Yesterday I received a phone call to say that I had won the Kodak Easyshare printer, ink and paper pack. I just wanted to say THANKYOU !!
Our next door neighbours have several (can’t quite work out how many) teenage children. Some of the said children live in their garage, and recently a delapidated caravan was towed into their yard to house more of them. They own their house and we own ours…
We *think* that some of the family are drug dealers. They have cars pulling up regularly and at all hours of the day and night, sometimes not turning the engine off, and leaving after 3 minutes or less. I have also had an aquaintence tell me that my neighbours are dealers.
They have regular parties, starting at 9pm and not finishing until as late as 8am the next morning. Their music is so loud that we can hear it over the sound of our own tv, washing machine, dryer etc. The bass on their stereo is up so high I can FEEL their music as I lay in my bed (a wonderful wake-up call at 6am). They are quite aware of how loud their music is as we have asked them MANY MANY times to turn it down, lower the bass, etc.
Their ‘guests’ consistently park on our nature strip or in front of our house, often leaving no space for our own visitors to park. I can’t see why they can’t park out front of the house next door ? We find cans and bottles on our front lawn and nature strip almost daily as their ‘guests’ throw them there before getting into their cars. They flick their lit cigarette butts over our back fence, which we now return straight into their swimming pool.
I don’t think any of their behaviour is intentionally malicious, it’s just that they obviously have no respect for anyone other than themselves.
To top it all off, after a night of partying (a few weeks ago) they dared to send the father over to complain that our 18 month old was bothering their teenage children because he was crying and could we quieten him down !! HUH ?? They could obviously hear him in their caravan through our open dining room window.
Then this past weekend, after a 4am finish to their partying and loud-enough-to-wake-the-whole-street domestic disputes, my unwell toddler was having a cry. I was about to put him to bed when the mother screamed out “SHUT UP” at the top of her lungs {mind you, we’d been listening to her screeching like a banshee and dropping the F-bomb all day}.
Who on earth do these people think they are ?? My toddler can’t cry, but it’s okay for them to keep him and us awake all night with their regular partying ? My littlies room is on the opposite side of the fence to where their ‘entertaining’ area is. He has 18mm thick laminated glass on his window; double layer of pink batts in the walls; double layer of plasterboard on all the walls; and carpet. Not much else we can do to keep the sound out.
My husband called the police SIX times between 12am and 4am before they came (well, we think they came). What else can we do ?
I’m afraid to do anything that might ‘upset’ them as I don’t doubt that I could find my car/house vandalised in retaliation. We’ve already had to build a steel gate as just after they moved in we had their ‘guests’ entering our back yard and using our garden furniture to jump the fence into their backyard. The father has admitted to having to leave New Zealand because he was in trouble with the law…I’m not sure I really want to find out exactly what kind of trouble.
My husband had an appointment with a specialist this morning that had been rescheduled at THEIR request. My husband opted for the first appointment of the day to avoid delays and enable him to get to work as early as possible (he starts work at 7am and it takes him an hour and a half to get to work).
We arrived early for his appointment at 8:50am.
We heard the doctor arrive at approximately 9:15am when he was greeted by other staff.
At 9:40am we left, unseen, as we were sick of waiting.
At NO TIME were we given an explanation or apology for the delay. Even as we left, all the receptionist said was “he’ll be with you in a few minutes” ~ yeah, right !
How is it acceptable that patients are kept waiting like this ? You wait for months to even GET an appointment; then pay through the nose for the five minutes you spend with the doctor, it’s just not good enough to be expected to wait 40 minutes past the scheduled appointment time (and who knows how much longer we’d have been waiting ??).
My husband will be submitting an invoice for his time…
I am SO excited…
I received an email today advising me that one of the (5) photos I submitted to the ‘Smile With Centro’ photographic competion has been accepted as one of 20 finalists at my local shopping centre ~ Karingal Hub.
I won’t know until Monday (when I can go and see for myself) which photo they chose, but I don’t really care…what a buzz !
I’m in the running to win a Sony Cyber-shot camera and Picture Station Photo Printer valued at $978 if I am chosen as Best Local Photo, OR, $10,000 cash if selected as the National Winner. I also get to keep the large, mounted photo that is on display. Of course, a win would be lovely, but I am so chuffed just to have been chosen
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This is the photo they chose (the one I was playing with in Photoshop) :
I decided to have a play with Photoshop and see if I could do a popart pic.
This is the original photo of my son Kade (covered in cherry juice)…
and this is what I came up with :
Pretty cool, huh ?!
If anyone wants to have a go, the tutorial is at :
…well, I have, just not started a thread. Anyway, I thought some of you may (or may not) be interested in what’s happening with me.
Well, my baby boy turned ONE (where did the time go?). Once again I found myself making the obligatory character cake - a job that I actually enjoy and have missed since my eldest turned 7 five years ago. Here’s a piccy of the cake :
After all the hoo-haa with my (old) job and its unlawful dismissal case, I have a new job. I work 5:30pm-8:30pm, three nights a week at a local fish & chip shop, and I love it !
It’s been 15 years since I worked at a f&c shop, so I feel a bit ‘old’ working with kids who were still in nappies back then, but it’s great. Hubby is home to take care of the baby so there are no childcare fees; I’m only 10 minutes up the road from home; it’s only 3 hours work so I’m home early enough to spend some time with hubby and my older son; and I get PAID to have a break from the baby ~ YAY.
I’m still comping and have had a few wins…nothing major, but all very welcome and much appreciated It’s so nice when my parcel post man knocks on the door with parcels addressed to me that I wasn’t expecting.
No other news really… I’m still being arty & designing my LaserCuts and scrapbooking (though I have turned to digi scrapping lately because it’s quicker and makes less mess LOL).
Hope this finds you all well and happy
*hugs*
My bank, in all their infinite wisdom, have taken it upon themselves to register me for their Netcode SMS service. Apparently this is the latest security measure in place for net banking. WELL…firstly, they didn’t ask my permission (first I knew of it was a letter advising me of the ‘upgrade’), nor did I request it; and secondly, IT DOESN’T WORK !!!
If they had bothered to ASK me if I wanted it I would have said no because I can’t get mobile phone service inside my house (and that’s a whole other vent). So tonight, while attempting to pay a large bill online I had to receive a Netcode SMS…so I did…and went outside in the rain to wait for the sms to come through. I got the message and tried to enter it several times and it kept telling me the code I was entering was incorrect (what, you think I’m a flipping moron or something ??).
So now it’s locked me out of my bank and I can’t pay the bill, and I have to call them tomorrow to sort out something THEY stuffed up in the first place !
Which bank ?…
*vent over*
Unlawful Dismissal - We’ve reached a settlement agreement !!
10 Comments Published 1 year, 1 month ago in My life.HURRAH for the little people !!
Well, it seems that being right and being persistant has paid off ! My ex employer has agreed to a settlement and we do not need to go to the conciliation meeting next Wednesday.
In addition to my Long Service Leave, he has agreed to pay me 5 weeks remuneration for lost wages. He also has to give me a separation certificate, and he has to sign a reference that I am to write for myself.
I am glad that it is all over as I was really feeling very stressed and emotionally drained by the whole thing. I am sad that my employment has ended this way ~ it really needn’t have gotten to this. I am proud of myself though for standing up for my rights.
Thank you to everyone for your advice and support *hug*
I have made so many phone calls and spent so much time online trying to find the information I need, I thought I should post all my links here to help anyone else who needs them.
WorkChoices or phone 1300 363 264
WorkChoices ~ Assistance Schemes
Two assistance schemes have been established under WorkChoices for employees who believe they have been unlawfully terminated and for people involved in workplace disputes.
Unlawful Termination Assistance Scheme (UTAS)
If you have lost your job and believe you may have been unlawfully terminated you may be eligible for assistance through the Unlawful Termination Assistance Scheme (UTAS).Alternative Dispute Resolution Assistance Scheme (ADRAS)
If you are involved in a workplace dispute you may be eligible for assistance under the Alternative Dispute Resolution Assistance Scheme (ADRAS).
Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission or phone 1300 656 419
Australian Industrial Relations Commission or phone 03 8661 7777
Click on Procedures & Legislation in the sidebar for Termination of Employment.
An employee who believes he or she has been unfairly or unlawfully dismissed has 21 days from the dismissal date to lodge an unfair or unlawful dismissal application with the AIRC. There is an application lodgment fee of $51.40. However, this fee may be waived in cases of financial hardship.
Industrial Relations Victoria or phone 1800 363 264
The first link in the main body of the page will take you to the ‘Long Service Leave’ section
Law Institute of Victoria ~ Employment Law or phone 03 9607 9311
Law Institute of Victoria ~ Legal referral service
Provides free referrals to legal practices around Victoria. All referrals are to Law Institute of Victoria members who practice in specific areas of law.
Job Watch or phone 03 9662 1933
An employment rights legal centre which provides assistance to Victorian workers about their rights at work.
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Depending on your employment classification and award, the following may not apply to you. I have included this information for anyone in a similar employment and termination situation. I was employed under the Clerical and Administrative Employees Award, and the sections listed below are applicable in my situation (Unlawful Dismissal due to Maternity Leave).
Workplace Relations Act 1996
a PDF copy of the Act
Section 280 ~ Return to work guarantee — maternity leave
Section 281 ~ Replacement employees — maternity leave
