DREWspective

Today it feels a lot like Friday. I wish it were Friday, but I’ve had to convince myself it’s Thursday. I’ve been late to work once this week, and have left my work keys at home twice, so I can’t afford any more fuck-ups.

Tomorrow, so I’ve been informed, there’s a sale on at one of my favourite art and craft shops: The Art Club in Edgware. Apparently there’s as much as 50% off some items. Of course, I’ll pop in there to have an innocent look at a few bits and pieces. But seriously, the only thing I’ll be after is some translucent glass paint.

On the subject of glass, I visited a cool little kitsch shop near my workplace, that sells all kinds of retro items and cool material possessions. I picked up a plain brandy snifter, or glass, rather cheaply, having been tempted by cocktail glasses and other kinds of vessels.

Why, you ask? That comes later.

Also, now that I have a suitable sized fish tank, the hunt is on for an affordable aquarium stand to put it on. There are a number of interesting solutions, including several DIY projects (both free and as paid-for ebooks).

Of course, I’m looking for one as inexpensive as possible. My tank measures 3 x 1 x 1.5 feet, and ideally the stand or cabinet would be 3 feet high. It’s not yet urgent; I still have to clear a lot of space.

All four fish are fine, or at least they appear to be. I will confess: last week I was tempted to squeeze a fifth member into the 21 litre tank, but even that is ill-advised.
One of the original two definitely appears to have grown in the last couple of weeks, and I’ve heard it’s assumed the role of head fish in the tank. I’ve been tempted to squeeze it with two fingers, because it’s so fat.

Stay tuned.

Anxiety on two levels.

Last week I’d bought two goldfish, yet to be named. I’d decided to buy another two—much smaller ones—just yesterday; their names are Snipes and Tiger.

The first hit of anxiety occured on Friday, when I was looking for information on goldfish. A couple of places insisted that goldfish have at least 10 gallons of water each in a tank! So if you wanted 3 goldfish, a 30 gallon tank is apparently the bare minimum,

I panicked, because the tank I have right now is 21 litres, or 4.6 gallons. I searched around for affordable, larger tanks, almost forgetting that I have very limited room. In theory I could fit a 3×1x1.5 foot tank in my room

But having talked to a staff member of a small pet store, there should be no problem at the moment. Besides, even a high profile store like Pets at Home sold tanks this "small" (and even smaller!) apparently for goldfish.
It clearly says somewhere in the ; packaging for my tank that four fish cold be kept in it, as long as they were the right size.  According to the new knowledge, it wouldn’t even be big enough for one!

But you know, Pets at Home are supposed to be knowledgable about fish. If the tank was barlely big enough for one fish, why would they sell it? Coincidentally, neither they nor the other place (Maidenhead Aquatics, a great place) asked how big the tank was they were only concerned about water quality (some more than others!).

The second bit of anxiety came when actually buying the fish. As we’ve hinted at before, customer service is one area where Pets at Home falls flat on its face.

It took a while before I’d decided which (and what size) fancy goldfish to get. But a small bunch of people had gathered around the tanks, making life as difficult for anyone else as your typical UK citizen does.
I kid you not when I say it took ten to fifteen minutes to be served, during which I was ignored by staff or frustrated because the people who did get served made their minds up on the spot. Just when it looked like I was getting somewhere, one smarmy bastard (who’d already been served) wanted a gold loach; one of the hardest fish to catch, as it was among regular goldfish.

It was almost like around the 1920s, when white (or lighter-coloured) people got served before black pople, no matter how late they arrived.

The waiting, and worry that someone would take "my fish", made me very anxious. It generally is not a good idea to keep me waiting, and an even worse idea to serve someone who arrived later than me. Had it not been for the voucher I’d gotten for buying the tank, I’d have almost no reason to go back.

But now there’s another problem: they didn’t pack a potted plant that I’d paid for, so now I have to go back! We shall see how good or the customer service at Pets at Home really is.