Ok...WTF is wrong with the Olypmic 2012 Designers??

The question has to be asked- What the hell is wrong with the creative team for the 2012 London Olympics! Are these guys on acid or am I seriously not seeing something here that they are?!?

Bella: Ok, being in the design industry myself, I'm usually quite open to anything design related. I like to keep an open mind, consider new and fresh design ideas and concepts and often find inspiration from designers or styles outside of my own creative sphere. HOWEVER...I am absolutely floored by the design concepts that have been put forward and then APPROVED for the 2012 London Olympics.

First was the release of their abysmal 2012 Olympics logo! Words fail me as to how shit I think this logo is. I mean...I've seen abstract...but this is just poo on paper or website or wherever this crappy logo happens to be adorned. I can't believe someone got PAID to design this. And millions of people felt the same. Below are just some variations of how this logo has been interpreted.

The original Logo

And then some variations....

But now, the Olympics committee has released the new mascots for the games, Wenlock and Mandeville. Ok firstly...their names...gay much?? What kind of names are these?!? Now as to how they look....they're just plain creepy! I sure as hell wouldn't want anything emblazoned with these weirdo mascots on it. I mean...I don't know if the picture below portrays just how.....CRAP they are.

This is actually part of the official release from the committee:

"Two parts-Pokemon to one-part lava lamp with yellow 'Taxi' lights on their foreheads, the distinctive characters are intended to capture the imagination of children and work as well in the digital world as they will in costume form at trackside in 2012.

They are a central part of London's £70 million merchandising budget, and organisers hope the mascots will contribute up to 20 per cent of that sum through sales of T-shirts, key-rings, tea-towels and the like.

The Cyclops design allows the mascots' eyes to work as lenses, and digital cameras in the shape of the characters will be available."

HUH?! These don't look like Pokemons. They look like some pretty scary, deranged blobs things that don't really look like anything at all. Maybe deformed Teletubbies? And 'Taxi' lights?? Yeah......ok...I can really see the relevance there...NOT! And £70 million!!! What a waste of money!! 20 per cent to be contributed by these creepy characters through sales of merchandise?? I don't think so! I wouldn't want these guys on my toilet paper. Oh god, hand me a crayon and some play-do and I'll have a better looking logo and Mascots in no time!

Well that's my rant over. But I really think that maybe I'm in the wrong design job here. Maybe I'm setting my heights just a little too high?

Twin Speak: A New Monthly Feature - Love it or Leave it

Love it or Leave it will be our monthly twin review on all things life, love and more. Even though we're twins we often have very different opinions about things we love and things we hate. Each month we hope to bring you a a new product, activity, social outing, trend or issue which we will either Love or Leave it!

Bella: I have a bit of a habit of becoming obsessed with a new product, trend or activity only to loose interest in that said habit a few months later. The advantage of this is that I'm always trying out new things! Frankie and I thought why not use our flighty, indecisive attitudes to our advantage and start rating these obsessions for the benefit of all who read our blog. (We know there must be thousands who could benefit) :)

So this month we thought we'd both rate our recent obsession with a new iPhone app we have called Words With Friends. Now if you're like us and you know of this product, you might also be slightly obsessed with it. I've been using this application non stop for close to two weeks. My workload is piling up and don't even try speaking to me unless it's via the chat feature in the app as well. I've had to change the screen protector several times due to the amount of food I've spilt on it as I can barely take my eyes from the screen while I eat. This little game is fun, addictive and easy. It's Scrabble for your iPhone! You can play it with friends who have iPhone and also have this app. You can play random opponents or you can even play a game directly from your phone and pass and play to others in the same room.

I LOVE this app and can't get enough and I highly recommend it to anyone else who has an iPhone. Leave it?? I don't think so!


Frankie: I too can get a bit obsessed with things and this time is no exception. I am a self confessed 'Words with Friends' junkie.

I first started battling it out with friends but when that didn't satisfy my need to scrabble...I turned to random strangers and am now srabbling it out with two strangers.

I love the feeling you get when you get a top point score, or when you manage to use those hard letters like 'X' or 'Z' or even better when you manage to make a word combo using an 'X' or 'Z' on a TRIPLE WORD SCORE. Oh god...I'm getting a little excited now just thinking about that.

So summing up... I would have to 'Love it, Love it, Love it'.
If you have an iphone and don't have this addictive little app...download it now!!!!

:)

Procrastinating, excuses and just being lost in general

Oh my, yes we have definitely been lost in the blogoshpere of the last several months. How slack are we that we haven't put pen to paper (typing to screen) for 6 months!!

Bella: I'm not too bad when it comes to procrastinating. I pride myself on being someone that isn't what I call a 'gunna'. I'm gunna do this and I'm gunna do that and I'm gunna get round to it. I generally make up my mind to do something and then carry through. But...like everyone, I have certain passions which I am committed to and then I let other things fall by the wayside. Blogging would have to be one in the latter bunch. A few years ago, Frankie and I were so eager to start putting our daily random thoughts out there into the blogosphere. Not so much for other people to read but just so we had an outlet for all passions, thoughts, frustrations and loves. I go through phases where I feel I really need a place to vent to stop from going crazy. And then, I have times where I am just at peace with everything and happy to cruise along either way. Well I'm happy to say that life is good..but I have been getting that itching feeling that I need to outlet some of my creative, crazy, happy, sad emotions again. It also got me thinking about what else I have wanted to complete or do that I haven't yet gotten around to, made excuses for, procrastinated or just got lost in general.

Well there is:

1. To learn another language; Indonesian (still a long goal in progress)


2. To have regular book meets and discussions (It doesn't help that it's only me and Frankie in the club)


3. Run a 10km run this year. (I'm currently training for this one....but it's going slowly)


4. Learn how to sew and start making myself clothes (This one I'm kind of halfway..I can sew ok but don't want to wear anything I make)


5. Clean out my cupboards (I admit it. I'm procrastinating this one)

Frankie:Well I will admit I am a procrastinator. Just getting to write this blog after such a long break was a bit of a mission for me.

I tend to not like doing the things that aren't fun...you know, like grocery shopping, cleaning, paying bills. The things we hate but are necessities in life. So I have decided to see how I can spruce up these mundane tasks so I can enjoy them more or not have them be the bane of my existence. So how am I going to accomplish this...

Tasks I hate to do but must...

1. Grocery shopping. I hate it. I have said that I would rather be anorexic at times than go shopping. The mayhem, the squashy isles, the trolley in the ankles...it all just cause me great anxiety and grief. So one idea I have come up with to increase fun levels is to turn it into a game. Kind of like the 'Great amazing 'shopping' race'. So my shopping buddy and I will have certain time limits and challenges to accomplish during our shopping expedition that we must achieve in order to win the game. If we fail to achieve certain challenges during the game, we must forfeit one item from our trolley. So not only will this makes dull grocery shopping more exciting...it might also save us on our shopping bill :)


2. The clean the house...again, another chore that really bores me. I can hardly pretend to like this. So what I have come up with here is to turn it into a exercise/cleaning session. Set the clock and go, go, go...get whatever I can get done in one hour and whatever falls out of my one hour exercise time, "Oh well??" Will just have to wait till next session :)


3. Finally paying bills. Some of my bills are automatic and leave me with nothing to think about. But then there are other bills where I have to log in online, or phone bank or even worse...speak to a rep to organise payment. So what I have decided to do for this one is, call up all outstanding bill companies and speak in a really annoying voice and speak and 20 miles per hour and try and see which company I can annoy most?? I'll have to work on this one because I still think this would annoy me more??

Twin Speak...Sales Assistants...what won't they say to get a sale??

Is it just me, or do the sales assistants of today seem to be getting dumber and dumber? I can't believe some of the things people will say in retail to either make a sale or keep one??

Frankie: Now I know I shouldn't generalise the entire 'retail community' because I have also been served by selling superstars. But let's face it. They're a dying breed. Today, it's more likely that you'll be served by young and very naive shop assistants.

For example, I will give you some of the latest retail escapades I have encountered and walked out shaking my head in total disbelief.

Shop One:

I recently bought a leather jacket and noticed that the cuff on one of the sleeves was all crushed and very thin and wearing through. Now, I know leather is an imperfect fabric and there will be differences in the leather. However, this looked more like a manufacturers flaw. Like for example, when I once saw a jacket which had the sheep branding stamp on the arm of the jacket??? Flaw I think so!!!

So I went to see if I could get an exchange of the jacket for another one but the shop assistant was adamant that the jacket was fine and that it was the natural look of the jacket? His explanation went something like this:

Shop Assistant:"Um have you ever bought a leather jacket before.
Me: Not a jacket but many other leather items like bags and shoes.
Shop Assistant: Oh well then, you probably aren't that familiar with leather then. You see, this is just the natural look of the jacket. The sheep this piece of leather came from probably lent up against a barb wire fence and hurt itself and scared it's skin. Or it could have even had a fight with another sheep. Yep, there's nothing wrong with this jacket
Me: You're a fucking idiot!!

Shop Two:
I walked into a shop and noticed this gorgeous silver bag that was perched on a very high stand so I couldn't actually touch the product. I asked the shop assistant if it was leather (yes, I like my leather products) and she replied,

Shop assistant: Um, well I don't think it's leather because, um there aren't any silver cows so um I think it is Pleather??
Me: Oh ok, thanks then?? (walking out the store and thinking in my head, "right, well it's news to me that there a paddocks full of cows running around with Louis Vuitton monograms all over their ass)????

What has happened to decent service and information these days????

Bella: Well I don't think this is bad customer service so much as just really stupid people. I recently read about a new environmental epidemic which could be the contributing factor to this. It's called the 'Bozone Layer'.

Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating.
Use: The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

Twin Speak...The Human Parrot!

When it comes to people repeating themselves I can get slightly irritated. Human Parrots!!! Parroting and repeating themselves all day long...

Frankie: My partner's mum, Susan, has this habit of repeating herself or repeating what someone else says ALL THE TIME!!!

We had a get-together lunch the other day. We had steak, prawns, rice and salad. It was all very nice and everyone commented on the delicious spread, especially Susan. That's right! I shit you not...she repeated herself 7 unbearable times that the salad was lovely!!! "This salad is lovely, it goes great when you mix it with rice!" And just in case you didn't catch it, "This salad is lovely, it goes great when you mix it with rice!"

In the space of 20 minutes, she repeated at separate occasions the above phrase. It was ridiculous!!! What possesses a person to act like a parrot and repeat themselves that many times. Now, before you think of me as some cruel hearted person, she's not old, so it is not Alzheimer's. She is not mentally unstable. So WHY must she always repeat herself.

It drives me insane. After the 5th time she said it, I started praying that it was the last time I was going to hear how fucking fantastic the salad was. But no, I was lucky enough to hear it a 6th time and the 7th time, I involuntarily dropped my fork in frustration.

Her another annoying habit is repeating what another person says. For example, we were all gathered at my partner's sister's house, we were all about to eat and the sister says, "everybody help themselves and start eating", and then on queue, Sally repeats, "everybody help themselves and start eating". Umm, hello, is there an echo in the room. Didn't someone just say that...

God, it's so annoying. I really try, I really do...but I just can't find a way ignore this one annoying habit!!!

Bella: I also find it annoying when people repeat themselves but not in the same sense as Frankie. I don't mind so much when someone repeats what they say in direct conversation with you. My husband's a bit of a ramble talker and often repeats himself or goes over small details in his conversation to get a point across.

What annoys me is when people constantly say and repeat what they are going to do, achieve, get to, over and over again. I don't think there is a character trait that annoys me more than....procrastinating!

I think I feel so strongly about it because at the moment I work in an environment where my superior is a bit of a procrastinator. I feel like we are forever having these endless meetings to discuss, discuss, discuss but we NEVER put into action anything we discuss. It shits me to tears! I get so over talking about things and I just want to do it. I am the kind of person where I will say what I'm going to do and then do it! Sometimes I just want to shake people by the shoulders when I here them saying about their life that they just didn't get round to it...or I was gonna do this and I was gonna do that. I just want to yell in their face "Suck it UP and get on with it!!".

Yeah..that annoys me a bit :)

Weird and Wonderful Weather

I arrived to work this morning to view these amazing pictures displayed on a news report online.

Sydney's Walsh Bay covered with dust.

Dust storm blankets Sydney. Two lone walkers on the beach.

Sydney's Bondi Beach

Red Sky

Bella: These images are of Sydney, Australia being covered in an amazing red dust storm. It's not everyday that a phenomenal natural occurrence like this happens and I found these images simply breathtaking. Almost apocalyptic but thankfully no harm done other than poor visibility in the city and a blanket layer of red dust over Sydney.

When I view images like this of the natural wonders happening around us it always makes me stop and appreciate the power of the world we live in. Unfortunately not all natural weather events like this are harmless as we know but I'm still awed by it's magnificence.

Twin Speak: System Crash!

Why is it that we have come to expect computers to have system crashes and therefore need regular maintenance and updates, yet when it comes to people, we're so unforgiving sometimes and expect so much more from one another??

Frankie: Every now and then I get to a point in my life where I need to take a step back, reevaluate and refocus my attention. I can sometimes let everything overwhelm me and get the better of me. It's one of my bad habits...dwelling on the negative and letting it get me down.

Occasionally, I need to 'reboot' my system and restart the system. However, I find that people can be so callous and unforgiving when it comes to the human error. The human need to relax, recoup and regenerate our strength.

I came to the point where I was overwhelmed by work, life stresses and other personal issues. My work and life balance was in disarray and hence leaving me to make bad judgments and errors at work, but did I get any understanding when I needed a break. No!

How come, it is totally acceptable to expect system crashes from our computers, the very hard drive we work off yet when it comes to human crashes, we are considered inadequate, performing poorly or in need of additional training rather than simply accepting that we all need to take a break every now and then and reevaluate our priorities and commitments.

Has it come to the point where we treat our 'computers' better than our human assets?? Are we desensitized to human error because of the advance of technology, convenience and the assistance of our silly computers?

Bella: We are our own harshest critics and I think the expectations placed on us in our lives and in today's society are becoming very hard to meet. We need to work longer hours, to pay bigger mortgages, to send our kids to better schools, to buy more modern amenities to make our life easier, only to have no time to use them or enjoy them because we're too busy doing other chores and housework because it's the only time we have!

It does get overwhelming sometimes. When you're constantly thinking how you're going to keep your head above water especially in these uncertain times.

But, I do take comfort and am grateful for everything I do have because I know that there is always a family or a person doing it tougher than I am. I feel for these people and can only imagine how much harder life really can be for some. For people that have no work at all or no prospects on the horizon, for families with sick children or family members to take care of, for people who have no mortgage to pay because the bank took their home or to people who simply can't afford to eat.

So I say, have your little system crash and your spak attack because you'll probably feel better after, take some time out but then go back out there with your head held high and know that you can only do what you can do and that's the best you can expect from yourself :)

The Book Club...

Recently, Bella and I started a book club. We love our books and thankfully found some friends who also share a strong interest in reading. Well, after our second meeting we realized that nearly all avid readers, have one way or another had a life altering book experience or have an absolute favourite book that would be on the top of a “Things I would take with me in a house fire’ list.

So we thought we would share with you our all time favourite book and why..

Frankie: The Bronze Horseman – Paullina Simons

I fell in love with the characters of this war/love epic. Now, normally I would not have picked this book up. For two reasons, I am not a love story fan and I find war novels depressing. The age old adage, ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ prevented me from ever picking up this goodie. But thankfully I did. I was so engrossed by the story of these two love struck kids during the tragedy of war that I began to wonder…”Is there really love like that out there??”

I love this book for two reason:

1. The story, hardship and triumphs of these two characters was heartwarming

2. It opened my eyes to 2 whole new genres and let me be more open minded with my book choices

And best of all this series is a Trilogy :)

Bella: The Bronze Horseman – Paullina Simons

Yes. We actually do both have the same all time favourite book. The only difference being that this would not be on the top of my "thing to take in a house fire" list because Frankie actually has my copy :) And I'm still waiting for it's return...ahem...Frankie.

I loved this book like no other I've ever read. Pretty big statement I know. It was moving, emotional and deeply touching. If you haven't read this book you should. I think it was beautiful.

TwinSpeak: When You Feel Ripped Off

Have you ever purchased something and it turns out you didn't get what you paid for? When you have really high expectations about something and then you are bitterly disappointed by what you receive and just feel plain ripped off?

Bella: I am pretty much a chocolate addict. I love, love, love it. On the weekend, I noticed a new flavour of Kit Kat Chunky. Kit Kat Chunky Cookies and Cream!! I love Kit Kat Chunkies and I love Cookies and Cream. It was my ultimate dream chocolate bar. Or so I thought.

With all the anticipation of a five year old opening their Christmas presents from Santa, I opened my chocolate bar only to find that it was a defect!! Sub standard and a reject at best. It should have never passed the Kit Kat quality test. Half the top of the chocolate bar was missing, leaving a crumbly mess of wafer. Then when I bit into it, it got worse! Half the actual cookies and cream filling was also missing! It was like this little guy tried to escape off the conveyor belt and missed half the process only to be packaged up and sent away as is.

So what to do??? I emailed Nestle to inform them of my customer dissatisfaction complete with photos. I was of course hoping that I would get a full box of Kit Kats for my trouble. Instead I was offered a cheque for $1.20 to replace the cost of the Kit Kat. It would cost me more in petrol, time and effort to just cash the cheque!

Oh well you can't win them all :)

Frankie: Well, I recently experienced a bad eBay purchase. You have to be careful of those shifty sellers on eBay and normally I am. I bought this beautiful dress, or so I thought, on eBay. The photo displaying the dress looked like a professional clipping from a magazine. I asked the seller if the dress is the exact same style, brand etc as in the picture and I was told yes. So for $50, I thought I was getting a bargain buy.

Fast forward 2 weeks later and I get my supposed designer dress. Not only was it a knock off version, the quality was abysmal. I've bought knock-off items before and you'd be pretty hard pressed to pick up the original and imitation in a line up. However, this imitation was a joke. It was made from some cheap polyester fabric, there were stitches loose down the side of the dress, what looked to be a shoe print on the hem of the dress and I swear it had been worn...to top it off, the dress was advertised as green and the one I got was a grey???

So yes, I felt mighty ripped and pissed off. I had to send the horrible item back to the seller I bought it from and was out of pocket $10 to post the hideous thing back. So beware people of dodgy sellers out there.

TwinSpeak...When times are tough

With all this talk of recession and the hard economic situation around the world, I often wonder how some people are managing. What do people do to get by from day to day. How do you save a buck when times are tough?

Bella: I ask this question of myself often. How can I save money? Where can I cut down on my spending? What can I sacrifice? Like the other day, I only bought one pair of Tony Bianco shoes instead of two :) On a serious note though I have become more conscious of things like, meal planning and organising meals in advance. Rather than just wait until the evening and then decide what to cook or go out and get something, I've become more organised in planning ahead and shopping for exactly what I need. I've started turning off appliances around the house of an evening or when I know they're not going to be used for awhile and even turn of the modem connection. I make sure to turn off lights when no one is in the room. I don't know if these things save a great deal money but it can't hurt.

Today I was in McDonalds and I noticed something that made me laugh.

There was a gentleman who had setup his laptop and was using the free WiFi. Not unusual, No. Until I noticed he had also setup his gigantic printer on the table next to him! He also had his mouse and mouse pad and what looked like a month's worth of paperwork on the table next to him. I assume he was catching up on his Internet banking and downloads??

Would you go that far to save a buck??? Me, personally, no I wouldn't.

I decided to dub this man Terri the Tightarse :)

TwinSpeak: Phone calls you weren't meant to get

Have you ever received a phone call from someone only to realise they must have accidentally called you? Those incidents where you can hear the caller but they can't hear you? Then have you ever stayed listening on the line only to realise they are bitching about you? No...well this is exactly what happened to me.

Bella: I'm sure the first big question you're wanting to know is 'Who' would do that? It's the same first question all my friends had asked me when I told them about this story. Well..hilarious to say...it was my husband!

For some reason his bluetooth headset kept dialling the last number dialled, which was me. When I'd answer I could hear him speaking but he couldn't hear me because he wasn't wearing the headset. This happened three times. On the third time however I tried to get his attention. I didn't know where his headset was but I tried to scream into the phone anyway and call his name. It didn't work because he just kept on talking. After another second though, I caught my name in the conversation and that's when I started listening in.

He was 'complaining' to a work mate that the weekends just seem to fly by and that whenever I suggest we do something or go shopping, it turns out to be a whole day event. On and on he went about how he prefers to just work outside and get the yard done yet I 'demand' that we spend the weekend together. He even went as far to say that not 2 weekends before he had surprised me and taken me to Melbourne for the whole weekend and then not even 5 days later how many brownie point does he have....'0'.

Needless to say I was rather annoyed. Mostly because most of what he was saying was completely untrue. I actually prefer to go out shopping by myself and enjoy having time apart. I know he likes to work on his garden so I don't often ask to do things for the whole day or even whole weekend. Most recently he was annoyed at me because I had things planned for the weekend and he was wondering when we would do something together??? So I could only put it down to 'boy talk' and the things you sometimes say in the presence of others just to keep a conversation going. Still, I text him to let know that his phone played up again and to kindly point out a few of the things I heard. His phone was off for the rest of the day and unsurprisingly when I got home, the hallway was littered with chocolates leading to a very sheepish looking husband.

Oh well...these things happen and I got chocolate out of it :)

TwinSpeak: How far can you stretch a use by date?

To eat or not to eat. That is the question. Well, that was the question I pondered today when I considered drinking 2 day old milk because I couldn't be bothered going to the store to get some more. So how far are you prepared to stretch a use by date?

Bella: The milk didn't smell too bad...hardly even sour at all. It was almost half full as well...I didn't want to waste it in these tough economic times? But don't worry, I'm glad to say that I shortly snapped out of my morning sleepy haze and realised that no...I really didn't want a bout of sickness or nausea this morning.

But the question still remains...how far are some people prepared to push use by dates? I think it really depends on the manufacturers label and whether it is a 'Use by Date' or a 'Best Before' date. To my understanding the latter meaning; this item is at it's best quality if consumed before the 'Best Before' date. and the former meaning; this item must be consumed before the 'Use By Date' if you want to avoid food poisoning.

I have to admit that I am probably a bit more relaxed than I should be when it comes to acknowledging use by/best before dates. I grew up with a Father who didn't tolerate kids not eating what was given to them and not eating something because of a bit of mould is just plain 'fussy' and 'overcautious'. We toughed it out. I do have my limits though.

- When it comes to Best Before dates, I'll pretty much eat it as long as it's no more than I'd say 6 months overdue. It's just going to be stale or not at it's optimum freshness. Best Before items are usually non perishable and dry goods that can be stored in a pantry.

Use By Dates and what I won't do:
- One thing I am super fussy about is meat. I won't eat it if it has any kind of off smell or has been out too long.
- If it's slimy. Some things you just can't wash off.
- If the entire thing is sprouting mould and looks like a science project. Beyond salvageable.

Use by Dates and things I will do:
- Cheese. If it's a large block and one end has a little mould. I have been known to cut off one end and use the other.
- Crumpets/Bread. Crumpets seem to go mouldy really fast. Depending on mould coverage and if it's only really light, I have also been known to pick off the few little bits of mould and gouge a hole in it to get the surrounding area.
- Bottled sauces- If I have a pesto sauce or really nice curry paste that may have gone a little bad just on the top. I'll scoop out a large dollop of the top layer and use the rest.

I know I'm definitely not going to get top marks in food hygiene but I hate wastage and I've always believed a few germs aren't going to hurt anyone. Within reason. I always think that I'm sure there are people in other parts of the world who have eaten worse so if I can save it...I will :)

Frankie: I am pretty flexible when it comes to use by dates. They're really only there as a recommended guide after all :)

Of course, meat, I am careful with. I don't want to be rolling around the bathroom floor due to the pain from extreme food poisoning. But dry foods...I tend to stretch out quite a bit.

Especially during these tough times I feel that you just need to toughen up!! I have stretched out the life span of my bread, cheese, veges and the like just to save some money. If the veges are a little brown and flexible, oh well, extra flavour, if the bread seems to be dry and stale, I just toast it and who knows the difference, moldy, dry cheese, just cut the bad bits off. You see!!! There really isn't anything wrong with extending the shelf life of your groceries and produce.

As a matter of fact, I think people have become too precious. This guy I work with, he won't eat an avocado unless it is fluorescent green. If it's a day old and has that slight, brown colouring from the air...nope, won't eat it.

Back in the olden days, did people throw out food because it was a little brown??? I don't think so.

And to tell you the truth, I think that these so called 'use by dates' are a marketing ploy, in order to get people worried and throw out their food sooner in order to purchase more. It's a tactic to increase the sales and prey on our vulnerability. Have you noticed how the life span of our foods are getting shorter?? I looked at the UBD for one item the other day and it expired in 4 days??? Yes, it's time to abolish the deceiving UBD and use our own judgement of what's good and what's bad :)

TwinSpeak: When accidents happen

Have you ever made a social etiquette faux pas only to realise too little too late that it's happened? We've all had accidents before and those instances where we could have been more courteous in a social situation. What do you do about it when you realise?

Bella: Today I was on my way to work and realised that I could do with some fuel. I wasn't exactly running late but I like to be on time or a few minutes early. I pulled into a petrol station on the way to work and noticed a car pulling away from the pumps in the direction of the exit. I pulled in to the pump furthest to the front so that another car could get in behind me.

I started pumping my fuel and while doing so noticed that a lady in station wagon was yelling something out her window in the direction of everyone pumping fuel. It looked like she was actually yelling something at me and it also looked quite aggressive. It was only then it dawned on me what happened and what she was saying. The lady the I thought had been pulling out was actually trying to turn her car around and drive in the opposite way so she could fill up on the right side? She was yelling out something about wanting to turn around and pull in. In my one minded focus to get in and get fuel, I didn't realise what this lady was trying to do. I don't think she even managed to even start turning her car around because I pulled straight in. At first I thought, how stupid...what did she think was going to happen? She didn't have her indicator on, plus the petrol hoses aren't long enough to reach right to the other side??? Of course next, I felt pretty bad because had it been me in the same situation I would also be pissed.

I did consider apologising to this lady when we were within talking distance. Either I could go over to her or wait for her to come to me. I mean, I had technically pushed in front of someone who had been there before me to get fuel. But then I also felt a little defiant because I kept reasoning she was the one who pulled out? In the end my decision was made for a few reasons, One; this lady looked rather....rough. She was dishevelled, angry and had a load of screaming kids in the back seat. I didn't think she would be all to receptive to my apology. Two; By the time I had paid for my fuel and walked back to my car to leave she was still busy pumping fuel and completely preoccupied. I reasoned if she was that angry about it, maybe she would be looking out for me waiting for an apology or explanation? Either way, I drove away without another thought.

Frankie:Yes, I am sure we've all been guilty of some sort of little accident or slip up like this. I am sure you didn't mean it and I think sometimes people need to have some understanding in times like these.

I remember when I had accidentally cut someone off while merging into traffic. It was purely accidental and the person had to swerve suddenly to miss me. I was so apologetic and clearly mistaken in my actions, but of course I didn't do it on purpose. Who would?? Why would I want another car to plow right into me. I tried to convey how sorry I was for the bad judgement in my driving but the driver was so enraged they were screaming expletives at me out their window, sped up, then cut me off as revenge and to top it off, pulled up right next to me while we were at the lights and insisted that I get out of my car while she was flipping the bird and screaming "F*#k you" at me???? Yeah ok???

Twin Speak...Social Networking Etiquette

With the explosion of all these social networking sights, with the accessibility of knowing how your friends are and know what they are doing almost at any given time, I have began to question..."What is the appropriate social networking etiquette?"

Frankie: I like having the conveniences of modern technology but lately I have began to find it somewhat inconvenient. I have facebook, myspace and most recently twitter. Most of my friends and workmates are all added on facebook and when I log onto facebook I find that I have close to 20 friends at any given time also logged on. What is the polite thing to do?? Do I say 'Hi' to all these 20 friends.

In the real world, if we saw our friends strolling down the street, of course you would say Hello to them. However, now with all these conveniences and friends at reach at the tap of a key, should you say 'Hello' to your online friends also?? Isn't it rude not to acknowledge someone when they are within your 'virtual' space?? Has it become acceptable to pick the people you feel like talking to?? Has this virtual snubbing become the same thing as when you see a friend in public and casually turn the opposite direction to avoid saying Hello?? And lets not lie...we've all done it :)

I still struggle to ignore friends online and sometimes find myself spending close to an hour chatting to people when all I wanted to do was check my messages. It's gotten to the point now that I sometimes leave myself logged off, just so I don't feel the guilt of social snubbing??

Has the social networking conveniences changed the way we interact with friends and acquaintances so much that we've become complacent of our friends?? What is the etiquette here??

TwinSpeak: How can you be considerately inconsiderate?

Well when it rains it pours! Today's post is dedicated yet again to another work gripe and my question today is how can I be considerately inconsiderate.

Bella: We have a coffee machine at work but occasionally I will feel like having a 'real' coffee made so I'll stop off at the local cafe down the road from work. When I do this, I'll always text my other colleagues if they'd like one as well. My boss and I are really good where I'll get the coffees one time and then he'll get it the next. We don't need to keep tabs and it always works out fair.

There is also a third colleague who is included in our coffee run. Whenever either my boss or myself text guaranteed each and every time this colleague would like a coffee as well. The problem is....he rarely (I'm not going to say never because that's not true but it's closer to never than it is rarely) shares the turn and picks up the tab. At first I didn't think much about it but now it is getting really really annoying.

You see, BC (Before CoffeeMachine), we used to do a coffee run each morning and we had set days. Now that we have a coffee machine the cafe shop coffee run is more of a sporadic thing and when we just feel like splurging. There are no set days. What bugs me is that this third colleague never seems to think 'Hey, I haven't got coffees in awhile and maybe everyone will feel like one, it's my shout'. No he never makes the suggestion but just waits until one of us texts and then sure enough he's on board.

Take Easter for another example. On the Thursday before Easter break I went to a bakery to get fresh hot cross buns. I then text the group and said 'Hey I got buns who wants to do a coffee run? :)'. The reply from our colleague came back 'I'm nearly in the office...did you want me to get coffee'. Uhhh well...what do you think??!?!? In the end, I didn't answer because I thought well if he needs to be told to do something then he obviously doesn't want to do it. So I brought in hot cross buns, my boss got us all chocolate Easter bunnies and third colleague...well he brought nothing!

I think what annoys me the most is that how come I have to be considerate for my other colleague when he is obviously not very considerate for me? Would it be rude for me to just rock up with my coffee for the day and maybe my boss' too but not his? Do you think he'd notice?

TwinSpeak: Work Woes

It's been a week or so since our last blog post. We've been on hiatus, trying to keep on top of work, life, love and then a much needed break over the crazy silly Easter season.

Bella: I'm back in the swing of things after stuffing myself and almost overdosing on chocolate...if that's possible. I can't tell you how nice it was to have a 4 day week last week and then a 4 day week this week and lucky me, I actually have a 4 day week next week as well. I took next Monday off for an annual leave day. My husband is surprising me and taking me on a short trip to Melbourne!

Yet even with all these short weeks, I'm finding my patience being tested and ready to snap. It's not work or clients so much but one person I work with that seems to be really eating away at me. I went for months being able to work alongside this person no worries. But now, in the last week, I'm finding that I'm being driven insane!

It's not that I don't like this person....just that we have such different work ethics and styles. I feel like whenever I go to work, I'm also babysitting and this person is only a few years younger than me...yet we are so far apart in where we are in life. They take no initiative in anything they do at work and are constantly asking questions on what to do, how to do it, if they can go to the toilet and this person has been here for nearly a year now!

Today...I had to take many deep breaths and count to ten many times just to stop from saying something I might regret later. My favourite part of the day, my morning coffee ritual was spoilt by this little turn of events.

Colleague- Um..I think you need more coffee beans
Me- Oh well look at that..yes we do.

So my colleague knows about it and tells me about it but what do they do about it...a big FAT NOTHING!!!

Colleague- Uhhh...the coffee machine just came up with a message ‘empty grounds container’....ughghh...I don’t know...ugghhh what do I do (having mini panic attack)
Me- Ahhh gee...I think that would mean ‘Empty the FUCKIN grounds container’ retard!!!

Colleague- The drip tray is full to the brim with water. What should I do.
Me- Gee and here I thought we were in drought!! Well save it of course!!

Obviously I didn't say all those things...but I was thinking them :)

Frankie: Well I said to Bella that she should maybe use this as an experiment to try and master her lack of 'patience'. As they say, 'Patience is a virtue' and maybe this dim witted kid has presented himself as a challenge in order for Bella to master the act of acquiring 'Patience'.

Bella I think you should coach and master your fellow colleague in the daily life lessons that he finds so challenging. Nurture him, guide him and provide him with supportive and constructive feedback into what he's doing wrong/right etc.

Helpful Hints:

- Count to ten or maybe 20 before speaking in his presence

- If a more than normal challenge presents itself and you find yourself on the brink of snapping again, ask yourself, "How would I feel if my colleague called me a dim-witted retard when all I need is help switching on the coffee machine"

- Next, write down some pre-determined compliments and words of encouragement, in order to be ready and quick off the mark when he does something, anything right????

- When giving feedback avoid using words such as; idiot, loser, degenerate moron, juvenile freak, retarded pin head and any other like minded terms.

TwinSpeak...April Fools Prank!!

So being in the April Fools spirit...I decided to prank my boyfriend.

Frankie: An oldie but a goodie, I called him up at work and carefully broke the news to him that I was pregnant. After an extended pause his reply was, "Is it possible". My reply, "Ahh, yes, I assure you, it is biologically possible ;)" Silence.... His reply, "But how is this possible, are you sure??" My reply, "yes, pregnancy tests are 99.9% accurate, but we can always go to a family planning clinic to make sure"...Hehe, I had to fess up after that because I could hear the car door slamming and screeching tire sounds :)

Well, I have a feeling that from now on, my forgetful boyfriend will be taking more notice in the passing of days and their allocated dates and connotations...April Fools!!!

Bella: LOL!! I was going to do the exact same prank! But I didn't want to give my poor darl a heart attack so I thought the better of it. No pranks pulled by myself I'm sad to say. I'm just not the prankster kind.

I'd love to hear what others did to their friends and loved ones though?

TwinSpeak: Loss, grieving and the funeral...

Unfortunately at the beginning of the week we had some bad news that a close family member for a mutual friend of ours had passed away.

Bella & Frankie: Our friend and her family has been known to both of us since primary school...so, many, many years. We felt a great loss and sadness for both the family and ourselves. The funeral was held yesterday and we both attended out of respect and love for our friend.

The family are part of a very close and tight knit cultural community of family and friends. Many people attended the service and it was quite an overwhelming experience. We felt more comfortable just to stand back from the crowd and observe, paying our respects silently amongst ourselves.

We couldn't help but notice and observe certain things throughout the service. It became obvious to us that everyone grieves differently and in their own way. We also noticed that a funeral is one event where you just can't be prepared for everything and things usually don't go to plan.

The service was arranged by the professional services of one large and local company. We have to say though we were less than impressed and would not be using them myself if god forbid it was ever required. One of the selling points of this particular company is that it is run solely by females. They claim to show sincerity and compassion in all they do while still offering a complete funeral service. However they just weren't on top of it. During the private viewing with the family only, other people were just wandering in behind the curtain to have a look! We couldn't believe it because it could be heard by all sitting down that the family was obviously grieving at that particular time. There was no one at the door to guide people where to sit, so the first two rows reserved for family were all taken by the time the family came to sit. It was embarrassing for them. Whenever the ladies of the company spoke to a family member it was in the most cheerful and happy voice that would have been suitable for speaking to a child at a carnival! It was so patronising and false. It actually angered us whenever they spoke. We can understand the need to speak to people grieving in a manner to try and lighten the mood but these ladies were so cheery and happy we thought they were on happy drugs! The clincher for us was when the coffin was to be carried out. The funeral company asked the family if they had any strong men to carry the coffin out. This was supposed to be a service offered by the company so the family questioned this. They were then jovially informed, "Yes, but this is White Lady Funerals" with emphasis put on the Lady!?!?!?! As in they couldn't possibly carry out the coffin. We were was gobsmacked.

After the service we both offered help to carry the abundance of flower arrangements to the burial site. While we were doing this, some people came up to us and other people carrying flowers to grab the arrangements off us. They told us that they bought the flowers and we shouldn't take them?! Again we were only trying to help but I guess we managed to offend some people.

Other things happened throughout the service and the gathering after. The family were doing OK but certain things did anger them. We tried to reassure our friend, saying that you just can't possibly plan for everything and that grieving can bring out unexpected behaviour from people. We can understand how they felt though. Going through such a hard and sad time, the last thing you want to worry about are things going wrong. Being that there was a strong cultural element to the service as well, there was a lot of obligation and protocol that went with it that just added more stress for the family involved. They were more than relieved when the time came that they could just kick off their shoes and grieve together amongst their closest friends and family.

Overall, it was a sincere service from the family and good to see them all come together during this time. Our friend has had some tough times and family differences in the last year and it was good to see them supporting each other.

We realised after yesterday that, you can never stop learning from a person or situation...even after death or during a time of greatest loss. There will always be an opportunity to be open minded and view things so completely foreign to your norm and appreciate the change of perspective.

Twin Speak...Sales Reps!!!

In these tough economic times sales representatives must be absolutely desperate to meet targets and will even put their lives on the line...

Frankie: I can't believe the lengths some sales reps will go to get a lead. This evening, I was quietly sitting in my living room doing a bit of reading and suddenly heard someone saying ' hello', 'hello' in a funny Indian accent at my front gate.

At first I thought it was my neighbour being funny and mucking around. However, the 'hello' kept chiming and then I decided to get up and to my astonishment, see a Telephone Rep standing near my front door. Just to note, that to get to my front door you have to open the front gate that has a big metal sign stating, "BEWARE OF DOG". Instantly I freeze, hear my dog barreling around the corner and then hear his barking growl and I tell the rep to please go back behind the gate.

As soon as he hears my dog barking, he replies, "Oooh, you have a dog". Ah, yeah!!! Did you happen to miss that sign when you intruded and opened my gate??? So, Mr. Sales Rep steps outside the gate, my dog charging towards him but was now by my side and barking at this stranger, the rep continues his sales talk as I stare at him bewildered by his eagerness to make a sale???

I can't believe some people? How could you be so negligent of your own safety and ignore such warnings. "Oh, don't mind the big Rottweiler gnawing on your leg...just continue your sales spiel"???? I kinda felt bad because I didn't take the guy up on his offers even after his extreme efforts :)

Yeesh...tough times you don't say.

Bella: I have definitely seen an increase in the amount of telemarketing calls I've been receiving in the past couple of months. At home I've been getting around 5 a week, at least 1 or 2 a day at work and most annoyingly I've started getting them on my mobile. (For these calls I've had to break my 'Why Not Monday' challenge and my response is not so polite).

What I've also noticed however is the new and creative ways these telemarketers are tyring to just get an in let alone make the sale.

Telemarketer: Would you like to save money?
Me: No, I love throwing my money down the gurgler and then finding myself struggle to pay my next bill. "Thanks"...click.

Telemarketer: Now, I'm not trying to sell you anything.

Me: (thinking) Yeah...sure..now why would you be calling me from India then..just to find out how the weather is here?? "No thanks"...click.

Telemarketer: Are you interested in retiring rich?
Me: No actually I'm interested in retiring poor. Retiring rich has never really occurred to me?

Telemarketer: Are you happy with your mobile phone company?

Me: Yes, I enjoy paying astronomically high prices just to get crap service and even crappier phone coverage whilst always having this frustrating feeling of being ignored whenever I try to sort out a problem. I love it! (This is all true except for the enjoyment part but I can't be bothered dealing with another Telco to just go through it with them)

Sorry for the sarcasm but as you can see...I'm a bit over sales calls.

Twin Speak...Why Not Monday!

Hi everybody and hope you have a great week. Here are our updates and new challenges for the week.

Frankie: An interesting week prevailed. From the week, I still have not completed my task from last Monday of 'Asking this guy out to coffee'. Nothing romantic, just as a friend, because he had initially asked me and I didn't want to make it awkward.

So, I am carrying that task over to this week. I do think I am making some ground though. I have spoken to the guy on a number of occasions and it doesn't seem awkward anymore. So we will see how I progress this week :)

Also, I am adding a new task which is more of a personal goal, "To get over the $40 money finding incident from Saturday night". I have posted a
new post dedicated entirely to the incident. I was quite frustrated about it, but I vented in my post and Bella has also given me some sound advice. So, my goal is to not think about the incident again and have completely gotten over it by the end of the week.

Bella: Recapping on last week's challenge for myself, I decided to go on a 10 day detox. Well I'm happy to say that I'm now on day 8 and still going strong. Apart from a little break in the regime on Saturday night, when we went out for a Hen's night and I had some cheese and crackers, I'm doing great! I didn't touch one glass of alcohol the whole night! So I'm only 3 days away from completing this goal.

For today's Why Not Monday I think I will challenge myself this week to be extra courteous and nice to sales and customer service workers.

Today I had a horrible experience of having to call my telephone company to dispute some charges. I was speaking with an Indian call operator for a total of 30 minutes and there was absolutely no resolution. I was querying online charges on my account that are yet to be charged for the month but I could see them listed. I was basically told that until the company actually bills me for them I can't query or complain. I have to wait for them to make the error. Ok..fine...whatever but couldn't he have perhaps told me that at the beginning of the call when I said I wanted to dispute the online charges before having me explain for 20 minutes and then him putting me on hold for a further 10!!! I am a bit frazzled from the whole experience and I'm afraid to say I did loose my cool towards the end of the conversation. Not that I feel I am wrong for loosing my cool but maybe I could have handled it better.

So this week's challenge I am going to attempt to do a bit of reverse karma psychology and hope that by being extra nice and polite to sales and service staff...maybe, just maybe my own dispute will resolve as well!! Hopeful but unlikely?? We'll see.