign of a house member with a weak bladder but in this case means a lot of rain got in very quickly.
Overall the best part of this little sun shower is that my sister's car was getting aired (don't ask me, I didn't decide to do it) so the windows were open. In the 30 seconds that I was outside stopping the liquid from penetrating her vehicle's interior my body was soaked to the bone. There really was quite a bit of water.
Torrential downpours do have a nice upside though, because most of this week has had similar weather the dams may actually have some water in them. . . I can shower for more than 43 seconds without worrying bout draining the last of the city's water supply. Now my showers can be an amazing 47 seconds in length!
That's right, my dull-witted pet seemed to know the water was incoming and decided that was a good excuse to come say "hello" and get a little attention. It would have been better if he just closed the windows because there are now several extremely wet patches of carpet around the house, which is normally a sign of a house member with a weak bladder but in this case means a lot of rain got in very quickly.
Overall the best part of this little sun shower is that my sister's car was getting aired (don't ask me, I didn't decide to do it) so the windows were open. In the 30 seconds that I was outside stopping the liquid from penetrating her vehicle's interior my body was soaked to the bone. There really was quite a bit of water.
Torrential downpours do have a nice upside though, because most of this week has had similar weather the dams may actually have some water in them. . . I can shower for more than 43 seconds without worrying bout draining the last of the city's water supply. Now my showers can be an amazing 47 seconds in length!
05 January, 2008
Well . . . fuck
I had something lined up, it was witty and not actually complaining for once.
But for some reason when I got to the writing, it just didn't come out. Maybe I'm only good at the negative stuff.
We'll see what happens later on when I try again.
But for some reason when I got to the writing, it just didn't come out. Maybe I'm only good at the negative stuff.
We'll see what happens later on when I try again.
02 January, 2008
From The Brink Of Boredom. . .
Comes another rant.
So it turns out that another number has ticked over in the planetary odometer and this means only one thing. People are making fleeting new year's resolutions in plans to improve their lives for no particular reason other than the fact that the year is no longer the same as it was.
Nothing else has actually changed for them, but still, people will decide to lose 30 pounds, take their religion more seriously, read more books, work out more often, stop eating babies, stop smoking and all other sorts of crazy things that they'll only really work on for a week or two before forgetting they even planned to do it in the first place.
The way I see it is, planning on self-improvement is incredibly hard to make stick at the best of times, you need a good solid reason to do it because people are instinctively lazy. I know I am. I wouldn't work to lose weight unless I knew I was about to get a heart attack, but then again, if I worked to lose weight right now I'd be diagnosed with some sort of eating disorder. There have been plenty of times where I've decided, for no good reason, to learn a new skill. The random books about learning Mandarin, including CDs and flash cards, are testament to that failed endeavour. It didn't work because I had no motivation to actually learn and that's why most new year's resolutions will also fail.
Probably a big factor in the failure rate is that people simply forget the resolutions a little while after they've made them. Which also helps explain why people persist in making new resolutions every 365.25 days, they forgot had badly it failed last time. So if only people kept a record of their resolutions, then they would stop making them after realising that for the last umpteen years they've tried to kick some habit or make some minor improvement to themselves and completely failed to do so.
Howells, I guess I'll just be resolute in my decision to only take on tasks of self-improvement based on needs and boredom, not the old galactic odometer. Sure the ones made from boredom are never successful, but they help kill the time.
So it turns out that another number has ticked over in the planetary odometer and this means only one thing. People are making fleeting new year's resolutions in plans to improve their lives for no particular reason other than the fact that the year is no longer the same as it was.
Nothing else has actually changed for them, but still, people will decide to lose 30 pounds, take their religion more seriously, read more books, work out more often, stop eating babies, stop smoking and all other sorts of crazy things that they'll only really work on for a week or two before forgetting they even planned to do it in the first place.
The way I see it is, planning on self-improvement is incredibly hard to make stick at the best of times, you need a good solid reason to do it because people are instinctively lazy. I know I am. I wouldn't work to lose weight unless I knew I was about to get a heart attack, but then again, if I worked to lose weight right now I'd be diagnosed with some sort of eating disorder. There have been plenty of times where I've decided, for no good reason, to learn a new skill. The random books about learning Mandarin, including CDs and flash cards, are testament to that failed endeavour. It didn't work because I had no motivation to actually learn and that's why most new year's resolutions will also fail.
Probably a big factor in the failure rate is that people simply forget the resolutions a little while after they've made them. Which also helps explain why people persist in making new resolutions every 365.25 days, they forgot had badly it failed last time. So if only people kept a record of their resolutions, then they would stop making them after realising that for the last umpteen years they've tried to kick some habit or make some minor improvement to themselves and completely failed to do so.
Howells, I guess I'll just be resolute in my decision to only take on tasks of self-improvement based on needs and boredom, not the old galactic odometer. Sure the ones made from boredom are never successful, but they help kill the time.
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