(05:56:42) ~JJ~ : Christ almighty this office is becoming like Paris in 1792 - "Excuse me sir, fancy a dagger to match your cloak?"
(05:57:46) laetitia says to ~JJ~: are you going to have to upturn desks and use them as barricades??!
(05:58:14) ~JJ~ : Seems like the movers and shakers all want to use me as their pawn - but little do they know, I am a rook in pawn's clothing and am working to my own agenda *dark mutterings*
(05:58:44) ~JJ~ says to laetitia: Probably - might have to storm the stationary cupboard too.
(05:59:01) ~JJ~ : "The peasants have no pens!"
(05:59:16) ~JJ~ : "Let them use printer cartridges."
(05:59:23) laetitia says to ~JJ~: I like pens. *licking lips
(05:59:49) ~JJ~ says to laetitia: Do you really? Stop licking my lips - it's disgusting
(06:00:51) ~JJ~ : Beware the statement "Believe me, the MD will take that criticism so much better coming from you than me..."

(06:09:43) ~JJ~ says to [mish]: Came up with a new word this morning
(06:10:02) [mish] says to ~JJ~: do tell
(06:10:05) ~JJ~ says to [mish]: "mishnutes"
(06:10:12) [mish] says to ~JJ~: what is that?
(06:10:38) ~JJ~ says to [mish]: Those five extra minutes you stay in bed in the morning when you feel more comfortable than you ever do when you've got TIME to sleep in

It seems a really simple concept: put the coins into the machine, it produces a sticker that tells the Car Park how long you've paid to park which you stick to the inside of your car window. The Civic Car Park has been a favourite of mine for afterhours City carryons, and I always have coins in my hand - ready - to pay my way. This afternoon, I didn't have any coins, so followed the "change available at office" sign to EFTPOS coinage. Simple really. Except you can't. They'll accept money for money, but won't let you use your EFTPOS card - but that's all I had. No, I was told, you follow that gentleman *gesture to man with same problem who was following a woman with same problem who was more than likely following another person with the same problem* to a CashPoint machine to use your EFTPOS card to retrieve cash to then walk back to the office and then, and only then, will they exchange your paper money for the coinage needed to Park in their car park. This might have been less stressful if I hadn't already burned too much time trying to find a carpark that wasn't full. I asked, why: Why can't I just EFTPOS - you have an EFTPOS machine here - why can't I transfer the funds to you and you give me coinage? why? because, its policy. Fucking Stupid Policy I declared, burning [in my mind] the bridge connecting me to the $2 coins I needed to feed the machine.

I walked all the way into the iMax complex, withdrew my money and, determined not to ask that office woman at the Civic Car Park for change, went to a Cafe and asked if they could change my $20 note for change. No, they couldn't. why not? policy.

Trundling out of the iMax building and into Borders and queued. Please, I said when I got to a cashier, Please help me. She offered to try her best but when she heard I needed change she said I had to buy something. I said, I just need money to feed my parking meter in the Car Park. No, she said, it's Borders policy that a purchase must be made first, but there was a dairy down the road, I could try there. I left, and crossed the road. Next to the dairy was a Games Arcade - more change than they know what to do with I thought so in I barrelled. Upon asking for change for my $20 note, held high to assure them I had money, I was told . Only if you use the change to play on the machines. No, I said, I just need change to feed the parking meter in the Civic Car Park. No, she said, No you can't have any money. I was walking away and into the Dairy. The Proprieter didn't speak English as his first language but sure knew how to tell me no change for you no way no how.

Quite mad and flustered by this stage but onwards I went, downwards, further away from the Car Park I powered. Into a StarMart, surely they'll helpme. Would you please exchange my $20 for coins, any coins, any mixture, so I can feed my parking meter in the Civic Car Park? Well, she said, We're not supposed to do that. I said, you're not supposed to or you're not going to? Not going to, she said. Fine I said. Sorry, she said, it's just policy. I said, great and congratulations, you're the fifth place to turn down my seemingly simple request. I strode out of the StarMart in full-blown Lawlor [the Irish side of my family] indignation and frustration and rightious blind fury to be turned away from the sixth stop to finally stumble into the ASB Bank, to stand in the queue, to get to the front and beg for change for my $20. Yes madam, $2 coins okay? Yes I said, thankyou, I said, you are the lucky seventh, the six before you failed and here you are coming through for me, thankyou thankyou. Erm, he said, opening and shutting his cash drawers, I don't seem to have enough coins. DON'T, I said. DON'T do this to me! I can give you an assortment of coins, if that's all right? his eyebrows did that slanting worried thing, like a puppy dog, if puppy dogs had eyebrows. That's fine. Anything will do.

Powerwalking back up to the Civic Car Park and over to the machine and started feeding the coins into the slot. I was being forceful and pushing them in hard. They were coming out the bottom! I forgot, these machines need you to hold your tongue just right or they don't take your money. I had to calm down and carefully feed my hard earned money into the slot. I turned to the woman behind me, who was kind of snickering to herself at my flustered movements and grumbling and said "I hate this fucking car park" and she laughed and said, "it's great, isn't it?" Then walk to work, having spent a good hour parking my car.
--------