100 days

I count, I count days and everything else I will be packing into my 95l K-way backpack.
Yes, I'm so excited about my Europe trip even though work is very hectic at the moment.

I still need to find accommodation for Spain in Madrid and Barcelona... with the weak Rand... so if you know of a nice cheap but CLEAN place... let me know!

Once the ultimate single party girls – now all settled down

I can’t wait to see Sex and the City, the movie. I loved the show. I watched it religiously. I loved the girls and SJPs clothes. I loved it, l o v e d IT!

I’ve already booked tickets to the show for myself, my fiancé and friend. Yes, I’m taking my boyfriend to a chick flick – and he will love it.

The story starts a few years down the line with Big and Carrie still together and the girls either moved away or got pregnant. However, I’m sure Sam misses her “wild” life even while she is still managing Smith’s career; Miranda and her hubby and child has settled into Brooklyn; Charlote, well, she is pregnant.

Lost bag at Heathrow?

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) stipulates that airlines must spend 100 days trying to reunite lost bags with their owners before selling them off.

British Airways, the sole carrier operating at Heathrow's Terminal 5, still has some weeks before it can start selling off lost bags and, in any case, says it has reunited most of the lost bags with their owners.

But it does often send lost bags to auction houses and, a spokesperson said, donates money earned from the sales to charity.

Read the full story here.

Office Joke

After getting some leftovers from a meeting in our department one of the guys asked if this is how birthdays usually go. One of the developers immediately chirped “no, usually it is more extravagant”!

Lesson in Economics - Simple Principles

I live my life by a few set principles. Don’t make debt; if you have debt, pay immediately.

Yesterday I wrote about this company that owed me R300 for 3 months. After the first month their MD send me a letter saying that they had paid, but I could never find the deposit on my bank statements and I asked for proof of payment – which I never got even a reply to.

Then yesterday I lost it. I sent a harsh mail and finally got a response... and R285. It would have been great if they had paid R295 into my account as this was the original amount they charged for the event. If the tables were reversed and I had paid R285 for the event, they would have insisted that I pay another R10... so, just because I am very serious about enforcing my “principle of money” onto this company I insisted that another R10 gets deposited into my account.

I know, you are thinking that I’m crazy, but think of it this way: SARS will refund you for even 5 cents if they have to, but they will also make you pay 5 cents if they think you owe them that. They work on the principle of – if I get 1 000 x 5 cent back, we have R50, therefore we want that 5 cents.

In my case the principle of the matter is: 1. this particular person had said they paid me, but never did; 2. I at least expected an apology after #1 and didn't get it. I didn’t get my money (when it was allegedly deposited, nor a response on my request for proof of payment) or an apology, therefore now that I finally got a response, I want it all... every little cent.

Let that be a lesson in economics to this company. Die wet van Transvaal is dat jy moet betaal!

people working at companies that think you’ll go away if they ignore you

You know what really gets me, people working at companies that think you’ll go away if they ignore you. Finally you get so fed-up and disgusted with them that you send a harshly worded email to try and get some reaction from them.

I probably would have let it go if a) I had been sent proof of payment; b) not been ignored c) gotten paid when it was said to have been done

This is just what I had done today... and I got results from doing this with the SEO company that is into web stuff, lets call them "not-yet-mentioned-company-name".

I went to a Google event that "not-yet-mentioned-company-name" organized in February 2008. I paid for the event but my company then paid for me too (making it a double paid ticket). I immediately talked to the MD - and asked for a refund. He agreed to do so, he even sent me an email that said it was done.

Obviously I kept checking my online banking statement, but couldn’t find this alleged repayment. I then requested a proof of payment. I received no reply. I requested a proof of payment again, no response. I then sent the following:

Ek wag steeds vir my refund. Ek het ook nou al 2 keer vir proof of payment gevra en ek wag steeds. Ek is GLAD NIE impressed met julle nie. As julle slegte publisiteit wil he, doen so voort en ek skryf oor "not-yet-mentioned-company-name".

I got a response from the MD saying that my company had not paid and if I can send proof of payment he will immediately refund me.

His email is wrong on so many levels. 1. a company like the one I work for, pay all invoices they should as their reputation is important to them; 2. it also means that he (Johan) admits to not refunding me as his emails stated.

I proceeded to contact my company’s financial dept to get the proof of payment and sent it off to the MD. He then had the audacity to double check me. I just thought... well, maybe I will get an apology... no cigar.

I guess for a change I don’t owe an apology to anyone – right? Therefore I can rub it into this MD’s face that he was wrong, but I left it, he knows that he acted unprofessionally and the fact that he knows that he was wrong... well, I like that.

While I am at it, the email that advertised this Google event from "not-yet-mentioned-company-name" stated that you will get a R500 Google voucher when attending this event. This was false advertising as when I received the voucher it was only for R350! I asked about it, but didn’t get an answer. I left it as it was just too much of a hassle to try get an answer out of these people.

This is from the email that was send with the voucher:

“AdWords is the advertising program that enables you to show text ads on the right hand side of Google's natural search results, in English and many other languages, on Google.co.za > and a multitude of other Google domains and on Google's network of websites that show text and image ads that are contextually relevant to their content.

It gives us great pleasure to enclose in this email your free Google AdWords voucher to the value of R 350.00. Your unique AdWords voucher”

The only good thing about this event was the Google people as I had learnt a lot from them. Thank you for that.

Below the original event invite:

You are invited to the prestigious Google Power Up 2008 Event

Taking your business online was the first step towards future success. Taking the next step in becoming a leader on the Internet is just as important.

If you have already taken the necessary steps and have a site that outperforms its competitors, you will also benefit from the event as you will learn what Google has in store for the future.

· Have you ever wished that your web site performed less like a brochure and more like a sales rep?

· Have you ever listened in envy as others bragged about the success that they have with their web sites?

· Have you ever wondered how you could get your web site to rank better on Google?

· Does your website already perform at its peak, but you need to stay ahead of competitors?

Who should attend?

· Businesses new to the online marketing environment.

· Website owners who have already begun to reap the benefits of SEO and Pay Per Click marketing.

· Power players on the Internet wanting to keep the competitive edge

The MD of Google SA, Stafford Maisy, will be our key note speaker and, together with "not-yet-mentioned-company-name", will be sharing our success stories and tips on how to make South African web sites perform better on the global stage.

Some of the discussion points:

· Internet Marketing a must for any business now more than ever!

· How Google sees the future of online marketing in South Africa.

· Google and cell phone technology.

· How to reach all levels of Internet users in South Africa and abroad with Google

· How to use your site to make money

· Turning a trickle into a flood of business via the net

· Google the premier business address on the net

Registration

Don't miss this important event!

The registration fee is R295, which includes:

· Free R500 Google voucher to use on your own personal Google ad campaign

· Refreshments

· Entry to all the competitions

· Extensive workshop on Google.

Date: 15 February 2008
Venue: The Innovation Hub, Pretoria. (Hotel Street, Persequor Park, extension 10)
Time: 9:00- 12:00

The new Levis in my life

Join Goddess.co.za’s Facebook Group!

Do it, just do it. Join Goddess.co.za’s group on Facebook! I promise, you will always be the first to know about competitions and events.

Go to http://www.facebook.com/pages/Johannesburg-South-Africa/Goddess/21017420026 and become a fan!

I love sneakers

I love shoes, heels, sandals and sneakers. I own many pairs of those sexy strappy sandals and even more flat strappy sandals, but in winter I love wearing sneakers.

Unfortunately corporate office dressing codes states that we have to kind of only wear our casuals on Fridays, but I have been sneaking sneakers on the last couple of weeks. Yesterday my fiancé spotted the perfect pair of sneakers I could wear at the office...

A pair of black satin Levis. They are absolutely gorgeous and work well with skirts and pantyhose. Now I can wear my overpriced Levi sneakers to work!

I can see clearly now

No worries, I can still see you clearly.

Regular eye check-ups are a necessity in the age of PCs and TV – that is a fact. In my life, my eyes and hands are everything. I cannot design with bad eyesight, so I go for my check-ups every year.

This year, I once again got a thumbs up for perfect vision. So, don’t try to hide from me, I can probably see you!

I want my cake and eat it too – while it is fresh!

This weekend we stopped by a Checkers in Sunninghill and low and behold... the first bite I took was so dry that I disgustedly spit it out. I got onto my cell and phoned them to complain.

So on Tuesday I took back the cake... it took the customer service agent 10 minutes to pitch from wherever she was, then she looked at the cake as if I’m crazy, then she took me to the bakery to pick another piece of cake!

She barely spoke to me but preferred to hear the story from her co-worker in some language I don’t understand. If she had taken the time to ask me if I wanted another piece of cake or my money back I would have told her that I would prefer a refund. Unfortunately, she had taken me straight to the back.

By the time she asked me what pieces I wanted I was already fuming. I loudly exclaimed that she must be crazy to think that I will eat from that bakery again.

She then dragged me to the front of the shop again... went to her manager and he only came 5 minutes later. He then asked me to fill in my name and house address in order to get a R20 refund. That was the last straw. I asked him what they were going to do with my details – were they planning to deliver fresh cake to me? He eventually gave up and refunded me.

I know, R20 is not much, but it is the principle of the matter. If I spend money, I want my money’s worth. If I had spend R5 on a chocolate and I open it only to find it mouldy and full of worms, I’d take it back. It’s the principle of the matter.

Same goes for this handing out my name and home address like candy... wtf?

www.GODDESS.co.za

Don't let me catch you not signing up to this great blog for women! If you are a guy and want to know what goes on in women's heads... then you can sign up too.

Competition on www.goddess.co.za:

If you are planning to buy your wedding dress at Bride & Co before September, you have to go check out www.goddess.co.za for a competition that will kick off on Monday!

You could win a R500 voucher for accessories at Bride & Co if you send in your story. Sign up to receive either RSS or posts in your inbox. Go to www.goddess.co.za to sign up.

PS. this is the first of many exciting competitions... don't miss out!

A speeding fine that needs to be paid

I bought my car in 2005 from Ipop vehicle sales. The car was delivered to my offices... and on its way to me, the sales guy picked up a speeding fine.

I of course sent them the details of the fine back in 2005 and told them to sort it out. This weekend I was stopped at a blockade near Fourways... and that ticket wasn’t paid – yet.

I immediately phoned Ipop and spoke to the manager – Murray and in no uncertain terms gave him a strict talking-to. Monday I waited for the promised call back, I eventually phoned them again. I sent the details to Colleen... and now I wait.

I hope Ipop realises that I don’t play when I say “SORT IT OUT – N O W"!

SAPO... what a mess!

Having to pick up a package from the post office is not supposed to be such a traumatic occurrence – or should it?

I recently went to the Rivonia post office and had to wait 15 minutes for 1 person to be helped before me. When I finally got to the front, I had to pay at another paypoint for the customs fees. I finally got my package – after NOT signing for it... and then I realised, it was not my package.

I probably wouldn’t have mentioned it if this was the first time that I got the wrong package, but this is the second time in 6 months! Not only has Rivonia post office given me the wrong package twice, they have also managed to “lose” a package. It only took them 4 months to admit to “losing” a package.