My phone is now working (as of about 2pm today). Same number, different network, that’s all. I hope it will improve all the distortion, dropouts and fading you and I have been experiencing. If not, I’ll buy a new phone or swap networks or both.

Busselton thunderstorm, 1991

What??? department again.

I went to Bunnings today to buy a couple of small things, but mainly to get some cardboard boxes for all my packing. As you know, Bunnings has a whole wall of boxes for customers to use for their purchases. I’ve always assumed they want to get rid of them, because they must pile up at a huge rate.

So I loaded up my trolley with as many boxes as I could carry.

I walked out past the sentry lady (the Bunnings employee who checks you’re not stealing anything!) She looked at me with a sceptical leer and said, “You’re lucky it’s me. If it was the other lady, she wouldn’t let you out.” Yok yok!

What??? What have I done wrong? Was she saying I wasn’t allowed to have these boxes? I just said, “I’m moving” and kept walking but I was made to feel uncomfortable. I had been accused of something, what, I don’t know.

I’m the customer, dammit! She made me feel bad. What’s going on here? Looks like I’ll have to make a complaint to find out what I’ve done wrong. But how dare she?

What???? department, Case 2:

A couple of days ago I went through Woolies checkout with my groceries. I was putting them on the counter when I became aware that the checkout guy had stopped scanning them and had said something. I looked up and said “Pardon” to find him staring at me. He said, “How are you?” in a tone that demanded I answer. I said “Fine, thanks”, and he resumed scanning.

Take a bow, Zachary. You’ve asserted your youthful superiority, demanding that I answer your query about my health!

What is going on here? I’m tired of these demands that I explain what I have planned for the weekend, or if my day’s been good so far, or that I have a good night or weekend. I had another checkout guy calling me “Buddy” last year.

It looks like I might have to include this when I complain about being charged $1 each extra for three Italian panini rolls which went through as Danish Pastries!

Another day, another rant.

How about this! I’ve just phoned Vodafone’s free number to activate my new pre-paid SIM card. They ask me if I want to activate my SIM from the phone I’m using now. YES. Sorry sir, you are not yet a Vodafone customer. Please activate your account to proceed.

If it wasn’t so infuriating, it’d be funny. It means I have to go back to the shop at Karrinyup to sort it out. I pre-paid $20 on Monday, but I can’t use it… Yossarian, over here…

If you’re trying to phone me, you will not be getting through. SORRY!

The switch to the Vodafone network occurred sometime overnight, so I’m no longer with Virgin. But when I try to activate the new Vodafone SIM for my phone on the web site this morning, it won’t accept the key codes! So at the moment, I can’t phone out and no-one can phone in.

I assume I’ll be able to access a free call to activate the SIM, but I’m too busy at this moment. Grrrr. It always goes wrong. I’ve checked and double checked and rechecked and tried different combinations of those numbers, but nothing works.

I’ll keep trying, and trying, and trying, and trying… very trying.