Monday 4th - Sunday 10th January 2021 Week 41 Of Under Employment , Leave Request Still Pending Approval , Review of Another Limited Edition of Chip Flavour & An Unplanned Year Ahead

Monday 4th January 2021

Myer 9.30 am - 5.30 am new shift added to Kronos 25th December 2020. Checked Kronos 29th December 2020 no changes to shift.

Change of shift at work and on Kronos 31st December 2020 by customer service manager and also remindeed by the assistant store  manager on the same day!

I did so much merchandising of stock today it's not funny. That's "merchandising" which is different to and is not "visual merchandising". There was nothing visual about it just a need for excellent spacial awareness skills. I know what I would do if I had the chance - a  " Watch me pull the tablecloth from under the....." ie break all of the stock on the display tables so I don't have to see it ever again. 

I had put in my leave request on 1st January 2021 and it still has not been approved except I get a ranting long text message on the whats app team group chat about the porocedure of leave request etc. I've written my texted my leave request to the customer service manager already way in advance ( I wanted to for the rest of the year but managers here can't even think an hour ahead let alone a day a head) and I've written it up on the planner which no other team member has done. I thought we weren't allowed to take leave on the dates blacked out but a lot of other team members have and it has been aporoved. It was a lso stressed on the Whats app team group chat nobody is allowed leave on the 9th February - who said I wanted leave on the 9th February 2021? 9th of July 2021 was one of the dates I wanted leave if the customer service manager had read it correctly and the 9th February is not a blacked out date on the planner/calender since it's been up ( yes the same one behind the cupboard door that has been there since before Christmas has not changed that no other team member has used AND that my name was left off on!) It seems one rule for everyone else and a different one for me. Myer is not getting away with it - I won't swap my shift with any other team member I will just take it off and any other leave I need off for any prepaid bought forward events I had that were cancelled due to COVID last year. As a long suffering shareholder of Myer I want my "pound of flesh" back off them and I have been patient enough time again for my " no more Mrs nice guy" - there has been too much giving and no receiving from Myer. 

Now onto something that happened today which in no way makes up for the way Myer operates in general. I had just sat down to have a quiet lunch by myself in the staff lunch room. An hour of peace and quiet to eat my yummy lunch I had prepared only to be interrupted about 10 minutes into it ( after a team member from Kidswear finished up her lunch and left) by the customer service manager who ( and I am not exaggerating) plonks herself down in the chair next to me at the table not even social distancing herself from me (and I happen to not be wearing my mask as I am alone and eating!) with a clipboard , a series of questions and my name ( very likely incorrectly spelt) scribbled at the bottom of it. First 2 things that came into my mind simultaneously were

1. What have I done to get me into trouble this time?

and 

2. Is this one of my monthly staff evaluations - odd time to have one as I haven't had a one on one with the customer service manager for months now. 

Nope neither , I was not in trouble and it was not another one on one with the customer service manager ( I am sure this will return once metrics are taken seriously again).

So what was this all about? - not my leave request that's for sure, that hasn't even been considered. I told the other 2 team members in Homewares - stuff it I'm taking it anyway after writing it on the planner calendar ( still can't work out why other team members can ask for leave at the last minute approved and I can't when I give notice -I'm not exactly taking weeks off just a day or few days here and there.)

Ok getting back to why I was so rudely interrupted during my lunch break by the customer service manager. She wanted to nominate me for Tuesday Talent I think that's what it is called. Oh great! I think some other team members are going to have a laugh at this one. The customer service manager wanted to put me forward to be nominated - a group text message has already been sent out to "like" me on the Whats app team group chat. The customer service manager put me forward to the assistant store manager to be nominated because she thought I had done a lot for Myer ( yep I sure have but I still want my leave requests approved and my "pound of flesh" as a shareholder from them!) . Is she serious? - 5 months at Myer and I'm wondering why I have never made the Friday Favourite despite having good sales figures and customer feedback which is a much more serious nomination then the Tuesday Talent. Tuesday Talent does not get anywhere near the amount of recognition Friday Favourite does ( if Tuesday Talent even gets any - except you have to have your photo taken just like the Friday favourite does and stuck to a wall not seen by any customers). Who's going to "like" the Tuesday Talent especially now when it is DEAD! I suppose there is nothing for management to motivate other team members so a manager just decides to nominate a random team member for something anything although she did say I deserved it.  I told her my first award at McDonald's over 3 decades ago was a customer service pin and that means so much more to me always has and always will then this Tuesday Talent which comes and goes with no tangibility attached ( and I still have this customer service badge from MacDonalds in my storage somewhere archived.)

After lunch ( which I did not even continue with after that as it took away another 15 minutes of my lunch I went back to the merchandising of stock in a frantic bid to finish it all! A massive job but I had a lot of help from a team member from VM who was absolutely fantastic. We both said that we were not staying back to finish it but we managed to actually do almost all of it and I just need to finish off a few bits and pieces on the wall to the table. It looks really neat and tidy. She says she thought the customer service manager was going to come back and help us - she never did , she started one wall left stuff off it and broke a few large plastic lolly jars. That was her helping us out!

Gail force winds, torrential rain and extreme thunder storms was what I was faced with when I finished work at 4 pm today. The mall was soaking wet in areas being an indoor outdoor mall you could even feel the rain in the indoor sections of the mall. I thought I had missed the 280 bus to Chatswood which I saw just turn out of the mall's sheltered bus stop to the outside car park but less the 15 minutes later another 280 bus arrived. So questionable for being Tuesday Talent. Oh and you don't get anything for it so I am going to not take it seriously either.

As soon as the bus arrived at Chatswood the rain had almost stopped. I went for yet another quick shop for groceries. Besides purchasing some turkey breast fillets, bottled sparking water and other bits and pieces, I purchased the following. No time to bake a roast lamb with all the trimmings including mint sauce? No problems Smith's Chips have released a limited edition Lamb & Mint "flavoured" Chip. Now I am not a fan of  chips and don't eat packs of them but I saw this row of Lamb & Mint chips on sale at Woolworths and thought I would give them a go. In the past I have tried one or maybe two of Smiths limited edition flavoured chips - I think Peking Duck may have been the last flavour I tried. So what did I think of the Lamb & Mint flavoured chips? I can taste the mint but there does not seem to be any mint or lamb  in the ingredients on the back of the packet hence my usage of the word "flavoured". If a product says it a Lam & Mint chip but is not actually made of or from lamb and mint but only made to taste like it  - shouldn't the product have the word "flavoured" on the front of it's packaging - even better with the words "artifically" or "naturally" included with it - I get it - it's all about taste and marketing - who cares what's in it as long as it smells looks feels and tastes good but not good for you. Nobody wants to buy a packet of chips that says "Lamb & Mint Chips Artificially Flavoured Flavoured" and without containing or being made from real lamb and/or mint they can't exactly be labelled 'Lamb & Mint Chips Naturally Flavoured" by law. Rating 7/10 There is nothing really special about these chips. It's not a product I would purchase again even if it was a non limited edition. 

photos below

The list of ingredients include onion powder, herb ( parsley) and even a smidge of rosemary extract but there is no lamb or mint I can see in the list of ingredients! Ah Australian lamb it seems to be the favourite food at the moment ( refer current lamb commercial re " United States of Australia" if you include Tasmania which makes it's appearance  on the advertisement then technically it should be "United Straits of Australia". It is a very funny and clever advertisement which brings together multiple news headlines of 2020. 

Tuesday 5th January 2021

Myer 10 am - 5.30 pm new shift added to Kronos 25th December 2020. Checked Kronos 29th December 2020 no changes to shift

Shift changed 8.30 - 5.30 pm on Jronos 31st December 2020 at work by customer service and assistant store manager. First hour stock rest of the day floor (service).

 Up at 3 am catching up with blogging.

I give up today was just shit! Don't even want to talk about it.

Another change to tomorrow's shift from 10 am - 5.30 pm to 8.30 am - 5.30 pm to help out with stock so it will be 8.30 am - 10 am stock then the rest of the day on the floor as a last minute request from the assistant store masnager and store manager. They asked if I could start at 8 am - DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, I'M NOT DOING TOO MANY EARLY STARTS. EARLIEST I AM STARTING IS 8.30 AM I ADVISED THEM!

There was one very sweet thing that happened today and that was a certain team member from VM saw how I had been nominated for Tuesday's Talent and gave me a museli bar ( one of my favourite brands Sam's) for achieving it. I am going to treasure this ( Don't even think about it being a crush he is far too young for me and born in 1984!) . Being Spanish his English is quite good but I joked about teaching him English snd he teaching me Spanish when we were talking about what being Tuesday's Talent actually means - it's for everyone that does not have sales metrics and how in my case I am a what he described as a "hybrid". ( yep I am exactly that at Myer although his English pronunciation was not quite correct the noun he used was spot on). I told him that I don't think Spanish will be of any use to me as my friend is from Brazil and I don't think they speak Spanish.

I wouldn't mind matching team member ticket girl up with team member VM although he may be a little old for her. He is sweet though and she is too. 

I can't believe team member "ticket girl" only had a 3 hour shift today when there were heaps of tickets to take down and new ones to put up. Poor team leader was given a rant of why she had not put all the tickets up and I could not help much as I was serving customers and pulled away to do stock. Do managers not get that I don't actually enjoy doing stock? It's merchandising not visual merchandising! There is a difference. Merchandising get the stock out on the floor as quick as possible in a neat way. Visual merchandising make it look good ie add some frufru.

6.08 pm still waiting for the 280 bus to Chatswood.

How bizzare. As the bus crosses the Roseville Bridge, it starts pouring with rain but the sun is out. Yep pouring with rain all the way to Chatswood.

Sorry blog crashed again.

Another stop off at Woolworths Metro Chatswood for a grocery shop as I won't have time to cook a meal except prepare lunch for tomorrow. I have been meaning to try a few products for a while now. One is Sam's Apple Crumble Museli Bar ( photo below). It's my favourite brand but I usually stick to cherry chocolate or brownie flavours. I do like an apple something so decided to try the Apple Crumble bar this time round ( not on special by the way) and for dinner prawn dumplings from the hot takeaway section. Yep I am allergic to shellfish but I don't care anymore as I just took an antihistamine as my eyes were itchy watery my nose runny and I had a wet cough again. A rash is starting to come up too. I just can't shop in supermarkets. It's got to be something in them that causes my allergies to flare up. Going to Coles and Woolworths seem to affect me more then Aldi. I can spend quite a bit of time in Aldi and not start coughing I think it, maybe the cleaning chemicals they use or their air conditioning or maybe just unsanitary environment.

Ok so what did I think of Sam's Apple Crumble. After finishing my prawn dumplings I opened a museli bar and tried it - not my favourite taste a little artifical - will stick to Brownie or Chocolate Cherry! Rating 7/10. Postscript I gave one of these to the team member on his birthday who gave me a peanut flavoured one for being nominated for Tuesday Talent. He does like the chocolate ones like I do but he thinks this one is ok not his favourite flavour. ( Damn it! He already has a partner (although I am unsure if it is a he or a she) so there goes my plans of match making team member "ticket girl" with him and he is almost 11 years her senior)

Home on the bus. Prepare for yet another day of stock tomorrow. I am already so tired - stock duties coupled with early starts and late finishes take a lot out of my little body. If I work 4 days straight I need the entire other 3 days to recover. So tired. Lunch prepared.  Straight to bed again.

Wednesday 6th January 2021

Myer 10 am - 5.30 pm new shift added to Kronos 25th December 2020. Checked Kronos 29th December 2020 no changes to shift.

Not anymore! 8.30 am - 5.30 pm see above last minute change from after 5 pm yesterday.

So I was suppose to be on stock from 8.30 am - 10 am then on the floor from 10 am - 5.30 pm but most of today was on stock but I did keep a constant eye out for any customers waiting in line to be serve. 

I even managed to sign a customer up to Myer One but forgot to scan the barcode to confirm that I had done so AGAIN! ( refer previous blogs) and asked random customers but not all customers if they wanted to make a donation to the local charity which customers are willing to still do. I also started informing customers how from February 1st 2021 Myer will start charging 15 cents per plastic bag where apparently proceeds will be donated to charity - I really question this, yes it it great that Myer will be doing this but unless I see evidence that ALL the proceeds or donations are actually being received by the charities and not lining Myer's pockets then I am remain sceptical about this initiative. ( refer previous blogs about how Myer Metrics charity figures were appearing for a while then disappeared - so where did all the donations go? )

Lots of conflict on what I have to do today. Such a lot of non communication. There seems to be so much conflict between managers and I seem to get caught in the middle of it and I'm not the only casual team member who has mentioned these conflicts - others have also told me from the beginning when I first joined Myer as a casual team member how one manager wants you do do something but another manager wants you to do something else. I only want to provide the best customer service  & product  knowledge possible and work as a team with all the other team members. All team members are so nice to work with and about 90 % of the custoners ( there will always be the 10% of ratbag customers who shoplift, have no respect of the store's merchandising, are rude or constantly pestering about discounts or sales etc ) are lovely and really appreciate the customer service if not just mine.

So if I am rostered on stock duties,  I am technically under the assistant store manager but if I am rostered on customer service I am technically under the customer service manager. When I am a "hybrid" or rostered on for both on the same day or even worse when both the customer service manager and assistant manager are rostered on the same day there is a a major conflict. A constant pushing and pulling - if you have read a previous blog of mine when I was blasted by the assistant store manager for leaving my "repricing" duties to measure up and take notes of a display for the customer service manager who got blasted for "eating into her budget" you will understand what I mean and it is still going on just as there is constant conflict between the customer service manager and team leader in Homewares where there is a handover between the two however one is always accusing the other that the handover  list had not been done upon their return when one had been told to ignore the other's handover by the assistant store manager and as a result I am caught in the middle of it again. If i've done it already - it's done and dusted ( which it had been). 

I was asked by the assistant store manager to tidy up the home decore stands so I did. As soon as I finished " making the displays look pretty" Customers I noticed almost instantly & started purchasing items off the shelves. I sold one of the small silver lanterns, a vase filled with fake flowers in fake water as well as a few other items and funny enough ( although I was wondering where it had disappeared to thinking if it being shop lifted ) the above display I did. Yep I thought the above wicker and glass box was a little boring sitting on the bottom shelf alone so I put 3 different fake mini potted plants inside it as we had so many of  them that filled an entire shelve above it. I thought why not.  ( I did the same with a row of boring Santas someone had placed somewhere so lined them up when I had a whole bundle of red table runners that were in the same style as the Santas red outfit so made a red carpet on top of the large wooden rectangular chest near by that looked a bit bare with nothing on top of it and placing the santas in a row lined up on top of the red runner before Christmas. Again all the Santas and runners sold out in about a week!) 

I know what I have to do today and complete tomorrow so I'll just do it. Move the Vue photo frames neatly which had been started for me onto shelves closer to home decore and  continue with the cages of new Vue organic stonewash sheet and quilt sets which I had decided to display on 2 walls near the other Vue sheet and quilt sets as well as separate the white  Vue sheet and quilt sets onto another set of  display stands. I did this until I finished my shift.

Caught the 6 pm 280 bus to Chatswood. The team leader from Electricals was on it as well. Stopped at Woolworths Metro for yet another grocery shop - I need to eat a lot more now that I am pushing heavy loads of stock in cages and constantly climbing up and down step ladders and loading and unloading stock. Sheet & quilt cover sets sure are heavy - you don't realise how heavy they are unless you have a queen king or super king bed!

Home on the bus eat & sleep and I did not bother to pack my lunch for tomorrow. 

Thursday 7th January 2021

Day Off  Not anymore. 

No new shifts added to Kronos as at 25th & 29th December 2020.

New shift added 31st December 2020 by customer service manager & assistant store manager.

Myer 8 am - 4 pm I guess I am on stock again!

I finished what I was doing yesterday it the Vue photo frames and wall of Vue organic stonewash sheet & quilt sets before doing what needed to be done by the customer service manager which was go down to the hard reserve and clear it out by putting a whole list of things onto the floor. 

List complete. I crossed off all the things to come up from the hard reserve off the list after merchandised them all onto the floor. 

Lunch at 2 pm then I will just bring a final cage of stuff out from the dock. End of my day. 

After lunch I only had an hour or so before i finished my shift at 4 pm so managed to get 2 cages or so of stock out onto the floor paying attention to the second cage of stock were the display table tge stock belonged on was a shocker. It was a Maxwell Williams display table full black and white oven bakers. I tidied it up and restocked it with what I had from the cage as best as I could as the store manager the previous day knew I was good at my stock but wanted me to step it up a level and make the store "look nice" .So I am but always have been. Aparently Myer has floor plans and standards which I have not seen therefore I have gotten into trouble for my attempts at merchandising ( another example of miscommunication).

Just checked my Kronos and I have no shifts beyond next week with quite a number of shifts cut next week. I can't keep up with all the changes - I asked for just 1 day off 23rd January 2021 - it's not as if I asked for a week off and it kicked up a stink. Another team member wanted to take a day off for his birthday and a stink was also kicked up. He was already working today on his birthday but wanted the weekend off - he was right in saying we are casuals it's not as if we can't request leave. Yep even casuals are allowed to take leave. I think Myer adopts the Chinese 996 work culture which is not the Aussie work norm.

5 pm and I just arrived back at chatswood on the 280 bus and its raining and a bit cold again! Really bizzare weather this Summer in Sydney.

I log into Myer Metrics and read anything important. 6 likes and 1 comments I can see from team members for being nominated as Tuesdays Talent. I appreciate team members comments and thank them but I would still prefer to be Friday Favourite . I saw this Fridays Favourite a lady from the Electricals Department and liked her and congratulated her online as soon as I saw it. I can't be accused of not reading Myer Metrics on my days off this time! Done.

Friday 8th January 2021

Day off

Finally. Not planning to venture out today as it is a life admin day today.

Up at 6 am and first thing is watch the news on chanbel 7 and prepare myself a proper hot breakfast of noodles, pieces of beef steak and brocolli. Yum!

Bills paid today membership & income protection for January, mobile phone bill  & Monthly offsite storage all done.

Organise my laundry to be washed and dried. I need to get more change (coins) for the washer and drier before I can do my laundry ( hopefully I don't have to find a spoon in one of the draws and use it to scrap out someone's over filled solidified large clump of laundry powder left in the dispenser before I can fill it with liquid laundry detergent & sanitiser)

Prepare a bag of empty bottles to be taken to be recycled at the local earn and return convenient store in Chatswood for next time I venture out.

Another general grocery shop to be done maybe tomorrow.

Take the rubbish out. Finally done.

Fortnightly reporting to Centrelink online. Although I am no longer getting JobSeeker payments, I still continue to report any income online as I know my shifts will be reduces to almost nothing in February March after stocktake. If I stop doing this I will have to wait another 3 months before I maybe be able to get any JobSeeker payments again. Done. 

Deal with what I can do with my apartment in Whistler which I am unable to travel in this year due to the COVID ban on international travel at the moment. I have tried to list it on Air BnB already ( pricing is different as there was no option to customise what I wanted to charge). 

To any of my readers out there that are able to travel to Whistler ie local residents of BC ( without having to self quarantine for 2 weeks) on Friday 15th January 2021 - Friday 22nd January 2021 and would like to stay in my apartment for that week for CAN $250 - yes a whole week in Whistler in a 1 bedroom apartment with mountain views close enough to walk to the lifts & everything else but far enough from the village not to hear all the noise in exchange for writing and submitting a detailed report for me. Please feel free to forward your details to me via my comments. I will review and contact anyone that contacts me. Criteria : non partying , mature responsible honest singles or couples welcome,  unsuitable for kids ( apartment with balcony high up),  non smokers only, no pets allowed, security deposit required as bond for keys and passes required not to me but to check in front office, underground parking available ( maybe additional cost and must provide rego number to check in office), no candles allowed ,  must be able to write and submit a detailed report in English of apartment's condition during their stay & all it's communial facilities eg lifts, pool hot tubs & gym to me . Please note there is no check in desk or front office check in on site of property.  Check in is down the road at another property's address.  I have also posted on my Facebook page. Photos were posted on AirBnB and there are a few photos on Facebook. Photos are also on my previous blogs. 

Saturday 9th January 2021

Day off

Still feeling really allergic but I need to venture out today. Dishes done last night as well so there is nothing left to do except grocery shopping for essentials return bottles for recycling and get some change for laundry. 

With all these COVID clusters popping up, I am a little afraid to go too far out of Chatswood but would like to visit something that is on at The Australian  Maritime Museum and something else that is on at Carriageworks sometime during the Festival of Sydney.

Have not ventured out today and have been trying to book tickets on the Sydney Dance Company website again to attend a virtual class to l earn the routine at 5 pm  - 5.45 pm today for the "I Want To Dance With Somebody" Sydney Festival event. If i can't log on today I won't get a chance to as I am working on all the other days the classes are on at. I have been trying to get on for a few weeks now and same error message pops up even with a temporary password given to me by The Sydney Dance Company.

I tried so many times to book a class and almost gave up in the end. I even closed any apps on my phone that were open and changed over to my spare phone. Failing again to log in I downloaded the mindbody app and after several failed atrempts finally managed to sucessfully join the free online class via Zoom 5 minutes before it was due to start! 

I should not have had to download the app in order to book a class online. I should have been able to go directly to the SDC website to buy tickets and book a class. I don't want extra apps on my phones nor do I want my personal information given out to third parties.

The 45 minute class was interesting and the routine quite long. I won't know if I can remember it until I get to the location I want to participate in it ie 23rd January 2021. I plan to have a bit of fun with it at Macquarie ice rink during a mega skate session. I hope it won't be too crowded to do the routine.

I snapped a photo of the free class via Zoom. There was some information that popped up on the screen towards the end of the class however i could get my phone out in time to capture it as a photo. 

" I Want To Dance With Somebody" routine with Richard Chilli and music by Haiku Hands ( my spare phone is held up with a very old mobile phone holder shaped in a pair of red high heel shoes that was given to me as a Christmas present one year whilst I was working at Plenty Bondi Junction - who knew after all these years hidden in my storage they would come in handy!)

Sunday 10th January 2021

Day off

Another do nothing day. I still have not ventured out.

Bottles returned and I got some money for the laundry.

I decided to go shopping at Chatswood so caught the bus there however I spent almost all of my time at Chatswood Chase and no time at Westfield. The Coles is larger at The Chase and I also had a look around Kmart. 

Christmas and New Year are barely over  ( with Christmas stock still on clearance in stores ) but the hot cross buns  and eggs are already out for Easter and have been since after Christmas in supermarkets, the cards and gifts are already out for Valentines Day, the flags and paraphernalia are already out for Australia Day - the only things missing are Chinese New Year and Anzac Day! We could not wait for 2020 to be over but now it looks as if we can't wait for 2021 to be over as well!

photos below

This was just one of the double card stands full of Valentines Day cards at K mart

k so on my shopping list besides tissues toilet paper paper towels ( where coles has also now imposed a 2 per customer limit after Woolworths did)  and antibacterial wipes there was brocolli laundry sanitiser laundry liquid berries shallots yakault spinach dark chocolate baking chips crackers and museli bars. I originally wanted to try Coles brand ultimate salted caramel and 40% chocolate chip cookies but put them back opting for Carmans dark chocolate cherry & coconut nutty delights mini bars. They are mini for a reason and on sale for $4.50 a packet of I think 8. They are really hard and not chewy or sift like all the other full sized museli bars I have tried. It is like a mini toffee bar but they didn't taste too bad. I think I want a second one. I did toss up between this packet of Carmans and the similar packet of full sized Sam's choc cherry bars which were cheaper but chose Carmans as it was Australian Made & Owned and had better proportion of  quality ingredients. Rating 7/10 not my favourite bar.

photo below

I forgot to add something to this blog so am adding it in now. School holiday activity for kids and adults. Pop up VR experiences at Chatswood Chase lower ground floor.  Photos below but will upload a video onto my YouTube channel.

Monday 28th December 2020 - Sunday 3rd January 2021 - Week 40 Of Under Employment, Good Riddance 2020 , A Not So Happy New Year & I Give Up Beyond This

Monday 28th December 2020

Myer 9 am - 2 pm only today ( Boxing Day Public Holiday) . New shift added to Kronos 18th December 2020. Checked Kronos 19th & 20th December 20 no changes to shift.

Nothing much happened today except one lady I served looked a bit sick but was the only poerson in the queue that wasn't wearing a mask. He looked like she had a bit of a cough and was in a hurry to get out of the store - hopefully she just forgot her mask rather then refused to wear one and only coughed and looked in a hurry to get out of the store because she didn't want to contract COVID from not wearing a mask. If so she should not be out shopping either way regardless! Some people just have no consideration for others. Imagine all the people she could spread COVID to just by not wearing a mask and leaving self isolation. I hope she is not COVID positive.

I did wash my hands change my mask and spray disinfectant after contact with the customer. Wearing just a surgical mask does absolutely nothing over long periods of time as demonstrated on 2 kids I saw where they were wearing their surgical masks but they were so wet from their saliva and food they had around the mouth area they were so gross to look at and I felt like handing them s new mask. 

I did not hang around Warringah Mall after my shift.I punched out at 2.02 pm and waited for the next 280 bus at 2.30 pm to Chatswood.

There are now 122 cases of COVID in the Northern Beaches. No one is allowed into the CBD without a permit for NYE firework with even frontline workers previously promised front row spots on the harbour foreshore to watch the midnight fireworks for their services throughout the COVID pandemic retracted and you can't travel anywhere interstate so I am wishing everyone  "A Not So Happy New Year" this year. The world is growing worse by the day there is now news of a possible world war against China.

So as soon as I arrive at Chatswood I do quite a bit of shopping. First stop Typo for any Christmas ornaments left. I purchase a very cute  quite well made polar bear and seal for $2 each and a roll of Christmas tape. Onto my next stop Uniquo to purchase a replacement pair of black jeggings for work, the identical ones destroyed whilst doing stock (they got caught on something at work and pulled a thread which turned into a hole that then turned into a larger and larger hole the more I wore them at work doing stock). I purchased them eventhough they were not on sale. Onto Priceline to purchase a bottle of vitamin oil for my skin before going to the Coles Local to do a small grocery shop before finally walking down to Guzman y Gomez to get some dinner - the regular spicy chicken burrito with chimi mayo on the side but this time I added a purchase of a $3 taco to try. The was a 15% public holiday surcharge today as well but that's ok or was it? I found 2 "hairs" of some sort in my chicken burrito ( I hope they were not rat hairs as they were really coarse and short) and what did I think of the $3 beef taco? No wonder it was $3 - it was tiny! A small taco the size of an oversized corn chip ( smaller then the ones available at the supermarket) heavily seasoned ie far too salty for my liking with a spoonful of beef mince in the bottom of it topped with rather small amount of limp lettuce and sprinkled with chredded cheese wrapped in a large piece of foil and boxed in a large cardboard takeaway container. Rating 4/10 something I will not have again. I have never been a fan of tacos but this $3 reinforced my dislike of tacos. Very disappointed with it's taste and size.

This is what you get for a $3 taco. The container and foil probably cost more then the taco itself!

Home to eat my dinner on the 144 bus via a stop off at Woolworths Metro. There is a yellow sign up near the baskets advising customers again of the reinstated purchase limit of 2 packets of toilet paper and 2 packets of paper towels per customer. I think only Woolworths has reinstated this purchase limit I have not seen Coles in Chatswood advise customers of this purchase limit.

Bed early as I am again suffering from vertigo and it is getting worse caused from my blocked ears again.

Tuesday 29th December 2020

Day off

Text message just received via Whats App Group Chat to check Kronos for changes to shift daily due to COVID. Nothing new even before the COVID cluster it was constantly changing.

A sleep in today but I need to update my diary with my shifts.

I need to go to the post office to earn and return my bottles recharge my opal card take my rubbish out and do a proper grocery shop. I just can't be bothered to return my Christmas tree to my off-site storage or check my PO Box all the way in the Eastern suburbs today. Then there is laundry.

Maybe I'll do some of this after lunch.

Oh dear I just watched the "I want to dance with somebody" dance routine in preparation for participating in the Sydney Festival event happening via Zoom on the 23rd January at 11 am on YouTube and it is not too good. I am pretty sure that I will have my own interpretation of the routine! It is very much a teenie bopper routine. There is a bit of twerking which I will probably leave out and what's with all the spider finger movements over the upper body and face. A little bit on the weird side for me. I think tgere is a lot of interpretive dance going on!

5.30 pm and I'm still not feeling the best so haven't ventured out. My ears are still really blocked and I still have vertigo if I lay down flat and get up. 

Just got a text message to start at 8 am tomorrow. Well I better get ready. Should pack my lunch but can't be bothered.

Bed early.

Wednesday 30th December 2020

Myer  9 am - 2.30 pm new shift added to Kronos 18th December 20. Checked Kronos 19th & 20th December 20 shift changed to 12 noon - 5.30 pm. Checked Kronos again 25th December 20 no change to shift .

Checked Kronos again 29th December 2020. Shift changed back to 9 am - 2.30 pm for today.

Changed again via text message yesterday for today  8 am - 2 pm stock - not wearing my expensive $100 dress to work today! Just a skivvie and jeans. If only my old ripped pair was not in the laundry pile! Hope this pair does not get destroyed as well.

The morning was spent serving in between folding towels. I didn't get very far but did manage to put an order through for a customer! The customer actually received the wrong click & collect item so this was returned and refunded and a new order put through for the customer.

The rest of my half day at work was re merchandising the napery and serving customers in between. 

The back counter was full of returns so I tried to clear it as much as possible. There are always the customers who try to return womens wear upstairs to Homewares which should not be allowed. 

Punched out at 2.10 pm. Looked at my phone at the time and it was 2.05 pm and I had not had a break. I am owed so much overtime it's not funny but it will never be paid.

Waiting for the 2.30 pm bus back to Chatswood. First stop the post office to send the 2 Lindt chocolate bears in a box off to the aged care facility for my letter writing buddy. Then grocery shopping at Aldi and Coles again. All done - well most of it as I can only carry so much and mot everything on my shopping list is available.

Home on the 144 and sleep as I am working again tomorrow! I wish I didn't have to work as I am constantly thinking of how I am going to get home tomorrow.  Am I going to be stranded again as it is NYE and buses and trains do not run beyond North Sydney with alternative routes after 3 pm. I finish at 2 pm. By the time I finish it will be 2.30 pm. Will the 280 to Chatswood show up today as it will be NYE?

The next story I am writing about I will name "Do you believe in Santa?" because it is just bizarre. I took out my rubbish to the garbage area outside the apartment block and decided to open the mail box and possibly clear it out as it just gets full of junk mail. I never get mail delivered to this mail box only to an off site po box located kms away for security purposed and which only gets emptied out every 4  - 6 months currently. So I didn't end up clearing out the mail box outside out as there wasn't much junk mail in it for once but I did find a dark blue envelope. However it was a very strange envelope. You will see why when you look at it . At first I thought it may have conained a Christmas card but no it was not a Christmas card but I recognised the blue envelope it was from a witing paper set I had given a resident living alone at an aged care facility as a gift . Inside was a half printed half hand written letter 3 pages long dated 5th December 2020 .  So what was strange about it?

1. the letter was very bizarre itself and did make any sense. It is difficult to describe so I'll just post a photo of what was inside the blue envelope or maybe not as it is just too bizzare. The letter was hand written on the bottom of some printed religious sermon with dates and places they were held and continues onto the back of it and onto another separate piece of ruled paper. There were bits of paper inside the envelope,  scratched out words and sticky tape patching up the pages and envelope. It looked as if it was written by a person with an unsound mind - was this person on death row when they were writing this letter to me - you know similiar to when you start hallucinating ? They didn't even write about what they had been upto or thank me for the gifts I sent to them ( I know tgey received them). I didn't exactly write back to them to ask them to keep their religious beliefs to themselves instead I reminded them that I am not religious or Christian and to write to me about what they have been upto instead - diplomatic aren't I?

2. the blue envelope looks like it had been tampered with as if it had been ripped open and retaped. Was something missing from the letter before I opened it?

Stuck on the back of the blue envelope - looks normal except for the shaky writing. However the top corner of the envelope looks as if it has been ripped open and something has been removed and then taped back together again.

3. What's missing from the front of an envelope? An address. All it reads is 6/314a. How on earth did it get to the c/o - mail box address I provided to her? Googling 6/314a there is more then one street, avenue,  road etc that contains an address that starts with 6/314a. Did Rudolf actually deliver this letter to me in time for Christmas? Has Santa put a tracking device on me? I am stumped. This is not my registered street address - for security reasons nobody knows or has my actual residential address just my po box kms away. Even my real address is nowhere near where it is ie Greenwich when I Googled it. So if I'm stumped by my actual residential address I am extra stumped how this letter managed to actually reach me at a c/o mail box which is not min, I just provided it so letters would get to me quicker maybe. I don't think this was delivered by ordinary Australia Post somehow but hand delivered.

Thursday 31st December 2020

Myer 9 am - 2 pm new shift added to Kronos  18th December 2020. Checked Kronos 19th 20th & 25th December 2020 no changes to shift.

Checked Kronos 29th December 2020 no changes to shift.

More shift changes for after new year! I was told by the customer service manager and the assistant store manager today to ensure I knew about them! So let me get this straight - if my shift is 8 am - 4 pm I'm on stock all day however if my shift starts at 8.30 am it means 30 mi utes stock before the store opens then from 9 am I'm on the floor the rest of the day. I don't want to be on stock! Just because I'm good at it does not mean I like doing it! I'd rather spend more time with quality customer service.

I finished a little late today 2.20 pm to be exact when I should have finished at 2 pm. There was just so much to do today.

On the 2.30 pm bus to Chatswood which I made just in time. Next was to post my letter to my writing buddy I volunteer for at the aged care facility. Yes another letter to the elderly resident that lives alone at the aged care facility.. 

Next return my 9 empty bottles for 90 cents cash refund.

Next a shop for bits and pieces for my solo mid night charcuterie platter. Including a visit to this bakery Vina - I haven't purchased anything from this really established bakery for a very long time and they were having there 50% off happy hour table full of day old breads and pastries. I didn't go for any of these opting for instead a hot mushroom quiche and a pear almond tart. I ate the hot creamy mushroom quiche immediately and saved the almond tart for my "midnight feast" ( I couldn't wait it was eaten when I arrived home) . Loved the quiche and no lactose intolerance from it but did not love the almond pear tart - it was ok but nothing like the quiche. There is just something about their French Vietnamese style quiches. A good quiche is a good quiche and  this one was nice but not the best one I've tasted just close. Rating 8/10 for the mushroom quiche & 7/10 for the almond pear tart . Must try their pies and spinach rolls next time. 

Photos below

Mushroom quiche in brown paper bag

Pear almond tart in brown paper bag  note even the way Vina bakery seals the paper bag with a twist at the top and bottom leaving an air pocket in the bag instead of rolling the opening closed flat is a touch of quirkiness.

I have absolutely no plans tonight for NYE. I had looked into a rather expensive charter flight to Antarctica which cost at least $2K for no allocated window views then thought about a 3 night minimum stay at Sydney Harbour YHA in a double ensuite room and a balcony ticket to see the fireworks but could only get a room but balcony tickets had sold out which would have cost about a quarter of the flight finally I thought about a last minute ticket to the special NYE event at Luna Park to view the fireworks which were still available as of yesterday but was having trouble purchasing them on line which only cost a quarter of the YHA stay but have abandoned all of these possible activities. 

Just as well it is cold and wet and I just want to lie in bed and sleep through NYE! I have no plans after all. The 9 pm family fireworks are cancelled and the midnight fireworks will only be 7 minutes long. Why fight public transport that terminates at North Sydney both ways, the crowds ( not that there will be many due to a lockdown around the green zones of the CBD and Northern Sydney area that are prime vantage points), getting a permit just to an attend an event in the lockdown zones that is only 7 minutes long and possibly having to walk all the way home - oh and I forget to mention the risk of contracting COVID or getting soaking wet just for 7 minutes of midnight fireworks. 

Usually I am overseas and most years when there are no fireworks organised I am in a cinema watching s movie that runs over midnight but in Sydney all cinemas closed around 10 pm with the last movie screening around 7 pm. 

I wanted to light sparklers but there were none left unless I wanted a number 9 sparkler. Loads of glow sticks available though but it's just not the same. I should have purchased some earlier.

OK so I purchased myself a lotto ticket for Saturday night's draw from a newsagency. I have no idea how to play but instead of a mystery or auto pick ticket I decided to pick my own numbers 6 each box with 4 boxes to complete. All for around $3.50. The numbers I picked were

4 8 9 13 20 24

20 29 31 38 42 44

8 13 20 32 36 45

7 8 13 19 26 32

Postscript : not even a single number in any of the numbers I selected above were included in the Saturday night draw. I never have any luck in anything I do and am always left off lists, taken advantage of, ignored , forgotten about and no matter how hard I try and even if I am the best at something am always 2nd best and never selected . considered for,  promoted or advanced to in anything I do - always pipped at the post, not given the same opportunities as others that may not be the most suitable - people can't even get my name correct - this has been my life from as far as I can remember and still is as I was born on the 4th and that means death if not life long bad luck in Asian culture -  so true! I should not have selected any number containing a "4" in it but I did base my numbers bases on people's birthdays or reverse of them.

Next what I plan to have at my solo midnight feast. Cheeses, lavosh crackers, fresh mixed fruits, fried figs, maybe some chicken wings, salmon dip, corn chips, nuts, tim tams and maybe something alcoholic. We'll have to see. There won't be anything left if I keep eating everything!

Sorry no midnight feast as most of it was eaten before I went to sleep at around 8.30 pm. I was woken up by the sound of the fireworks which I can clearly hear and even feel from where I live but can't see at all as I live too far North from Sydney. I watched them on ABC tv instead. The buses are running outside to get people home I can hear. 7 minutes is not a long time. Instead I sent messages to all my acquaintances around the world to wish them a happy new year not a general message but individually. I hope tgey are all safe and well and apologies to anyone I missed!

1.15 am on 1st January 2021 and I'm still up blogging. The traffic outside is quite heavy.

I'm going back to sleep now?! Maybe a little later.

🍾  🥂 🍾 🥂 🍾 🥂 🍾 🥂 🍾 🥂🍾 🥂 🍾 🥂 🍾 🥂

I wish  all my readers a very Happy New Year! May 2021 be a much better year for us all. Keep safe and well. 

🎉🎈 🎉🎈 🎉 🎈🎉 🎈🎉 🎈🎉 🎈🎉🎈 🎉 🎈🎉

Friday 1st January  2021

Day off  New Years Day Public Holiday

Take the rubbish out Tomorrow Done

Pay the Rent Done

Clean the apartment Part Done

Do the laundry wash & dry Tomorrow Done

Log into Myer Metrics & read Mcoms on scan count coming up Whenever! Done

Don't forget to lodge leave request dates Done!

Take care of any other life admin stuff that needs to be done.

SBS Food chanbel is on repeat so I resort to YouTube and receing messages from 2 international acquaintances who are still in Australia. One is possible stranded and can't get back to Canada but she has family in Sydney, the other is still on a student visa which I am surprised about as she has been in Sydney for probably 2 years now and I thought she was only on a working holiday visa and thought she had returned to South Korea. She would like to catch up but the feeling is mutual we are both too scared to do so. I advised her to wait until maybe Feb or Mar 2021.

What 12.08 am and i'm still awake blogging. Time to go to bed! Did not venture out at all today as I still have vertigo - it's my right ear causing it . I am hoping to venture out tomorrow.

It's still wet outside . The rest of the world is now in 2021 so Happy New Year to the rest of the world and goodnight!

Saturday 2nd January 2021

Myer 9 am - 2 pm new shift added 18th December 2020. Checked Kronos 25th December 20 no changes to shift.

Checked Kronos 29th December 2020. Shift cancelled for today .

Thank goodness I don't have to work today!

I think that Myer is taking advantage of casual works by not allowing them to take leave when requested and constantly changing shifts at the last minute. I am unsure how to deal with this as I need to find out if this is actually legal for an employer to do so. I am going to make an inquiry to the department of fair trading. 

11 am & it has just been announced on the news that masks are now mandatory from tomorrow in shopping centres on public transport and areas where there is community contact. Masks should have been made mandatory from the beginning of the pandemic and continued upto now! People are now asking why now? Yes why now and tge response from NSW Health was that they had been considering it for months now. That does not answer the question.

I just applied for a job at Muji online. I have been job hunting but it is not easy with all the constant last minute changes to my shifts. If I have to attend interviews Myer will make it difficult for me to do so. I have beern making it clear that I am not happy working for Myer ( yes working for not working at there is a difference they own you once you are an employee with them) . I am rather sick of tge constant last minute changes to my shifts, the early starts and how I spend all my time on stock and not serving customers. When team members start to think I've been with Myer for years when I've just been with them for under 6 months, when team members think that I am part of the VM department and not Homewares, when team members start to question why I am always on stock and they never seeing me on the POS at the counter serving customers,  when I get tired of spending all my time having to log into Myer Metrics, read Mcoms, Check my payslips constantly for wage theft , check messages via whats app team group chat and constantly checking for last minute changes to shifts as well as travelling upto 2 hours in order to get to work on time so I don't get locked out from the staff entrance exit limited opening times as well as store managers not being able to get my name correct after 6 months - It's time to leave and find a new job. 

I turned my whats app off as it is my days off and I don't want to be bombarded with shit from Myer on my days off like check you M coms etc.

Still getting messages from around the world and photos are popping up on Facebook even from HK my old friends in HK which is good to see as they haven't posted anything on Facebook for so long. 

I can't be bothered going out again or doing my laundry but I did clean the apartment a bit today. The food channel is still full of old repeats so I am blogging and watching stuff on YouTube.  

I do have one product review which I forgot to write about and it is so cute. Monkey Pops by the Jolie brand. Looks so much like a real banana right down to the brown plastic tip made of silicon perfect for making a deconstructed banana dessert pop. Rating 8/10

Photo below

Just too cute to purchase just one of them so I purchased a pair which were the lucky last 2 available from Aldi. Plenty of ice cute block moulds, spoons and tiki pop moulds still 

available  but no more banana pops.

Now I can make my own ice blocks that are lactose free. I am thinking virgin pina colada made with pineapple coconut milk a dash of mint and lime juice or maybe a banana coconut milk and cocao powder or mango and coconut milk. We'll have to see. Done in the freezer. 

Sunday 3rd January 2021

Day off 

Finally a weekend free not that I can go anywhere due to borders being closed international travel banned and regional lock downs.

More cases of COVID in NSW VIC and even in QLD I believe.

So today I ventured out after lunch to go for a skate at Macquarie Ice Rink. It is $25 flat rate for a "mega skate" today with a session from 10.45 am - 4.15 pm. It was a rather expensive skate unless you skate for the entire session which not many people do. I only skated from 1.50 pm - 3.10 pm. The ice had to be resurfaced  before 2 pm so I lost 15 minutes or so of the skate session when I arrived. 

Mistaken identity by one of the ice skating coaches who came up to me and said "Happy New Year!" I said to him "Do I know you?" I know of him but never had him as a coach and said it was probably my sister you are thinking of although she knew of him as well but I don't think he was ever her coach as well. He apologised and said that he could not recognise me with a mask on ( all Asians look alike again!). However sitting on the bench across from me with her carer and taking her skates off to leave was a special needs teenager who I was pretty sure was an ex work colleague's daughter I know and have met and this was actually her coach. I didn't say hello to her though in case I was caught out for mistaken identity and she wasn't wearing her glasses she has to wear all the time so it could have been someone else.

I travelled to Macquarie Shopping Centre by bus then Metro train but did not stay at Macquarie Shopping Centre to go grocery shopping instead travelled stright back to Chatswood to do a very quick shop at Woolworths Metro as well  as recharge my Opal card before heading home on the next bus.

I need to prepare for work tomorrow and pack my lunch. So glad my laundry is done!

I wonder if my monkey banana pops are ready?

Monday 21st - Sunday 27th December 2020 - Week 39 Of Underemployment, Warringah Rats, No Show Christmas Eve Buses , Taking The "There Is No Christmas 2020" Tree Down & Boxing Day Sales, Medical Emergency, Underpants & Exploding Bums

Monday 21st December 2020

Day off as at 11th December 2020.

Not anymore refer last Wednesday 16th December 2020 new shift added to Kronos not stock,  not floor but MARK DOWNS!

Myer 8 am - 4 pm ( with team member now " ex ticket girl" & "stock girl" - she is now calling herself "markdown girl"!) - I think her shift got cancelled today.

Checked Kronos 16th December 2020 no changes to day off.

I am asked to stay back until 5 pm today by the customer service manager and tomorrow my shift has changed again from 8 am - 5 pm on Kronos. 

COVID cases have now reached 83 in the Northern Beaches. I am still taking precautions wearing a mask and changing it throughout the day with a filter inside or panty liners stuck to the inside of them.  I wash my hands and isolate myself from other team members as much as possible  at Myer.

There are not many customers to serve but if a queue forms then I will serve them.

One team member in electricals had a what I considered a dodgey purchase today. He made me process the sale of huge flat screen tv citing there is no one else around and that he could not put the purchase through himself as it was his friend ( I think) so I processed the sale but said because it was a clearance item no return no refund no exchange. The customer wanted to pay with vouchers or gift cards so I left the payment transaction with the electricals team member. If they return it there will be a negative $1k+ next to my sales figures. I only made $200 today so it will take me forever to make it up again so the customer better not return it! Clearance items can't be returned exchanged or returned usually unless they are faulty.

Lunch for me was at 3 pm - it always is. It was not even lunch just a gingerbread biscuit and a bottle of water. I did not even venture out into the mall. I did not even sit in the staff room instead isolating myself in the staff locker area away from other team members. My mask is on most of the time except when I ate or drank. I had a quick toilet break and washed my hands with liquid soap thoroughly before eating and drinking. I even changed my mask and filter. Anything to prevent me from getting the virus. 

A team member was feeling a bit sick and started getting worried that she may have the virus. She lives locally like many of the team members. If she is concerned she should have left me alone at lunch ( I didn't get anywhere close to her ).

Another team member this morning was wearing his mask below his nose like quite a few people do and I said to him "That mask isn't going to do much if you wear it below your nose!" It turns out he has asthma - Yep it irritates my face and nose as well. I have to take a antihistamines every morning during this time of the year as I have this bronchitis wet cough in the mornings with watery eyes. What would I do without them!? ( especially with the hives that come up if I binge on something  I am allergic to). 

I am so tempted to get some shellfish for Christmas prawns lobsters etc just for Christmas and suffer afterwards .... ( if I can even find these $20 lobsters advertised in the supermarkets - still haven't seen any yet just stacks of pump king prawns everywhere). These allergies I have have been a nuisance all my life mainly genetic but also geographical. They affect most of my senses too. They are worse in the Northern suburbs eg St Ives and Northern Beaches where there are more trees. Supermarkets are a problem too ( I think I have mentioned this in previous blogs)

Sorry my blog crashed again and I didn't save the whole couple of paragraphs I just wrote.

5 pm it's pouring with rain. The 5.30 pm bus to Chatswood  I am on is almost empty which is great. 

There is a very long queue of people outside Brookvale Community Health Centre waiting for a COVID test standing for hours in the rain.

83 COVID cases now mainly in the Northern Beaches & increasing.

The Northern Beaches is now looking like it is going into lockdown and not looking good for Christmas.

Dinner is take away from Chatswood as I am too tired to cook.

Preparation for work tomorrow and sleep early

Tuesday 22nd December 2020 

Myer 8 am - 4 pm  New shift added to Kronos 11th December 2020. Checked Kronos 16th December 2020 no changes to shift.

I've lost count of when my shifts have been changed. So difficult to keep up but today I checked Kronos again and my shift ( no surprise) has changed to 8 - 5 pm for today.

Today I was on my own at the Homewares counter until 10 am until the team leader and other Christmas casuals arrived to man the Homewares counter. 

There may not be a lot of customers but there is always something to do. 

Collect the Ipads and keys ( which unfortunately had not been put back into their correct charging stations overnight) . I needed help with this so team member who wants to be a team leader.

So the tasks I had in the morning was to take the excess Sheridan pillows and quilts that were on the display back down to the reserve ( I had consolidated their display yesterday afternoon due to their unauthorised merchandising apparently) , deal with at least 2 customers over the counter, one customer in a mobility scooter whose companion actually approached me for assistance for king single sheets, 2 customer phone enquiries - one for click and collect alternative pick up authorisation and the other looking for La La Land tote bags which no store had left - Warringah had only one of the 2 designs the customer wanted and it was the very last one, return stuff left around the counter the day before, set up a mark down gun ( that actually worked) to start mark downs as soon as the team leader arrived and grab a cage of pillows and other bedding to restock.

The day ended with not having a break until 4 pm when I finished at 5 pm ( again I made sure there was no one else around and had a toilet stop and to wash my hands) and back on the floor again for the final 15 minutes of my shift. Another team member also did not have a break so was just told to go home an hour earlier. I had a very rude customer who just would not leave me alone when I directed her to a counter for assistance. She said there was no one at the counter to help her ,  she was in a hurry and was quite verbally abusive towards me and I really did not want to serve her. The team leader served her in the end. Last thing I did was grab a gun and scanned some more items until my scanning gun ran out of power right at 5 pm a sign it was time for me to go home. I like how I did all the work emptying one of the Salt & Pepper display tables and filling it with any clearance items I scanned and labelled and the team leader promised to grab a scanner gunto help me do the mark downs but didn't start doing so until I went on a break then claiming she had done so much of the scanning. She did the easiest bit and claimed credit for it. The most difficult bit was clearing the display and separating what was on clearance and what was not! After that it was quicker and easier. There was so much stuff hidden behind stuff underneath the Salt and Pepper display tables. Boxes of stuff where the products had been removed and not all from one product. I reboxed what I could and any items that had no labels missing boxes or items or just did not scan I left in a trolley for the team leader to deal with.

I went home catching the next 280 bus back to Chatswood. It was almost empty again. 

I again grab some takeaway from Chatswood. Preparation for work again tomorrow and sleep

Wednesday 23rd December 2020

Myer 8.30 am - 5.30 pm New shift added to Kronos 11th December 2020. Checked Kronos again 16th December 2020 no changes to shift.

Checked Kronos shift changed to 8.30 am - 4 pm due to COVID cluster 20th December 20 

I'm having a break at 2 pm today so at 3 pm I only have an hour to go before the end of my shift. 

Besides a growing hole in the left leg of my Uniquo black work jeans that has formed from doing stock  (I got caught on something)  I lost my name badge completely today. I lost it once when I first started but found it - it got knocked off and fell on the floor somewhere. This time I have no chance of finding it as I lost it doing stock ( I knew this would happen one day and it finally did and did not wear my lanyard only put it in the back pocket of my jeans but wore it today as I was still on the floor serving customers and get yelled at by managers for not wearing it). It probably got caught in a cage and was pulled off the lanyard with the information attached in a plastic sleeve soccer uniform wholesale and which I almost lost as well and is now in the bin somewhere. A sign it is time for me to find a new job. 

I have nothing much to say today. Well I do but I'm just not happy working at Myer. 99% of the customers I serve are really nice and most of the team members are nice but management certainly are not. I am now realising what a team member meant when she asked me "what? you haven't worked out why people are leaving?" as there seems to be a high staff turn over and it has nothing to do with COVID. 

Home on the slowest bus from Warringah Mall to Chatswood on the 280. The bus is again aslmost empty. I stop off briefly to go shopping at Chatswood Coles Local, Fruitez ( for a back up panettone - oops spelling Italian Christmas bread as a back up in the likely event I don't make my annual Christmas pudding ), some smoked salmon and octopus from Coles Local in case I don't make my annual turducken for Christmas ( one of the team members from cosmetics said just to get one already made up from Aldi - yes I did think about doing this but I like to make one myself which is another annual tradition of mine and also to Daiso and Zap variety as well as the newsagent in Westfield Chatswood for some more lights for my Christmas tree ( too late no one has any nice ones left) before heading home on a rather impressive Christmas bus (the driver even paused at my bus stop so I could take a photo of tge side of the bus) . I asked did you decorate this bus yourself? He responded no a group of older people did it. It has been an annual tradition for years where public buses are decorated either inside or outside the buses with kms of tinsel - I wonder if they actually have a competition for the best Christmas bus running. This one was quite an impressive Christmas bus complete with fake elf or santa seated in the first front passenger seat instead of where the social distancing tape is usually around, fake presents in the front luggage area, loads of baubles, stars and Christmas decals on the windows and even Christmas wrap taped up in front of some of the seats. This made me smile but not enough to forget about working at Myer.

photos below

Note the tinsel around the wheels of the bus on the outside of the bus

This is a Panettone for those who don't know what it is. It is an Italian Christmas cake and I grew up with these. Every year our Italian neighbour would give us one for Christmas.I chose a good one this year. It was less expensive then the smaller one in another brand next to it.  Had a lot more fruit in it and was much heavier then the one next to it. When I arrived home I ate a piece of it and it was the softest most citrus tasting with lots of peel in it Panettone I have tasted. Rating 8/10 $10 for just under 1 kg cake from Fruitez.I love chocolate and panettones do come in a variety of flavours vanilla, cream, chocolate chip ( which I have tried once only) , chocolate cream etc but there is something just not right about a chocolate chip panettone hence I stick to the original citrus and  sultanas panettones.

Thursday 24th December 2020

Myer  8 am - 5 pm New shift added to Kronos  11th December 2020 Checked Kronos 16th December 2020 no changes to shift

Checked Kronos 17th, 18th 19th & 20th December 20. Change of shift to 12 noon - 8 pm on 18th December 20.

I did make a comment verbally about being worried about how I was going to get home on Christmas eve to the customer service manager previously and she didn't really respond to what I said. I know another team member who is working late is staying at a relative's house  in Seaforth whenever they are working late shifts but I don't have anyone who lives in the Northern Beaches that I can stay with. To make things worse I am working another late shift on 26th until 9 pm and after that my hours return to minimal shifts under the minimum of 24 hours I  had specified in my original employment documents when employed. 

The only thing I am thinking of today and have been thinking of is how am I going to get home tonight. Why was my shift changed from 8 am - 5 pm to 12 noon - 8 pm. Others that live locally get to go home earlier. Is this Myer trying to punish me. There is a lock down in the Northern Beaches over Christmas and nobody from the Northern Beaches is allowed out of the Northern Beaches on 24th 25th and 26th December currently although people are now allowed into the Northern Beaches only in certain lower Northern Beaches suburbs from outside of the Northern Beaches. There is only 1 bus every hour from Warringah Mall back to Chatswood and finishing at 8 I have to wait another 40 minutes for the next one as I can never get to the bus stop from Myer less then 20 minutes after finishing. I won't get home on Christmas eve until 10 pm if I am lucky. The only other way home is a bus to Manly then a walk and a wait for the next 144 back to Chatswood - guarantee a stop by police officers and a fine for breaching lockdown regulations as Manly is the boundry of where the lockdown is and it could be upto an hour before a connecting 144 bus towards Chatswood. I could take the B line to Neutral Bay and walk and wait forever for a connect 144 bus home as an alternative. I hate catching the B line bus as it either is full or does not turn up like it did  on Monday. I am also unsure how often it will run that late at night on Christmas eve and from the Northern Beaches out back to the city as nobody is allowed to leave out of the Northern Suburbs to other suburbs therefore will there actually be any buses running back towards the city from the Northern Suburbs?

Rent paid. Christmas pudding mixture prepared ( finally managed to at least get this stage of the pudfing done somehow).

Chicken wings made for dinner. I just need to prepare the turducken either tonight ( if I get home) or whenever I can. No time this morning to prepare it as I spent most of my time making the Christmas pudding mix. There are so many ingredients and the mixture is huge. I followed the recipe provided on the box of suet ( I had no idea how shelf stable suet was).

Next get ready for another long day at work. I won't leave home too early. I don't even think they would notice if I was late. I always pack a spare set of clothes and toiletries just in case ( I can't make it home or the weather changes).

No surprises today I am on stock again with another team member who told me after she checked the day sheet . I said let's go and grab the cages of stock to put out and don't worry about asking the customer service manager what to do or put out. Just as well when the customer service manager approached me I was already refilling stock and merchandising it neatly I just said to her that the other team member and I were onto it already. She did not have to explain what we had to do ( although she did)  and said "I knew you would know what to do"

I did jump onto the register to serve if there was a queue from time to time throughout tge day and happy to answer any questions from customers who approached me as I was not doing mark downs today ( thank goodness - what a bloody waste of time those scanning guns and label printers are! They never work). 

I overhear team members say " chaos" yep it sure was today - the left arm did not know what the right arm was doing. Not just tge stock but the sale tickets being up in preparation for the boxing day sales. I just calmly asked tge customer srrvice manager for directions and put them up as they should be put up.

Everything done and dusted by a lityle past 7 pm and we were allowed to leave early.

I knew this would happen - refer what I wrote previously,  We finished at a little past 7 pm and I waited for the next 280 bus to Chatswood at 7.31 pm according to trip planner. It never arrived so I rang Transport For NSW to complain. I am stranded at Warringah Mall and it's Christmas Eve. I can actually see ratger large rats running around across the open carpark area across from me! They said that they could not track the bus and the next bus was not due until 8 pm as they run only every 30 minutes. How could Transport For NSW not have GPS tracking on their buses whether they are state or privately contracted? I asked what happens if the next bus at 8 pm does not show up? I  won't get home until 10 pm or even mid  night. They could not answer my question so I asked to speak to the supervisor who was also no help so I hung up on them. In the hour or so I was waiting at the bus stop I missed at least 2 B line buses. The problem with taking a b line bus home is the transfer connection time at Neutral Bay Junction.

I ended run walking across the pedestrian bridge above and making the next B line bus and spotted the next connecting 144 bus 1 minute behind. Will i make this bus or have to wait forever for the next connecting 144 bus at Neutral Bay Junction? I managed to make the connecting 144 bus this time round home otherwise it is normally another 20 or 30 minute wait. 

It was just before 9 pm by the time I got home. 

I was so tired i just went to sleep but could not fall asleep easily due to what happened. I was so angry.

Friday 25th December 2020 ( Christmas Day)

Day off but then most people have a day off (except for essential services). Store closed public holiday. 

I am going to sleep through it and ensure my Christmas tree is taken down and packed back into it's Santa Sack pronto today! DONE! Ready to go back into my off site storage as soon as I have a day off to get rid of  2020 Christmas out mind out of sight just like my first trip to China over Christmas way back in 1984 with the family the Christmas trees and decorations went up for the tourist a few days before Christmas Day and promptly taken down on Christmas day as the Mainland Chinese don't celebrate Christmas and have no idea what it is - they just like the colours of red and gold their symbols of good luck.

From this:

To this:

Merry Christmas Everyone !  ( except me) Not that Christmas is anything to celebrate this year. I did not sleep in but was up at 5 am as normal - catch up cooking. I woke up automatically at this time as my body is so used to having to get up and leave home by 6 am each morning in order to get to work on time it no longer knows how to sleep in.

There is nothing on tv except Christmas movies or church services so I watch the Food Channel which is full of repeat episodes - better then watching anything religious or Christmas related.

I don't celebrate Christmas as I am not a Christian and I am usually overseas at this time of the year just enjoying the snow and lights but this year I am home with no friends or family. It is just another day for me except I don't need to think about getting to work on time for one day however it is back to work tomorrow. I thought I could just sleep through Christmas and eat my left over home made Christmas pudding and Turducken I would normally have prepared way before Christmas day but this year due to being at work so early and getting home so tired ( and not eating properly only surviving on takeaways each night as I can't be bothered to cook and skipping lunches) the past 4 days I had to make them both today - yes from scratch on Christmas Day! That's hours of preparation time! 

Was it worth it? Well I just tasted my hot Contreau Speckulaas mixed tropical fruits cashew macadamia and chocolate pudding which was one of my first 2 single serve test puddings that have been boiling for hours today and wow! Unfortunately I didn't quite get to make the vanilla custard to go with it. I would eat the whole pudding if I could but it is a little rich especially when it was the first time I had mad it with suet instead of butter.

Photos below

Traditional puddings from scratch take months of preparation starting with the soaking of your chosen selection of chopped up mixed dried fruit in the alcohol of your choice mixed in Speckulaas which I had to make a special trip into town to purchase to the preparation of your pudding cloths to  boiling the actual puddings for hours. The above is the result.

Next was my turducken from scratch. I don't roll  my turducken but make a terrine. I place turkey breast strips to cover the bottom of a ceramic terrine dish then make a chicken mince stuffing layer over the top of the turkey breast strips then use 2 duck breast fillets to cover the layer of chicken mince stuffing. The terrine dish lid is used as a weight to press it all down during an hour bake in the oven. The chicken mince stuffing takes the longest to make as there are so many ingredients in it. It's not just your normal chicken stuffing. There is chicken mince finely chopped up and mixed with apple, blueberries, cranberries, orange zest soaked in orange juice, multigrain bread finely cut up, mixed herbs,mint ,coriander, eschallot, pistachios, maldon salt,freshly ground pepper, finely chopped tasty cheese, garlic paste, fried shallots, chilli flakes & fennel seeds. Piping hot it is a little bit difficult to cut but when cooled and refrigerated it slices pretty well.

Photos below

Not as nice as last year's turducken but still good. Maybe because I had to rush it this year and actually forgot to buy fresh chicken mince so had to use the frozen portion I had left in the freezer. Having the turkey on the bottom and the duck at the top allowed the turkey and chicken mince to remain very moist and soft from the duck fat as it rendered downwards through the 2 lean layers. A little too much duck fat actually so I had to drain it all off  before carving and eating a slice of it. No time to make gravy this year to go with it unfortunately.

Today I also took the rubbish out, washed and dried most of my 2 batches of  laundry ( only because I needed my bad set of black clothes for work tomorrow). The laundry wash and dry cycles take 2 hours itself. I still have to return my bottles for recycling & post off the 2 Lindt chocolate bears I got from Myer as a Christmas gift (I think every employee got 2 Lindt chocolate bears for Christmas which is not quite the same as receiving the small cash bonus in a Christmas card I used to get from previous employers) to the senior citizen living alone at the aged care retirement village I have been corresponding with. I don't like Lindt chocolate that much and because I didn't send her a Christmas card thought I might send her these chocolates. I have no idea whether she got the monte carlos and writing set I sent to her as i have had absolutely no time to check my mail box for any letters she may have written to me. I will have to check my mail box when I go to my storage to return my Christmas tree and if there is a letter from her to me then it will be a very special belated Christmas present.

Saturday 26th December 2020 ( Boxing Day - Public Holiday)

Myer 11 am - 9 pm new shift added to Kronos 11th December 2020.

Due to the Northern Beaches COVID cluster my shift has changed to 12 am - 8 pm today which does not really help me and I will still get home at 10 pm. 

I guess there will be no Boxing Day sales for me this year. Do I even need anything? Just pudding cloth for next year shallots green juice water corriander cheese vitamin e oil mouthwash soap 3 in 1 and toothbrushes. And to get home tonight get to the post office and to my storage facility and a new pair of Uniqlo black jeans to replace my favourite ones that were damaged from doing stock at work!

I managed to sleep in this morning - 7 am . It's a bit of an overcast yucky day today. I am still catching up on my blog before getting ready to go to work around 9 am this morning.

Well what do you know. A.missed B line connection. The 144 bus pulls up at Neutral Bay Junction transfer connection bus stop while the B line just pulls out. Next B line bus isn't until 10 minutes later if it actually arrives. 

I get to work about 30 minutes before my shift is due to start and get myself something to eat from Bakers Delight 2  danishes ( spinach/ fetta  & cheese/ham) which they don't call croissants as they aren't shaped or fluffy like them and which I always thought and still think are rather pricey but I was hungry and did not have breakfast or pack my lunch/dinner. Next onto Coles to buy a juice. I decided to buy their signature juice blend and 2 bottles of sparkling water as I won't have time to shop when I get home. No green juice today. I scoff my 3 danishes down but keep my juice for my break and my 2 bottles of water for home.

Arrive at work punch in no more then 10 minutes before my shift starts. Ah Boxing Day - a day full of madness humour and medical emergencies. Not even a cluster of 90 cases of COVID in the Northern Beaches could dampen all the action of Boxing Day and it's sales this year. Everyone ( almost) was masked up and out and about ( which is how it should have been from the start ie business almost as usual  except food/drink take away only , no group exercises classes no other close contact services eg beauty salons hairdressers etc but mandatory mask wearing minimal exceptions). Only now is everyone obeying mask wearing especially on public transport where free surgical masks are given out from Manly Vale onwards at the B Line bus stops. One team member thought I was the smart one being the only team member to constantly wear a mask throughout the time I worked at Myer at all times except during my breaks. 

So where should I start so much happened today.

A team member found my name badge - both sides of it and put it aside for me near the printer at Homewares - the found it stuck to a frying pan - typical trust me to lose my name badge on a frying pan! And I was actually previously joking with another team member about a customer finding my name badge in a frying pan they had purchased and taken home with them - no need to worry about that now looks like no customer will be taking me home in their frying pan now.  I guess another team member was correct when they told me not to worry and that it would turn up and I thought it was in the bin somewhere gone forever.

Being on the floor today a new red apron was put aside for me but it was not only rather small I was trying to work out what a "gifican" was which was what was embroided on the apron. Oh a "giftician" not a "gifican". These were very cheaply made sale aprons which looked as if they were leftovers from last year compared to the nice giftorium aprons. These aprons don't even say sale on them! Yep leftovers from last year - Christmas is well and truely over. So how long do we have to wear these aprons for? Who knows.

Onto my next story which was much more serious. I had a late lunch (what's new?) around 2.45 pm but this time decided to take a proper break outside of Myer. I drank my juice I had purchased in the morning before work from Coles then went for a walk around the mall ( I didn't get far only as far as Woolworths and not even venturing into any shops except one which wasn't really on sale and was empty). It wasn't long until I needed to go to the toilet so went to the only restrooms I knew next to Woolworths. It was not long after I was in the toilet cubicle that I heard a mother and daughter enter the cubicle next to me. She was talking to her daughter but I found it was a bit strange how the mother was giving her daughter instructions on going to the toilet and how she was instructing her daughter to give her her phone constantly which meant the daughter was not a child. Soon after I hear a frantic scream from the mother to anyone who could hear her that she needed help and for someone to call an ambulance and then she calls out that her daughter had collapsed and she didn't know why. I could not do anything as i was in the middle of  a well you know "bogg". A staff member dressed in black from I assume one of the food concessions in the food court heard her and grabbed a chair for the mother from outside and the next thing I hear from my cubicle is she is on the phone dialing triple zero and requesting an ambulance advising that her daughter had collapsed and did not know why. As soon as I leave my cubicle to wash my hands the chair is outside the cubicle but the mother had shut the door of her toilet cubicle for privacy and she is still on the phone to request an ambulance. Outside I go to Woolworths to ask tge manager where centre management is as there is a medical emergency in the toilets. They don't do anything except tell me concierge is upstairs. I spot the staff member who bought the chair into the restroom and asked if tge mother and daughter were ok. She said she was unsure as she closed the toilet door. I said she should have told concierge as they called an ambulance. If she wasn't going to do it I will so i took the travelator up to the next floor and ahdvised conceirge of the situation in the restrooms downstairs. It took forever for me to get up there as their was an elderly couple in front of me who blocked my way and the up esculator directly up to the next floor was out of order but the down one was not unfortunately. After that my lunch break was almost over and I made my way back to Myer to continue stock duties - yes again!!!!

I am never on register but team member "ticket girl" always is. Why does she get to go on register and i'm always stuck on the floor? I'm not even on kitchenware but bedding - I don't even like bedding! It's not my speciality. 

Yet another dodgey transaction. I absolutely hate counter signing returns for other team members or serving team member's family asnd friends as i have no idea whast they are upto. Today team member "I want to be a team leader" processed a return where a customer did have a valid receipt. Why did she need me to counter sign a return which is being returned within a valid period of time with a receipt? I said to her that she can type the receipt number in if it did not scan and she said that that never worked for her. That's bull crap as i have done this myself before and it works. No need to counter sign unless there is something wrong with it. She should just get authorisation for it from a manager. I advised and asked the team leader about this because i was concerned straight afterwards and she said if it is out of the return period then the system won't allow you to do it ie 30 days now 60 day return period. I just did not understand why this return did not process if it was within the returns period. This team member was the team member who processed a return without a receipt and I copped the blame for not long after I first started working at Myer ( refer previous blog) 

My stomach wasn't feeling the best today. I had already been to the toilet once at lunch time but it continued to gurgle the rest of my shift. Team member "ticket girl's" stomach wasn't feeling the best as well after lunch but she thinks it may have been something she purchased and ate  for lunch. We were complaining to other team members how our stomachs were feeling very well and team member "ticket girl" told other team members how she feels like her butt may explode and whatever it was there is something definitely going on down there that did not feel right. When we mentioned this  to another team member he said his stomach wasn't feeling very well in the morning. Someone asked if we drank the staff water - nope I won't touch it not even the prepacked apple and museli bars supplied in snaplock bags in the staff room laid out to help yourself to on the lunch tables. We didn't even have lunch together but we did see each other in the hard reserve because both of us were told by different managers to find the same stock to put out onto the floor but there isn't any of it ( she was asked by the customer service manager and I was asked by the assistant store manager). Not wanting to return with an empty trolley we decided to go to the glass reserve and bring back some glassware which team member "ticket girl "had to abondon to put up new sale signs. I did finish off the trolley for her before the end of our shift. I was asked to bring up what the customer service manager described as "the ugly green and white foral quilts" from the reserve. She says to me "You know the ones I mean they have sold out! " Really?I knew exactly the ones she meant and she was not wrong they were hideous! Something granny would have on  her bed. I advised her that there were only a few left down in reserve but will bring them up. I went down to the reserve with an empty cage and ah oh after grabbing the 2  remaining ugly green and white floral quilts and placing them in the cage. I had to quickly close the reserve door behind me, run and park my cage in a corner near the closest toilets abandoning it temporarily as my butt exploded. thankfully that was my last butt explosion for the day! Back to my cage I return the cage to the dock and put the 2 quilts back on the floor all the while my stomach was still gurgling. It was 20 - 30 minutes until my shift ended can i make it to the end and home without another butt explosion. I wanted to leave and go home early. Team member "ticket girl" wanted to call in sick tomorrow and I said i'm going to tell the customer service manager that we aren't feeling well. I said i'm not feeling well my butt exploded and she said "What did you stick up it?" trying not to laugh and leaning with my head down again a shelf I was trying to be serious because we both weren't feeling well in the stomach and I had lunch around 2 pm and we didn't have lunch together. 

This was in between a discussion about a team member previously having a discussion with the customer service manager and 2 team members about what brand of underwear he should purchase. He decided on a packet of Calvin Kleins and also purchased a set of glasses. He lined up to be served by someone at the Homewares counter but there was no one there so he asked me to serve him which I did noting the 3 pack of Calvin Klein underwear he purchased for himself. After he paid for them and the set of glasses,  he asked me for a blade to open the pack of underwear to take a look at them . So I pass him a pair of scissors. He opens the packet of underwear up and holds one pair up saying they are a bit big which I replied " Too late underwear is non returnable so you'll just have to wear them now!" I don't think he was very happy with that. Why didn't he check the sizing before he came to the counter ( obviously not whilst he was in discussion with the customer service manager and the 2 team members). I just had to tell the customer service manager about this especially after she told the story of how he asked them what type of underwear he should purchase to wear. Far too funny - I did not know whether to laugh or cry as this all went on when i wasn't feeling the best in my stomach. Team member "ticket girl" hoped that I got home ok without having another butt explosion and I said "At least you're in a car if you have one!"

After punching off at the staff entrance exit a little after 8 pm it was raining and dark outside and every store in the mall including Woolworths the supermarket was closed and the lights were all out. There was absolutely noone in the mall and I was afraid that I would not  be able to walk through the mall through the other carpark to get to the bus stop and have to take the long way round on the road and down the hill to get there which is a 20 minute walk . Most team members got a lift home or drove and I was lucky another team member from another department was also walking to the bus stop so she walked with me. I asked someone at the bus stop if they were waiting for the 280 Chatswood bus. They weren't they were waiting for a 197 bus and advised me the next one is at half past. I could not wait so walked ( more like ran) across the road via the pedestrian overpass to catch the next B line bus which I just made and got off at Spit Junction rather then at Neutral Bay Junction bus stop after seeing when the next connecting 144 bus was arriving - I had just a few minutes before the next 144 bus arrived at Spit Junction. So glad i didn't have to wait in case I had another "exploding butt" episode on my way home. No I was ok now my butt had finished exploding at work. I was so tired it was straight to bed and a sleep in tomorrow. Nothing intetesting on tv so I watch the food channel repeat episodes again. 

Sunday 27th December 2020 

Day Off

I did absolutely nothing today - not even venture out just as well as the number of COVID cases has now reached 122!

I just slept and ate a lot catching up on all the sleep and food I missed out on. 

I watched the food channel almost all day today but also washed a very large load of dirty dishes.

I did roast some potatos carrots capsicum and pumpkin with some smoked salmon today as well.

Also caught up on YouTube video watching and blogging.