I hope everybody here in Perth is keeping cool in this sweltering 41.2 degree heat - and that was just after 5pm. It's not going to be much better tomorrow - it's been tipped to hit over 40 degrees too.
Where can I find an igloo?
To maintain confidentiality I won't use names, (for those of you who know me, you will know exactly who I'm talking about and possibly be cheering with me *YAY!*) but or those of you who don't a bit of background info first...
I work in a call centre taking inbound calls (not one of those pesky telemarketers from India) and work has been a bit of a drag for the last few months. The main reason for this has been a new team leader. He has previously worked at a large telecommunications company where everything was monitored from call recording to video monitoring - a camera mounted on your computer which recorded you while you were also being recorded via the phone. Thankfully we don't have video monitoring (yet) but we do get 'call coached' occasionally.
Prior to his arrival, we were 'call coached' once per month and it would only be for 5 calls. Initially he was listening to all of us in the team (there are 10 of us) all day every day and it wasn't just for 5 calls. Eventually, in one of our team meetings, we mentioned this to him (confronted would be more accurate) because it was stressing us all out. Since then he has toned it down.
Another thing I don't really like is that sometimes he will say some very crude things which are totally inappropriate in the workplace and quite possibly be misconstrued as sexual harassment.
Anyway, I could go on for ages about him (as a select few of us do at work), I heard from a work colleague today, who was having a heart to heart with her team leader... and although nothing 'official' has been said... he's leaving!! He will still be working for the company, but will be going out to work in one of our branches! *happy dance!!*
Here's a coincidence for you, you know the 'chain emails' you can get where if you pass it on within blah blah blah, your wish will come true? I did just that last week (not because I completely believe, but because the animations were just too cute not to share) and this is exactly what I wished for! Freaky!!
I caught up with a couple of friends today whom I've not seen for several months.
I have been catching up with Chook for coffee (well, we both had a Vienna Chocolate) every couple of months or so, but we have not been able to for the last few months as we have both been busy, plus she was also pregnant and about due any second. She only gave birth at the end of November (to a baby girl, Summer) but to look at her now, less than 2 months later, you would never believe she'd recently given birth - she's as skinny as ever! *lucky cow* :)
My other friend, Walrus, whom I haven't seen since his birthday in July, came over for lunch. I haven't seen much of him over the last 4 or so years, because for the majority of that time he was in a relationship, and unfortunately, she pretty much cut him off from all of his friends. As is usually the case, he didn't realise she was being so controlling. He is taking his life into his own hands again and it is really good to see.
What better way to keep cool on a hot day but go to the movies and see a movie that is set in Antarctica! I especially loved the Adelie Amigos - they were a scream! Robin Williams is brilliant as both Ramon & Lovelace (he voiced both!) and Elijah Wood as Mumble is adorable. Definitely one for the collection when it comes out on dvd.
Plot: In the great nation of Emperor Penguins, deep in Antarctica, you’re nobody unless you can sing – which is unfortunate for Mumble (voice of Elijah Wood), who is the worst singer in the world. He is born dancing to his own tune…tap dancing!
Though Mumble’s mum, Norma Jean (Nicole Kidman), thinks this little habit is cute, his dad, Memphis (Hugh Jackman), says it “just ain’t penguin.” Besides, they both know that, without a Heartsong, Mumble may never find true love.
As fate would have it, his one friend, Gloria (Brittany Murphy) happens to be the best singer around. Mumble and Gloria have a connection from the moment they hatch, but she struggles with his strange “hippity-hoppity” ways.
Mumble is just too different – especially for Noah the Elder (Hugo Weaving), the stern leader of Emperor Land, who ultimately casts him out of the community.
Away from home for the first time, Mumble meets a posse of decidedly un-Emperor-like penguins – the Adelie Amigos. Led by Ramon (Robin Williams), the Adelie’s instantly embrace Mumble’s cool dance moves and invite him to party with them.
In Adelie Land, Mumble seeks the counsel of Lovelace the Guru (also Robin Williams), a crazy-feathered Rockhopper penguin who will answer any of life’s questions for the price of a pebble. Together with Lovelace and the Amigos, Mumble sets out across vast landscapes and, after some epic encounters, proves that by being true to yourself, you can make all the difference in the world.
Boys do need all the help they can get because sometimes they just don't have a clue, but I'm not sure about some of these... Check out body language tips here.
After a few hiccups, I finally managed to catch up a friend to catch this flick and so we could exchange Christmas gifts. We both could not help but drool over Jude Law in this film. Now, I have only seen a couple of his movies (Alfie & Closer) and did not find him attractive at all in those. It must have been the closeups in this film - his eyes are just so gorgeous!
Plot: Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) and she’s chronically in love with a heel called Jasper (Rufus Sewell) who uses her while she keeps hoping that one day they’ll be an item. Those hopes fade at the office Christmas party when Jasper announces he’s engaged to be married – to someone else. Meanwhile, in LA, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) has punched out her boyfriend, Ethan (Edward Burns) for sleeping with someone else and decides she needs a break. Iris’ home, which Amanda finds on the Internet, is just the place she wants to escape to, and the two unlucky-in-love women agree to swap homes for the holiday and leave their man troubles behind them. Well, that’s the plan.
Iris is in seventh heaven in Amanda’s sprawling Hollywood house, but Amanda is not so at home in Iris’ more cramped and isolated abode and decides to return to LA…until she meets Iris’ charming brother, Graham (Jude Law). The two hit it off and hit the sack – after all, Amanda’s leaving soon, so there can be no complications – right? Wrong. Soon Amanda is finding reasons to linger a little longer and, while she does, she learns more and more that endears her to the man she’s determined not to fall in love with.
In LA, Iris befriends neighbour, Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach), a veteran screenwriter of Hollywood’s golden age, and while Iris encourages and prepares a reluctant Arthur for a Screenwriters’ Guild tribute in his honour, he subtly tries to help her find her independence. The scenes between Winslet and the 90-year-old Wallach are a delight.
Iris also becomes friendly with movie composer, Miles (Jack Black), another romantic who happens to be listening to the love theme from Cinema Paradiso when they meet. Miles’ girlfriend is actress, Maggie (Shannyn Sossamon), but is she the real thing? Like Iris, Miles is kind of fragile when it comes to love, so what are the chances of their friendship becoming something more once they both overcome their respective romantic obstacles – Jasper and Maggie?
I decided to go see this film today purely because there were too many hyped up kids waiting to see Happy Feet. It was pretty good - it was in the larger cinema and only 20 or so people in the cinema, so we weren't sitting on top of each other (unlike when I saw Casino Royale).
Plot: A happily domesticated grizzly bear has his world turned upside down after he meets a scrawny, fast-talking wild mule deer who introduces him to the outside world. But events spiral out of control and they find themselves relocated to the wild – at the start of open season!
