Hello June!

It's winter and it's COLD. Supposed to possibly snow (again) tomorrow so we'll see how that goes! I finally went out and got some new layering basics from Dotti since they're having a sale and all!

That and most of my basics are getting a few holes in them due to over-wearing. Work clothes wear out so quickly!

(Am slightly distracted...Petespace is on Rove)

Right...Petespace is over.

This week has been INTENSE at work. We're full on into new system training/updates and changing just about everything. One more week and we are re-entering EVERYTHING into the new system. Fun times.

Highlight of the week (apart from Isaac coming home from the West Coast) was seeing STOMP at the James Hay on Tuesday night. Opening night even! It was incredible. No photos as they weren't allowed, but I cannot believe the sense of rhythm those people have! It was so much fun and they had us all clapping and stomping along by the encore. And they were hilarious!

Dom Post review here (I can't find the Press one!)

If you want to go - and you should - you can buy tickets here. Only 8 shows so get in quick!

ANNND tomorrow is another show day. We are going to Disney's Princess Wishes on Ice. Yes, childish I know - but oh what a way to relive my childhood!!!! I'm excited :)

High point

So...high point of today is the potato story running in the southern edition of the Mail. Check it out when it arrives in your mailbox, Christchurch!!!

Dramas with one of my "more difficult" clients today. I love working with travel advertisers!!!

Crappity crapski

Well there are a number of reasons why this Monday particularly sucks the big one.

1) It's freaking freezing!!!!! Seriously it's like winter out there. It's almost like we jumped from hot summer weather to the depths of winter.

2) From 3pm today I will basically be the only person from my team actually at work... *sigh*

3) The Killers cancelled their Chch show!!!! "Personal reasons" my ass!! That's a total cop-out! They've only postponed their Auckland show...what up with that????!! And what am I supposed to get Isaac for his birthday now??? Highly inconvenient!

Oh well...the only positive is that it's lunchtime. I have photos to post (for a change) and will do that tonight so no more bitching and moaning!

Counting down...

To a holiday at least!! Yay for short weeks. Boo for occupations that don't "sleep" so to speak. The newspaper must go on! (Apparently!)

At least I have real time off in the new year. Quite looking forward to it - firstly the getting away and secondly the finally managing to get fully settled into the house. We are slowly but surely getting there!

Anyway, most exciting thing for us recently has been the getting of the official wedding pictures. Some favorites:

Jen's hand is the other hand - I can tell by her engagement ring!

The Jo Po stand back and make sure everything blends...

Veil adjustment outside of the church...

Really cool via the parent's room shot!

Kiss! (Hehe)

Skinner posing for the camera...

Awww....

My favourite wee man :)

Okay...to be honest I have A LOT of favourites! So we shall call this one of two...

Ps...our photographer - Tony Stewart Photoshots (He is AWESOME)

Tired

Hmm...work is not busy but feels busy. What up with that???

We had our team lunch yesterday at Yellow Cross in Sol Square. Food was VERY good. Service was REALLY lacking. Seriously, the girl who was waiting on us had NO CLUE. She dropped some food off our Mediterranean platter and didn't bother to replace it! I would definately go back there...but only if she wasn't serving!

We also exchanged Secret Santa presents which was quite fun. I got a pair of pink baby booties. Haha...and NO, they are NOT for anything in particular. Still, it was funny. But no children, not for like 10 years or so. Hahaha.

So...married life two weeks in. (Well, two weeks and three days...) It's actually really nice. Just the waking up together and all that. Which is not to say that I don't like my own space but it is nice. And it's nice to be able to do nice things for each other - even if it's just packing lunches for work! Or ironing shirts! Or baking. (Mmm...baking!) We're both quite busy people but now it feels like we just have that little bit more time on our hands. It's nice.

I really, really loved our wedding day. It was just so relaxed and laid back. Timing-wise everything worked perfectly. I did have the few moments of "family annoyance" especially when the photographer was being held up! But I moved past that. It was just a really awesome day and a LOT of fun. I guess you don't often get to throw a big party just for yourself! It was really special.

Hopefully will start to sort out the photos this week. Tony has them all ready for us to look at and pick out the ones we want - which is good! I'm really looking forward to seeing them :)

Something that makes me feel better

So...we got an email around work on Thursday telling us that the two sponsored children that work sponsor were $180 in the red which is pretty sad considering that they are sponsored kids and two months behind on payment could basically mean life or death to them.

Normally we do meat raffles for them, but the person who usually organises them left the company like 4 months ago. (We obviously had some money saved up!) Anyway, the most awesome Kylie came up with the idea of a hamper raffle complete with home baking. So, she bought, a couple of us baked (mmm...brownies and mini scones...) and we basically had the worlds MOST AWESOME hamper. It was HUGE.

We had so much interest we had to add another two pages of numbers AND a second prize of a bottle of wine and mini digital photo frame.

We raised $300 for those kids!!! I was so, so stoked about that. Especially since we work in this industry that is all about commercialism and consumerism. It was nice to be able to do something for other people who really needed it.

I will post photos of the most awesome hamper when I get them of my computer at work.

Feel good moment for the week :)

Boo-urns

I totally wrote this awesome blog entry about how Baghdad Baby was awesome - and left it on my computer at work.

So all you fantabulous punters will have to make do with a not-so-awesome entry about how I have the house all to myself for another hour. Because then Jen comes to stay!

The boys are off partying it up in Wellington. So yes. "Allllll by myself!!!" I don't really mind. So far today I have done tae bo and cooked breakfast. Yes, these two things seem at odds with each other. But I remain confident that the amount I consumed is less than what I've burnt.

I'm considering lowering my carb intake. I was slightly concerned last night when I tried my wedding dress on again. I haven't really been watching what I eat because I haven't needed to. But I can't think of anything worse happening than suddenly not being able to fit into this very expensive dress! So yes, watching what I eat! I will stop bringing baked goods into work and instead opt for fruit and vegetables.

YUM.

I don't really mind too much. I think it's more a matter of being careful than being TOO hard core. So yes, diet galore! Only I'm not calling it a diet. I shall think of some other much more exciting name to give it!

Shame I am not muslim. I could be fasting for Ramadan next week. That would probably help! But it is also a fairly shallow reason to turn muslim. And also, not really into the muslim thing so much. So yeah.

We've had sunshine for the past two days - it gives me great hope that Spring is FINALLY on it's way! I'm so sick of rain and snow. Perhaps the ground will finally get a chance to thaw out. Perhaps I will finally get a chance to thaw out! I hate being cold!!

So yes, I find that I have little to do on the internet these days. I start most days with the intent of doing things. Like update the wedding gift register etc. But work has been hidiously busy. Like, I have not known busyness up until now. Oh the stress. I have gone from putting one daily paper out to putting out one daily, two weekly (one with three different editions) and one twice weekly paper out. And of course ALL the deadlines clash for these!

Disfunctional.

Thus work tends to be a madhouse for hours at a time and then I suddenly have nothing to do because it's lunchtime. And then I come back from lunch and it's a madhouse again. FUNNN.

I shall abruptly end here. :)

Zounds!

I decided that as a fun thing to do I would listen to my iPod with songs in alphabetical order. I started on Monday - and not at the very start of "A" for some reason - today I finally reached the first song of the "B"s.

O_O

And it's like 80-something of 1,800+ songs.

This experiment could take awhile!!!

Going to the theater tomorrow to see Baghdad, Baby! it should be good. I am quite looking forward to it as it will be a nice change from sitting around and doing nothing. Plus, the tickets cost NOTHING as I got them from work.

Working for the media has it's perks sometimes :)

But not when I have to stay at work half an hour late because there are too many things to do...and I have conviniently forgotten that it's Thursday...hmmm....

Oh well, tomorrow is Friday. Yay!

Glorious weekends

I just don't know where the week's go to. Wasn't it the beginning of July not THAT long ago? And now all of a sudden we are mid (verging on end of) July.

(Please note that when I say "verging on" it is because I work in the newspaper industry and hence am always three days ahead of myself anyway...I think this is why my weeks go so fast...but I have no empirical proof to back this up with...)

It is pouring with rain this morning. Was kinda nice to be able to lie in and know that I didn't need to be anywhere for AGES and listening to the rain on the roof. Cold out of bed but what the hey.

Last night:

Boys playing Cranium. Smid is like the Godfather.

We break the pantry door (no, really) and Smid has to fix it. Jen sprays us. Lol.

Charades...

We are such children sometimes!!! Ah well, at least we amuse ourselves. Retarded though we may be. I shall miss such nights.

I feel like I should have lots to do today, but am completely unmotivated to move from the couch to having a shower. Although I really need to...

Digression: I made an egg and mushroom muffin sandwich for breakfast...very tasty but resulted in egg getting EVERYWHERE. My clothes, my hair...argh!

Hence need for shower. I'm sure everyone wanted - no, NEEDED - to know that. Hah!

Am glad for a work free day. And even better than a work free day is a work free haircut achieving day. I have needed a hair cut for SO long and have been putting it off because of non-money-having-ness. (Hint: If you hyphenate everything it automatically becomes a word - coining and assimilation into the general lexicon be damned!) But the payrise has FINALLY kicked in and I am celebrating. Plus, if I get hairdresser for the wedding out of this I will be stoked.

Double whoop for no work though, everything is getting a little "politic" and catty. Tired of it. Some people just need to get over past issues and let bygones be bygones. Don't ruin what we have!!! Lol.

Right...shower time!

Whoop!

It's so nice to be appreciated!!! I feel like I've been busting my ass for AGES at work. Been getting semi-frustrated with the state of things. Not the team, more the new member of the team...SO not right for the role.

I know, I know, I'm judgemental. Working on it!!!

But there are some things I find really hard to tolerate. Laziness is one of them, and people who have spent most of their life depending on mummy and daddy to bail them out and pay their way hence they have never had to work a day in their lives.

Now of course this is biased because I know people who have done that who I love dearly. In some ways it's a cultural thing too...I really hate culture sometimes, maybe because I struggle with it. I feel so clearly one way - and one culture - and yet I have another one foisted on me.

ANYWAY...I digress. There's no way we can untangle the complicated web of how I feel in one sitting! Especially not about culture...

But yes, pay reviews today. And feel VERY appreciated. VERY.

Now if only I could collapse and sleep forever :)

Competence still enroute?

It's kind of like a "it's in the post" feeling, y'know?

I've been working at my job for close to five months now. Do I love it? Heck, yes! The people are great and we have so much fun - even when it's stressful. Do I have the faintest idea of what I'm doing? Well, every so often I think I do...and then it turns out that actually I don't really.

I closed a campaign that probably made the paper $30,000 this last week. Crazy eh! Course, I don't see the thousands of dollars...but it's a nice feeling nonetheless.

Funny how it's things like that that actually give me job satisfaction. Like, I did a good job, I am awesome and I love my job. Sometimes we're so newspaper cliche that it amuses me no end. Like the yelling and the swearing and the - for lack of a better word - "play fighting". When the big boss man comes barreling out of his office yelling it always strikes me as something that J. Jonah Jameson would do. Admittedly he's an editor and we're talking advertising. But still! It's almost as cool as working for the Bugle...

Time moves on

I can't believe Heath Ledger is dead!!! Not that I know him or anything. It just seems a little unexpected and random. Like something out of the twilight zone.

I hope he didn't commit suicide, that would be WAY too sad. Especially for his little girl. You wouldn't want to grow up with that hanging over you. I can't imagine how his family and friends will be feeling right now...

So sad...

But I guess life goes one huh. New work is good. People are REALLY friendly and they are letting me take it slow which is great. (Especially since I am jet lagged!) I get ONE HOUR for work, which is as new to me as...something that is really new and shiny. I haven't had one hour lunches since school! Plus I am in the Square, so there is lots to do. I can sit in the sunshine, meet people for lunch or check out the Buskers Festival.

Incredible! I could get used to this...

Nostalgia

Lately at work I find myself missing the vibe that NAMAHOH had.

We were ever the dream team. And we had a LOT of fun being the dream team. Better still, we were GOOD at what we did.

Which is more than I can say for A LOT of people who I currently work with. It's not a hard job, and yet people struggle. Worse still, the flail around. I'll get an eye taken out by one of the flailing arms if I'm not careful!

Work used to be mostly fun, a little tedious. Now that is reversed. My current TL is great, and if I'm not with the previous TL then I'd want to be with this TL...but the team...

NAMAHOH was wicked cool, we even had an awesome NAME.

Xtreme doesn't quite have the same ring to it. We sound like a bad WWF wrestler!

Over it :P

The stupidity of people at work never ceases to amaze me...

It's actually the most frustrating thing ABOUT work - that and the extremely stupid customers. I just can't believe some of the people we've hired in the last couple of inductions.

Don't get me wrong, MOST of them are all right. But SOME of them...I don't know why we pay them. I don't know how the heck they can take SO long to manage simple calls. It just doesn't make sense to me.

That and the stupid questions that turn up in team meetings.

It's just a waste of my time...

Ugh...people

I don't know why stupid people exist.

OR why the call us at work right at the end of the day, thus inundating us with their stupidness and making us want to shoot ourselves...

Seriously.

I had this woman ring who obviously couldn't understand what I was saying. She needed everything told to her 3 times and she STILL didn't get it. I was about to ask her to learn to, firstly, READ and secondly to ring back when she was going to be less stupid.

HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO ORDER A BROWN PAPER BAG AND ARRANGE A RETURN???

After all...if this kid can do THIS:

It's freezing

I've been awake approx an hour. The temperature (according to my handy firefox bar...) is 9 degrees. It was 7 when I woke up.

Brrrr!!!

It's the weekend and I really can't be bothered getting out of bed. Luckily for me I decide whether or not Saturday tennis is happening and I've decided...NOT.

(Yeah...I've seen Borat too often too recently...but it's so FUNNY.)

Err...anyway...I'm looking forward to the next week. Specifically, I'm looking forward to the fact that I'm only working Monday and Tuesday. That's right, next weekend, I get a 5 day weekend! Except that now that website work is picking up I'll probably be working anyway.

Spent most of yesterday working on a wedding photographer's website. It's fun because she has many pretty pictures. So there should be a new site there soon. And hopefully it means more work for me because she's looking for someone to do some retouching and stuff.

Things I CAN do.

And hopefully things that will help me leave work. I like my independence and the lack of the 9-5.30. Yes.

Well...I suppose I should get up and make cheesecake :)

NAMAHOH final fling

Yes, it's the end of an era...



Our team had our final "winners dinner" for the EVER. (Yeah, that made a LOT of senses...) on Friday night. The food was good, the company (excepting one...) was great and it was all rather bittersweet.

Maybe because I'm going to be stuck with a crappy team from now on!!!!

These are the stalker-like photos of Penny I took - also featuring Tim's beer. Haha. Anyway, it was basically a good night. Except that it started at 7.30 which is pretty damn late. As a result of that and entres and certain people trying for ages to find parks we didn't actually get to our main meals till 9ish.

LATEST DINNER EVER!!!

Penny and Jan-ninia trying to look like they're having fun...but Penny is failing miserably!!!! Oh nooo....!!!

She was in a really weird mood all night, who knows why!!!

The table minus Tim...

Oh wait...there he is!

Alchemy (at the Art Gallery) is nice. The atmosphere is pretty flash and it's all glass windows looking out to the street. Which is pretty nice at any time of day. The food was good but it was flipping expensive. If work hadn't been paying I probably wouldn't have gone. $10+ for just a bread and dip starter and light meals ranging from $15-$19. Mains were at least $30.

The table on the other side...the guy in white is our manager. He'd had too much to drink and was just talking and talking and TALKING. It was scary.

Perhaps the whinging about price is just the repressed student in me talking...or I just don't go out to nice places as much - or ever. Who knows. The drinks were good and the food was good. AND they do all day breakfasts. There aren't many nice places that do that! Janina and Michael took advantage of this fully :)

Michael trying to avoid Ron's questioning gaze.

Yeah, all the talking was BAD. Especially since it was either about his relationship issues or about work or about how he wanted to party it up later that night. (Which, incidentally, they did.) But it was his birthday and he wasn't with his wife and young son.

Tsk tsk.

Plus, I don't want to know that much about my boss. Who really does???

Janina doesn't!

So there. Ahh...so glad I'm not at work right now!!!

Sick...again!

Ugh. Am lying in bed having called in sick today. The sniffles that I've been nursing for the past few weeks have finally imploded into the full blown head hurting, sneezing, coughing, nose-blowing deal. Disgusting.

Especially since this week was supposed to be pretty cruisey and then I'd be away for the weekend and start part time hours next week. But no. Instead, I'm holed up in bed, curtains drawn and telling myself that yes, eventually I do need to get up and get a birthday card for the boy.

I hate cold meds. They make me feel horrible, leave a nasty taste in my mouth and make me sleepy.

The upshot is I love my bed. The best part of having a queen is that when you do decide to spend the majority of the day in bed the half you're NOT lounging around on can be used to store important things such as ones laptop, the book you're currently reading, remotes for the tv/dvd and your cellphone.

Not to mention Cecil the bear for moments when you need a cuddle.

I hate being sick.

I also hate my job. I want something new and more exciting out of life. Unfortunately I can't really find something that is quite what I want. OR I find things and I'm not really qualified to do them. Sucks to be me! (Tell me, WHY did I spend 3 years at university again??) I was really struck by this yesterday when - due to feeling like something the cat dragged in - I got Ben to give me work I could do in my own time and off the phones. It was great!!!

Speaking of cats:

This is Smokey. Smokey is gorgeous and playful and very fun to have around. Jeremy and I have been feeding him recently. And the other day when Isaac and I got home from work we found him in the house. (We have a cat door) Thus, we can conclude that Smokey has been making himself feel at home.

Not ALL the time though. We're pretty sure he has another home, where he sleeps, eats and allows himself to be patted and babied. He just comes over here because it's exciting and new and makes him feel like a big tough kitty.

He bit me the last time he was over. But only because he doesn't like his tummy being touched. Anyway, Smokey livens up the atmosphere around here somewhat. Tracy doesn't like him. She thinks he may have diseases and Janina's pretty ambivalent about him at best. But Jem and I like him and we let him wander through the house with impunity :)

Edit:
Taken the last time the girls came over. Brooklyn was quite insistent on taking pictures with everyone. Teehee. Yes, there's a bit of bra-age there. But only if you're looking. That top is WAYYY too low. But isn't Mania cute???

Oh the suspense...

We got this email at work yesterday...

***email sent on behalf of John Wafer***

Tomorrow at 2pm there will be an announcement concerning future operations of our contact centres at each of your locations. Please ensure that you are available to attend. Your Manager will notify you where to meet.

Regards

JOHN WAFER

From the CEO of the company no less. WE think it'll spell the end of the Auckland Contact Center. Not only that...but I just got another email from the careers section of the work website advertising for more CSR positions.

It must be terrible for the people in Auckland not knowing what's happening. Even better - this has been EXTREMELY poorly managed. It's all gonna go crazy this afternoon. It's simply not possible to have all the contact centers off queue at the same time. So half of our call center is taking ALL calls. That includes our normal call volume, online inquiries, school supplies, quality response...the list goes on.

It's just not possible.

What will happen next????

Ugh.

The results of the pay review at work were marred by one thing. The fact that they are shifting the teams around.

They've broken up the dream team!!! How is that even possible??? WHY would they do that?? What's even worse is that Penny, Tash and Janina all get to stay with Tim while I get shunted off into Amy's team. I don't want to be in Amy's team. I want to remain in the team that I'm in. I don't think Amy even likes me. Gah...

Di tells me that they were probably bickering over who would get me. I'm actually not entirely surprised it was Amy. If any team needed a boost that one did...maybe because they have chronically crap people in that team. (And Ben Wa who would be awesome if only he would try!) Tim tells me he's gutted. I am also gutted.

It mars my 6% pay rise. I don't want to move desks. Heck, I don't want to move teams. I like me team. Why should I have to sit through team meetings with a certain know-it-all CSR? I enjoyed my team meetings the way they were.

ARGH.

I'm venting. I know I'm venting. This is not going to happen till the 13th of March. There is still time to savor being the dream team. There is still time to savor the fact that we won (again!) in Feb. We have no competition. None. There is still one more work dinner left to go to. This is just stupid and I am not impressed.

Ugh. At least I'll be part time and then hopefully I won't care anymore.