92. Mystery shopping

Thanks to the sharing and helpfulness of those MSE forum members on the mystery shopping thread, I have taken the plunge! I’m not a huge fan of shopping, so initially I thought I wasn’t a good candidate for mystery shopping, but on reflection, I think this is one of my attributes which makes me perfect for the job! In fact, if I can feedback some of the things that put me off shopping that hopefully it will make the retail experience better for everyone! It’s actually quite a skill, and not just as simple as reporting when staff are rude to you! You need to be super observant, accurate and you have to have a good memory.

My first couple of tasks have been straight forward and I have been hugely impressed by the standard of customer service. It’s not going to make you rich, but it’s helpful for the odd couple of pounds here and there.

Have a look at the TEN(!) mystery shopping threads on MSE for more info!

15 - update!!! Watch University Challenge being filmed!

I found out that one of the episodes of University Challenge was being aired on BBC2 this week! Funnily enough, I wasn't meant to be around to watch it, but due to a set of very strange circumstances I happened to be at home, and here I appear in the audience for about 2 seconds!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pl24p/University_Challenge_2009_2010_Episode_24/

I got 15 questions (and a half) right, which was quite poor considering that I had heard them all back in July - perhaps my memory was affected by being just metres away from one of my heroes - Mr J Paxman!

19. Buy new bike from government scheme!

I don't really need a new bike, but since I never get anything from the government, I thought I would take advantage of the "Cycle to Work" scheme where you get taxfree bikes and equipment! Except the guy in the shop didn't tell me until I had handed over my credit card that you need to spend in excess of £200... Which means I've just bought a new bike and paid VAT on it....

101. The last one on the list! But not the FINAL one on the list!

101. Win something in the competitions I enter!
I won a signed album by my favourite band! And one of the members has signed it twice!!

Just playing with my list....

I've changed one of them as it was a duplicate, just not worded as elegantly the second time around!

So 63 now reads "go to a drive-in movie" instead of "make a truly great new friend". Wouldn't it be nice if I could combine the two and go to a drive-in movie with a truly great new friend?!!

22. Throw a memorable party

22. Can you hear this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHVF93VTlFc It’s me blowing my own trumpet (well, it’s actually else blowing theirs!) because I am going to count my housewarming party on Saturday as number 22. Throw a really memorable party.

Though it was meant to start at 7pm, people started turning up at 1pm, driving from the Midlands, the West Country and from Thatcham –haha! Thanks everyone!

57. Abseiling

Threw myself off a cliff at the weekend! But don’t worry, it was intentional! We went abseiling at Avon Gorge with Mendip Outdoor Pursuits. This was an absolutely exhilirating experience which I will never forget. After a VERY short training session and being kitted out with harnesses, we clambered up to the top of the rocks – 60ft up. The first girl went down very quickly and as everyone lined up for their go, I could feel my stomach flipping and when I got to the ledge, leaning precariously over the edge, my mind went blank. I could not remember a thing of what I had just been told and the instructor had to swap places with me and show me what to do. It’s actually very simple and I was thinking about it too much, so once I realised that it was simply a case of leaning back and feeding the rope through, I relished my descent, bounding off the walls and landing at the bottom with a huge smile on my face. My boyfriend came down too, a little more slowly, and the rest of the group, all except one who decided at the top that it wasn’t for him, followed. We then progressed to the 200ft descent where the walk up through the trees was the worst bit – I really need to get fit! One poor guy started his descent and though we couldn’t see him, we could hear him swearing profusely. He reappeared at the top a few minutes later as he’d banged his face and his legs and so climbed back up again, and decided to walk back down. I decided to go right there and then before I started thinking about it too hard again. I admired the amazing view over the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Avon Gorge while I was being fastened in, and then down I went, giggling all the way until I noticed two climbers right below me which was a strange experience. We said hello to each other, which was hilarious, and then I carried on bounding down the rocks until the bottom when I couldn’t get out of my harness! OH came down a little more gingerly and we marvelled at how the friction had caused our figure of eights to become hot, hot, hot! A great experience and some nice people which helped boost the confidence!