my first friday in two weeks … so I’m gonna enjoy it
~goodnight~
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opting out ….
13 MarNow I will start by acknowledging that I made a commitment to NOTuse this as a place for whining or being negative… and I don’t REALLY think what I am about to say is ….BUT I need to share my thoughts about ‘cheap’ airfares.
Having been lured by email alerts into believing that we could grab a ‘bargain basement’ flight to the Gold Coast …I quickly jumped at the chance of visiting my ‘sister from another mother’ who I have been missing. However, after going through the 8 page online booking process…I discovered my $59 (one way) ticket had suddenly become $240 (return) so I took a closer look.
There was an obvious cost difference to get back, because we need to fly on Sunday…and I accept that, but it was when I saw all the ‘opt out’ extras that I began to get irritated.
The basic airfare is for carry on luggage, which is fine (how can you possibly need more than 10kgs for 2 days on the Gold Coast ??) however Mr Jetstar assumed that I needed an additional 20kgs of baggage for my 2 days @ a cost of $20 until I ‘opted out’.
Next was the travel insurance… Now there is no way that I wanted (or needed) insurance on this ticket but it too was assumed, and so another $12.50 was added to the ticket….. until I ‘opted out’.
Then there was the automatic assumption that I want to donate to charity …they had even nominated my donation amount….until I ‘opted out’ and of course the (ever rising but expected) booking fees….. (this time I couldn’t opt out).
However, the final straw was the seating allocations that popped up with a message ….“you have been allocated the following seats and are free to change them” ….at a cost of : $20pp for an exit row, $10 pp for preferred seating (up the front for quick exit) OR $5pp just to change the allocation…..and OF COURSE Mr 50 Something and I were not seated together!!!!! BINGO an extra $5.
After re-tracing each page and ‘unchecking’ all of the extras, the airfare is very reasonable but nothing like the lure of $59 each way. What a con Mr Jetstar…what a con!
a breath of fresh air …..
12 MarWhen I committed to writing my 365 day blog back on the first day of the year… I also considered all the other new year’s fantasies that I could attempt to honour… (but just KNEW I wouldn’t). You know the kind of things….lose weight,…sleep more….stress less…get organised.
But NEVER (until today) did I consider a 21day “fresh breath challenge”… 
Driving home today I heard the latest marketing strategy for a Listerine the Fresh Breath solution.They were at pains to tell the world why we should all take the challenge for just 3 weeks to have a fresher brighter breath. What the….. ??? (shouldn’t this be the ‘norm’ ? not something we just aspire to for 3 weeks ??
Can you believe it? because I am certainly struggling to understand. (take a peek @ Listerine 21 days)
Either way it gave me a laugh as I contemplated another 295 blog posts…. I’m 50 something but not dead ….YET !
are you sirious…
11 MarI was amused this evening to see ‘Mr 50 Something’ completely absorbed in conversation with Siri, his ‘other woman’. I would have thought that he had his fill of difficult conversation with me ….you know, hard to understand at times and off in her own world.
But it got me to wondering …HOW??? 
I mean, I almost get the direct question and answer part . BUT don’t understand how it works when the Q&A becomes conversation….it all starts to get a little bit spooky. Too many personal questions to her about her likes and dislikes, lead to a curt and monotone response that “this is all about you …not me” .
A wedding proposal was knocked out because she has had so many offers….and apparently she is full of great ideas if you are looking for a place to ‘hide’ a ‘body’ … giving the co-ordinates of rugged bushland, swamps and parkland … what the ????
Welcome to the 21st century….matchmaking made in heaven !!!
boy racers
10 MarI was back at work today and while driving between offices I found myself daydreaming about life on the other side of the globe. On this day a week ago … I was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge in minus 12 deg temp.
As I turned into a suburban backstreet I was jolted back to reality with a laugh as I 
spotted 2 elderly gents drag racing their mobility scooters down the street. …you’ve gotta love boys that never grow up.
New York one day ….Mt Druitt the next.
I’m 50 something and I wouldn’t be dead for quids.
hazy memories …
9 MarToday saw me jumping straight back into the saddle (and the drivers seat) after putting life on pause for a couple of weeks while we circumnavigated the globe….but I soon realise that one’s memory can become rusty fairly quickly.
Having not needed to remember PIN numbers or passwords for a couple of weeks, I suddenly found myself with sweaty palms as I realised that I needed to buy petrol today. …Not only was there the pump number to remember, but also the six digit odometer reading and petrol card password….it went something like this ~ 16, 106466,2758
After queuing for several minutes and repeating the sequence of numbers over and over in my mind, I finally made it to the register to pay for my fuel. As soon as I swiped the card, an error message appeared and the attendant started asking me some questions (distracting from the delicate balance of the number sequence). The error indicated that my card had been stolen and therefore the account had been stopped … both interesting, but new news to my ears. 
As my heart skipped a beat and the queue behind me grew, I reached of another plastic card to quickly pay (thinking I would sort out the mess later)… but you guessed it by the time I did, I had so many random numbers floating in my brain that I couldn’t retrieve the correct PIN number for THAT account.
Finally it all came together and I managed to get out of there without any further embarrassment… I’m hoping this was just an anomaly. I’m ‘50 something’… but not dead yet.’
beaten by technology….and the international date line
8 MarWell despite my very best effort and perfect track record so far… My 365 day blog challenge tripped over somewhere between New York City on March 6th and arriving home in Sydney today March 8th.
While I was prepared for the crazy time travel…what I wasn’t prepared for was a complete technology failure. ARRRGH… Having prepared some (fairly brief and banal) words to post when we had a quick stop in LA… I was shattered to discover that my laptop and phone were BOTH dead and unable to be recovered in the short stop-over. Bugga !!.
So now that the explanation is out of the way. I’m happy to tell you that the flight was good …all 23 hours of it !! and paying a premium for ‘Exit Row’ seats definitely made ALL the difference to these long legs.
It made me reflect on the number of fabulous Americans we met while we were away, who, immediately after asking “how many Aussies REALLY get attacked by sharks when surfing?” …in the next breath said they wanted to visit Australia… but couldn’t ’cause it was just SO far away.
Hello ….NEWSFLASH my American friends!!!! It is the same distance whichever way you fly (and this was our 3rd visit to USA) so feel free to jump on board, buckle up… and come on down…. I promise to keep the sharks at bay.
mad hatters…hats matter…
6 MarThe extreme change of temp from Sydney to NYC has called for an extreme change of wardrobe too. Now, for the most part that’s been fun, and I must say I’ve done OK in keeping warm … BUT there is one fashion item that I am really struggling with, and will be glad to leave behind when we return to south of the equator….that’s the poor humble hat !!
Call it want you want, a hat…beanie…tuque…toque…bonnet..or balaclava, I can’t seem to get it right, and let’s face it, they are deadly when it comes to the hair-do!
I have had a keen eye on the head-wear of the passing parade but seriously……….? it seems like ANYTHING goes.
I can honestly say, that apart from sitting around the Christmas table, or at the Royal Easter Show …I have never seen so many adults sporting comical head attire. I’ve seen animal hats complete with faces and ears, Russian Cossack hats, woolly handknits and beaver and rabbit creations… all making interesting fashion statements (especially when teamed with a business suit on the subway in morning peak hour).
So despite my difficulty in getting in right….I’m reassured that really, no-one gives a damn, and the point is really just to stop your brain from freezing !!!
the book according to ….
5 MarAll I can say tonight is … The Book of Mormon do yourself a favour if you are anywhere near NYC
brace yourself for one crazy ride
Wonder Years 