Vodafone bastards. Their rates in Australia have to be seen to be believed (as well as the tactics they go to to try and get you to pay – however that’s all the mobile companies anyway so no difference) – I’ve just spent AGES on line and on the phone trying to top up my phone (which we did Prepay for, as supposedly being the easiest, least bothersome way of just-about having a mobile) – absolute waste of time. Basically they’ve robbed me of $20 and about 2 hours of time at least, if not more. I’m livid. And no doubt nothing will come of it. I’ve a good mind never to use a mobile again, I’m so disgusted. Just been reading loads of stuff on the web about similarly disgusted customers. You have to buy a ‘voucher’ online (or in the store) and then call the number (listen to endless claptrap each time) and put in the digits they give you. Nope, invalid. NO-one to call, no response to emails, no joy anywhere. Just lots of evidence that this happens all the time and nothing gets done about it. Absolute bastards. They just go round doing exactly what they like because they can get away with it. Had Vodafone in the UK too – no problems, just recharge at the cash point, there’s no stupid ‘expiry date’ to your top-up and the charges are higher than landline but not insane. Here you pay about $2 just to pick up a voicemail. Then they market various packages that give you ‘$150 value for the price of £29’ (yeah, of what THEY charge – got no bearing on reality) and then whack a one-month ‘expiry’ on it and if you haven’t used it by that time it just goes in a puff of smoke, never to be seen again. This is truly the land that telecommunications forgot.
Sorry, quite spitting. You know how annoyed I tend to get at things. Well, this was annoying.
Another annoying thins was, we’ll have to send the Geef’s gun back to the UK or something – hopefully the Camel will agree to sit on it for us. Been deactivated completely in the UK, just a lump of metal. Certificate and everything. Oh, but not good enough for Australia. No, firstly- has to be completely welded together so that nothing at all moves, including trigger, the lot. Second, the easiest way I could get to keep it is if I got an ‘heirloom permit’ – which involves a £75 application fee (renewable every five years), getting firearms training (!!!), purchasing a gun safe and keeping the gun in there (as a lump of metal), and of course getting it further deactivated, and a resubmission and inspection by the import people. I mean for crying out loud. Now I’m not keen on guns at the best of times, however I asked why would one need a permit to keep an inert object – to which the answer was well the fear factor is still there if you say pointed it at someone and they thought it was real – OK, so you keep tabs on people. So I’ll register, whatever. But why do I have to learn to handle firearms??? So that when I go on my bogus bank-robbery, I can handle it in an impressive manner?? Just doesn’t make sense at all. And why the gun safe? My kitchen knives are SO much more dangerous. Still, I guess it’s just one of those things there’s just no way round. No use beating head on walls of brick. Life is short.
Littles had a lovely day today – seemed to have a good time at school and then Sophie invited her to come and play – so she went. I came to pick her up later and she was sitting there doing a computer game with Sophie, wearing a complete set of pretty dress, oversize patent shoes, hair down, and apparently with some lip-gloss on. Oh, girls. She seemed thoroughly content. There was also a large pair of scissors out, and I had my suspicions which were later confirmed – they’d been snipping at the ends of her hair. Little girls, hair out and scissors only ever points to one thing. Of course, in that mess of hair no-one can tell the anything, doesn’t make a slightest difference but we did try and impress on the Littles that if she wants her hair cut it’s advisable to go to the hairdressers’ and NOT to her friends houses. Mind you, it’s her hair, she can do as she wants, I guess.
Not sure if there’s anything else. Rather boring unproductive day for me. Oh, yes there was – shocker of a story from the lab today. Student of the Mr’s submitted an essay or something over the net for their course. In the absence of BRAIN had plagiarised no less than 96% of their submission. Now, get this: the online submission feature has a ‘trial submission’ first, which checks the document for plagiarism from other students and from the web. It came back with the 97% plagiarised, and they went ahead and submitted it anyway! How thick can you get? I suggested immediate firing squad but it seems that’s no longer condoned at the Uni. They even let the student re-submit. Dear god. I tell you, it’s a good job I’m not a teacher, I’d be in jail shortly for manslaughter.
Definitely bored now. Lots of love, V xxx
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1) Fish- What no fish any longer? I used to feed them quite regularly. Have they disappeared for good or just because you were having a bad day?
ReplyDelete2) Vodafone- Agreed, they are bastards, and who ever invented ‘Now press 1 for… or press 2 for and so on ‘? Does that mean that you have to go to the store every time you need to recharge the damn thing? I must be the one person in Italy who does not own a cell phone, I hate the things but I quite understand that they can be useful if you are away from home and need help.
3) Hair- I hope that lovely golden curl at the end of the Non’s hair has not completely gone, and if so did you manage to collect it?
4) Breasts- That girl is a real scream, I know she must be a lot of hard work for you, but she is also a lot of fun, aiming to be the one buxom sample in the family.
5) Wine- we have had a couple of bottles that you so generously sent Alan and very good it was too, but the rest has been stashed downstairs in the garage, I think he is waiting for special occasions only.
6) I am not sure if the Whaley has told you already that next Tuesday we are going to England, that is if Ryanair agrees to restart flying. We shall be at Dickie’s and Phyl’s for a few days to start with and then will go on to the Gonzo’s for a week. The Pobble is meant to be going to Madrid for three days so we shall be allowed to play with Little Chubby Chops without mother interference.
7) Hope things perk up for you tomorrow, another day and then you will have the Pflea at home for you to play with.
Lots of love
Woofie (the Whaley is asleep as usual otherwise he would send his love too)XXX
PS I had put some admiring comments on the Pie’s pictures too, but somehow they have disappeared and I don’t think I can type them again, they are not so good the second time around.
Just to add late on in the day- poor gal, my commiserations on a bad phone company day- they are one of the worst, (well, excluding serious illness and injuries and bankruptcy) I was having a month of it a while back- it's not just vodaphone, and I completely agree- they make it impossible to get around anything, and there is no getting to them when they don't want to be got. Poor Nancy. To make it better (and I know it doesn't) my two mobiles that were like that in the past were just the same, and I've still got two 30 DOLLAR (I wish I had bold text on this) tickets I have were scratched and not valid- out of sheer frustration of pouring out my lungs down voice machines and "please holds" without ANY headway even after 3 days- got me kicking the kitchen sink, bashing a few cans of old soup out of sheer agitation, give up and although I use the mobile only for "in emergencies" I pay the 29 dollar a month all in all, although I don't even need the voice mail and texting. Mind you, when I made calls from the pre-pay one, their prices were so high that a call in to complain about the cards to the company cost me more than the damn card. They are a race to be kicked thir knockers up their gullet and make them rattle in their brains.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention that gun, one can't even begin to imagine. I guess they'd give you the same BS in the States as well, never mind that in a sports goods store there is enough heavy artillery to kill off half the population, and that any Jack can take a small course and go and shoot off a whole neighborhood if he has a bad day; or a good one,as the case may be.
YEAH yeah, I'm in the auctions with Woofie; you know woofs that I had been asking that poppet to give me a small little bit of that jewerly on the Non's head for 5 years to make a japanese brush out of it; NEVER catered to my wish, grrrr If there is any on the floor I wann me some, but of course I7m a bit too late now with the Japanese residence....
Thanks for all the comments on the pics, and don't worry about it; thanks woofie too!Hoping you'll have a great time in England; one misses the cheap European flights here, it was such a novelty to arrive at Frankfurt airport and see the whole place FULL of young students and the kind of clientele that could formerly afford only to hitch or to take a bus; it opens up so many possibilities for young people (don't get me wrong, me and older alike)- I wish we had had the opportunity 15-16 years earlier (well I guess I'm being greedy, having planes at all is lovely after all)
Anyway it's eight, Leo had jogathon today so is tired out, ran 14 laps the little urchin; now we'll end up paying 70 dollars. Sob.
PS, Hey Vens, I was just looking at Swallows and Amazon books and came across some DVDs (british, from the 80s apparently) just two- the main book and Coot Club, have you ever seen them and are they any good? Oh and do you know if UK system two can be viewed on US or Japanese TVs? I guess it's not Pal or NTSC, what is it?)
Lots of kisses and happy weekend soon all around- wow it almost is I guess!