Celebrating Positives (offset of the Gripes Thread)

[Jerry_Atrick]

Well, the daughter's time at EDF is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. She didn't realise it, but she has racked up about 2.5 weeks holiday leave (we get sometehng like 6 weeks standard, here, but there is no long service leave, but they allow sabbaticals after 5 years (November for me), and pay you up to three months of your basica salary - no pension, medical/health, bonus, additional holiday accruals). 

 

Anyway, we are on a long weekend this weekend, but daughter and one of her good mates are driving to Cornwall for the week from Monday arvo. Two 19 year old girls - nay - women (using girls here is common parlance), are going to have a week of fun and frolics. My daughter asked me if I was going to be sad or have any reservations about her going. I looked her in the eye and said I am really happy, a father will never stop worrying ever slo slightly about their adult children, but that she is miles more mature at her age than I was at that time (and probably now). 

 

Since she could crawl, she was always fiercly independent. I recall her dropping something when she was still crawling, and when I picked it up for her, she slapped my wrist and got a right strop with me. I put it down, and she picked it up, looked at whatever it was in her hand, and lifted her head to look at me, ans then smiled a very wide grin.  Admittedly, the grit has waned slightly, but she is a determined daughter of a bastard. 

 

In two weeks she starts univesity. Her employer wants her back for the breaks; I am going to miss her at home, but the university is quite close (unlike Aus, kids often go to unoversities the other side of the country form where they live). But, I am so proud of her. 

 

I know we are all proud of our kids.. and rightly so. I just wanted to share it.

Edited August 23 by Jerry_Atrick

[onetrack]

This thread needs an update, with positive news. I have positive news to report, on my front.

 

Out of the blue today, I got an SMS saying as a result of ACCC proceedings against the Good Guys, I now have $70 store credit with the Good Guys - and the credit doesn't expire for 12 mths.

 

I was annoyed previously about the shonky way the Good Guys offered store credit (or "store cash") - which credit was offered immediately after you purchased something from them.

It worked along the lines of, if you bought a washing machine, say, for $500, the GG's would immediately say you had a further "bonus" credit of, say, $20 or $30, to spend in-store.

 

What the GG's failed to state clearly, was that the credit expired very quickly (usually about 7 to 10 days), or you had to sign up to marketing promotions to get the store credit.

 

The ACCC obviously became aware of a lot of people being effectively scammed out of their store credit, so they took the GG's to court over it, and the GG's got fined $13.5M, and had to redress the customers who lost their store credit. I lost store credit previously, because it had expired when I went to use it.

 

I initially thought the SMS might have been a scam, but it wasn't, and there was link in the SMS that went to the GG's website, which gave out the details.

So, that's a nice small win for the little guys, over the shonky sales tactics of the Good Guys, and I'm looking forward to spending that $70 shortly, on something I need.

 

https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/the-good-guys-to-pay-135m-penalty-for-misleading-store-credit-promotions

[Jerry_Atrick]

Daughter moves into University today - studyign what the world needs more of: law. 

 

Over here, it is virtually mandatory that first years move into on campus university accomodation and then from second year on, find their own way. It is also common that the students move to the university of their choice across the country. Thankfully, daughter had Exeter as her first choice, then York, then St. Andrews. 

 

Exeter University is 35 miles away. York is 270 miles away, and St. Andrews is 483 miles away. The car is packed with all the accroutments she needs, and I am glad it is only a 35 miles away. 

 

We are both excited and sad because of the hole her moving out will leave  at home. But it is wonderfult o see her thrive, and I am confident she will do well. Although there is a lot of the world she has to learn, she is mature and has a level head; something that I have yet to attain. 

 

Life changes, and we are always better mving with the change than trying to stop it; we can learn and continue to develop every day - and the positive for me is that her moving to the next chapter of her life brings my great joy, but also reminds me that we have to continue to learn and develop. 

 

She has reminded me that also I should be retired this year and the body has slowed a bit. the mind thankfully hasn't (not that I would notice, of course), and there is still so much to do.