Celebrating Positives (offset of the Gripes Thread)

[Jerry_Atrick]

I think it is high time he have a thread that is a bit more positive.  So, I'll start.

 

In the greater Taunton area, we don't have the luxury of late night pharmacists. However, there are two supermarkets; ASDA and Sainsbury's that are open 6am --> midnight that have in-house dispensaries. ASDA is a couple of miles closer to where I live, so it was off to there to get some stronger medication to sooth the symptoms of this lurgy while being drowsy inducing so I could get. good nights sleep. This suff has to be provided by the pharmacist to give them a chance to assess us before handing over the goods. While I was waiting in line, feeling all gloomy, the man in front asked if they had masks suitable for COVID as his wife had contracted it while he was away on business. They were fresh out of them and only had some cloth kids masks. However, pharmacists can perform basic diagnosis of minor conditions here on strict condition that if within 3 days symptoms persist to see a doctor (reminds me of the old Bex commercials). As a result they have stock of masks for such assessments, so she nipped into the diagnosis room and pulled out a handful for the fella - no charge. Yes, the top and bottom ones had her prints on them, but she did say to discard them.

 

Then, she offered me a generic brand alternative to the medicine I was looking for, which saved me £3 (around 30%), claiming it was made on the same production line as the branded one. 

 

Two kind gestures lifted my sullen spirits. 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Jerry_Atrick

[old man emu]

I'm kicking myself for something I didn't do the other day. I was in Woollies and asked an employee where a product I wanted was located in the shop. At the time she seemed to be a bit frustrated with the load of empty cartons she had on a pallet. When she answered my question, I quickly turned away and called, "Cheers" over my shoulder. After a few paces away, I wondered if she had heard me, or if she did, did she understand that my "Cheers" was my way of saying "Thank you". I wondered if I should go back to her and actually giver her my thanks for her advice. I'm kicking myself for not doing something trivial that might have been that insignificant thing to me, but might have given her day a boost.

 

That's why your mum insisted that you always say please and thank you.

[Marty_d]

it's a beautiful morning here in Hobart and I'm on the uncrowded express bus with a seat to myself. 

Sometimes even the little things make your day better. 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2023 by Marty_d

[octave]

Something good is that this morning I signed into this forum and someone had started a thread to celebrate the positive things that happen in daily lives.

 

 We humans do tend to have a pessimism bias.  Something I do off and on is at the end of the day, write a list of the little things that happened that day that were pleasant.  This does help to put things in perspective. The one negative experience is usually outweighed by numerous positives.

[nomadpete]

The little pleasantries each seem insignificant or transient individually, so I think we tend to forget them. But taken in combination they all add up to balance out the negatives in my day, which are less in number but because they are bigger, weigh me down more.

 

I find that I feel happier each time I manage to do something unnecessary but nice. (and being a grumpy old bloke I often forget to). I know that it is transient and by itself it doesn't matter but it just might trigger a smile in that person for the rest of their day.

[old man emu]

Sage advice: Always leave them smiling.

[nomadpete]

1 hour ago, old man emu said:

Sage advice: Always leave them smiling.

According to 'The Art of War' that mostly applies to your enemies.

[onetrack]

I went into the local Stihl shop the other day to get a shoulder strap for a secondhand 2-stroke Stihl brushcutter (ex-council) I'd bought at auction earlier this year.

I got the brushcutter for the bargain price of $80 (they're around $900 new), and it runs like a top.

However, the strap was missing when I got it, and I didn't realise, until I'd used it a few times, how important the strap is, to take the weight off your arms.

 

So I went into the local Stihl shop to see if I could get a strap, and how much it was going to set me back. This shop is pretty good, it's a big shop, they sell everything for landscaping, mowing and lawn care, and the blokes are on the ball.

I went up to the counter and asked the young bloke if I could get a strap. It took a bit for him to find it in the parts book, and I made it worse by not checking on the exact model number I had.

 

Anyway, after a few minutes of looking, another young bloke rocked up from out the back, and he said to the bloke I was dealing with, "they're on page XXX" - and the young bloke promptly found them, and got a part number.

He zipped out to the store and came back a couple of minutes later, and said, "They're listed, but there's none on the shelf". He played on the computer for another minute, and then said, "Hang on, we've got some right here, under the counter!"

 

At that, he pulled a cardboard box out from under the counter, that was full of new straps. He'd previously quoted around $15 for a new strap.

He went looking on the computer again, and then said, "Ahhh, bugger it, I can't be bothered trying to track this down, it's too much trouble - here you go, it's free!"

 

I was quite stunned at this offer - because even though I suspected all the straps in the box under the counter were discarded from new equipment, because buyers didn't want them, I thought they'd charge for the strap, anyway!

So I thanked the young bloke profusely and left the shop quite pleased with my little "win". And of course, that attitude has ensured I'll go back and buy more bits and pieces off them.

And to finish the story, the strap fitted a treat and works beautifully, and makes handling the brushcutter so much easier.

[old man emu]

7 hours ago, onetrack said:

And to finish the story, the strap fitted a treat and works beautifully, and makes handling the brushcutter so much easier.

Is your missus pleased with her Christmas gift?

[nomadpete]

16 minutes ago, old man emu said:

Is your missus pleased with her Christmas gift?

 

C'mon this is a thread celebrating positives.

 

I bought my wife a cordless whipper-snipper. She loves it. (she then bought herself a little cordless chainsaw to keep in the car for those rainy days when a small tree might drop across the driveway.)

 

Anyway the positive here is that somebody in the marketing department has realised that not everyone gets joy from winding stringline onto a whippersnipper spool. This gadget uses a disposable plastic scythe that simply clips onto the spool. That and that the lightness of the device has made her day.

 

 

[red750]

Here's a mixed story about our local council, the good bit last.

 

Our Men's Shed was forced to leave our accommodation of about 8 years in July of 2022, when the owners wanted to expand their activities. The council offered us some land, and said they would build us a new purpose built shed if the shed was shared with other groups, like a women's day, repair cafe, disabled peoples' day, etc. In the interim we are sharing with another group at their location, 10 km away. The new shed is at least 5 or 6 years off, so, in the interim the council offered us a vacant building they had. It needs a bit of work to bring up to scratch, such as disabled toilets, suitable power for the tools, etc. They insist we use their contractors, and we have to cover the cost. They say the renos will cost $25,000, even though our ex-tradie members could do it a lot cheaper. But all of this has taken nearly 18 months to get to a letter confirming 5 years occupancy (required to get a grant from th Men's Shed Assoc.), before a single nail has been driven. We will be lucky if we can move in before Easter - which year?

 

Now the good bit. I had to go down to the local Bunnings late on Monday, and noted a large pothole on a corner with the highway. I stopped and took a photo on my phone. After dinner on Monday night, I went onto the council website and lodged a report with photo. I had to go out on Wednesday, past the same intersection. The pothole had been filled and topped with bitumen.  -  Less than two days!

[facthunter]

Holey Road. A miracle.  Nev

[spacesailor]

My ' tripy-hole ' took two months to repair . The Old lady is still waiting to get her knee operation,  after tripping in that same pothole,  so it must be a Three month pothole. 

spacesailor

[Jerry_Atrick]

Couple of things happened today.. First, I had won a whoe £4.50 on a lottery (well, I lost £5.50 as I put in £10). That was about 2 weeks ago, and it has been sitting in my wallet waiting to be cashed, but as I don't often buy lottery tickets and use my card for most things, it was just sitting there. A fella selling the Big Issue didn't seem to be having much luck as most people don't have cash.. So I decided, since I am unlikely to use the winnings of my ticvket for a while (I us]ually forget it is there until after I have paid for some goods where I could have part-used to the ticket to buy), I just donated it to this chap. Often to get into hostels, they have cto contribute, so hopefully he made enough to get into his hostel for the evening.

 

Thios morning, at the fishmongers, there was one whole sea bass left, and they were oinly selling the lot. An old fella didn't want the whole lot - just one side fillet. He was looking a little despondent, when an old lady pipped up and said she only wanted aside fillet, too. So they both chipped in and bought the fish; the monger filleted it for them and they were both happy..

 

 

 

[old man emu]

3 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

they were both happy

Then they bought some hot chips, doused with vinegar and wrapped in a big sheet of white paper; bought a couple of spuds and went and had fish 'n' chips in the park. The beginning of a beautiful relationship!

[Jerry_Atrick]

I do hope so.

[Marty_d]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

Then they bought some hot chips, doused with vinegar and wrapped in a big sheet of white paper; bought a couple of spuds and went and had fish 'n' chips in the park. The beginning of a beautiful relationship!

As long as their non-fish-eating partners never found out. 

[nomadpete]

6 minutes ago, Marty_d said:

As long as their non-fish-eating partners never found out. 

Tut tut Marty.

This is the 'look on the bright side' thread.

[facthunter]

Do you have to be "bright" to post?  That'll slow it up.  Nev

[facthunter]

Hell.  I'm a Prophet.  It slowed up.

I'll have to use this POWER wisely.

OK Poetry..'

 

   "The boy stood on the burning Deck 

 His feet were full of blisters

 He tore his pants on a rusty Nail 

 

 

 

 

and now he wears his sister's."  Nev

[nomadpete]

7 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Hell.  I'm a Prophet.  It slowed up.

I'll have to use this POWER wisely.

OK Poetry..'

 

   "The boy stood on the burning Deck 

 His feet were full of blisters

 He tore his pants on a rusty Nail 

 

 

 

 

and now he wears his sister's."  Nev

 

 

  Fail

[facthunter]

Nothing positive about giving ME a FAIL..  Nev

[facthunter]

To be honest. I think people are happier being unhappy.  The real problem would be having nothing to whinge about.  A crisis of identity. Fear of being different. So much of this world is far worse off than WE are. THAT should be patently obvious..  Nev

[old man emu]

The boy stood in the prisoners' box,

Picking his nose like fury.

Rolling it into little balls,

And flicking it at the jury.

 

And again:

The boy stood on the burning deck

Wishing he hadn't been born.

His father said, You wouldn't have,

If the Frenchie hadn't torn.

[red750]

2 hours ago, facthunter said:

I think people are happier being unhappy.

My mother used to say, "You're never happy till you're miserable."