Stupid people everywhere...

This post has been begging to be written for months, but I always put it off because I thought I didn't have enough material.

I came to the realisation tonight that I have never not had enough material for this post.

I work in a Video Ezy store, which is a dying business, but it does for now. I've worked there since October 2010 and in the last four and a half years, I have been constantly astounded by the sheer stupidity presented by some of our customers.

Like honestly.

Many of these gripes apply to general retail situations, so I'm sure many of you can sympathise with me.

First up, the stupid questions.

Q: Is a 3 day hire classed as weekly?

What I say: No, it's classed as a new release.

What I want to say: How many bloody days are in a week?


Q: *when signing up for a membership* Do I have to put my phone number on the account?

What I say: Yes, as it's under your name, we need to be able to contact you.

What I want to say: Are you f***ing kidding me?


Q: *brings up an Interstellar case from the wall, which is marked COMING SOON* Do you have any copies of this in store?

What I say: Unfortunately, no, we haven't received our delivery yet.

What I want to say: Read the case.


Q: *while reading poster which says TUESDAY, ALL MOVIES $2* So all movies are $2 on Tuesday?

What I say: Yes.

What I want to say: I don't even have any words.


Q: *after I have put through a transaction for the customer* So those Blu-rays will play on my PlayStation 2, won't they?

What I say: ...No. They only play on Blu-ray players, PlayStation 3 and on, and Xbox One.*proceeds to refund transaction and get the correct copies*

What I want to say: Are you actually as dense as you make yourself seem?


Q: Do you have any copies of Fast and Furious 7?

What I say: That just got released at the cinema, so it won't be on DVD for at least three months following its final showing.

What I want to say: OH MY FOR GOD'S SAKE THE STUPID.


Retail customers are the bane of any retail employee's existence. I get shouted at least twice a shift over someone's late fees. It's not my fault. If they brought the bloody movie back in time, we wouldn't have a problem. And someone asking me whether Interstellar is in store (it's not, our delivery hasn't been invoiced yet) is the DVD equivalent of someone asking if you have those shoes in a size 6.

I do like my job. Some days. Some days are just nightmares. Like the day when the other girl and I got the full set of annoying customers. Some customers just set out to make your life difficult. Some act like entitled little...pieces of work. Middle aged women are the worst for threatening to speak to the manager because I'm rude and a bitch for not deleting their late fees (jokes on them, the manager is my mother).

It's crazy town in there. Some days you just know that if one more customer asks for that movie which has just been released at the cinema (*cough cough* Fast 7), you're going to fly across the counter and strangle them. Or if one more person argues with you over late fees, you're going to commit a felony. Like the woman who insists she isn't paying her late fees because her son was in hospital. Lady, I'm not saying your son wasn't in hospital, but if we wiped late fees every time someone fed us that excuse or something of the like, no-one would pay their late fees.

That's got me knackered. I'm sure there'll be more gripes where that came from later.

Xo.

Twitter - @godofbacon
Instagram - @raducanyoucan

14 tips for first time Skyrim players

Anyone who follows me on Twitter or reads my latest fanfiction knows just how much I love The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, simply called Skyrim by many.

Skyrim is a medieval/fantasy RPG game that follows a line of successful RPG games produced by Bethesda. It is the fifth in the series, following The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Skyrim boasts one of the largest game worlds and never fails to provide something to do. It follows the story of the Last Dragonborn, a person born of dragonkind who is destined to save Tamriel from the Dragon Crisis.

However, even with it's 'tutorial' missions, which basically consists of the quests up until you kill Mulmunir, the first dragon, Skyrim has many quirks and it can be easily get you into some tricky spots. I have found myself in tight yet hilarious situations quite regularly while playing Skyrim, and would like to share some of the solutions I have come up with.

1. When you level up, you get to choose an attribute to advance. I advise sinking a lot of these level ups into Stamina. It eases the burden when you really can't decide which valuable item you need to drop in the middle of nowhere.
2. Always carry at least two different types of weapons - ranged and melee. Picking off enemies from a distance first makes the closeup fighting tons easier.
3. If you're strolling through the landscape and the calming beautiful music stops and gives way to something fast paced and intense, run like hell because it means a dragon has just spotted you.
4. If you get ambushed by a dragon called 'Blood Dragon' and you're less than level 25, I advise running because those things are NASTY.
5. Don't go on a frenzy and attempt murder on everyone in town. Just don't do it. And if you absolutely must...save beforehand.
6. Whiterun will always feel like home and you will feel terrible attacking it if you join the Stormcloaks during the Civil War. It's a fact.
7. Don't do the main quest where you have to travel to Alftand until you are sufficiently leveled. I recommend about Level 30, because some of the enemies you will encounter in Alftand and Blackreach are bloody difficult. Especially the Dwarven Centurions. Far out.
8. Don't attempt to battle Alduin until you're leveled. If you follow my earlier advice, this won't be a problem.
9. Don't kill the Riverwood chicken.
10. Shouting in a village or town 'makes people nervous'.
11. Get a house as early as you can. You can stash all your stuff until you're ready to use it.
12. Save your dragon bones and scales. You can make some pretty sweet armor out of them if you level your Blacksmithing.
13. Watch out for Slaughterfish when swimming in cold areas. They're pretty creepy.
14. Go for your life on that eagle in Solitude. It's not an unkillable creature. You will nail it.

There is a collection of some of my tips. I'm sure I'll come up with more.

Peace.

Xo.

Life gets in the way...

I've been a tad absent. And that is mainly because of life. That and I've had many ideas for a new blog post but haven't had the motivation to actually write them.

Not much has happened in my online world over the past couple of weeks, apart from me falling in love with Tyger Drew-Honey, tweeting him, and getting a reply. That was nice!

A fair amount has happened in my real world though. Again, my relationship with TransPerth has verged back on hilarity. The other day I had to go into the city for a university field trip. After that was over, my friend and I made our way to the Perth Underground entrance on Murray Street. Anyone who has been to the Perth Underground knows it's like...crazy town down there. Even I, a Perth born and raised girl who frequently uses the train system, always gets a bit confused in the Underground.

Anyway, I was taking the Joondalup line to Warwick, which is 4 stops from the city, and my friend was taking the same line to Currambine which is 9 stops from the city. As we were coming down the escalator to the platforms, my friend said 'There's a Whitfords train (6 stops from the city) about to leave, you can grab that one'. I looked up and saw that indeed, the board was flashing to say the Whitfords pattern was leaving 1 minute.

I started leaping down the escalator two steps at a time, shrieking 'SEE YOU AFTER THE BREAK' to my friend, took a flying leap off the last step, legged it across the platform and got onto the train about 2 seconds before the doors started to close.

It's probably one of my finest moments using the train.

As well as that, it's now Easter break, mid semester break, and school holidays, which means for the next week, I have no uni and no dancing. I actually have two weeks off of dancing. And so begins a week of me trying to decide what I'm going to do to keep myself occupied.

One of those things will be to plan my future trip to Scotland, i.e. the reason I created this blog. It's not even a definite thing yet and I'm already excited. Later in the year, however, I am going to Bali, and I will be flying there by myself, as my family are flying up a few days later. It will be my first time travelling solo, and it's an international flight, so I'm a little nervous and a lot excited. Nervous because I have no idea how to fill out immigration forms and excited because I'll feel like a proper adult. Haha.

Well, I've forgotten what the point of this post was. If I think of anything else to say, I will post again.

Peace.

Xo

Crack out the party poppers!

I warned you when I started this blog that the chances of me staying on topic are about on par with my chances of becoming the Queen of England. So I hope you enjoy having something entirely different to read every time I post! I like to keep it fresh.

Anyway, this is a special post, for today, it's a special somebody's birthday!

Aoife! (collaredjumpers.wordpress.com)

This amazing girl is somebody who I met through the ever psychotic hot mess that we call the Criminal Minds fandom on Twitter. Today she is 15, and I hope when she turns 16, we are still the amazing friends we are today!

I'm not 100 percent sure how Aoife and I started talking, but I'm pretty sure it was the day I nearly fell on the train tracks at Warwick train station (which she subsequently has not let me forget). The story behind that: Aoife, myself, and another girl called Kara were all joking about slipping aphrodisiacs in a certain couple's (anyone who knows me will know who they are) food to entice them to have another baby (low and behold, they announced they're expecting another baby just two weeks ago). Aoife tagged Nathan in one of the tweets just to be silly, and HE RESPONDED. And I promptly tripped over my shoes in surprise and nearly fell off the platform because I had my back to the tracks and my backpack was probably heavier than I am. By some stroke of luck, I caught my balance in time to step away and catch the train that pulled in about three seconds after I almost fell.

Ah, the memories.

We've been through a LOT. We had a HUGE blowout in like...October. It was really stupid and I'm glad we got over it. We trust each other a lot and we tell each other everything. We discovered we do a lot of the same weird things, which I will not list for the sake of both of our dignity. We love to share our story ideas with each other and we have our own repertoire of inside jokes (*cough cough* frog squats) which never fail to make me laugh. Although I think my near death experience with a train makes the top of that list.

Aoife never fails to make me laugh. She always brings a smile to my face if I'm having a bad day, even if it is in the middle of a lecture and I have to duck under a table when I start laughing.

We also have the stupid things that make us laugh. Like the time I emailed her a story outline and realised afterwards that I had sent her the longest run-on sentence EVER. That got a laugh. And the day AJ announced her pregnancy, Aoife was FREAKING out and I was sitting on a public bus grinning like an absolute idiot. What a contrast.

She's a beautiful, stunning, kind hearted girl (who looks just like Chloe Grace Moretz, I s*** you not) who I hope remains one of my friends for a long time to come.

One day, we will meet and it will be joyous, hilarious, and wonderful.

Have an awesome day beautiful! Love you!

Xoxo.

TMI Tag

Emma Blackery answered these questions on her YouTube channel, and never specified who answers next, so I decided to do them myself. Enjoy!

1: What are you wearing? 

A green Bintang shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts that have donuts on them (I just had to check and make sure they were donuts).

2: Ever been in love? 

I don't think so...does being in love with your computer count?

3: Ever had a terrible breakup?

Never had a relationship, so no, I've never had a terrible breakup.

4: How tall are you?

About 5'8-5'9. I'm actually not 100 percent sure, I just know I'm tall.

5: How much do you weigh?

Again, I really don't know. Somewhere around the 65kg mark I would guess.

6: Any tattoos?

Nope

7: Any piercings?

I have my ears pierced once.

8: OTP?

WILLIFER FOREVER!

9: Favourite show?

Criminal Minds. If you have to ask me that question, you obviously don't know me very well.

10: Favourite bands?

I have a lot of favourite singers rather than bands, so I'll throw them in the mix too. PVRIS, Ellie Goulding (love love LOVE!), Echosmith, Albannach, Ben Howard, anyone who composed the soundtracks to any of my favourite movies...

11: Something you miss?

I had a great big list of stuff I miss the other day, and now I can't remember a single thing off of it. Probably the days when I didn't have homework to worry about, and Chelsea and I would have a sleepover pretty much every weekend. The days when the original The Sims game was the absolute shit, the days when I had a functional trampoline (I'll have those days back shortly), the days when my life didn't revolve around actresses and TV shows.

12: Favourite song?

Right now, it's 'Love Me Like You Do' by Ellie Goulding, but it could change in a week or so.

13: How old are you?

I am 18, a legal adult in Australia and the United Kingdom.

14: Zodiac sign?

Virgo

15: Quality you look for in a partner?

Kind, loving, not a cocky arrogant bastard, must be reasonably attractive to me, taller than me, apply within.

16: Favourite Quote? 

"Ssh, the adults are talking. When it's your turn to speak, I'll give you permission" - Jennifer Jareau, a.k.a most badass woman that the world ever did see.

17: Favourite actor?

AJ FREAKING COOK LADIES AND GENTLEMEN

18: Favourite color?

Any shade of blue that reminds me of places like the Maldives and Fji.

19: Loud music or soft?

Depends.

20: Where do you go when you're sad?

To my room to write.

21: How long does it take you to shower?

Freaking ages. Dad has to bang on the door to get me out.

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

I can get ready in 10 minutes if I'm really desperate for some extra sleep.

23: Ever been in a physical fight?

Only with my sisters.

24: Turn on?

If you like my shows.

25: Turn off?

BO, bad breath, hair that looks like it hasn't been washed (seriously guys, wash your hair).

26: The reason I joined Youtube?

So I could comment on videos I like.

27: Fears?

Terrified of cockroaches. Pretty much every one of my friends has witnessed me run in fear at the sight of a cockroach. And something happening to any one of my Internet friends that I don't know about.

28: Last thing that made you cry?

Chloe's 7 News piece.

29: Last time you said you loved someone?

Pretty sure I said I love William LaMontagne at work today and Sarah laughed at me.

30: Meaning behind your Youtube Name?

xxcourtneyjareauxx

(kiss kiss) first name, surname of favourite character (kiss kiss)

31: Last book you read?

Confessions of a Qantas Flight Attendant

32: The book you're currently reading?

I am going to read 'And The Mountains Echoed' by Khaled Hossaini. Pretty sure I got that either this Christmas or last and I still haven't read it.

33: Last show you watched?

Modern Family

34: Last person you talked to?

My dad.

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted?

Emily is a really close friend from high school, we were discussing what movie she should watch.

36: Favourite food?

I really, really love microwave popcorn.

37: Place you want to visit?

You should all know that; Scotland.

38: Last place you were?

Other than here in my bed, I was at work.

39: Do you have a crush?

Yes.

40: Last time you kissed someone?

I have never been kissed.

41: Last time you were insulted?

Some arrogant customer at work told me I was a rude bitch because I wouldn't do them a deal on their $10 late fees, which I'm not allowed to do anyway, so I asked them politely to leave the store.

42: Favourite flavour of sweet?

Apple. Watermelon. Grape.

43: What instruments do you play?

I used to play the clarinet, and I still sometimes play the recorder super badly to annoy my mum.

44: Favourite piece of jewellery?

I don't really wear jewellery, but I have a Deathly Hallows necklace.

45: Last sport you played?

Gymnastics is a sport. I don't care what anyone says. Some guy I went to school said it's not a sport because athletes don't wear leotards and makeup. Gymnastics is a freaking sport, the amount of training and dedication you have to have more than qualifies it. Gymnasts probably train more than half of the other sports at the Olympics!

46: Last song you sang?

St Patrick by PVRIS.

47: Favourite chat up line?

Wouldn't know one, never used one.

48: Have you ever used it?

Read above.

49: Last time you hung out with anyone?

I had to seriously think about that. Probably with Kathryn on Wednesday.

50: Who should answer these questions next?

Everyone who wants to.

Tropical Cyclones and Home Invaders

Well, not quite either of those things. But nonetheless, it's been a very active few days in the Australian/South Pacific Basin. Four active tropical cyclones at once!

On March 6, a tropical disturbance was registered just northwest of Fiji. This tropical disturbance would later become Category 5 Severe Tropical Cyclone Pam, which has passed over Vanuatu and wreaked absolute havoc and destruction. This system is still currently active and headed in the general direction of New Caledonia and northern New Zealand.

At the same time that the trough that was eventually named Pam was identified, a twin trough formed in the area of the Phillipines. It was later upgraded to a tropical storm and given the name Bavi. I don't know a great deal about that storm.

Meanwhile, in homeland Australia, we have contended with two. One on either coast.

Firstly, on the 8th of March, a weak tropical low was being monitored off the coast of Western Australia (my state). It increased in strength and convection, and on the 11th of March, was upgraded to a Category 1 Tropical Cyclone and named Olwyn. Olwyn hit his peak intensity at a Category 3.

It was actually a little frightening for a while. Olwyn was slowly descending along the coast, battering coastal towns and in particular, bringing a bit of damage and flooding to Exmouth and Carnarvon. It was predicted that Olwyn could go one of two ways; continue to move down the coast and dissipate to a tropical low by the time it reached Perth, or swing out over the ocean and re-intensify, meaning it would still be classed as a tropical cyclone by the time it made landfall in Perth, which is exactly what Alby did in the late 70's. He swung out, came back, and absolutely flattened Busselton, ripping away the famous Busselton Jetty (which has been rebuilt).

I'm a crazy person, so I love wild weather. I don't think I could handle a Category 5 like Pam, no way, but I think a Category 1 would have brought a bit of variety to Perth's lifeless weather. To be honest, we really just needed a bit of rain.

We were told to expect severe weather on Saturday with winds up to 100km/h.

We got a drizzle of rain at best, and maybe a bit of an increase in the wind. It was actually quite sad. I'm hoping winter brings some spectacular storms, because we haven't had a decent thunderstorm since March 22, 2010. And yes, everyone in Perth remembers that date because the weather was more comparable to a cyclone than what we got yesterday.

As for Queensland, they are playing a game of chicken with Tropical Cyclone Nathan. Nathan was classified on March 9th, and is currently sitting off the Queensland coast as a Category 2. He made slight initial landfall, then backed away into the ocean and is currently sitting there just biding his time. I hope he doesn't stay out there too long because I don't think Queensland really needs another Category 5, they already had one last month. And let's not forget Yasi, some people never really recovered from him. He was a bugger.

But now the cyclone excitement has passed and the sky is blue again.

Last night, however, we had a different kind of excitement. I had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed when there was a slight click and all our power went out.

Assuming it was because of the lingering storms passing overhead from Olwyn, I went outside to look at the sky. As I stood out there, I heard a thump on our side fence, but thought nothing of it.

I did notice, however, that our power was the only one off. And that was weird.

Dad lifted the garage door manually and went outside to have a look. One of our neighbours came wandering up the alleyway and asked if we were alright as he had seen our flashlights in the dark. He said something to my dad about how people have been turning other people's power off and stealing from cars, or something like that. Dad said no-one had turned ours off, it was just out.

But upon checking the meter box again, Dad discovered that our neighbour was right. Someone had turned our power off at the mains. We noticed this morning that they had also switched off our gas.

Dad switched it back on, and then half an hour, the dropkick came back and did it again. Mum heard him at the meter box this time, and Dad was already out the front door by the time the idiot had started running up the street.

Our neighbour came out and started yelling at the guy, and then they started punching each other and swearing while we stood on our driveway in surprise.

He never came back for another go but all in all, the night was just WEIRD.

Anyways, peace out!

Xoxo.

A Writer's Journal

I have to keep a writing journal for my writing class at university. So far, out of the 12 days I have had it, I've written in it four times. I'm supposed to be writing in it every day.

I've noticed I mostly write in it after midnight. And upon reading back over some of that stuff, half of it doesn't make sense. It may inspire a story someday, but it really doesn't make sense.

Since there's nothing extravagantly personal in it yet, I wanted to share some of these wonderfully thoughtful little anecdotes with you.

I really don't understand how my brain functions.

25.02.15

• I love the sound of the train pulling into the station. The high pitched whistle on the electric line at Joondalup.
• Tinnitus. Persistent ringing of the ears.
• A man driven insane by tinnitus.
• What does PTSD do to us? Is the war worth it if our soldiers are returning home broken?
• "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope, and a future" - Jeremiah 29:11
• What if one day, you asked someone for directions, they gave you the wrong directions, and it altered the whole course of your life?

28.02.15

I apparently now have an imaginary hairless cat named Emperor Zurg. Ok then.

How do you tell someone you like them? It seems so easy, but it's so not easy. It's the most nerve wracking thing ever. I don't understand why. It's just telling another person that you have potentially romantic feelings for them. I tend to break things down like that when they're stressing me out. It doesn't actually make it any better.

I'm trying to write. JJ is meant to be getting food poisoning. So far it's not happening.

An unfamiliar song is playing on my iTunes. But I can just tell it's from the London Olympic Dreams album.

I was right.

Playing 'Would you rather marry?' via text with Damian.

I should write a story about a dancer battling injuries. Neuritis, ankle sprains, bad shoulders and knees. 

A mother watching her sick child receive chemo.

What is wrong with the world today? 

Apparently everything.

This pen is hard to read. This is why I don't handwrite these days. So much effort.

Mittens' human.

I swear all my best material comes forth after midnight.

3.03.15 - (this is a drafting of ideas for my presentation for this unit)

• An evil beast, winding its claw-like tentacles through my her daughter's brain.
• Every day brought a new enemy.
• The clear liquid winding through the tubing. Looks like water, yet it is so damaging toxic, it can burn skin.
• Covered with a bag to protect it from the light. Yet to protect her daughter, it has to cause so much harm.
• The room is so dark, da as dark as the cloud hanging over her family.
• Her daughter, who was supposed to grow up, graduate high school, fall in love, and explore the world.
• There is no God. There Since that fateful day, she had not once believed in a god.

4.03.15

All I can think about is AJ's baby. It was just SO unexpected! She hid it brilliantly. It's hard to explain, but it's almost alien to see her pregnant. It's been 7 years since she had Mekhai. It's like I forgot she is still capable of reproducing. I think she may actually have had trouble conceiving, judging by her Instagram [caption].

The shock has worn off. To think we always wanted her to have another baby and now she is.

We thought they had settled on one.

I'm so happy for her and Nathan. AJ looks beautiful, confident, happy and proud.

I can't wait for July!

On the other hand (literally), my wrist is very bruised and painful. I hope I haven't chipped a bone. I do love that contemporary dance though. I love contemporary. Can we do it in the concert?

9.03.15

Trying not to laugh in a lecture while writing about a character hopped up on oxycodone after surgery.

I'm sure there's more wonderful pieces of wisdom where those came from. Stay tuned!

Xo.