tvordlj: (Meez avatar)
Had a nice visit with my friend J. She arrived late afternoon on Saturday. We had tea and then went out in the rain for a meal. When we got back, we settled in for a night  with a dvd and wine. Sounds good, right?

It turned into a bit of a farce!

Put the dvd in the machine (Grand Budapest Hotel). Wait. No remote control. I couldn't find it anywhere. We looked under furniture, under sofa cushions, in drawers and on top of the fridge. Everywhere it should be and most places it shouldn't. Still nothing. How difficult can it be to lose a little white remote control? My next idea was, let's see if we can set up the universal remote that i use for the PVR and the Tv. Surfed to Eastlink Cable's site, found the spot where they have codes for each remote model. We tried all of them for the one i have for a dvd player. Nada. Zip. Nothing. Tried a few more just for good measure.

Oh well. We'll have to find a movie on tv. Flipped through the On Demand menu and found something I knew was good. Started it but while we were getting sorted out, I tried a few more codes for one of the other remote control models. BINGO! At least, it turned the machine off which is a good sign right? You'd think so. We flipped back over to the DVD feed and put Budapest back in. But the dvd seemed to be sort of stuck, it wanted to restart from the beginning and did I want to do this? Yes or No please. I couldn't get the remote to do it. Pressed OK, pressed play and a number of other buttons. All the others that would control the dvd player worked but it wasn't having any of this. I think at one point we did get the menu after stopping and starting it a few times but it still wouldn't "go". We were about to give up but I thought we should try another disk just to see if it was the disk that was at fault and it was! Another one played without problems.

Ok. then let's see what other movie we have here that we can watch. We picked one that i had out which I hadn't watched yet. It was an older one called The Good Night. It was bought cheap somewhere, I forget where. Seemed a decent cast with Simon Pegg, Gwynneth Paltrow, Martin Freeman and Danny deVito. And Penelope Cruz who played a woman that Martin Freeman kept dreaming about. In fact, he became obsessed with his dreams about her and found out how to work it so that he would keep dreaming of her, something called Lucid Dreaming. When he actually finds the woman in real life, naturally she's not the perfect ethereal being he's dreaming about. Basically, the movie was shit. Nothing really happened. There seemed to be very little point to it. We watched it all, in hope something interesting would happen and it would pick up. Nope. And let's just say here that Gwynneth should never EVER wear long black hair again. Tragic. (she was the long suffering girlfriend, Simon Pegg was the best friend who was a bit of an ass)

Anyway, I have no idea where the flipping remote is and thinking abou it, the last time i know for sure i had it was in September when Graham was over. I don't use the machine that often. My suspicions are that it might have fallen off the cabinet where I usually keep it into a waste basket and it got tossed. Who knows? I found a replacement on eBay and have ordered it which probably means I'll find it!

Anyway. My friend stayed over and we went to the wedding show yesterday. A large exhibit of wedding related vendors and ideas and if you were looking for a wedding dress, they had them really *really* cheap. I saw dresses for anywhere between $150 to $500 and when you consider some of these confections run to thousands, that's pretty good. I imagine they are older models, not the latest thing in the shops. One booth had some bridesmaids dresses for $30. All the wedding dresses were the white/ivory type. There were some veils, headpieces, jewellry, etc. Other booths included photographers, event planners, disk jockeys, makeup and skin care, some of the local hotels and wedding venues as well. Caterers, decorations. It was all really nice. There were some really beautiful things. J and I agreed, though, that if you hadn't had much already planned and went there, you'd quickly become overwhelmed with all the choices and options. There were good deals if you booked things at the show. THey had a fashion show as well which we watched for a bit. Most of the dresses were nice, a few were boring or blah, and one in particular that I saw was really stunning. I can't really describe it now but it was my favourite and if i was 25 again and thinner, it would be my dream dress. They did have a plus size model, too, which pleased me and her dresses, both bridal and bridesmaid, were really nice. One bridesmaid dress she wore had a peacock blue bodice with a floaty chiffon skirt over a plain colour skirt underneath and the colours were just beautiful. We noticed that almost every dress was strapless, or a vast majority anyway.

We enjoyed the afternoon and collected some magazines and business cards for perusal later on. I doubt i'll take anything back from the show but you never know.
tvordlj: (Meez avatar)
There's a sign in the mall for one of the hair salons saying they have a "happy hour" deal, $19.99 for a blow dry. I assumed this might mean a trim and blow dry but no, they just want 20 dollars, and that's the "on sale" happy hour deal, to wash and dry your hair. Bizarre. Though I suppose if you had a lot of hair or a special event to go to, you might take advantage of that service. Boggles my mind. However, on further inquiry, they will wet (not shampoo), trim and dry my short hair for 5 dollars more. A shampoo would cost me an extra 10 dollars on the total cost of the haircut. Ladies of my grandmother's era would make a weekly appointment to get their hair "set" and styled, because they would spend a lot of time putting their hair in rollers when they did it themselves. They'd get a set (maybe a trim and shampoo as well), with loads of hair spray and it would do them all week. My white haired Gram would have a tint of blue or purple put in her hair, which is supposed to stop your white hair from looking yellowed but instead, she'd have blue or purpleish hair long before it was funk-chic to have that! My other grandmother was a hairdresser so she did all of this for all the other older ladies! She had a chair in the front living area of her house with a little waiting area to one side.

Did I mention the crack in my kitchen cupboard ceiling came back? I noticed it in the summer. I called about it a few weeks ago, didn't hear anything. Called and left a message last week, I think, and still nothing but I got hold of the building manager today and he said they'd been up on the roof two days ago so now they had to wait and see if they fixed it i.e. if i got more water in my kitchen! If I'm dry (we're supposed to get a heavy rain tomorrow, it's raining a little today but i don't always get leaky if it's not heavy) then they can re-patch the ceiling. tsk. I am, or my ceiling is,  the weakest link.
tvordlj: (Pissedoff)
And then the rest of the day went rapidly downhill. I have had an "idiot" day.
No, not dealing with idiots.
Well, I was, actually.
Me.
I couldn't get out of my own way.
Cancelled instead of submitted.
updated phone numbers in a database and stuck the area code on the end of the numbers instead of the front (but didn't permanently save the change so at least I could back it out)
It's just been one stupid thing after another and the later the day got, the more frustrated i got with myself.
I was almost afraid to go to the gym!
It's ok, I didn't drop anything on my foot.
But then I went to the grocery store on the way home.
I had a few bags, not too many so went to the bus stop instead of  getting a cab.
Waited
Waited
No, not that bus, It's a 52 and i need a 53.
Oh there it is.
Got on.
He turn one wrong turn but sometimes they do if it's a new driver on the route
Except
He kept going for the route 52. Wait.... wait... No I really did get on the wrong bus
I could have sworn...
Got out
Cursed my way back to the bus terminal.
Watched the 53 pull away just as i arrived.
More cursing
Checked my bus schedule. Minimum 15 to 20 minute wait.
The only thing that prevented me from bursting into tears was the 66  bus that came along just then.
He was 10 minutes late.
I can take that one and walk around the block.
It took me nearly 40 minutes to come home from the grocery store.
I should have taken a taxi in the first place.
tvordlj: (Pissedoff)
I couldn't write this earlier tonight. I would have worn out my F key.
I filled out a form for the new rental management agency in July for the automatic rent payment.
It's STILL not processed. Backlog my arse.
I've had to leave work early a few times now to go to the rental office to pay the rent. Sometimes getting there too late.
There are signs all over the building with office hours now, and I know it closes at 5. Last time i tried, the busses were all late and though i left early, i *still* got there too late.
Tonight I tried again because December's rent didn't come out on time so i know it still isn't sorted. I got there about 4:30
There's a sign on the door. Closed tonight at 4 for the staff Christmas party. FUCK.
No signs in the buildings. No that's too easy
Walked back across the street cursing and watched all three busses drive by before i was even near the stop.
Great.
And it's cold
And there's a mother with a whinging, crying child in the bus shelter so i stood out in the cold away from it so i wouldn't hear it so loud.
I got home and called the superintendant so i could bring over a cheque for them to take to the office tomorrow. They don't live in my building, they are in the one next door. Not the one i went to and waited in the doorway for them. Oh no. They're in the one on the other side. I knew that was the building but i had a brain fart and got the numbers of the buildings crossed in my head. Got to the right place, was talking to them. They knew about the party. They're going. That means they knew about it ahead of time. I don't know why there were no notices up anywhere but I made sure to mention it.
I also gave them a post-dated cheque for January 1. Just in case.
And work was frustrating too. Couldn't find a bug in a program and the weird shit doesn't seem to have any logic behind it at all. And some of my passwords aren't working. I think i'll bring my work laptop home on the weekend just to see how much it doesn't work from here. Then i can see if i can knock heads together next week so it will and i can sometimes work from home. Eventually.
tvordlj: (Pissedoff)
Oh god i really hate the bus. I really really do some days
I left work early because the bastard rental company STILL hasn't got my automatic withdrawal set up yet so i wanted to get there by 5 to pay it. I left work at 3:30. I never got there. I waited at the shiny new bus terminal for over 45 minutes for a bus that would take me by that office. Gave up. Decided to go home. Went to where my bus stops and waited another 30 minutes. It was fucking late too. Apparently bad traffic somewhere on the Halifax side though it seemed like all the other busses from Halifax were coming over, more than once too. This ALWAYS FUCKING HAPPENS when I need to be somewhere. Always. Well... it seems like it anyway, This isn't the first time i've had frustration trying to get to the fucking rental company office. Happened last month too.

I know what i'm doing from now on, just taking anything to get to the small terminal near the office and taking one of the other busses that goes by there, a bus that doesn't have to come across the bridge. All because the bastard rental company is STILL behind getting everyone set up three effing months later and the effing office shuts at 5 o'clock. Oh but they do open up again at 7 for a couple of hours and it would take me an hour to get there taking at least 2 busses with waits in between. It's fine if you live in that neighbourhood or you have a car. It would take 10 minutes to get there, pay the rent and get back and i am NOT!!! going back to post dated cheques. I refuse. They're the fourth management company this new owner has been using but it's all been done from the head office in #)$ Toronto now apparently. The previous company had internet banking so i could set up an automatic payment myself but this one. Nooooo. Two steps backwards. They proudly brag that they have a debit or credit machine though. Yeah. Big fucking deal.

Jesus.

And work has been manic. I said that already earlier today. It's settling down at least. Just in time for this little incident to spark me up again. You can't win.
tvordlj: (Daffy Weird)
After the day i had yesterday, I'm hoping my Tuesday will be uneventful.

The day didn't start off well what with gremlins everywhere. Things weren't working, programs giving weird errors that i've never seen before, it just didn't seem to stop. Frustration on top of frustration and to top that all off, mid morning there was a test of the fire alarm system that went through my brain like an icepick! At one point, i had my hands over my ears and was actually in tears because it JUST. WOULDN'T. STOP.  The second stage alarm just screams! Fine when you need to get your ass out of a burning building but horrible otherwise. They set it off at least three times in a row after 2 or 3 tries at the first stage alarm which is a loud dinging bell. In the middle of that, someone came up to me wanting to discuss a report.

But actually, that was ok. it wasn't a matter of something broke, why is it broke and can you fix it, it was a report or 6 needed and how can we do this... that kind of thing and it actually gave me something to concentrate on, a solution i could come up with that would reduce the need from 5 or 6 reports to just one with parameters.

Things went a bit smoother after that. I even went to the gym at lunch and didn't drop any weights on me or fall off  the treadmill! I went easy as i was just over a cold but it was a good way to get away from my desk. The afternoon was fine, but i had a doctor's appointment at 5:15.

Now my doctor is always behind and there's always a wait. It was a lot worse than usual yesterday. I arrived about 5 for the 5:15 appointment and got into her office at 6:50!!! She's very thorough and doesn't rush you or anyone else, and that's good but it's hard to wait! Last time something like that happened, there had been some sort of medical emergency in the office so it's possible something similar happened yesterday, i didn't ask. I always bring a book (or in this case, my ereader)

So that's fine, i'm in there about 10 or 15 minutes going over stuff and then i walk out to the bus stop. I'm striding along and whooooosh! Next thing i know i'm on my ass! There was black ice on the walkway, and it being dark, i couldn't really tell it was a frozen patch. I didn't really hurt myself much, it seemed like a bit of a slow motion soft landing though my hand hurt a bit as that took a bit of the impact. At first i didn't think i could get up but i scooched over to the frozen grass and managed to get up just as a man stopped by the side of the road to see if i was ok. I was up on my feet by then so i thanked him for stopping. He said he was on the way to the nearby hospital to visit someone and could take me there if i needed but no, it's ok, thanks though. Bless!

Perfect end to that most Monday of a Monday though.

Then... something that finally made me smile. I got on the bus and you often see somewhat colourful characters on that route as it's not only a residential area but there's also a mental health hospital and group homes in the area so the bus patrons are often a varied lot. I saw this one man who seemed to be in his 40s or 50s sitting down the aisle a bit from me. He had on a baseball cap and something around his neck that i first thought was a bus pass. On top of the hat he had a pair of sunglasses or goggles that had blue flashing lights on!!! Okayyyy. You don't often see that on the bus and definitely not on a middle aged man. He got off at the Sports stadium so i thought.. oh they must be swim goggles and probably would look cool under water though again, not something you'd expect a man to have. They looked like something you might see at a rave or something.  But you know, if it floats your boat, more power to ya!

Ah... but today i saw some of the Canada Games atheletes with big ID passes or badges around their necks. The volunteers have them too and i realized that what he had around his neck was probably a volunteer ID pass. There are hockey games going on at that sports complex, too,  and he was probably heading there for the evening game. The flash goggles make more sense now.

Grrrrr

Aug. 17th, 2010 09:00 am
tvordlj: (Fuckit)
Wouldn't you just know it? I finally get a dvr, something *everyone* says i'll absolutely *love* and i won't know how i got along with out it.... and the fucking thing seems to be a dud! It was installed on Saturday. It seemed to be ok, i recorded something, i set up a couple of series schedules. Then Saturday evening i had the sound muted for awhile and then it wouldn't un-mute. I thought i just had the wrong button pressed on the universal remote and changed that, even tried to power off and no joy. I actually had to unplug the thing to reset it. I may still have got my buttons all mixed up, i can't remember now so i'm tentatively putting that down to user error.

But Sunday evening i was working on something on the computer with the television on low. I realized it was awfully quiet and looked around to see a blank screen. Hmmm... I changed the channel.. oh good, there's picture and sound.. but wait... 30 seconds in and the screen went blank again. And continued to do that. Again i unplugged the machine and it reset itself. No more problems like that but now the dvr functionality seemed to be unavailable or disabled or something. I couldn't get through to the cable company, just sat on hold for so long that i gave up. First thing Monday morning, i tried the box again, and couldn't get into any dvr functions. I got through to the cable people straight away and she sent a reset signal to the box which usually takes 10 - 20 minutes to rebuilt the menus and things. by the time i went to work a half hour later, still no dvr functionality and no hd channels either. Rats....

I got home from work and tried it again. Same thing. After Corrie, i called up and first they restored the HD. Probably the morning reset didn't include that i guess. She sent another signal that resends the software down. Still no good. I called back an hour later and now they've set up a service call for me. Rather than wait days for an evening appointment or nearly 2 weeks for a saturday, i'll have to take this afternoon off and wait for the cable guy. Again.

This just pisses me off! Get a new "toy" and it doesn't work and it's so disappointing! Not a very good first impression, that's for sure. I'm sure i will love it once it's all sorted out. I hope they just put in a new box altogether rather than see if the current one needs adjusting because i don't really trust it now. I guess that's the beauty of renting it though, they have to fix it and i don't have to be worried about waranties or anything.

I despair

Dec. 15th, 2009 12:35 pm
tvordlj: (AbFab Bitch)
I'm flipping through Vanity Fair, which is actually a pretty good magazine. I'm looking at all the glossy ads. This one for a men's cologne is using the very handsome Matthew MacConaughey. It makes me think the cologne probably smells really nice and sexy. That's what the ad is hoping i will feel, but, it worked except i'm not going to go out and buy it. Effective advertising, mind you.

I see an ad for a cream that will make you look 10 years younger if you use it regularly. The model in the ad looks about... oh...12. She probably is or not far from it. Now is that going to make me want to buy it? If i was in my 20s maybe. At 50? Pah. Not a chance i'll ever look that young. Advertising Fail.

Oh look. There's Demi Moore. She's got a new perfume out and there she is surrounded by the suggestions of hot young men. If you use this perfume, ladies, you'll attract them all too. Except. Well. Demi doesn't really look like herself. She looks about the same age as that other model. Maybe she's been using that 10-year-younger cream? Nah. Photoshop. This is what she looks like. She's a little younger than me and looks close to it. But she's still pretty gorgeous, isn't she? I'd be a lot more likely to want to buy her perfume if i saw the real her surrounded by hot young men. After all, she really did attract a good looking younger man and married him. And that was before she sponsored this new perfume. "Wanted" is it's name. I wanted to like the ad. But i didn't. Fail.

It's bad enough trying to sell makeup and products to make you look younger, using a child model or nearly so. It's even worse when you're making an adult with a few years experience under their belt look like one too. And Matthew? Yes it looks like he's had a few wrinkles and bags smoothed out of his face for the ad as well.

But he's still hot in that ad.
tvordlj: (KISS Pandas)
Another big outdoor concert on the Halifax Commons this summer, headlined by KISS! I don't know if i'll go mainly because of the outdoor venue. The Stones were great but it rained and was very soggy. don't know who else will be on the ticket either. THey're saying there will be four other "major" acts. How much you wanna bet Sloan is one of them? They always seem to open for these things. I suppose i'll wait to see who else is going before i decide, and if i can find someone to go with me as well. I'm sure the show will be good but it's a long day standing. Let's face it, after the bands start, nobody's going to be sitting down when there's moshing and dancing to be done. Maybe i'm just getting too old for this lol

I'm also annoyed. When i got home from work yesterday our walkway to the building wasn't shovelled. It snowed all day and there was lots of time to at least do it once. This morning? Still not shovelled and there is a layer of freezing rain over top of it now. There was a guy on crutches waiting in the lobby for a ride. Heaven knows how he made out. It's not the first time either, that snow removal was late or lacking in promptness. One older man takes care of both buildings. I've complained before. Doesn't seem to do any good.
tvordlj: (Pissedoff)
Get to the post office. Long line. Wait. No the parcel isn't here yet. But they left the card yesterday. It says avaialable after 1 p.m. tomorrow. That's today. it's 4:30. Yes but our 4 o'clock girl hasn't got here yet. She's new. Fucking flaming Canada Post. Now i have to make another trip to the same place for the third time this week (I got groceries there yesterday. The P.O. counter is in the same place). No it's not out of the way exactly. But i have to get off the bus and go over and wait in line again. It's just a pain in the arse. Just my luck that the building superintendant wasn't around when they tried to deliver it yesterday. He'll often pick it up and bring it over in the evening.


*sigh*,
tvordlj: (astronaut cat DOH)
Absolutely horrible crap crap crap day today at work. Not very much went right, things weren't working and neither i nor anyone else seemed to be able to unlock the puzzle. I know it's going to end up being something really stupid but it has me on the edge of tears of frustration all day. People kept wanting other stuff that they should have requested a week ago and needed it for tomorrow. Not a problem, it's do-able but my boss rolls his eyes when he finds out that the person that requested it forgot to put in the request until it was almost too late. Then someone else comes to me almost at the end of the day with two reports that should match but don't so i had to dig a little to find out why. I did but by that time i was nearly ready to tell everyone to firmly fuck right off and leave me the fuck alone and let me go home. I was going to go to the gym, i really was. But on the way home, on the bus, i realized that my bra strap had come undone and the pin that had been holding it on in the back was stabbing me in the back and i just gave up and came home.

Two good things happened. I had powered off the computer,in hopes that the guy i bought it from was going to give me a second hand power supply but he didnt' have one. He's going to get a new one tonight hopefully, and bring it tomorrow. The computer works but doesn't always start up properly when it's been powered off. It starts but then dies out again. Took me an hour to get it going when i got back from vacation in November. When i got home today, the puter started up first time.

The other good thing? An early birthday card from my sweetie was in the mailbox.

18 sleeps!
tvordlj: (Default)
I had a doctor's appointment after work to get a prescription written out for the orthotics. I got to the office about 15 minutes early because i got lucky with the bus. She actually took me in right then and there!!!!! That *never* happens! The only time i've ever got in on time is when i've had the first appointment of the day or after lunch. I was telling her about my upcoming trip and that we were going to do some day trips as well, probably one to the Lake District. She told me about the town of Penrith where there is the Lilliput Lane factory, with tours, museum, and visitor centre!!!!! Lilliput Lane makes these wonderful little cottages and things and i may not get out of there without a whole new collection! But i MUST go! Must!!! I'll even miss the Pencil Museum in Keswick for this!

And when I went to catch the bus after work? I realized i didn't have my bus pass. God DAMN if i've lost that i'll really be pissed off!!!! I'm going to look around work tomorrow but if i lost it in the food court or on the bus itself (though i will call Transit's lost and found) then it's gone for good and i'm going to have to buy a new one for August, on the third fucking day of the month! aggghhh! If it was later in the month i'd just get by with tickets. Oh i'm so unimpressed. I leave it in my pocket and it must have slipped out. Fuck.

So i'm annoyed about that and excited about maybe going to Penrith all at the same time! I hate not knowing whether to be excited or curse ! LOL!
tvordlj: (astronaut cat DOH)
Rant on
There's really something very wrong when a man can get jail time (45 days) for being in a car and knowing there was a prohibited weapon in that car and yet a man can be convicted of molesting a 7 year old over a period of months and the proposed sentence by both prosecution and defence is only *house arrest*. Mind you, the judge in that case is reserving sentence because he doesn't think the sentence is enough. Too bloody right it's not. But how much you want to bet the man just gets *more* house arrest than was proposed? House arrest is a new trend around here and i can't see that it's all that difficult a punishment. Ok, you can't go out. Well you can. For appointments, and work if you have a job. But come right home after work, little boy/girl! So they can sleep in their own bed, cook nice meals, watch tv whenever they want, and earn a living. This is punishment? And I'm talking crimes like killing someone because you were driving drunk, or sexual abuse etc yet someone that knew there was an illegal weapon in the car gets jail time. He didn't use the weapon, and the article didn't say it was on his person (it was a can of spray that only the police are allowed to use, ffs, not even some sort of gun!)

Rant off
tvordlj: (Fuckit)
Thank you very fucking much Condolleeeeeeeza or whatever your name is.
It took me an hour and a half to get home from work. Normally a 25 minute commute.
They had some roads blocked off for her motorcade. She came to town to say thanks.
I'd rather have had an email, if it's all the same to you.
didn't help that the bridge commission thought it was a brilliant idea to shut one of the lanes on the bridge for repaving during the busiest commute week of the year.
tvordlj: (Grumble Grumble)
Aggravating commercial of the month: McDonald's advertising deli "sammiches". Ok it might be "samwiches" if you listen closely. But even so...

Aaaarrrggghhh!
tvordlj: (Siamese Cat)
ABC is advertising a stunt by David Blaine. Can he hold his breath under water for 9 minutes?
It's a 2 HOUR SHOW! WTF? Why???? Endless interviews? Training shots?
Will it take 111 minutes to revive him?
Are there warm up acts? like..
How long can someone withstand being squeezed by a boa constrictor before they have their insides mushed?
How many boiled eggs can someone fit in their mouth until they choke?
Do we care?
Not I. This is just beyond ridiculous *and* sublime.

*goes off shaking head in despair for the human race that will sit for two hours and watch shite like that*

February 2018

S M T W T F S
    1 23
45678 910
1112131415 1617
18192021222324
25262728   

Most Popular Tags

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 7th, 2025 09:43 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios