AshesFromStars.com

Ruining people’s Christmas

Melissa — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:24:59 +0000

In work the other day we found out that the company that provide us with Christmas toy catalogues had gone into administration. That means all the customers who have gone through us to buy Christmas toys (and there’s a good few customers who have bought things from the catalogue) can’t get them, unless we already had have them delivered.. funnily enough we only have about 3 toys in the shop out of about 10 we have on back order.

Guess who’d to call the customers to tell them this? Me! Not fun. The worst part is that I probably look like a liar because the website for the company (http://www.magson.co.uk) is still live with no indication about them no longer trading, even though I just heard it on the news!

Sorry customers, not our fault!

Random Posts

Optical4Less.com

Melissa — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 23:46:23 +0000

I just realised that I’ve had my glasses for nearly 4 years, without having any followup eye tests - oops! I have no excuse either, all eye tests are free in Scotland and you can’t get cheaper than that. I think what’s put me off is that fact that the price of glasses is so high, my current ones were £150! Granted they are DKNY ones with anti-scratch and anti-glare coatings on the lenses and I got a second pair free, but I never wear them as I don’t think they suit me anymore.

See me and the boy were talking about Christmas presents and I was throwing ideas around and decided that I’d love a new pair of glasses, I wear them all day every day and I’d like a change. Plus there’s a good chance that my prescription for lenses will have changed over the past four years. So of course I did what I usually do, hit Google in search of glasses that I like before I take the plunge and go get my eyes tested again, since it’s something that I don’t enjoy very much.

I came across Optical4Less.com which sell loads of different eyeglasses at really, really cheap prices. Like, well within our price range. And they offer worldwide shipping and they have a sort of virtual mirror system, where you can upload your own photograph and try on their frames over the picture to see what the glasses will look like on. Awesome. I’ve got my eye (haha, no pun intended) on two pairs that I really like that the boy said he’ll throw in as part of my Christmas present as long as I go and get my eyes tested this week. I guess I’ll just need to take the plunge and get it done.

The glasses that I’m interested in are just like the ones I have just now, typically. But they suit my face. And at $29 you can’t really go wrong, can you? There’s some frames on the website at $15, heck that’s like £10 - the price of a good bottle of wine or a return train ticket into town. That’s crazy cheap, exactly what we need in the current economical climate!

Random Posts

Friday Five (28 Nov)

Melissa — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 16:00:51 +0000

What’s a profession you believe to be overpaid?

Who’s a musician you believe to be overrated?

What in your life could stand to be overhauled?

What’s something interesting you recently overheard?

Who is the most overextended person you know?

Generally, anybody who works less than me but gets paid more. I work solidly for 10 hours a day, don’t really take any breaks and get a measly £6.65 an hour. Rubbish
The Beatles. I really can’t stand them, and I cringe and cover my ears any time I hear that bloody ‘Imagine’ song. Sorry, but John Lennon isn’t god and that isn’t the best song in the world, ever.
At the moment, probably my debts!
Aha, if I told you that then it wouldn’t come true. And I didn’t specifically over hear it, I was meant to hear it but not in the way that I did. Lets just say it made my heart race…in a good way
Financially, myself.

From Friday5.org

Friday Five (21 Nov)

confused.com

Melissa — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:01:27 +0000

I am mighty confused about life at the moment. And I just want one bloody thing right now and I don’t know if it’s going to happen but the excitement and waiting is killing me.

My LiveJournal has all the juicy details, if you’re interested.

Reasons why I hate my shop #784

Melissa — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 19:37:19 +0000

I am so darn annoyed right now. Like I said in the last aside that I posted, I’ve spent the entire day typing up the last module of my management training program which is due in tomorrow. I knew that I was either there tomorrow or next Wednesday, but wasn’t too sure.

The reason I found out that it was tomorrow? My ex boss text me this morning to tell me. Apparently there was an email sent to our stores informing us that we were to attend head office tomorrow and take everything with us as it’s to be handed into the operations director at the end of the meeting.

Question is, why didn’t somebody from my store phone me to let me know that I’d to take all my folders with me? Is it that darn hard to pick up the phone and let me know? I know that I’m not liked that much in this shop (mainly due to the fact I work damn bloody hard and show them up) but trying to sabotage my career by not passing on important information? That’s pissed me off.

So now, I’m going into the shop tomorrow morning. Just show up at 7am in order to print a few things off that can only be accessed and printed via the POS systems back computer and to make a point of asking why on earth nobody called me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d have realised that I was there tomorrow by reading the timetable that’s in my folder. But I wouldn’t have known that it had to be 100% completed in order to be handed in and checked to allow us to pass the course.

Thankfully I’m just tying up loose ends now and just need to collect some evidence in the morning. And print about 200+ pages using the shop’s computer… hopefully we’ve got loads of paper in the shop or I’m in big trouble!

Bugger!

Melissa — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:59:07 +0000

I got a text message this morning at 9am from my old boss informing me that our MTP is due in tomorrow at 10am to the bloody well director of the company. So I’ve been writing up the module that I haven’t started yet, answering questions I’ve missed on previous modules and generally tying everything up.

I still have about 10 hours ahead of me. And no way to print it - my printer is broken. *scream*

All I want for Christmas is…

Melissa — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:22:03 +0000

Dear mum and brothers
I know you all read my blog. Bare this post in mind when you start my Christmas shopping. You know I deserve it all.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab ‘White Rabbit’ perfume oil
Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab ‘Gluttony’ perfume oil
Canon Digital Rebel camera
Rock & Republic Jaguar bootleg jeans
Seagate Freeagent Xtreme external 1TB hard drive
Anything from my amazon.co.uk wishlist below
Hugo Deep Red perfume

Thanks
Bestest Daughter/Sister in the world.

Random Posts

2.5% What does that really mean?

Melissa — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 18:58:05 +0000

So, as of Monday 1st December VAT in Britain will fall 2.5% to 15% from 17.5%. But what does that actually mean we, the Great British public, are going to be saving?

Not much, to be honest.

Going from a retailer’s point of view (that’s me, by the way) the things that we won’t save money on are:

Alcohol
Bread
Tampons, condoms, nappies etc (you’re only charged 5% on these to begin with)
Fresh meat
Pet food
Newspapers / Magazines
Jaffa cakes!!

Basically, anything deemed as being ‘essential’ we don’t get taxed on to begin with so we won’t save money on those. Anything that’s deemed as a luxury, like biscuits, we’ll now save 2.5% on. So a packet of Chocolate Digestives in my shop will now cost 89p, previously costing 92p. The mighty Jaffa cake was deemed not to be a biscuit (i.e. should have ~~17.5%~~15% tax on it but a cake (i.e. no tax charged) because ‘biscuits go hard, cakes go soft’ when they’re stale.

Big bloody wow.

Could we not just have a slash of 2.5% in income tax? That would save me £100 a year. Actually, that’s rubbish too.

The only way this will make a difference to me is I’ll save about £10 on my Christmas present shopping, as I usually spend about £250 at this time of year. So that’s £10 that’ll go on cigarettes or something, which will kill me quicker and increase my chances of needing the services of the NHS! I hope Labour know what they’re doing…

Random Posts

Friday Five (21 Nov)

Melissa — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:53:30 +0000

How’s your health?

How was your day?

How’s the weather?

How do you expect to get anywhere in life with an attitude like that?

How many people made you smile today?

My health is actually very good for a change. For once in my life I’ve spent the entire month of November free from the cold or flu (touch wood) and haven’t had anything wrong with me in a few months. Heck, now I think about it I haven’t even suffered from PMT as badly as I used to in about 5 months. Result.
My day has been very good, thank you very much. I slept late (well, 9am) and got up to a lovely breakfast of strong black coffee and a chocolate croissant. Not a pain au chocolate, you understand. But a gorgeous all-butter croissant covered in chocolate flakes. It was delicious. Very French. I went to the post office and posted six parcels and met the boyfriend for lunch. Then we came home, had some couple time and when he left I jumped online. Been sitting on my laptop for a few hours now
The weather is quite good for Scotland today, actually. No rain. No snow. Damn cold though. But I like cold, it means I can wear my gorgeous heavy knit scarves and my military-esque black wool coat. And not look like some strange peeping-Tom
I have a pretty carefree attitude, so I expect I’ll go far. Thanks for the concern, though.
I know I made my boyfriend smile! And hopefully when the people who bought things from me will smile when they receive their (amazing wrapped and packaged) jewellery on Monday will smile too.
As for people making me smile? I suppose my dog when she came bounding at me when I got home, and my boyfriend ♥

from Friday5.org

Think I’ve got the bug

Melissa — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:37:48 +0000

This is crazy; I’ve made over 15 pieces of jewellery today. As well as having to go to Head Office for a meeting which was a complete and utter waste of time, there wasn’t any point in me going there to ‘learn’ things that I already know about. That’s 4 hours of my life that I’ll never get back.

It was a good laugh though, got to meet some of the managers from the new shops and seen some people that I’ve not seen in ages - managers from other shops and my two mates from my old shop. That was worth the effort going.

As for the jewellery, I’ve sold 10 things since Saturday morning. Three online through the website and a few to friends and my mother’s friends. Plus I’ve covered all my expenses so far so everything I make now is profit, until I start buying charms and chains again!

Day off tomorrow and I can see myself spending the entire day doing absolutely nothing apart from catch up on all the TV that I’ve missed over the past week.