Universal pre-Xmas Car troubles

oh god, I took the car in for a service and a warrent, and LO, behold, the $550 minimum required repairs quote I have in mine hand!
to get a warrent it requires....
Brake Pads,
front suspension bushes replaced
engine mount is worn argh... no wonder there were so many vibrations/
some kind of belt replaced (by the time the mechanic got to this my eyes were watering and there was a rushing in my ears as I saw all the money I had pass before my eyes. but its not the cam belt)
Not to mention it needs a new battery,
Transmission flush,
Power steering fluid,
New Spark plugs,
and blah blah blah
ARGH
just as well I already have a lot of my christmas shopping done.

Damn if only Auckland had a decent (or any kind of) public transport system, I could ditch my car altogether.

Hey I could even walk, I tried that one day. Takes just under an hour. I may well be doing that tomorrow.

Its definately a beer day. Maybe even a 2 beer day.

Service in this country?

Well after a weekend of mediocre at best service, I'm just about ready to never leave the house again, that is if I could rely on the pizza guy to find my house.
It all started with being put on standby for a flight, even when I checked in early and booked my ticket months in advance. No apology, just a vague threat of not being able to get to my destination. Then a restaurant in a popular tourist location not accepting Credit cards and not accepting cash ("oh we're running out of change") luckily eftpos was available.
And then my John Cleese tickets, cancelled and shifted to a later date. And a different venue, and crappier seats, and NO they cant send out new tickets automatically, I have to go in and exchange them Argh, I've already been inconvenienced enough. Sigh. And no apology from the person I chatted to on the phone. Also I paid to have something large and heavy delivered to my house. I was very greatful that the store offered this service as I would not be able to manage on my own. So my item is delivered and there is only one delivery guy and he cant lift it on his own. I end up having to help haul it in, christ I'm 5'1 and a weakling.

Well I'm going to try going to the movies tonight. Hopefully it wont be a complete abortion.

I'm sure that not all those in the industry hate their jobs. Perhaps they are all eventually worn down by dealing with consumers, people who expect to be humoured and pampered every time they leave the house so they don't have to feel bad about buying things they don't need and cant afford.

I didn't start out being the shitty customer. For years I have been polite, and friendly to retail, restaurant and other service industry staff. I think the shift starts when you realise you are paying a company for service and that you don't want to pay for a shitty attitude.

So hey, I'll be taking my business elsewhere, not that it makes much difference in this consume consume consume

Stomach ulcers caused by Helicobacter Pylori.

Stomach Ulcers are dangerous and now theres a cure. That is if your ulcer is being caused by Helicobacter Pylori. Long term infection can lead to gastric cancers. However this nasty bacterium can be rid of with a treatment of antibiotics and stomach acid ihibitors. This is often refered to as triple therapy.
However this serious dose of antibiotics and the infection can mean your stomach is left in a rather tender state. A useful therapy following this treatment is Aloe Vera juice with manuka honey. Take morning and evening on a empty stomach, and once things are feeling better move to once a day. Works a treat.

I ran 5km without miracle shoe juice.

Yes, I really did. Duathlon traing is going sweet, I'm fitter than I've ever been. But im still eating burger and pizza and anything else I can get away with. mmmmmm food. Ribs, lollies, popcorn, pizza, burgers and beef jerky steak Bars. Yum! So to reward myself for my most excellent effort I purchased season 1 of Angel on DVD. Seasons 1 and 2 are the best, it got a bit melodramatic after that. Even for Whedon.

New Orcon 2mbps Account

Ah speedy. More downloading power than I care to shake a fist at. So I had to change my email address. Always fun trying to remember the ba-jillion websites that use your email address as a login. And I've installed Thunderbird. Much nicer (prettier) than Eudora.
I shared my joy of this new speed with my colleagues. They wern't impressed. I am now the geek.