7 posts tagged “shopping”

Yesterday I trekked to the shops. With a day off it felt good to do some retail therapy but my ankle didn't cop it so well so I went only for a few hours.

I had a mission to do to - Bday shopping. Thank goodness my friend outlined what she wanted, otherwise I dunno what I could get on such short notice!

 

My niece in the morning! He he he, the poor thing - i haven't been able to do a lot of things with her due to my ankle :(

So I've ended up with a Jewellery Box (which I'm going to fill) and a classic tissue case for my friend. It's what she wanted and she loves the Kimmidoll series - so it's a good double whamy!

Also got some completely useless stuff - like my Bad Taste bear - but this is definitely going onto my work desk!

 

I must admit that I didn't have the healthiest lunch either. Chicken burger at Hungry Jacks. Must get back to healthier eating - afterall apparently Australia's the fattest country in the world!!

 

I also tried to get my brother to understand the importance and significance of the smaller things in our surroundings. Like the small old, old library he claimed was "ugly" but I tried to convince him it was conserving old heritage. And the graffiti which I told him was art. We clearly don't see things the same way....

So anyway, back to housework - I'm finding it harder and harder to find time for myself now - and I really miss just procrastinating on Vox. It's just not the same now. Where does time go??

 

 

This is National Headache Awareness Week. Show us what gives you a headache.

This fella. Ok. Sometimes he gives me a headache. But hey, that's what little siblings do right?

Today I spent about $50 on food for him. That gave me a headache. Reasoning with him in the store to "Only buy the healthy" and "No more Junk" - but that didn't bring about any real outcome.

 

One of the things the bro got was one of those Kinder Surprise things. Despite being 12 years old - he figured he wanted to "Embrace childhood as long as possible" and that influenced me enough to get the Kinder Surprise. But what was inside was dissapointing for us both. For him it wasn't a boy-toy and for me - I don't think I've ever seen a scarier Snow White figurine in my life. This is endorsed by Disney??!!

Other than that, I managed to get something new - Curios for breakfast. I am a serial breakfast skipper - I am also not really a morning person, so if I were to have adequate time to prepare and eat breakfast I would have to get up earlier than 5am and the fact that I sleep at around 2am - the three hour sleep is not at all appealing. So I thought, besides the usual Up-and-Go I normally drink I'd give this a go.  They're like chips in a packet only they are made of Weetbix-like crap :)

Other than that I have been trying to concentrate - but it's been really HARD! The particular exam I am cramming for requires extensive research and there is just so much information to sift through I'm finding it hard to focus on one particular area. 

 

What a damn headache...

Wish I was outside

 

 

Today marks the last University class. Ever. I hope. But ever.

It was so weird. I was hanging around with a bunch of guys who I hardly got to know over the semester, only to learn so much about them at the university bar after class - celebrating, with complete strangers the end of university life. They too were finishing up - it was a sad and good feeling at the same time. I can actually have days where I go home and *gasp* can do nothing without feeling guilty! Weeeeee

Although its not the complete end, I still have exams - but you get the drift.

No more running to classes, rushing homework and assignments, responding to random questions and trying to absorb all the world's business issues at large on spoonful at a time.

It's the end!

Had a few drinks after class, well not really - I think I was laughing so much I knocked my drinks out a couple of times - I am rather clumsy. And the guys showed me how to play pool, the 'real' way, not the shite way i've been attempting to play over the years. Why didn't I get to know them better before? But anyway, I had worked with one of them for my class last semester and he introduced me to everybody else. So much fun.

Other than that I stumbled home, did some shopping (food but it turned into shopping shopping *sigh*). I was going to go celebrate some more but maybe after my exams. 22nd June is my next outing - some home cooking with some mates. But now I am under strict control to stay home and cram like no tomorrow! The last thing I want is to fail and have to take a class again.

So, hey today in pictures:

 

 

After the bar, I stopped by in the city to check out buses for a trip I have to take tomorrow and I noticed this. This building is probably undergoing construction, but at the same time there is this backdrop - an actual advertisement! Didn't notice until I looked up (it was raining, I just wanted to get from A to B dry).

 

The back of my bus ticket giving me some good advice.

 

Train ride home. Pretty empty, everyone was probably still at work and kids haven't finished school yet.

 

Got myself a bag and scarf. I am (sadly) a scarf person without ever realising it because when I got home I opened my drawer only to find a million other scarfs. I have to stop myself from buying these. It's breaking my wallet's heart.

 

Got some games for my little brother - he wanted these last week but I didn't want to dry my bank account - so I got them for him this week instead. They're old but half price so it was worth it. I was supposed to get an RD (?)  DS card  (brother just corrected me) but keep delaying that so I got the damn original game for him anyway. Spent a while talking to the sales assistant too, I randomly asked how long it took to decorate the store and he tells me that it took an entire day to get the 'messy' look right. I told him I could have lended them my brother and it would look the same in 2 minutes. Haha

Did my grocery shopping and headed back home - now back to work. Not a brilliant, exciting day as say, compared to going to Disney Park (no wait, Disney Land - is that one word? I've forgotten English already). But I am in a relatively good mood..so far...)

Ok, now really, back to work.

Chop chop!

 

Since when did retail therapy become stressful?

Going to rant about my day whether you want to read or not!

Today I dragged my sorry arse with little brother to the city Careers Expo - which was a total dissapointment. I didn't find anything I would be interested in and I found the people annoying, those who tried to grab any freebie under the sun blocking the way for real job-seekers.

The trip to the city on a Saturday by train was horrific too - due to trackwork (again) I had to change trains and being in the first carriage I didn't have to battle the crowds. See photo. See the hundreds of people getting off the terminated train to get to their desired destinations. You sitting there seeing it is not as bad as being pushed and shoved by the evil crowds - some people either walk really slow or decide that they're in a state of emergency that shoving you up the stairs is the only reasonable way to move us along.

 

I did however managed to catch the unexpected Buddha display which was stunning and I guess made up for the angry morning I had. I love how the city has changed and now offers all these different festivities every weekend and advertising things on a month-by-month basis. It makes Sydney a little bit more exciting than it used to be.

There was a huge/massive main display with people buying pots of flowers and cards as offerings to the Buddha, it was so beautiful. There were also these gorgeous garden displays which were extremely detailed. Busy, packed city (probably last minute mothers day shopping) made it all the more exciting!

However, as I stated at the start of this post, the rest of the day become ugly. I had to run around the city buying gifts and something for my mum - with brother in tow complaining. "I'm cold I want to buy that jumper" (got the jumper), "These shoes hurt (again and again and again so I got him these thongs), "I'm thirsty" (this x 7 times = 7 lots of drinks), "I want to go to this shop", "I'm hungry", "I need to go to the toilet", "I want to buy this", "I want that".....

Stress.

And oh my god, can the boy complain, "My feet hurt", "I'm tired", "I can't carry this bag it hurts my shoulders", "Why are you taking so long", "Where's the food?", "Where's my drink?" and on and on and on.

So in between all that and the desire to cut my ears off so I can stop hearing him - I did manage to get some sort of shopping done in between, ticking off lists, seeing my account dwindle to nothing...

 

 

Clothes, shoes for mum, clothes for the kiddies and cupcakes for sister and family. Oh dear, carrying all the crap was such a struggle...

And don't forget the endless feeding of the little man with junk - why is junk so expensive?

See these photos below - these are some of the stranger displays I've seen in a while. Although the middle one, Thomas the Tank engine I'm sure had eyeballs but was scatched off by some punk - but without his eyeballs he looks damn scary dont you think?

 

 

Above: The PriceWaterhouseCoopers sign, this burnt off a while ago and I thought it was hilarious that their logo burned off! I was supposed to take a photo of this ages ago but never got the chance.

Anyway, I did get something for myself - some winter gloves and a random kiddie DVD (not really for me but my brother - but hey if the DVD is in my room and I don't mind this cartoon then I feel like defining it as mine, cmon let me grasp onto my childhood and watch cartoons, okay?)

Oh and the gloves are funny ones, they look like just the ends of a jumper sleeve - thought they were funky and would come in handy. Let me show you:

 

I would show you with my real hands but then logically the camera and taking a photo would be a bit of a struggle....

Other than the gloves I didn't buy myself anything, but I did tick a massive list off, swallowed a lot of panadol (headache tablets) and will probably pass out any moment now. It is a relief to get all that jazz done though. But yes, shopping has become extremely stressful. Gone are the days of simple window shopping. Gone i tells ya!

(Oh yes, I have also gone slightly hysterical due to the overdose of coffee tonight - my body and head wants to pass out but the coffee is keeping me awake - the result? Complete hysteria....I will probably look at this post tomorrow morning and wonder what the hell happened....)

Blah.

Or is it Bleh?

3 o'clock, Saturday afternoon - you know what that means. My net is back! I've officially banned my brother from excessive pod-cast downloading until I finish uni when I won't be needing the internet so much!

Sadly, I am back to procrastinating and sadder - I'm doing uni work while the world is out there having fun. The family has gone to the mall while I'm sitting here attempting to do some research for my assignment.

All the things I wanted to post about when I was gone has also gone from my memory - in other words I have forgotten all the things I wanted to add here. Let's face it, I don't have a brilliant memory so I guess I'm just going to have to leave this as is...

Oh, we got our car back! Instead of our insurance company fixing our severly damaged car, we got a really good mechanic and he re-did our entire car and it's really impressive. The damages were quoted "unreplaceable" from our insurance company but our mechanic and my dad argued their way and we fixed our car and our insurance company gave in. And my parents being my parents threw a party last night (I was couped up in my room, i'll explain in a sec) for the car being back and them defying all odds LOL. Our mechanic came and everyone got wasted, sung badly at karaoke and I became temporarily deaf.

In my room I had to 'outdo' the folks and blasted my music louder than theirs - so I didn't have to listen to their music. As an asian, I really don't understand asian music. When my parents throw these parties sometimes the guests bring things (fruit, a dessert etc...) but the best thing that came was last night's Beer Keg! 5L of Heineken!

As for being couped up in my room, the reason behind this is "Asian" talk. My parents and their friends have a wonderful thing going on where their children have to 'outdo' their other children. As a non-medical studying family member, my parents prefer if im not mentioned, unless I marry a doctor or something haha. But hey, better for me because I don't have to 'sell' myself to their friends anyway. I'd rather stay in my room. My brother imported loads of Coke-Zero and food to keep me going for the rest of the afternoon/night so it was all good.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, better get back to work but I'll be back!

Some Saturday Photos to share with you!

 

 

 

 

Isn't it sad?

I left early from work today (yes, even on a Monday) and for once I actually got to see the sun set! And for the first time in so long I managed to do some light grocery shopping at the local grocery store which is run by an elderly couple and their daughter who is a mother of three. Such a small, cosy store, stocked with only the most commonly used products and goods  - willing to order in anything for us and sells it to us at such a low cost. Forget those "sales" you see in catalogues, the prices here are the SAME everyday and are so low. I spent $25 on fruits, vegies and various goods that would last me a week whereas I could be looking at spending around $75 normally in a shopping centre. More importantly by shopping here I don't end up buying junk food I don't need. They have the loveliest chocolate they make. Such a dream store. Unfortunately (like the above sign) a chain-store has opened nearby and I find that sometimes I end up going there more often due to the longer working hours and my brother prefers the junk in there. I feel so guilty when I shop there. So so guilty.

Times have changed haven't they? Will these small stores last?

Retailers apparently are out there to trick you in relatively 'legal ways' to part you and your money.

According to an article presented on Today Tonight here are some of those tricks and realistic factors:

 

1.  "Fresh vegies are best" - vegies lose nutrients as soon as they are picked. When we buy it we store it, it loses it's freshness, but retailers make it 'appear' fresh. Frozen vegies (in packets) has potentially more nutrients (cept Brocolli)

2.  "Bigger is better" - buying in bulk doesn't always mean better. E.g. Tins, use maths, two small cans can be more value than one big one, beginning to force retailers to show how much per gram. Applies to Cornflakes, sometimes only 2% saving.

3. "Diet Coke is better choice" - WRONG. Has a lot of artificial crap in it. Ultimately making you hungry for more sweets - what gives?!

4. "Lite" doesn't mean low in fat. Buying low fat doesn't mean a dramatic difference. You have to check the values yourself. Lite could mean, "This product is lite compared to our orginal product"