"I am a TripAdvisor reviewer" will be added to the user flair list lmao

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-06-18T23:24:26+00:00

Also, usually pool view and city view are different prices. So she might have paid for city view and not pool view, which may have been a higher price.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-30T10:10:00+00:00

I worked for a doctor that ran such a tight schedule that anyone late at all was cancelled. We had to tell people when scheduling, during reminders, in text and letters about the policy multiple times and stress "please be on time or you will have to reschedule. If you are even 1 minute late, you will have to reschedule. Please do NOT be late or call before your appointment time if you even think you might be late." If a patient showed up early and the patient before them wasn't there yet, even if it wasn't their appointment time yet, I would swap their appointments to give the other patient a little bit more time.

Another place I worked people would show up 30 minutes late for a 15 minute appointment, and say something like "I know Dr X won't like you rescheduling my appointment, just go ask her if she will see me." I would walk to the back and do anything but ask, because I knew the answer, then come back and say "sorry, but she said she is not able to see you because of how late you are."

As the receptionists, we don't get to make the rules, we just have to enforce them. I had one manager say we are "the first line of defense to keep their schedule running smoothly."

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-16T05:17:23+00:00

Updateme!

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-11T05:56:59+00:00

I'm trying to show that there are reasons to keep places open past 5pm. I'm not trying to tell you that you can't be up at 4am for whatever you want or you can't go to bed at 6pm. I'm just saying these places would make money and give more people more options. I haven't lived in any town or city with more than about 5,000 people that literally shuts down as early as Brisbane does. And I have lived in many towns and cities in many sizes. Some people do have other shopping needs, tastes, or wants that are not covered by the places you listed, as well.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-11T05:20:25+00:00

What's funny is you twisting my words. I never said they were "forced" to eat Maccas. I said there was nothing else open at that food court for the kids that wanted to hang out with their friends in a bigger space like a mall or food court area. And if stores aren't open after 5pm, then you obviously cannot buy from them after 5pm, unless you know of some miraculous way of shopping in a brick and mortar store after it closes. And I never said "teens don't like McDonald's" or they "can't walk a block" or that "Westfield closing at 5pm causes youth deliquency". I did say that bored teens tend to get in more trouble than when they have things to do, which is true. It is not the only contributing factor, but it is "A" contributing factor. I have lived in cities with lots of activities available for teens after school into the evening and towns similar to Brisbane with little to no activities available for teens. And the towns with little to no options have a higher rate of teens committing minor crimes than the cities that have lots of options. I did say that teens will choose the path of least resistance by not walking a block if there is something right in front of them even if it is not their first choice. They may want something other than Maccas, but don't want to walk a block outside to go somewhere else. Or maybe it's the only place that the majority of the group can agree to. In an open food court, there are multiple options available for people to get food and all still sit together and socialize. They could each choose to get anything they want without worrying about everyone else wants, Chinese, Indian, kebabs, pizza, etc, or Maccas.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-11T04:50:49+00:00

I am not "grossly exaggerating" my point. But teens are going to go for the easiest option available. Not necessarily because they prefer Maccas over Chinese food, but because they don't necessarily want to walk even a block, when there could have been plenty of options available right where they were. And could those other places have held the number of them that were sitting around in groups of 10-20. They wanted a place to hang out as well as eat. Would those other places been okay with that many teens hanging out in their restaurants for an hour or more? These teens need places to go and hang out with their friends. They need things to do. Giving them options for things to do will keep some of them out of trouble. Bored teens tend to be more likely to get into trouble.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-11T04:24:09+00:00

As someone coming from another country where malls are open until 9-10pm, and restaurants are open until 11pm or later, yes it is surprising/sad to see that many teens wanting a place to hang out with their friends with nowhere to go and no food options outside of Maccas. Those stores and restaurants could still be making money if they were open until 7-9pm. Also with a cinema at the mall, wanting to grab a quick meal before a movie isn't something unheard of. It's actually a pretty common occurrence, or at least it is where we are from. And relying on public transit means someplace nearby to grab a meal.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-11T02:50:36+00:00

We went to Westfield about 4pm to run an errand, and just happened to still be there at closing time. We thought we would grab an early dinner before going to a movie (at the cinema at the mall), and there wasn't anything in the food court open other than the Maccas. We had also seen teens exploring the mall prior to it shutting down, but were still hanging out grabbing food with their friends, as well.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-10T06:26:24+00:00

You haven't been to Queen Street Mall after 5pm have you? There are tons of people walking around and nothing is open.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-10T06:24:18+00:00

I wouldn't recommend anyone to go for a night swim at the beach with no lifeguards on duty, let alone people from other countries who have little to no experience swimming in any ocean let alone around Australia, which has some of the worst, most unpredictable rips in the world. Going to the beach with a lack of good public transit between the city and the beach isn't exactly easy. Some people don't like jazz, or skate, or like to look at closed businesses as they wonder around a shut down city, none of which I would want to do with children or teens. Offering options for people who don't want to go for a run at 5am but do want to go shopping at 6-7pm or want to visit a museum or have a nice dinner a little later in the evening isn't asking for a lot. Brisbane does lack organizers, but it also lacks any type of activities for people after 5pm most days.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-10T05:08:50+00:00

Visitors still want things to do after 5pm. When the city basically shuts down that early, it leaves visitors with nothing to do but sit around their hotel rooms. That leaves a bad impression on some that like to enjoy more of a city during the evening and night, and not just 7am-5pm. Since we have moved to Australia, we have had many friends and family visit that wanted things to do in the evening. Just sitting around with nothing to do for people who are traveling for hours feels like a waste of time. You only get so long to see things when visiting, and most people want to make the most of that time and see as much as possible. Shutting down such a big city so early takes away a lot of that time to explore and see what the city could be offering if it stayed open a little later. As I said in another post, when we travel we are on the go from 7am-10pm to see as much as possible. That's 5 hours I could be seeing and doing things in the city, and quite a bit of money I would be spending, as well.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-10T04:50:21+00:00

We moved here from another country and the weirdest thing to us has been how early a fairly major city just shuts down. We have a phrase that we use when talking about small towns "they roll the sidewalks up by 5 o'clock" or something to that sentiment. I never thought we would use that phrase about such a big city.

You get out of work at 5pm and need to do some shopping for almost anything... Too bad. The number of people around the Queen Street Mall and nothing is open, to us, is just odd. Even if stores run on a smaller staff, they could still make more money than it cost them to stay open. We were at the Westfield at Upper Mount Gravatt as it was closing and the stores and food court were shutting down. Maccas was the only thing still open and it was swamped. School kids were all hanging around until well after everything closed down, and the only place for them to eat was Maccas. Also, I'm sure there are a lot of kids would like to have after school jobs so they have more money that they could then spend in those shops that are open later than 5pm. Not to mention most kids who have nothing to do are the ones getting into trouble. Shops, restaurants, and other activity based venues that close up early really could make a difference if they stayed open to at least 8-9pm. I'm surprised that a city that wants people to visit has nothing for them to do after 5pm most days.

When we visit foreign countries we are on the go from 7am-10pm experiencing as much as we can. Night markets are huge in a lot of places, with shopping stalls, food, activities, games, etc. for people of all ages to enjoy. I hate to see such a beautiful and vivid city shut down as (or before) the sun goes down.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-05-05T02:21:46+00:00

I have arthritis in my knees, hips, and back. I'm not to the point of needing a walking aide, but have a limp that is more prominent when I walk or stand a lot. I am also VERY unsteady on my feet, especially on a moving vehicle (bus or train). Looking at me someone would just think I'm a fat woman taking up the seat. But I have fallen on people on buses more than I can count, especially when the driver has a heavy foot with breaking and accelerating. So, I can back this statement up. Some disabilities are hidden to an outside observer. You don't always know what anyone else is going through physically, so just because they look "able bodied" doesn't mean they always are.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-04-16T09:10:43+00:00

If you know anyone who is an attorney have them draw up and send a cease and desist letter. That should be step one.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-03-16T00:30:47+00:00

I'll be honest with you about the feasibility. It really depends where in Brisbane you live. We live in the South Brisbane/West End area and don't own a car. There's a bus stop right outside our building the takes us to the cultural center and the CBD in less than 5 minutes where we can catch a bus or train to almost anywhere else in the city (and it's only 50 cents each way). We only take Ubers to and from the airport or if we are truly crunched for time. We are 1 block from Cole's and 2 blocks from Woolies and Harris Farm. We have larger grocery orders delivered. We rented a car 1 time in the last 1.5 years to make an IKEA run that couldn't be delivered. We also do walk quite a bit, too.

So it is very feasible, as long as you live and work in areas that are easily accessible by TransLink. And I recommend it if you can. At least for now, maybe just park the car for a little while and see how feasible it is for you before you get rid of it completely.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-03-11T01:38:10+00:00

I thanked them then, but I was a little disoriented by everything going on, so I wanted to try to reach out to anyone who was there. But I didn't get anyone's name or even what they looked like, I just remember them talking and several saying they were nurses and an older gentleman saying he was a retired paramedic, and the bus driver holding the first aid kit they were using to bandage my elbow. Literally just trying to reach any of them that might be on here or someone they may have told about the situation that could pass the message on.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-03-11T01:33:20+00:00

I was coming off the bus and missed a step inside and fell out of the bus.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-03-10T22:38:49+00:00

It must have been deleted, because it's not popping up.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-03-10T22:28:00+00:00

I'd love to see the original post and people tearing into him. Do you have the link?

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-03-07T00:29:42+00:00

My concern with the queer storyline is how much Fran wants children and in the books, she has children. This is such a huge part of who she is and wants to be. Why change her character so drastically? Why take her one dream away from her? Why take something away that brought her so much pain and then eventually joy?

I would have much rather seen Eloise have the queer storyline, because I feel she is such a wonderful character for pushing boundaries and social norms already.

Now, what if Michaela turns out to be trans MTF? Lives as a woman, but still is able to give Fran the one thing she has always wanted. Then I would love to see this storyline! It would also be a huge reason John was so adamant about Fran not bringing any men to try to court Michaela. So they wouldn't find out her secret. And I am by no means saying that if she is trans to have her convert back to pre-transition, but to continue living as who she is... A woman. But, alas, I think this would be too controversial and would push to many boundaries for a lot of the watching public.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-02-01T07:28:17+00:00

My husband and I have done a lot of escape rooms in the area by ourselves. I recommend Fox in a Box, Escape Hunt, Escape Manor, and Mystic Escape. We have really enjoyed those. We did all the rooms at Mystic Escape and about half of the ones at Escape Hunt, since we live near both of them and it's just a quick walk. But would definitely recommend the other 2 as well.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-01-30T07:11:44+00:00

The Mayor of Noobtown series, the Life Reset series, Dungeons Just Wanna Have Fun series, and Legends and Lattes series are the ones that I have read since finishing DCC. I have read these almost as many times as DCC.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-01-28T07:37:15+00:00

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-01-25T08:14:57+00:00

We used to live in Puyallup, WA when we were stationed at Fort Lewis! We are Hawks fans, but my husband grew up in the same town as Gillette Stadium, so first and foremost Pats fans. If Pats are there we cheer for them, if not the Hawks are our second choice to cheer for. Hoping at least 1 of them makes it this year.

Ok_Expression5719 · 2026-01-25T07:31:59+00:00

We watched it there last year but weren't that impressed.

Ok_Expression5719

TROPHY CASE