I like my local shops, but just occasionally the sometimes amateurish nature of small (and not-so-small) businesses gets me down. Yesterday for instance, I noticed in Safeway that some of the cartons of milk they had for sale expired last Monday. Milk that’s almost a week past its expiry date is not excessively healthy in anyone’s language, so I decided to alert someone about it.

The first Safeway-type-employee person I told made non-committal noises, but otherwise didn’t seem to take much notice. I elected to show another, and his reaction was more immediate. "Shit!" He took action, and was later seen to be urgently seeking out one of the other staff members, who I’m guessing was not only responsible for the milk section, but was probably going to (quite rightly) receive a bollocking.

Today, I headed into the post office with a package for my sister, and another one containing a version of the highlights of How To Destroy Your Video - destined for consideration on Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. Not a show I normally watch, but if they’re handing out prizes for funny videos, then I’ll give it a go. Anyway, the post office guy had to explain that he was still acquainting himself with the place (I knew that; the agency changed hands a week or two ago) and that strictly speaking, they’d closed at 5pm, and that even though he was standing behind the counter, he was only there because he’d been helping somebody with something (presumably of a post officey nature) but that currently the till was all locked up, and he couldn’t sell me any stamps. A post office that can’t sell stamps is, in fact, of limited use to me, so I said never mind, and took the packages back to the car.

I’ve forgotten what the point I was going to make was. In fact, I think I made it in the first sentence, so never mind. 

Speaking of destroying the video… While helping a friend prepare for an overseas trip today, I was asked to use some bolt cutters to break open a padlock on a suitcase that the key had been lost from. It was emphasised to me that I should only break open the padlock. I should not attempt to otherwise damage or destroy the padlock or suitcase.

"What, I shouldn’t blow up the suitcase?"

"No!"

So I didn’t.

Well, I had a great Father’s Day. I got given a card, plus a "cup of tea kit", comprising of a tea bag, sachet of milk and sugar cube, in a paper tea pot made in Isaac’s art class. Plus a gift he chose from the school Fathers’ Day stall last week, a little car thing to put pens and pencils in. And the kids were wearing "I love my dad" badges today!