I'm a little hoarse right now

Well, truth be told, I actually have very little voice left at all.

I told J I'd spent 45 minutes yelling at a customer and he got all concerned and wondered what had happened. It's very out of character for me to yell, let alone yell at a customer.

So, I had my little giggle and told him I'd actually been yelling to a customer. Long story short - the customer had emailed in about some username/password problems and even after questioning a fair bit, we couldn't work out if it was with the initial connection or his email (in case you're wondering - his Mac worked, his pc didn't). Eventually we asked him to call in and see if we could sort it out quicker. He said he would but commented that he was a bit deaf and the last time he'd called, he'd hung up in frustration because he spoke to someone with an accent and they wouldn't slow down even after he'd explained he couldn't hear and understand them.

Now, previously I've worked in radio and found that speaking slowly and clearly is one of my strengths, so I figured rather than have this guy take his chances, I'd call him (though it's not what we usually do). Well, we sorted the problem, even though it took ages - and many many many repetitions of commands. I was sitting there shouting down the phone line, with my team mates having a good laugh at my expense (heh, we all do it to each other). In the end the customer was so happy to have the problem sorted that he told me I should get employee of the month award!

I'm thinking now I should have warmed up my voice before I called (even though voice exercises are so very embarrassing to do in public)! My voice has just been getting worse and worse all day. I'm down to just whispering now.

I have to say though - the funniest thing was speaking with Chickie earlier. Once my voice was pretty much down to a whisper, he started whispering back to me. I explained he didn't have to but he couldn't seem to stop. The way he was acting, it was like telling him dinner was ready and to come have his teeth brushed etc, were all big secrets!

Just about sorted.

The numbers for Chickie's party are in with the bowling alley.

I ended up with 15 - not including the one that didn't respond, but the alley says they don't have a problem with adding at the last minute. Food shouldn't be a problem anyway since the kid's food is on platters rather than individual, plus I've ordered extra platters to feed the adults too.

So, now we wait and see how it turns out. I hope the kids have fun!

Actually... while I'm soliciting advice...

What are your thoughts on this:

Chickie will be 5 in less than a week (how the heck did that happen??!). On the Sunday after, we're throwing him a birthday party at the local 10 pin bowling place. We've invited our mum's group kids, a couple of kids from the childcare centre and a couple of kids who used to go to the centre with him, but have now gone to school. There's about 15 kids all up, including Chickie (am I mad? We'll find out, I guess).

Small dilemma is that it's at the local bowling place which means I pay per child and they want final numbers by this Tuesday. I asked for rsvp's by yesterday, but I figured I might have a few stragglers so wanted to allow a few extra days before the actual deadline. Now all but two have rsvp'd, so do I say yes for those two - just in case - or not? I'd be out about $30 if I say yes and they don't turn up.

Complicating the matter further, is that I can't just call the parents to confirm. I dropped off invites to the centre and they posted the invites for me (to the ones that have moved on to school). Of the two that haven't rsvp'd, one child still goes to the childcare centre but the other no longer does. I have asked the centre if they can pass on a reminder to the one who does still attend, but I'm not sure about the other. At least I still have a couple of days for them to contact me. If they don't though, do I say yes for them and hope for the best??

Fifteen 5 (and under) year olds sounds like an awful lot of kids but we haven't done a lot of parties for him. He had a biggish one (family and friends) for his first and then only little mum's group gatherings (ie cake etc at the usual mum's group meetup), so I'm happy to have something a bit bigger for the 5th birthday. Well, I say that now... but ask me again on Monday the 4th of June!.

Speaking of things toothy...

For those of you with older kids, at what age did they lose their first baby tooth?

Chickie is 4, well ok 5 in a week and a half, and believe it or not, he has a wobbly tooth! Isn't that a bit early? I thought kids started losing them at about 6 or 7.

It's not hugely wobbly but I can feel it. Plus he's finding it a bit uncomfortable eating. Any ideas how long it will take to come out after it starts wobbling? I can't remember back that far... hehe

In other news, I had my yearly performance review at work yesterday. It went well - very well in fact. I got the second highest 'grade'! This has a direct effect on my bonus and payrise. If a bonus is paid, the higher the grade the more money you get (same with payrise). So I'm thrilled :)

Oh and finally - I bought the lastest Sims 2 expansion pack recently (Sims 2 Seasons). I installed it today, so if I don't visit your blog in the next few days, it will be because I'm hanging out in Riverblossom Hills (the new neighbourhood in the game)!

slack-jawed yokel

Ayup, that's what I feel like right now...

I've been to the dentist again and this time I did need to get some anaesthetic. Because the tooth worked on was sort of front right at the bottom, the needle was put in just down near my lip and now half of my bottom lip feels enormous. It's not moving very well either. I looked in the mirror and smiled earlier - damn near frightened myself to death...

Chickie-isms

A phrase often heard, from me, in our house is 'Can I please just go to the bathroom in peace?!' - usually uttered in quite a plaintive tone.

If it's not Chickie bursting in to 'chat' (or coming in and singing at the top of his voice - good acoustics you see), it's the two cats pushing open the door and hanging out with me (heck, one keeps trying to sit on my lap!). Shut the door you say? Well, I try. Unfortunately, Chickie's tall enough to reach the handle now and the cats have this very irritating habit of pushing a paw under the door and rattling it. Having them hang out with me is the lesser of two evils!

So today, Chickie opens the door and very nicely asks me to get a toy down from a shelf, when I've finished. I said I would and he (very solicitously) says 'thanks mum, now I'll leave you in one piece'.

Good thing he walked away then... I had trouble keeping a straight face!

Three posts in one night?

Well ok, two were YouTube videos - and this one will be short.

I picked up some chicken schnitzels from the supermarket tonight (quick and easy were the order of the day today) and found this printed on the back of the black plastic tray:

Serving suggestion:

Remove from packet before cooking.

Surely, no one has actually done that... have they?

David Tennant and Catherine Tate sketch

This is brilliant!

Doctor Who Spoof

Laura (see link for Laura's blog in my blogroll) posted a David Tennant video last week. She thinks he's a bit of alright (heck so do I).

So anyway, in the last week I've been trawling through YouTube and discovered there's a heck of a lot of fan stuff out there. It's unbelievable how many people have put various Dr Who scenes to their favourite songs.

Along with those, there are also a lot of clips, interviews, short films, sketches and even whole tv shows featuring him (Ready, Steady, Cook and Weakest Link). So even though Dr Who wasn't on because of the Eurovision Song Contest, I guess I've had my David Tennant fix for the week!

I've decided to post two of my favourites. Enjoy!

Oh, and one more...

I have a pair of el cheapo thongs (flips flops for those over the pond) that I keep in the laundry to wear outside when hanging clothes on the line etc. Anyway, it's been cooler lately and I've been wearing shoes and therefore socks. Socks don't work too well with thongs so I've been thinking of getting some of those Crocs things (well the Target, Big W ones).

We went shopping and got Chickie a green pair, because green is his favourite colour. I was feeling a bit frivolous, saw these and decided why not! Believe it or not but these are actually kids shoes. A size 4! My feet are smallish (ladies size 7) but I was surprised by this. I mean I know they're supposed to be a little big on you but the 6's and even 5's were way too big.

So anyway I think they're kinda cute :D

The reno pics

I finally got the photos off the camera, so here are some pics of the floor we recently did.

This is the green carpet, except for the stains, it doesn't actually look too bad in this pic. It didn't look this good in real life though.
Underneath the green carpet was this um... treasure. Hideous isn't it? Then the underlay underneath was glued to the floor. That apparently was a heap of fun to remove.
This is the floor afterwards. Looks pretty nice, I reckon.
These pics are the new bedroom closet. Not exactly new but once it gets a coat of paint and some mirrors on the front, it will look pretty good.

So, up next is getting a new lounge, then painting (bedroom and loungeroom)!

Happy mothers day

If you're celebrating mother's day - like we are - then I hope you have (had) a lovely relaxed day. I had a very nice day. A sleep-in - even though it wasn't technically my turn (J usually sleeps in Sundays and I get Mondays). Then we went to lunch with family - including Chickie's grandparents, great-grandparent, great-uncles, great-aunts and (2nd & 3rd) cousins. Afterwards we went to one of the cousins' home and all the kids had a great time playing together.

Then tonight I've been enjoying the Eurovision Song Contest. I love it! The stage costumes, in particular, amuse me. Though I will admit that they were pretty laid back and 'normal' this year. If it wasn't for the Ukraine (the lead singer was wearing a silver star on his head, like some sort of shiny silver christmas tree), Moldova (someone pull up the pants on that girl!) and Slovenia (goth-y opera type with a sort of flower light thing on her palm - actually it would make a handy booklight), I'd have been a bit disappointed. Congrats to the winners Serbia. Not a bad song.

Though, I have no idea how Switzerland didn't make it past the finals (last night) - how can you go past a song that lets us know that vampires are alive?

Chickie's favourite joke

Well, it's really his first and only joke so far (which, of course, means I've heard it numerous times!)...

Q: Why is six afraid of seven?

A: Because seven eight nine.

He thinks it is an absolutely hilarious joke. It's so cute just how into it he is. Sometimes he's so excited by it that he completely mucks it up. He's so proud that he knows it though. Perhaps he's a stand-up comedian in the making.

I think I need to look out for some joke books for him or something. Expand the repertoire and all...

uh oh

J and I are going to have to start talking in code...

Last night, just before dinner we realised that we'd forgotten to get something out of the freezer. None of the usual suspects from the cupboard appealed to either of us. So we started discussing alternatives. I suggested a bbq chook or some p-i-z-z-a. I spelled it out because, while we don't have it often*, Chickie loves it and I didn't want to suggest it in his hearing if we decided against it.

As soon as I spelled it out, Chickie piped up and said 'yeah! let's have pizza!' J and I both looked at him in amazement. We've only spelled it out once before and we didn't get it that time so I've no idea how he recognised what we were spelling. I suppose when you spell it out, it does sound like the word, but it had us a bit shocked for a moment.

We ended up with the bbq chook, roast potatoes and veg. Yum.



* J could eat it every day of the week, but I'm not that enthused by it, so it's a pretty rare thing in our household. J gets it for himself every now and then, but he's also trying to get into shape to go back to his stick-waving hobby, so neither of us has had it lately.

Good grief!

This petition of Paris Hilton's is the funniest thing I've heard of in a loooong time!

This is from the link above:

PARIS Hilton has urged fans to sign a petition to keep her out of jail because she "provides beauty and excitement to (most of) our otherwise mundane lives".

Unexpected

Every now and then you'll find something unexpected. Like this...

I found this in the car parking place today. Excuse the poor photo, the only camera I had with me was my phone. Not something you'd see everyday in a car park, don't you think?

We were there because we had Yum Cha today with some friends and had a lovely time. We had booked ahead of time, which was a good thing since the place was jam-packed. So much so, that there was a wait just to get in the door. We had to wait for our table for a few minutes and while waiting, I started to feel really really sorry for the people near the door and register. They can't have had a great dining experience with people trying to squeeze past them just to get inside.

Thankfully for us, our table was in a corner and we didn't have to worry about people trying to get past our table. Well, except for the wait staff with the food! Food was excellent too, but no, we didn't have the chicken feet. I've never tried them and I daresay I won't be able to bring myself to give them a go, in the future either.

On the way back we checked out a furniture shop that had been recommended to us. Found a lounge that will probably fit the bill. A three seater with a chaise lounge, the right size for our room, not too expensive and something I can live with for the short term (then we plan to get a 'good' lounge). Click here to see it. It's the blue one in the middle. We're actually thinking of getting it in a black (colour is described as midnight - that is black isn't it? A bit hard to tell in the shop) sueded material. Has anyone had a lounge in black before? Is it hard to care for? My cats are black and white so I anticipate we'll have some cat hair to deal with (I plan on getting the optional fabric protection that comes extra).

The fabric we're considering is a little extra, but it was the only one we could agree on. Heh, Chickie's name was like that too* - but it worked out well!

*No, I don't mean Chickie's name was extra, I mean that it was the only one we could agree on.

aarrgh!

Sorry, I just have to vent. I'm so annoyed right now! Some people have no clue - truly.

As part of my job I answer emails from customers. We've had a back and forth couple of emails where a customer was getting a 'no such user' error about an email address. She insisted we were causing the problem in some way, while we were advising her that the email address didn't exist and suggesting she check with the other person or get them to call us to correct their reply-to settings in their email program (since the email address in question was one of ours we were able to confirm the email address definitely didn't exist). Her emails were getting more and more sarcastic and derogatory about our 'support'. Insisting because the other person could send from that address, we were less than useless and she was giving up on our 'so-called help'.

Eventually it came to me to answer and I checked to see if she'd called in at all. Surprise, surprise she had - and had been told she was wrong and the email address in question didn't exist! So, I replied explaining how it was possible (and actually very common) to send from different/wrong email addresses and again suggested she have the other party call in to correct their email settings. My team-mates read my email and basically said I was being too nice to her, considering her previous scathing emails.

So her reply to me?

I gave up on the "[my team name here].

I thought I would try the every day ""I have a problem"" ""Can you help me please"" "General Enquiry" lady.

Guess what????? She solved it in 15seconds!!!!!!!!

Gah! People can be so rude and clueless sometimes. She could have had the problem fixed days ago!

My brave little boy

Chickie now has his third set of grommets in (in both ears). He was very brave but fought them a bit.

I only mentioned in passing during the last week that he'd need to have grommets in again and while he heard me, it didn't really register. Then yesterday I explained we'd be going to go to hospital in the morning to have them in. He got a little upset and said he didn't want the mask because it made him feel funny.

I also explained he wouldn't be able to have breakfast before we went in. I got up earlier than him so I could have some without eating in front of him, but I didn't quite eat quickly enough. He got up, came out and with hands on hips, said "I thought you said no breakfast!". He had a very offended look on his face when I explained it was just him...

So we were at the hospital at 7am and went in at about 8.30. Chickie had asked J to go in with him this time (thank goodness! I went in the last two times and I hate seeing him go under), so J got to wear the lovely gown and paper shoes. J says he let them put the mask on him but he positively fought the effects of the gas. Apparently he was gripping tightly onto the bedrails and refusing to lay down - even as his head was lolling about from the anaesthetic. Though, as the doc said, they always win and he eventually went under.

He came out a bit upset and laid and cried quietly for a bit, but it didn't take too long to get back to his usual cheerful self. Then after a while, a vegemite sandwich and a drink, we were allowed to go home.

Lunch was his favourite (Maccas happy meal with a TOY!) and we rented Happy Feet to watch. Good but not as good as I thought it would be. Chickie seemed to like it though.

He's all back to his normal self again, though tired - early night tonight! Still asking us to repeat things but that will ease off soon hopefully.

As for house stuff, we went to Ikea on Sunday and didn't see anything on our 'list' that we both liked, but did see other things we liked. Didn't buy any of the big items yet but I've filed them away in my mental 'possibilities' list. Only things we actually bought were a green ghost lamp for Chickie (I'd love one myself!), some bamboo placemats and a cool little apple corer/slicer.