Today, went without a problem, without a hitch, without so much as another person getting in my way or being run over by anyone's stroller or trolley. And there was a good reason for it too... I caught an 8:09am bus to Garden City. I found that I was up nice and early because of two reasons: to beat the heat of the day and to beat the crowds for Christmas Shopping. But mainly to do the second one.
When I arrived, only the three main stores were open. So, I made the most of my time with those three open and used them while the other smaller stores were still closed. Before I knew it, Woolworths and K-Mart had been visited and I had bought the dark chocolate and put in Little Miss Stevie's 70 or so photos to be developed in about an hour. When I emerged from K-Mart, the other smaller stores had opened and I walked to the pet store to buy the fish feeder for the holidays. I stayed there for a little while having fun with the birds and talking to them; they were a social little bunch. But the store didn't have any budgies... pity it would have been nice to see some of those cute guys.
Anyway, I bought my fish feeder and chatted to the store owner - who seemed as excited about Christmas as The Grinch or Mr Scrooge - and I could have sworn he was about to mutter 'Bah Humbug' at some point in our conversation. I didn't stick around to find out if he was going to; instead, I went to Coles and got lost there for about 45 minutes trying to find all the things I needed there. By some pure miracle, I did find all the things I needed (and was amazed how other people in the place did). Otherwise, I would have been out of there sooner. I couldn't find the cheese I wanted, and had to backtrack a few times around the dairy section, couldn't find the yoghurt or milk (so gave that a miss). Then, I couldn't find much else either... I had to ask a few people; and found that the isles were all moved around from what I was used to. It was strange to have a Coles that was all muddled up. But seeing I found everything I needed - once I did - I went through the self-service check-outs and went out to the seats and organised myself. I put all the heavy stuff in my trolley, the cold stuff in my esky and made sure I had my iPod with me and all my money too. Before long, I was back to K-Mart to pick up the photos of Little Miss Stevie... and they were lovely.
I went to QBD to ask about the 10th book I had purchased at the Hyperdome and they told me that there was no such purchase; as it hadn't come through on their machine. They were really apologetic about it and said that unless I had the receipt for it - which I didn't - they couldn't do anything about it. I asked if they could call the Hyperdome store - and they did and they found it was on the computer down there, but not here. But it still didn't count. Bugger! So, I still have to buy one more book. I put that off until next year - until I really do want to buy a book; not because I want the voucher.
Then, I thought it was high time for a coffee. My feet were hurting, I was hanging out for some sugar and a caffeine fix and really just wanted to sit down - something I hadn't done in around 4 hours. So, I found my way to Gloria Jeans' Coffee House and ordered a nice ice coffee... yummo! I also found they were making their Christmas Mugs again. After complaining about them not being in circulation in 2011, I guess they had enough people asking about them to bring them back. So, I bought one of their Christmas Mugs for $9.99 and a travel mug too. There was another type of travel mug that was ceramic; but I didn't want to waste my money on it in case I had the horrible case of the clumsies one day in the near future; and ended up wasting $12.00 on a nice mug.
Well! I ended up getting into a nice conversation with older ladies who were also sitting down for a breather before going home too. We all complained about the heat, how the storm last night didn't do anything but make the heat worse and then we were all happy about our drinks. I made room for them at the small table I was sitting at and they asked what I was at Garden City for; and it reminded me to check on Little Miss Stevie's photos. Well, they looked at them too. And they just loved how pretty she was; and how it was such a pity that she was no longer with me, especially that she passed away only 2 weeks ago. They both agreed that pets do become members of the family and really do get under your skin and into your heart. And they were amazed as how well-cared for she was - and could see she had the utmost trust in me; right to the end.
At around 11:15am, the ladies and I both made tracks to go home. They were driving and I was catching the bus. And before long, I was getting off at the Park Road stop with a few European tourists who were just learning English and finding their way around Brisbane. They asked me in broken English where a car yard was and I told them and they were happy and grateful. I checked the mail at the post office and was soon off home to wrap up last minute presents and put away some of the food and groceries I bought. Ray from unit 17 dropped in and had a chat with me; and we caught up. He said that it was sad my little bird was no longer with me; and word had gotten around that she had died. He asked me if I was going to get another budgie; and I said yeah, it's just too darn quiet in the house.
Well, that was my morning. now I'm at home sitting in the air conditioning with the cicadas droning outside. I can't wait until the weather cools off a little - if it ever does. Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.
When I arrived, only the three main stores were open. So, I made the most of my time with those three open and used them while the other smaller stores were still closed. Before I knew it, Woolworths and K-Mart had been visited and I had bought the dark chocolate and put in Little Miss Stevie's 70 or so photos to be developed in about an hour. When I emerged from K-Mart, the other smaller stores had opened and I walked to the pet store to buy the fish feeder for the holidays. I stayed there for a little while having fun with the birds and talking to them; they were a social little bunch. But the store didn't have any budgies... pity it would have been nice to see some of those cute guys.
Anyway, I bought my fish feeder and chatted to the store owner - who seemed as excited about Christmas as The Grinch or Mr Scrooge - and I could have sworn he was about to mutter 'Bah Humbug' at some point in our conversation. I didn't stick around to find out if he was going to; instead, I went to Coles and got lost there for about 45 minutes trying to find all the things I needed there. By some pure miracle, I did find all the things I needed (and was amazed how other people in the place did). Otherwise, I would have been out of there sooner. I couldn't find the cheese I wanted, and had to backtrack a few times around the dairy section, couldn't find the yoghurt or milk (so gave that a miss). Then, I couldn't find much else either... I had to ask a few people; and found that the isles were all moved around from what I was used to. It was strange to have a Coles that was all muddled up. But seeing I found everything I needed - once I did - I went through the self-service check-outs and went out to the seats and organised myself. I put all the heavy stuff in my trolley, the cold stuff in my esky and made sure I had my iPod with me and all my money too. Before long, I was back to K-Mart to pick up the photos of Little Miss Stevie... and they were lovely.
I went to QBD to ask about the 10th book I had purchased at the Hyperdome and they told me that there was no such purchase; as it hadn't come through on their machine. They were really apologetic about it and said that unless I had the receipt for it - which I didn't - they couldn't do anything about it. I asked if they could call the Hyperdome store - and they did and they found it was on the computer down there, but not here. But it still didn't count. Bugger! So, I still have to buy one more book. I put that off until next year - until I really do want to buy a book; not because I want the voucher.
Then, I thought it was high time for a coffee. My feet were hurting, I was hanging out for some sugar and a caffeine fix and really just wanted to sit down - something I hadn't done in around 4 hours. So, I found my way to Gloria Jeans' Coffee House and ordered a nice ice coffee... yummo! I also found they were making their Christmas Mugs again. After complaining about them not being in circulation in 2011, I guess they had enough people asking about them to bring them back. So, I bought one of their Christmas Mugs for $9.99 and a travel mug too. There was another type of travel mug that was ceramic; but I didn't want to waste my money on it in case I had the horrible case of the clumsies one day in the near future; and ended up wasting $12.00 on a nice mug.
Well! I ended up getting into a nice conversation with older ladies who were also sitting down for a breather before going home too. We all complained about the heat, how the storm last night didn't do anything but make the heat worse and then we were all happy about our drinks. I made room for them at the small table I was sitting at and they asked what I was at Garden City for; and it reminded me to check on Little Miss Stevie's photos. Well, they looked at them too. And they just loved how pretty she was; and how it was such a pity that she was no longer with me, especially that she passed away only 2 weeks ago. They both agreed that pets do become members of the family and really do get under your skin and into your heart. And they were amazed as how well-cared for she was - and could see she had the utmost trust in me; right to the end.
At around 11:15am, the ladies and I both made tracks to go home. They were driving and I was catching the bus. And before long, I was getting off at the Park Road stop with a few European tourists who were just learning English and finding their way around Brisbane. They asked me in broken English where a car yard was and I told them and they were happy and grateful. I checked the mail at the post office and was soon off home to wrap up last minute presents and put away some of the food and groceries I bought. Ray from unit 17 dropped in and had a chat with me; and we caught up. He said that it was sad my little bird was no longer with me; and word had gotten around that she had died. He asked me if I was going to get another budgie; and I said yeah, it's just too darn quiet in the house.
Well, that was my morning. now I'm at home sitting in the air conditioning with the cicadas droning outside. I can't wait until the weather cools off a little - if it ever does. Until my next post, take care, keep safe and warm and remember, I'm always here.
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