Lunch walk

Bumped into GS at the train station today, so we went to get a morning coffee together. Had a really good chat about the weekend, the football, and was really intrigued when he started telling me about his other murder cases. I noticed that the attractive brunette at the cafe wasn't there.

Nothing much happened in terms of court. I went to see the client and had a chat with him about nothing really. Just talk about religion and women. When I finished I went with Rom Rom and Kate to watch PL in court, but that ended in morning tea. Bush called me, thinking she saw me, but I told her it wasn't me because I was on level 2. We organised to meet up downstairs at the registry. She had to get something from the court file there.

Afterwards we went for a drink at the cafe. I shouted her the drink, because I was feeling generous. We talked about my prospects at the DDP, even though there wasn't really anything she could do about it. I felt selfish talking about myself when she was in such an important stage in her life, so I asked her about her pregnancy. I am actually quite excited about that. She is starting to show.

She introduced me to some people from her office, one of which was a girl who went after me in the interview.

After that I went back to court, and shortly went to lunch with Kate, Rom Rom, Twish and the French girl. Rom Rom had pretty much given me her camera for the day to take photos, so I was taking some while we were eating at Oporto's.

After lunch we went for a walk to the chocolate shop where the French girl bought some coffee and chocolate. Then everyone except Twish went for a walk around the river. Midway through I realised I was busting to go to the toilet, and so it annoyed me when I suggested we take a shorter route but Kate wanted to take the longer one to extend the walk. That aside, it was pretty good to go on a peaceful walk with them.

I caught the train back to the city with Twish. Then I caught the bus home and bummed around for a while, thinking about Ele. I think I fell asleep until the phone rang. It was some lawyer, I think I'll call him back tomorrow. I couldn't help it but send a message to Ele:

I am sure that if you can do a good job while your manager is away, this will be seen as a positive by your company - add fuel!

It's not really something you can reply to, so I'm not expecting one. But that hasn't stopped me from checking my phone from time to time hoping for one.

I went to the gym earlier as well, did some abs, weights and cycling.

Shuing's car wash

This morning I woke up with a little, and I repeat, LITTLE, sense of stepping back. I know it may be crap of me, but now that Ele has called me, and that I have interpreted it as a possible sign of interest, I can't help but feel that my interest level has dwindled just a bit. Maybe I just enjoy the chase, and not the actual prize?

Anyway, I met up with Malay with my tools and he drove us to Shuing's place. Shuing was already outside when we got there, and we started inspecting his car a bit. He thought that we were going to just help with the paint job, so he had his car washed through a machine yesterday. When I started washing a bit of it to clean the surface for some polishing, I suggested we just wash the rest of it, which we did. We only had two sponges among the three of us, so we took turns.

I didn't think it was possible, but we actually made his car even cleaner than it already was. Proof that hand wash > machine. We also fixed up some of his scratches, and brought back to life his paint which seemed to have faded.

While we were alone filling up the bucket with water at one stage, I asked him about the Ele thing last night, and he said she called him at about 3pm. So she obviously called me first, then two hours later, having not received a reply from me, decided to start it with them.

I showed Shuing the location of the colour code on his car, so that he could get the touch up paint in his own time.

After Shuing's car, we started washing Malay's car. Malay's car had the full monty of dust on his due to the dust storm, and it was pretty hard getting it off. When we finished, it looked a lot better, but you could still see some dust in some places. I am pretty sure that it will take at least one more wash to get it completely clean.

He wanted some touch up paint work done, and asked me to do his roof with a toothpick, which I did. He also did some other parts of his with the brush. It was a bit hard applying the paint because it was very windy which made the paint dry quickly.

After that we went in Shuing's car to the shopping centre near me for some KFC. Once we were inside I told them that Eva worked there and they suggested we visit her, so we went to her shop, and after she served a customer, we all said hello. Shuing asked what time she finished work, and when she said 5:30, Shuing said we'd come back to pick her up.

Shuing shouted us KFC for helping him with his car. The KFC was a bit shitty, because they didn't have coleslaw and it couldn't be replaced with chicken, so we just got an extra cup of potato and gravy instead.

We just talked about the others in our circle while eating, whilst Malay kept sympathising for Eva's situation in her marriage. After eating, we went to get some ice cream, and got one for Eva too. As we were waiting for her to finish work, it was funny because her ice cream was melting and there wasn't anything we could do, lol.

When she finished, she came over and we gave her the ice cream, and she gave us some food from her shop. We sat there and ate our ice cream for a while, and she called Michael L, and spoke about dinner, but we were all too full to even contemplate eating again.

After finishing our ice cream, we gave her a lift back home. Shuing asked me if Michael L wouldn't have liked that. Interesting question. Shuing took us back to his place, and then Malay gave me a ride back home. I have a feeling Malay is still pretty new to driving, because during the trip to Shuing's he missed a stop sign, and when going to my place, he had trouble with a three point turn. I am sure he will get better, it's hard to start learning with a big car.

Thursday comp: 3-11-3

Far out, haven't had much time to blog.

On Tuesday at work we played that terrorism board game. It was PL, Kate, me, Twish, Rom Rom and the French girl (who I have incorrectly called the German girl before). I think it was Kate's idea.

It was a pretty hard game to understand, and even the instructions conceded as much. So we all just decided to take it one step at a time, reading the instructions, playing, then reading more instructions.

Twish annoyed me a bit because she would only come to the table when it was her turn, and then go back to her office to make phone calls. The French girl surprised me a bit because she was really good in reading the instructions and teaching us how to play, even though her English was probably the worst out of all of us (but still pretty good).

In the game, there is this wheel you spin, and which ever colour it lands on determines who is the terrorist. When the wheel was spun, it landed on Kate's colour, so she was it. As the terrorist, you don't make any money, but I am sure there were other benefits to offset it which we didn't know about.

After a few turns, I had to spin, and already by then Kate was getting a little frustrated at being the terrorist. I spun once but stuffed it up because the thing wasn't exactly glued to the board so it came off. I spun again and it landed on Kate. She refused and said I should spin again, but everyone said not to. Then there was this bit of argument and Kate ended up walking away from the game. It was pretty sad, but there wasn't much we could do about it.

At lunch I went to the gym with DC, we did five types of exercises and then left. We also bumped into that really good looking lawyer (who is married). He actually spotted her and suggested we go do the bike for five minutes, which was what she was doing. He introduced me to her, even though Kate had done the same a while back. She is actually pretty good looking even without make up. I didn't, however, like the fact that DC went out of his way to talk to her even though both were married. When we were on the bikes, I wondered about having a good looking wife which every man would crack on to.

DC and I went to get lunch together, and he brought up the board game thing earlier. He was sitting away working, but he said he was keeping an eye out and said there were some other things going on which contributed to Kate leaving. He didn't exactly say what, but he did say something about PL and the French girl being there.

Hmmm.

On Wednesday I was woken up by my phone ringing. I walked over to it and put it on silent, only to realise moments later that it was my ringtone that had been ringing, not the alarm, so someone was calling me. I sleepily got up and checked, and saw that it was Malay. Gee, it must've been urgent for him to call me at 6am.

He told me to look out the window. I opened the door and saw that the entire sky was a dark red. Wow. Apparently it was the worst dust storm in NSW's history.

Thursday night's game was pretty exciting. Sunz had pretty much bailed earlier in the day, which kinda sucked because I don't want his stinking shoes in my car. I had a feeling this would happen.

Fat Pat surprisingly turned up with Mike. As we were sitting and waiting for the earlier game to finish, Antoine came over and asked if we needed any players. I said yes, and he introduced us to this tall, skinny Indian dude called Harry. Because it was the last game of the season, Antoine decided to let him play for us.

Carter also came, Fab couldn't make it, and Abi had said he was coming but was nowhere to be seen. We played the Thundercats, a bunch of bulky wogs. I started the game alright, when this guy was driving I managed to strip the ball from him and come up with a steal. Although I was a bit lazy on defense, as this number three guy hit a few threes around me. I swear it was the biggest fluke, he didn't even have a proper shot, he was just flipping it up but managed to swish it all the time.

I thought having a tall guy would solve all our problems, but it didn't. It solved some. With Harry, he was a presence in the middle, but he also seemed to like playing guard, staying on the perimetre on offense, and over-dribbling on fast breaks. He was a bit unco on rebounds, but I gave all of this to maybe a bit of rust. He was a bit arrogant as well. When we were warming up, I asked if he could dunk, and he said yes and made an attempt. He missed it because he didn't jump high enough. And then after a Fat Pat lay up, he grabbed the rim and nearly received a tech.

We were down by around four points from halftime till the close of the game, which really annoyed me because it seemed like no matter what we did, we couldn't close that small gap. At one stage we had to foul and send them to the line, so I pushed and grabbed this big guy, and nothing was called! It was right in front of the referee, and I just held onto his arm until Fat Pat came over and started fouling as well. Even the other team was complaining about it.

The guy hit one free throw to put them up by three, and we called a timeout. We decided to kick it into Harry for an easy two and hope that they fouled him. He was asking if he could take a three, and we all steered him away from that idea.

I inbounded it from the halfway, and we tried to kick it into Harry. He missed a shot, but Fat Pat got the rebound and drove it for a lay up and was fouled. We all watched as the ball hit the back rim softly, and then the front rim. Right at that moment, the ball could've bounced out. But it didn't. It softly dropped through the net. I punched the air and went to give him a high five.

He hit the free throw with about 11 seconds to go. When they were taking the ball up, I started yelling "five, four, three, two, one" but the guy wasn't falling for it. I saw Harry bump him and thought a foul was going to be called.

No don't bump him you fucking idiot!

He started to drive, and just as he was about to pick up his dribble, I got a hand in there and stripped it. It was the exact same thing that happened at the beginning of the game. I heard some guys on the sideline gasping. I chased down the ball and knew I still had a bit of time to get a shot off. By the time I got both hands on it the buzzer sounded and I chucked a three quarter court shot which missed.

Game drew.

We were all pretty happy, even though we drew, probably because we played so well towards the end. I felt good because I had done a heroic act, and also because it was a team effort. Without Fat Pat's free throw and shot my steal would've meant nothing. And without my steal, well, they may have gotten off a shot.

On the bench, I asked Fat Pat what he was thinking when he was taking the free throw, and asked "did you think it was too much pressure and you wanted to go home and play PS3?"

I actually meant it as a joke, because I was going to say that's what I was thinking once during clutch free throws, but after I said it I realised that it may have been interpreted as a shot at him for giving up during the season.

Mike, Fat Pat and I sat around talking a bit. Abi turned up, only to have us tell him the game was over.

As I was driving back, I thought that I had really contributed, even though I didn't score. Maybe...I was good to play? At that moment, I was down for next season.

On Friday GS wasn't at the office because he had another matter elsewhere. We all did more chucking away of the brief, because the bins had been emptied the day before.

While I was doing that, the cofficer came in and told me that my client wanted to see me. I wanted to do everything I could to avoid any trouble or perception of trouble, so I asked DC to come with me. So we went downstairs to see the client and just basically talked crap. By the time we finished it was around morning tea, and I noticed it was kinda quiet. DC was talking to RB and IN, and I was wondering where Kate and Rom Rom were.

So I went out to the cafe across the road and saw them there with Twish. I ordered a fruit salad and joined them. I noticed that hot waitress paused a bit and looked at me as she brought over the fruit salad. I am really starting to wonder if I am paranoid...or correct.

It was only a half day, so shortly after heading back it was time to go. DC offered me a lift, and Rom Rom found out, and it was pretty hard for me to reconcile why I refused a lift from her but accepted one from him. Twish and the French girl also came along, and apart from Twish's constant rambling and whinging about CW, it was a pretty boring ride.

He dropped us off outside Twish's office, where we parted, although I walked a bit with the French girl towards the traffic lights because she was going to lunch. If I didn't know she had a boyfriend, I may have asked her to lunch.

Anyway, I went to the bus stop to catch a bus home, but then felt my tummy grumbling. After a bit more of a wait I decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so went into the court building across the road to use the bathroom.

When I went home, I washed my car because the dust had managed to get into my garage and cover my car. Sheesh. It was some pretty tough dust as well. It was only a thin layer but it stuck pretty hard to the paint. I pity those who had their cars outdoors and copped more of it.

I bummed around at home until about 7:30 when I drove out to get some KFC so I could watch the Eels-Bulldogs game on tv. It was a pretty good game, and I kinda wish I had spent my money going to that game instead of the other one.

This morning I went to the gym. I did some abs, weights and the bike. I hadn't been doing the bike all week, so I was a bit wary playing on Thursday night because I could feel my knee wasn't as strong as normal.

After gym I went to the fruit market to get some drinks for library guy's birthday party at the beach. I was thinking of getting those canned drinks which seem to have been cut off from the shelves, like Dr Pepper and Cherry Coke, but they were like $2.50 per can so screw that. Instead I just got a pack of six bottles of some lemony drink.

I went home, had a shower and then headed out. I was like two hours late, even though I only meant to be one hour late. I had never been to that beach before, so I didn't know how to get there, and the bus route I took was from the start to the end.

I was somewhat relieved to see Etan and Spawn there, because I was afraid I wouldn't know anyone there. A lot of his Vietnamese friends were cooking at the barbeque, and I was quickly introduced to them and given some food. I went to sit with Spawn and Etan and tried to eat the meat I was given, but it was a bit too chewy and ummm...raw.

I spent the time mainly with them two, plus some guy called Sasha who also went to our uni. He has really nice eyes, it's like they're always smiling. I couldn't take my eyes off his girlfriend. In one way, she looked old because her skin seemed a bit wrinkly, yet she had this sexy aura about her.

Spawn asked me how many people I knew there, and I knew where this was heading. He said "why don't you go introduce yourself to everyone else?" I knew that that was actually what he wanted to do, but he had to somehow express it as something that I should've been doing.

Yoj also came along and we had a bit of a chat near the barbeque. She told me that a client had actually trashed Nom's office because she wouldn't refund him his money. Damn, you kinda saw that coming from a mile away when you looked at how she treated her clients. It was only a matter of time.

Ha was also there with her boyfriend. He really surprised me. If you look at Ha, you'd think her boyfriend was someone equally as nerdy, and equally as small. But this dude was quite a hunk! Far out. Anyway, I spent some time playing badminton with him, although it was a bit hard because it was so windy.

I ended up in a conversation with Etan and Sasha, and listened to Sasha talk about how all of his non-law friends were making more money than lawyers. I tend to agree with him.

Spawn dropped his sunglasses at one stage, and Etan said something about his own being $20, and Spawn says "oh, mine are $300". Ummm..yeah, well done.

At another point, while talking to me and Etan, he actually pointed at my receding hairline and said "so what are you going to do about that?"

Hey at least I don't look like a 12 year old!

Fam also showed up late, because he had come from a wedding. He showed up with a different girl. I thought she looked like one of those Korean girls from the brothels I used to go to, but later figured out she probably wasn't, because her English was too good. I wonder what happened to his 'girlfriend'.

We talked a bit about shit, and then he started telling me about this self-discovery class that he and library guy were doing. Sounds weird. I was trying to think of how this was some way of making money for himself.

At around 4:30pm Etan and I decided to jet, so we said our goodbyes and I, at least, felt relieved to get the hell out of there. I checked my phone and saw that I had a missed call from Ele at 1:12pm. I would've missed it because I had my phone in my bag all day and had chucked my bag to a corner in the shelter we were sitting in. She also sent me a message at 1:21pm:

Do u want to join us for board games at [location] ard 7pm tonite?

Hmmm.

I caught the bus with Etan, half talking shit with him, careful not to say anything of substance because he was the type to talk behind your back about it, and half my mind deciding whether I should go or not, and how I should handle it.

I was thinking about not going, because I wanted to be a bit of a challenge and didn't want to be seen as being too available all the time. But then on the other hand, I kinda thought that maybe the best way of progressing things with her would be to try to see her on these types of occasions, and also showing the importance of accepting her invitations. I mean, what if I rejected, then she thought I'd reject in the future and never asked me again?

Once I parted with Etan I boarded a bus and called her back. The call was cut off, and a recorded message said I couldn't leave a message.

Hmmm.

At 5:09pm I sent the following:

Mmm...ok but I can only get there around 8, is that ok madam?

The only reason I suggested I'd be late was because of what I saw in Hitch, how the fat guy re-scheduled deliberatelt to be seen as being busy.

From then on it was a mental disaster. I kept checking my phone for calls and messages. I must've checked a million times. Each time I saw nothing hurt a little.

I got home and kept checking. My mind wandered between "call her to clarify" and "screw it, I feel like staying at home to watch the footy anyway". I thought that the reason the phone got cut off was maybe she was in the cinema was whatever group she was with. I also presumed that that was the group that she had invited me to. I didn't think it would be Shuing.

By the time my mom had made dinner and the football had started, I still hadn't received a reply, so I just settled in for the night watching the football. I went for the Broncos and they got smashed.

I was still pondering as to whether I should call her. On one hand I felt angry that she had just left it hanging like this, but on the other hand I felt more than grateful that she had given thought to me and had made the effort to invite me.

At 7:36pm Ele sent me a message saying "It's cancelled..."

I thought that maybe the group she was with decided to do something else, which she deemed inappropriate for me. Oh well. I considered replying but didn't think it would achieve anything so I left it.

To my surprise, at 9:17pm she called me. I went into the kitchen and backyard to call her back.

Me: Hello Ms Grumpy.

[laughs]

Her: I am no longer Ms Grumpy, I am in a happy mood.

Me: Ok Ms Happy.

She told me that it was cancelled because Shuing and G wanted to watch the football.

So she had organised it with Shuing and G.

I figured she must've asked me first and then them, because I couldn't see them agreeing at 1pm and then cancelling later on. I must've created a havoc for her by replying four hours later. Assuming I am right.

She said then it would've just been me and her. I jokingly asked "is that bad?" and she said "yeah" and then said something about Tracy being busy.

I asked her what she was doing and she said she was eating fried chicken, lol. I asked her if she was at home and she said she was. I asked her if she had watched the movies I lent her, and she said she didn't like them. She said she didn't like Sliding Doors because it was a tragedy, and she didn't like the other movies because there were no pretty girls in it. She said she preferred a movie with a pretty girl over a story, like Confessions of a Shopoholic.

I wondered if she was trying to tell me she was a lesbian.

I said I would try to ask for a movie next time with a pretty girl in it. She laughed.

I told her that my cousin was coming from HK soon and asked her to come to dinner with us, and she agreed, but said that her boss was going on a holiday soon so she would have to work overtime and might not have time to meet up on a weeknight.

Hmmm...so she wasn't lying.

I must admit, I had a bit of problem understanding her on the phone, because she cut me off at times, and her English was a little hard to understand. In person I seem to understand her much better. But overall, I got the impression that either she was a bit nervous, or she was really eager to talk, because she was talking a bit faster than normal and throwing a lot of information at me.

Earlier I drove to the uni near her place to see if the basketball courts were accessible. I have this fantasy of taking her by surprise to a basketball court and shooting some hoops with her. The courts were closed.

Anyway, I guess the paranoia is over. She called me even after I didn't reply to her message, just to let me know of the situation. But now I'm wondering if she is into girls.

The Brazilian Restaurant

I woke up at 3am yesterday with a plan.

I would be intentionally late at the restaurant, tell them I had to go somewhere, quickly sign the documents and leave. That way, I could express my frustrations at Ele for not calling me back, and it would be a way of creating an aura of mystery whilst also making me seem busy.

Catching the bus to the train station, I bumped into Michael L. I didn't see him at first, but as I was walking towards the middle of the bus he was waving at me. We actually didn't talk much about the statements thing, mainly because I thought he might've been uncomfortable with it on a bus packed with people. Although I did get from him that Eva was meeting Ele for lunch so she could get Ele's statement. Luckily I had told Michael L the night before that I needed to be present when they were signing, so I guess we had to have Ele for dinner.

Work was as usual - more waiting around. I went for coffee with PL, Kate, Rom Rom, Hayley and the German girl. I thought the German girl was giving me looks, until I realised later on that she had a boyfriend back in Germany.

PL shouted us drinks, how nice of him. Everyone had some sort of juice while I had my short black. It was kinda fun, and new, to sit with them. Other than Twish, I don't really talk to the others in her group much. When I returned to court, GS asked to borrow my pass and then made a joke about how I didn't need it since I was with all these girls.

The German girl, Hayley, Kate, Rom Rom and I also checked out the 'secret' room in our office. Apparently no one, except Hayley, knew that it was accessible until now. Hayley said she used to sleep in there, and that the lights go off after a while, so we all sat motionless trying to get the sensor to not detect us so the lights would go off. We were there for a while but guess we moved too much, so it never went off.

We heard there was a jury note and that we'd be returning to court at 2pm. It was nothing to do with us, just Rom Rom's client, so I didn't have much concern.

I went to lunch with Kate, and messaged Twish as to where we were. As we were walking to Oporto's, we passed CW stabding outside another court. He asked us where we were going, and Kate told him we were going to lunch. He asked, "does Twish know?"

I didn't get it at first, and then realised it was a slight at both the allegation that Twish and I had something going, and that Kate and I had something going. Kate said he had the dirtiest mind.

At lunch, I felt that we didn't have that much to talk about, and I had the Ele thing on my mind, and I thought Kate was an appropriate person to confide in. Firstly, she was a woman, and secondly, it could be my way of showing that I wasn't interested in Twish.

So I asked her about when a girl doesn't return a guy's call. SHe told me that she doesn't return calls either, because if it's important then they'll call back, and also, she said girls like a bit of perseverance. She actually repeated that perseverence concept a few times. She suggested that I send or leave her a message. I said then that would reveal the purpose of my call. She said to be vague, something like "I just wanted to talk to you, call me back".

That was a good idea.

It was so good it really started growing on me more and more within the next 30 minutes. Twish arrived when we were nearly finished, and I let her have the rest of my chips. Her and Kate talked about Twish's hair while I kept thinking about the leaving a message thing.

When I got back to the office at 1:43pm, I sent the following message to Ele:

"Hey, just wanted to talk to you about something, give us a call after work"

She called me straight away but I couldn't answer it because I was in the vicinity of GS and everyone else, and I didn't want to be heard cautioning her about making statements.

We all went into court at 2pm for the jury note, and when that finished in about 20 minutes I called Ele back. No answer.

Hmmm. Grrr.

I wonder what part of "after work" did she not understand. Or was she so eager that she called me straight away? Or was she just out at lunch and had some free time? In any case, seeing that I had now left the missed call, I had hoped that she would call me after work.

After the day at the office, I went to the gym. I did some weights, abs and the bike. My mind flashed between the night ahead and the number of reps I was up to in whatever exercise I was doing.

I then went home, originally with a plan of catching a bus back out to the city so I could sit down somewhere near the water and kill time whilst executing my plan. But I ended up taking my car to Coogee, near the beach. Whilst waiting for a call from Michael L about the dinner plans, I walked along the beach on the footpath. I thought about sitting down at some seats near the steps, but some homeless looking guy smiled at me and that was enough of a deterrence.

Towards the end of the beach, I turned to go back around the block, and spotted a fat lady with a big bald guy. At first I thought she was pregnant, but as she emerged from the shadows, it was clear that she was just fat.

I ended up at a table close to the traffic lights on the main road. I enjoyed the peace and quiet, just sitting there, able to think, with no distractions at all. It was just me. I then heard some girl crying and yelling, apparently at a guy, asking why he was treating her like crap (because it makes you want him more?) and responding to an allegation that she did nothing for him. It was quite a scene.

I thought to myself that it was lucky I had some tissues in my pocket, in case the need ever arose. Her crying and screaming came closer. When it was parallel to me, I looked, and realised it was the fat lady and the bald guy. He was obviously trying to minimise the scene. They eventually stood a distance away talking quietly.

Michael L rang and said he and Eva were on their way to pick Ele up from work.

Geez, why didn't she ask me to pick her up?

He asked me where I wanted to eat and I said it was up to him. He sounded uncertain and then said he'd call me back 15 minutes later. 30 minutes later I still hadn't received a call, so I went for a walk to the ATM to withdraw some cash, and then headed back to my car. I started to drive away, not really sure where I was heading, when Michael L called. I pulled over and called him back. He said they had decided to come to Coogee.

Great.

I turned my car around and went back to the same place to park. If anyone had taken notice of me earlier, they would definitely think I was suss. After parking, I walked back along the beach and then stopped nearby a family looking out at the waters. It was sooo peaceful.

Michael L called again to tell me the restaurant they were going to. I didn't know it, but knew the street, and it was close by. This was it. I would see Ele again. As I walked along the beach, I pictured Ele and I walking on the sand together after dinner. It would be easy as pie. All I'd have to do after dinner is suggest that I give her a ride, and on our way back to the car I'd suggest a walk along the beach. Maybe we could even playfully push eachother along the shallow waters.

But how? I can't just say "let's walk on the sand". I thought about it as I walked slowly towards the restaurant.

Aha!

I'd make up something, like say it was good luck to step on a seashell, and then we'd try it out. Yeah? Good stuff!

I actually started feeling sick for some reason, and didn't feel like eating, even though I was hungry. I found the restaurant, even though it was "20 metres from the beach" like Michael L had described. I looked in and saw them. They waved at me.

It was a bit dark and gloomy inside. Sitting against the wall were Ele and Eva. Opposite Ele was Linda, and next to her was Michael L. I sat down next to Michael L and found the seat to be somewhat awkward. I was in a bit of a sombre mood, and said "good morning". Michael L asked me if I was a vampire and I said yes.

I didn't really say hi to anyone else, maybe smiled at Eva. Other than checking out the menu, I kept my head down or looked straight ahead most of the time. I could feel Ele looking over at me.

I asked Michael L how the restaurant worked, and he didn't know. He called a waiter over and asked. Apparently it was a $35 per person all you can eat buffet, where they bring you the food as long as the little coaster on your table had the green side facing up.

After the waiter left us to think about it, there were some uncomfortable looks between Eva and Michael L. I am fairly sure it was the price. There was a vote to see who was up for it, and everyone didn't know either way. When it came to me, I suggested we stay. Look, I was wary of their financial situation, and mine as well, and I wasn't even hungry enough for a buffet, but I really didn't want to have all of us get up and leave the restaurant. I just thought that it should've been asked before they were seated. You could definitely criticse me for that decision.

So we ended up staying. Almost immediately the food started coming. It was mostly meat. The rate of food coming was much faster than any possible rate of consumption. I had to turn my coaster around to indicate to stop for me while I finished what I had gotten.

I could still sense Ele looking at me. It was getting to an almost (repeat: almost) unbearable point. She asked me why I was so quiet. I tried to give a comical "I'm always quiet", but it came out with a rather blunt tone.

Linda tried to start a conversation with me, and I really didn't want to talk to her and didn't want to be the focus of the group, so I wasn't very responsive. I pretty much ignored that end of the table, restricting myself to talking with Michael L and Eva. I could still feel Ele looking over. Once or twice when I couldn't help it and looked over, our eyes met. She was wearing her white rimmed glasses.

Sometimes I'd sit there and think "is this the girl you like? Really?" and it made me question myself. Did I really like her? Were we a good match?

She asked me what I wanted to ask her about earlier, saying she called me but I didn't pick up.

Oh bullshit. As if you didn't see the missed call from the night before and the one after lunch.

I just said it was nothing.

When the staff came over with cheese bread, they took some but I declined. Cheese bread wasn't very appealing to me, at that stage anyway. Ele asked me if I wanted some. At first I said no, and then she offered me a piece of hers. I said yes and she ripped a bit off for me. I couldn't help but let out a smile. I felt like an upset child, suddenly cheered up by his parents by a toy gift.

I ate the bread. I couldn't really taste the cheese, and it didn't really taste that special. But because it was from Ele, I ate it heartily.

Michael L asked if I wanted to do the documents. I said yes and moved my plate away. He went to his car to get them, and returned with a small carry bag. He handed it to Eva, who started pulling some papers out. I thought it was one or two statements, I wasn't really expecting this much.

I took one glance at the statements and realised they were just declarations stating the nature of their relationship with Michael L and Eva. It was legit. My worries went away. I asked Linda the requisite questions before watching her sign, and then signing myself as a witness. I did the same for Ele. I could've just willy-nilly signed them as a witness, but was glad I was doing it this way not only because it was the proper and professional way, but because it was also perceived to be proper and professional.

Eva handed me more documents, copies of passports and certain certificates. Because I didn't have a stamp, I had to manually certify each of them which took a while. I think by the time I finished the restaurant had started closing. There were some road works going on outside, and it was pretty loud which was annoying. But I got it all done.

Both Eva and Linda complimented me on my pen. Michael L was absent for most of my signing, don't really know where he went, so Linda moved over and sat next to me. She took a look at my pen. She also at some stage said I was skinnier than the last time she saw me, and then reached over to touch my arm.

Ok, don't touch me.

Eva said she would get that pen for Michael L.

Ele asked if I had read the statements. I couldn't help but make a cocky-funny joke. I told her I hadn't read it, but asked if I was referred to. Maybe, something like "I noticed the guy next to Michael L, he was the best looking guy I had ever seen. Smart, intelligent, handsome-".

"Successful" Ele added.

Ummm...yeah, if only you knew.

I was actually setting myself up for a neg, so wasn't expecting a compliment. It also kinda dulls the mood a little, no?

When the bill came we all paid our share, and Eva gave me an extra lolly for my efforts. I joked and told her I'd send the bill the next day.

We made our way out of the restaurant with me leading the way. I asked if anyone needed a lift (read: I'll give Ele a lift), and Linda put her hand up for one. Ele said she was going to the city. I said I'd drive them both. Michael L repeated that Ele was in the city. I said, "the world is round isn't it?" and he said "so even if it takes you three days to go all the way around..."

Just stfu and let me drive her, alright?

When we were about to part ways, Michael L said "oh, but now you're leaving with all the women". I said "can I take her too?", pointing to Eva. She feigned some steps towards me until Michael L pulled her back and said no.

I walked off to my car with Ele and Linda behind me. Linda tried to walk alongside me a bit, but I mainly walked in front of them until we crossed the road and walked along the footpath of the beach.

Goddamn Linda, always ruining everything. Why? WHY?!?!?!?!

I pointed out the Coogee Bay Hotel, and Ele seemed to know where I was going with that. She said that she still owed me ice cream, and asked if I wanted it there. I laughed and said no thanks. Linda didn't really get it, and then asked Ele if she had ever been there. Ele said just to have a beer. I asked her what it tasted like, and she said "ice cream!", lol.

As we walked further along, I was quiet, until she said that I was supposed to lend her a movie. I said "damn, I was hoping you'd forget". Linda asked what movie it was, and I told her the actress in it. She got the name of the movie right straight away, and asked me if she was right. I told her to ask Ele.

It was a bit funny, because when we reached the parking area, we noticed some invisible strings blocking our way. Apparently they were fishing lines coming from a parked truck. We had to carefully maneuver our way around it. Could've been dangerous if someone was running.

When I unlocked my car and the lights flashed, Ele said it was a big car. Even G said it last time he was in it. I guess it is a big car, I've just gotten used to it.

I reached my door hoping that Ele would take the front passenger seat. She did.

Phew.

You would not believe the mental urgency I had in driving Linda home as quickly as possible. When we passed my high school, I pointed it out to them. Ele asked me if that was how I knew Michelle, and I told her how back then she was the girlfriend of my best friend, but that I didn't really know her that well.

I said I thought Michelle was a bit weird, and Ele said she thought she was pretty. She then followed it up by saying that she liked pretty girls, more than she liked pretty guys. Whatever that means.

Her phone rang and she said it was her mom. She wanted her mom to get her some cosmetic products, and I joked saying I wanted some too.

I drove to Linda's place and asked her if I was on the right street. She said something like "aww you remembered". I quickly countered with "well I knew it was near Malay's place".

I couldn't have been happier to get her out of my car. Now it was just Ele and I.

It was actually pretty quiet. I guess I was still in my sombre mood. When I got to the intersection past Malay's house and near her old house, she said "you know I have moved right?" I said "yeah, and that's why I'm dropping you off at the bus stop around the corner".

She laughed, and it made me feel good to make her laugh. I stopped in front of my house and told her to protect the car with her life. On my way upstairs I said hello to my new neighbour who was with a friend packing some stuff up in a ute.

I went upstairs and grabbed Sliding Doors and The Green Mile. I went back downstairs and to my car. I tried to open the door but it was locked.

Hmmm? I was pretty sure I didn't lock it.

I bent down a little and looked through the window. Ele giggled. I unlocked the door with my key and got in. I have her the DVDs and pointed out to her which movies on The Green Mile collection I had seen.

As I drove off, she started reading a bit of the blurb on Sliding Doors. There was a bit of quiet, until I started a conversation. I can't remember how it went, but it was something like:

Her: Are you happy now?
Me: Yeah.
Her: Why?
Me: Because I'm with an interesting person.
Her: Why am I interesting?

I actually couldn't think of something really descriptive, and can't remember what I muttered.

I asked her about work, and she gave me a "so-so" gesture. I said "good?", and she repeated it. I said "excellent?" and she laughed. She repeated, like last time, about how she had taken sick days off. She told me about some tests her doctor did, including a "breath test", which sounded like "breast test".

Closer to the city, I asked if she had any annual leave saved up, and she said yes, and that she was thinking of catching up with her parents when they visit Taiwan.

When I was pulling over near her place, her phone rang. She answered it, but didn't seem to be able to connect properly. It rang again when my car came to a stop, and she said bye and got out, ignoring the call. I waited a while to make sure she got into her home safely. I drove off, and when I passed her place, she looked for my car and waved. I waved back.

Driving home, and going to bed last night, I felt content. It was as if I was content because I had had my dose of Ele for the night. I no longer felt obsessed about her. I was just...content.

And the mood changes again...

You know what, I was thinking about this a bit, and thought it a bit strange that Michael L is getting everyone to make statements. I am pretty sure it's marriage related, and I don't like the sounds of it. What on earth do these people know about making statements? Do they know to make it in the absence of other people making statements? Do they know they could be cross-examined on it years later? Do they know what can and cannot be said in a statement?

More specifically, my concern related to Ele. I didn't want to see her get into trouble. So I thought about calling her to talk to her about it. That thought became more and more right in my mind - I had to talk to her before seeing her in the presence of the others tomorrow night.

So after dinner, I called. No answer.

That was about 35 minutes ago, and it doesn't look like she'll call back.

And now I'm angry. It's pretty rude to ignore and not return people's calls. It's one thing to ignore it if you're trying to send a message that you're not interested, but it's another to do that and then send mixed signals when you're around.

Fuck it, I'm not going to do it tomorrow. They can do whatever they want. Don't blame me, blame her for not answering her phone. I was just trying to look out for her, but if she doesn't want it, then fine.

But dude, you've never really answered any of her calls.

Yes, but I call back!

Alright, you've got a point.

Edit @ 21:19

Wow, I just found out that the book "The Rules" teaches women that, if they want to snag the man, to not call him or return their calls. Stupidest thing I have ever read.

Lalalalala-lalalalala

I woke up today to some slightly unusual silence, and then realised that it was the absence of traffic on the road. Then I remembered it was a marathon day.

I decided to try my luck and went downstairs with my bucket and sponge. I crossed the road to ask those marathon supervisors if it was ok for me to wash my car on the driveway/footpath. They actually didn't know, but I thought for caution sake I should just do it when it was over.

I bummed around at home a bit and then started thinking about going to the courts for basketball.

Yeah, you know, basketball, what you used to do every weekend.

My god, it had seemed so distant for some reason. I remember it was routine, but now it was more like an option.

I thought about the heat and was kinda inclined not to go, but then figured it might be fun so I went. I went without my knee brace. I went to the servo to get a drink first and then walked there. There were some people already playing, and luckily my usual court wasn't taken.

I didn't really want to commit myself to any sort of workout, I just wanted to feel free and have fun so I just shot around and worked on my dribble. It felt so peaceful, and at times, when I would jog after a loose ball, I would think about how lucky I was to be able to be back on a court, and I felt grateful for that. I guess it could've been much worse.

I tried to touch the backboard but couldn't. The thing is I'm trying to jump off mainly on my left foot. I still feel a bit scared jumping off my right foot. I forced myself to hit a jump shot three before I left, and it only took a couple of attempts. It felt soooo good.

I went home and worked on my car a bit. I washed the bonnet, trying to get it completely free of dirt. I dried it and then started waxing it. It looks really good now. Makes me feel good. I'm going to do one part of the car at a time.

After that I had a shower and made myself something to eat. I just microwaved the KFC I bought last night and ate it with bread like it was a sandwich. Mmm...yum. I was watching Hitch while eating. I only watched a bit of it. I found that I wasn't really interested in the Will Smith-Eve Mendes side of the story, I was more interested in the fat guy-blonde chick side of the story. I guess I was looking for tips on the whole Ele thing.

While I was watching that, Michael L called. He asked if I could witness something for him. Sure, I said, and we organised for him to come over whenever he was ready since I was just going to be home all day.

I started filing some of my letters and he'd call a few times, saying something about coming soon and how Linda was helping them write a statement.

Write a statement? Wtf?

I somehow got the impression that this had something to do with his marriage.

I semi-waited for them while I went downstairs to clean my car out a bit. I took some stuff out from the boot and brought it back up, and then spent some time getting those shitty little twigs out of narrow gaps on my car.

I finished and went back up, and he called later. He said he wouldn't be able to do it today because they had some printing problems, and then said that I would need to witness Ele's statement as well.

Hello!

He asked if I could do it tomorrow and of course, I obliged. He asked if I wanted to meet up for dinner tonight, and I asked who was going. He just said it was him, Eva and Linda. No thank you.

I was so excited at the thought of seeing Ele at dinner tomorrow night!!! I don't know why, but I just started singing in my head, "lalalalala-lalalalala!"

I got changed and headed out to the city to get my train ticket. It looked like it was going to start raining, and I thought about turning around, but was so happy I just felt like going for a walk. The entire trip I was smiling to myself.

I went to the train station, got my ticket, and then went to check out JB Hi-Fi. They were playing Role Models, and had this quote:

Gayle Sweeny: You know what I used to have for breakfast? Cocaine. Know what I had for lunch? Cocaine.
Wheeler: What did you have for dinner?
Danny: Was it cocaine?

LOL!

With that and Ele in my head, I was smiling even more as I headed back home.

Lalalalala-lalalalala!!!

Corporate lessons

Found this one too, must've gotten it from a chain email.

Corporate lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower when the doorbell rings. After a few seconds of arguing over which one should go and answer the doorbell, the wife gives up, quickly wraps herself up in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next door neighbour. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel that you have on" After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves. Confused, but excited about her good fortune, the woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets back to the bathroom, her husband asks from the shower, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbour," she replies. "Great," the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk in time with your stakeholders, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.


Corporate lesson 2

A priest was driving along and saw a nun on the side of the road, he stopped and offered her a lift which she accepted. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to open and reveal a lovely leg. The priest had a look and nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun looked at him and immediately said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest was flustered and apologized profusely. He forced himself to remove his hand. However, he was unable to remove his eyes from her leg. Further on while changing gear, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" Once again the priest apologized. "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun got out gave him a meaningful glance and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to retrieve a bible and looked up Psalm 129. It Said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of Story: Always be well informed in your job, or you might miss a great opportunity.


Corporate lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out in a puff of smoke. The Genie says, "I usually only grant three wishes, so I'll give each of you just one." "Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Poof! She's gone. In astonishment, "Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of pina coladas and the love of my life." Poof! He's gone. "OK, you're up, "the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of story: Always let your boss have the first say.


Corporate Lesson 4

A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up


Corporate Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree, "sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy." "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Management Lesson: Bull sh*t might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.


Corporate Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Lessons learned:
1) Not everyone who sh*ts on you is your enemy
2) Not everyone who gets you out of sh*t is your friend.
3) And when you're in deep sh*t, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

Blog Advice

I was just going through some old documents on my computer, and stumbled upon this 'blog advice.txt' file, with a created date of 24/1/08 and a modified date of 21/2/06.

It was quite interesting to read. I think it must've been some rough notes I jotted down as blog ideas but subsequently forgot about it. This is it:

Stubbornness vs Influenced
A director listens to advice given by his subordinates. If the advice turns out to be good, then they'll say he acted wisely on information available. If the advice turns out to be bad, they'll say he's easily influenced.

If the director doesn't listen to the advice, and it turns out to be good, then he's stubborn. But if it turns out to be bad, then he's considered independent.

I wonder what's harder- for someone to like me or for me to find someone I like.

Three ways to raise your children:
- give them what they want
- make them work for what they want
- give them what you think they want

What's worse- being alone for the rest of your life or spending it with someone you don't like for the rest of your life?

What's worse- having McDonald's for lunch or not eating lunch at all?

Analogy to NTM:
It's like losing your lotto ticket and not knowing what numbers you had. You probably wouldn't have won, but there's still that small possibility that you can't let go.

State of mind throughout the day

Earlier today I was kinda in a soft, mushy mushy, romantic mood, thinking about Ele, listening to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On". I started looking at the wedding photos, and then looked at her fb profile. She had apparently logged in on Friday, seemingly for the first time in ages, replying to really old messages.

Saw one message where some guy said he saw her on the streets but wasn't sure if it was her, and she replied saying she'd like to catch up. My first reaction was "who the F is this guy", but later on told myself that it was probably the same as Bush and me having a catch up session.

But despite my logic, my emotions seemed to go downhill from there. I got so sad and depressed I didn't even feel like waxing my car tomorrow, as I had planned. Instead I read some of my old blog entries involving her, and I felt like staying in bed, being disgruntled about how hopeless the situation was for me.

I ended up having a nap, only to be woken up by a phone call from Shuing. He asked me if I was still up for the speed dating thing, and I thought it'd be a good way to at least keep the whole Ele thing in perspective mentally, so I said yes.

He also asked if I had spoken to her, and I said no. He asked if I followed that ice cream thing up and I said no, although what he doesn't know is that I sent her an email on Friday, just with a link to a funny youtube video Malay had sent me. I'm not really expecting a reply cause it's not something seeking a reply, but it'd be good to get one.

Shuing kept encouraging me to go for it, and I told him that nevertheless, technically she still had a boyfriend. He said that it didn't matter, cause that was "finido", since he was overseas and never coming back. But one question of his really made me think. He asked if I liked her.

I thought about it, and even now I still cannot answer that. Do I like her?

I don't know.

I mean, I reckon, if she called me up right now, asked me to meet her now, and then she told me she liked me, I really wouldn't know what to do and I'd probably back off. I'd start asking myself whether I was really ready for a girlfriend, and whether I could ever replace the guy overseas.

What does it mean to like someone? Does thinking about them suffice? Does the want to have sex with them mean you like them? Sometimes I look at the photos, and find myself realising that she actually isn't that good looking at all. Rather pedestrian actually.

Shuing and I talked about possibly going to next week's football game. I told him I didn't want Bob to come, and when he agreed, I thought about inviting Ele along.

After the call, I decided to watch the football on tv instead of going for a movie, so I went out to get some bread, chips and KFC. I returned home to watch the game, and as I did, my mindset changed again.

I no longer wanted to invite Ele to football. Hell, I didn't want to go at all. I was beginning to see how I was falling into the position of Bobby. He too thought he was in with a chance with Ele, only to be shafted, or gazumped by her. How do I know I am any different?

Thursday comp: 3-11-2

On Thursday afternoon, there was a jury question. But the judge decided to deal with it the next day. We were all very eager to know, and because it was only 3pm, according to his rule even, giving us all 15 minutes to get back to court would still give us time. Our guess was he was drunk.

DC gave me a lift home. He asked me about work and I finally told him about my last resort plans with John. Maybe that had something to do with him later saying he only really referred matters to firms which he knew would refer back to him, and that he was looking for firms that didn't already have a set pool of baristas.

I tried to steer off the subject because I didn't want to give him the full impression that I was going down that path, so I asked him whether Kate had any influence on her firm as to which baristas to use. Surprisingly, he reckoned her firm didn't like her much.

Towards the end of the ride, the conversation got really interesting. He asked me who I would want, out of this trial, to represent me if I ever got into trouble. I have talked about this with Twish before, and I said to DC that, apart from him and GS, I'd pick RB. He was really surprised, because he said that would be his last pick. He said he would pick DY, and I could see why - she was the overall package. DY would be my second pick. I guess I'm mixing up "who I want to be like" with "who I want to defend me".

Anyway, I couldn't help it and went to the casino after. I only wanted to win $25 but lost my $100 in two spins. Really bad luck. I withdrew $400 more and lost that. I felt like shit. I had the strongest temptation to withdraw more and have another go, but made myself walk out and leave.

I went home to get ready for bball, and drove to the uni near me to pick Sunz up. I was a bit annoyed at him because he didn't have any credit on his phone, so when trying to meet up, only I could call him and he couldn't call me. I know he's studying at the moment, but he's also working part time and the least he could do is put some credit on his phone. And then what annoyed me more was that even after I called to tell him I was there, he was still late.

Anyway, we drove to bball, but I felt that this time I wasn't as enthusiastic to see him. Maybe I was just in the mood for peace. I felt he just talked too much. He also asked if he could leave his shoes in my car. I thought he was joking and said yeah, but then realised he wasn't joking. I don't mind that much, but just felt a little uneasy at the fact that he felt a little closer to me than I did to him, for him to request something like that.

We played Soldiers, and had six: Me, Sunz, Mike, Geoff, Carter and Fab. I didn't even have much time to wamr up or stretch, so I started on the bench. The game was quite a close one throughout, and we led by about three at halftime. I scored two points in the first half on a jumper. I had the ball at the baseline and faked it. The guy reached out as if to block, but as soon as he thought I was going to drive he backed off a little. I decided to shoot it anyway. The ball felt awkward as I was rising. It kinda just slipped out of my hand and...swish. I guess I pulled a Homer =)

We were leading by about five but they caught up and even took the lead by a bit. Eventually the game was drawn. When we were up by three, we really just had to hold it and play smart defence. On defence, I yelled at everyone to not foul, only to foul someone myself and give them an And1. Game tie.

When Geoff had the ball with the clock running down, I yelled at him to give it to Carter, wanting Carter to draw the foul and go to the line. Instead, Geoff drove it down the middle and popped up a mini-jump shot, which rattled in.

The other team quickly inbounded and chucked up a halfway shot and missed.

We were all yelling and screaming, running towards Geoff for high-fives. I couldn't have been happier to break our losing streak. I could see the headlines now: No. 8 plays through torn ACL to help team win.

Even better, we did it without Fat Pat. I wanted everyone to know we could win without Fat Pat. Also, maybe this proved Mike's point that we played more as a team without Abi.

I drove Sunz back to his train station where he had parked, and he annoyed me a bit more when he said he lost his glasses, and we spent about 10 minutes looking in my car for them and couldn't find them. It was late as well, and I got lost a bit before finding my way back to the main road. I ended up getting home at a bit past midnight. Oh well, at least we won.

On Friday, I was kinda eager to wake up because I really wanted to know what the jury question was. It turned out to be something really dull, and unrelated to my client. Either this jury is totally off the point, or they are going through every detail with a fine comb.

DC and I had planned to go to the gym, but something went wrong with a matter of his in the city so he had to go back. The rest of us spent the day lounging away. GS, Rom Rom, Twish and I had coffee across the road.

Which reminds me, on Thursday I think it was, I was at the same cafe waiting in line, reading the menu on the wall, when that hot waitress came across me and actually brushed her body up against me. Hmmm. Hmmmmmmmmm.

Anyway, GS left after his fruit salad and coffee, and the rest of us stayed a bit. Twish nudged my legs with hers under the table when she saw Nom, lol. She just walked straight into the cafe and we all left soon afterwards.

I had to take DC's robes back to the city for him, and I caught the train with Kate back to the city. Rom Rom offered me a lift, but I declined, saying I just preferred the train. Even with Kate, I could feel a bit of that 'pull-push' thing going on, where if I talked she didn't respond much, but if I was silent she'd start up a conversation.

I got off a few stops after her, and went to DC's office to drop his robes off. I then went to the auto shop near my place to get some touch-up paint. I finally found the colour code for my car, and it actually didn't take long for the guy to mix it. I was so excited to try it out that I went home to wash my car, and then started applying some of it to the front bumper near the bottom of the car. It was pretty amazing. I mean, it doesn't eliminate all the scratches, but it definitely looks a lot better than having black scratches.

After that I had a bit of a nap, and then woke up to meet with Shuing, A, Michelle and Bob for the Titans-Eels game. I went to get some money from the ATM and then decided to catch a bus there. There weren't many buses, and the ones that came were too full to pick up any passengers, so I decided to walk there.

I met up with A first, and then we went to meet Shuing, Bob and Michelle. I liked how Shuing was able to carry a conversation with A, which was what I expected anyway. Michelle kinda kept her distance, which was good, because I didn't want to pass the virus on to A.

We all walked to the stadium, went through the gates and found some seats next to and behind the goal post. We were sitting in an area of about 20 Titans fans, and it seemed like the rest of the stadium were Eels fans.

The game started off exciting enough, but when Parra started piling on the tries towards the end of the first half, when I was at the canteen buying some chips for Shuing and a wrap and coke for myself, it was the beginning of the end.

The Titans NEVER scored a try. I felt ripped off. The Eels resisted the Titans momentum and eventually flew away with the game.

During the game, I couldn't help but imagine what it would've been like if it was just me and Ele. I'm sure she hasn't been to a football game, and the atmospher is kinda suitable for a date. I was actually kinda hoping to invite her, because Shuing told me Michelle had a tussle with Bob and refused to come, but I was pretty sure she'd end up coming anyway. But, I thought, if she really didn't come, I could use it as an excuse to call Ele up. The only thing bad about that was I didn't want Bob anywhere near her.

After the game, we walked to A's car. I was talking to A the whole way while the other three talked amongst themselves. A gave me a lift home and the three of them a lift to the roundabout.

Today, I woke up early to go down and try some of that touch-up paint on the bonnet. It didn't look as good, maybe I have to evaluate it properly after polishing, or maybe I just stuffed it up.

I then went to the gym, and I think I saw my old high school English teacher there. Anyway, it was a lot more packed than I thought it would be. I did weights, abs and the bike. But when I got on the bike, my legs, especially my left one, felt so tired that I didn't do the 8km within 25 mins thing. Instead, I just cruised my way to 8kn under 30mins.

I had a fruit salad with yoghurt afterwards, and silently cursed the lady for skimming on the bananas. I walked home, made myself something to eat, and then washed some dishes. I might go to see a movie tonight by myself.

Jury retired

So yesterday the jury retired. It was kinda sad, and chilling at the same time. Any moment from now, they could come back and convict my client. A small sense of regret tingled my body.

I had brought my lunch, so I didn't go out and saved some money. We had a long coffee after the jury was sent out, altogether as a big group. It felt like a long morning tea break, but the difference was that we didn't have to go back.

We also received invitations from DY to her house in November for a get together. So nice of her to organise such a thing.

I got a ride off DC back home. He also dropped Twish in the city. Sometimes I feel that she talks too much. She managed to talk herself into a corner during the trip when we were talking about the case, and when DC further probed lightly she just said she didn't know.

After DC dropped me off at home, I went inside and the gambling bug started. I caved in and drove out to the casino, intending to be content with a $25 win. I lost on my first two spins on outside bets, and then withdrew more money out to play sectors. I slowly but surely made my money back and eventually cashed in when up $85. I was very tempted to keep going, but my car parking had expired and I kept telling myself that going away +$85 was better than leaving -$400.

Big differential.

I went home, got changed and then headed out to the gym. Again I did abs, weights and cycling.

It was kinda unusual going to work today. Because court normally starts at 10, the latest I could really sensibly get there would be 9:30. But now court didn't start at all, so what time should I get there? I got there at 10:05 and found the office completely empty. I thought people may have convened for court and was going to check upstairs but then heard people coming in.

Everyone just kinda bummed around the office waiting. GS and I went for a coffee around morning tea. He started asking me about what I would do after this, and I was prepared to tell him my proposed venture with John, but just as I was telling him how confident Twish felt about the DDP, she came across the road and joined/interrupted us.

Later, Kate and Rom Rom also joined us, and then DC.

After coffee, DC and I went downstairs to see the client. He got a bit philosophical. I think he just wanted to talk. I can't even begin to imagine what would go through his mind right now. All I can say is that he is one brave young man. I just kept telling myself to mentally distance myself from him, because I didn't want that emotional attachment in case we lost.

Most people went out to lunch together to a Vietnamese restaurant. I was kinda waiting to be invited, although I'm sure I could've just followed along, but Twish asked me to go to the shopping centre with her because she needed to have her newly purchased glasses from yesterday fixed.

So we went to the shop from where she got them, had them fixed, and she decided to test them throughout lunch. She got some Brazilian food, while I went to Subway. While waiting, I saw a young Indian couple ahead of me. Whie ordering their sandwich, the guy wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and held her. I pictured me doing that with Ele, and then snapped out of it.

Lunch with Twish was alright, but I think I spent more time thinking about other things than on what she was talking about.

Returning from lunch, I found most people sitting around the large table, so I joined. They were just cracking jokes about the case, and even I made one about how reluctant the judge seemed to say the words "not guilty".

Towards 3:30 everyone left one by one, until I left with Kate. We just talked about her new car and how she could've gotten touch up paint for her scratch, but she said it was a lot bigger than that.

At home, I was very tempted to go to the casino again, but managed to restrain myself. I am only up right now because I've limited my visits. The more I frequent that place, the more I expose myself to losses.

I went to the gym earlier, but didn't do cycling. I was just so sick of it. I did weights instead. Heavier weights this time. I didn't even feel like going to the gym at all, but thinking of how rude the sheriffs at the scanners are to me and how nice they are to others motivated me. There is this particular fat guy who I have said good morning to a few times now and he just ignores me. But when a girl passes he is always cracking jokes.

I can't seem to stop thinking about Ele. Because of her (false) message that she'd have to work overtime for the three weeks starting from last, one part of me tells me to call her after that period, which would be the week after next. But another part of me says to not call her at all. Make her miss me. And make her 'separate' from her boyfriend before making any moves.

The Prawn

"But dont look back in anger"
-- Don't Look Back in Anger, Oasis

On Sunday I wanted to get up early and play some ball, but was too tired so slept in. I was thinking about washing my car when Malay called me up asking me if I wanted to go to the auto store with him. I didn't have anything else to do so I said yeah.

I had a shower and then went to meet him outside the auto store. While I was waiting, I saw Thai and his wife coming from across the road. We had a bit of a chat before their bus came. He was taking her out to lunch in the city. As their bus departed I thought about how his wife seemed a little similar to Eva - quiet and submissive.

Malay showed up after that and he got some wax and polish from the store, the exact same brands that I have. He wanted to wash his car, and I found myself not being as enthusiastic as last time, although overall I was still willing to help. Maybe I was just tired.

We went back to my garage so I could get my tools, and then went back to his place to wash it. It's getting pretty clean. I knew one wash wouldn't really bring it up to scratch. His mom got his sister to bring us some drinks, which was really good cause it was such a hot day.

After that we went out to the city for some KFC, and cause I needed to get a train ticket. We couldn't seem to stop talking about how bad it felt in hindsight to attend the wedding if in reality their relationship was as how Michelle described it.

I was secretly hoping he'd bring up something about Ele and I that day, but it never came up.

We caught the bus back home, and I got off before him. Just after I got off, I found myself looking at this lady who seemed to have gotten off from the bus in front of my one. At first I thought she looked like nurse lady. Then I thought she was nurse lady's sister so I focused my vision a bit. Then I realised...it was nurse lady!

As soon as I realised it was her, I looked away, but she never avoided eye contact like I thought she would. She didn't really have much of an expression - she just looked straight at me. Maybe there was a small element of bitterness in that stare, I don't know. The other thing that stood out was her make up - she really made herself out to look like some sort of dark evil witch. It added a few years onto her.

As I walked back home, I couldn't help but think of that Oasis song, "but don't look back in anger, I heard you say".

I wonder if she feels any resentment towards me. I can't see how she could. From my point of view, it was her fault she rejected me. She's made her bed, now sleep in it.

Later that night I got a call from Shuing. We had a talk about Saturday night. As much as I wanted to have a go at how lackluster Michael L and the actual wedding were, he said he kept quiet at the dinner because there might be some sort of explanation for the way he treats Eva. The bottom line was he didn't accept what Michelle said at face value, he wanted to analyse things on a deeper level first before coming to a judgment. I've always said he should've been a crim lawyer.

He also brought up Ele, saying that, because he sat right opposite us during lunch, he thought we seemed pretty close together. I didn't want to narrow any options of mine, so I just said I didn't know how I felt about her. He questioned whether Ele had said something to Eva about the seating arrangements so that I would be next to her. If only he knew that I was the one who switched the name tags around.

Court today saw just DC and I, because GS was somewhere else in another matter. DC actually cracked a joke with the judge to start the day, which I thought was pretty smart.

During a break I wanted to avoid the dock so I went outside into the lobby area for a bit. I had my head down checking my phone and noticed a female figure standing sorta in front of me. I started making a call and when I looked up realised it was that cute blonde camera woman.

During morning tea, I was lining up with Rom Rom at the cafeteria, and she just out of the blue suggested we could catch up for a movie if I had nothing to do. Ummm...ok.

We lost another juror today. It was one that we all liked as well. He basically wrote a note saying he was feeling stressed due to work and family issues, so he found it difficult to concentrate.

I was kinda shocked after he left, and I couldn't concentrate myself. Hard to believe there could be some kind of emotional attachment with someone you've never spoken to, but only seen nearly everyday for the last year or so.

I had lunch with Rom Rom, RB, DY, CW and Twish. We all talked about the juror thing of course. I ordered calamari and chips, and on one of the last calamaris, spilled a lot of oil onto my tie, which really gave me the shits because it was one of my favourite ties. Luckily, a few wipes made it disappear. Guess that's what separates nice material from ordinary material.

The hot waitress at one stage came to collect the little number stands which tell them which table the food is to go to. She was struggling a bit to reach the last one, and I laughed a bit, and she looked at me and laughed as well. Hmmm.

After work I caught the train back to the city with Twish. In court I had a bit of a long talk with her about what I should do. Basically my problem was this: because I'm on the DDP waiting list, and because they're my first preference, any job that I get in the meantime would be temporary, and so I don't want to work at a place for a week and then leave, in effect fucking up my name. So I was asking her whether I should do that or try to wait it out, on the assumption that I'd get called up. She said I should wait at least till the end of September.

Anyway, I felt like talking more about it, so that's the only reason I agreed to catch the train with her. She actually wanted to get a hot chocolate but I said I was in a rush. She asked me what was the rush and I just said I needed to go to the gym.

When we were on the train, I didn't feel comfortable talking about my issues on a full train, so I decided to talk about her plans for a trip. She got out her lonely planet guide and showed me her plan for traveling around South America. I must say she is quite brave to do that all by herself. I don't think I could do it. She's probably more brave in getting a loan for it without even knowing how it can be repaid. But I guess you kinda did that with your gambling addiction.

I bummed around home a bit before going to the gym. I did some light weights, abs and the bike. My legs felt really tired cycling, but I made myself push on. I did some light grocery shopping after that, and then went home for dinner. Library guy called me earlier and basically asked me what I was doing after my case, and asked me again to work with them. Funny thing was he also suggested I ask John.

Throughout the whole of today, and even yesterday, I kept thinking about a video I took on my phone on Saturday during lunch. Basically I made a video at the table, rotating around to show everyone at the table, kinda like how they do it on That 70's Show. When it reaches Ele, she is trying to hide her smile, knowing that the camera is headed her way. She eventually looks at the camera, it swings past her but then returns to her. I didn't know what to say, so I said "spicy eh?" and moved the camera closer to her. She nodded but I kept moving the camera towards her until she laughed out, backed away and said "yes".

Watching that just makes me feel all soft and romantic inside. It makes me like her even more. It really had a 'boyfriend-girlfriend' type of feel to it. I tried to watch it every chance I got.

It also reminds me of that final scene in District 9 where the prawn guy is making a flower for his wife. Even though he can't see her, he still thinks about her and makes gifts for her. I feel the same way. Because of 'the challenge', I cannot see her, probably for a while, but at the same time I can't stop thinking about her. Watching the video is like making the flower. It reminds me of her, and seeing it makes me happy.

Michael L's wedding

On Friday morning I walked into the office to see DC sitting on a table looking through some folders. I asked him why he was so early and he said I told him it was a 9:30 start.

Oh my god! I did tell him it was 9:30! Why did I do that?

I apologised and told him I didn't know why I told him it was a 9:30 start, but he was cool with it, lol.

In court, the judge just continued his summing up, moving onto CW's case. It was pretty bad. It made me realise that, no matter how neutral of a painting he was meant to paint, he could always used a tainted brush. In fact, he probably over did it, because apparently one juror had his arms crossed and was shaking his head. DC wrote a note to me saying the lesson here was to always be polite to the judge.

We only had a half day, so I organised to meet Malay at my place at 2pm, where I drove us to the shopping centre nearby to get a card for Michael L and Eva. We went to a newsagency to get the card first. We spent some time trying to choose one that wasn't too flashy, but was classy enough for the occasion. We narrowed it down to two and eventually picked one.

After that I had to look for a tie for the wedding, because I normally wear my bright yellow one but thought it was being over-used for weddings, and I didn't want to catch much attention either. I had a plain, baby blue tie in mind, and went to Myer to look for it but they didn't have anything close to it. Malay suggested that Taro store, so we went there. A blonde girl served me and helped me find a tie which was pretty close to it, and when I asked Malay what he thought he suggested we check some other stores out first. I appreciated that, because as we walked out the store he said sales people would say anything to get you to buy stuff, and so I appreciated his honest advice to get me to look elsewhere first.

We went to another store close by but they didn't have anything either, so I decided to go back to the Taro store. I bought the tie the blonde girl had shown me, and while we walked to the cash register she tried to sell me more shit like shirts and belts, and as she said belts she looked at the one I was wearing. While she was processing the sale she made small talk, something about being in the hail without an umbrella and how she got all wet, and as she said that she ran her hands down her body and she was wearing a really tight dress. I wonder if she knew the image she was projecting.

We then went to Woolies to look for a towel to use for drying cars after a wash. We got a pack which had three and eventually split it as he only needed one. After that he said he wanted to go back to Myer to look for a white shirt for the wedding, because the one he had at home was worn out. We probably spent the most time there, as he was looking for a slim fit in his size. He did ponder back and forth as to whether the one he had at home was sufficient, but ultimately ended up buying one. I was tempted to buy one as well because they were on sale, but refrained as I told myself I already had plenty of white shirts at home.

After that we went to get something to eat. I wanted to show him the potacorn I had last time but the stall wasn't there anymore. He wanted to have KFC, but I opted for the healthier Subway as I hadn't tried it for a while. He went for Oporto's and had I think a chicken burger.

We sat at the table after eating, trying to think of something appropriate to write in the card. After a while we settled on something short and uncontroversial.

I drove him home, and then headed out to the casino. The plan was to win $25, which would subsidise my weekly train ticket of $50. I withdrew $150 to give to Michael L for his wedding, and $100 for the casino. On the first table I went to, I placed a bet on black and the third column, and it came out 33. I won $75. I was tempted to have another go to round of my win to $100, but decided against it and went to cash it in. Even after that, I walked around to watch a bit, but there wasn't much to watch because some tables had been closed off due to renovations.

I went back home, got changed and then headed to the gym. I did some light weights, abs and the bike. I have a hypothesis that the rowing may have caused my shoulder pain, so I think I'll just stick to the bike for now.

I didn't do much else for a Friday night, just stayed at home, because I didn't want to wake up late for Michael L's wedding.

Yesterday I woke up at about 7am and went for a one mile jog. I ran awkwardly as my knee felt out of place. I managed to do the jog without stopping apart from those at a few traffic lights, but towards the end I was really feeling it.

I walked back home, had some breakfast and a shower, then got dressed for the wedding. I was a bit late in picking Malay up, but I don't think he was ready anyway as he took a while to actually come downstairs. After picking him up we went to pick Tracy up. As soon as she saw us she was like "you guys look so formal!".

Ummm...yeah, it's a wedding.

She went on to explain that she had called Ele and Ele told her to dress casually. Don't really know what that was about, but as I circled her apartment complex she decided to go back and change, so I drove back to her unit and had a chat with Malay about cars and stuff while she went inside to change.

She actually didn't take as long as I thought she would, and came out in a dress which I thought was more suited for going out than a wedding. Anyway, we drove out to the city, and it was a bit funny because as we were nearing the registry, Michael L was telling Malay on the phone where we should park, but as soon as I turned the corner onto the street where the registry was there was a space right in front of me and I was like "why don't I just park here?" lol.

The three of us walked up the street towards the registry. I walked up to the automatic doors which weren't very automatic - someone had to press the button to let us in. As I walked up the stairs I could see a group of people were there, presumably for the ceremony. Ele was at the top of the stairs, seemingly waiting for me.

I still hadn't really chosen a way of dealing with her - do I ignore her, or do I continue pursuing her?

At that very moment I had decided to ignore her, but backed off a little. Her standing there was too obvious for me to ignore. I just quickly looked at her and nodded as I walked past her. I sought refuge amongst the guys in Shuing and G, and shortly after a woman, presumably Michael L's mom, came up to me with a camera wanting me to say something. I wasn't really prepared, so just said congratulations.

We all stood around for a bit talking. Bob was around but didn't come around to the group. After a bit we were all ushered upstairs into a small room where Michael L and Eva sat on two chairs at the front while everyone else sat in the public gallery seats. Some old dude told us how the process worked, not forgetting to tell us we had very little time in the room afterwards because another couple was getting married.

I sat in the middle row, against the wall, with G next to me, then Malay next to him, then Shuing. Michelle was standing behind us. Bob was in the first row on the other side as he was the best man. After exchanging their vows, they exchanged rings and signed the certificate. G played the wedding tune on his harmonica, which actually wasn't bad, until...until he abruptedly stopped and said "ah I fucked it up".

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone cracked up laughing, probably at him, and I swear it must've been so embarassing for the parents there. The female witness' mother was filming the whole thing and undoubted caught it on tape. Far out, that guy is unbelievable.

We took some group photos and then slowly made our way downstairs and out. I ended up talking in a small group of G, Shuing and Michelle. Out of the blue she just says to me "I'm not talking to you, you didn't reply to my message".

Wtf? I know what message she's talking about - the one where she said she wanted to join the "I hate Bobby club", but there wasn't much I could say in reply.

When we were trying to organise the move to the next venue - the uni nearby for photos - Michael L told a group of people I didn't know they were going in my car, but one of the guys said he drove so wouldn't need to.

Phew.

Ele then said she'd come in my car, even though Linda had driven her there. See how much power ignoring someone has?

Malay, Ele, Tracy and Linda headed for my car. As we crossed the road towards my car I joked with Ele asking her if she was the make-up artist for the day, because I saw her re-applying some lipstick for Eva, and then joked that she could do some for me.

I drove Linda to her car nearby, and she followed me to the shopping centre because she didn't know how to get there. I went through an alley I wasn't supposed to, and then ran an amber light which left Linda at the lights, which made me stop at the side to wait for her to catch up. I drove into the shopping centre car park and found a nice space next to a pole, minimising the chances of someone scratching my car.

Ele said she wanted to leave her cardigan in my car, and both her and Tracy stayed in the car for a while applying make up. Malay suggested they go to the shopping centre bathroom to do it, so we all got out and walked into the shopping centre. Linda excused herself saying she had to go to an exam, which I thought was a bit weird, but it was corroborated by Ele.

While Ele and Tracy went to the bathroom, I decided to get something quick to eat for the group of us. I waited until Malay came out and he pointed out a Japanese restaurant, so I went to get a box of sushi. We ate most of it, but I left some for Ele and Tracy. When they came out they seemed pleasantly surprised and each took one. I finished off the box and we headed towards the uni.

It was a bit of a walk to where the others were, and when we were approaching some stairs, I asked Ele if she was ok going up them, and she said she was, but asked if I had any other solution. I joked that I could carry her, and she said "you don't know how heavy I am" and I said something about her not being that heavy, but then a better line came to mind - "you don't know how strong I am" and everyone cracked up, lol.

When we caught up to the others, they were standing in the shade just within the entrance of the large old building. Apparently they had wanted to go into the quadrangle for some photos but there was a function on, and a bulky security guard was standing in the way.

I saw Ele approaching him, in a rather confrontational manner, and talk to him. Michelle saw what was happening and then went up to them as well. I decided to go up to see what was happening, and the guy seemed pretty angry. He even called another security guard over. I don't know what Ele had said, but I could see Michelle was being very diplomatic, and in the end, managed to smooth it out a bit, and even getting the second security guard to say "I can't control what I don't see", meaning we would be allowed to take photos elsewhere, just not where the function was.

We took some group photos, and Michael L and Eva posed for some photos. I swear I'd thought he would smile for photos on his wedding day, but nope, he had the same sad frown he always has for photos. The most animated he got was lifting up and holding Eva for some photos.

I was waiting for it, and eventually managed to get a photo of just me and Ele. She had actually suggested it, taking my camera from me and holding it in front of us, but had it upside down so I took it from her and asked Malay to take it for us. Hehehe, I was so happy...*swoon*

We all hung around for more photos, walking back down to where we had come from for some photos around the lake and the trees. I spread my time between taking photos of them and talking with G, Malay and Shuing.

After a while, Michael L just seemed to walk off towards the traffic lights by himself. I asked the photo guy where he was going and he said the restaurant. Ok, so that was the cue for lunch then, I presumed.

I went to get Ele (and Tracy) and we walked to the restaurant together. I was one of the first ones in, and saw that we had two tables booked in a room. I also noticed that each seat had some name tags, and looked for my one. I saw that Malay had been seated next to Ele, and I was on the other side of Malay. I quickly switched mine with Malay before anyone came in. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded. Who's brain fart was it to sit him next to her anyway? They barely know eachother.

When everyone was seated, but before the food came, Ele spent very little time in her seat and I didn't know where she was, until Shuing or someone said "that guy's trying to chat her up" and I looked out the room to see her talking to some guy. I actually wasn't concerned at all, because the guy looked kinda weird, and just told myself I shouldn't fret just because she was having a conversation with another guy.

She later came back to sit down, and the food soon arrived. To my surprise (although I had secretly wished for it), when she first reached for the food with the chopsticks, she put it down into my bowl.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I told myself to be a bit of an asshole and not reciprocate, and she even did it a few more times for me, hehe.

She said she really wanted the prawns, so I rotated the glass thingy until the prawns came our way so she could get some. Later on, she asked if I wanted one, and, I knew I was pushing it, but I asked if she could strip the shells for me. She said yes and actually did it, haha. Mmm...best prawn I've tasted in ages. I also managed to get another 'couple' shot with her on my camera =)

There was one embarassing bit though, where she gave me the fish, but it was seasoned with something. I thought they were little nuts, so I took a bite of one and the chilli flavour exploded in my mouth and I had to take it out with my fingers. Apparently it was a very strong pepper you weren't supposed to eat. Far out.

At one stage, she asked me, "so when are you getting married?" I was a bit taken aback by that, I mean, was that a way of flirting, or was it a way of saying "I am totally not interested in you, so it's ok to tell me about other girls". I just quickly said "tomorrow" and she didn't say anything.

When she went to the bathroom, I put a piece of duck in her bowel. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. When she returned, I told her there was duck in the bowl and then she ate it.

Shuing wanted some rice at one stage, and I said I'd get it for him. I took his bowel and started digging some rice out for him from the bucket I had between Ele and I. I could sense she was watching me, and then she took the bowl from me and started doing it herself. I joked that she said I was crap, and she said I was slow, I had already had three digs and still not finished, and then added that I thought too much.

At one stage I typed up some text on my phone and showed it to her, asking if she had given the red pocket yet, and she said no and asked me if it was time to give it. I said I didn't know but told her I had left it in the car. I later asked Malay, and after eating, but before the cake, we excused ourselves as we went to get it from the car. I think Malay just wanted a cigarette break.

When we returned, I was surprised to see them cutting a cake. It wasn't really a cake. It was a...I don't know what it was. It was like some sort of circular desserts, build up like a pyramid. Apparently it was very hard to cut, and Ele ended up cutting it and distributing it on plates. It was ok, but it wasn't really cake, which is kinda the tradition to have at, ummm...weddings.

I ended up talking with Michael L's mom with Shuing and G. We were just making polite small talk but she at one point said something like "I know it is hard for him to make friends" when she found out we were all from the same high school. Definitely highlight worthy.

As I stood there, I stole a glance over at Eva, and for the first time ever, there wasn't a smile on her face. In fact, she looked tired, drained, and exhausted.

After dessert, I had noticed that the envelope was gone. Malay had a hard time hiding it in his suit, so I told him to just leave it on my seat. The last I saw it was when Michael L sat down on it. When my seat was empty, I noticed that it was gone. I told Malay and we both went into a bit of a panick. I told Ele as well, because I thought she may have collected it for them since she may have seen it on the seat.

We also told Michael L, who looked through Eva's bags and eventually found it in there. Phew. Ele thought we had been joking with her.

When we were standing outside the restaurant, trying to organise where to go next, I saw some people heading off in one direction, and asked where they were going. Ele told me to move, because I was apparently standing in the background of a photo, and then laughed at me.

She decided to go in Linda's car (who had returned from her exam) to the next venue for photos, while Malay and Tracy went in mine. I dropped Tracy off at a train station because she had a birthday to go to, and then Malay and I drove to the Rocks. I found a pretty good parking spot, and we ended up going the wrong way, which meant we took ages to find the group.

Just after I had left my car, I remembered Ele had left her cardigan inside. I called her up and asked if she wanted me to bring it. She asked how long they were going to stay there and I said I didn't know, and she asked if I could bring it. So I walked back to my car to get her cardigan.

During our journey, Malay and I stopped off at restrooms and even went through a street market which had stalls set up everywhere. He was looking for a Red Bull, but when we saw a stall selling drinks he settled for some sort of fruit flavoured tea in a can. I called Ele and asked her if she wanted anything to drink, and she said water, so I got her water, even though Malay paid for it. I think he felt bad for me for having to pay for all the parking and the sushi before.

We eventually found the place, which was near the waters and also where Nom and Mis had their weddings. I gave the cardigan and bottle of water to Ele, and she thanked me.

We took a few group photos, but I think most people were tired by then. While I was talking to the guys in a group, Ele was sitting down with Linda and yelled out a thanks again. I wonder if that was prompted by Linda.

I went to sit down close by the water to get some rest for my legs from all the walking earlier, and Ele came and sat next to me as she poured water from one bottle to another, saying Linda had drank all her water.

We slowly moved onto the grass area where another group were finishing off some photos after their ceremony. Their chairs and everything were set up exactly like how Mis had it. We stood around for more photos, this time with a little more posing from Michael L and Eva.

There was one point where we suggested that he get down on one knee in front of her for some photos, and he seemed a bit reluctant but gave in to the pressure. She asked him to say something, and he said "I don't know what". She repeated it with more urgency, and he gave the same answer.

When they were taking some photos with a tree, I suggested they pose like they were playing hide and seek, each trying to look at the other from different sides of the tree. They got the idea, and Eva did it as well as anyone could, but for god's sakes Michael L was like a statue. Imagine trying to lean a statue against a tree, and that's what you get.

They decided to throw the bouquet, and Ele caught Eva's throw. Michael threw her garter and Shuing caught it. Ele and Shuing posed for some photos together, and I heard Ele ask "so when are we getting married?" She was obviously joking, and I wonder if her earlier question about when I was getting married was along the same lines of humour.

Bob had to drive Michael L's mom and step-brother to the airport, so that was a relief. We decided to go to another place, Mrs M's Point, for more photos. Malay and I got there first, and we stood around a bit before Shuing's car arrived, and then Linda's.

We walked down to the edge and took some photos there. A group of Michael L, Michelle, Shuing and G were talking about where to go next. There was talk of dinner, but no one could really suggest a place. I walked over to the girls, around to Ele, and lightly shoulder bumped her. I said, "Mrs [insert her last name here], do you have any ideas where to go for dinner?". She had that flirty smile on her face. Eva asked me "why Mrs [insert her last name here]". I realised my mistake, but pretended to interpret the question differently, and said "because she always has some good ideas".

Ele started laughing again about how I was standing in another group's photo unknowingly, and I reached my hand out in an attempt to try to squeeze her button nose with my knuckles. She actually didn't shriek away, which was what I was expecting, so I stopped.

Later on there was talk about getting some take away and heading to a hotel room that Michael L had booked just that day to play some games. I was open to it, but Michelle was against it, saying we shouldn't invade their alone time, although I suspected there may have been other reasons for it.

So when we were informally taking polls around the circle, Michelle said she wasn't up for it and when I said I wanted to go home it kinda ended there. The group of Michelle, Shuing, G, Malay and I decided to have dinner ourselves.

When we returned to our cars, Ele went with Linda, and she just waved goodbye to the group. I felt like going up to her, but then reminded myself that this was the girl who turned me down for ice cream and so I remained where I was.

I drove Michelle and Malay in my car, while Shuing drove Michael L and Eva home. We stopped off at my house because I needed to go to the toilet, but my mom was having a bath, and then we drove to Michelle's house because...I can't even remember why she needed to go home. I couldn't go to the toilet there because she said she didn't want her mom questioning her as to who I was, which was understandable.

We went to pick up Bob, and Michelle asked me if I would be alright with having him in my car. I really didn't mind, mainly because I knew I wouldn't have to talk to him. So we drove there, and Michelle told him she needed to use his bathroom and asked me to go as well. I told her I didn't need to go anymore. Obviously when he found out the plan, he said he needed to do something else and would wait for Shuing to pick him up.

We picked up G and all drove to the Wick, where I parked in the council car park. We picked a restaurant which allowed BYO, and the first thing I did was use the bathroom, hehe. Later on Shuing and Bob arrived.

We still didn't talk to eachother, but I guess the number of people there overshadowed the problem. Moreover, it was the topic of the night which really put all other distractions aside: Michelle told us about what she had learnt on Friday night when she was with Eva and Linda:

1) It was Eva who proposed to Michael L;
2) Michael L makes Eva keep a budget of all her spendings, and inspects all shopping dockets and questions her if he feels the need to;
3) The wedding was all funded by Eva's savings
4) When Michael L says "I love you", she says "I love you more" and he doesn't say anything back

So yeah, you can get a gist of the relationship there, and it actually explains a lot of things which may have been deemed unimportant in the past but a key piece of the puzzle now. For instance, look at how reluctant Michael L was to get down on his knee. And if we go back further, remember that time at the Japanese restaurant when Eva said something like, "if I have memory loss, I would choose you", where "you" referred to me.

That topic pretty much dominated the talk of the night. Michelle also talked a bit about her hens night, and how slutty the dancing was between Ele and Linda. She showed me the photos from her camera which didn't show any dancing, but Ele did look like she was dressed for a night out.

After dinner I drove Michelle, Malay and G back to Bob's house, and then I went home. I looked at the photos of Ele and me a few times before drifting off to sleep happily.