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The people in your neighbourhood!!!

Who are the people in your neighbourhood? The people that you meet each day…

Oh, the postman always brings the mail, through rain or snow or sleet or hail
he’ll work and work the whole day through, to get your letters safe to you… BUT HE DOESN’T SAY HELLO!!!!!!

That’s right, our new postman is so extremely antisocial. He just will not communicate with us at all and we're not sure if he's rude or shy... Despite our efforts to coax him into the office just to say g’day he just doesn’t want to know diddlysquat about any of us!!! If it was just me, maybe I’d understand because I can be a bit freaky sometimes. I totally get that. But everyone else is relatively normal so not sure what’s going on with him.

Our old postie, Artemis, used to come in and cause a bit of a commotion and was the complete opposite to ‘Dropsy’ who just opens the door a couple of inches so he can toss the mail in and leave. He looks like a funny fellow in his fluorescent cap with neck flap and sunglasses but who really knows? Adam constantly yells out a friendly hello to him but so far there has never been a response. I tried chasing him down the street once so he could join us for a beer or a refreshing glass of lemonade but he just rode off on his bicycle like his life depended on it and wouldn’t even look back.

We even went so far as to place a welcoming sign on the front door but it hasn’t produced any results as yet. Bit disappointing really. Maybe I’ll try leaving a trail of sweets that lead inside!

 

 

 

 

 

The complete opposite of ‘Dropsy’ is 'Captain Simon', who comes to pick up our deliveries at the end of every day. A diminutive Chinese fellow, he always arrives with some sort of fanfare, whether it’s the constant honking of the van’s horn or the rooster sounds he just won’t stop playing on his phone’s loudspeaker!!! BUT he always turns up with lollies for us and he taunts Adam all the time because he thinks he’s ‘Lovesick’. The bloke’s very loud but is a classic and we even forgave him for crashing into our rollerdoor. I’ll see if he’ll have a picture with us so you can see him!!! I reckon he'll do that for us though.

So that’s just two of the people who come and visit us at Zazz regularly. There are others that make us laugh around here but I guess that’s another story… We would love to hear about any bizarre or funny characters that you may run into at home or at work. And if you have any ideas as to how we can befriend 'Dropsy' feel free to post below!!! 

Parking Tickets!!!

I got a parking ticket in the city the other week and am currently awaiting a reply to my ‘plea for compassion’ to have it cancelled. Basically I was in a one hour spot and rocked up to the car around five minutes after the meter expired because I was assisting a friend with a broken leg back to the car. Yeah I know… some of you will say I knew when I had to get back but when you’re having a meal at one of Melbourne’s best Szechuan restaurants the last thing you want to do is leave before you’ve finished your kung pow chicken right?

I’m sure they’re not all that bad but I think some of the most ruthless and loathsome people in society can be the ‘Grey Ghosts’. These guys pretty much have these radar like senses that tell them when a meter is about to run out. It’s just so annoying how they always seem to get to your car just before you do.
 
And almost every time I’ve been issued with a parking ticket I reckon I’ve had a legitimate reason for it. Even after trying to explain things to the inspector, I pretty much get told to get lost. Or they’ll claim they ‘can’t’ rip the ticket up but if I want to ‘contest’ it then I can if I go through the appropriate channels. Yeah right… as if they can’t cancel a ticket if they really wanted to. Maybe it’s just me but I reckon this ruthless attitude can be pretty unreasonable really.

And the fines are totally out of control. Fifty-seven bucks for coming to your meter a couple of minutes late is a joke. If it was twenty then maybe it wouldn’t irk me so much. I’ve travelled to many places and their tickets are much less crippling than ours. I just don’t get it and I don’t like it one bit. What’s the alternative? Parking in a private parking garage that’s going to cost you more than the meal you’re going out to have in the first place?

I think if I was a business owner in most municipalities I’d be dead angry with the council too. How are people supposed to go somewhere for lunch or go shopping for clothes when you only have one hour on the meter? Even on the weekend it’s the same!!! Now I try to go to the big shopping centers if I can – I mean parking is free and you can generally stay as long as you want.

Probably the worst thing I’ve experienced was when I got a $60 ticket in front of my house for parking the wrong way… I live at the end of a dead end street and had parked like this for years and suddenly the ‘ghosts’ came out of nowhere and started booking people. Like how does that make a difference to anyone? Again, I get the fact that technically it’s wrong but maybe a warning or something would have been nice.

Anyhow, time and time again I hear stories about people that get out of paying their tickets.  If this sounds like you then maybe you can pass on some hints and tips for the rest of us?  Like how do you get away with it and what do you have to do?






Grilled Sandwiches!!!

Well I guess the toastabags have arrived because I’ve been getting quite a few requests for recipes…

Now if you’ve watched the video we made you’ll know that it’s possible to basically cook anything in these things. Like you could take calamari and prawns, maybe even some sardines and cook them in the toaster. Yes I know, I still haven’t gotten over the Zazz seafood ban…

Anyway, here’s a few ideas to get you all started. There’s one sweet one, a vegetarian one, a seafood one and a meat one!!! Something for everybody really!!!

THE KING!!!

Based on Elvis Presley’s favourite snack…

Mash up one banana with some peanut butter (can be crunchy for extra texture). Spread over bread, then layer with some bacon. Place in toasta bag and cook for three to five minutes on medium to high heat. DELICIOUS!!!

***By the way here’s a great alternative to this one - substitute the peanut butter for cream cheese and sweet chili sauce. Trust me, it’s awesome.

THE TUNA & PESTO

Spread some Pesto sauce over a slice of bread, top with some tuna (drain first) and place sliced bocconcini cheese on top. Add some sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil leaves and you’re ready to go! For some extra zing you can also drizzle with some balsamic vinegar if you’ve got some.

Cook for around five minutes!

THE SWEET PEA!!!

Prepare the ingredients at home and take to work in a container because this one is awesome!!!

Firstly, combine some honey, chili flakes, sesame oil (not too much) and some olive oil. Pour the marinade over some very thinly sliced sweet potato and snow peas and season with all that with salt and pepper. But make sure the sweet potato is really thin if you want to cook this directly in the toasta bag. Otherwise you can pre cook the mix before you go to work.

Take some bread (pita is brilliant) and place the mixture between the slices and top with some crumbled blue cheese.

Cook in the toasta bag for maybe seven minutes on medium.

PHILLY CHEESE STEAK (MY FAVOURITE)

Thinly slice some onions and red and green peppers. Then slice some mushrooms and garlic (or take some crushed garlic to work). Prepare some really thinly sliced rib eye steak (marinating in Worcester sauce for a couple of hours makes it even better).

Place this mixture on the bread and top either with mozzarella or tasty cheese. For a bit of texture you can add some dill pickle as well. But it’s a ripper of a sandwich either way!!!

Anyhow, that’s enough from me but I guess a competition for best toasta bag recipe is in order. So send them in and we’ll make them and award a very neat prize for our favourite!!! Oh yeah, send pics if you want to as well!!!!!







Warehouse Muppets!!!

Well what can I tell you. The bubblewrap rolls arrived and myself and Adam just couldn't help but make complete monkeys out of ourselves. And to think I was appointed the Zazz Safety Manager!!!

Anyway, just wanted you to have a bit of a look at what we get up to around here. I guess boys will be boys right and we sure did have fun with those rolls!!! 

 

 

 

 

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A Sporting Life...

Some people just don’t understand the incredible highs and lows you experience when you’re a dedicated sports fan. It can be fun and exciting and it can also be depressing and aggravating. To those that think “It’s only a game” I can tell you that for some of us it’s not. Let me clarify that as a dedicated sports fan you really do become emotionally connected to the team you follow.

When you’re at a game, or even when you’re watching on television and you’re cheering sometimes along with 80,000 plus people and your mates, well let me tell you it’s not a high that you can get in a lot of other places. And the shared bonds you get from that process are priceless to me. Then there’s things like video games, swap card collecting and the media that just builds up your love of the team and sport over time.

Week after week there’s constant byplay with your friends, family and opposition supporters. Over the last few weeks my AFL club, Richmond has pretty much been awful both on and off the field. Not only have I had to endure a most disappointing season but I’ve had almost daily comments, taunts and emails that are just rubbing salt into my many wounds.

But as a person and a fan, I try to never lose the faith. I think if something bad happens, you have to learn to stick it out and to be more or less accepting of what’s happened. Even if you’re mad at the results or the players or the coach, you have to understand that the game and the club you support should be loved no matter what. Patience, loyalty and persistence are really what it’s all about. To not only be there for the good times but toughing the bad times out is a really important part of the process and just strengthens the bond you have with your team.

It really is very addictive and I guess it can really be like a soap opera. You go to the games, sometimes sit out in the rain eating cold pies and hot dogs. You drink overpriced and average beer, you invest in jerseys, scarves, beanies and badges, you laugh and sometimes you cry. But one thing’s also for sure… When the season’s over you miss it like crazy and can’t wait for the next season to come around so you can go through all those raw emotions all over again!!!

I’d really like to hear some of the experiences you guys have had in regards to being a sports fan. The best, worst and funniest experience at a sporting event will each receive a really cool prize!!!







Movie Review #1 – “Spaceballs”

Every now and again I’m going to review a movie I really like and first off the rank is the Mel Brooks classic, ‘Spaceballs!’ I really do love this film… I suppose when you're a bit of an odd ball with a kind of warped sense of humor like me, a Star Wars movie with jokes is just about heaven.

The mixture between comedy and adventure in the movie is very good. You’ve got thrilling light-saber swordfights and guys getting hit in the nuts. There is heaps of adult humor, language, and sexual innuendos and also great quotes such as Dark Helmet’s immortal line… “now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb." And there are so many sight gags and classic memorable lines throughout the whole film. The characters are also brilliant…

For those who don’t know the film here’s a brief description… The planet Druidia is in danger of extinction under the hands of the evil Dark Helmet and the Spaceballs when they kidnap the King’s daughter Princess Vespa and hold her ransom in return for all of the planet’s clean air. In a desperate plea to save his daughter’s life, the King enlists the help of notorious space rouge Lone Starr and his trusty half-man/half-dog sidekick Barf to travel across space, rescue the beautiful princess and preserve the planet’s precious air supply.

I think ‘Dark Helmet’ is the best character in the movie! He kind of resembles Darth Vader but is shorter, has a much larger helmet and wears a tie and glasses. He also loves to discipline his subordinates. But unlike Vader, who likes to crushes larynxes with his force grip, Helmet crushes their testicles using his ring of the Schwartz! He also has hobbies such as playing with dolls and has some of the best quotes in the movie such as this immortal gem in the final showdown scene with Lone Star, “

Dark Helmet: Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star.
Lone Star: What?
Dark Helmet: I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.
Lone Star: What's that make us?
Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become.

I would then say Yogurt (who is a parody of the Jedi master Yoda) is my next favourite character. He’s a sage with deep knowledge of the mysterious power called The Schwartz. Yogurt is as brash as they come. He’ll make a bombastic entrance which resembles that of the wizard in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and he has an acute knowledge of the importance his universe has on movie merchandising!!! Spaceballs-the T-shirt, Spaceballs-the Coloring Book, Spaceballs-the Lunch box, Spaceballs-the Breakfast Cereal, Spaceballs-the Flame Thrower. And I could go on and on…

Pizza the Hutt is also a cool character and is a half-man, half-Pizza loan-shark who actually ended up eating himself to DEATH after locking himself in his stretch limo!!!

Other memorable moments include, the 'Alien' diner scene, the 'combing the desert' sequence, accidentally capturing the stunt doubles, the ‘ludicrous speed’ scene, ‘jamming’ the radar and there are just so many more it’s ridiculous.

So really, I think Spaceballs is undoubtedly THE greatest sci-fi spoof ever made! With references to nearly all the modern SciFi classics including: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi, Alien, Star Trek, and Planet Of The Apes you really can’t go wrong. I’m telling you, if you haven’t seen it… do yourself a favour and watch this movie NOW!!!

"And may the Schwartz be with you… ALWAYS"