Blacklist

Blacklist – a list of places, things and people that should be avoided.

I am getting sick of being so nice and always thinking positive. I just give up and the first victims of my newfound tenacity are businesses that do not under any circumstances deserve my business.

I know everyone has felt that way at some stage, the service was bad or the staff were rude. It is a horrible feeling to think that you really just want to punish this place for the wasted time that you have spent there.

Then I thought about it, we have this wonderful resource called the Internet that allows us to bad mouth anyone we want to an infinite amount of people. So why not use it.

I know that it is quite possible that no one will read this and that the ones that do will already know of my plight. I just think that it is a comfort to know that at one time or another someone might read this. If I even deprive these places of one customer then I will be a happy woman.

Blacklist –

1. The Lowenbrau – the Rocks Sydney
Ok so I don’t want to avoid this place completely because I don’t have anything against it once I get inside, it is just a certain security guard that I am blacklisting. Its hard to describe him because he looks pretty much the same as any other security guard, but I am telling you that you will recognise him from his attitude.
I know what you all think, this is just another drunk girl who is angry about getting kicked out of a club. Though it is some what true, its not just the same old story. I wasn’t kicked out I was refused entry, same difference right, but I wasn’t refused for being too drunk I was refused on the basis that this security guard with a power trip did not like me. I think that it was my glasses they can intimidate people.
I have been refused entry to clubs before and I have been kicked out many times. I have even been kicked out for being too drunk when I was not drinking (its because I am a happy person and I get drunk on life). This never really bothered me, I mean the security guards are just doing their job so I don’t mind leaving without a fuss.
What happened on Saturday night was that me and a couple of my mates were refused entry at 7pm before we had even started to drink on the basis that we had already been refused entry twice. I think I would have noticed if I had been refused entry, I mean most people would and you would think that the security guard would have to let us know if he was refusing us entry, but no apparently not.
What I think happened was that, when we first got to the Lowenbrau as we were walking to the entrance a female security guard came up to us and told us that they were full and that unless you had a reservation or intended to eat then you wouldn’t be able to get in, because the upstairs area was booked out by a private function. This is thought was fair enough, I mean she was just letting us know what the deal was.
We had only recently eaten so we were not sure whether or not we were willing to eat anything. The issue was that we had come down to the city to say farewell to a couple of our friends and they were sitting eating at the Lowenbrau. They seemed to think that it would be ok for us to go into the bar downstairs and have a drink, so basically just to prove him wrong we went and asked again. The answer was the same, so we had a think about it and as my bottomless pit of a boyfriend thought that he might have a third dinner we decided to line up to get a table.
We were in the line for a while but when we got to the end the security guard was about to find us a table when he was signaled to by his mate. He turns to us and say sorry guys I can’t let you in because you have been refused entry twice. I can’t really blame this guy as far as he knew we had been refused and we might have been troublemakers. We didn’t complain because we thought that he was just telling us that there was no room inside. The girl security guard had said that we should come back after 11 because that’s when the functions were supposed to end.
So off we went, went to another bar and gave them our business. It wasn’t bad and I may have had a few too many bottles of wine, so not getting into a club was not out of the question. I was by no means messy though, considering the amount I had drunk I was doing very well. At about 11:20 we all decided that we were going to move back over the Lowenbrau.
So we went and we lined up just like everyone else, and we waited in the line chatting and having a good time until we were a couple of people from the end. The same security guard came up to us and said sorry guys you have already been refused twice tonight so we can’t let you in. This got me a little bit angry, I mean when had we been refused and on what grounds.
We had the idea that he might have been confused, so we tried to explain to him that we weren’t refused entry, we had just been asking questions. Anyway so this security guard was starting to fold under our pressure. I guess he must have realised that we were right. That’s when his mate came over, Mr Powertrip. He said that he was the one that had refused us entry.
I was totally confused to I asked why exactly I had been refused entry, because they specifically said that it was me that was the problem and believe me I was not the drunkest of our party. The reason I got upset is because the only reason I can see for them refusing my entry was that they didn’t like me. I doubt that I would have had the same treatment if I looked like my sister.
I would have understood if he kicked me or anyone out for being too drunk, I mean that’s their job right. I am by no means dissing security guards, they have helped me in a lot of situations and most of them are really nice. I like it when they kick trashed people out. Had we got to the end of the line and the (nice) security guard had said, I am sorry you are too drunk to get in I would have left. Sure I would have bitched about him when I got out of sight, but it would not have lasted longer then it took to get to the next pub.
I am sick of getting discriminated against because of how I look. I am not at all ashamed of it, I mean I know I am not what is in the magazines and I don’t look like all of the other girls. I am slightly chubby but I am ok with that. I like what I look like but it is still upsetting because I don’t get the same treatment. This feeling is the reason I will not be going back to the Lowenbrau. I refuse to let anyone make me feel like I am less worthy then a skinny girl.

The Lowenbrau Security Team – BLACKLISTED!
- To be avoided after 7pm if possible, before that I think that there is less security. If it can’t be avoided please cause as much trouble as possible for the security guards for me and every other person who has been upset by them

Ok that’s my rant, but don’t worry there is more to come.

2. The Surf Café – Terrigal Beach
This one wont be as long a rant as it is very simple. Do not keep a very hung over girl away from her diet coke and then when it finally arrives charge her $4 for it.
Ok so Sunday morning, after my big night complaining about a security guard I needed some form of caffeine, my drug of choice being Diet Coke (it has all those yummy chemicals in it). So me and a couple of mates, including my boyfriend went down to Terrigal to feed ourselves silly. We decided to try for the first time, The Surf Café that is under the Surf Club on the beach.
It did not start well, the menu left a lot to be desired (even fancy restaurants have chips). So we decided to limit our order to drinks. We ordered and we waited.
I only ordered a diet coke, by rights it should have been out in five minutes, I mean how hard is it to get a bottle out of the fridge. But no we waited and we waited and we waited. Granted there were a few people at the café, but it wasn’t like they were bringing drinks and food out constantly like you would imagine.
It might have been because there was only one girl waitressing for at least 20 tables. It was Sunday so I guess they didn’t want to pay the extra for the staff.
Still I mean for four drinks it should not have taken as long as it did, I mean were about to walk out. When I did get my Diet Coke it wasn’t even one of those nice fancy glass bottles that you get from most cafes no it was just your regular diet coke that I could have got from the nice café down the street for $2.50.
I didn’t have the coffee but it was in a pretty small cup.
So for poor service and over pricing I am blacklisting The Surf Café in Terrigal (it’s the one under the Surf Club). Might I suggest you try Aromas just down the street in the Crown Plaza it has much nicer coffee and better service, even when they are busy. There are also a number of nicer cafes in Church Street, which is just the next street back from the beach.

The Surf Café – BLACKLISTED
- Get a take away coffee from Aromas (or one of the many other coffee shops in Terrigal) and drink it on the beach if you are after that beach side experience. As for food, might I suggest an old beach classic some fish and chips (or just chips if you are not a seafood person).

This was a community service announcement.

Existential Much - Torchwood Season Two

Channel Ten still having the right for Torchwood and not wanting to do anything about it has forced me to do something that I would never do under most circumstances. I had to download it I feel really bad about it but desperate times call for desperate measures. This of course is not the point of this blog, the point of this blog is to tell you how AWESOME this show is!

All right I am a little bit bias because I am a huge Doctor Who fan. I also happen to have a slight partiality to handsome men making out with each other, but despite that I have to say that Torchwood is one of the best Sci-Fi programs on the television at the moment. It has great special effects, a handsome cast and some of the most interesting and intriguing characters I have seen lately.

The Season started with a Bang in the episode Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang which featured Buffy's James Masters as one of Jack's less than reputable Ex- Lovers Captain John Hart. This is one of the reasons I was excited to see this new Season, having been in love with James Masters as Spike for so many years and Torchwood did not disappoint. The first meeting of the Captains starts with an extremely passionate kiss and ends in fisty-cuffs.

Ladies and any of you gentlemen out there willing to admit it, if you see anything you need to see this kiss. Two hot handsome manly men in World War II army dress grabbing each other and kissing so passionately that you can feel it.



This is so hot its not funny, but there is not just sex in this show (though there appears to be allot more of that in this season then there was in the first one) there are allot of tender moments. Jack and Ianto despite having a mostly physical relationship in the first Season appear to be getting quite attached to each other. The sad thing is that I have a feeling that the attachment is mostly on Ianto's part, and Ianto is just so sweet that you never want to see him hurt.

The main problem with Jack and Ianto's relationship is the apparent attraction between Gwen and Jack, Gwen even admitting that she loved Jack (and then taking an amnesia pill in Adam). I don't really know who I want Jack to be with more, I am just praying that there is another series so that I can see where this triangle progresses, however pointless it may be. No one can really "end-up" with Jack he is immortal and he doesn't really age either one of these relationships would end in tears.

At the end of this series we say goodbye to two of the regular cast members, Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato in Exit Wounds. I really liked both of these characters and I shed more then one tear to see them go. In a way I think that it was a good choice, over the first Season we dealt with Tosh's unrequited love for Owen, but Torchwood is not the kind of show that would see a happy ending if these two did manage to get together, so it was somehow relieving to see them together (over the comm system) until the end. I have to say though that Owen's death was not a particularly lovely thought.

I cannot wait to see where this series will take us, I just hope that we get the chance to see it and it does not go the way of Firefly. The only issue that I do have with Torchwood is that it does not seem to have as cheerful a view on life (and death) as I like to keep. Some parts have the definite taste of the existentialist view of Russell T. Davies even though he has not contributed to this series since the first episode.

I happen to love this grown up Doctor Who with Captain Jack and his unmatched charm, also being Australian I am partial to the charm of the English or in some cases Welsh accent. Not that Jack has the accent but definitely the charm. I love him almost as much as I love David Tennant's Doctor Who.

Torchwood so far is not set to play in Australia, and knowing Channel Ten it will probably not be played until after the rating period. This is disappointing because we are lacking in good television at the moment. I guess I will just have to wait until Doctor Who Season Four starts up again.