Hold the phone, dim the lights, here we go! Very soon, savesavesave will have a completely new look. You might not even recognise it. But, it's still me, same wacky shopping adventures, same bat place, same bat time.
xox :)
xox :)
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
It's taken me a long time to write more about Hobart. Apologies. I have been very stressed and busy with various things. Back on track now...the story continues...
We arrived at Salamanca Market with a triple hangover. The colours and sounds of the vibrant market jarred my nerves until the second Guinness kicked in (see picture below). I held an unlit cigarette in my hand to quell the craving, knowing that lighting it would start an unstoppable chain reaction of nausea. A meal would fix us up, we thought, heading to Irish Murphy's. Little did we know of the culinary crime waiting in store for us.
Pictures:
1. Parliament House, Hobart
2. The surrounding gardens / entrance to the market
3. Salamanca Market
4. The Guinni (plural for Guinness)
The tradition of lasagne has been carefully passed down through Italian families for generations. That is, until it reached Irish Murphy's. Hungry and hungover, we waited 45 minutes for this abomination to the Italian tradition, and food in general.
Exhibit A: The Vegetarian Lasagne
I don't know if the scale is apparent here but check out the size of the fork, then the "lasagne". The "lasagne"was two small halves of stuffed capsicum, each half the size of my palm, or even smaller. The chef had decided to buck tradition by including no pasta nor any recognisable lasagne ingredients, except cheese. This $12.00 morsel contained carrot, capsicum, a tiny bit of cheese, all swimming in a splat of Heinz Big Red Tomato Soup. Nevertheless we ate it hungrily and laughed about it for the rest of the trip.
I must say, the chef's attempt at Nouvelle cuisine, with the focus being on flavour, tasted no different to any bizarre concoction I have made for myself after a night on the piss.
Irish Murphy's beautiful sandstone pub was made by convicts many years ago. The Irish theme is entirely apt for the colonial atmosphere. The sign out the front proudly boasts "The Best Craic In Town". Perhaps they were referring to the vegie lasagne.
The staff were friendly and warned us about the size, we should have realised. They gave us free salads which was just as well, I was nearly crazed with hunger. The Guinness and the perfect shamrocks were a nice touch as well.
I will leave you with some images of Salamanca Market and Kelly's steps on the way to Battery Point. The whole experience was very European - if you are not planning on going to Europe, this is your next best bet! The last image is a street performer we dubbed "The Angel of Salamanca". It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
We arrived at Salamanca Market with a triple hangover. The colours and sounds of the vibrant market jarred my nerves until the second Guinness kicked in (see picture below). I held an unlit cigarette in my hand to quell the craving, knowing that lighting it would start an unstoppable chain reaction of nausea. A meal would fix us up, we thought, heading to Irish Murphy's. Little did we know of the culinary crime waiting in store for us.
Pictures:
1. Parliament House, Hobart
2. The surrounding gardens / entrance to the market
3. Salamanca Market
4. The Guinni (plural for Guinness)
The tradition of lasagne has been carefully passed down through Italian families for generations. That is, until it reached Irish Murphy's. Hungry and hungover, we waited 45 minutes for this abomination to the Italian tradition, and food in general.
Exhibit A: The Vegetarian Lasagne
I don't know if the scale is apparent here but check out the size of the fork, then the "lasagne". The "lasagne"was two small halves of stuffed capsicum, each half the size of my palm, or even smaller. The chef had decided to buck tradition by including no pasta nor any recognisable lasagne ingredients, except cheese. This $12.00 morsel contained carrot, capsicum, a tiny bit of cheese, all swimming in a splat of Heinz Big Red Tomato Soup. Nevertheless we ate it hungrily and laughed about it for the rest of the trip.
I must say, the chef's attempt at Nouvelle cuisine, with the focus being on flavour, tasted no different to any bizarre concoction I have made for myself after a night on the piss.
Irish Murphy's beautiful sandstone pub was made by convicts many years ago. The Irish theme is entirely apt for the colonial atmosphere. The sign out the front proudly boasts "The Best Craic In Town". Perhaps they were referring to the vegie lasagne.
The staff were friendly and warned us about the size, we should have realised. They gave us free salads which was just as well, I was nearly crazed with hunger. The Guinness and the perfect shamrocks were a nice touch as well.
I will leave you with some images of Salamanca Market and Kelly's steps on the way to Battery Point. The whole experience was very European - if you are not planning on going to Europe, this is your next best bet! The last image is a street performer we dubbed "The Angel of Salamanca". It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
I will now point out the wrongness of anyone even thinking about responding to the following email.
I received it today.
Twice.
That would probably be the first reason for becoming suspicious.
I will translate as we go...
FROM MR AMADI SALAM
ADB. OUAGADOUGOU,
AFRICA DEVELOPMENT BANK.
BURKINA FASO.
EMAIL: amadi_salam100@yahoo.fr
(A banker with a generic Yahoo France address?? Hmmm...prestigious...)
DEAR FRIEND, (isn't it nice to be called "friend" by a complete stranger who spams your inbox)
PLEASE THIS IS IMPORTANT AND VERY URGENT I HAVE AN URGENT TRANSACTION OF $8 MILLION USD TO TRANSFER
TO YOUR NOMINATED ACCOUNT,I AM MR AMADI SALAM
(In a search for Amadi Salam in Google, the first result found was "Email Scam, Fraud and Phishing Resource" Probably not a good start)
,I AM AN
AUDITOR,WITH ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT,ADB HERE IN
OUAGADOUGOU,BURKINA FASO IN WEST AFRICA.
AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS,I
DISCOVERED THAT IF I DO NOT REMIT THIS MONEY OUT
URGENTLY IT WILL BE FORFEITED FOR NOTHING THE OWNER
OF THIS ACCOUNT UNFORTUNATELY DIED IN THE PLANE
CRASH OF UNION TRANSPORT AFRICAINS FLIGHT BOEING 727
IN COTONOU,BENIN REPUBLIC ON THE DECEMBER FRIDAY
26TH,2003.YOU WILL READ MORE STORIES ABOUT THE CRASH
ON VISITING THIS WEBSITE BELOW:
www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/
(Hey wow! This is a real story. If this guy links to a CNN article, he MUST be legit!!)
NO OTHER PERSON KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT OR ANYTHING
CONCERNING IT,THE ACCOUNT HAS NO OTHER BENEFICIARY
AND MY INVESTIGATION PROVED TO ME AS WELL THAT HIS
COMPANY DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT
AND THE AMOUNT INVOLVED IS ($8 MILLION USD)
EIGHT MILLION UNITED STATES
DOLLARS.
(Well, that's not exactly true. Nobody knows about this account because you're not a real banker/auditor and you made up $8million fictional dollars. Conversely, EVERYBODY knows about it because you just did a mass email.)
I WANT TO TRANSFER THE ($8 MILLION) EIGHT
MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS
INTO A SAFE FOREIGNERS ACCOUNT ABROAD,BUT I DON'T
KNOW ANY FOREIGNER,I AM ONLY CONTACTING YOU AS A
FOREIGNER BECAUSE THIS MONEY CAN NOT BE APPROVEED TO
A LOCAL BANK HERE,BUT CAN ONLY APPROVED TO ANY
FOREIGN ACCOUNT BECAUSE THE MONEY IS IN US DOLLARS
AND THE FORMER OWNER OUR DECEASED CUSTOMER IS A
FOREIGNER TOO.
(Thank goodness the money can be APPROVEED here. I feel much more confident now.)
I KNOW THAT THIS MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A
SURPRISE AS WE DON'T KNOW OUR SELVES BEFORE,BUT THE
REST ASSURE THAT THIS IS LIFE TIME BUSINESS FOR BOTH
OF US EVEN FOR OUR GENERATION TO COME.
(Actually, I'm not surprised. I get these every day. What makes you so special? Oh, yes, that's right. "The rest assure that this is life time business for both of us even for our generation to come...")
WITH THE BELIEVE IN GOD THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN IN THIS BUSINESS.YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON THAT I
HAVE CONTACTED IN THIS BUSINESS,SO PLEASE REPLY
URGENTLY SO THAT I WILL INFORM YOU THE NEXT STEP TO
TAKE URGENTLY,SEND ALSO YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND
FAX NUMBER.
I WANT US TO MEET FACE TO FACE OR SIGN A BINDING
AGRREEMENT TO BIND US TOGETHER SO THAT YOU CAN
RECEIVE THIS MONEY INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT OR ANY
ACCOUNT OF YOUR CHOICE WHERE THE FUND WILL BE
SAFE.WHENT THE MONEY IS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFER INTO
YOUR FOREIGN ACCOUNT,YOU WILL SEND ME AN INVITATION
LETTER SO THAT I WILL COME TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR
SHARING AND AFTER WITH MY OWN PERCENTAGE YOU WILL
HELP ME FOR INVESTMENTS IN YOUR COUNTRY.
I AM CONTACTING YOU BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO INVOLVE A
FOREIGNER WITH FOREIGN ACCOUNT AND TO STAND AS THE
BENEFICIARY OF THE FUND.
(Blah, blah blah. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. And bad grammer. And really dodgy spelling.)
I NEED YOUR FULL CO-OPERATION TO MAKE THIS WORK
RESORT TO GOOD FOR US BECAUSE THE MANAGEMENT IS
READY TO APPROVE THIS PAYMENT TO ANY FOREIGNER WHO HAS THE CORRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE DECEASED
CUSTOMER'S ACCOUNT,WHICH I WILL FEED YOU WITH,IF YOU
ARE ABLE AND WITH THE CAPABILITY TO HANDLE
TRANSACTION IN STRICT CONFIDENCE AND TRUST ACCORDING
TO MY INSRUCTIONS AND ADVICE FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT
BECAUSE THIS OPPORTUNITY WILL NEVER COME AGAIN IN MY
LIFE.
I NEED TRUTHFUL (gullible!) PERSON IN THIS BUSINESS BECAUSE I
DON'T WANT TO MAKE MISTAKE (get caught),I NEED YOUR STRONG
ASSURANCE AND TRUST (not to inform the police). WITH MY POSITION NOW IN THE
OFFICE I CAN TRANSFER THIS MONEY TO ANY FOREIGN
RELIABLE ACCOUNT,WHICH YOU CAN PROVIDE WITH
ASSURANCE THAT THIS MONEY WILL BE INTACT PENDING MY
PHYSICAL ARRIVAL IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR (kidnap, robbery, fraud) SHARING AND YOU
WILL DIRECT ME ON WHAT KIND OF INVESTMENT I WILL DO
WITH MY OWN PERCENTAGE IN YOUR COUNTRY.
AND I WANT YOU TO REMIND YOU THAT YOUR SHARE HAS
BEEN CALCULATED TO 35% OF THE TOTAL SUM (...get out your calculator. See the dollar signs....) I AM WATING
FOR YOUR URGENT REPLY SO THAT I WILL GIVE YOU MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DEAL. PLEASE REPLY BACK THROUGH MY MAIL ADDRESS.THANKS.
EXTEND MY GREETINGS TO YOUR FAMILY AND HAVE A NICE
DAY.
WITH BEST REGARDS,
AMADI SALAM.
(shit. I left the caps lock on)
I received it today.
Twice.
That would probably be the first reason for becoming suspicious.
I will translate as we go...
FROM MR AMADI SALAM
ADB. OUAGADOUGOU,
AFRICA DEVELOPMENT BANK.
BURKINA FASO.
EMAIL: amadi_salam100@yahoo.fr
(A banker with a generic Yahoo France address?? Hmmm...prestigious...)
DEAR FRIEND, (isn't it nice to be called "friend" by a complete stranger who spams your inbox)
PLEASE THIS IS IMPORTANT AND VERY URGENT I HAVE AN URGENT TRANSACTION OF $8 MILLION USD TO TRANSFER
TO YOUR NOMINATED ACCOUNT,I AM MR AMADI SALAM
(In a search for Amadi Salam in Google, the first result found was "Email Scam, Fraud and Phishing Resource" Probably not a good start)
,I AM AN
AUDITOR,WITH ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT,ADB HERE IN
OUAGADOUGOU,BURKINA FASO IN WEST AFRICA.
AFTER GOING THROUGH SOME OLD FILES IN THE RECORDS,I
DISCOVERED THAT IF I DO NOT REMIT THIS MONEY OUT
URGENTLY IT WILL BE FORFEITED FOR NOTHING THE OWNER
OF THIS ACCOUNT UNFORTUNATELY DIED IN THE PLANE
CRASH OF UNION TRANSPORT AFRICAINS FLIGHT BOEING 727
IN COTONOU,BENIN REPUBLIC ON THE DECEMBER FRIDAY
26TH,2003.YOU WILL READ MORE STORIES ABOUT THE CRASH
ON VISITING THIS WEBSITE BELOW:
www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash/
(Hey wow! This is a real story. If this guy links to a CNN article, he MUST be legit!!)
NO OTHER PERSON KNOWS ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT OR ANYTHING
CONCERNING IT,THE ACCOUNT HAS NO OTHER BENEFICIARY
AND MY INVESTIGATION PROVED TO ME AS WELL THAT HIS
COMPANY DOES NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS ACCOUNT
AND THE AMOUNT INVOLVED IS ($8 MILLION USD)
EIGHT MILLION UNITED STATES
DOLLARS.
(Well, that's not exactly true. Nobody knows about this account because you're not a real banker/auditor and you made up $8million fictional dollars. Conversely, EVERYBODY knows about it because you just did a mass email.)
I WANT TO TRANSFER THE ($8 MILLION) EIGHT
MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS
INTO A SAFE FOREIGNERS ACCOUNT ABROAD,BUT I DON'T
KNOW ANY FOREIGNER,I AM ONLY CONTACTING YOU AS A
FOREIGNER BECAUSE THIS MONEY CAN NOT BE APPROVEED TO
A LOCAL BANK HERE,BUT CAN ONLY APPROVED TO ANY
FOREIGN ACCOUNT BECAUSE THE MONEY IS IN US DOLLARS
AND THE FORMER OWNER OUR DECEASED CUSTOMER IS A
FOREIGNER TOO.
(Thank goodness the money can be APPROVEED here. I feel much more confident now.)
I KNOW THAT THIS MESSAGE WILL COME TO YOU AS A
SURPRISE AS WE DON'T KNOW OUR SELVES BEFORE,BUT THE
REST ASSURE THAT THIS IS LIFE TIME BUSINESS FOR BOTH
OF US EVEN FOR OUR GENERATION TO COME.
(Actually, I'm not surprised. I get these every day. What makes you so special? Oh, yes, that's right. "The rest assure that this is life time business for both of us even for our generation to come...")
WITH THE BELIEVE IN GOD THAT YOU WILL NEVER LET ME DOWN IN THIS BUSINESS.YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON THAT I
HAVE CONTACTED IN THIS BUSINESS,SO PLEASE REPLY
URGENTLY SO THAT I WILL INFORM YOU THE NEXT STEP TO
TAKE URGENTLY,SEND ALSO YOUR PRIVATE TELEPHONE AND
FAX NUMBER.
I WANT US TO MEET FACE TO FACE OR SIGN A BINDING
AGRREEMENT TO BIND US TOGETHER SO THAT YOU CAN
RECEIVE THIS MONEY INTO A FOREIGN ACCOUNT OR ANY
ACCOUNT OF YOUR CHOICE WHERE THE FUND WILL BE
SAFE.WHENT THE MONEY IS SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFER INTO
YOUR FOREIGN ACCOUNT,YOU WILL SEND ME AN INVITATION
LETTER SO THAT I WILL COME TO YOUR COUNTRY FOR
SHARING AND AFTER WITH MY OWN PERCENTAGE YOU WILL
HELP ME FOR INVESTMENTS IN YOUR COUNTRY.
I AM CONTACTING YOU BECAUSE OF THE NEED TO INVOLVE A
FOREIGNER WITH FOREIGN ACCOUNT AND TO STAND AS THE
BENEFICIARY OF THE FUND.
(Blah, blah blah. If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit. And bad grammer. And really dodgy spelling.)
I NEED YOUR FULL CO-OPERATION TO MAKE THIS WORK
RESORT TO GOOD FOR US BECAUSE THE MANAGEMENT IS
READY TO APPROVE THIS PAYMENT TO ANY FOREIGNER WHO HAS THE CORRECT INFORMATION ABOUT THE DECEASED
CUSTOMER'S ACCOUNT,WHICH I WILL FEED YOU WITH,IF YOU
ARE ABLE AND WITH THE CAPABILITY TO HANDLE
TRANSACTION IN STRICT CONFIDENCE AND TRUST ACCORDING
TO MY INSRUCTIONS AND ADVICE FOR OUR MUTUAL BENEFIT
BECAUSE THIS OPPORTUNITY WILL NEVER COME AGAIN IN MY
LIFE.
I NEED TRUTHFUL (gullible!) PERSON IN THIS BUSINESS BECAUSE I
DON'T WANT TO MAKE MISTAKE (get caught),I NEED YOUR STRONG
ASSURANCE AND TRUST (not to inform the police). WITH MY POSITION NOW IN THE
OFFICE I CAN TRANSFER THIS MONEY TO ANY FOREIGN
RELIABLE ACCOUNT,WHICH YOU CAN PROVIDE WITH
ASSURANCE THAT THIS MONEY WILL BE INTACT PENDING MY
PHYSICAL ARRIVAL IN YOUR COUNTRY FOR (kidnap, robbery, fraud) SHARING AND YOU
WILL DIRECT ME ON WHAT KIND OF INVESTMENT I WILL DO
WITH MY OWN PERCENTAGE IN YOUR COUNTRY.
AND I WANT YOU TO REMIND YOU THAT YOUR SHARE HAS
BEEN CALCULATED TO 35% OF THE TOTAL SUM (...get out your calculator. See the dollar signs....) I AM WATING
FOR YOUR URGENT REPLY SO THAT I WILL GIVE YOU MORE
INFORMATION ABOUT THIS DEAL. PLEASE REPLY BACK THROUGH MY MAIL ADDRESS.THANKS.
EXTEND MY GREETINGS TO YOUR FAMILY AND HAVE A NICE
DAY.
WITH BEST REGARDS,
AMADI SALAM.
(shit. I left the caps lock on)
Monday, September 03, 2007
Yep, got me some more. I can't stop! Must...buy...more...clothing...
yikes. I write a shopping blog on how to save money and then I turn into a compulsive shopper. Ha! Not really. I don't think buying 10 items in 8 months really qualifies. And considering I ignored clothes in general for 10 years or so I think I have some catching up to do!
Bargain time. This sports top cost me $4.25 on Ebay with $5.00 postage. The ironic thing is that I haven't exercised since I got it. I have got a lot of compliments thanks to this top. But I did buy it for walking in, not parading around getting compliments. Extra walking this week to make up for last week.
P.S. notice how the photo was taken in 2003? Has it been hiding in a closet all this time? Languishing?
These shoes are brilliant. Good quality leather. They cost me $15.10 on Ebay with $10.50 postage. Tip: buy leather shoes. They last. I bought a pair of not-so leathery shoes from Target for $39.95 and I have already worn them out. That's only a few months' wear. Crapola. Go with quality even if it costs a little more. Better still, go with quality if you can get it cheaply. Hehehehehe
yikes. I write a shopping blog on how to save money and then I turn into a compulsive shopper. Ha! Not really. I don't think buying 10 items in 8 months really qualifies. And considering I ignored clothes in general for 10 years or so I think I have some catching up to do!
Bargain time. This sports top cost me $4.25 on Ebay with $5.00 postage. The ironic thing is that I haven't exercised since I got it. I have got a lot of compliments thanks to this top. But I did buy it for walking in, not parading around getting compliments. Extra walking this week to make up for last week.
P.S. notice how the photo was taken in 2003? Has it been hiding in a closet all this time? Languishing?
These shoes are brilliant. Good quality leather. They cost me $15.10 on Ebay with $10.50 postage. Tip: buy leather shoes. They last. I bought a pair of not-so leathery shoes from Target for $39.95 and I have already worn them out. That's only a few months' wear. Crapola. Go with quality even if it costs a little more. Better still, go with quality if you can get it cheaply. Hehehehehe
Often you will sit at a bar and not fully comprehend the workmanship that goes into making Quality Bar Stools.
If you are interested in setting up your own bar, you may be shopping around for furniture to deck it out. During my investigation of this site, it seems you can save money on retail prices when you buy online. When you choose a stool, you get a drop down menu to choose fabrics and finishes.
The design is pleasing to the eye, loads quickly and laid out sensibly. The checkout system is easy to use, I did a trial run to make sure it was user friendly, and it is. There's nothing more annoying than actually wanting to buy something and getting so caught up in red tape in the site that you give up and finally go somewhere else.
The delivery costs are around $35 for residential or commercial UPS delivery (price for 1 chair, around $50 for 2 chairs).
It's a great idea to give customers a choice of fabrics and shades. My only suggestion is to provide a fabric / shade / materials chart. I understand there are a large number of choices but it may enhance the experience for the customer to see their selections and make decisions accordingly.
Important Note: This has been a paid review. This does not mean I am paid to have an opinion that pleases others. My review contains my own observations about the subject matter - both positive and negative. The review may contain criticism, suggestions and comments of my own choosing. See disclosure policy for more details.
If you are interested in setting up your own bar, you may be shopping around for furniture to deck it out. During my investigation of this site, it seems you can save money on retail prices when you buy online. When you choose a stool, you get a drop down menu to choose fabrics and finishes.
The design is pleasing to the eye, loads quickly and laid out sensibly. The checkout system is easy to use, I did a trial run to make sure it was user friendly, and it is. There's nothing more annoying than actually wanting to buy something and getting so caught up in red tape in the site that you give up and finally go somewhere else.
The delivery costs are around $35 for residential or commercial UPS delivery (price for 1 chair, around $50 for 2 chairs).
It's a great idea to give customers a choice of fabrics and shades. My only suggestion is to provide a fabric / shade / materials chart. I understand there are a large number of choices but it may enhance the experience for the customer to see their selections and make decisions accordingly.
Important Note: This has been a paid review. This does not mean I am paid to have an opinion that pleases others. My review contains my own observations about the subject matter - both positive and negative. The review may contain criticism, suggestions and comments of my own choosing. See disclosure policy for more details.
