Excitement!

So I did get the job I was going for, which is fantastic. It's at Famous Footwear at Garden City, where they sell imitations of current high-fashion (ish?) shoes for really, really, really cheap (:D). I had my first shift there and really enjoyed it. Working with shoes is relatively easy compared to other jobs I've had (e.g. 40 degree heat + a lineup too long to see the end of + ice machine breaking down = hell at Boost), the staff are all around my age, and the customer base is also a young one, so, for once, I'm preparing for a long stay.
This morning, Jess and I met up for breakfast, before which she had the pleasure of meeting Murray, our new kitten. Murray is very small, and a steel-grey, and tends to blend in pretty easily with our dark carpet, so the fact that she found him to pick him up at all was a miracle in itself. Being so small, and having a penchant for climbing/entangling himself, Murray proceeded to get stuck in Jess's waist-length hair. Rosie, our very overweight Chihuahua, contributed to the action by barking at the top of her lungs. All before 8.30 on a Saturday morning...
After our breakfast, we braved the ridiculous crowds in Garden City. Easter Saturday was coming ridiculously close to Christmas Eve in the people-to-square-metre ratio, and so I decided to leave my egg shopping until later, rather than surging forward amid the masses at the Darrell Lea stand in the centre court struggling over the last twelve peanut-rolled eggs. Instead, we wandered around while I dithered about buying a foundation. I have switched between Rimmel, Covergirl, Maybelline (urgh), Revlon and Loreal since I was about 14, and have never really found one I liked enough to buy twice, so foundation shopping for me generally means that by the end of it, my arm is covered in a variety of flesh coloured swatches. I decided to buy several foundations, and put each of them back for reasons ranging from "it's too orange" to "it smells funny" to "I'm not wearing it if the model on their ad looks like a pig standing upright" (possibly a little politically incorrect...). In the end, I got drawn in by the overly glamorous Clinique representative at the Chemist, who grabbed my face by the chin and painted it "Ivory Sand Nude" (or similar), and encouraged me to spend over $60 so that I was eligible for the free gift Clinique was generously offering to its customers. Well. That did it. So I ended up spending a ridiculous amount on Clinique products in order to qualify for seven mini-versions of Clinique products, and felt quite proud of myself for supposedly getting such a good deal. Meanwhile, Jess flitted around the shop gathering brochures, as is her way (being a graphic designer). I continued the mega-spending spree by buying my first pair of boots with my awesome staff discount at Famous Footwear, and a pair of slippers for Szilveszter for Easter (we figured we'd get enough chocolate as it is). Then he got me my fuzzy black chenille slippers, which I have labelled "the fuzzilies", which delighted me to no end. I said goodbye to Jess, and went to meet up with Megan, my arms full of increasingly heavy shopping bags. We went in search of Easter eggs - only to find that the Darrell Lea pavillion had closed down as it had all been sold. There was an eerie calm settled over this part of the shopping centre. With a slight sinking feeling, Megan and I went down to Kmart in the hopes of taking advantage of their 50% off eggs sale, and were horrified to find that everybody - as in, EVERYBODY, screaming children trying to clamber out of their prams and all - was there. We had found the missing crowds, and were faced with shelves and shelves of empty boxes which had once house the Easter eggs. So, sadly, I resorted to buying up chocolate chip hot cross buns for tomorrow instead. Not a bad compromise, I hope? Wishing everyone a happy and fruitful (or chocolate-ful?) Easter and a relaxing/productive holiday (whichever you're aiming for :p).
xx claire