I am so glad that the Easter break is over! I'm not at all religious, in fact the only Easter related thing that I do believe in is the consumption of chocolate (and the fact that chocolate is always on special after the Easter break - yipee!) Also, since when have I needed an excuse to eat chocolate anyway?
I started the week with a huge pile of Ebay parcels to post and no direct debit payments going through because of the Easter break. Basically, I go to the post office pretty much every day and you could imagine the backlog of parcels that I had after not being able to go to the post office for 4 days! I also had to wait longer for all the many direct debit payments that had been made to me between Thursday and Monday because they didnt go through until late Tuesday night. Why I have to wait so long when all
this is (allegedly) done electronically, I really don't know. GRRRR!
Sleeping has been slightly better this week. I'm still not sleeping like a normal person, but it hasn't been too bad. I couldn't sleep on Tuesday morning though, so at 645 am I decided to go for a walk. Three and a half hours later, I got into the city. Yay for me. Good excercise I guess hey?
I have been having some mad arguments this week with some store employees with obviously super low IQs. My favourite Australia Post employee (ie one that doesn't make mistakes) wasn't there the other day when I went to post a heap of letters/parcels.
So...anyways...against my better judgement, I went to someone else, knowing that there would be for certain a screw up at some point...there is always problems when I see someone else. Turns out that this person had charged me for parcels when things were so obviously
letters. This happened with FOUR of my letters, the price difference being approximately $2 for each "parcel".
As you can imagine, I was seriously unimpressed. All the while this was happening, this other customer had been asking her about PO Boxes and she was talking to him while she was putting the postage on each of my letters. Now, this is a really busy post office...the lines are always going right through the post office and out the door...I wait in line, I do believe everyone else should also do the same thing.
I spend hundreds of dollars every week on postage/packaging and I do not appreciate getting screwed around. I also do not appreciate people who push in and try to start a conversation with the employee who is trying to serve me...particularly when they're making mistakes and putting the incorrect postage amounts on a number of my parcels. So,
yeah. I went mental at him too. He was pretty scared so he backed right off.
Ahh. Remember the "worst ebay customer ever" story I wrote about here last month? I had held back on leaving them feedback because I would rather not leave it than write something really nasty...because, after all, they were super painful to deal with, but at least I recieved their payment.
Anyways...so I woke up the other day and found that this person had left me a "neutral" comment complaining (again) about postage. This is the same person who I had given three different postage rates and who ended up paying the most expensive (ie $22.50 Aussie dollars which is approximately $11 US) postage rate after all their complaining! I thought this was nasty and uncalled for, so I went and left her a "negative" comment. Really...some people do need to be slapped!
I ended up getting two abusive
emails from her about this, including one where she is under the misguided impression that because of her feedback comment that I might not be doing as well on Ebay as I would have been otherwise. I basically sent her a link to my "sold items" page (ie everything I've sold or tried to sell in the last 30 days) and told her that I had nothing to worry about PLUS to please stop harrassing me or I would report her to Ebay. Funnily enough, that stopped the abusive emails ;)
Oooh! I set up an Ebay shop earlier this week. It is not anywhere near finished yet, but nonetheless it is still looking mighty fine so far! I will be stocking up the shop even more this
Saturday the 6th of April as it is Ebay Australia Free listing day - YAY! I'm aiming to list approximately 100 items...but whether or not that is going to happen I really don't know.
Oh what a mess the world is :( Oh, where do I start? Every day, I hear stories about people being involved in conflicts involving guns and other weapons in Sydney. Glenn McEnallay, the policeman who was shot last week died on Wednesday. He was shot in the head and chest while seated behind the wheel of his pursuit car. I was absolutely disgusted when I heard about this - this guy was only one year older than me and was just doing his job. It is shocking that someone so young can be taken away so quickly and easily by people who have absolutely no
regard to the value of someones life.
I remember hearing a story on the news a couple of weeks ago where there were complaints about police going on excessive stress leave. I wonder why? Anyways, the four people involved in the shooting appeared in court yesterday - hopefully they won't be getting away with short sentences like most criminals seem to do. One was (oh surprise, surprise) also charged with possession of heroin.
Also, a large group of kids went berko with a machete and other weapons in Kingsgrove last week. One is in critical condition after being slashed with said machete. Nine kids in total were charged over the incident. These are KIDS. Surely they have other better things to do than beat the crap out of each other?
As for the bleeding heart protesters (or, as I prefer to refer to them - misguided fools or IDIOTS) who caused the mass escape of refugees
from the detention centre...and who later told the media that the escape was not premeditated. Yeh, sure...I really believe that. Watching the news footage of the protesters pushing down the boundary fence made me sick. Go and save the trees or something instead. Grr...hippies.
Um...yeah I'm not even going to go into what I think of the whole Palestinian thing other than saying, here again is another example of an unnecessary terrible waste of human life.
Ooher! I am soooo happy!!! I got away with not having my audition video played when Big
Brother started last night. They did show part of my entry though...I was the (idiot) who wrote the pages and pages of "please let me into the Big Brother house" that they flicked through. I think I need a life.
The twelve finalists are *allegedly* going to be revealed at 12pm today on the official Big Brother site...but...there are other sites on the internet who claim to know who they are already...mainly due to the cover of the latest NW magazine already being up on the net already (it's got the 12 housemates on it).
I actually recognised one of the finalists, Shannon - she's been doing infomercials on Good Morning Australia for ages. I always find it interesting to see how many of these "normal" people with "normal" lives have come from an acting background or who are hoping to get into an acting/entertainment related industry once they leave the house.
Personally,
I think that this site provides one with a more interactive experience. *smirk*
For anyone who is wondering what the menu bars at the top and bottom of this page are for...well...they are links to the other sections of my Epodcentral website. The links etc etc aren't all working at the moment...but...they are there because...well...I got all inspired last night and finally started to work on getting Epodcentral up and running again...long story...but...all of the site *should* be up by the end of next week...I hope.
This week, my Hugh website was nominated as a finalist for last weeks (week 7) TV Week fansite awards...I think I ended up being third but I have to wait until tomorrow to see the final tally. Hehe...speaking of Mr Hugh...did anyone else find it amusing when he had to read a story about bananas the other night...or was that just me? Anyone who has no idea what I'm talking about, please read the "challenge of the week" section of my Hugh site.
I trialed the material from the Hugh website at the Comedy Store on Tuesday night and I totally messed up. I didn't explain myself very well and everyone in the audience was pretty much silent and basically...I totally died. I just ended up saying "Oh, no ones laughing, I think I might go now"...hehe...I totally sucked! The MC, Jimbo said something along the lines of, "Don't worry, you have great tits", as I left the stage
so yes of course that made it all okay. *smirk*.
This was the first time I have really screwed up a standup thing I have done. It was only the 5th time I've done standup, so I guess it *had* to happen sometime. I haven't given up though and will be going to do standup a couple of times next week...hopefully...just no more useage of Hugh material until I get it right ;)
Hmm...other stuff I've been up to this week...I've been walking around aimlessly a lot. One day I walked from Central to Circular Quay and then all around the Opera House. I hadn't walked up the Opera House steps before, even though I've been in Sydney for like...four years or something like that. Another day, I went walkies again....this time across the Harbour Bridge and back...don't ask me why, I was just bored and uninspired I guess. Oh yes, and on Tuesday I
walked from Central Station to the Comedy Store and back.
On my Opera House expedition, I found out that Rich Hall is doing shows there from the 9th-21st of April - I *must* go. I don't know how, considering I have no cash...but yes, I am still hoping to go *crosses fingers*...not to mention Lano and Woodley who are also there at the moment. Grr. I need to rob a bank or something.
There have been more shootings in Sydney this weekend. One of them was under five minutes walk from where I used to live in Surry Hills. I still walk past this place a lot - I am
certainly glad I wasn't walking past there when this happened. A number of shots were fired, which seriously injured an 18 year old who later died in hospital. Oh...and remember the guys involved in the shooting of the policeman? It was revealed this week that they were actually on parole at the time they shot him. I have such faith in our legal system *smirk*
On a lighter note, check out this Big Brother auction - and how much $$$ people have bid so far. Winning this auction gives the winner the chance to place something of theirs in the Big Brother house (at the discreetion of the Big Brother producers that is). The majority of the money raised from this auction actually goes to charity...still it is weird to see how much people will bid on something like this!
Oh, how slack am I? No post since the 14th of April...sheesh...*kick*...basically...the explanation for this is that I had a *really* bad week last week. Pretty much everything that could go wrong did...and...it was all at once...and it was a bit too much for me to handle...but...of course I *did* handle it...not particularly well...but I only cried once, so I must have at least been doing something right. Put simply...it was not fun being Epod last week. I did get stuck into getting Epodcentral up and running again...so that was good, but it is still far from complete.
A company hired me as a trading assistant on Ebay...for those who don't
know what a trading assistant is, Ebay now has this service when *ahem* "experienced" sellers (like me) *cough* can put their names in a directory and then people can contact us asking to sell things on their behalf on Ebay.
So...anyways...I went to meet the person from this company and then we decided to put two products up for starters and see how they went. I suggested that I put them up with a start price of $1, with a reserve price just to get an indication of the interest in this particular product and how much people would bid. I usually don't use reserve prices on my auctions, but this case was different as I was very interested to see how they would go.
It cost me $11 out of my own pocket to list these 2 items, had I just listed them normally (ie with no reserve) it would have cost me about $2.50 in total for both of them. In the first couple of days, the bids got up to over
$50, so I was naturally very happy with this...until I decided to check the email addresses and user ids of the bidders - turns out that the person who I was selling the products for was bidding on their own products that I had listed for them!
This is called shill bidding, and is of course against Ebays rules, not to mention how mad I was with this person for doing this to me in the first place thinking that I wouldn't notice. I consider myself to be an honest person and like to let all my auctions run their natural course with no interference. When I first met this person they said that they had another seller on Ebay running auctions for them currently. Funnily enough, when I did some research and went and had a look at other auctions for this companies products, they had also bid on each of
them!
I emailed them saying that I had cancelled all their bids and asked if they were aware that what they were doing was against Ebays rules. I got an email back from them saying that it wasn't their user id...which I promptly replied to them "oh yes it is!", as when they first contacted me about selling things for them through the Ebay site, I got an email with that same user id on it. This person was treating me like a total idiot, so I promptly reported their activites to Ebay and pulled both of the auctions. This debacle was of course made even worse by a large spate of non paying/painful bidders...amongst other dramatics that happened last week...but yes, now all is well and I have definately learnt my lesson for next time!!!
Hmm...and as for the rest of my week...I missed both Rich Hall and Lano and Woodley shows at the Opera House due to lack of cash...I also got hassled by
my bank to pay them some money that I owed them which I didn't have....they pretty much forced me to go and get the dole...which I didn't really want to do...but well...yeah...that will keep them off my back at least. The chick who spoke to me couldn't understand why I went three months unemployed without claiming the dole. She obviously doesn't understand that people have principles.
See, I view the dole as something that people go on when they are looking for work (erm...so does Centrelink I do believe *cough*)...which I don't particularly want to do, hence why I hadn't applied for it. I want to concentrate on my Ebay auctions, website design, standup comedy and djing - which to me is work. Work that is actually satisfying for me and work that I don't have some stuck up pain in the...*cough* manager. Work that I only have myself to rely on.
I have worked for waaaaay
too many crap places and I have pretty much had enough. A lot of the work I have done has been customer service related and I am honestly sick of being nice to people that scream at me all day for no reason! All that being said though, this week I have been looking for work as I do believe that if they are paying me money, I should be doing the right thing and looking for work.
I went into one of the Job Network agency places today to do a heap of typing tests as I have decided now that I really want to do data entry - that way I don't have to be nice to anybody...except perhaps the people who I work with *smirk*. I did really well on all the tests...I typed 70 wpm in one of the tests ;) I rock! Soooo...hopefully there will be a data entry job coming up soon. I have to apply for 10 jobs a fortnight - another job I applied for today is basic as...just pamphlet delivering
at $50 per 1000. I figured I walk so much, I might as well be getting paid for it.
Haha...my mind was left totally frazzled after last week and I ended up misreading a couple of very important upcoming dates. First mistake was thinking that Groove Terminators new single was going to be released on the 20th...well...yes it is, but it's the 20th of May...grrr. At least I can listen to it at the Emi site until then. Next thing I messed up was thinking that Things of Stone and Wood were playing in Sydney this Friday, (which, by the way, I thought would clash with Paul Mc Dermotts show at the Metro)...but...that show is actually next month too...concentrate Epod...concentrate!!!! *kicks self*
I went to
the Comedy Store on Tuesday night this week for open mic but I was late so I missed out on getting up and doing standup. But it was still cool as though cause I got in for free...and...I finally got to meet Chel, which was cool as...mainly because I was so very happy to meet someone even shorter than me! I also admire her for being brave enough to get all those piercings...Mr Jimbo was MC again, and also said hellos to me...and after the show, he made me a balloon dog called Barney.
I got a bus home from the Comedy Store and I decided to stop at Oportos on the way home as I hadn't eaten anything other than chocolate and Coca Cola all day. I figured it *might* be a good idea to eat something (vaguely) nutritious. The conversation with the girl
behind the counter went a little bit like this :
Epod : Hi can I please have a 1/4 chicken and chips please? Oportos chick : We have run out of chicken. Epod : (confused look) : But you're a chicken shop? Oportos chick : We have burgers... Epod : And what is on those burgers? Oportos chick : Err...chicken? Epod : How big is that chicken strip roll up there in the picture? Oportos chick : It's as big as it is in the picture Epod : Really...the picture's pretty big... Oportos chick : (gestures with hands how big the burger is) Epod : Hmm...okay then...I will have a chicken burger with only chicken on it - nothing else, just chicken. Oportos chick : Do you want chili sauce on it? Epod : (evil look) : I would like a chicken burger, with only chicken on it - nothing else, just chicken - what does that tell you? Oportos chick : (takes my money and hands
me a reciept) : Come back and see me if there's any problems with your order. Epod : (confused) : Can you please ensure that there's no problems with my order so that I don't have to see you again.
I'm a nice person, really. How many people think they spat in my burger. Ha. Doesn't matter, the burger tasted great so I don't care!
Ahhaha...some cool stuff has happened with my Hugh website this week ;) Click here to read the interview I did with him! Also today...I got thinking about how to make my Hugh standup comedy thing...um...funny and understandable to others so that I wouldn't mess it up again like last time...ie people would laugh with me as opposed to sitting there in stunned and confused silence...and I gave up...but...I did have another thought - how cool would it be if Mr Hugh went and
did standup, talking from his perspective about this site...bahaha...He has a wicked sense of humour (check his interview answers if you don't believe me) and is also likely to be much better at public speaking then me ;)
My housemates had one of their most annoying and irritating aquaintences over on the weekend (again)...and as soon as I discovered that this person was here, I pretty much retreated to my room and only ventured outside when it was absolutely necessary (ie to get a Coca Cola refill or to grab more chocolate). This guy ended up being
here for almost 24 hours!!!
I have figured out that he seems to only drop in to a/ check his email or b/ to eat as much as possible, or c/ to pick up something he has accidently (on purpose) forgotten to take with him.
He doesn't seem to get the hint that I don't like him and don't wish to waste my time conversing with him. He is under the assumption that because I am friends with his friends that I should also be friends with him. I didn't like him from the moment I met him because I found him to be...well...like a leech...and just generally sleazy and creepy. I do believe he is hiding something and I also feel quite uneasy around him. To me he's like one of those people you might hear about on the news who "one day just snapped".
Anyhows...he had to pick something he'd left here the other night when my housemates weren't here, and because I didn't want anything to do with
him...aside from the fact that I was busy watching Big Brother at the time...I just let him in and went back to watching tv. Five to ten minutes later when I went outside to check if he had shut the door properly when he left, he was still here! I'm sorry, but I find that creepy - not to mention that he only picked up one of the things he left here "accidently".
He has been trying to get me to purchase something on the internet for him because he hasn't got a computer, and even though I have repeatedly told him that I wasn't interested in doing this for him (and reminded him that he could also do it himself by going to an internet cafe), he won't stop asking. He did it again the other night when my housemates left him here when they went out.
When I said I didn't want to help him, he cracked up saying that "I had problems
and no normal person would behave the way I do" and that "anyone else would be happy to help". Well, I said something along the lines of "if anyone else is happy to help", please harass them instead of me!
Locking myself in my room did have its advantages though, I had a big play around with Photohouse and made a very groovy hugh screensaver.
Last night, our household recruited a new housemate. My housemate's girlfriend's dog, Ruffles moved in. Ruffles and I unfortunately didn't hit it off. My housemate's girlfriend thinks it might have something to do with me making miscellaneous growling cainine and cat noises at poor Ruffles after he had snapped at me when I first said hello to him. I kinda retreated from making any further introductions to Ruffles last night, as I do need two full hands of fingers for the data entry work I have coming up later this month ;)
Ahhaha...the MOSH kiddies are in trouble again...at least it's not for stalking Mr Mc Dermott this time *chortle*. Maybe the MOSHers should go along to this. Actually, I might wander along there myself if I don't have any work on that day. It's a free seminar (which is part of Bondi Wave) on Friday, May 10th at the Bondi Pavillion about a number of aspects of the music industry. It sounds, very interesting, not to mention it's free! Read a list of the other Bondi Wave (not free) courses here.
Oooh! Remember a few posts back when I wrote about the person who was being very naughty and bidding on their own Ebay auctions, not to mention wasting my time and money? Well, thanks to me, they have been suspended from trading on Ebay. Not just one, but both of their user ids which I drew Ebays attention to ;)
Anyways, I spent last week applying for full time
jobs (which I didn't really want)...and going to agencies registering for temp work (which I really do want). I was less than impressed with most of the agencies which I went to. I got through it all though by daydreaming up a sequence of events (that wasn't going to happen), yet still made me smile stupidly a number of times on public transport and various other places anyway *smirk*.
Anyone who thinks I'm going to say what the daydreams were about, not a chance. Anyone who thinks they can second guess what I was thinking about, you will be happy to know that I was fully clothed during all said daydreams ;) Hmm...*cough* anyways...moving on...
I was singing Centrelinks praises to my housemates earlier this week, saying how wonderful it was that I could go in and print out copies of my resume and make phonecalls for free to prospective employers. Surprisingly, my
attitude changed soon enough. I had three job interviews to go to on Friday, and needed some more copies of my resume, so I went into Centrelink on the way to St Leonards, where my first interview was at 1015 am.
It was 845 am (Centrelink opens at 830am), so I was in a hurry as I didn't want to be late for my interview. I was also dressed in business (ie super nerd) attire, so it was fairly obvious that perhaps I might have a job interview to go to (not to mention that normal Centrelink attire for the majority of people is thongs and a singlet *smirk*)
The computers had a sign that clearly said "You must book at reception if you wish to use these computers". Well...with no Centrelink employee in sight, and considering that it wasn't exactly busy in there at the time and that I was in a huge hurry, I made an executive decision and used the computer without asking. (noting of
course that Centrelink doesn't get busy until at least after 12pm when everyone wakes up or finishes watching Bert, Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer).
Next thing, I am accosted by this mad Centerlink woman cracking up saying that I had to make a booking to use the computer. I looked around at all the people waiting (ie no one) *smirk*...and basically said to her...sorry, no one was around so I thought I would just use the computer as I was in a hurry because I have a job interview to go to at 1015 at St Leonards. She then said, "No one can use our computers until AFTER NINE".
Since when? There was certainly no signage saying this. Is it not in Centrelinks best interests to assist people in getting a job? I just finished my print outs and walked out yelling abuse at her and saying that I definately wouldn't be back. A great way to start a day full of interviews
;)
Hmm...now here comes my whine about two of the many employment agencies that I have dealt with this week...do do do...One agency managed to call me on the same day that I had seen them to offer me a one day temp assignment. I checked how much I would be getting per hour for this work and the consultant said that I would get $15 an hour. I straightaway said yes to this...then I got another call from the same agency about 5 minutes later to change the start time, which I also said yes, no problem to.
Five minutes later, my mobile phone then rang again and it was the agency saying that they couldn't afford to pay $15 an hour as the company they were doing the work for had a limited budget. She then asked if I would do it for $14...ermm...no...although...being around 5.30pm, I thought I'd play games with her, and said that I would have to think about it and call her back.
I
reminded her again that I would be more than happy to do it for $15 an hour as originally was discussed and agreed to by me. She then said to me that they would pay me $15 an hour but not to mention this to any of the other temps which were there as they were getting paid $14 hour. So, yes....all was sorted and I had a full days work planned for the next day...or so I thought...I then got another phone call from her saying that she had spoken to the client who they were doing the job for and they said that they would only pay $14 an hour. I told her I wasn't interested.
Sooooo....why did I say no to the job even though it was only $1 less per hour? Firstly, those who are not aware of how much agencies get paid by clients who need temps - they get $25 (or more) an hour for each temp they place. I get $15 of that. In other words, each hour I do, the agency gets at least (and
usually more) than $10 an hour. The job was for 11 hours, so you can get a general idea of how much the agency was getting, for just me being there, let alone all the other temps...
The fact that the client has a budget is irrelevant, because the consultant had already said to me that I would be getting $15 an hour. Consultants should have all the pay etc details ready before they call anyone...and...if you have quoted someone $15 an hour, it shouldn't need to be changed at all, and definately not within the space of half an hour (yes, I got all those phonecalls in the space of half an hour!!!) Not to mention that all these calls were made to my mobile phone, which basically would cost the $11 difference between the $14 hour and $15 an hour wage (perhaps more!!!)
Second agency that I had problems with was one that I had called earlier in the week about a
job which I was very interested in, even though it was a full time call centre job. I gave them a call first thing in the morning and got the usual "all our consultants are in a meeting" (bull....) By late in the afternoon I still had (unsurprisingly) not recieved a callback from them, so I gave them a call. I was told the jobs were gone, which I found interesting because I had rung on the same day as they advertised this particular job on seek.com.au.
I then got transferred to another consultant who wanted to tell me about another position that was available. She asked if I wanted to come in for a workshop the next day. I said yes...okay...even though I didn't really want to because I have done this workshop two times already and it drives me INSANE!!! Also, this job was on the North shore and full time...in a call
centre...so I was a bit cagey about that also...
I have an excellent reputation with this particular temp agency as I have worked for them for over a year and a half, doing various temp work for them...hence I see these workshops as a waste of my time and unnecessary. The agencies explanation of having me do the workshop again is that they are new consultants who haven't met me before (becuase there is such a huge turnover of consultants *smirk*)...and that there are representatives from the companies involved who would also be watching the workshop also, who would pick who would be interviewed further. This agency has all the names of all the places I have worked for them in their computer and surely they also have feedback from the employers who I actually worked for???
The workshop has a number of steps, including the obligitory "introduce yourself to the group" thing...and then
work in a team to solve a problem. This problem was that we were all stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. Funnily enough, our plane was completely destroyed, but none of the passengers were actualy injured or killed...yes, very realistic. This task is supposedly to test how I would react in a group, and of course a consultant sits at the end of the table while the group discusses how to solve this problem.
The problem being that we had to survive overnight or longer depending on whether we got resuced quickly or not. I sat there the whole time and said nothing. I am not one for stilted, awkward, unrealistic, not to mention, pointless conversations like this, particularly if there is a consultant sitting there who thinks that they can second guess my personality traits by observing me like this. I can discuss something that I care about in a group situation -
I have no problems opening my mouth if I have something I want to say...but in this case, I had nothing to say.
Next thing we had to do was the role play...ie I had to answer a phone call and talk to a "customer" (ie consultant) for about 5 minutes like I knew what was going on. That was not a problem...after all, I did work for SOCOG, so I am a master at making people believe that I know what is going on. I actually got picked for an interview because the clients were so impressed by my phone manner.
This was all good, until I got home that day and noticed that the job that I had originally rung up about was still on the Seek website (this is two days after I got told that it wasn't available anymore as the positions had been filled. Soooo...the next day I called again about this job and the consultant was (funnily enough) unavailable but I was told that
they would call me back (yeah, right).
The day after, I still hadn't recieved this call back, so inbetween job interviews, I called them again and was told that they would leave the message again for the consultant to call me back. So...I went off to another interview/test thing for two weeks worth of data entry work starting later this month and I GOT THE JOB!!!...so I walked out of that office happy as. Then, I checked the messages on my mobile and I had just been called back by the agency that I hadn't heard back from. I gave them a call back immediately and the phone conversation went a little like this :
Epod : Hi, I'm just returning your call. Consultant : No, I'm returning your call. Epod : No, I just got your message, I am returning your call. Consultant : No, I don't think you understand, I am returning your call. Epod : I understand
that you have just left a message on my mobile asking me to return your call, hence why I have just said to you that I am returning your call.
I kid you not, this seriously is what happened. Why anyone would speak to anyone like this? I remained as friendly and polite as I could, but honestly, this consultant had absolutely no idea. After asking me a series of stupid questions, she told me that she would call me back. Yeah, right, it's really going to happen. Thankyou very much for wasting my time...as well as my last credits on my mobile phone. Grr...
After doing all that whining about agencies though, I must admit that I did meet a consultant on Friday afternoon who I really liked. This is the first consultant who I've met for quite some time who I found to be very likeable and genuine. We had a great conversation about all the things I've done and somehow we got to
the point where I said that I was 25 and felt like I had achieved nothing. I mean, like people younger than me are getting married, having kids, etc...and, while I don't want to get married and have kids or anything like that - EVER, it just seems that I was left behind somewhere.
She said that it seemed like I have done so much. It is interesting to look at ones life from another perspective. I guess I have done a lot, but I haven't really done what I set out to achieve when I moved from Mackay to Sydney (by myself) five years ago. At that point I really wanted to get into the music industry and DJing...but that didn't happen.
I got distracted somewhere along the way because quite simply, I didn't have the time or money. Spending $240 a week rent on my apartment in the city for three years also made it virtually impossible to afford to do much else...not to
mention that now I have a new passion...which is website design. The music industry thing still sits in the back of my mind though...as do the 2000 + cds that sit in my room wanting to be played in front of a huge crowd of people again :(
I rock. My ebay feedback rating is now up to over 300! Ahh...all these people saying super nice things about me is going to my head methinks ;)
Ooooh!!! I am sooooo happy! I just got a phone call offering me a full time job at the call centre where I have done a heap of temp work at. This is the best place I've ever worked (aside from Segaworld that is). I *should* have an interview today or tomorrow!!! The interview is with one of the
supervisors that I used to work for...sooooo...I *think* it will go well...it starts THIS Monday. I have an excellent reputation with this company (or so I think) sooooo...hopefully I will be starting work on Monday. All is good ;)
Actually, the agency who got me the job interview was actually the same one which I had the problem with last week (read about it in my post below - when I rang on my mobile and the consultant was under the impression that she had called me and wanted to make an issue over it heh heh) Not surprisingly I was told today that this particular consultant is no longer with this agency ;)
I have spent the last week or so trying to bond with the new addition to our household, Ruffles the dog. As mentioned in my last post, me and Ruffles didn't exactly hit it off. After spending just over 24 hours with the charming Mr Ruffles, I had
renamed him "The Little Bastard". This was mainly because he charged head-first into my knee...the knee that I had injured years ago that hadn't given me any troubles...well until "The Little Bastard" charged into it that is. *smirk*
The original injury, for anyone who cares, was caused when I had a fairly major (and quite dramatic) stack off my bicycle years ago. I remember someone stopping and saying "Are you okay?" and I was just looked down at the blood and guts all over my leg and went..."Erm..fine thanks *cough*". Anyways...it turned out that I'd messed up my knee pretty bad...not bad enough to get a decent multicoloured bruise *grrr*...nevertheless bad enough to cause my walk to convert to a crawl. Basically, instead of it taking me five minutes to walk somewhere it took twenty minutes. I kid you not.
Anyways...I've now recovered...and have started trying to make friends with
"The Little Bastard"...erm...Ruffles again. We kind of get along now, although he still growls at me sometimes when I pat him. He did try humping my leg last night though, so Doctor Harry, I guess that means that we have now successfully bonded?
Hehehe. I was watching the Channel Ten news the other day (yeah, I know...something different...don't worry, I also watched Nightline after that) and Tim Bailey was giving away free tickets to the AFL game on the weekend as he is playing in a *cough* "celebrity" *cough* game which will be held prior to the Sydney Swans / Bulldogs game...he said that he needed people to cheer him on. Although I am not at all a sports fan,
and have little interest in Mr Bailey, I felt that I had to be a part of these shenanigans.
The deal was that the first 25 people who emailed him got tickets...and because I was internet nerding away on my computer at the time I heard this...not to mention being able to type 70 wpm...*smirk*...I got tickets...for myself...and...erm...my housemates too. Myself and my housemates have been involved in a bit of a ticket scandal *smirk*...soooo...I might (or might not) have a couple of spare tickets to give away....sooooo send me an email if you might be interested. If I end up having spare tickets, they will go to the person with either the best or worst excuse for wanting the tickets...I haven't decided yet ;)
The game is on this Sunday, at the Sydney Cricket ground. The tickets of are in a super classy
location...*smirk*...Yabba Hill. My housemate who has *allegedly* experienced Yabba Hill first hand, refers to it as "Yobbo Hill". This is because it is *allegedly* where all the flying beer cans, streakers, and copious drunk people come from. Can't wait.
Hehehe. I caught the Jerry Springer interview on Rove [live] earlier this week and learnt something quite interesting...well to me anyway...I'm all class you know ;) Before the guests can go on the Jerry Springer show, they have to sign a release form to allow the show to broadcast anything that happens while they are on it.
Not unusual...right? Well...funny thing about this release form is that it has 21 different things that they might be "surprised" with when they go on the show. One of the 21 things is
the real reason why they are on the show...but of course, they aren't told the real reason. They can't go on the show if this release form isn't signed...and...they have to sign this form to say that they are allowing the show to use any footage no matter what the "surprise" turns out to be....which brings me to my next question...WHAT do they put for the other 20 reasons? Like, is there 20 reasons that are as bizarre as the topics on their show...or do they put *nice* stuff on there like "honey, it's okay, I'm not sleeping with your wife, other family members...or pets"....hmm...I really would love to see one of those forms! *chortle*
Hmm...just when I had almost written Shakira off as another talentless, miming artist from overseas, I was proved very wrong. She was on The Panel last week and she sang live, and I was absolutely blown away. She has an amazing voice and stage presence...not to mention that thing she does with her butt...heh heh.
*smirk*...I should have known better than to post (on the 16/05/02) that I was happy/having a good day/had a job interview/etc on Thursday before it had been confirmed. What was supposed to happen was the consultant was to call me back to organise an interview time. The consultant rung me three more times (after the initial phone call she had made to me) to confirm a number of things, each time reiterating with me that she would be calling back with an interview time.
Her third phonecall was around 6pm on Thursday and the
conversation started out with "I'm sorry, but I have some bad news". The next thing she said was that there was no longer a position available. I found this interesting considering that I had spoken to her a number of times about this position during the day and asked her why it suddenly wasn't available. Her answer? "It's because we're in competition with other employment agencies and they found the candidate before us".
Obviously, I was less than impressed by this, but held back because I pretty much didn't know what to say (except for perhaps a string of four letter words that would have been inappropriate). I mean, is it even legal to promise someone a job interview and then withdraw it without good reason? I mean, I could understand if I was unsuitable for the job, but then again, if I was unsuitable, they wouldn't offer me the position/interview in the first
place...right? As for being beaten by another agency, as far as I'm concerned, interviews shouldn't be promised if there is any question of whether there will in fact be an interview.
For fear of something going wrong, I don't know if I should mention that today I applied for another job that I am also very interested in. This time it wasn't through an agency, so things will hopefully go a little smoother. Coincidently, I did attempt to actually apply for this same job through an agency about a month ago and they didn't bother returning my calls. I will have much satisfaction knowing that if I do get this job, the agency will have missed out on the commission it would have recieved had it taken the time to consider my application and put me forward for this job.
Hmm. I will leave it at that for today methinks...
Omigawd! Omigawd! Omigawd! I got a job today!!! Not just any job either - a job that I really, really, really wanted. It's a permanent, full time job and it is with one of my favourite companies *wink*. The interview was cool as. In fact, I've never quite had an interview like the one I had today. As well as meeting and being interviewed by most of the management (including the managing director heh heh) I also got to meet some of the people who I would be working with.
During the interview I was asked what my first reaction would be if I was told I got the job, and I said that I would smile heaps and then quite possibly cry. Seemed that they wanted to test this theory, as after over 2 hours of meeting/getting interviewed by them they said that I had been successful in getting the job.
Turns out that I didn't cry, but I did have a huge stupid smile on my face for the rest of the afternoon. I start on Monday, and I can't wait!!!! Woooohooooooo!!!!
Firstly, I hope that everyone likes the new colour scheme / layout of my diary pages. I was getting sick of the other layout, so I have just trashed it in favour of this one :)
For anyone who might be wondering what might have happened to me since I haven't written anything here for...erm...weeks...yes, I am still alive. I have just finished my third week of training for my new job and everything is pretty amazing. I love this job! I actually get the opportunity to think everyday - this is something that I am so totally not used to doing at my previous places of employment. I also work with a group of awesome people within what quite possibly is the best company in Australia. Unbelieveable!
Everything has been so amazing that I haven't really had anything to whinge about...which, for those who haven't
noticed, this page of my site has been primarily for in the past, hence there haven't been any posts recently. In fact, this page may veer off into a more positive direction in the future due to the lack of things I have to whinge about...then again, who knows - it may plummet back to the previous depths of whining that everyone who reads this has grown to know and love. Hmmm...here I go...
The only downside of the whole working in the city thing is having to catch public transport to and from work which cuts a good three hours out of my day...not to mention the undesirables I tend to meet on public transport...and that's just the bus drivers (and fellow passengers who do not understand the concept of "personal space"). Actually, on my first day of work I finished up and of course was happy as. I waited forever for the bus and when it finally arrived I checked with the bus driver
exactly where the bus was going...well...correction...I attempted to find out where the bus was going.
Sooooo...I got on the bus and I see this bus driver going absolutely mental at everybody. Not just slightly mental - completely and utterly nutcase type mental. Funny thing was that there was no one on the bus at the time that looked like they had actually provoked him into this state. He was saying over and over and over "Don't give me any money, don't ask me any questions just sit down". This, of course should have been my cue to depart the bus pronto...but...well...no...being the ever intreprid, extreme explorer type that I am, and shaking ever so slightly I approached the bus driver and asked him whether I was on the right bus.
He continued to say "Don't ask me any questions" over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. I continued to
say "Does this bus go to ....?" over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. He finally ended up saying "Ring 131 500 and they will tell you". Being the bus driver he really should have known where he was driving and my question could have been answered with a simple "yes" or "no"....but noooooo that didn't happen, so at that point I mumbled a couple of choice four letter words at him, wrote down his driver number etc, and sat down. He went mental and pretty much said that he wanted me to get off his bus. That was when the other startled passengers who had been observing my "conversation" with interest got involved and ganged up on him.
So...yes, against my better judgement I stayed on the bus, which departed from the bus stop with me trembling in my seat thinking that this guy was obviously not
very mentally stable and that he had a bus full of people which he would somehow have to negotiate through peak hour traffic. The thought did cross my mind again that I should have got off the bus...but...ahhh well, it was much too late now...we were all going to DIE!!!!.
But...next thing I hear was the driver talking on the radio saying something along the lines of, "I can't handle this, I'm going to stop now"...and that's exactly what he did...stopped one block from where he actually picked us all up from and we then had to all jump off and catch another bus. Ah...I love public transport *smirk*.
Anyways...changing the subject...I finally got myself a digital camera. Yay! I haven't really used it very much yet - I haven't even downloaded any of the photos
to my computer yet or set up any of the software for it etc etc cause I have been soooooo busy doing other work related stuff...but...it will come in very handy for taking pictures of the stuff I am selling on eBay...as well as a few other things I have planned for Epodcentral ;)
Speaking of Epodcentral, this week has been a great week for all things Epodcentral related. I finally got to buy the domain name www.epodcentral.com. This is the domain name I wanted when I originally started up this site, but I couldn't buy it as someone else had bought it, (hence my decision to buy www.epod-central.com instead) Yay for me though cause
they didn't end up renewing the domain name (they had it for two years) it is now mine! I also renewed my domain www.grooveterminator.net as it was about to run out. Oh...and www.hughriminton.com now exists thanks to me ;)
I have a three day weekend next week (yes, it is sooooooo tough working where I work hehe) so hopefully I will be able to get all the sections of Epodcentral up and running again. My last three day weekend, I did *heaps* and got my Rove (archive) site up and running again...now all I have to do is get everything else happening and all will be well with the world again! Hopefully I will get a chance to mess around with my nice new digital camera also :)
Yaaaaay! John
Safran is back on the telly tomorrow night! Check out the official "John Safran's Music Jamboree" site for more info. Interesting fact : Richard Lowenstein is the Executive Producer of the show...and for those who for don't know who Richard is...he made the brilliant film "Dogs in Space" and produced a heap of INXS videos...amongst other things. This show is going to be *very* cool...well I hope it is anyway ;)
I caught "Fly TV" for the first time this weekend on the ABC...was ooookay...pretty much it is "Recovery" without the live audience, studio band...or Dylan Lewis *sob*. That being said, I still thought it was okay :) To be honest, I'm not too clued up on the whole Fly TV thing...but the website *kindof* explains it...and it
is a *very* nice to look at site...so...yeah...check it out.