the hunter, not the hunted

i'm not sure how many of you know, but the brisbane city council (bcc) has separated the water bill from the rates bill. when i first read this was going to happen, i rolled my eyes and cringed: it meant more money was going to be raped from us.

i was right.

our recent rates "notice" (read: bill) came in, with the newly separated water usage "notice". somehow, splitting the rates and water usage bills into two separte entities managed to reduce our quarterly rates bill by only $80, i don't understand how that is possible given the following:

our water usage bill is $181.

how is it the water usage bill is more than $100 greater than the reduction on our quarterly rates bill?

i'll break it down for you:

our water usage for that time came to a little bit over the staggering price of $13. that's right, for an entire quarter, we only used about $13 worth of water. the council then threw a ~$25 "tarif charge": that's about 200% (a little under, but whatever) of the usage fee. we then get thwacked by access charges to the town supply and the sewerage: ~$38 and a whopping $104 resepectively. so, out of the total bill charge, ~$168 of it was council/state governmentl charges and taxes.

and yet, they only managed to reduce our rates by a mere $80... which means they're making an extra $88 (or there abouts) each quarter from us care of our "new bill". and let's not neglect the fact that our rates will increase again soon due to "property value increases" and other such wankery.

so, even if we were to reduce our water usage (which we have - again), we're still getting robbed by all these "surcharges" the state government feels the need to thrust upon us.

anyone who says the council/state government are not theives, don't own a house.

today is my birthday.

i have had to make my own birthday cake.
i have had to cook my own dinner.

in fact, the only thing i haven't had to do today is make my morning coffee - that was given to me in bed.

yeah. happy birthday.

til next....
~Kits~ (shouts of thanks and hugs to all who sent birthday wishes tho, they certainly made up for heaps)

so i'm currently sitting on my verandah, virtually locked out of my own house because pots' band are in my loungeroom recording a demo and i've been delegated "child shut-uppererererrer".
this sucks for many reasons, least of which being that i was supposed to be at a hens afternoon for my lovely friend haruko_fixation, but i was forcibly detained with little, acutally, NO choice in the matter. other reasons include the fact that i'm being bashed up and slobbered all over by the crawly slobbery one, and the monkey is bored shitless. it's also stinking hot, and ui have to wait until i'm certain that it's silent in the house before contemplating going to the toilet, which is quite 'inconveniently' placed at the back of the house, on the other side of the 'recording studio'. i also need a shower, which is difficult with a house full of blokes and a bathroom door that doesn't lock, or close properly for that matter.

because of this situation, i'm reminding and informing pots that i am out of the house this evening to at least pay my respects to the soon to married haruko_fixation and her soon to be husband. plus, i haven't seen most of these people since i first found out i was pregnant with the bee, so not being there tonight would be horrnedous on many many counts! i totally miss these guys and wish i had more time to spend on socialising. especially with another of the group vanishing off to 'greener pastures'.

hmmm, there are almost the distinct sounds of packing up going on inside, so i think it's once again safe to enter my own house! oh gods do i need a beer. and a shower. a beer in the shower! ooooh yeah! then i shall raid the penny jar and try and scrum up enough coin for a scotch or some bubbly or something alcoholic for the stag and doe party i MUST NOT MISS!

til next....
~Kits~ (actually remembered to blog today!)

i hate computers. moreso, i hate computers that come preinstalled with an OS i didn't really want but have come to not dislike as much as i did. i also hate computers that come preinstalled with anything and then provide nothing more than a massive folder full of essential items i'm expected to figure out how to back up and use for future situations such as the one i am currently encountering. i also hate the fact that the makers of the OS can't be bothered giving people who buy a new computer with the preinstalled software a hard copy of the software for their personal private use just to make life easier for those of us who aren't as tech savvy as others.

let me clarify:

my beautiful Sony VAIO laptop (preinstalled with Vista Home Premium) has taken to refusing to boot up. why? well, you'll have to ask it that, because i ain't got a clue. windows update attempted to install the SP1 the day before yesterday, but couldn't and reverted everything back to normal; computer ran fine for the rest of the day. today i get the following error code:

File:   ataport.SYS

Status:   0xc0000098

Info:   Windows failed to load because a required file is missing, or corrupt.

i'm being requested to insert my "windows installation disc" in order to repair. this wouldn't normally be a problem, but i don't have a damn install disc, because it was preinstalled and i hadn't figured out how to make a 9GB folder into a bootable installation disc.

i'm taking a long winded approach here, but is there anyone out there who may be able to help me out with this problem of mine? is there even a slim possibility that there is someone out there with a Vista disc I could borrow for the repair?

til next....
~Kits~ (worried)

i should check my ebay account more often. i've just discovered i've received my first non positive (neutral) feedback for an item i bought about 3 months ago. fair enough, i gave them neutral feedback, but i felt it fair, considering i had made several attempts to contat them for information regarding postage costs to BRISBANE and what not, only to have to wait forever for any kind of response from them. the icing on the cake was when i woke up to a call from the courier one saturday morning wanting to clarify my address, only to discover that he was in SYDNEY! the courier was hilarious when he re-read the delivery notes and found that my address info clearly stated that i was in fact in BRISBANE and not SYDNEY, and he assured me that i'd be contacted regarding correct delivery.

the item arrived the following tuesday morning, with no contact from anyone.

i was annoyed, but greatful that my expensive item had been delivered. after a great deal of consideration and waiting (i mean, my end of the bargain had been dealt with weeks ago, why couldn't they just leave feedback already!), i left my neutral feedback "item as described. did not communicate after attempted delivery to wrong address". i felt that was a pretty fair statement to make.

i log into my ebay account the earlier to find that they've finally left feedback: "tried to blame us for courier error. unreasonable"
i stare at it for a bit, stunned. then i troll through my feedback and discover this in response to my feedback to them: "It would help if customer gave correct address" - this statement is not true as my address information is correct, and email correspondance clearly states the city i require shipment to.

explain to me how it's a "courier error" if i allegedly supplied the "wrong address"? and if i supplied the wrong address, then, explain to me how the item was delivered without further contact to 'correct' alleged 'incorrect' information?

i really wish i could dispute this and overturn this feedback, simply because i don't believe the 'ethics' of sellers waiting until the buyer has left feedback before returning the favour (i have always left immediate feedback - aside from one occassion, but there was distraction involved). it seems to me that this sellers blatant incompetence and inability to read is their own fault, and they shouldn't be attempting to pass it onto me. i did nothing wrong. i opened communication with the seller when the incorrect invoice was sent, i paid in a timely manner when the correct invoice was <i>eventually</> emailed to me. i responded to all correspondence with the seller in an immediate fashion. i treated the seller with respect, but was never once treated the same in return.

ugh, i'm merely venting, i don't expect advice or responses. i'm just really upset that my perfect ebay rating has been tainted by this one fucktard in sydney who couldn't read.

til next....
~Kits~ (whingy and tired)

how the hell do i get this stupid telemarketing company to stop calling my fucking number?!

the same company communications solutions called again today. i told them i had told them to stop calling me "no, that would have been another company".
"no, communications solutions are the company that have been calling me"
"i can assure you it was another company, i can check it with my databaseyourphonenumberhas been selcted...blah blah spiel"
"why would i want a new phone when i've just bought one?"
....silence.... [ beep beep beep ]

add to the annoyance of not only being on the "Do Not Call" register (which apparently means butt fuck all), but we have a PRIVATE NUMBER!!! when did having a private number count for nothing these days? unlisted apparently means "we'll find you no matter what you do". i'll severely mame the company that is responsible for passing on this number to these smeg ups, apparently ignoring the whole "this number is private, unlisted, NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED" part of the information.

so, if you know how i can get these fucktards off my telephone, please let me know. i've had enough.

i'm expecting them to call again in a day or two...

til next....
~Kits~ (was having a loverly saturday until now)    

as much as i adore my shiny new laptop, i have a gripe i wish to moan about in as emo a fashion as i can muster (which may not be all that emo - you have been warned).

i am clacking away on the ever loverly sony vaio vgn-cr320e in the exact colour featured in this link (it's ever so pretty). the laptop features a great deal of loverly "mod cons" in the form of intel core duo processor, lots of gigabytage with regards to space, ram and processing. it also has a much easier to use keyboard than my previous laptop (however, learning the different shortcuts is working out to be mildly annoying, i can handle it). overall, this one is oh so much better than my last one.

so why the gripe i hear you say?

well, along the front of the laptop, just below the touch pad is a very shiny metallic strip which houses the media player shortcut buttons, plus all the lights telling me what's working (power or battery, hard drive, wireless etc). it is so very shiny i can see my refelection in it. the problem is that the bastard thing keeps giving me a small electric shock whenever i brush over it with my wrists while i'm typing or using the touch pad, thusly causing me to be in mild to severe pain all the fecking time, including the very dull sensation of a headache.

i'm still very much in love with my shiny new toy (despite it still costing me money in paying for upgrades for all the trial versions of programs it came with that i should have legal copies of by now anyway - can anyone give me a ball park figure for office 2007 home/student edition? microsoft's website has bollocks all information regarding price), and all the wonderful things it can do. and as much as i may have bagged it in the past, vista isn't all that bad an OS, it just needs some decent ram to run it because it's so flipping FAT! i need to find a way to stop this infernal machine from trying to kill me slowly with it's power!

any and all suggestions are welcome.

til next....
~Kits~ (end of alleged emo rant)

wivenhoe dam is still pretty, even if it looks a great deal smaller than i remember it.

managed to drag pots away from his computer long enough to pile the three of us into the car and drive out to the 'water hole' for "traditional fish'n'chips" and some ginger beer by the 'lake'. it was lovely and peaceful (ignoring the occasional vehicle hooning past on the main road nearby), and the monkey had a blast.

a short walk and attempted photography, where the monkey ruined every shot by refusing to close his mouth whenever the camera was pointed at him made for a mostly pleasant afternoon. much nicer than heading to either of the coasts, or any of the interim beach places.

i now have an annoying headache and horribly itchy eyes.

oh, and the monkey snapped his glasses in half on the way home. his titanium flexi frames that cost a lot of money because they're supposed to be harder to break than regular frames. NOT looking forward to the bill from the optometrist when we take the specs back to them on monday. kids are bloody expensive creatures. try and avoid them for the most part if you can. [ sigh ]

til next....
~Kits~ (not happy about the glasses

dear Troy Casser-Daly

perhaps i'm mistaken, but you are of aboriginal descent, yes? aboriginals being known as the native inhabitants of the country of australia (cuz we're unoriginal about naming our natives), right? then, please, be so kind as to explain me why you sound like a nashville country vocalist? should you not have more of a slim dusty twang? he was your first album purchase (as you stated this evening on Rockwiz).

i don't understand australian musos, whether they be country or no; why portray an american accent when they sing? it sounds utterly ridiculous! i've witnessed many a country singing wannabe (having been to tamworth and random places of musical worth) who have asked for their song in full australian twang, yet, when they open their throats for song, suddenly they sound like Dolly Parton, Shania Twain or Tammy Wynette!

as much as i dislike her as a singer, casey chambers is the only country muso vocalist i've come across who doesn't! she's all australian. i think a lot of the aussie wannabes need to look at her and learn. she's original in her style, and she seems to think that being aussie is NOT a disadvantage. missy higgins is the same! i'm not saying that all australian singers need to suddenly become Slim Dusty clones, but just use the accent you use to talk with. It shits me when the average aussie joe sings a song and suddenly sounds like a Justin Timberlake or Christina Aguilera clone.

please, just be natural!

til next....
~Kits~ (annoyed at fakes)

i walk into work; i'm being treated differently. the duty manager is now willing to discuss the communcation issues between leading staff and the subsidiaries. i have found it odd previously, but tonight i'm caught off guard and actually talk in sentences laced with politicisms. i shouldn't, i know what this one is like, but i lack the ability to care any more. i grasp for a sugarfree redbull out of the fridge while we discuss everything. she is the only one who ever asks after my son though. the illusion of care. i'll admit to being saddened at the passing of her husband, but i'll not let that interfere with the fact that she is full of utter bullshit. she once tried converse with me on a topic i'm fairly knowledgeable on, and it took all my energies not to laugh in her face at her false and incredible statements. however, she has always taken care to note what i have said about the boy. sentimentality aside, i shouldn't let my politics slip when she is around. she baits, like a fisherman, but i am weary on all other occasions. tonight though, i slipped. i went for it and circled. i circled like a school of shark; attempting to answer the questions without letting on exactly what i was thinking. i doubt my success. i do think i may have been clever with my statements. i focused more on the moron than his lackey. which is the truth. the moron is the cause, and the effect of this whole thing.

i've actually come to hate this job. and it's taken this transfer opportunity to bring this realisation home. i was at work tonight paranoid and wishing i wasn't there. i was almost convinced i was being watched because the chick taking over the job i wanted didn't like the fact that i knew what i was doing and made her look good. she hasn't spoken to me since last saturday (and note also that this 'woman' is my age). i'm still of the mind though, that if she had really wanted the job and wanted to learn it, as she stated a few times last saturday, she would have volunteered for the position as i had.

yep. i volunteered for a leadership role the day before i was offered a transfer. now, i took the transfer because i knew i would get away from my boss. i took it because i was being offered something better than what i already had. now, if my boss had a brain in that almost 30-something head of his, he would have gone "this person wants to run the shift, we need to keep her. how can we make it beneficial". INSTEAD, i get this "oh, (store name) just called saying you were transferring. thanks for telling me." i'm not obligated to tell him i'm looking elsewhere. in fact, very few jobs actually state that i should tell my line manager. so my not telling him was, in fact, NON OF HIS BUSINESS, according to what i've read to date. i could be wrong there, though.

all that aside, i really hate this job. i do a great big pile of everything during the day, least of which being: help take care of a toddler, and then i'm expected to go to work on a friday night for 5 hours, theatre all day saturday followed closely by work for another 5 hours. then a get all of sunday to prepare for 7.5 hours off hell between 12:30 and 8 am on mondy. it's fucking up my life. i can't handle not having the time to relax on a weekend. despite my not working during the week at present, i have no 'relaxation time'. i'm on call as mother for most of that time, while pots works. but trying to make the rest of the world understand that is, at the best, impossible.

i'm exhausted. i need a holiday, and there is no time to fit one in. pots and the monkey get a 2 week vacation in july. I. DO. NOT. so, while they're relaxing, i'm getting used to my new job, possibly rehearsing a new show and watching my current show come to a close. with luck, i'll get holidays come january. until then: who knows.

so, if i can't hang with you, it's one of many reasons: i'm performing (G&T may need me), i'm trying to sleep, pots has a gig, i'm simply tired, i'm studying. that may not be all, but it's a start. i'm full of horribly lame excuses,but they're all true, and that's what makes it sad.

life was so much simpler when i was unemployed and had no baggage.*

can anyone suggest some yummy pampering (the massage the other day was utterly useless for a variety of reasons), incl./excl. hot young things with not much on and feeding me food and booze?

til next....
~Kits~ (on the verge of something)

(*a general statement, not to mean i think pots and the monkey are horrible and unwanted baggage. that is far from the truth.)