| BlueBridge can suck it |
[May. 3rd, 2008|03:54 pm] |
I am at motherfucking home.
I am supposed to be in Wellington.
Why am I not in Wellington?
Bluebridge motherfucking Ferries.
This is a really long story and I am really tired, but I'll try to recount what happened anyway. If it's not coherent... sorry.
So, yesterday our ferry was scheduled to depart Picton at 2PM and arrive in Wellington at 5:20PM. Jason and I normally take the Interislander (which is the same route, just a different company & apparently much nicer ferries for about the same price), but since we'd never taken BlueBridge we thought we'd give it a go.
We get on the ferry, and find a seat outside on the top deck. We realized as soon as we got on that this ferry is a lot jankier than the Interislander, but whatever, it's still got plenty of seats and it's all good. We're happy to be up on the top deck, taking in views of the gorgeous Marlborough Sounds before the boat gets out into the Cook Strait. From our seat, we had a clear view of the smokestack. When the ferry engine started, there was a loud POW, like a gunshot only way louder, and a ton of black smoke came out of the smokestack. It cleared up shortly after, so we just figured it was an older boat and it did that every time it started up. And maybe it does, but it certainly wasn't a good sign for what was to come.
Not quite an hour into our trip, way out in the Sounds not far from Cook Strait, the power suddenly cut out. By this time we'd moved inside, and the cafe where we were sitting went dark, and the boat started drifting. Uh... really not good. The staff didn't seem terribly alarmed so we figured we'd be back on our way after a bit of tinkering. After a delay and a lot of drifting towards land, the captain announces that they've got engine problems and have dropped anchor. Oh boy.
On top of this, during the wait for them to get everything going again, Jason and I both have to go to the loo, and find them to be in horrible condition. According to Jason, the one toilet in the men's bathroom had the toilet seat torn off and on the floor. In the women's room, I find one toilet in exactly the same state, and the only in-tact toilet has shit on the seat. So I pretty much decide then and there that I'm never taking a BlueBridge ferry again.
An hour and a half later, they finally get the engine started again, but the captain decides that we're heading back to Picton because they were still having problems. By the time we'd get back to Picton at 5:30, we should have been in Wellington. At this point I try calling Sounds Air, a small airline that flies out of the teeny-tiny barely existent Picton Airport on the slim chance that they'd have a flight, and got no answer. We were feeling pretty annoyed, but they announced plans to put us on the next ferry at 7PM -- so even though it was going to be a really big waste of time and a lot of inconvenience, we thought we would at least get to Wellington -- albeit 5 hours late.
When we finally get back to Picton, they get everyone off the ship and take us back to the terminal. The passengers are then made to queue for new boarding passes, and everyone's really starting to get annoyed. Once we get up to the counter we find out that they're only offering 50% refunds, and actually they can't give us any sort of refund because we booked through a third party -- so it's our problem. Fine. You suck and we're never travelling with you again, but at least we're getting on the 7PM ferry.
So, 6:30 rolls around and they're not putting us on the shuttle for the 7PM ferry. Then it's 7:00 and nothing is happening. Everyone is crowded into the waiting area, where there's only a broken vending machine and people are getting hungry. Finally one of the employees makes an announcement that they're unloading cars from the ferry that just came in, and we should be getting on soon. We wait... and wait... and then it's 8:00 and still NOTHING. Through all of this Jason and I really tried to be good sports, because sometimes this shit just happens when you travel. But by this point, with the way they were treating us, we were starting to get angry, and so was everyone else. Finally a manager shows up, and she makes an announcement that they're "trying" for a loading time of 8:45. Jason asks if they'll be feeding us (because if we have to buy shitty overpriced food on the ferry for dinner, that cancels out the 50% refund), and of course they won't. And we have learned by now that the so-called 8:45 loading time will turn into 9:30 and who knows when we'd get to Welly at this rate. We were also starting to suspect that the reason for the delay was actually that they were trying to fix the broken ferry to put us back on it. All of this in addition to the fact that they were lying to us about when we'd be able to get on, was just too fucked up to put up with anymore.
So we cancelled our trip. It's against BlueBridge policy, but thankfully the manager was a reasonable person and had the authority to give us a full refund for both legs of our trip (regardless of the third party booking), even though she could probably get fired for it. But even the fact that she was reasonable did not make up for how we were treated for the 6 hours prior.
We got our bag back, got a taxi to our car, and went and got some dinner. In Picton. 10 hours after we'd left our house. We ended up staying in a motel there for the night, because by that point I was too exhausted and upset to make the 2 hour drive home in the dark.
We're going to reschedule our trip, and fly to Welly either this coming weekend or the next. So we'll get there... eventually.
I will never, ever, EVER use BlueBridge again. And I am going to tell everyone I know about it, so they don't use them either.
Also?
We found out later that the ferry we were on was bought from a Mediterranean company AFTER IT HAD SUNK. And was refurbished.
Yeah.
So that's my weekend so far. |
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| it's not working |
[Jan. 26th, 2008|05:07 pm] |
Hi LJ.
Listen, it's been good times and all, but I think I'm done with you.
We can still be friends. I'll read your posts sometimes.
But don't expect much from me other than the odd comment, okay?
Sorry.
Love,
Cupcake LC |
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| home? |
[Jan. 9th, 2008|08:41 pm] |
Uh. I'm back in New Zealand.
Arriving in Nelson, at the end of that long journey, I became strangely disoriented. Summer? Small town? Sunshine? What? Who am I?
I am very, very jetlagged.
I don't know what to think about anything.
I don't know what I want.
I didn't want to leave Chicago.
In an odd way I feel emotionally raw.
Nothing really makes sense. |
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| and also |
[Jun. 20th, 2007|11:29 am] |
Two things:
1) It has been so damp in our house that I discovered mold and mushrooms growing in one of our house plants shortly before we left for Wellington. Ew ew EW. Also, it has been so cold that our supply of olive oil actually SOLIDIFIED while we were away. Our house is a refrigerator. So, today I am going to call about getting a heat pump installed. This shit ain't right.
2) After a bit more discussion of our impending trip home to the States at the end of the year, part of the plan is that we'll be hanging out in New York City for a full week around New Year's. Our dear friend Goldman is in for this as well, so we're thinking it would be sweet if we could rent an apartment together for a week. Does anyone know if this is possible? We would prefer if it weren't some fancy place where executives stay, but rather something more... normal (though obviously furnished). Suggestions or alternate solutions would be mighty helpful. |
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[Mar. 15th, 2007|10:47 am] |
This LJ is friends only... most of the time.
If you'd like to be added, please comment. |
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| ??? |
[Feb. 18th, 2007|02:22 pm] |
Has anyone received an absurdly-decorated letter from me yet? I thought they would have arrived by now.
Maybe they'll show up this week. |
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| we have a Wii |
[Jan. 27th, 2007|09:00 am] |
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Our Wii is finally here! Holy shitballs! |
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| handwriting |
[Jan. 13th, 2007|02:32 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  good | ] |
I've gotten a handful of cards/letters in the mail lately from friends and family... people who I wouldn't typically expect to send a card or letter (because who does these days, really?). It's so nice to receive thoughtful things in the mail, just small hand-written tokens for you to know that they're thinking of you and are happy for you.
So I was thinking that I should pay forward some of this excellent mail karma. If you're interested in getting a handwritten note from New Zealand, please leave your name and address in the comments (they'll be screened for privacy). It doesn't matter whether or not I know you, or which country you're in, and you don't have to feel obligated to send a reply (though I'd love it if you did).
And for those of you who like to send mail, here is my address:
Lane Collins
46 Renwick Place
Nelson 7010
New Zealand |
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| FREE SHIT! |
[Sep. 20th, 2006|12:50 pm] |
We're giving most of our things away for free, and selling a couple of things as well. I can provide pics & sizes if you're interested in anything. Here's what's left of the free shit (all of this is perfectly nice stuff! we just don't want to ship it all overseas):
FURNITURE:
Ikea chair with footstool (blue)
floor lamp
3 table lamps
wicker Ikea footstool
two rolling stands (good for computer stuff or side tables)
2 green wooden chairs (Ikea)
2 wooden chairs with blue padding on seat and back (Ikea)
big wooden Ikea shelves (cheap but good for storage)
DVD stand
two light-colored, large wooden tables (we've been using them as desks)
two kitchen stools
RUGS:
two small red rugs
two matching rugs, one medium-sized, one small
one large oval rug
APPLIANCES:
vaccuum
KITCHEN:
various dishes, pots, glasses, silverware, etc
blender
PLANTS:
tree
creepy-viney thing
small peace lily
small bamboo plant
GOODS:
tons of DVDs & CDs
two boxes of books
Also...
Jason is interested in selling his G5 tower and our super-nice HD tv for cheap. If you're interested, let me know and I'll get the specs and prices for you. |
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| jujubean |
[Sep. 16th, 2006|09:18 pm] |
I spent some time this afternoon fixing up the blog I made for my good friend Julayne. She's on her way to Cambodia to spend three months as the artist in residency at a children's hospital. I'm so, so excited for her. She'll have her laptop, so I'm hoping she can blog and maybe even post some photos while she's there.
Check it out: Julayne's blog |
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| Farewell tour pics |
[Sep. 16th, 2006|04:13 pm] |
Farewell Tour 2006! |
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| and the earth moved |
[Aug. 2nd, 2006|10:36 pm] |
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I felt my first earthquake while getting a palm reading. Wow. |
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| habitat transfer mechanism |
[Jun. 23rd, 2006|12:46 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | relieved | ] |
My little mousey friend finally ended up in the trap this morning - and just in time, as we're leaving for Vegas tomorrow. I conned Jason into making the trip to Dolores Park with me. As we walked, the mouse was sticking its cute little nose out of the air holes, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. We took it over to the other side of the MUNI tracks, among some flowers and ground cover. We could tell there were already other critters hanging out in those parts (likely mice - I've seen them running along the tracks), as the grass would move every now and then - so it seemed like a good spot. I set a peanut butter cracker out for him, then opened the trap. He darted out, stopped to look at us for a second, then disappeared into the tall grass. |
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| Happiness |
[May. 21st, 2006|12:48 pm] |
Happiness
Originally uploaded by snappea.
I graduated! |
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| new zealand photos |
[Feb. 23rd, 2006|02:05 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  tired | ] |
I put my New Zealand snapshots in a Flickr set.
It was impossible to really do it justice with my little point and shoot digital camera. (I don't like taking film cameras on short trips.)
It's 2AM. Hello jetlag! I should get to bed. |
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| sickly mcsickalot |
[Feb. 8th, 2006|02:05 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| |  sick | ] |
My throat is so sore today that I can't really talk. I went to the doctor yesterday and got put on 7 days worth of antibiotics. I don't want to think about how many times I've been on those lately, but I do feel like I really need them. My chest is filled with grossness and it hurts to cough.
I just got a reply back from a full-time job I applied for, like, 4 weeks ago. It pays really well. I think I'll go to the interview... because this three job thing sucks in that I'm basically working full-time but without the good pay or benefits.
Holy shit, I'm going to New Zealand next Thursday. |
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| oof and a half |
[Feb. 6th, 2006|03:36 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | sleepy | ] |
I'm feeling much better but still very congested and fatigued.
I dropped off resumes at two potential jobs today. I'm so done with this process, but I don't know if the book job & the dog job are going to work together... so I'm looking for something else that would allow me to quit the book job. I so hope I can find something.
I think I could go to sleep now and snooze until tomorrow. But at least I get paid today.
As I'm sure you can tell, I have nothing of consequence to say. I am just trying to stay awake until it's time to go to work.
Which is... now. |
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