Being Thankful

Sometimes you have those days were everything is put into perspective. 

I was mildly grumpy about being called into a 9.5 hour shift at work on the self serves. I was bracing myself for a long day of voiding transactions, relentless smiling and the countdown of hours until home time.

Throughout my entire day at work, there were about 3 things that happened which made me re-evaluate my bad attitude. But I will just briefly touch on one.

I asked one of the customers who was waiting on a price check how his weekend was going. He replied it was going alright but that he was just super busy at the moment, with heaps to organise. After asking him about his weekend some more, he told me that his house burned down about 3 weeks ago and that he lost everything. He wasn’t insured and had just bought $7000 worth of tools for his business which was all lost.

It was a reminder that you never know what is going on in the lives of strangers around you. It is so important to be positive and nice to people because you just don’t know what is going on in their lives.

There were other customers that day (and on other days) with predicaments that make me grateful to be in the position I am.

I really need to start treating work as an opportunity and a luxury rather than a chore.

Some Jams!

Here are some songs I can't get enough of at the moment!

And the lyric video is just as awesome :)

Adult Things. Boooo!

The toughest lesson I have learnt since leaving school and being in the semi-real-world is that you don't know what you've got until its gone.

For me, it wasn't that people or places or things left- in most cases I left them. Not leaving as in a heated feud with smashed plates and me storming out but rather me choosing to move to a city to pursue my goals. As many others around me did as well. 

Home is still there and not much has changed. I still have my amazing, incredible friends whenever I need them. And my family is still as loopy but loving as normal. 

But none of them are as readily accessible as they were in the past. I used to be able get my dose of everything and everyone I love in the one day. Nowadays it's only for special events that these things will line up. And even then I know that it's such a rare occasion and so struggle to enjoy it because I'm too busy anticipating the low that will follow once I leave.

But I have learnt that if you can relax and just be in the moment then it is all the more special. 

Irrelevant Anecdote

This is the more light hearted version of today's lesson in morals, life lessons, philosophy, reflections, general moping that occurred earlier. Such fun!

True Story. Since moving out of home, arguably the second most important thing I have learnt has to do with ye olde toilet paper. Call it what you will, pretend bowel movements don't happen or even defiantly ignore this potty post.

But I am here to argue that toilet paper is one of the most grossly underappreciated luxuries of our lives.

It is not until your housemates have an unspoken toilet paper standoff that results in a THREE WEEK DROUGHT that you can truly appreciate toilet paper.

And by drought I mean that we had exhausted any other form of paper that could be interpreted as toilet paper.

I'm sorry I had to tell you that. You don't deserve to know the finer details of my communal bathroom. I wouldn't normally speak of such things (not really true) but it is important to spread the word. 

No one appreciates toilet paper until it's too late!

Lifestyle of the Rich and Famous

Why do people care about celebrities so much? It baffles me to think that someone would dedicate time from their life to read a magazine article about someone else's day to day motions. 

Now I'm not talking about reading biographies or other personal accounts- often they are inspirational and fulfilling. 

I am squarely looking at media which aims to spread gossip, rumours and mind-numbing facts and pictures about famous people that we are supposed to care about.

Why do people give a moment’s thought to whether American Talk Show Host XYZ took his dog to the park? Or that Busty Movie Star A ordered a pizza and got it delivered? Or that Photogenic Celebrity Child B can now put her shoes on unassisted? Do people legitimately care?

I do not understand why movie stars, actors and actresses are held so high. I respect that they work very hard and have a lot of outside influences which can make their job difficult. But at the end of day, they are people whose particular talent and calling in life is absorbing another character. Other people have talents too- psychologists are good listeners, nurses are good at taking care of people and builders are good planners. And each of them have chosen to embrace their talent as their profession. Good for them. But why do people care so much when someone is in a movie?

Is it because deep down we all wish we were rich and famous and drove 10 cars and had photographers follow us around 24/7? So much so that we fantasize what our life would be like if only we were rich and famous and needing the media to remind us what could have been.

 Maybe people read these articles because they want to remind themselves that celebrities are just normal people. Why! Celebrities are no different from you or I here just trying to pay the phone bill, mop the floor and put dinner on the table!  How very inspiring -.-

I suppose that celebrities donate to charity, become ambassadors for worthy causes and give humanitarian aid. This is honourable and I can see why people would appreciate these efforts.

But does that mean we need to follow their every move, imitate their fashion choices and buy the same products as them? I certainly don’t think so.

Image credit to http://www1.pictures.zimbio.com/pc/Nicky%2BHilton%2BNicky%2BHilton%2BBraves%2BRain%2BPaparazzi%2ByDB4Cf-X0Cil.jpg

The Golden Ticket

As incredibly thrilling as my casual job in retail is, I often find myself day dreaming when I am supposed to be organizing shelves and tidying products. Like when I was in our toy department today, I was arranging the stock when a certain product caught my eye. That product was a set of Pokémon Trading Cards. Each set boasting the potential of an extremely rare card with amazing powers inside. My mind instantly threw me back to my childhood were my primary school classmates traded the cards during break time. There was always such excitement when opening a new pack- would the extremely rare card with amazing powers be in your set?? The chances were slim but it was possible. Then when you were lucky enough to acquire a special card, normally signalled by a shiny border or sparkly background, imaginations would run wild as to what this extremely rare card with amazing powers could achieve- what would your jealous classmates give for this card?!

The desire to get lucky and posses something special is an intense and addictive emotion for humans (not to mention marketing genius as children relentlessly pester their parents to buy the products). But this rush isn't just limited to Pokemon Cards. There were Footy Tazos in chip packets, exclusive toys in cereal boxes and of course the chance to instantly win another Mars Bar if your wrapper revealed a winning code. 

Charlie's freaking out
Image Credit: http://i50.tinypic.com/2rr8lra.gif

It reminds me of the Golden Ticket in Willy Wonka. The thrill and anticipation of watching them open each chocolate bar, hoping to see that golden shimmer was excruciating. But the winning feeling! The winning feeling is so euphoric you can't help pin your hopes onto the dream.

Whilst many of the above listed promotions and gimmicks are targeted at children, it occurred to me that there are just as many ways that adults seek this rush. For example, buying a scratchie. The chances of substantially gaining from a scratchie are very slim, but the rush and anticipation of revealing the winning panels is addictive. All the while dreaming of what you would do if you were so lucky to win. 

I love a scratchie as much as the next person- it is exciting to allow yourself to unashamedly hope for a few moments. But usually reality steps in, ending your daydream. In my case- a customer asking for directions to the hair dryers….  

The G20

What an adventure! From the beginning to the very end, being a volunteer at the G20 Leaders Summit is an experience I will never forget. 

The interview and application process was lengthy but rewarding, as the number of applicants exceeded organiser’s expectations. I am so grateful that I was included on the volunteer team, especially once I started to meet other volunteers. They were all very qualified, with relevant work experience and wonderful resumes. I was feeling slightly overwhelmed by my comparative inexperience and lack of knowledge, but it was great to learn from such enthusiastic people. I often had to ask a fellow volunteer the name of an important delegate when we would occasionally walk past one in the massive corridors of the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC).

The Convention Centre is massive and was perfect for the event. Within the BCEC was the International Media Centre (IMC). As a ‘Media Assistant’ volunteer, I was stationed there. What an incredible space. They were rows and rows and rows of desks, each equipped with mouse pad, pen and other G20 memorabilia that we dutifully straightened a number of times. At theses desks were hard working journalists, furiously typing away at their laptops, calling their bosses or eating a complementary meal (more on the free food later). Each news organisation also got their own little hut within the IMC where they set up their expensive technology, discussed private matters and could stash as much free food there without judgement as they wanted. Overlooking the rows of desks was an elevated stand- stretching the length of 1/3 of the room- with cameras, lights and local journalists who were crossing live back to their newsroom. Local news anchors such as Sharon Ghidella and Melissa Downes both gave the volunteers warm smiles as we walked around.  The excitement and energy in the massive room was amazing. For me, being a part of that room confirmed that Journalism is the career path I want to follow.

Speaking of following, us media volunteers were a bunch of relentless, ruthless go-getters when it came to escorting politicians and delegates. A lot of volunteers shared the goal of wanting to see Barack Obama, President of the United States, before the Summit was over. And on the last day, in the last 2 hours, some of us had the opportunity. We hung around the entrance to his press conference room like a bad smell. Even after being told to go away, we were soon back, hoping for the chance to see him speak. And we eventually got let in. It was quite surreal to be in the same room as the President of the United States.

I was also privileged to attend other press conferences and not only listen to those speaking but also witness firsthand the way that a real-life press conference works. It was great to see journalists asking questions and then following them up when the answer wasn’t enough. And photographers running around, trying to get THAT photo. I didn’t realise photographers were so competitive.

So that is all well and good but at least a paragraph of this blog has to be devoted to the free food on offer. There was sooo much food. It was like Hogwarts. There were massive dining halls throughout the BCEC which served every cuisine from every culture. The smell was incredible. Additionally, there was cafes surrounding the IMC, which were like normal cafes except you didn’t have to pay for a thing! It was actually really weird receiving food and not paying for it.

The entire G20 experience was incredible, and even though I was nervous, as international tensions were quite high, the whole week went off without a hitch. Many thanks to everyone who ensured this, including the police, organisers, security and fellow volunteers. It was so amazing to meet so many wonderful people and to experience a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.