Astrology and all that hokum

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I don’t believe in the supernatural. Much. I don’t believe in psychics, mediums or astrology. I've never held much regard for the occult in general, and I think this comes from a phase in my childhood when my cousins and I used to conduct ouija boards every day in an attempt to contact The Other Side. All we ever achieved was completely freaking each other out. I am, however, willing to keep an open mind about hauntings – although I spent three months living in a supposedly haunted house with my grandmother, and never saw a thing – experiences described to me by people close to me (and that I trust implicitly) have caused me to not write off the existence of ghosts and specters completely. The major factor in these accounts that persuades me that not all is as it seems is that these are people not given to flights of fancy. Recently on a whim, I started following a Capricorn-centric twitter account. I think it was retweeted by one of my fellow twitizens, and I thought “heck, that DOES sound like me”. And the more it tweets, the more I think that. It’s really eye-opening for me – I’m learning things about Capricorns that I have never heard before, and these character traits are describing me to a tee!

Examples:

"Although very independent a #Capricorn still needs to feel wanted & appreciated."

"You will more than likely find a #Capricorn kicking back observing everything & everyone."

"#Capricorn likes to be connected with on an intellectual level, once you can do that we will slowly open up to you."

"Most #Capricorn's hate PDA."

"Stability is a #Capricorn's ultimate goal."

"A #Capricorn has good common sense & likes to surround ourselves with people who have the same."

"#Capricorn & chaos does not mix."

"#Capricorn prefers to work alone, we feel we get things done better depending on ourselves."

Maybe I should pay more attention to astrology, because some of these are uncanny. Do you read your stars every day? Or is it complete hokum, as Sheldon would say?

Happy Moments

My happy moments for this week...

* Having my other half come home after 4 days away in Sydney. I missed him more than I thought I would!

* Baking a cake for the first time since high school Home Economics. Turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself.

* Finding the most gorgeous cushion covers for my new couch - and they're reasonably priced!

* Spending all day Saturday either lying on the couch, baking or on the computer. Lazy day bliss.

* Gaining more confidence and fashion inspiration from my new favourite tumblr.

* Getting excited looking at herbs - still haven't actually planted any though

Lazy Day

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Today has been so divine and relaxing. I've dubbed it our "lazy day". It rained, the sky was grey.

First, C arrived home early this morning from Sydney. We slept in, then I went to the shops and bought apples. I baked a tea cake, which I have never done in my life before, purely because C was banging on about how much he loves them last week. I also did two loads of washing.

Apart from that, we pretty much spent the entirety of the day on the couch. We watched some tv shows together, then a movie with popcorn. Then I cooked dinner and we ate at the breakfast bar together, chatting.

It wasn't until after this, and we were back relaxing on the couch, that I realised that I hadn't even asked C if he wanted to do something today, go somewhere. I said this to him, and he said he didn't want to go anywhere anyway.

If it wasn't Saturday, I'd say it was the perfect lazy Saturday.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

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I’m learning a hard lesson in loneliness this week, as my other half has gone to Sydney to attend a convention.

I was trying hard not to think about the fact that he was going away and LEAVING ME riiiight up until the day before he left, then I just got really sad. We haven’t been separated for more than two days for quite a while, almost four years, in fact.

There are some good things about having an empty house however. I can cook whatever I want without having to worry about his fussiness. I can watch whatever I want on the TV without complaint (ha ha! Trashy reality TV here I come!). I can go on the computer for as long as I want without him wandering into the office aimlessly looking for attention or for me to make him something to eat. I even have the whole of our king-size bed to myself.

Problem is, it’s a bit lonely. The first day was ok, but now I miss him like crazy. Thankfully, due to the wonders of technology, I’m in constant contact with him via text and phone calls.

Problem is, you can’t send a hug via the phone. Absence is definitely making me fonder of the boy. I have no idea how people in long-distance relationships do it!

Pukka Tukka

I'm a bit strange when it comes to new things. Sometimes I'm an avid early-adopter - the first one onboard in a new fandom, or buying a book the first day it is out. Other times I'm a lagging late-adopter; only catching onto some new gadget after hearing everyone else's good reviews. But when it comes to the subject of tonight's post, I am very, very tardy to the party. I'm talking about Jamie Oliver.

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A quick Google tells me he was first on our television screens in 1999 - can you believe that? Over ten years he's been part of the culinary landscape. I vaguely recall people rabbitting on about him whilst I was at university, and one of my cousins in particular was a bit obsessed, collecting all his cookbooks. I, meanwhile, had watched the odd episode of School Lunches or Ministry of Food and not thought that much more about him. Until recently.

The reason for my late, great obsession with Jamie is solely due to one thing: his show Jamie at Home. It's being (re?)-run on two different channels here at the moment, and it has bewitched me. I am not even clear on why, but let me tell you all the things I think are wonderful about it.

- Brian the hairy gardener. At first I was like "who is this homeless begger who has wandered onto the set?" but now his taciturn nature and boundless knowledge about organic gardening have won me over.

- I'm learning things. Like how to roast a capsicum. Or blanch things. I'm pretty sure noone in my house or my mother's has ever blanched a vegetable. But should I want to, I now know how.

- Jamie is not fussy. He just chucks stuff in a bowl or pan and mixes it up. He hardly ever seems to measure things, but when he does, he uses an old kitchen scale that looks like my nannas.

- He doesn't use strange ingredients. Sure, there's a few herbs I've never encountered before, but I chalk that up to my own ignorance. There's nothing too complicated about the recipes on this show, and I LOVE that fact. It makes me feel like YES, I COULD MAKE THAT TOMATO SALAD. And is that not the mark of a good cooking show?

- He makes me want to eat vegetables. I am dying to try to make his Zucchini Carbonara. Did you know zucchinis are also called corgettes? Another thing I learned!

All of these things are great, but the best (and possibly most disasterous) thing that has happened from my new devotion to this show is that I have become inspired to plant a herb garden. I am positive if I have a basil plant or some parsley or mint at my immediate disposal I will use them in my cooking more.

Watch this space...

That's when neighbours become good friends

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Everybody needs good neighbours, yes? Ours are pretty good. They keep their yard clean, haven’t undertaken messy renovations and play their music at a normal volume. But here’s the thing – I never speak to them. I’ve lived in our house 4 years now and the only reason I know their names is because C told me.

I’m just not an overly-friendly person I guess. Sure, I’ll wave if I see them pulling in the driveway, but it really highlights to me just how stand-offish I must be when C’s mother visits. She never fails to speak with either of the neighbours within a day of arriving. I don’t know what she does – sometimes I’m convinced she hollers over the back fence at them. But then again, this is a woman who is so chatty, she will tell supermarket cashiers and strangers she’s in line with her most personal stories.

A few days ago she asked me if our right-hand side neighbours had gone on their cruise yet. Not only could I not tell her if they were AWAY ON HOLIDAYS, I didn’t even know they were going on a cruise. Goes to show what a little bubble I live in.

But at the end of the day, I don’t talk to our neighbours because a) I’m always working b) when I am home I’m doing housework or chilling out, and c) I don’t really care about them. Sad to admit, but brutally honest. I don’t care what their dog’s name is, or when they are going on a cruise, or when their daughter is fighting with her boyfriend.

Are you friendly with your neighbours?

The Customer Is King

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I love giving good customer service. I enjoy helping people and also solving complex problems for them. Most of my professional life has been spent in call centres, and a good proportion of that in roles where I did individual customer management on a case-by-case basis. I developed relationships with my customers, as often I would be dealing with them for stretches of weeks or months at a time. Everyone I worked with had a customer service-driven work ethic, and thrived on getting good feedback and compliments. My last position at a very large telecommunications company was as part of a team of results-driven high achievers, and it was very competitive in that respect.

So when I changed jobs and moved to a finance department, I was in for a rude surprise. I went from being in a place where the Customer Is Always Right and compromises can always be reached; to a team where frankly, they all HATE customers. And they’re not backwards in coming forwards when expressing their opinions. I was extremely shocked to hear some of them refer to their customers as “idiots” or complain about their complaints. I’m not sure if it’s a company culture thing, or something unique to accounts, but I’m used to it now. I just try to give the best customer service I can anyway.

How do you feel about good or bad customer service? Do you speak up if you are on the receiving end of either? A compliment can go a long way towards brightening someone’s day, and for some, there are even job rewards. Likewise, a complaint about bad service can help the next person in line behind you – sometimes it’s just about coaching a person to do better. I get really riled up about rude service I receive in person or on the phone – probably because I always go out of my way to be helpful and I don’t like it when a customer service person isn’t. I sometimes have to remind myself that it’s a human on the other end of my barrage of words and try to keep any critique constructive and not personal.

The best service of my life I ever received was in a little bar in Bangkok. The worst was over the phone from Elgas. Both these incidents stick in my memory due to the attitude of the person serving me.

Where have you gotten the best or worst customer service?