rainbowtatt

I’m not very good at arguing about politics. Which is a shame since my Pop was part of the creation of the DLP (scroll down and check out the guy sat right in the middle of the front row). And he was a good arguer.

Is that even a word?

I’m what you’d call a leftie and go with my gut instinct when it comes to the basics of my political beliefs, with big helpings of advice and info from like-minded family and friends.

And infographics like this, which I have shamefully stolen from Elizabeth (click for full-size image that doesn’t throw out my beautiful WP theme):

I haven’t entirely decided which way I’ll vote on Saturday in terms of where I want my preferences to go, but it might have to wait until I talk to our local Greens/independent/Sex Party reps when I turn up at the polling booth on Saturday (I’ve NEVER spoken to those nutjobs outside the school hall on election day, and TBH I’m a bit scared about it).

Executive summary:

1. Jump up and down and make a lot of noise in Vodafone’s direction (contact their support line (1300 650 410), their Twitter account (@VodafoneAU_help) and fax their complaints line (03 6210 3362)
2. When you manage to connect with a human, try to act at least a bit nice and understand that ruining their day by acting like an asshat isn’t going to make them want to help you
3. Tell them what your complaint is and what workarounds you’ve undertaken to attempt to solve the issue yourself (also proving that you’re not a muppet when it comes to tech). If you think it breaches terms of the contract, explain it. Mention that you know that you have the right to contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) if the issue isn’t resolved satisfactorily
4. Use the word “unacceptable”. It’s always worked well for me
5. Tell them what you want to happen to resolve the issue, and give justification for it
6. At least try to be fair in the negotiation if they want to, say, make you give back your iPhone in return for cancelling the contract
7. Regardless of the outcome, be appreciative to your support person (a.k.a. don’t shoot the messenger) and thank them for their efforts

Full story:

For most of the last 10-15 years, I was a happy Vodafone customer. Until I got an iPhone 3GS in January this year on a 2-year contract.

iPhone + Vodafone = optional coverage, phone call connectivity and voicemail delivery.

In June, my car battery died, at home, causing the alarm to SCREAM INCESSANTLY AT ME THAT THE BATTERY HAD DIED. For 10 minutes, while sat in an area claiming to have full phone reception, I was unable to make a single call. It would either refuse to make the call, or would dropout.

Then, in July, while mum was still in hospital, I had a voicemail message that wasn’t delivered for three days. Turned out that it was a known issue and Vodafone had sent a notification text to every customer except me to tell me about the problem.

For a few months now I have been very open about my dream to ditch Vodafone and get an HTC Desire from Telstra. I’d  had enough of being Apple’s lapdog, too, because I knew my phone issues were just as much Apple’s fault as Vodafone’s. But to break my contract 16 months early was going to cost me over $1,000 under their Early Exit Fee clause, and I’d resigned myself to the fact that I was stuck.

But Thursday morning was the last straw when 3G coverage was non-existent for several hours. I didn’t even get a text message that had been sent to me the night before. Fired up, I sat on hold to Vodafone support for EIGHTY MINUTES and gave up in frustration. I send DMs to their Twitter support account and sent a dirty fax to their complaints department:

I heard back from Kirsty from Vodafone’s support Twitter account and I have to tell you, this woman is a superstar. I emailed her all the workarounds that failed me (I hate being told by support staff to turn off 3G on my iPhone like I have NO IDEA how to do these things). I told her what my beef was and I told her what outcome I wanted:

Here’s where Kirsty earns her superstar rating: within 2 hours, Kirsty had agreed and processed the cancellation of my contract – 16 months early – without charing me the Early Exit Fee. All I have to do is return my iPhone next week.

Amazing. That should have cost me almost $1,100.

If the rest of Vodafone worked as well as Kirsty, then I’d still be with them.

But I’m with Telstra now, with my HTC Desire. I have no idea how to use the Desire yet, but I’m working on it.

I still can’t quite believe that I actually got to break my contract for free!

Have you had success with breaking a contract with a mobile phone provider? How did you manage it?

Late last year I discovered and started following Andrew G’s 365 project. Yeah, the guy who hosts Australian Idol (or did he quit? I wouldn’t know, I hardly watch TV).

He’s up to day 363:

Even though he’s definitely perve-worthy, he’s actually got some interesting things to say about the state of society and teaches me things about the middle-east.

Apart from being a photographer, he’s a twitterer and a blogger and he’s a tumblr too. Oh, and he uses formspring, a website where he answers whatever questions he gets asked.

Even though he hangs out a fair bit online, I think I’m going to feel a bit lost without having a new photo to check out every day… I’m interested in the articles, I swear, not just the pictures! ;)

The other day I was minding my own beeswax up at the local shops, waiting at the lights, waiting to cross the road.

I noticed a guy standing near me who was also waiting to cross the road. Then I noticed that he was recording me on his iPhone!

This is how he was standing:

Just imagine that it’s a man wearing a black jacket and holding a black iPhone. Also, his boobs weren’t as big as mine.

He was standing stock still, with his phone pointed right at me. He was looking down, but his head was at an angle that would have given him a better view of what was being recorded. I cottoned onto what the hell was going on and moved closer to him. I starting eyeballing him and he suddenly put his phone in his pocket and got all twitchy.

Once the lights changed he hotstepped it across the street and I started charging after him. Not that I knew what I was going to do – and not that I had any actual reason to suspect him, except that he was standing funny and holding his phone like he was filming for a Today Today expose – but I didn’t want him to think he was going to get away with it.

He ended up at the nearby pub and I was going to go in and challenge him, but I chickened out because I wasn’t in the mood for being punched in the face. A minute later I walked back, ready to ask him to show me what he recorded on his phone.

But he was gone. And now I’m kicking myself that I didn’t think quick enough to bust his chops when I had the chance. But then I wonder what might’ve happened if I did…?

Did I do the right thing? Should I have challenged him on the street straight away where I was unprotected? Should I have challenged him in the pub where staff and patrons would be witnesses? Did I do the right thing to not actually confront him at all?

Cause I’ve been fantasising that I totally kicked his arse and he never filmed another unsuspecting woman ever again.

This week’s Noice-ities theme is, well, no theme at all. Inspired by this week’s release of Iron Man 2, join me in a perve-fest of Robert Downey Jnr proportions. Although, I think I’d rather Tony Stark over RDJ. Mr Downey himself prob has a few too many “issues”.

The pic on the left was on the cover of yesterday’s Metro in the SMH. I copied it and hung it up around the office. Major photochopping, but excuse me while I swoon:

Dan’s in no rush to take me to see Iron Man 2. I can’t imagine why – surely the movie will be a masterpiece of Oscar-winning quality??

Come on over to That’s Noice to join in this week’s Noice-ities.

I own an ancient version of Photoshop (a.k.a. Photochop). The price of buying an upgrade is in-SANE, so I’ve never bothered.

To be honest, I haven’t really found a reason to. Until now:

Content-aware fill

Everyone’s seen the video, haven’t they? Say no more. *swoon*

Rule of thirds-grid while cropping

I noticed this when watching the content-aware fill video. Be still my beating heart! I always struggle with the rule of thirds and need all the help I can get. I tried replicating this with my current install, but failed.

There are actually a bunch of other reasons I’d be willing to pay the exorbitant amount; this article over at Web Designer Depot covers most of it.

But, I only want Photoshop CS5, I don’t need a whole suite. Will I be able to only buy CS5?

I know I swore I would keep track of all my spending, but… I didn’t.

I kept a mental list that I emailed to myself with the best of intentions… but even stopped doing that after a while.

I spent some money that I should’ve’ve. I was a LOT more conscious of what was coming out of my wallet, and what for.

And… drumroll please…

I saved…

I’m laughing as I put this post together, cause WTF? I didn’t think I did *that* much to change my spending habits in one pay cycle.

And now I’m fantasising about what I can buy myself with my savings. Ha, kinda defeats the purpose of #fubusave, doesn’t it?

I’m a bit of a nutjob for spreadsheets.

I don’t know why.

But I like having my budget all lined up, accounted for, colour coded and formulae inserted.

Here’s a pie chart of the basics of my budget:

And here’s an overview of my budget spreadsheet:

I have one personal credit card and another that is shared with the fiancé. We’ve found the shared credit card has made life so much easier when dealing with things like electricity bills, groceries, insurance, etc. We pay off equal amounts each fortnight. We manage our salaries independently, cause we’re independent like that! We still have a ‘family meeting’ if we want to buy something big (like a sewing machine, or a new bike), but that’s more out of courtesy than being on a short leash.

I’m in charge of paying off my car loan while Dan’s in charge of improving our house deposit and paying for our interwebs bill. I put away the equivalent fortnightly amounts for regular bills like electricity, car registration and servicing, prescriptions, vet bills, etc into my ING Direct account to hold until I need it.

I chose not to get private health cover before I hit 31, but I do put away the equivalent amount into a separate ING Direct account that I have specifically for glasses, podiatrist sessions and whatever-else-hasn’t-happened-to-me-yet. I’m incredibly lucky that I have Dr Joe as my GP; he’s got me on a health care plan that gets me free dental for another two years and five visits a year to Traci, my nutritionist.

I keep track of the difference between what I earn now and what I earned 3-4 years ago and use that difference as a guide for what I can comfortably save each fortnight. This year I’m trying to add a bit more to it, roughly the equivalent of my old personal loan repayment.

I give myself a supply for ‘entertainment’ purposes (read into that as you wish!) and a bit extra cash, because not everyone is capable of keeping to an exact budget, right?

The fortnight just finished was a bit tight for the first attempt at this new, tightened budget. But I did do things like get my hair coloured and buy papercraft supplies from Spotlight (all for a good cause, I promise!). Hopefully this fortnight will be a bit easier since I’ll be keeping a closer eye on how I spend my moola.

(I just realised that this doesn’t even cover my business finances. But in a nutshell, I don’t spend what I make until after I pay the tax bill and I pay for anything I need out of my normal funds and claim it against my ABN. Seemed to work last financial year, so am trying it again this year.)

I have a #febusave confession to make.

There’s been a lot of #febusave fluff showing how many people are giving up their takeaway coffee during #febusave. Or how many people aren’t driving their car to work. Or how many people aren’t expanding their shoe collection for a WHOLE MONTH.

Of the list of sacrifices on offer, there are the ones that have no relevance to me (I don’t buy coffee), and there are ones that are absolute no-go zones (no way am I giving up driving to work and doubling my travel time in my v. fuel efficient car!).

So I’ve been trying to work out what I can do for #febusave to make an impact on my spending habits. I already put away a chunk of money each fortnight and I’m working to pay off my car loan ahead of schedule.

But it’s occurred to me; that while I have a colourful spreadsheet that has been lovingly cared for, I don’t know if the amount I allocate to each of my little sections is a true representation of my actual spend.

So I’m going to track my cash flow like I’m running the office petty cash tin. I’m going to write down every dollar I spend/transfer/etc for my next pay run (which, luckily for my ADD-inclined head, starts tomorrow!)

I’ve got a pen and notepad in my handbag (they’re always in there, but) and I’m ready to go!

Oh god, this is going to be ugly, isn’t it?

Then

• When I was growing up, I wasn’t taught how to deal with money. Whatever money I earned by working, claiming Austudy or taking from mum’s wallet, I spent it
• Within about three months of working full-time (about two months after I finished the HSC), I got my first credit card
• The first thing I properly saved up for was in 2000 (when I was 22) when I saved up $300 to buy a stereo from Grace Bros
• In 2001 I managed to save a whole $3,500, motivated by Dan and I planning to move in together. But we moved into a $320/week house that was too expensive for our crappy income and we eventually moved in with his mum instead
• I ended up having THREE personal loans. One was the outstanding loan for my first car (which had since become a credit card consolidation loan), the second was my holiday loan (I’d saved for the flights, but not the rest), and the third loan was for my new car

Now

• If I spend up on my credit card, I’m better able to pay it off (though I do have lapses)
• I’ve got ING Direct accounts to get higher interest on my savings
• I’ve paid off two loans ahead of schedule (one so early that the bank tried to slug extra fees with my final repayment)
• I’m down to one loan that’s due to be paid off by the end of the year, though I’m saving up to pay it off sooner
• I chose not to get private health cover, so have a separate ING Direct account and save the equivalent amount each pay. I tend to spend it if I have a bigger than usual credit card bill, but I’m improving
• I have kept a budget (a very colourful one) for a good couple of years that I have taken up a notch for 2010 and #febusave

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that I’ve improved out of sight in the last few years. But I still find it too easy to stop my auto transfers and spend money. I also have a coke habit (the canned version) and can easily throw money away on useless crap.

For #febusave, my goal is to better control my spending, hone in on my budget and set definite goals for paying off my car, having a rainy day fund (like the ones mentioned in #febusave’s money confidence survey) and finally starting to contribute to our savings for our first mortgage.