Take my advice, Bev, and give her a clothing allowance (not sure how old she is though). Taking teenagers shopping with you is rarely successful; they usually prefer to go alone or with their friends

I gave my daughter an allowance from her fifteenth birthday and it worked really well. I bought school uniform (including the despised school shoes!) and winter coat, so her allowance was mostly for clothes she wanted to buy. It helped her learn to control money well in advance of the move to university, and on the whole she managed quite well, though she was glad to hit 16 and get a part-time job to supplement the allowance!

My mum's still refusing to give me a clothing allowance She says she likes to have some control over what i buy Still i guess i cant really complain as she does pay for two music lessons each week...

aaaaaaaargh! i am so darn stressed and in the middle of easter holidays. i really, really,really feel as though if i have to practise right now i might smash something, but if i take a break it will only mean anxiety attacks later on. and if i don't practise it feels as though something is burning at the inside of my skull and nothing is free. and just generally i am having a really bad patch mentally. my real friends have heard me be down so many times they would only take notice if i did something terrible, so online is the only place i can come to talk. i have never felt so miserable and so much like not existing.

We gave all three sons a clothing allowance from the age of thirteen. It worked well, except that we had to force No 2 son into a clothes shop occasionally (where he would inevitably emerge with a pile of black and/or khaki clothing ). After four years of spending the bare minimum on clothes he bought himself a computer with the rest. His computer is still a higher spec than any other in our house.

Is there something you have to practice for?
I know that it is hard, but if you've done some practice it is often best to take a break. I know you might feel like you're wasting time and should keep doing it, but it'll be more productive. Though I do get what you mean though and the anxiety you feel.
Here, have a *hug*. Are you able to talk to anyone about this?

nothing in particular except lessons (which put me into a state of fear greater than exams do) and an exam in june or something. thanks for the hug. there isn't really anybody to talk to about it. that's why i sit at the computer such a lot.

Well, I guess writing it down might help you a bit, benson, so it's better than doing nothing.

It's not really an 'argh' but more of an . So so nervous today.

why are you nervous today miss ross?

It's stupid really. I have a job interview. I just feel really under-prepared because they only told me yesterday, not that I really know what I would have done to prepare had I had more time. *witters on in incomprehensible manner, driving self and others mad*

Good luck to you Floss!

best of luck!

Good luck today Floss!

Thanks

good luck. what job is it?

Very best of luck!

Argh. Should I apply for this job?

Poor noodle! It's so irritating to feel your work has been wasted, but maybe someone else will want those hymns at some point. And perhaps you've learned a bit more about the vagaries of Sibelius, which might make the next thing you want to do with it a little easier?

Miss Ross and Soph both looking for jobs! Good luck to you; hope you find something to suit.

Lorry scraped my new car !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ooh dear Cyrilla. is it that bad?

Oh no..not too badly I hope...

Yes

Am ok now - thanks all for the hugs! (Still feeling very angry with certain people but it's liveable with...)

Yes, hope you feel better soon xxxxx

Update on Ebay bag lady incident that might give you a giggle... We have our refund and left a big fat negative. She has written a follow-up saying we trashed the bag and she's taking it to the police to investigate the "crime"...

I'd better get out of the house before the SWAT team arrive eh?

Oh, just ARGLE at parcelforce.

On Wednesday, they tried to deliver a parcel. I went on to their website, to arrange to have it delivered to our local post office. The website told me I didn't have a local post office (I can practically SEE it from the window!)
So instead I request redelivery. It gives me a drop down list of dates, and this Saturday is there, and I'm in all day, so I select that. I get a confirmation number and everything.

On Thursday, they tried to redeliver. They always try twice, whatever you tell them! This time, my husband picks up the card, and he phones them to arrange redelivery. The phone thing is all automated, you speak at it and it works out what you are saying. He is going to tell it the same as I did - redeliver on Saturday. However, the phone tells him that a Saturday redelivery will cost £12!! Well, the website didn't say that or I wouldn't have arranged for it!
So instead, he tells it to redeliver to our local post office - which the computer on the phone does know exists!

Now, parcelforce have two different instructions - one from me to redeliver to the home address, one from him to leave at the post office. Oh dear.

I go on their website this morning, and find the customer services number. I phone, it's automated menus, I find the 'arrange a redelivery' bit and it just sends me to the computer that my husband spoke to yesterday.
So I phone again and I choose the 'Other' option, you know, 'for any other enquiries, please press 3'. So I did, and it said 'for all other enquiries, please contact us via our website'.

So I have emailed them via the website with the tale above, basically saying I'm trying to find out when my parcel will be delivered and to where, oh, and don't you think perhaps you should mention that it'll cost £12 for a redelivery on a Saturday? (darn it, forgot to ask why my post office doesn't exist on their website!)
And I've had a response back, saying I should have a response from them in two working days.

ARGH, all I want is my parcel!! Mind you, I cam convinced it is my parcel, and my husband is convinced it is his! We shall see.

The depot for parcelforce is 20 miles away, and we have people visiting tomorrow, otherwise I'd just go and fetch it. What's more annoying is that if it is my parcel, it has come from Germany, and the sender sent it via DHL. If DHL had delivered it, I could go and collect it as I work 5mins walk from the DHL depot. But no, a websearch has revealed that items posted with certain DHL services in Germany will be delivered in the UK by Parcelforce Surely if it's a DHL service in one country you could logically expect it to be DHL in the other country.

Hmm, putting logic with parcel delivery, really not something I should have expected is it!

I wouldn't expect to pay for re-delivery! Don't pay them a penny

When they leave the wee card (the postman seems to know instincively when I switch the shower on and picks that very moment to come calling) I just phone up the main post office in town and speak to a person. It's never been a problem. The other week I did it online but I wasn't convinced that would work so I just phoned as well

Don't worry, I won't! I have now found on their website where it does say they will charge for Saturday redelivery, but you have to hunt it down, it doesn't tell you it when you are booking. But it also says they will phone you to take payment before they deliver - go on then, try it, I can't wait for them to phone me!!

We're lucky in that:
* Our regular postman has a place where he leaves things too big to go through our letterbox, and then he leaves a card to say he has put something there
* Our RoyalMail parcel delivery man is a friend of my husband so tries to come at a suitable time / save stuff for the weekend / leaves it with next door. Next door gets parcels from him almost every day.
* Our next door neighbour works from home and is always happy to take things in for us from any delivery people (i.e. if a company offers you any place to write notes for what to do if you are out, he's happy for me to say they should deliver it to him).

It's just that when it's a company who don't know us, or our next door neighbour (and there are only very few of those), it seems to go spectacularly wrong

Parcelforce seem to be the worst, to be honest. If it were Royal Mail then we would just pop down in to the main post office in town; DHL are near my office, plus I can get things delivered to work with no problem if I know it is going to be any other courier company (I have to walk over to the other side of the site, but that's no further than walking to the DHL depot!) It's just Parcelforce, who I'm happy to have redeliver it to the post office, but it's actually getting hold of someone to talk to and ask questions of that you can't do and that's just SILLY. (I'd ask them to drop it with the bloke next door, but they charge £5.50 for delivery to an alternate address!!)

I hate their automated phone service - why can real people not answer the phone?

maybe they are outside having a fag ?

Sales assistant-type thing.

Simple answer? Yes. You've got nothing to lose by applying for it. You've got nothing to lose if they offer you an interview.

Thank you.

I'm looking for jobs too, and it is going quite well (i.e. promising jobs, good pay, not in a huge shop!)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH
! WTF? *&(*%&^%$&$

:gnash teeth: :wail:

So, as you read above, I asked Parcelforce to redeliver to my house on Saturday. My husband asked Parcelforce to redeliver to the post office round the corner, ASAP.
Poking round their website, it confirmed the charge for a Saturday delivery, but also said they'd phone in advance for you to pay. Nobody phoned me (which was a shame, I would have enjoyed the chance to talk to a person). Unsurprisingly, on Saturday nothing was delivered (fortunately, we had visitors and so we were in all day; usually we'd've gone out pottering about somewhere).

OK, I thought, they're going to follow the most recent instruction, and leave at the post office as my husband requested. For good measure, when I'd emailed them on Friday afternoon I'd asked for it to go to the post office too.

Got home yesterday to a card from them saying they'd tried to deliver it to home but we were out. ARGH!!!! How hard is it to follow instructions? I had to pop round to our shops anyway, so I went in to the post office to get a new price leaflet and some stamps, and I said 'I don't suppose there is a parcel...' but no, they had no parcels delivered at all. Just in case they had followed instructions but filled in the card wrong.

Fingers crossed for today. I meant to stick a note on the front door before I left, saying 'Dear Mr. Parcelforce, PLEASE deliver my parcel to the post office at [address], as I have asked you to do so twice on the phone and once by email' but I forgot. On the other hand, they do say it can take two working days for them to make a post office delivery, so it might not even be today and instead be Wednesday. In any case, it will have taken more calendar days to get from Parcelforce to me than it did to get from Germany to England. And Germany to England included two bank holidays!!
Oh, and it definitely is my parcel, since his parcel arrived with no problems via normal Royal Mail on Thursday...

As a friend here at work has said, at least the content isn't perishable...!

Good grief! What a fiasco just for a parcel lol!

I sometimes put a wee note on the door asking postie to ut any packages under the side gate. It's a bit risky but I'm never out for that long...

Was slightly alarmed one morning when I got out of bed to find a parcel sitting in the hall. Alarmed because when I phone my sister and mum they said it wasn't them who put it there as the post hadn't arrived before they left for work! I told them off for leaving the front door unlocked... but that means the postman opened the front door himself and put it in the hall?!!!!

He might have meant well but I don't relish the thought of strange men letting themselves in when I'm asleep upstairs!!! (unless they are very handsome )

Well, just got home, and no parcel delivery notes for today. I suppose that means it will be tomorrow (she said, optimistically).

I did just have a panic when I realised tomorrow is Wednesday, but it turns out that even though it is a sub-Post Office, it does the whole of Wednesday - it's only Saturday for a half day.

I think I'll go out in the sunshine and mow the lawn

When my daughter was about three she insisted that I put her Christmas stocking outside her bedroom door saying "I don't want a strange man wandering round in my bedroom when I'm asleep."

Why is it that not matter how much i "want" to revise over this holiday I just can't?! I even drew up a revison timetable, and it looked like everything was going to fit in and work out. But I haven't been able to stick to it and now insteed of reviseing I panic about not being able to finish on time.

Well, I've always found a timetable restrictive. But I empathise, I should have done way more. The hardest thing is starting, so tomorrow morning, sit yourself down, and just start reading/writing anything.

ARGGGGGGGHHH

I didn't get any work done today and I'm falling behind..... *panics*

Racy Lil would rather she was awake at the time..

I HATE packing!!! AAAAAAAARRRGH!!!

WHERE is my hairbrush?!?!?! I've also lost the piece of paper with all the details of the trip on...AAAARRRGH... and i have to get to school in 7 hours...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHH!!!

Don't panic, Sarah - it'll all be fine! I hope you have a wonderful trip and don't see any more of Heathrow than strictly necessary for your flight!

I'm sure they sell hair brushes in New York Have lots of fun!

I will!

in the meantime, the stupid hairbrush is doing a very good job of playing hide and seek and i have to be up in just over 5 hours...

AND I cant find the key for the padlock on the suitcase, so cant actually do any packing and the pile on the bed is just growing into a jumbled heap


AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGH!!!

Sarah, you sound so like my daughter! Best of luck with the packing.

I'm off to bed now - hope you get a bit of sleep tonight! I'm looking forward to hearing all about it when you come home.

night xx

sleeps looking more and more unlikely at the moment And tonight of all nights is when i really need it! I won't be able to go to bed until 11ish pm New York time tomorrow (about 4am Thursday morning UK time)

*starts pulling her hair out*

hey, that's a plan...if i pull my hair out, i wont need the brush

Have given up on trying to find brush and key to padlock for now...trying to put new american customs padlock on my keyring, but have just cut off all my nails, so am not doing too well...aaargh!!

What a palava!!!! (see CISD!!!) It's 4:15am and I'm finally packed (I think I have everything apart from the hairbrush, that is lol). I have to be up in 2 hours, so cant really see the point in sleeping now...this is going to be a very very long day!

I got my parcel

I got home and STILL had no delivery note. However, I had spent my lunch-break with Google, and had found a way to speak to a real person*! I spoke to this person, who said it was at my post office as requested, where it had been delivered yesterday morning. So I've run round and go it, and it was very very much worth the wait

So my thanks to all for listening to my relatively-trivial parcel rant



* If you phone the Customer Service number and pick 'Other', you get a recorded voice telling you to use the website. But if you phone your local depot (which is also a computer), and then pick 'Other', you get an actual person. Who in my case picked up the phone in about 10 seconds.
I had got the Head Office phone number too, just in preparedness, where there are also real people.

Was informed today that a shelf-packer at Tesco earns £26k a year.

Seriously thinking of giving up teaching!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is that because you have to work nights? If not, I might apply - it's 3 times what I'm earning at the moment!!

Arggggggggg

Had to see my consultant on an emergency appt yesterday and narrowly missed going into hospital. It's going to be reassesed next week but I need to be at home to work just now!

AND.........AND..........AND............the mum of one of my pupils is a store manager for Aldi. She has worked for them for two years as a store assistant and was promoted at January............with salary of £40k

sob....sob....