I figured I would put that right out there in the header, so you could swing by this entry if you wish. I haven't had a great day today. I shall therefore vent.
I called in dead to work today, which normally would make for an ok (at least) day. However, then I decided that since I finished the first round of antibiotics and after leaving this chesty cough to do its own thing for a number of weeks now, and discovering that 'its own thing' is apparently not getting any better, I should visit my doctor. My doctor who you normally you have to plan to be sick like 3 weeks in advance, in order to get an appointment to see her.
Anyhoo, my BFF the receptionist (who sometimes 'forgets' to charge me, bless her) squeezed me in where my doctor's lunch break would normally be. Now, my doc often runs over schedule. She never rushes, never has one eye on the clock, and takes as long as she needs with you. However it can mean that by 12.20 she was already running over an hour behind schedule. Mmmm, irritating but I had a book and some 3 month old issues of Time magazine (Obama!) to see me through, and frankly I was just glad to get an appointment. So examination finally had, diagnosis made (chest still congested + a cracker of a sinus infection), scrips handed over and I finally got out of there mid afternoon.
I decided to go into the city and claim the money I paid for my sleep meds, so I went into the private health insurance office, took my ticket, waited in line and saw a perfectly lovely woman about my meds. I'm not covered. Because the pharmacist substituted a brand new generic for the name brand I had previously, it wasn't covered at all. The generic is so new that it wasn't on the approved list for the month of April, it may be in May, but not yet. So I saved $34 dollars on the generic, $100 instead of $134, but I don't get to claim the $45 rebate I normally recoup. Yup, $11 more for the generic in effect. Fabulous!
And then, I made the mistake of going into the new Lincraft store in the city. Lincraft is a chain of fabric and craft stores, once glorious... and now owned by a chain that specialises in what we call $2 Shops. Out went the knowledgeable staff (in fact almost all the staff), the high end fabrics, most of the 'middle' fabrics even, and in came the budget fake furs, the synthetic satins and the junk. Novelty tealight holders. Cheap scratchy towels. HUGE bins of acrylic 'novelty' yarns.
They closed the once fantastic big city store and have just reopened in what seems a temporary site, in the basement of a budget womenswear store. OMG. Cramped and disorganised is an understatement. It took me almost 20 minutes of searching to find the sewing threads, and only because I didn't let the locked door and the sign saying "Beware Of The Leopard" deter me. By the time I went to the check out I was ready to kill, or at least maim.
Of course I jest, but I did almost vault over the register desk when the girl behind the counter overcharged me by $20...
5 comments:
I sympathise regarding your chest cough. I'm in the third week of my chest infection and am sick of hearing myself cough all day long. I just want it to go away.
Hmm- that new Lincraft store is doggy do-do! I walked in, saw the plasto-crap & stumbled out! The Homemaker Centre might be void of life, but it has the advantage of having some decent stock at hand.
Sharing the love of the "cough"!! I'm hoping my cough dies in sympathy with yours, cos I'm over the toxic waste by-product.
have you had an x-ray? turns out TDN(tm) has a bit of fluid on the lungs after weeks of coughing.
and oh boy - I had NO idea that the city Lincraft had finally hit the wall and been reborn as a 2-dollar-shit-shop. how depressing... there's no nice fabric shops any more.
Thanks for the comments everyone! Speedy, as T&H mentioned the one at the Homemaker Centre in Alexandria is actually ok. Clean and well laid out. No visible staff, but you can find one if you search... I think the best fabric store these days is The Remnant Warehouse on Botany Rd in Alexandria. Good discount fabrics, a great range of quilting fabrics, good trims etc and really friendly service.
Oh, and yes I had an x-ray. I had pneumonia and have a bit of congestion still hanging around.
I recognise a few staff from the old Sydney store, but it seems as though the new staff haven't been given any training on fabric at all. I suppose they'll learn over time... Everyone starts somewhere, but it'd be good if they knew things sooner rather than later.
When I have been there, the staff seem quite swamped, there's no floating floor staff tidying up or anything. I am just hoping they sort it out because there's not anything else in the CBD except for Lincraft, but shopping there at rush hour is certainly frustrating at the moment. I, however, believe it will get better.
As for being overcharged, people are only human, and computers don't always help either, that's why you get reciepts so you can check!
Just a thought but it's good to know you weren't so sick that you couldn't go shopping...
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