Saturday, October 29, 2005

And lastly

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Awww I can drive - hand over the keys...

We've started the beginning of jumping training

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but he hasn't figured out yet how to get out from behind those miniature horse sized electric fences (stepping would do it)

Kiwi

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Showing how to canter and buck at the same time. New grass has that effect on him.

are we cute or what... now hand over the food

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Brandy and Calypso.

That collection of abandoned looking cars and caravans is not ours BTW

Friday, October 28, 2005

From you I have been absent....

Work got a bit over the top. I have the dubious pleasure of having a teammate who will be late for his own funeral - probably by several days. So a project that was supposed to be finished early this week finally went out the door at 7.35 last night. Possibly not helped by the tanty I threw at 6.05 at which point I said some things I mildly regret but in retrospect people have been using positive affirmation on this guy for years with no success so perhaps it was time someone gave some honest feedback. (in the company of his peers and at the end of my tether was not a good look though and I am ashamed of myself)

Anyway I have a day to regroup now. Roughly translated that is do nothing... well tidy my desk, give ten minutes thought to what I might do next week and that is it for the day. Might go shopping. It's a great looking day too. Have been down to hug my equine critters, pondered over the vegie garden and given about three and a half seconds consideration to the housework - nah, it is too nice a day to slave over a vacuum cleaner....

Friday, October 14, 2005

A small revenge

I shouldn't be such a bitch and score points against fairly harmless people.

We lost a contract at work a month or two ago. For a variety of reasons which had no bearing on price or service quality apparently. (confused? if we weren't too expensive and they were happy with the service why change? Anyway you learn to live with failures when you didn't actually fail) . Appears we had a little spy in the camp, badmouthing us to the client and passing on info to the opposition. She was top of the list for redundancy and shrugged and said she was going to work for the opposition.

Just crossed paths with her today, and she hasn't got a job with the opposition. But told me she was just going to talk to them and thought they were very busy so would probably hire her soon. (I suspect not, it is a bit like taking on someone elses husband, you would need to keep a very good eye on him now he's got the habit of straying)

'They would be busy' I said 'They are being audited next week'
'Are they?... how did you know?'
'Because I'm having dinner with the auditors the night they are here'

Left her to go and pass that news on.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

House browsing

Further to yesterdays post on BAD neighbours I was driven to peruse websites having properties for sale. Even enquired after a couple of POA ones. Both had more land than we had but houses not as good. Both had asking prices well over the million mark! (have adjusted my opinion of what our place is worth) Guess that is why they were Price on Application - too embarrassed to let everyone know the asking price.

Monday, October 03, 2005

More on neighbours - retaliation

They did not take to the permenant noise abatement notice too kindly - I wasn't home to see but they turned the stereo up very loud and yelled abuse at some other neighbours for some time. They lost their stereo....

It was however a quiet enough weekend.

Today I have come home to find all our internal gates open and a milling of stock on the best grass. It's pouring with rain too. Those gates do not open themselves.... I hope they enjoyed the electric fence on the way over it, it should have given off a fairly good zap in this weather.

Happily no permanent harm done. Though the minis did not need access to that much grass I don't think they will come to any harm after half a day.

I love this place, but we are getting close to thinking about selling it.

Saturday, October 01, 2005

I just want some cat food damnit!

Our felines have refined tastes. The stray girl is particularly fussy about what she eats. I think she can read how expensive it is, so anything that might have been on special at the supermarket really isn't edible thank you... in fact she would rather starve. You can tell by the expression on her fastidious little face that she is extremely insulted that you presumed to feed her such junk food, it's enough to make a grown woman (me) cringe under her supercilious gaze.

So our cats eat things that come in small packets or tins, and Iams. (actually they supplement this with the odd freshly dead thing and sometimes something that has been dead for some time, but that doesn't count according to them) Iams is in fact the only dried food they will deign to eat, every thing else is much too suburban for cats of their calibre (over the years the chooks have got to eat a variety of cat food). I've heard the occasional nasty thing about the manufacture of Iams too, and I have told the cats but they don't care.

Anyway we were buying the Iams at one of the petshops in town. Until today. Now I am so irritated that I am never going back there. They have been training their staff. In fact they have been training their staff to be downright nosy. I think I have been into this particular shop five or six times in the last eight months. While I am peacefully browsing round I have, each time, been accosted by a young sales assistant who earnestly offers to help me find whatever I am looking for. When the offer is declined, on the grounds that I am not entirely sure what I am looking for but will know it if I see it, she (as it is invariably a female sales assistant) hangs round asking what sort of animals I have, what are their names, are they any particular breed, how old are they, etc etc. After five minutes of conversation during which I have indicated by my reluctance to answer and my expression that I don't want to relate the entire history of my pets to her I am obliged to give up browsing, grab whatever I went in for, pay for it and leave because I can not concentrate on what I was looking at anyway.

I always wondered if I fitted their profile of a likely shoplifter. I think they have a store policy of asking these things on the grounds that it makes the customer feel important to be able to talk about their animals. It doesn't have that effect on me.

After today I give up. I was in a moderate sort of hurry, so into the shop grab the bag of Iams and am heading towards the counter when ohoh here she comes, standing in my way so I can't get to the counter..
Her: "Hello can I help"
Me: thinks wouldn't have thought it looked as though I was having any problems here with a bag of cat food. "No thanks"
Her: "You must have a cat. What is it's name."
Me: Right if I am vaguely polite for 30 seconds she might get out of my way. "Yes I do have a cat thanks. Actually I have two."
Her: "That's nice, they like having friends don't they."
Me: God what is this playschool? How inane is this.. "no they don't actually, they would both prefer to be only cats if they had a choice."
Her: giggling. "Oh that's sad. Have you got any other pets?"
Me: Trying to sidle past her but she won't move over. "Ummm yes" Immediately think You fool why did you say yes!
Her: " Oh that's nice, what other pets have you got?"
Me: Listen young lady I am old enough to be your mother don't talk down to me... "Oh all sorts, look I'm in a bit of a hurry."
Her: "Oh busy day with all your pets is it." Scarily enough I don't think she is being sarcastic here I think she is dead serious. Obviously she has perceived me to be retarded or something, or perhaps she is...
Me: "Something like that. Excuse me."
Her: following me now "Have your cats been wormed lately..."
Me: "Yes"
Her: "Have they got enough toys."
Me: "Yes" Phew I've got to the counter, maybe she'll go away and annoy someone else.
Her: "Which vet do you take them to?"
As there is a shop assistant on the other side of the counter I hand over the Iams and my credit card and ignore the persistant person at my elbow, who continues...
Her: "Do your other animals need anything? What sort of animals did you say you had again."
Me: " No they don't need anything. " What is it about this girl that she can't get the message?
Her: "are you sure"
Me: "very sure thank you."
She finally gets the idea, spots another hapless customer and leaves with a "nice talking to you."
Me: That's what you think.

That's the end, I am not going back there. I have had enough of playing inane games with silly shop assistants. What is it about me that gives them all the impression I want to tell them all!

Anyone know of a pet shop that doesn't have shop assistants? Maybe I should buy online.