Well, this time around, I needed my own telephone extension. My boss Karlene sent an email to the tech guys with such a request. However, in her email, she accidentally misspelled my name as “Askley King.” I quickly emailed the tech guys to tell them my name was misspelled; they never responded. When I came in the next day, I saw that my newly-assigned phone had “Askley King” written clearly across the screen. Passive aggressive much? Yes, I would say so. =) They have ignored all requests to correct it. So, now every time someone within AMP calls my extension, they always ask, “Hey….do you know that your name comes up as Askley on the system??” Haha. Moral of the story: Don’t mess with the tech guys.
On Wednesday, some of my team members got the free massages that they had signed up for previously at work. Well, I emailed Carol in reception to inquire if there were still any slots available. Sadly, all were taken. However, Carol called me a little later and said there had been a last-minute cancellation. Score! So, part of my Wednesday afternoon was spent getting a free chair massage at work. Ah yes, living the good life. =) Later that same afternoon, I was sitting at my desk when I all of a sudden noticed that many of my co-workers were crowding around the windows, gawking at something below. Unbeknownst to me, Auckland has a yearly event called the “Boobs on Bikes” parade. As you can imagine, it involves topless men and women riding motorcycles throughout the city. This unusual event apparently started as a demonstration after a couple of women were arrested for baring their chests during a public protest.
Since its dawning in 2003, several attempts have been made to stop the parade but each has failed in court. So, for now, the parade happens at least once every year and even gets police escorts to avoid any problems haha. After work that day, Jess and I hung out with Chris at his flat, and just chatted, enjoyed a glass of wine, and listened to music. Then, we all walked down to Durham Street to meet up with Chris’s girlfriend Louise for dinner. The four of us ate at a really good Japanese restaurant called Renkon, where my chopsticks skills (or lack thereof) were rigorously tested. Luckily, Jess snuck me a fork so I could actually eat my rice meal without it taking a solid week. =)
After dinner, we all walked down Queen Street and went to this arcade that I never even knew existed. It was somewhat hidden, inside of a small shopping center/passageway, and down the stairs. Surprisingly, the place was huge too! Chris suggested playing Dance Dance Revolution. As it turned out, he is apparently one of these people that have played DDR to the point of having absurdly mad skills. Jess and I failed miserably in comparison, though it was fun nonetheless…and a really good workout! Chris, Jess, and Louise fit in some air hockey too before we left. The last stop of the evening involved getting some ice cream at Giapo before we all headed home. Fun night.
On Friday, I emailed my boss Karlene to see whether my temp contract would be ending the following week on August 12th. When I first got transferred on July 1st from the Kiwisaver department to the Life and Legacy department, I was told they would probably only need me for a month. However, a couple of weeks into my new role, Karlene mentioned to me that she’d really like for me to stay until September 30th if possible—she just needed to see if she could get approval from the higher-ups. Well, at the end of the day on Friday, she told me the wonderful news that my job contract had officially been extended until the end of September! I was beyond thrilled!! Immediately after work, I went to a few travel agencies to get quotes for Thailand! Once I got home, I made a budget for the rest of my time in New Zealand, my potential trip to Thailand, and my trip to Australia. Ahhh, the excitement!
Cheers,
Ash
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