Jump to content

What's Up in September 2017?


Athena

Recommended Posts

22 hours ago, Athena said:

 

I'm so glad you and your family are okay (with the storms and such)!

 

 

I was so sorry to hear of the terrorism attack :(, though I am very glad no one was killed or very seriously injured. But I do find it very scary. I'm honestly doubting about whether to go on holiday to the UK in the first half of next year, because I find it very scary. That's just me and my anxiety  :shrug:. I haven't made any decision yet, the first half of next year is still a while away. But last time I was in the UK (travelling through London) we were at the place of an attack, a few hours before it happened. That was quite scary. When we arrived at my boyfriend's mum's house, and I turned the wifi on on my phone (I don't have a 3G subscription), I got messages from people asking if I was okay - up to that point I had no idea anything had happened. So, I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do, but anyway, I hope you and Coran will be okay :hug:.

 

I spent a lot of time with my sister yesterday. Her fiancé was here too (I'm so used to calling him her boyfriend, but I suppose I have to call him her fiancé now), though he spent most of the time working on his laptop (she had a day off, he didn't). I was exhausted by the time they left. I expect it will take me a few days to recover. I did have fun spending time with them though.

 

I am so sorry to hear that you are considering not coming here Gaia - while I understand why you would feel that way (anxiety is a very real condition and very frightening) you really cannot let it control you. I am sure you know that though anyway. I would really encourage you not to cancel your plans. So much can happen in 6 months. These attacks are random and cannot be predicted and you have to get the risks into perspective. There is probably more chance of getting run over by a bus than of being involved in something like this. I am certainly not going to let it stop me from going up to London next week to see my favourite band. I am 99.99 percent certain that both of us will be absolutely fine in doing so, as I will also be fine in Croatia and in Iceland in December and in Spain and anywhere else I decide to go next year.

 

I am glad though that you got to spend time with your sister yesterday and happy to hear that she is now engaged. I know it is tiring for you but family are so important so I am sure it was worth it. :hug:     

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 61
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

20 hours ago, chesilbeach said:

Came back home yesterday after a week away on the Isle of Wight. 

 

I'm glad you had a good time overall :).

 

20 hours ago, chesilbeach said:

Anyway, back home now, and have been out for an hour this morning and got some shopping done.  Lots to catch up on at home this weekend, but will make sure to set aside some time for reading!

 

I hope you have a nice weekend and that you get some nice reading done :).

 

1 hour ago, Talisman said:

I am so sorry to hear that you are considering not coming here Gaia - while I understand why you would feel that way (anxiety is a very real condition and very frightening) you really cannot let it control you. I am sure you know that though anyway. I would really encourage you not to cancel your plans. So much can happen in 6 months. These attacks are random and cannot be predicted and you have to get the risks into perspective. There is probably more chance of getting run over by a bus than of being involved in something like this. I am certainly not going to let it stop me from going up to London next week to see my favourite band. I am 99.99 percent certain that both of us will be absolutely fine in doing so, as I will also be fine in Croatia and in Iceland in December and in Spain and anywhere else I decide to go next year.

 

I am glad though that you got to spend time with your sister yesterday and happy to hear that she is now engaged. I know it is tiring for you but family are so important so I am sure it was worth it. :hug:     

 

We don't have any concrete plans and we haven't booked anything - it's just that usually we go to the UK once a year and the past few years we've gone in the first half of the year. It's too early to make any decisions yet as I don't usually book things until a couple of months before going, so for now I'm just going to wait and see how things go.

 

I did have lots of fun with my sister even if it was tiring :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's up to you Athena about your trip - I work in London and obviously it's at the back of most people's minds but you have to just get on with it, however if it's going to really worry you then it's probably  not worth it.

Congrats on your sister's engagement by the way.

 

Does anyone else find this time of year depressing?  With the summer plants dying off, weather unpredictable (well OK no change there!) and it's dark by 8.00.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Madeleine said:

It's up to you Athena about your trip - I work in London and obviously it's at the back of most people's minds but you have to just get on with it, however if it's going to really worry you then it's probably  not worth it.

Congrats on your sister's engagement by the way.

 

Does anyone else find this time of year depressing?  With the summer plants dying off, weather unpredictable (well OK no change there!) and it's dark by 8.00.

 

Absolutely agree there!

 

I enjoy this time of year, but I just don't like the getting up and it's still dark and having to leave work after it's dark. Which it won't be long now til that really starts happening. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey y'all!

 

Spent a lovely afternoon walking around the swapmeet with the hubby. We then did some "window shopping" at the local Lowes. We've decided to try and purchase the house we are living in and the owner is open to selling it to us so we'll see how it goes. In the meantime we're coming up with a renovation game plan. Exciting stuff!

 

I'm loving this change in season!!! I'm a fall person. Living in South Carolina (southeastern boarder) spring and summer are crazy hot, the heat plus humidity are stifling. When a hint of fall comes, we rejoice, lol! I also noticed last night that it was actually DARK by 8pm. Seems like it came earlier than usual. Time to break out the fall decorations and pumpkins!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Virginia said:

Hey y'all!

 

Spent a lovely afternoon walking around the swapmeet with the hubby. We then did some "window shopping" at the local Lowes. We've decided to try and purchase the house we are living in and the owner is open to selling it to us so we'll see how it goes. In the meantime we're coming up with a renovation game plan. Exciting stuff!

 

I'm loving this change in season!!! I'm a fall person. Living in South Carolina (southeastern boarder) spring and summer are crazy hot, the heat plus humidity are stifling. When a hint of fall comes, we rejoice, lol! I also noticed last night that it was actually DARK by 8pm. Seems like it came earlier than usual. Time to break out the fall decorations and pumpkins!

Good luck with the house :)

 

Yayh! I like the sound of the autumn decorations and pumpkins :wub:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Madeleine said:

It's up to you Athena about your trip - I work in London and obviously it's at the back of most people's minds but you have to just get on with it, however if it's going to really worry you then it's probably  not worth it.

Congrats on your sister's engagement by the way.

 

Thanks, gladly I still have a while to think about it. Thanks :).

 

18 hours ago, Madeleine said:

Does anyone else find this time of year depressing?  With the summer plants dying off, weather unpredictable (well OK no change there!) and it's dark by 8.00.

 

I do find it a bit depressing. But each season has its pros and cons. The one thing I like a lot about autumn is that it's my birthday in October, and that it's usually not quite as cold as in the winter.

 

14 hours ago, Lau_Lou said:

I enjoy this time of year, but I just don't like the getting up and it's still dark and having to leave work after it's dark. Which it won't be long now til that really starts happening. 

 

When I still went to university, I had this often in the autumn and winter months (especially in my first few years). I would leave the house around 6:40 (currently here it doesn't get light until 7:15ish, in the winter not until 8:30ish) and sometimes come back around 19:00 (7:00 PM). I never liked that, so I feel for you :(.

 

10 hours ago, Virginia said:

Spent a lovely afternoon walking around the swapmeet with the hubby. We then did some "window shopping" at the local Lowes. We've decided to try and purchase the house we are living in and the owner is open to selling it to us so we'll see how it goes. In the meantime we're coming up with a renovation game plan. Exciting stuff!

 

Good luck with your house :)!

 

My brother and his girlfriend will be visiting us in a couple of days, it should be fun to spend some time with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find the dark mornings are the worst, don't mind it getting dark early in the afternoon/evening so much, but getting up in the dark is horrendous!  As you said, it doesn't start to get light til around 7.15/7.30 ish in the deep winter, so it's awful:(  I shall try to look forward to the lovely autumn colours though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For a world that demands to move ridiculously fast on so many levels, I'm very frustrated by it moving slowly where it counts.

 

My bus, which used to run up to 15 mins early in Summer now runs up to half an hour late because, apparently, that is the impact that school runs have on traffic. The transport system in Ireland is terrible anyway, but I'm going to wind up having to leave the house an hour earlier every morning just to get to work on time, assuming the priest opens the gate to the shortcut that early (don't ask) and it's very frustrating.

 

Additionally, I applied for a course online (since apparently I'm going to 'walk' the interview for another job I feel obliged to take) which will complement the work I do, and it was very last minute because I didn't find it until last minute, but my bank are wrecking my head. I have plenty of money in savings - I need to give the college €600 of a deposit before I get my student email etc. It takes a week for money to come out of my savings. So I decided on Friday to go to the bank here on campus and ask about getting a €600 overdraft just until the savings come through. She told me to leave the building, go to a computer, and apply online. A human would then contact me within 24-48 hours, and apparently they process things on Saturdays. Tuesday morning, still no word. Even when I do hear from them, I don't know if my application was eligible, because it was online and I had no human to talk me through it, there's no way to track my application and no number to contact - I literally didn't even get a receipt, so there's no evidence of the application at all, and I also don't know how long it will take to implement, again, because no human to ask. So it might end up being redundant, as I'll get my savings on Friday anyway.

 

I do not understand why banks have moved from human interaction to automation like that. The area of asking for financial assistance is one where there are so many different circumstances and variables that you really NEED to be talking to a person to begin with. But all they do is delay the process by making you film a form as best you can and wait a few days before someone calls you to discuss it, which is all you wanted to do in the first place.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It makes such a difference when the schools are on holiday, the bus was half empty and coasted along (except when it kept hanging around at empty bus stops, as they're not allowed to be early; apparently they get fined if they're early).  Now it's back to solid traffic, not helped by endless roadworks seemingly everywhere which make it even worse.

 

That banking system sounds a nightmare; I agree it's much nicer to talk to a human, I hardly even use the self service tills in shops, as when I do it usually goes wrong!  And sometimes (especially our local Sainsbury's) they have more staff helping people on the supposed self-service tills, then they have on the staffed checkouts:angry:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Madeleine said:

It makes such a difference when the schools are on holiday, the bus was half empty and coasted along (except when it kept hanging around at empty bus stops, as they're not allowed to be early; apparently they get fined if they're early).  Now it's back to solid traffic, not helped by endless roadworks seemingly everywhere which make it even worse.

 

That banking system sounds a nightmare; I agree it's much nicer to talk to a human, I hardly even use the self service tills in shops, as when I do it usually goes wrong!  And sometimes (especially our local Sainsbury's) they have more staff helping people on the supposed self-service tills, then they have on the staffed checkouts:angry:

 

We need that rule in Ireland, no early buses. In Summer I was leaving my house at 8:05 to catch a bus usually around 8:14, which wasn't due until 8:24. It then arrived in town and sat at a city centre stop for 10-15 mins until it caught up with its own timetable. Now, that same bus doesn't reach my stop until 8:40 or 8:45, and today it got stuck in traffic. I got to work at half 9, instead of 9. Typically, the earlier bus goes before the traffic, so it's still always early, due at 8:05 but leaving sometimes before 7:55. It's bonkers.

 

And I'm the same with the self-service checkouts, they always beep at me and give out to me about unknown items in the bagging area. Or things don't scan, so I've to stand there like a knob waiting for someone with a card to come over and put in a code. I've often seen in Tesco particularly, or Dealz (a pound shop) that they have one or two staff on the self service and nobody on actual tills. And there might be a queue at the self-service, but still nobody goes on the tills. Wrecks my head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We need such a rule here too, my mum's bus frequently leaves earlier than it's supposed to, causing her to miss it and subsequently miss the train she planned to take.

 

I'm sorry to hear you're in such a hassle with the bus and with the bank and the study :(.

Here you get money from savings really quickly, unless it's a lot of money, it's pretty much instant when you book it from your savings to your normal account online.

 

We don't have many of those self-service checkouts here like they do in the UK and Ireland. I've used them in the UK, but they always confuse me. Gladly my boyfriend usually knows what to do, though sometimes we have to ask if something goes wrong. I much prefer going to a normal till, where a person helps you. How odd that sometimes there is no one on the tills yet a queue at the self-service! You'd think things would go much quicker if there was just the till, right (because the staff member at the till knows what to do)?

 

And at the airport, the self-service checkout always wants to scan your plane ticket. Which makes it easy to then forget your ticket seeing as you're standing there with all your stuff in your hands, rushing to move on for the next person in the queue. Gladly we've only forgot a ticket once and it could gladly be sorted (I was so stressed over it). I also once forgot a chocolate bar I bought, somehow we forgot to take it from the self-service check-out when we left (we didn't realise it until we were out of the airport). I was a bit upset as it was a chocolate bar they don't have in the Netherlands in the same way. My boyfriend went and bought me another one at a different shop outside.

 

That said, in my library they have self-check-out and I love it there. I know how it works (it's pretty easy to understand) and it's nice that you don't neccessarily have to speak to someone (since there is sometimes a queue by the help / customer service if it's busy). You can also hand in your loaned books in a self-check-in area (which is also very easy to use).

 

Noll, I hope everything with the bank and the study works out :(.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The concept behind the self-service tills is pretty straight forward - scan an item, put it in the bagging area, scan the next one and so on. Select payment type, put in card or cash, and then frantically bag your items in a state of panic while the till shouts PLEASE TAKE YOUR ITEMS. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AT TESCO. PLEASE TAKE YOUR ITEMS.

 

But somehow, something always goes wrong :giggle:

 

Well, I emailed my course co-ordinator anyway and she was lovely, she said she'll get the lecturers to email me the lectures (it's a fully online course) to my personal email this week while waiting to get set up, which is fantastic because I won't fall behind.

 

The 1 week notice thing is just an element of the type of saving account I have and the bank it's with. I know at least one other bank doesn't have the same limitation on their online savings. Mostly, it works for me, as the 1 week notice prevents me from skimming small amounts off my savings. But in this instance, it's a pain. I really thought getting an overdraft would be a case of walking into the bank, talking to someone for 15 minutes, and being told whether it would be approved or not, and when it would be activated. That's how it worked 10 years ago!!!

 

It'll all work out, I'm just impatient! :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Athena said:

. How odd that sometimes there is no one on the tills yet a queue at the self-service! You'd think things would go much quicker if there was just the till, right (because the staff member at the till knows what to do)?

 

 

Yes exactly, the other day I was in a shop and  there was quite a long queue at the staffed checkouts, but no one at the self service tills, and instead they had a member of staff practically begging people to use the self service tills, but no one wanted to, so he had nothing to do, and meanwhile the queue was getting longer at the staffed tills!  So if he'd been on another staffed till, there wouldn't have been such a queue:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Nollaig said:

The concept behind the self-service tills is pretty straight forward - scan an item, put it in the bagging area, scan the next one and so on. Select payment type, put in card or cash, and then frantically bag your items in a state of panic while the till shouts PLEASE TAKE YOUR ITEMS. THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING AT TESCO. PLEASE TAKE YOUR ITEMS.

 

But somehow, something always goes wrong :giggle:

 

 

Haha! I was going to mention this. The ones at Sainsbury's at Wakefield does this ALL the time. Does my nut in.

 

There is a train that arrives at my station at 814 and time after time it's cancelled. Why? Because there is not enough carragies. The next one after that is 846. Making me get to work just at the last minute, and not be able to work up any flexi. The other day however it arrived with the two carriages and it was packed. I feel it's nice knowing I pay my fare and still they can't provide trains.

 

I remember once the 846 turned up a little early, but actually left at about 844. They are supposed to close the doors up to 30 seconds before departure but that was a joke! The guy selling tickets even said he had no right to do that.

 

To praise the trains, I was walking down the ramp with the train there I tried to run abit but I hate doing that because you usually end up missing it anyway. So the conductor closed the doors but he left one open for me. Thought Thank you, kind sir!

He also said "thanks for not trying to jump on when the doors where closing." Which I guess some would do.

 

 

That sounds awful, Athena, about the train tickets.

I could almost feel my heart  in my throat just reading it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Automation and cutting staff numbers is an annoyance I also share. Using public transport and my local train station as an example. My local station is quite a large one on the line into London from the north. We have 4 ticket counters, and 4 ticket machines. The counters are rarely staffed anymore and on most days at least 1 if not 2 of the machines are out of order. This leads to massive queues every morning from the rush hour well into mid morning and is even worse at weekends. The same as Lau_Lou, certain services are cancelled every morning and its been that way for 2 years. I would love to catch the train to work but I choose to drive because the service is shambolic and just far far too overpriced.

 

Bank automation and getting rid of staff lead to me changing banks because the wouldn't let me pay in a cheque at a counter.

 

Hope everyone is well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah I have to admit, I'm tempted to change banks but I'm pretty sure the other main one here is doing the same thing. Might look into Ulster bank maybe.

 

I also never heard back from my bank about the overdraft. Just never got a phone call. My savings will move to my current account tomorrow night anyway, so at this stage I'll just pay the deposit tomorrow night and hopefully be set up Monday.

 

My 'Paint By Numbers' sets also arrived this morning - been seeing a lot of them advertised on Facebook, very detailed paint-by-numbers which are done with acrylics on canvas and look like really cool, slightly abstract paintings when done. Lots of different companies doing them, I saw one offering them half price and they seemed legit so I purchased four of them. Arrived today - huge good quality canvases, clear printing, all the paints, brushes and palettes I need, and even little hooks to hang them on the wall! I could have opted for frames as well, but too expensive. Cannot WAIT to get going with them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hope you manage to get your bank all sorted out Noll. Reading what you wrote about the busses makes me glad I don't have to worry about that anymore - I am lucky in that I can drive to work in less than 20 minutes and there is hardly ever any traffic at all. Because I start at 7.30am I don't have to worry about school traffic either - I get it on the way home instead though. :(

 

As for those damned self service checkouts - they are great if you are buying just a  few items, but most of the time it's quicker to go a basket only till, by the time you wait for someone to come and find out what your unknown item is that you have placed in the bagging area! :D

 

Coran and I are going to see Sigur Ros tonight at the Hammersmith Apollo and I can't wait. I am a HUGE fan of their music and they are always really, really good to see live. In such a small venue (approx. 3000 people) it will be just brilliant. When I see them in Iceland at the end of the year it will be even better, as the venue is smaller still and I am right near the front. We are staying up in London tonight at the nearby Premier Inn so we don't have to miss the end of the show. By the time we would have got home on the train it would be close to 1am and getting up for work again at 6am didn't seem such a good idea. I had half a day's holiday today then and have the whole day off tomorrow, which makes it a nice long weekend. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wish you lots of fun seeing Sigur Ros :)!

 

My brother and his girlfriend visited us and it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them. Today my sister is coming for a visit, which should be nice too - I do look forward to resting a bit more next week.

 

My grandfather was taken to the hospital yesterday and is probably going to have surgery today. He has a fracture in his leg just under his hip. I don't have all the technical details but I'm thinking about him today.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hope your grandfather is okay Athena, and I hope you have fun with the rest of the family. 

 

Sigur Ros were absolutely brilliant  but very loud! Poor Coran was sitting there at one point with her fingers in her ears, and we were right at the back, so goodness knows what it would have been like for those nearer the front. They played a couple of new songs from their forthcoming album and of course plenty of old favourites that right at the end saw everyone on their feet. It was a great venue though - I used to go to a lot of concerts at the Apollo at one time but hadn't been up there for years. The crowd was pretty loud as well - mostly of around our age, as they tend to appeal to older people, having been around for quite some time (I think they first got together in 1994). So, Reykjavik here I come. Croatia first though. This time next week I will probably be enjoying a nice lunch somewhere in Split. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Years of going to gigs caused me some hearing damage which was picked up during a work medical. Now when I go to an indoor concert I wear custom made earplugs which have special filters which lower the volume equally across the whole frequency spectrum. This means I can enjoy a show without causing further damage and because they are specifically made for the purpose they don't muffle the sound like standard earplugs do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Talisman said:

Hope your grandfather is okay Athena, and I hope you have fun with the rest of the family. 

 

Thanks :). The surgery went well, my grandfather will have to stay in the hospital for a few more days. I'm glad he is okay :).

 

5 hours ago, Talisman said:

Sigur Ros were absolutely brilliant  but very loud! Poor Coran was sitting there at one point with her fingers in her ears, and we were right at the back, so goodness knows what it would have been like for those nearer the front. They played a couple of new songs from their forthcoming album and of course plenty of old favourites that right at the end saw everyone on their feet. It was a great venue though - I used to go to a lot of concerts at the Apollo at one time but hadn't been up there for years. The crowd was pretty loud as well - mostly of around our age, as they tend to appeal to older people, having been around for quite some time (I think they first got together in 1994). So, Reykjavik here I come. Croatia first though. This time next week I will probably be enjoying a nice lunch somewhere in Split. :)

 

I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Sigur Ros :).

 

3 hours ago, Brian. said:

Years of going to gigs caused me some hearing damage which was picked up during a work medical. Now when I go to an indoor concert I wear custom made earplugs which have special filters which lower the volume equally across the whole frequency spectrum. This means I can enjoy a show without causing further damage and because they are specifically made for the purpose they don't muffle the sound like standard earplugs do.

 

I'm so sorry to hear you got hearing damage from going to gigs. Wearing special earplugs makes a lot of sense to me. That's very smart for anyone, I think. It would be way too loud for me.

I wear custom made earplugs with special filters too, I love them. I wear mine a lot when I go out, because too much sound at once bothers me. So when I go out shopping in a busy street, I wear my earplugs. I'm still able to have conversations with shop personnel and the people I'm with, but the sound of other people, music in shops, sound of cars etc, don't bother me as much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...