Do you know what's the best? Waking up on Sunday at a reasonable time. Not tired, not hungover, house to myself, with a strange motivation to clean, grocery shop and then go clothes shopping as a special treat to yourself.

After a relaxing saturday, spent lazing in the pool with the boy and a couple of his friends, where my pale computer-tanned body finally got a bit of sun, I had a night in all by myself. It was a saturday night and I knew alot of people going out, but I just felt like some quality me-time, so I clay-masked, and moistured every bit of my body and head to bed by midnight, and now have woken up feeling better than I have in weeks. I would never want to live by myself, but I don't mind spending the odd day or two all alone, and pretending I'm this mid-20's girl like in the movies, living in my little inner-city apartment. Doing all the cliched things they do in the movie montages - singing to myself while I'm cleaning a singlet, underwear and socks, putting on a face mask and those toe seperators and painting my toenails in front of the tv.

Big Day Out last week, was pretty darn good. I vowed no alcohol and stuck by that- and god damn i felt so much better because of it. A couple of V's and water got me through the day. Rach and I stuck together for most of it, so I had another small bladdered buddy to join me in my many toilet runs. The best band I saw was the Magic Numbers- they were totally amazing and I just wanted to hug every one of them. They are just so adorable, and his voice was darn amazing. I really wish they had performed a solo show in Brisbane while they were here. We always miss out, they do shows in Sydney and Melbourne, but not Brisbane. *sniff* Anyway the boy and I were right up the front for their set. I kept looking over at him and he'd have this big cheesy grin on his face while singing along. You can't help but grin when listening to their cheery sounding music. It's strange - their sound is so happy, but the lyrics aren't always. They are quite depressing or sad, or frustrated, but because his voice sounds so adorable and happy, you assume they are a happy band.

The other good band of the day was local band, Intercooler. Again we were right up the front (they were on the same local stage), so I was fully immersed in the performance. I'm definately interested in catching another of their gigs. I saw all the headline acts- Franz Ferdinand, Iggy & the Stooges, White Stripes etc. But I wasn't going to brave the crowds and get anywhere near the front, so we sat up on the hill which was still crowded as, but its hard to get into the gig when you're so far away. I caught almost half of the Mars Volta gig and it would be up there with my favourite shows of the day, but I got pulled away too soon. I should have stayed for all of it- there were songs I was just dying to see. His voice just blew me away. His wailing was almost indecipherable from the guitar at times. I had sold my ticket to their solo show, so it was great to catch what I did of their BDO performance. Kicking myself now for not staying.

Had a nice Australia day on Thursday - Gotta love mid-week public holidays!!!!! We all went to Alezeia's place down the road for BBQ and Pool party. I soaked up a bit of sun, and lazed around in the pool, and ate awesome lamb and chicken skewers mmmmm. The Triple J Hottest 100 countdown was fun for the day, but overall everyone was sorely disappointed with the result. More than half a dozen amazing bands failed to even make it on the list, and songs that did, didn't get high enough. Complaints include bands who made it were predictable, too mainstream...... The top 5 was terrible.
I was happy The Arctic Monkeys made it (number 50) - they're my new discovery. And of course the Bloc Party made it in the list a few times, but I honestly thought Helicopter would have made it into the top 20, instead it landed at 40. But the Magic Numbers, Nine inch Nails, Death Cab for Cutie, The mars volta.... NONE of them made it in the list. WTF?!
Anyway, my motivated ME-day must begin. Quick clean, grocery shop and then I'm going to head to the City and might buy myself some new clothes :)

I woke up this morning and looked outside and realized it really was quite cool for middle of summer weather. The occasional showers had really dropped the temperature. And I suddenly realized that maybe all day, outdoors in the sun might not be as painful as I thought.

The Big Day Out 2006 is tomorrow (Gold Coast). An all day festival that tours around the country with a huge and impressive line up - local and overseas acts. I had decided against going because the last time I went in 2002, I tried to drink while there. But the combination of alcohol and heat stroke left me feeling tired and sick and my bladder is pathetically small and alcohol makes me need to pee all the time. Festival public toilets are always gross and the line up is crazy long. So yea, i didn't have a great time because I sat on the hill, barely saw any bands and complained about the heat.

However, I woke up today and decided I wanted to go. Luckily for me, I knew some people selling their tickets (as its a sold out show) and I went to the city today and picked up some face sunscreen, a pocket rain coat (it could rain), and an outfit to wear (needed some shorts that weren't knee-length)

So yea, now I'm going!!!!

EXCITING!

last minute plans are the best!

ps ZOMG i'm so looking forward to The Biggest Loser, Australian series. They keep plugging it on tv. starts next month.

man i had IE with a passion. my last post was broken (the whole content div was being pushed down under the column) because i had used italics. I've used alot of similar css as alot of the sites I work on for work, and I've had this same problem. Use italics, whether it be <i></i>, or <em></em> or even <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></span>IT ALWAYS BREAKS!
its fine in firefox, but god damn IE. *shakes fist*

I found this page about IE's italics bug.

Due to the italics bug, IE makes (sometimes) the main div wider than it should....
The two previous points trigger another IE bug, that causes the main div to drop below the float when it cannot fit at its side.

STUPID STUPID STUPID IE!

they offer a solution at the end of this page so i'm going to keep reading through it and try and fix it.

but if you are viewing my site with IE (and my stats say 60% of you are), please raise your hand and slap yourself in the face. Then go and Download Firefox. It's free, its so much more secure , it automatically blocks viruses, spyware and pop up ads. And tabbed browsing is revolutionary. I don't know how I lived without it for so long.

i got a blue tooth dongle, so now i can easily transfer photos from my new phone to my computer, and can then easily upload them to my moblog (hence saving me lots of dollars, because now i dont have to send the pics by Multimedia message- YAY!). And that makes thrifty rhiannon very happy.

you, loyal reader, also benefit from this deal, because my moblog will be (hopfeully) regularly updated. more often than my webcam, it seems. heh. i'm a terrible camgirl i know!
ps- the moblog latest pic and link is in the right hand column over there *points* below the list of links.

dad and his girlfriend are in brisbane for the night- the two of them, myself and the boy went for dinner at the Brekkie Creek hotel, which is one of two famous steak places in Brisbane. The other is the Norman Hotel (aka - Brisbane's Worst Vegetarian Restaurant). I'd been there a number of times and enjoyed the food enormously. The Brekkie Creek hotel provided to have just as delicious food, but their method of calling out the orders was disgraceful. The Norman has these cool electronic beepers, that beep and flash when your meal is ready. The Brekkie Creek however, have a young woman with a terribly nasal Australian accent, screaming out names over the intercom. Not only was her voice enough to make your ears bleed, she would also speak very very loudly and very very slowly and emphasis names more and more. There were a number of people very slow pickng up their meals so as she called their names out for the second/third/tenth time she would say each name slower and more precise, her accent getting thicker and thicker (fellow aussies - it was borderline Kath & Kim). Her tone screamed "oh for fucks sake you lazy shit, stop drinking and come and pick up your meal. not that i really care since you've already paid for it, and if its cold its not my fault, just come and get it you fat piece of shit" - and with every "Mr Williams, your BBQ is ready. Mr Williams", my urge to throw my plate of food at the nearest waitress became increasingly difficult to suppress.
It really ruined the atmosphere of the place. Her nasal, bellowing voice made it impossible to hold a conversation. And I can talk over ANYTHING!

Cindy, dad and gayle are all watching the tennis at the moment. sometimes i wished i enjoyed sports more. but i cannot say i do at all. especially not tennis. ergh.

Yesterday I had to go and renew my drivers license (not that I drive but I keep renewing the license. I figure if I ever need to drive again, I'll just go and take a few lessons to brush up on my skills). Every time I had gotten a new license and new photo my dad had been with me, and every time we handed over the old one, he asked if they could give him back the photo. And he would add it to his wallet.

2 years ago when I got my new license, the photo was actually really damn good and dad had said he had first dibs on that photo when the license expired. I knew he was coming down today, and it had just expired, so I went and had it renewed yesterday. I handed over the forms and old card, and asked the young, brown-nosed employee (who obviously did everything by the book, never questioned authority) if I could have the photo because I had promised my dad I would give it to him. Holding onto my now expired card, he said "No, we don't do that anymore".

I was stunned,... and asked him why? its just a photo, i dont want the old card, just cut out the picture. He said there was some new laws that prohibited employees from doing that.

I tried to argue, in a polite way, and explain that I really wanted this photo back. What he then said, shocked me and left me speechless and so frustrated, tears welled up in my eyes (this always happens when i get emotional/start to argue. I'm not necessarily sad, but even anger can make me start to cry)

"If you had come in BEFORE it expired on the 15th, I could have stuck a sticker on the back and could have given you the whole card back..... But since it is 2 days after the expiration date, I cannot give you the card, nor the photo"

WHAT......THE.......FUCK!!!????

Now I would understand if he had said they could not give the license back because of the risk of people using expired cards to make fakes. But the fact that I could have had the whole card, photo and all, if i had come into their office 2 days prior....with nothing but a stick on it.... how does that make sense at all?

Especially when you realize that Queensland licenses have this hologram in the plastic that is used to laminate the card. I imagine the way to make a fake woudl be to carefully seperate the plastic and pull out the card and photo, make alterations/replace it with a fake, and reseal the plastic. This said, I have no idea how one would seperate said plastic, but its the hologram stuff that makes the license, and proves that its not a fake. NOT the photo. So how is cutting up the card and giving me the photo going to be a problem, or pose a risk??????

Who cares if I had come in when it was still current.... So you put a sticker on the back and return the card to me. IN TWO DAYS IT WILL BE EXPIRED, and then its no different to you giving me the expired card back.

absolutely retarded. plus i knew dad would be disappointed. I was disappointed (it really was a great photo). Suddenly the tears welling up were sadness, as well as anger. But there was nothing I could do. This smarmy cunt had my old card. I couldn't even walk out in anger. Every other teller was an older female, and I'm just sure if I had been served by any of them I could have appealed to their caring, feminine side. But not this asshole, who was young, anal, obviously never had a girlfriend. Ugly shit. I couldn't do anything except try to will the tears back inside my eyes, and try to look normal for my new photo.

The photo's not too bad. The camera seems to be closer this time, so its closer up. Not alot of head room or anything. *sigh* No photo will ever beat that old one. it was brilliant. I think i had scanned it years ago, so it might be on my PC. I COULD print it out for dad, but it just kind of defeats the whole point. meh.

It made me so upset, and for the rest of yesterday I was in a secretly foul mood. better now, but it was just so damn frustrating.

If anyone reading this knows ANYTHING about queensland transport law, I'd love to know what the reasoning is behind this absurb new 'law' that prevents giving me back my old license photo.

i bought a lounge suite today! i feel so grown up. this was the first big furniture piece i've bought without my parents help, advice, or money. i bought a fridge but this lounge suite just seems way more important, plus it is more expensive.
that's a pic i took at the store. Here's a link to the couch on the website.

It won't be arriving for another 4-6 weeks, which really sucks. I can't wait for it to come, so I can rearrange the lounge. I'll be getting rid of both my current couches, and will get a new tv cabinet once the lounge arrives. It feels great to buy nice, new furniture (all my current stuff has been second hand or cheap new pieces bought over the years by my parents), although its kind of scary, because it feels like yet another thing grounding me here. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I like it here - a great job, a great boyfriend, a great place to live, great friends. But this little voice in the back of my head thinks "BUT this just makes it harder for you to pack up and leave for overseas one day in the future". I seem to know alot of people going overseas this year to live (for a year or more). And a big part of me wants to do that too. While another part of me wants to buy furniture and get more settled and enjoy a more comfortable lifestyle here.

argh I just don't know what to do, and at the moment I'm just so comfortable and contented with my life here. Plans to go overseas are definately being pushed more and more back. I know I could just continue this lifestyle, while still saving for trips overseas. But I definately like the idea of going to live somewhere for a lengthy period of time. Of course the idea of leaving people behind here scares me way too much.

Speaking of my contented life - its been 6 months since the boy and I officially started dating. It's not a proper anniversary, but call me Miss Cheese, I made a bit of a deal about it. Nothing too huge, but we went for a nice dinner at the himalayan restaurant down the road. We were at a table out the back with cushions and a low table, where you have to kick off your shoes to sit down. It was really cute and nice, and the food was absolutely amazing, and it was just really nice and dare I say, romantic. And after a fun day shopping for couches together, and a really fun night last night, it was a great weekend all up.

I hosted a Nutrimetics party yesterday, which then turned from a casual mid-afternoon wine and cheese event, into a huge drinking session. After a few of the girls left and the makeup and products were cleared out, a couple of Y-Chromosonians joined the party which ended up going all night. In typical fashion, I piked about 12.30 and showered and went to bed. David followed a little bit after, but everyone else was up til the very early AM.

Next month I've got 2 awesome bands to look forward to - Tegan & Sara (again) and Broken Social Scene. There's just so many great bands I want to see. I really wanted to go to the Big Day Out, but I had to draw the line somewhere, and unfortunately that was it. The last time I went to BDO, I tried to have a couple of drinks to perk myself up, but combined with the sun, I just ended up dehydrated and with a massive headache. And I think I have the smallest bladder in the world, so as soon as I drink I have to pee. And you know what toilets and toilet lines are like at big festivals - disgusting and the lines are huge. So yea, I figured although there are so many bands I would love to see, I would just end up hot and sunburnt and tired and would spend the whole time sitting on the hill, complaining.
I bought tickets to see the Mars Volta next week but am now slightly regretting that purchase. Although they rock, I just don't think I'll have a good time. The only people I know going are the boy and another guy from work, who I know will end up down in the mosh area. And that's not for me. It'll just be too hot and I'm not tall/big enough to battle with a crowd of sweaty, drunk guys. I'm not sure who I'll sell it too though, since the gig hasn't sold out. might try some brisbane LJ communities or something.

Coming up in March, is a play that really caught my eye, An Inspector Calls. The tickets were pretty pricey, but I really think it will be enjoyable and worth it. There's a bunch of comedy shows I'd LOVE to see as well, but again, I'm trying to say no to something. Especially now with this couch - although its 24 months interest free (so as long as I pay $100 a month I'll be sweet) - and other little things I can spending my money on, while also trying to save - unfortunately I just can't do everything. I hate saying no to stuff though. I want to do it ALL!!!!!

This is something I've been working on for a little while. I barely turn on my PC nowadays, so I've only been working on it for an hour a week or something, so its taken awhile.

The rest of the content is still to come... slowly slowly!

Friday night: Rach, dan and I went to the Shins concert. It was fucking amazing. The support band was the Brunettes, a band from New Zealand. There was a trumpet, a clarinet, a saxaphone, a xylophone and a banjo, plus the regular instruments. 6 people on stage. Male and female vocalists. Oh yea, and they clapped alot! Hand claps are definately under-rated and should be used more often. I am a big fan of the hand claps.

The Shins sounded so great live. They are one of my favourite bands now. Seeing them live just blew me away. But seriously, I am going to have to stop going to gigs in summer. It is just plain disgusting how hot venues in Brisbane are. It should be enforced that every club has high-powered air conditioners, because its just so ridiculously hot. I was sweaty all over.Thank god it wasn't the kind of music that people mosh to, else I woudl have slunk to the back of the room much sooner than we did.

Perhaps it was the heat combined with the cheap, nasty wine, but I was really quite drunk when we left. But the night didn't end there. We caught up with Ben and Trav and partied on til all hours of the morning. Ended up at the Depot (home of the Brisbane Emo community) where I felt majorly out of place (even though I had on one of more Emo outfits - converse shoes and all!). That was until I got so drunk I stopped caring, and found out one of the managers was friends with my younger sister in high school. She gave me free drinks cards... much love. Though it was those last few drinks that really pushed me over the edge. I was totally jealous though. Part of me would love to be a manager of a club,but I just woudln't know how or where to begin. And another part of me thinks "That's not a 'career'..."

I also ran into some random myspacer's. It's always fun but weird to meet people you've only spoken to online.

Saturday was absolute pain. I slept in til midday and felt half drunk when I woke. David was coming over and we had plans to go and buy ingredients to make a Thai curry from scratch. (I got a few cookbooks from mum LAST christmas and haven't used them, so we've decided we're going to try and cook something new from the recipe books once a week or something. I'm a useless cook, so hopefully David can teach me something). I showered and went back to bed while waiting for him to come over. He arrived and my stomach got worse and worse, until I was on the verge of throwing up by mid-afternoon. So no cooking saturday. I was pissed off at myself for once again, drinking myself sick and wasting the day. I also missed out of going out saturday night, to a local band's gig, which I had been looking forward to. oh wells.

A quiet night and a good night's sleep and I was feeling fine today. We shopped and then cooked up a storm while dancing/singing to Human Nature's Motown cd (which I'm embarassed to admit, is really quite good- I bought a copy for mum and dad, and although david laughed at first, he ended up loving it so he downloaded a copy). The curry was a sucess! We made the curry paste from scratch -oh how stinky is shrimp paste? We only used 2 teaspoons (we made double the amount of curry paste, to save half for another week), but it was so smelly. Its wrapped up and in an airtight container in the cupboard but I can still smell it when I stick my head close to it.

Vile stuff, yet it is what makes thai food so darn tasty.

We ate, then napped on the couch. Then all too soon the weekend was over *sniff*.......

Random show we've been watching - The Mighty Boosh. Its another british comedy, and is really really random. They break into song at least once every episode. BBC website link.
I strongly recommend it! I find Noel Fielding (who plays Vince Noir) strangely attractive. I think its the hair. The hair is just so amazing! (will make more sense if you've seen it).

Also started watching Little Britain season 3. Love it!

1. What did you do in 2005 that you'd never done before?
Went on a holiday with 3 friends (Sydney, August 2005). Best trip ever!!!!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and did you make more for this year?
I didn't really make any resolutions last year, except (in the wake of a nasty breakup and ex-boyfriend moving out) I hoped that I would stop letting him emotionally hurt me, and not let myself get trapped in a toxic relationship again. And yea, I'd say I kept those.
I haven't made any new years' resolutions for this year. I have a loose savings goal, but that's about it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not really. My aunty gave birth to her second child, but they live in Sydney.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Luckily, no.

5. What countries/cities did you visit?
Bundaberg, Sydney, Gold Coast. wow that's sad.

6. What would you like to have in 2006 that you lacked in 2005?
More focus and drive in my career. OH and a romantic Valentine's day (as I was single last year)
7. What date from 2005 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
Saturday 19th March - I finally make the move and initiate the kiss that starts the whole whirlwind of emotions.
Friday 15th July - The before mentioned whirlwind of emotions becomes an official relationship.
Sunday 14th - 17th August - Sydney Trip
Saturday 20th August - Tegan and Sara show cancelled, so go with Rach & Dan to see The Panics gig, and more importantly, see Pilate support them. Hang out with the Pilate boys all night and partied hard with both bands. One of the best nights ever!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Finding a happy living situation/flatmates, keep an awesome job and falling hard for the RIGHT guy.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Hanging onto some of the hurt at the beginning of the year - by not letting go of that hurt, I was angry, bitter and spiteful for a few months. I don't like to hold grudges.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just my regular 3-4 colds.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Willow, my ibook :)

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
um... not sure.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Mine - mostly in the first half of the year.

14. Where did most of your money go?
savings, alcohol, rent, bills

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
TEGAN AND SARA AUSTALIAN TOUR!!! flew to Sydney to see their solo show, and then luckily Little Birdy cancelled so I got to see them another 3 times, including another 2 headline shows.

16. What song will always remind you of 2005?
Bad Day - Daniel Powter. The boy and I danced in the lounge room many saturday and sunday mornings to this song.
Emancipate Myself - Thirsty Merc. I silently screamed along to this song often at the beginning of the year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you...
i. happier or sadder?
much happier

ii. thinner or fatter?
perhaps a little bit more toned

iii. richer or poorer?
richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
More travel..... of course, my bank balance is thankful I didn't

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Less excessive drinking

20. How did you spendChristmas?
Probably going home to Bundaberg again, like most years, and hopefully I'll have company again :)

21. How did you spend New Years?
Had a few people over at my place, yummy cocktails, good company, no vomitting/passing out early!

22. Did you fall in love in 2005?
Yes

23. How many one night stands?
One

24. What was your favourite TV program?
Nip/Tuck, Lost, Veronica Mars, Arrested Development, Scrubs

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not at all

26. What was the best book you read?
Memoirs of a Geisha (again), Perfume (again) The Da Vinci Code

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Pilate, Death Cab For Cutie, Bloc Party (I can't remember if I started listening to them in 2004 or not), Eisley, James Blunt, Joanna Newsom, The Faint, New Pornographers, Magic Numbers, The Shins, Vivek Shraya

28. What did you want and get?
The boy, an iBook.

29. What did you want and not get?
The money and time to travel.

30. What was your favourite film of this year?
oh god, I can hardly remember what came out this year. Nothing is coming to mind.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I didn't do that much on my actual birthday (it was a Sunday)- recovered from the awesome day before and the party the night before, enjoyed a lazy day with good company. I was 24.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Not much, it was a pretty good year in the end.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2005?
Slightly more 'grown-up' and 'corporate' this year, but still mixing it up with arm bands, legwarmers and tights every so often. I definately fell in love with layers during winter - a tight black long-sleeved shirt can go underneath anything! Oh and started wearing Converse sneakers again for the first time since 1995. OOOH and I bought a pair of tightish black jeans (oh i'm so emo!)

34. What kept you sane?
My growing collection of tv shows on dvd (Re-watching the whole of Buffy and Angel kept my mind off the breakup and dealing with single life during the first few months of the year)....

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Tegan from Tegan & Sara

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
No comment

37. Who did you miss?
Everyone I care about was in my life this year... perhaps old highschool friends, who I wish I saw more of.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
new person? perhaps devo? I don't think I met him in 2004....
Honorable mentions: Dan and Ellen (though technically I met you both in 2004.... i think- Dan when did we meet?!?!)

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2005.
Re-finding myself, my strength, learning that I can be by mself, I don't need someone to make me ME!

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
blah after a long time debating and listening to a shitload of songs, i have decided - this is IMPOSSIBLE to find. maybe i listen to depressing music or something but i can't find a lyric that sums up the year.

merry christmas and happy new year. i really want to blog about my awesome christmas holiday but first, i have to vent about the worst customer service today i've ever experienced .....
first, the cab driver we got as we were headed to the cinema today. rachel and jess called a cab from their place and were picking me up from my corner on the way, but we had to swing by blockbuster down the road so i could drop off a couple of dvds. i jumped in the cab and jess said 'we're just stopping off at blockbuster, down the road'. as we approached it, he said 'turn left into this driveway'.... and the cab drove past it.... we said 'we needed to turn back there, so just turn here and turn around'... but he drove on. finally jess said 'TURN RIGHT HERE' and pointed and the guy turned.

so we went the longest way possible as we went around the block to get back to blockbuster. again he missed the driveway for the second time and jess had to force him to pull over so i could run out to drop the dvds off.

we turned around to then head off to the cinema and we realized he maybe couldn't understand or speak english. i was later told that when they first hopped in the cab, he had pointed at his auto-navigation system and said 'please put in your street'. we had to direct him the whole way to a very easy to get to part of brisbane, instructing him when to get into the other lane and where to turn. finally when we approached the cinema we asked him to pull over and indicated for him to pull over to the side of the road and he slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road... but he wasn't stopping. he was getting closer and closer to the cars parked on the side of the road but wasn't looking like he was going to stop. jess, in the front seat, cringed and *THUMP*..... i swore and looked around wildly. in broken english, the cab driver asking 'did you open door?'. jess angrily replied 'no, you hit the sideview mirror of that car!' but i swear he didn't understand. he finally stopped and i jumped out to check the car but there were no obvious damage sides. rach and jess got out of there as quick as they could and we ran over to the cinema and gushed about how retarded he was, and wondered how the fuck he ever got permission to drive a cab. not only did he not speak or understand english well, i truly wondered how well he could drive. he sat right forward and kinda peered through his glasses over the dashboard. it was really disconcerning.

our film had already sold out despite getting there at least 20 minutes before it was due to go in (god damn public holidays), so we bought tickets to the next session 2 hours later and went to the bar next door for some drinks.

we ordered at the bar and the chick took each of our orders individually and really slowly, not actually making us our drinks, only writing down the orders. after more than 5 minutes of slow service we finally sat down and our drinks were bought over a few minutes later. we questioned if maybe the obviously lack of enthusiasm was due to the fact that they were working on a public holiday so soon after new years eve. but still, you're getting paid double time and a half so shut up and smile BIATCH!

after a couple of drinks, our movie was still an hour away so we ordered so wedges plus sour cream and sweet chilli sauce (you had to pay for the sauces, as extra). when they finally came out we were only given the sour cream. we asked the waitress if we were supposed to get sweet chilli as well and whether she said 'you have sweet chilli' or something and walked away. now most norwegian/swedish people speak fabulous english, but whether it was her accent, or the fact that she walked away without straight away, we were left scratching our heads wondering if she had actually understood us.

a minute later she stuck her head out of the kitchen and looked over at us and gestured. we had no idea what she was trying to say, so she came back over, VERY unenthusiastically and we asked if we could get some sweet chilli sauce since we had paid for it and everything. she asked 'do you have sweet chilli?' , pointing at the sour cream and we all looked confused and said 'no, we've only got sour cream'. so she grabbed the sour cream as she mumbled something and walked away. we all wondered if we would get both sauces back, and decided we would be happy if only the sweet chilli sauce returned. we didn't want to make a fuss. luckily she came back with both sauces.

after the movie (fun with dick and jane - funny but nothing too great to write home about), we thought we'd grab some food and another drink. we sat down, the same scandinavian waitress came over and gave us menus. as she was about to walk away i said we'd like to order drinks. the others ordered vodka and i ordered a house red. Five minutes later came back with 2 x vodka's and a white wine. i explained that i had ordered a RED wine and she checked her note pad (which i honestly don't remember her using) and sighed and went back and changed my drink. i KNOW i definately said 'HOUSE RED' coz i would never ever drink white and never get them confused, but she still made me feel like it was my mistake. incompetant bitch.

but two incompetant incidents was not enough! no no! she returned to take our meal order. she has already said that it was only salads, pizzas and light meals tonight (as it was a public holiday). rach and i ordered salad, and jess ordered a burger which was in the light meals section. she said 'no burgers' and walked away. we looked confused for a bit and she returned (with my red wine) and i tried to clarify the order. 'so we can't order a steak burger?', 'no just salads, pizzas and light meals'. ..... 'ok, so can we order nachos instead?'

if english isn't your second language, or EVEN if it is, shoudln't you repeat the order back to your customers, to make sure you have the right order? taht's what i was taught when in hospitality, and i would do that just to be sure. if the customers have ordered fast or spoke in a confusing manner, or IF there was a CHANCE you didn't hear them right, you should repeat the order back to them. but NO, she would walk off as soon as we finished speaking without checking anything with us.
we were pretty much ready to receive the wrong meal but more than 20 minutes later (there was NO ONE in the place, why would a salad and nachos take so long?!?!?!?) we received our right meals.

the one saving grace was when we went out and paid, we were only charged $32 which is about the price of our 2x meals, but NOT our drinks (3x drinks = at least $15). sucked in you stupid wench, sucked in for being some a bad waitress and not writing down everything. we didn't realize til we were half way down the street and we worked out that that couldn't have been the full price, but i hope that came out of her wage. she was a shit waitress. in fact they were all useless staff. everytime rach ordered a vodka, lime and soda it was made different. one time it came back with just vodka, soda and a wedge of lime. not squeezed, not muddled, not even lime cordial. just a slice of lime thrown in for good measure. fucking 'tards.

ok i'm going to write about christmas, i promise, but not now. happy 2006 to you all.