Yeah so I haven’t been updating this blog as much as I would have liked. It’s not that I don’t have any fussing to do, I have tons.
So I’m making a promise to you – I’ll update this again so stay tuned for more fusses!
Don’t Just Talk the Walk
Posted: November 17, 2011 by gusf in RantsTags: Elections, Vancouver, vanexln
Vancouverites, and most of the lower mainland, is going through a civic election.
What I’ve learned from my 10 years living here in Vancouver is that its residence here have strong political opinions. We are quick to put our fists up when we disagree with how the government is running our city, yet when it comes to vote civic elections have an average of about 30% of the registered voters coming out and casting their ballots. I really have a hard time with people who have all these political complaints and opinions and yet they do not vote. If you are not going to vote, you’ve given up your right to complain on how things run in the city.
To all those at Occupy Vancouver, I hope you are registered and going to vote this week. This is your chance to be heard, not voting gives you no right at to protest!
To all those who have an issue with a candidate, use you power and not vote for them and vote for someone who you believe in that best represents you and your belief. If you don’t like any of them, you should think long and hard and run next time.
Be informed by going to the Vancouver Elections website and reading up on who is running. This is your time Vancouver to walk the walk, not just talk about it.
I’ll never understand fireworks and Halloween. This just doesn’t make sense to me and here are my reasons why.
- It’s fall, which means dead leaves which can easily go up in flames
- Why can’t you buy fireworks during Canada Day in this province?
- You need a license to buy them
- People set them off downtown on streets and near high rises
- Only drunk people seem to enjoy them and most kids are indoors by night fall and going through their candy hall of the evening.
This year I have to say that there were less incidence of them being used than all previous 10 years I’ve lived in Vancouver. Hopefully this is a sign that next year will result in fewer fireworks throughout the city. I’m sure the fire departments would love to have them removed completely during this time of year and hopefully they weren’t too busy as a result of the craziness.
Christmas In October?
Posted: October 10, 2011 by gusf in RantsTags: Christmas, Christmas Store, Early Christmas, The Bay
As most of us Canadians finish with our Thanksgiving turkey and get ready for Halloween, it still shocks me that department stores and other merchants start showcasing their Christmas items for the season.
This past weekend while walking through The Bay, I was a little put off that they started to put out their Christmas decorations and items for sale already. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE their Christmas items the put out, and always get great ideas for Christmas that season. I think it still surprises me that we’ve just finished Thanksgiving and Halloween is just around the corner and yet here we are – Christmas decorations.
I don’t know what merchants are thinking this early in the game. Do they really think that consumers are going to be out buying Christmas items this early in the game? I know there is a “first to the market” mentality, but isn’t placing these items this early going to deter the consumer from shopping there, at least in October?
I’ve worked in retail before and just hated seeing items come out right after Halloween. Yup I thought that was EARLY! By the time Christmas actually arrived I was so desensitized to Christmas that was bothersome.
So please merchants, don’t ruin Christmas again by placing items out so early in the game. I think you only hurt yourself in the long run as you will put off the consumer you so valued.
In respect to The Bay, the photo above was only one section that seemed to be open to the public. The rest of their display was well behind curtains and not accessible, but still pretty much visible and know that in only a few days, those curtains will be down.
I’m not a daily commuter. I’m lucky enough to work within walking distance to my office, but there are times when I’m running late and need to take the bus to work.
Being so close to downtown it’s not surprising to have a filed bus and having to cram in. What I think is interesting is that no one seems to want to go to the back of the bus. I have often gotten on the bus, cram my way in, only to notice that the back of the bus has empty seats or no one is standing back there. I don’t know why people don’t move to the back of the bus.
There used to be a time when the bus drivers would actually announce this and ask people to please move to the back of the bus so people can get on. It’s no longer the case.
Maybe it’s the stigma of being on the back of the bus. Maybe it’s not considered “upper scale”. Maybe only young people go to the back. Whatever it is, stop it! Move to the back, let others get on the bus.
The Coffee Lingo
Posted: September 13, 2011 by gusf in RantsTags: coffee, Coffee shops, Ordering coffee
I’m more of a tea person than coffee, but since I usually get my teas at a coffee shop it’s always fun hearing their lingo. It seems that more and more each coffee houses out there are trying to out due their competitors by creating their own language that we have to follow to get our order correct.
Over a year ago I stopped going to a coffee shop, which will remain nameless but has a mermaid as a logo. I was always ordering their “venti” tea, but asking for only one tea bag, since for some reason they add an extra tea bag to their largest size. They then told me to I had to ask for their “grande” size, but in a “venti” cup or they would have to charge me for the extra tea bag. And this was the manager of said shop telling me this. I was blown away and had refused to go them because of it. I even tweeted my surprise and never got a single response from them.
Most recently I was at said mermaid coffee shop, and I placed my order for an earl grey tea and asked that it be “filled to the top” with water. After receiving my tea, the clerk told me that next time I have to order it “with no room”. I thought to myself, seriously?! We are creating a new way to order a tea now? It isn’t bad enough that you have to ask for a specific size when ordering and that the small, medium and large just don’t exist to them. If it wasn’t for the gift certificate I had, I would not have gone to them.
What is the worst lingo you ever heard?
Ok, I just don’t get it. I’m sure all of us has experienced this somewhere; you are at a grocery store and you have gotten all you need and it’s now time to pay for your goods and continue on with your day so you line up at a checkout and wait your turn. But as you are waiting you notice that there are several empty checkout registers with no one manning them. What also begins to strike you as odd is that it’s a fairly busy day and you would have thought that all of them would be in use.
Yesterday while shopping at the Superstore, out of 20 plus checkout registers, not including the self check out, I would say that only 1/2 where in use causing a huge backlog of people trying to check out and causing traffic jams in the aisles. I don’t think I have ever seen all registers fully manned before. Considering it was a busy day I thought for sure management would have filled them and made sure that people flowed through quickly. Instead they had customers blocking the aisles with their carts near the check out registers while others tried to continue shopping.
It doesn’t make sense to me why a store would design so many check out registers if they are never going to fully use them. Doesn’t this just occupy too much valuable square footage?
I’ll admit I’ve never worked for a grocery store, so I don’t know the rational behind it, but I can only guess.
- I would assume they want to keep you there longer so you might buy more.
- They want to make the store look busier from the outside by having more cars in their parking lot
- They want to make the store look busier form the inside by having more people wonder the aisles
- They can’t hire enough people to man the check outs
- They want you to buy that issue of People Magazine or The Enquirer (do they still publish?)
We are in a society where we want things quick and instant and we don’t like waiting around for it. I think this might be a reason why I get so impatient sometimes.
Early Morning Wake-ups
Posted: September 10, 2011 by gusf in RantsTags: construction, mornings, wakeups
I love my weekends. I love being able to just slowing get my day started and sleep in as I don’t get to do this often. Alas that is not this weekend.
I don’t know what it is, but the city likes to wake people up, whether they like it or not. We have construction happening just a block away from our place which started at just after 7:30am this morning. Jackhammers, banging noises, and the lovely beeping of trucks as they back up. Luckily for me I do not have a hang over or else I would be livid.
Granted this is the joy of living in a city, especially the downtown core. If it isn’t the construction noise waking you up, it’s the loud people who are finally making their way home from a night out that are still feeling the effects of their evening. Or the couple down the street that for some reason decided today was the day to have that argument.
If it’s not the people, it’s the crows and seagulls making their lovely calls for the morning that seem to disappear as the day progresses.
Ahhh early morning wake-up calls, gotta love them – now where is my coffee?
So it begins.
Today while I was at work listening to one of my co-workers ranting about some topic I had suggested he should start a ranting blog. When I gave him what it should be called (I won’t say it for their protection, 
) another co-worker stated “Gus Fusses” and that named stuck in my head.
So with out too much fan fare, I bring you Gus Fusses.
I’m still not sure how this will play out, but I thought it would be a good to have a special blog for just my rants when I want to rant about something, be it life, experience or other.
There might be some overlap with my official blog – GusFosarolli.com, but then again it might just grow into something totally different, but for now we’ll just have it as my area to fuss about what I want to fuss about.