Desperate times?

A 19-year-old Kiwi university student is offering up her virginity by tender to the highest bidder on a newly started NZ auction website.

Under the heading "Relationship For Sale" in the personal section, "Unigirl" is putting herself on the block and offering up her innocence on the I Need website which is run by two Waikato men.

See the ad in a new window here.

Unigirl says she is attractive and desperate for money to pay ongoing university fees. She says she is fit, healthy, with a trim physique and has "no medical conditions of any nature".

Who knows whether the ad is genuine or whether it’s some kind of stunt by the website owners but if it’s real I hope she’s factored in that as prostitution is legal here in NZ the IRD would no doubt expect their tax cut out of anything she makes.

 

Sad? Just plain dumb? Either way, surely an interest free student loan would be far simpler?

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Still on the run

You may recall my post of 6 months ago about the young couple who did a runner after the bank inadvertently credited their bank account with too much money. See the original post here called On the Run.  Well 6 months have passed and they’re still at large.

Leo Gao, Kara Hurring and their young daughter Leena fled to Hong Kong in early May after Westpac, an Australian owned bank, credited Mr Gao's account with a NZ$10 million overdraft when he had asked for just $100,000. The bank immediately recovered most of the money but $3.8m is still outstanding.

The NZ Herald reports;

Two months ago Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Colby, of Rotorua police, said a "mutual-assistance" request to the Chinese government was being worked through. Mr Colby denied the delay was frustrating or embarrassing for NZ police.

Co-operation between China and NZ is obviously a slow process over such matters.

Spare a dollar mate?

The state of my finances has forced me to make contact with a number of charitable organisations to let them know I have stopped my automatic payments to them. I just can’t afford them anymore. I felt like a cop out though I am pleased to say that no-one gave me a hard time – they were all in fact very understanding.

There are another few charities which I can’t in good conscience stop supporting right now when the work they do is so crucial. They’re organisations that I know do great work, provide excellent value for money and I’ve supported them for many years. I do worry that even though each contribution is a modest amount it is still more than I can really afford each month right now though hopefully all things monetary will improve soon.

If anyone is in healthier shape financially and is in the market for a good cause, you might consider one of those below that I’ve had to stop supporting. All are reputable and their records show an excellent return for donations (i.e low administrative costs). The websites are linked to the logos so click away and find out more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Car Sales Torture

In my post of last weekend (see here) I talked about how I am trying to buy myself a new car but that I’m struggling with the actual process of stepping onto a used car lot to start looking at what’s available. I am car-sales-yard-a-phobic. I’ve now made some progress.

I’ve done some poking around on the net and now have a bit more clue about what my money should buy me and I also have a clearer picture of what I want.

As Moko suggested, my available funds should be able to buy me a non-fancy Japanese 5 or 6 year old station wagon with mileage (what’s the metric of that word - is it kilometage?) a bit on the high side or alternatively something a year or two older but with a little less on the clock. I’ll have to weigh that one up. I like a wagon for carting the dog around but am not a fan of the ubiquitous SUV.

Another thing I’ve found is that most of the wagons for sale in NZ these days have an automatic transmission so that’s given me some pause – I’ve never owned anything other than a manual. 

Next step is to co-opt someone to come looking with me.

A new motor

I drive a car that’s practically a classic and family, friends and colleagues have been giving me heaps for years about it. They can’t understand how I’m not embarrassed to be driving such an old car.

I just don’t care actually. As long as it starts when I need it (I have a work vehicle for to and from work each day so I only need my car for personal use), and is straight, tidy and economical to run then I don’t care whether it’s 1 year old or 30 years old.

I see people spending huge amounts of money on a car and I can’t understand what it is that makes them need to have the newest flashest thing available. Even if I was rich I can’t imagine spending a great deal of money on a pile of metal that drops significantly in value the second you drive it off the lot. It’s a status thing I guess.

Anyway my brother/mechanic now advises me to take the plunge and get something newer as it is becoming increasingly uneconomic to keep my wee motor on the road.

I’ve looked around and figure I need to spend about NZ$10k to get something reasonably modern (i.e less than 10 years old) and tidy and with a decent warranty. 

OK then I start looking and this is where the problems start. I just can’t bring myself to walk onto car sales lot and run the gauntlet of potentially aggressive and increasingly desperate used car salespeople. I know times are tight but c’mon guys…

I have to find a way to steel myself against any overly pushy sales types so I don’t get pressured into something I don’t want. I’m not saying I am a push over but as a car is so relatively unimportant to me, there is a risk that I take the path of least resistance and hand over my hard earned cash on the first thing I see just to get the hell out of there and get the process over with.

Advice anyone?

It’s pouring with rain so I couldn’t be bothered taking a photo of my car to show you but found this one taken last summer to give you some clue as to the exact vintage we’re taking about here.

It’s a 1984 corolla station wagon.

The Great Food Robbery

Interesting story on Campbell Live here tonight for any Australian readers. 

Sounds like you guys are getting totally ripped off on food prices. We’re somehow paying significantly less here in NZ for your Australian products and this is despite our extra 12.5% GST which is payable on all goods.

Click on the todaytonight logo for the full story from Craig Kelly of the Southern Sydney Retailers Association. Sorry I can’t find the actual video anywhere online to link to.

 

Prepare to be plenty pissed off.

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As promised earlier here is a photo of Cathedral Square, Christchurch at night with the lights on.

Awww pretty.

 

 

 

After saying I was struggling earlier, here’s my second post of the evening… I’m making quite a liar of myself.

On the run

A kiwi guy and his girlfriend and kid have fled the country and are believed to be hiding up somewhere in Hong Kong with a few million dollars that the bank deposited into his bank account in error.

The story (see NZ Herald online) has captured the imagination of New Zealanders and two clear camps have emerged;

• Team  Leo – those who can understand why this guy was tempted to abandon his failing business and heavily mortgaged mini property empire and do a runner with the ill gotten gains.
• Team Westpac – those who disagree with Leo’s decision.

 

What would you have done in Leo’s situation?

Solicitation

I don’t know about where you live dear reader, but here In New Zealand it’s perfectly legal to ‘cold’ call private residential land lines and tout for work or solicit charitable donations.

Then, to add insult to injury, if you’re silly enough to agree to donate to a particular charity in this way, you run the very real risk of having your details on sold to other charities.

It has reached the point now where 6 to 8 calls to my fixed line every single week are from various charities looking for support. I would be bankrupt if I made even a small donation at every request but, to my immense frustration, I am a salesperson’s dream – I just can’t say no. I just can’t. The sales pitch works on me because I can’t stand to see anyone go without whether it be new toys for the local kids hospital or accommodation for families of kids with kidney problems through to funding for our local rescue helicopter. I just can’t say no.

My solution is to stop answering the phone.

I haven’t answered my home phone for months without screening first. Rory is well trained – he can pick a cold caller from a thousand yards and says I’m out.  They have to get tired of ringing at some stage. It’s a form of freakin’ terrorism when I can’t answer my own phone for risk of it costing me money.

Now don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe in supporting the charities of your choice. I do and I am more than happy to continue to do so each year.  I am a long term supporter and member of WSPA, Red Cross, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and a couple of other organisations that I believe maximise the use of every dollar I  donate.

I just don’t want to be stalked and hassled at every turn.

Now before you suggest I do the hang up thing or get brutal with them, I don’t blame the actual caller – they’re just trying to make a living. All I want is some sort of ‘no call’ register where I can get my name and phone number recorded and which says that I do not to be called on my home phone number. I understand that the UK has such a thing and I have written (repeatedly) to NZ’s privacy ombudsman about having this option available here. I will not be giving up any time soon as there does not seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel so far.

Is this a problem where you live?

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A big Quiet Life welcome to ‘simple life’: my 40th follower! Thanks for stopping by and joining the crew. Join in and let me know what you think.

Off to the beach…

Last week the NZ Herald ran a story on annual leave entitlements in NZ and in other countries. I went digging and found some more information on the OECD situation in a 2007 European Economic and Employment Policy Brief. 

The minimum annual leave entitlement in NZ is 4 weeks a year. This can be negotiated up (just as I presume it can be in most other OECD countries). We have another 7 paid public holidays per year plus up to another 4 days depending on which day they fall on that year. Somehow it still doesn't seem like anywhere near enough.  We also have paid sick leave provisions – about 10 days a year is average I believe.

Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Italy and the UK all appear to have a 4 week minimum much like NZ. This seems to be around the standard.

In France the minimum legal entitlement is 6 weeks but this increases if you work more than the legal 35 hours per week. 35 hours? Yes you read right, that’s all you’re supposed to work each week in France. If you work 40+ hours a week you could end up with up to 7 weeks of annual leave a year.  The Scandinavians have a 5 week minimum. 

The big difference seems to be the cumulative total of annual leave days plus statutory paid holidays and on this scale, NZ and Australia fall below mid point in the range. At the other end of the scale I was surprised to find there is no legal minimum of paid annual leave or public holidays in the United States.  I am guessing that even super human Americans need a holiday periodically so I assume it is just managed in a different way. I am interested to know how it works there if anyone can be bothered sharing.

WALK-A-THON 2009

Rory and I have been out walking for the annual school overseas fundraiser.

I am exhausted.

We made the full 12 kilometres which was easy for Rory but a bit of a struggle for me as we walked at a much faster pace than my normal saunter.

Over the next few days we will collect all the sponsorship funds from friends, colleagues and family who’ve been unlucky enough to run into us over the last couple of weeks. Rory and I estimate we’ve raised between us about NZ$460 which we think is pretty damn good going. The fundraising this year is to help rebuild a storm damaged primary school in Samoa. We felt we deserved a nice brunch after our efforts so traipsed to our favourite cafe which is in the middle of our local garden centre (see below the view from our table of the seedling nursery). We scoffed down eggs Benedict with salmon on focaccia for me and pancakes with bacon and maple syrup for Rory. All washed down with strong hot coffee for me and berry juice for Rory. Mmmmmmm it was good. A good morning all in all.

Travel regrets?

Yesterday I posted some photos of the beaches  close to where I live and JadedJ commented that he had once had an opportunity to visit New Zealand but instead chose to go to Thailand. I love Thailand too so I can understand that decision.

Anyone who has done any travelling, either domestically or internationally, knows that we do sometimes have to make choices when time or money is limited.  Sometimes we even make choices based on  misinformation,  misconceptions or on a lack of adventurous spirit.

I’ve done a bit of travelling in my life and while I certainly hope to do plenty more before decrepitude sets in, I know there are opportunities that I passed up which won’t ever present themselves again. 

On one occasion in Casablanca, Morocco I turned down an invitation to stay with a Berber family in the Atlas mountains because I was worried about the fact that they seemed to live on mutton when I was a vegetarian. In 1989 I was in Slovenia which was at that time a part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  Rising ethnic nationalism at the time meant things were feeling kind of edgy and I chickened out and headed north into Austria instead of south like I’d planned. I have always regretted that I never got a decent look at socialist Yugoslavia. Only a few weeks ago, I turned down a weekend away because a woman I don’t particularly like was going to be there – turns out I missed an absolute rage of a weekend. Dumb decisions!

There are more examples I could talk about where I made travel decisions I later regretted but I am more interested in hearing about yours -

Where have you not gone that you now regret and why did you make the decision not to go at the time?

C’mon share people - add into comments here or make it your own post topic and link it back here.

Quirky stuff

Everyday I am amazed about what can be found in the market place to satisfy the whim of even the most fanciful amongst us.

Today I came across a site called gizmodude.com and it’s full of consumables to satisfy even the quirkiest taste.

Check out these few examples that amused me.

 

I love this – different but cool! 

When you’re trying hard to impress your trailer park neighbours

 

Wee bit hard to see but it’s a tape dispenser – cute! 

 

When total camouflage is critical even when you’re wiping your arse 

When a naked picture on your coffee mug is probably the closest you’ll get 

 

When you just can’t last without your tunes even when you’re scuba diving at the Great Barrier Reef

Kinda cool staple ‘puller-out-thingy’

 

Nike prosthetic leg anyone??

 

Sometimes I’m very glad I’m not wealthy.

There is far too much rubbish to be bought in this world.

The simple life

Today I wanted to share some good news.

Sometimes we can get mired in the worries of the world and the confusion in our heads and we need to take a deep breath and think about what’s good and kind and gentle in the world.

Smell the roses friends…

Identical twin sisters Beryl Baguley and Matilda Hanlon (nee Wilson)  of Auckland turned 100 yesterday as reported on nzherald.co.nz. These two gorgeous women have a very simple philosophy on life and on longevity.

Mrs Hanlon said "I have always eaten simply, lived simply and have never wanted for much...I have always just used soap and water on my face and no fancy products too,"

Neither of the twins have ever been seriously ill nor have they had to undergo any type of surgery. Their advice on surviving a major recession was also simple.

“Don't get a credit card, I've never had one and I don't think people need them,"  said Mrs Hanlon, who has lived in her three-bedroomed Papatoetoe home since 1947.

"My husband bought some carpet for our home on a time-payment basis many years ago but we found it very hard to pay it off so I swore we would never get anything on credit again."

Both women have outlived their husbands and some of their children.  Neither of them have ever been on a plane nor visited the NZ’s South Island.

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I think sometimes we can make life so very complicated and I could certainly take a page from their book and no doubt be happier. 

Read the story if you can be bothered – it sure made me feel good. NZ Herald.

Sisters rock!

Don’t forget to cast your vote in my poll

Beautiful

Here’s a few pics of some fabulous fashion for anyone who’s interested. None of these are, or ever will be, owned by me. I do not buy designer shoes, bags or clothes but that doesn’t stop me appreciating their beauty.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intelliwench suggested in a comment earlier today, that I may have replaced my smoking habit with another habit and I suspect she may be right.

After some thought I am now officially putting the shopping and fashion lust focus to rest, if for no other reason that I am dirt poor and frankly my recent rampant materialism is becoming distasteful even to me.

It would be great if others out there in cyber land could help me make it through the bleak NZ winter by sharing their own shopping stories while I curb my spending over the next few months.

Flying, shopping, flying

Hope everyone’s weekend was great.

I am back in NZ after a flying visit to Victoria to catch up with my girlfriend who’s still freaked about the fire getting so close to her place. She still refuses to unpack her car despite the reasonable amount of rain they’ve had there and the subsequent reduction in the fire risk.

To help her relax, we decided that a spot of shopping was the order of the day so we headed down to Melbourne for some serious retail therapy.

We started with pedicures as it’s just not fair to inflict ugly feet on shoe salespersons and then after a coffee break we headed to Myer for a look and a dream over the Blahniks.

I needed a new pair of black courts with winter on the way and there was one pair I particularly loved (see picture) but at AUS$895 there was no way in hell.  Man they looked gorgeous on my feet though.

Not one to be daunted so easily, I went looking for something similar but at about the necessary 15-20% of the cost…and I found them.

Please excuse my less that professional shoe photography.

These were much more in my price range and I absolutely love them.  The Italian leather is so supple and soft, its a minor miracle and they’re a perfect height heel for me to wear to work – 3 inches which means I can wear them all day without too much foot angst.

My next purchase was a beautiful leather overnight bag as my current one is looking rather scruffy and needed replacing. This photo makes it look quite navy but it’s actually a midnight blue – so dark it almost looks black except when the light hits it. It’s the perfect size for overnight necessities and I feel like Audrey Hepburn when I carry it :-)

That was my shopping budget totally blown but then I saw a handbag that I just couldn’t resist.

The whole ‘alligator skin’ leather is starting to sound somewhat like a fetish (and if I am honest it probably is lately) but I have been looking for a red bag to match some gorgeous red boots I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway here it is!

Photographed along side my overnight bag so you get a feel for the size of them both.

Ahhh life is good!

After dinner and 2 bottles of wine in Lygon Street and a great days shopping, I really felt that BFF was finally relaxing and feeling more in control of her life again.

She’s now rethinking where she’s chosen to live and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a move out of the bush on the horizon for her. I know I’d feel much happier if she wasn’t living there by next summer though I’ll miss the place.

It’s good to be home – am much poorer after shopping, eating and drinking and flights but I’m glad I went for her sake. Back to work tomorrow to pay for it all.

How much is too much?

I love my Bonnie girl. 

She’s been a big part of my world for the last 7+ years (she was born on 11 Sept 2001, true!) and I hate that winter is coming and she’s going to get stiff and have sore hips again. I have started her on green lipped mussel extract a few weeks ago and I hope it helps her this year.

Anyhow…that’s not actually the topic for today's post.

This evening after work, I was having a conversation with the IT guy and he was telling me that his beloved German shepherd got slammed by a car a couple of days ago.

She’s been at the vets since then where they’ve operated and inserted pins into her leg and removed a battered internal organ (he did tell me which organ but can’t recall).

The dog is going to live which IT guy is extremely happy about. So far he’s NZ$5,100 (US$2,700) out of pocket.

This got me thinking – how much would I spend if Bonnie got hurt? More to the point probably is how much could I spend if Bonnie got hurt?

I don’t have savings worth talking about and the way things are right now, I be very wary about borrowing money to pay a vets bill. The equity I have in my house has been dribbling away over the last 6 months as the housing market has righted itself (as was inevitable) and it’s made life just that bit more precarious.

Just thinking about it made me anxious and I made a decision driving home that I would immediately hit the internet and find out about pet insurance.

The first ad I saw was for a company named PetProtect. With them I can get an ‘accident only’ plan with a maximum $4000 accident cover (with a $150 excess) for $189 a year.

Pet-n-Sur was the next site I looked at where a ‘surgery only basic’ plan comprising surgery re illness and/or accident to $1500 max in each category, for $156 a year or I could double that cover (surgery only extended plan) for $235 a year.

I think I only need the surgery cover anyway as most other stuff is almost affordable. I think I’ll ring on Monday morning (it’s nearly 10pm on Friday night here now) and make some enquiries.

I have decided that I won’t risk being without this insurance for another week. 

Smoke Free

The ‘calculator’ on the Quit Line blog tells me: 

264 days smoke free

9,504 cigarettes not smoked

Money saved $4,758.00

I can barely believe I have made it this far.

I have never managed so long without a cigarette since I started smoking at 14.  My mum quit at the same time as me as she’s also still smoke free. I have such a sense of accomplishment it is hard to put into words.

What really shocks me is how much time at work I wasted outside smoking. I seem to be able to get so much more done now and in less time.

…one year smoke free here I come

The Issue of Tissue

I was shopping with my mum earlier this evening and I was surprised to see her reach for non-recycled paper toilet tissue. She always used to have an earth friendly brand in the bathroom but she says she’s gone back to buying a luxury brand as she likes how soft it is and that it’s too scratchy when the paper is recycled. I proceeded to rip open a pack of recycled non-bleached tissue like we use in our house to show her that it’s not that bad – it’s not like sand paper like it used to be years ago when they first started selling it.

End result, she’s taken some home to try again.

After our conversation I stood there and scanned the shelf in the supermarket and was surprised to see that nearly a quarter of the brands on offer had only a small (or even worse, zero) percentage of recycled paper used in the manufacture. I was embarrassed. I came home and googled the issue thinking how awful that there’s still obviously a quarter of people in NZ using virgin wood pulp to wipe their arse (please excuse my coarse language). Surely the rest of the world would be horrified when we’re supposed to be all ‘clean and green’ here in NZ. Yeah, right!

Well……this is an article that I found. 98% of toilet tissue sold in the US today is from non-recycled paper.

Don’t worry I’m not going to deliver a lecture but I just thought I’d bring it to your attention. Do what you will with the information :-)

Canadian readers though, might be interested to know where some of the 200 year old trees come from to make this fluffy, multi-ply luxury so favoured in North American bathrooms.