"Does this store connect to a grocery?"

So, as most of you know I absolutely love my job. However, as with any job, there are some small annoyances. My main annoyance is the stupid questions customers ask. I am going to list these questions so that you all will be better educated shoppers.

Buy One Get One Free

Sounds pretty self explanatory, right? Wrong. I have been asked countless times, "Do I have to buy one to get one free?" Um no, just take it. Thanks. We don't want to make a profit.

Or even, "If I pick something from the 'buy one get one free' rack, do I get anything in the store for free?" Again, seriously? Did you really just ask me that? NO. Only items on the BOGOF rack are available for FREE once you BUY another item from the same rack. Gosh.

"I want a dark black shirt" or "I want a light black shirt" Okay, because we have several shades of black.

"I saw a pair of pants in an ad, where are they?" Sorry, but we have a lot of ads,we also have a lot of pants. Maybe you could be more descriptive??
"They were jeans, with pockets on the front and back, and a button and zipper" Ohhh well NOW I know which pants you are talking about.We only sell about 10 different pairs of jeans.

Also, people frequently ask us what time we close (usually about 5 minutes before closing time) and then proceed to shop around some more, bring 8+ items to the fitting room, and take their sweet time trying things on, asking for different sizes and making us wait around until the shop has been closed for 15-20 minutes. That's not nice, its rude. Don't do that.

Recently, we had a promotion where you could buy two tshirts for $35 (or one for $24.99). All the shirts in the promotion were on a specific table, with a clearly marked sign. Nearby, another table had capris and shorts. I don't even know if I can count as high as the number of people who asked if the shorts were a part of the "Two T-SHIRTS for $35" Promotion.

Similarly, we had another promotion on summer cardigans, two for $45 (or one for $40). All the cardigans that were a part of this promo were on a separate rack with a HUGE SIGN declaring that these were the cardi's on promo. Still, people were asking all day long if they could get a cardigan from another section of the store and a promo cardigan and STILL get the 2 for $45 deal.

Basically, it's all about reading and common sense people. Read the signs, and use your brains. It might hurt, especially if you are not used to using your noggin, but in the end it will make the sales staff a whole lot happier.



On a less sarcastic/passive aggressive note.... Eoin and I went to the Weta Workshop. That is where a lot of the swords, masks, make-up, editing etc for Lord of the Rings (and several other movies..like Narnia, Black Sheep (thanks radio jon!) etc etc) are all made. We weren't allowed in the studios or anything, but we did get to go into the Weta Cave! It was three rooms, mostly of books and figurines for sale. A small "museum" was in the back (it had next to nothing interesting in it) and a little movie theater where they show you all the cool things you aren't allowed to see at the studios.

jerks.

Sheep Brains and Skinks

As you all know, Eoin and I have to eat in order to survive out here in New Zealand. We go to the grocery store in Kilbirnie (about 3 minutes away) and get the majority of our food. We get our fruit from the farmers market on Sunday, and occasionally browse other grocery stores too see what they have that good ol' Pak-N-Save doesn't have. We have discovered a variety of...things..that one would not normally find in a Shaws, Wegmans, Hannafords or Publix (to name a few).

HEARTS: Sheep, chicken, and lamb. Deeelish! Sheep and lamb hearts look like normal hearts. Chicken hearts look like really big kidney beans.

BRAINS: Sheep and Pig. Looks exactly how you think it would.

STOMACHS: Sheep and Pig. It looks like regurgitated vanilla pudding with noddles mixed in. My favorite!

KIDNEYS: Lamb. Look like giant kidney beans. Duh.

INTESTINES: Pig. Looks kind of like a brain, actually.

PARTS: Chicken and Goat. I don't even WANT to know what "parts" are.

If you want to know, Eoin and I have been sticking with chicken (sausages mostly), fish fillets and the occasional lamb.

Anyway, on to less disgusting things.

Yesterday (Sunday) Eoin and I were supposed to go Sea Kayaking, but waking up at 8AM on a Sunday was just not what we were ready for, so we opted to go back to sleep and wake up a bit later to go to Sommes Island. We took a ferry to Sommes Island, but first it stopped at Seatoun, Days Bay and Petone. It was beautiful outside, with just a bit of breeze and the boat ride was really nice. We got to Sommes Island just around 11:30.

Sommes Island is another wildlife reserve that is home to birds, reptiles and bugs. We got to see tons of Skinks, which are a type of lizard, similar to a gecko. We also saw North Island Robins, Variable Oystercatchers (look like crows kind of) and Red-Crowned parakeets. The island is also home to the illusive Tuatara, which we didn't get to see, and the worlds smallest penguin, Little Blue Penguins. Unfortunately, it is nesting season for the penguins and they were all holed up in the nesting boxes being anti-social.

Before Sommes Island was a reserve, it was used in WWI and WWII as a holding place for enemy aliens. Prior to that it was a quarantine station for animals and humans. There is also a lighthouse on Sommes Island, and it is the first lighthouse in country. Impressive!

Eoin and I walked every trail on the island, all three of them :) We saw where the quarantined animals were kept, where the detainees stayed and where the WWII artillery was placed. We also saw sheep! It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful place.

Looking out towards Wellington from Sommes Island.
Sounds...delicious?

Should have done this a while ago...

I never actually showed you all what Wellington looks like! So on Sunday Eoin and I took a walk around town and I took pictures of the city. It was a really nice day, and I totally forgot that there is a huge hole in the O-Zone layer over us...we both got sunburns!

The first place we stopped on our walk was the Basin Reserve. This is where the National Cricket Museum is, as well as a Cricket Field. We actually saw a team at practice, here is what Cricket players look like when they are practicing:

We then walked to the central business district where Courtenay Place is. Courtenay Place is the hub of night life( pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants etc). They are doing a bunch of construction there, putting in new lights, so I didn't really get a good picture, but here is one section of Courtenay Place:

We then walked down to the bay. There was a skateboarding competition going on at the park nearby. We saw some ducks swimming in the bog, and some were sleeping on the beach. There were also some children playing in the water. Here is a picture of some of the sailboats docked in the harbor. Notice how clean and clear the water is!

We then walked along Queens Warf, this is basically just a nice walk from one end of town to the other. It goes right along the water, and there are parks, restaurants and a few ice cream stands along the way. Here is the view from the boats of Queens Warf.

Well, now that I showed you around a bit, I hope you are all jealous of the beautiful sunshine we had.... it is raining now, and it supposed to rain for the rest of week...but when it is sunny outside it is gorgeous here!

Miss you all!