Friday : rage and love

What a mixed bag this week was. The ups and downs of parenting , running a business working part time and trying to be A Good Wife.

• It will be funny on Sunday as Busy made Chef a Father's Day present that she is so going to insist he wear all day Sunday and that will make me laugh!
• I was annoyed to see some mature women flirting with a barrista, to the point where he was so beetroot red and embarrassed I get annoyed with them. Can't they see that a) they are making fools of themselves and b) he doesn't like it, it is mean to make someone that embarrassed.Then, these same women when I asked for a weak coffee made a point of saying how strong they wanted theres' in an attempt to belittle me? And were sniggerly snidely at my order.Why do that?

sometimes I miss sugar, lucky it doesn't come like this anywhere 'round here.

• It was rude that people were harrumphing and sighing and making noises in the queue behind me at the Post Office when I was mailing a big pile of orders. It wasn't during lunch time or anything but honestly you should have heard the noises of annoyance! It IS a post office and I was posting things!
• I got a tick on the neck, got me twice the little mongrel of a thing. itch itch itch all week.
• Their is always washing. Always. Every time I look. It will never end.
• It is annoying that some people when they are told by preschool that there child has nits don't do anything about it so they spread.
• It is exciting that next week that my cushions are going to be in the Newspaper!! these two- Canberra and New Orleans- next Saturday! ( don't worry i will be sure to remind you!)

• It is hard when people get annoyed because I don't know how things that I have no business in knowing work. For example I parked in the wrong place when I was doing some work at a high school and the gate was locked. the admin woman was so rude to me- there was no sign telling me not to park there, she got so annoyed with me??? How am I suppose to know they lock the gate. The caretaker was "in the middle of a cup of tea" and everything when he had to come and unlock the gate for me.
• It is exciting that lovely Master S who made my i-phone app. told me it has had 4300 downloads. WOWEEEEE!!!
• It is also mind blowing to me that this week I hit 800 sales on Etsy!!
• It was annoying that I felt blackmailed by a customer on Etsy because of the feedback system.

All in all a mixed bag. How has your week been? Hope all your Mr's have a great Fathers Day on Sunday and they get spoilt rotten!


Not to late to enter the giveaway- scroll down- I AM EXTENDING THE DEADLINE : I will notify the winners by email on Sunday night!

maintaining the rage

So everyone goes frickin berserk over transporting cows to be  inhumanely slaughtered in Indonesia. The law gets changed overnight! ( I agree that it was inhumane and live exports are horrific)

Yet MANY people are quite happy to allow CHILDREN who have arrived in Australia LEGALLY seeking asylum -( it is not illegal to arrive in a country and ask for asylum ) to be transported ALONE to Malaysia where we know their human rights will be abused in the form of caning and whipping them. Children. Human children. We are sending them to be abused.

The cows have been saved.
The children have not.

Rant number... I don't know at least 7, 8 maybe???

Why does society tolerate violence against Women? Why do we hear about it and do nothing?
When we hear men justify violence? Why do we allow this? When we hear them blame alcohol why is this ok? Not everyone who drinks becomes violent, in fact most people don't so therefore alcohol can not be blamed. Or this: She was asking for it- look at what she was wearing? If a man is walking around without a shirt on is he asking to be sexually assaulted? Can't we wear what we like?


image

How can we , as a society continue to allow this to happen? Before the age of 25, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 5-6 boys will be sexually assaulted in Australia. These are reported assaults, the ones we know about . This doesn't include the ones where the victim was drunk and feels embarrassed, ashamed, intimidated, scared to report etc etc etc.

In Australia it would appear that when you report being directly involved in the sexual assault of a woman with your team mates, you just go on TV look regretful- but never actually say sorry to the victim, and then you get your own TV Show? Or you smash a glass in the face of your girlfriend and three years later you are inducted into the Football Hall of Fame? Or you and your teams mates sexually assault a young woman but because there is not enough "evidence"  you just walk free?

Why does this continue? What are we teaching young people about violence, when footballers in particular , seem to get away with it?
Am I the only person outraged by this?

Blogger!!!!

Had you noticed that my posts never showed in your reader and that you had to click over here to read more than the title? I did not know that it was like that. Someone lovely pointed this out to me today and she also helped me fix it. Thanks Claire! You are ace!!! Cam also responded to my plea for Help. Thanks Cam. So this is to say sorry to everyone for what a pain that was and secondly to assure you it was not a ploy to get you to click over. I am not that clever!

So this is a test post about that to make sure this works.

I would also like to to take this moment to apologise for the many many many grammatical errors and typos I have in blog posts and leave in comments, it's just that I move through life quickly.... so here is my sorry. Sorry.

Below is a picture of our new letterbox that I asked the universe for. Ours fell apart after someone backed into it! ( we do not know who!) and I asked the universe to provide a new one. The same day I went into the oppy and there it was. Dirt cheap, and now painted red.

Life is good.

How much do you reeeaaallly need?

I often wonder, how much do I really need?

We have a lotto syndicate at work where we all put in a dollar a week. Obviously we haven't won big yet- I would have told you-  but I have constant disagreements with people about how much is enough.

Think about it. How much do you reeeallly need?

Enough to pay off your mortage/ buy a house?
Enough to buy a new(er) car?
Enough for a trip around the world?
Enough to take your husband to a few michelin restaurants?
Enough for a  trip to Melbourne for a week to so shopping and eating???( and visiting bloggy friends)

One of my pet hates is when the topic of winning money comes up and people will say  "a million dollars is not a lot these days". This comment , probably more than any other, (actually that's not true, the "I am not racist but" probably come in in first place...) ahem.. this comment really makes me feel frustrated. I just cannot believe that people think a million is not enough.

A million dollars.

1 million dollars.

That is so much money I cannot beleive you couldn't do a lot of good with that. I think, you could change your life completely with that. Completely. And the fact that you are going to be given it for nothing SURELY makes it an even bigger amount of money doesn't it?! Its not like you have to earn it? Or some horrible tragedy occured and you got it in compemnsation. You are getting it- hypothetically- for nothing!

My other issue is when they have prizes that are for $10million or $200 million. It is ridiculous to give someone that kind of money. Why not divide it up so a whole load of people in $500 000? Its just to stressful- mad to think it wouldn't make there life difficult!

See, when I wish to the lotto gods I just want $30 000. To do all the bits to the house that we want to do.
Thats all. I would be happy with anything probably squeal over $100! But $30 000 would do me.
 how much do you really need?

chunkychooky gets her crankypants on

Ahem.

Dear Interested Party,

Please do not spam my esty account with dumb offers such as the following:

No I am not interested in doing consignment to the other side of the world to a shop/ gallery without so much as a website. It has been hard enough trying to get money out of  shops 30 kms away. Let alone 30 000... however thankyou for your interest, and Thanks but I am definately not interested after I saw the contract you sent me despite the fact that I said " not interested' - whereby I pretty much have no rights once the product is sent.... whereby you will sell the item by adding 150% to the wholesale price plus $10 for postage - that I am paying for.

and No , I am awfully sorry I am not interested in sending 7 of my items ( YES SEVEN) to the other side of the world ( at MY expense) to be reviewed on your blog that - quite frankly looks like crap and has 22 followers... and Oh what's that you say? you would like the fisherman pants in a size 6 months- amazing conincidence that you have a 6 month old that you said  you can never find cute clothes for on your last blog post....

and Nooooo you cannot buy my rattles wholesale for $5 each and you almost certainly can't do this if you only want 3 of them and I don't really care if you think you can only get $10 for them at your shop.

and sorry No you cannot have a discount because you haven't got much money at the moment.

and Noooooo I am not interested in doing a trade as I don't really like what you are selling as its not my taste, and thank so so so much for insulting me and calling me a selfsih b*tch when I declined to do so.

and Nope, I will not post the items until you have paid. Call me crazy but no sorry, I am sure you are a very honest and nice person but I cannot, will not, do that.

and no, I am sorry I will not make you a toy, post it to you to see if you like it ( to other side of world) and then if you do you will pay me... yeah right.

    photo from here

these are just a small number of the emails I have had via etsy. I have forwarded most of them to etsy HQ to be dealt with by them .
The nerve of some people. Where do they get off? Do they think I am thick???
 I feel better now. It is so good to have a place to vent.

handmade vs homemade?

Is it just me or do you assume when you are buying something on Etsy or Madeit that is being sold as handmade - so you assume the person selling it actually made it with their own hands? I do. Well I did.

A friend recently told me that her friend sells on Madeit but she doesn't actually make anything herself- she has it made very cheaply- locally- by someone else- then adds on quite a few bucks and sells in on Madeit? Do you think this is wrong or is it just me??

I think this is really dishonest. On her shopfront she states that everything is made in ( where she lives) and it is- but not by her.  As far as I am concerned handmade is home made by the person selling it. The whole beauty of buying something on these sites, I think, is that you are buying something from the actual artist/ creator themselves?

I know the flipside of this is that she is able to provide work for someone locally which of course is great .. I don't know... I don't like it but there is not really anything I can do, I don't actually want to do anything about it I am just intersted in what others think.

a rant- but not a big one: Refugees.

Let them in.

Let them stay.

Let them escape what they are escaping

If they are travelling across the ocean in dodgy boats in the middle of the night they are desperate.

They are not queue jumpers.

They are people.

Like us.

They have endured trauma that most of us cannot even begin to imagine.

Our country is rich and safe.

We have a duty to help.

... to Refugees I say "Welcome- how can I help?"

call me a bleeding heart if you like- I don't mind. I probably am one.

charged to pay!

( picture from here)
You know what really annoys me??? Unnecessary charges, for- no- good- reason- charges, just- for -the- hell -of -it- because -we -can- charges...fees... whatever you want to call it!

We got a letter the other day from a large phone company telling us that they are going to start charging us $2.20 to pay our bill at the post office. (The post office doesn't get the $2.20 we asked them) or we can pay by credit card and be charged 1% interest of the amount of the bill. Where do they get off??? How can they charge us to pay? how can they be allowed to make you pay to pay??? We would change phone companies if we could but we don't get coverage from anyone else so they have us by the short and curlies ( I do love that term short and curlies- my Dad use to say it all the time as well as " what do you think it is Bushweek?"hehehe )

And this one... I am in a very large shop and I want to lay by an item of clothing- she tells me there is a $7 lay by fee! I try not to loose it! $7 to put the frock in a bag in the storeroom with my name on it!!!!(I know its not the lovely shop assistants fault so I just say that is a scam!!!)

And being charged to get your own money out of an ATM because its not your banks own ATM!!! How could that possibly cost $2??

I could go on and on but you get the drift! Why is it that you can be charged for paying?! It really annoys me! then these compnaies will come out and tell us how they laid off 5000 workers and made a 5 billion dollar profit!!!! ROOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAARRRR!!!!!!!!!!

Have a rant! Get it off your chest I know you can think of an example!!!
Phew! I feel better now... a little ... for the momnent anyhow

open letter to Mr Truck Driver.

Dear Mr B Double Truck Driver,
When I am driving along the Pacific Highway to my place of employment I am doing the speed limit, harassing me with your large truck is not advisable.
Mr Tuck Driver when you tail- gate me when we are driving through a known black spot on the highway ( ie where their have been heaps of accidents) I will not go any faster. I am doing the speed limit.
Mr Truck Driver when you flash your lights and sound your horn at me I will continue to do the speed limit.
Mr Truck Driver when you drive past me like a bat out of hell in the overtaking lane and make rude gestures at me and scream rude comments and horrible names you may not realise that I am pre-menstrual....
Mr Truck Driver when you over take me and I memorise your number plate and the name of the company you work for you may not have realised that I plan to phone your employer when I arrive at work.
Mr Truck Driver you may also not have realised that I also witnessed you tail gating another car and driving in a dangerous way.
Mr Truck Driver you may have been very angry when Mr and Ms Police Officer came out of a side street and made you pull over.
Mr Truck Driver you may have been surprised when I saw the police pull you over that I also felt the need to pull over as did the other woman you tail gated.
Mr Truck Driver I could see that you were very cranky when the other woman and I told Ms Police Officer the gestures and comments you had made to us after tail gating and harassing us.
Mr Truck Driver surely you have learnt that you need to be a bit more respectful to other people on the road.
Mr Truck driver is going to get into big trouble.
Ha!