Rant

Things I Hate About Australia.

/ Lisa / 1 Comment

So, Man Piece and I have been in Australia for almost three months now and it would seem that the “honeymoon” phase of a new country/city is drawing to a close.

I’m starting to find more and more things that I hate about Australia/Sydney, which ultimately make me miss home like made.

So I have decided to make a list, just to get things off my chest and maybe, thanks to @thomasbeagle‘s suggestion, in six months time I will make a “Things I Love About Australia” list.

Here goes:

  • The coins – the fact they are so big and that there are still 5c pieces. 5c pieces are SO over.
  • The heat.
  • The humidity.
  • The people – the pure number of people and also, a lot of them can be right ol’ C U NEXT TUESDAYS.
  • The lack of EFTPOS, especially in small denominations. I also find it ironic how there are advertisements on buses saying, “EFTPOS, the way Australia pays” which is absolutely false.
  • The time it takes to get anywhere.
  • Nice places being shut on weekends, particularly around where we live in the CBD, cafes etc.
  • People not understanding my accent – it happens surprisingly often.
  • Lack of culture.
  • Alcohol pricing.
  • Not being able to buy alcohol in supermarkets.
  • Certain shops not being anywhere near the CBD, or any place that is even easy to get to. E.g. City Chic, Autograph, places like Kmart or Big W (which I find is a lot like the Warehouse)
  • There being no big red sheds! I actually miss going and getting bargains – Target (and even Myer) failed me today when I tried to go and buy a cheap hand beater and spring-form cake tin. I’m actually going to have to make a specific trip out to Macquarie Park now just to go to Big W to try and find them.
  • Not being able to split bills when going out for a meal with friends.
  • An outdated payment system for transport. Seriously, install a tap card system already, it is so much easier and allows flexibility.
  • The bugs, oh my god, the bugs.
  • The heat.
  • Non-air conditioned public transport, especially in 30° heat – which is often!
  • The huge number of homeless people – it is actually shocking – and how they constantly ask you for money and if you say, “No, sorry” they abuse you.
  • The noise – it’s enough to keep you up at night.
  • Having to walk everywhere – my feet are so sore ALL THE TIME – but the alternative is driving with EVERY OTHER SINGLE PERSON and not being able to find parking, or having to pay ridiculous parking costs.
  • Our shit came-with-the-apartment TV – where does a Celestial ChangHong TV come from, anyway?
  • The fact I sweat constantly now because of the heat. I feel gross ALL THE TIME.
  • The ridiculous price I paid for contraceptives at the pharmacy – I will be happy to pay the $5 price when I eventually return to NZ. Hell of a lot better than $25.

That’s about all I can think of right now. A few of those really got to me today and just seriously pissed me off. Especially the coin one – I was given $1.50 in change all in 10c pieces. If only there had been a homeless person asking for money in Chatswood. (It has now been put in our cute little Owl money jar.)

Australia is not all bad though, while writing this list, I have managed to think of things which are better than New Zealand, like the speed of internet and how awesome the public transport actually is, despite its payment methods and dodgy air-conditioning.

And even with all these things that I hate, which would probably make anyone re-think their decision to move to the Western Island, the one thing that is going to stop me going back right now is my job, because I am absolutely loving it.

Trade Me? Trade This.

/ Lisa

I’ve had a guts full.

Yip. A guts full of Trade Me.

Up until a few weeks ago, I would only use it occasionally to buy or sell the odd thing. But a few weeks ago, of course, Man Piece and I made the move from Auckland to begin a move to Australia.

Queue me trying to sell basically everything that I don’t use anymore, which is a lot of stuff. I’ve been selling clothes, DVDs, CDs, bags, and miscellaneous objects. It has been going alright. Seeing money coming into my account still has mostly been the reason for it going alright.

However, I don’t think I have ever encountered so many stupid, obnoxious, annoying people in my life. These people I talk of are the Trade Me regulars. The ones who pretty much buy all their stuff from Trade Me and want basically everything for nothing. Who think they can bitch and bully you into giving them what they want.

When I say this, I do have to mention that several people I have dealt with have been absolutely marvelous. So thank you to those people.

Yet it is aways the few that ruin it for the rest.

I have had the few that put bids in and email you initially saying they have paid and this is their address, but you wait and wait for their payment which never comes. They obviously never intended to pay and make up some story about “urgently” needing the goods so that you ship them as soon as possible. Yeah, I’m not falling for your lies. After repeated emails and a week having passed since the auction closed, you have to request your success fees back from Trade Me and start the process all over again.

Yay.

Then I’ve had the ones that email you non-stop. Seriously. For one pair of shoes I sold, I got emailed five times in one day by the same person. I just don’t even…

Then there are the ones that are unhappy with the goods you shipped them. Some just give you bad feedback saying this is not what they expected. Sure, that’s a cross you bear buying things off the internet without seeing them first hand. This happens all the time when people buy things from online stores. But maybe next time, you should read the auction more carefully or examine the picture, or even ask me a question! *shock horror*

Then there are the ones who take it even further. That when they are unhappy with the product they seek a refund. I’ve had one buyer accuse me of advertising a pair of shoes inaccurately when, in fact, she just needed to know the definition of the colour ‘midnight blue’ and needs to grasp the fact it is not navy. ‘Cause seriously, it’s not. It’s described as a colour so dark it is almost black. So basically it’s black with blue undertones and in sunlight it looks a very, very dark navy. Navy in natural light and artificial like looks navy. End of.

This buyer can’t seem to accept that fact, she just wants her money back so has complained to Trade Me about me. I have provided evidence which is indisputable, yet she still has it out for me. Well, I’m not going to budge, because you know what lady? I’m not the first person you’ve played this game with and you will not win.

[Dems fighting words, they are!]

But after this experience with a Trade Me buyer, I’m done. I actually can’t be bothered with Trade Me anymore. If this is how I am treated by someone I do not know, who makes false accusations about me, and is a down right bitch towards me, I don’t want to have that experience any more.

So once the current auctions (unfortunately which I listed today) run out and my fixed price offers expire, or someone finally buys my stuff, I’m out. Goodbye Trade Me.

It is not just the user experience which has lead me to this decision. The fees are ridiculous as well. I know it is a business and it needs to make a buck, but gosh, I’d rather just donate everything than get charged 10% of the winning bid.

Oh, and just for the record, I am not a store. I don’t have to do shit.

I’m one of THOSE people.

/ Lisa

I blame Facebook for everyone using the word ‘Like’ too much. It’s gotten into our subconscious. Well played, Zuckerberg, well played.

A few days ago, I discovered that I was one of those people that says ‘like’ a lot.

No, I am not a 16-year-old. Even though I may act like it sometimes.

I remember saying it a lot a few years ago, for no apparent reason other than to cause a break in my sentences. I slowly managed to wein myself off of saying ‘like’ as every second word.

Until a few days ago, when I noticed it has slipped back into my vocabulary.

Oh the shame.

I was talking to a colleague and noticed I had said it a few times. So I started to think, “Don’t say it”. So of course I started to say it more.

It was a weird moment, I was saying ‘like’ even though I was trying not to. I got quite frustrated.

I think this is why I don’t necessarily talk to so much. Words just seem to come out in mush, even though I’m trying my hardest not to do it. I prefer the written word. The thoughts in my head don’t seem to fall over themselves to make themselves heard when putting them onto paper (or screen).

And most of all, I’m not channeling a 16-year-old in my head. ‘Like’ is not part of my vocabulary in there.

Like, yanno, whatever!

Orange means go faster.

/ Lisa / 2 Comments

I have a bone to pick with you Aucklanders. It’s to do with driving. Driving through red lights. Yes, that’s right. Aucklanders are notorious for running red lights.

Especially after the little green man telling me it’s okay to walk has appeared. On a daily basis, I begin to walk across the road because that little green man tells me to and at least three cars will still come through the intersection.

Sometimes I don’t even bother beginning to walk until he’s started flashing red.

Seriously.

In fact, today, I was about to start crossing the road, because the green man had said I could and three more cars went through.

Now, I might live on a ridiculous intersection, I will admit. It has five roads all coming to an apex. Yet people don’t seem to stop on the red.

At this particular intersection I have to cross twice. Once on Taharoto and then on Fred Thomas. Rather ridiculous, but in order to be safe and not get run over, I choose to use the crossings. (Even though sometimes that might not keep me safe.)

Sometimes when I am crossing Taharoto, cars coming from Fred Thomas and on to Taharoto decide, yes that green light and the cars next to me, mean I can go too.

EHHHH. WRONG.

You’re on a red arrow, buddy. You’re turning left into Taharoto, you’re not going straight through like the others. Which means that while I’m crossing the road, you’re on a red and shouldn’t be coming at me!

But it is not just this intersection that I have a problem with.

I was walking to the mall the other day and was crossing into the block where the mall is situated (my little green man had winked at me), three cars went through a red light. While a cop was sitting right there. I’m pretty sure he saw them too. Yet he did nothing.

Nothing.

What has our world come to?

Cops don’t stop red light runners, motorist don’t respect pedestrians, and people think the coloured lights mean nothing.

I means seriously people. This is what causes accidents. In fact, there was an accident at the very intersection by our apartment building the other night. Police, ambo and fire all turned up. The horn was blaring, etc, etc. I don’t think anyone was seriously injured, but I bet you, someone was running a red light.

The penalty for running a red light in New Zealand is a $150 fine and 20 demerit points, according to the AA website. Which the AA says is too low compared to the high potential danger

Disclaimer: I may use the word “seriously” too much in this post.

Disclaimer 2: I may also watch too much Grey’s Anatomy.

Tweet, tweet.

/ Lisa / 2 Comments

This post has been a long time coming. Lately I’ve been feeling a bit over twitter, made more so because of the platforms that I use to tweet,  because they essentially suck.

The one that I probably use the most is Twitter for iPhone. A few months ago it was updated with some rather significant changes. I understand why Twitter has updated the apps and web with wanting to streamline usage. Any official twitter app essentially has the same interface. Even though this makes it easier to switch between the various applications, I still prefer the old version of Twitter for iPhone.

Reasons for why I dislike it:

1. You can no longer swipe across a tweet and get quick reply, retweet, favourite, etc buttons. I loved this. Now, you have to go into a tweet and wait for it to load, because it does take a little bit to load now, before you can perform any actions. Although, I did just download the update today and swiped across a tweet because I still want to do it, and it did it! I was all, “WHAT?” so it looks like they have put back a few things they had removed.

2. People show up in your timeline with what they put as their “name”, not their @ name. Some people write some pretty weird things in there. So now I don’t know who half the people showing up in my timeline are.

3. The progress bar when sending a tweet has disappeared. This was a great indicator of whether a tweet would send or not. Now it’s not there and you kind of can’t tell if the tweet has failed to send or not. And let’s be honest, this actually happens quite a lot.

4. Direct messages now appear under “me” instead of a similar button appearing like mentions (sidenote: what is with ‘mentions’ now known as ‘connect’?) So now you have to go into “me” and then click on DMs. Slightly annoying.

5. Switching accounts is so much harder to do nowadays. In the old version it was as simple as hitting “settings” at the top left and you could go change accounts. Now you have to go into “me”, scroll down, then hit “switch accounts” in order to select which account you want. It is no longer intuitive and actually annoying, because it does not allow for quick changing between accounts.

6. No longer saying whether someone follows you or not when you look at their profile. It’s a pretty handy feature because I don’t want to look like a twat when talking to someone who doesn’t follow me, especially when I’m private.

7. Swiping to get back to your timeline. Yes, just hitting the ‘connect or ‘home ‘ button does that. But this is what I got used to. I don’t like change. Why fix something I it’s not broken? Also, sometimes I’ll look like a twat trying to get the swipe working, kind of like trying to use the swipe on a Mac touchpad when you’re actually using a mouse. And windows.

8. Not saying which account you are one. Where there is now the twitter bird at the top used to be which account you were tweeting from. It’s a bit frustrating trying to determine which account I left the app on instead of just seeing it at the top.

So does anyone know of an app which is like the old version, free, and allows for multiple accounts?