Cheeky wee day off

I'm really lacking inspiration just now to know what to write in this here little blog.  I sent out a tweet on Twitter asking for inspiration and someone (@oneandonlycarly ) suggested I write about my day because she liked reading about people's days.  So that's what i'm going to do.

Wee Bri (my big wee cousin Brian), anyway Wee Bri phoned on Sunday to tell me his iPhone had broken again.  He'd called up Apple customer services and was told to take the phone to the shop on Wednesday and he'd get it replaced.  So he asked if i wanted to come along.  I said yes and booked the day off when i went into work on Monday.

We set off at 9.30.  He drove us to Larbert where we parked the car and jumped on the train.  We chatted about stuff, you know, family, friends and that, and arrived in Glasgow just after 10.30am.   His appointment at the Apple store wasn't until 11.10 so we mosied down Buchanan Street and headed in to All Saints so I could ogle the clothes.

A quick stop at Starbucks and we headed into Apple and upstairs to the Genius Bar.  Genius!  We waited a little as all the stools were taken at the actual 'bar' and then a girl came across with her iPad and checked Brian 'in' then we were told it'd be another 5 minutes or so.  This was fine as we were to busy watching a guy lead to ladies up the glass staircase, 2 iPad boxes held firmly in the arms, and over to the accessories section where he proceeded to sell them 2 cases for the aforementioned iPads.  Then it was all the way down the back where they were asking all manner of questions and I think (but can't be sure) that he sold them a printer too!!  Next time I turned around one of the ladies was eyeing up a shiny iMac too!  Anyway whilst we were there, in the Apple store for a little over 20 minutes, I counted about 6 iPads being sold with all manner of accessories to go along with them.  Then at the Genius bar, the Geniuses (Genii ?) basically swapped old for new on about 5 iPhones.  People definitely do like Apple products.  I resisted against an iPhone for so long but I'm not one of those I HATE ALL APPLE PRODUCTS people, it was simply that I thought I couldn't afford it.  Then i started topping up my Nokia pay as you go affair with up to £40 a month as the Internet usage was costing a bomb and figured it was easier and cheaper to get an iPhone - obvious really!  Now i have to admit that i probably couldn't change and use anything else.  I just love my iPhone!  There, I said it.

Brian's turn came around and he explained to the guy what happened with the phone, it was plugged into a Macbook and after a few minutes the guy realised it just wasn't going to switch on.  so off he popped to what i can only imagine to be a treasure trove of goodies through the back somewhere down dimly lit corridors only accessed buy a secret code and sliding door, kinda like Indiana Jones, and within a minute he was back with a new iPhone.  Just like that.  Simples.  He plugged it in, activated it, inserted Brian's sim and we were cooking with gas and the new iPhone, all within a 20 minute adventure in the Apple store.

The guy who served us was really pleasant and chatty.  (Is this because he is pleasant and chatty or do they learn that in training?).  I don't know but every time I've been in i haven't felt like i used to feel when i thought i couldn't enter all the trendy shops for fear of sticking out like a sore thumb where i might as well have had a sign above my head saying 'I'm just here browsing because there's no way I can afford to buy any of your products'.  You know the kind of shops I mean?  Designer clothes stores usually.  Where the assistants are plastered in fake tan, fake hair, fake nails earn about £5k less per year than you and yet somehow they make you feel like shit because you aren't wearing the 'right' clothes.  That's how I used to feel when i was younger, when my sister shopped in Cruise [insert your own designer shop name here].  Anyway, I digress, back to Apple, lovely Apple, lovely people in the Apple store.  I did spy the nice Mr Craig Z but he was busy beavering away at the Genius Bar for the MacBooks I didn't like to disturb him.   

Everyone was happy, except me who is still trying to make the awful life-changing decision of whether or not to take the Early Upgrade Offer from O2 and upgrade to the shiny new iPhone4.  These are the decisions that matter, aren't they.

Anyway after all that excitement we headed up to The Butterfly and Pig on Bath Street for a very tasty lunch of burgers.  It was lovely in that wee place.  Quite quirky with nothing that matched and a strange but funnily written menu.  Yum yum I would definitely recommend it.  It was a choice between that or the new Jamie Oliver Italian on George Square but not being an Italian food aficionado we opted for the safer place.  Although on a walk down there to see what it was all about, i realise we should have gone in.  But that'll be for another time.  Anyone wanna come to Jamie's place with me??!!

And now I'm throwing it over to you.  What have you done on cheeky little days off work?

Ange xx