Fight in the city

Yesterday morning I got dressed and everything, ready to deliver the final batch of stuff to Michael D. I called him and we couldn't figure out an easy way to meet up so we decided to wait till he finished his court matter first. At first I just thought I'd hang around and wait, but then decided to head out to get something to eat.

I went to Chinksford to get some bread from the supermarket, but they were closed because their system was down (???). I then drove to the Bra and decided to try out Aldi, I've always wanted to see what imitation stuff they had for lower prices. The stuff there actually wasn't bad, I should go there more often. I got some bread and a 21 pack of imitation Mamee noodles. I then crossed the road to a charcoal chicken place to get a quarter chicken. At first I thought it was a bit too expensive compared to another place I had seen earlier, but their stuffing was quite good, so maybe that's why.

Just as I got back into the car I noticed a missed call from Michael D. I called back and we decided it would be easiest if he came by my house to pick the stuff up because he was on the way to the jails anyway. I quickly drove back home, parking in a street across the road because the stuff he was picking up was blocking my garage.

A few minutes after going inside my house he called, and I went down to see him parked along my drive way. We started putting the boxes and the trolley and the secret briefcase into his car, then I went to bring my car over to give him the empty folders.

We had a bit of a chat, prolonged by the client calling him. I wonder why he didn't tell the client I was there. Maybe he didn't want to trouble me. After a handshake and some nice words, he left, and that was pretty much the end of my job for me (with the exception of today).

I was supposed to meet Bush, but she messaged me saying she wasn't well. I had a pretty good idea it wouldn't eventuate anyway.

I thought about going out at night, but then decided to stay home to have dinner, and watched Beauty and the Geek. I wonder if I would qualify for a geek.

Today I bummed around in the morning a bit, before leaving at around 11am to go to the gym to freeze my membership. I was prepared for a dog fight, because I had heard stories about how hard it is to cancel memberships and stuff, so I decided I'd play it nice and soft at first, but was ready to become persistent if need be. To my surprise, the girl just swiped my card and that was it - frozen for the next three months.

I started heading out to Parra where I was to meet Phillip to transfer over the secret stuff we didn't need. I parked at the shopping centre for free parking and got there a bit early so had Macca's for lunch and walked around. At close to 2pm I went to the office, and it was only when I got inside that I realised I had left my office keys in the car.

I went back to my car to get them, then headed back to the office where I saw Phillip waiting for me. He looked like he was about to call me on his phone and I explained to him what had happened. We got talking as we started moving the stuff into the two big blue bags he had. He seems like a pretty nice guy. I know Kate or someone said he was annoying because he talked too much. Maybe he was, but I just didn't know it yet.

He said he hurt his back, maybe playing basketball, and I told him about my knee, and he said he had had five surgeries on the same knee - ouch.

We moved the stuff with a trolley and after seeing him off in a taxi, I went back inside to return the trolley to the registry. I noticed the nice sheriff wasn't there anymore - there were three left and two of them were known to be assholes. As soon as I rolled the trolley in one of them asked me to walk back out to empty my pockets, and when I walked through the scanner with empty pockets he asked sternly "who do you work for?"

Who do I work for? Ummm...that's kinda complicated. And what was it to him?

When I stammered, he repeated the question, in an even sterner tone.

I showed him my card and he asked me what was inside the briefcase, and I just said classified. He couldn't budge with that.

As I left the building, I felt angered by the treatment. Just because I was in plain clothes, he decided to have a power trip. Well if he wanted a power trip then he can have it. Just make sure he's not at my mercy at anytime from now on because I'll remember it. He must lead a very sad life to get a kick out of doing stuff like that.

I drove back towards the city where I dropped off the secret briefcase at GS' office. I then started driving home, and while stopped at a light on a main street, I heard a bit of scuffling over my loud Eminem music. I looked in my right mirror and saw two Caucasian males walking towards the driver of a 4WD. At first I thought it was a car jack and I couldn't believe my eyes. Then one of the males punched the driver smack in the head. I opened my door and turned around to watch. I couldn't believe this.

The driver got out and started retaliating. There was a taxi driver there trying to stop it. Without thinking, I got out of my car and went to help. The driver was restraining the 4WD driver, but the other two guys kept coming. At one point one of them pushed the 4WD driver to the ground, and the driver went to restrain them. The 4WD driver looked totally shocked and got up. I restrained him and the taxi driver and I tried to usher him into his car. The two looked like they were going to back off, but then they came forward again and spat at him. A bit landed on my face. I thought they were going to hit me but they didn't.

When we got the 4WD driver into his car, he was saying "follow me" to the guys, as if to continue the fight. By now the lights had turned green and I quickly ran to my car to drive off so as to not block traffic. I couldn't believe what had just happened.

I am still shaken.

Farewell - Ele & Co.

Yesterday I did jack all in the morning, bumming around home. But then in the afternoon I washed my car (I absolutely adore my car!!!), bought some take away to eat, and then left home at about 5:30pm for the YL meeting.

I got there right on time, and as I exited the elevator, I was greeted by Tommo who was standing in the doorway, presumably checking out who was coming. I walked into the room to see his colleague Rob and some dude called Panesh or something.

We sat around talking a bit, mainly about whatever they were talking about. After a bit past 6pm, Tommo started the meeting. Kate H arrived moments later, and then Daniel. I had heard them talking before about Caramel coming late. She was the girl who I met before on the ghost tour, and who I had a very brief crush on.

I was a bit surprised that there weren't many people at the meeting, it was a far cry from Daniel's days as chair when we'd get at least ten people. They attributed it to it being late in the year and the students having exams, but my own theory was that Tommo was just not as good a chair as Daniel. I like Tommo, and I think he's got a great social personality for the position, but I think in terms of handling the orders of the meeting, he needs to tone it down a little.

Caramel arrived in the latter part of the meeting, and I was questioning myself as to whether that was even the same girl. Sure, she may have had glandular fever, but she looked so much more pale and frail than I had remembered. It was like as if she aged five years since the ghost tour. Maybe the lesson here was to not go for women in their 30's because they can't hold up their appearances for much longer?

The meeting didn't seem very productive, I learnt a bit about the proposed laws, but that was it. Daniel left early, and Rob and Panesh left as soon as the meeting was formally closed.

After that Tommo, Kate and Caramel started talking about other stuff, slightly related to YL, but not really. I don't know why I stayed, but it got more awkward the longer I stayed. Tommo even said I didn't have to stay, lol. I told myself to stay till 7:30, even though I was supposed to leave at 7 because I was meeting Ele and everyone at 7:30. I did manage to pick up a bit of goss though, which was that Tommo and Wruth don't get along anymore, because they both went for chair and it was a tie, and Tommo ended up getting it.

Finally at 7:30 I just got up and said "I think I have to go", after sitting there for 30 minutes listening to a conversation I knew nothing about. It's like being a chatroom and not talking, watching other people's conversations and they're thinking "what the hell is that guy doing here?"

I made my way down the city quickly, half glad that I was late because it made me seem busy. I was expecting a call from Ele asking me where I was, and I thought I'd joke that I didn't know we were meeting up, and then turn up behind her.

But the call never came. When I got there they were nowhere to be seen. I walked around the G-Star shop, our meeting place, and still could not see them. I went to the bathroom and then returned to check. Still nothing. I called her, and after a few rings, my call was rejected. Then I got a message from her saying they were at 68 Liverpool St.

Great, thanks for telling me.

I started making my way there when she called. I answered and she asked if I got her message. I said yes and she told me the name of the Korean restaurant they were in and that it was near the card and board games place we went to before.

I finally found the place and walked in to find them seated at a table. Tracy, Ele and Eva were seated on one side, and Michael L was seated on the other. I had no choice but to sit next to Michael L, directly opposite Ele.

I half joked and half had a go at her saying that I had been waiting an hour, to call her and have my call rejected, and then to find out that the venue had changed and I hadn't even been informed. She said she was in the process of texting me when I called, hence her rejection.

The three girls seemed like they were captivated by the songs playing on the tv screen above Michael L's head. When Michael L asked why they were so entranced, Eva negged him saying they were better looking than him. This was something I noticed last time, and she did it a few more times on this night, and I wondered how Michael L would take that. Was he the type to get violent and boil over? Or would he just take it in jest?

I told them I was promised a stripper and asked where she was, and then suggested Ele be it after looking around unsuccessfully. She laughed a bit and then pointed at Tracy, seemingly out of nervousness. Hmmm.

Over dinner we talked a bit about my work, hypothetical cases, but what stuck out later on was Ele's problems at work. Although she returned to work this week, she still wasn't enjoying it. It looked like the stress had gotten back to her. She said there was this lady at work who didn't like her, probably because Ele was in her former position. She seemed really distressed about this, and it looked like it was starting to get serious as she and her manager had had a discussion about it.

At the end of dinner we discussed briefly what we were going to do, and although Eva and Tracy suggested ice cream, Ele said Kings Cross, referring to the stripper thing again. I said we could just save money and have her do it, and this time she said she and Tracy would do it, looking at Tracy. Tracy played innocent and then said no, but Ele still had a smirk on her face.

At one point Ele just started giggling to herself, and when Eva asked her what was so funny, she said she was just happy to be out, because she hadn't been this happy since work started.

To my surprise, Ele paid for dinner. I was pretty sure I wouldn't have to pay, even though I tried to throw in my $20 only to have it thrown back, but I was always under the impression that everyone would just split it amongst themselves.

Eva at one stage asked for Michael L's wallet and Michael L asked why because he had no money in it. Tracy said something about them being one entity anyway, and I said they were both on the one balance sheet, but somehow their silent response was anything but.

After dinner we walked around the corner to a Honkie dessert place where we had dessert. I noticed another neg from Eva when Michael L's dessert arrived. She said it looked like him - messy and cold. Hmmm.

During dessert, Ele again started giggling to herself. Eva put the back of her hand on Ele's foreheard as if to test her temperature, and Ele repeated that she hadn't been this happy since work started this week. I joked that she was just happy that I was leaving, and she went along with it.

Linda's name was brought up momentarily in a conversation between Ele and Tracy, and then Ele said to me that she didn't invite Linda because she wasn't sure if I liked her or not. I didn't know how to answer, so I stayed silent.

Michael L was the one who suggested we leave after finishing dessert, even though I kinda wanted the whole thing to linger on, knowing that this might be the last time I see Ele in a while.

Ele had to buy a phone card, so we went to the convenience store with her across the road. When we finished, we stood outside, deciding how to finish up. Michael L wanted to go home, and I suggested that we walk Ele home and catch a taxi. By 'we' I actually meant Tracy and I, but they took it to mean everyone.

Michael L was sort of like "she lives so close, she can go by herself", so I joked that we should just let her go and feigned walking away, which made Ele playfully plead for us to walk her home.

So we started walking her home, and from early on, Eva grabbed a hold of Ele's right arm as they walked together. Tracy was on her left, and I trailed behind with Michael L and his boring conversations. I was kinda quiet, because I had in my mind walking with Ele alone, trying to both savour the moment and tell myself to move on because it wasn't worth troubling myself with.

As we walked past the construction part of the Harbour, I noticed she turned around a few times to see what I was doing. It was as if she didn't really want Eva to hold her. At least she had me on my mind. I just pretended to look at the pictures on the plaster boards surrounding the construction.

Tracy somehow managed to swap with Michael L and she started talking to me, telling me about the time she got rolled for two dollars. I briefly interrupted her as I said I needed to go to the toilet we were about to pass. When I came out, we resumed walking, and headed to a lift that took us up onto the bridge. I was still stuck with her as we walked along the bridge, with her asking me about my move and about Shuing when I mentioned his name.

When we arrived opposite Ele's place, Michael L started looking for a cab and I said we should wait until Ele goes into her house first. Ele hugged Eva goodbye, slapped Michael L hard on the arm, and then turned to me. I had my hands in my pockets, not expecting a hug but ready for it. When it came, we put our arms around eachother and I patted her on the lower back, asking "are you happy I'm leaving?", referring to the line of joke earlier, and she said "not really".

A taxi soon came and we all got in. I took the front seat and looked at her and she looked at me, then I looked ahead. We initially decided to drop me off first, but then Michael L said he forgot Tracy had moved so we dropped her off first. The driver missed a turn at her block of apartments, and she told him so. I think he found her to be a bit rude because she didn't say "please". I think a lot of people may think this way of Asian people, but I don't think they intend to be rude, it just comes off that way.

After dropping her off, the driver did a u-turn and smacked into the curb, and then moments later had to pull over because the front left wheel was making a noise. He pulled a part of the car out and chucked it onto the footpath and then got back into the car.

I asked Michael L if he wanted to be dropped off next, and he was so indecisive, but I could tell he wanted to go home first because earlier he had complained about it being late, so I told the driver, but by then the driver had already started heading in my direction. When it came close to my house I gave Eva $20 but she tried to give it back, so just before I got out I gave it to her without leaving her a chance to give it back. I thanked them for the night and got out of the taxi to go home.

Saw 6

On Monday I went into the office to check and clear out the secret stuff. I parked in the shopping centre, and after my first load when I went back into the building, that asshole sheriff goes "I thought you finished?", as if to insinuate that I wasn't supposed to be there anymore. I wonder what his problem is. If it's because I increase his workload by walking through the scanners, then that's a pretty flimsy excuse and it also means he's a fucking lazy bugger.

My second trip was my last one, and I drove outta that suburb feeling a bit nervous with a secret suitcase in my car. I went home, and then later at night I went to watch Saw 6.

Maybe it was because it was a Monday night, or maybe it was because of the movie, but it was pretty empty. I was alone in the cinema for a good five minutes chomping on my popcorn before two guys walked in, then two small groups and then two girls. I didn't know that girls were interested in flicks like this.

Given that I had seen the previous five, I pretty much knew what to expect, and yes, it does get a bit repetitive, but I like the thrill of it. The first trap was by far the worst, I almost couldn't stomach it when the fat guy started cutting parts of himself up. And then the look on that lady's face as she hurriedly cut her arm off was horrifying to say the least.

But what I really liked about the movie was the constant theme of appreciation of life. I thought some of the stuff that John Kramer said was pretty thought provoking. And the use of the manager of a life insurer compnay was perfect.

Yesterday I had nothing to do so I dressed up with my briefcase and went to court to watch some sev appeals to see how the prosecutor did it. You don't really pay much notice to it until you have to do it. It seems...I wouldn't say easy, but easier than it is for the defence. There was a middle aged guy and a young girl there. The guy was ok, but seemed a bit lost as he didn't even realise one of the appellants was a female, calling her a guy, but the young girl was pretty gung-ho. She objected to everything. Damn.

I met up with Shuing for lunch, and we went to that Pepper Lunch place. Just talked about how he felt like he needed to get away from Sydney so much, talked about Ele and stuff. He reckons Ele is "crazy about me", because she is organising a farewell for me. She apparently asked Michael L to ask Shuing, but Shuing has a wedding thing he has to go to.

After lunch I went home, then drove out to the Supa Centre to check out the JB Hi-Fi that had just opened up. I didn't really intend to buy anything, but ended up buying The Astronaut's Wife for $10. It seemed good at the time, but by the time I got home I was wondering why.

I got changed and headed out to the city to meet Mike and Fat Pat for a farewell dinner. Carter was supposed to come but he had work. Better anyway, cause I'm not that close with him and it would've been a bit awkward.

Mike and I sat at Macca's waiting for Fat Pat, having a little catch up. I told him my plan was to go up there and work for one to two years, have the surgery and come back, and we could start our team again.

When Fat Pat arrived, we headed off to the restaurant he had planned for us. I was surprised it was a food court, but maybe it was because I told him I didn't care as long as it was cheap. It was a Japanese ramen place inside the food court, and we all chose the same type of ramen. It had really thick, dense soup, which I didn't like too much.

We talked a bit about my job, about Fat Pat going to HK, he said he might come back in May for a visit, and about basketball. Fat Pat and I figured that we had been playing for nine years, and Mike a bit less. Wow. They were part of Enjoy now, and were coming first in the lowest division. I thought at that moment, that that was the moment where I began to fall out of the loop of things. Say if we had met like six months later, we probably would've had a lot less to talk about. I also felt a bit sad that everyone, every team, seems to have moved on, and me and my injured knee is merely a blip in the past.

After finishing our meal, Fat Pat suggested a movie. Saw 6 in particular. I told them I had seen it but didn't mind seeing it again. We went to put more time into Fat Pat's car space before going to the cinema to buy a ticket. We had an hour to kill so just checked out the arcade machines place, even though Fat Pat wasn't really into it. They watched me play Stacker as Fat Pat wanted me to win the PS3. I reached the last line but failed (cause it's rigged).

Fat Pat came to the conclusion that that was the only game worth playing, as all the others you won worthless stuff. He was probably right, as I watched people drop buckets of tokens into this new Monopoly game. I'm not even sure how it works, but they drop tokens into it in the hope that more will come out. Even if you get more than what you put in, it's still just tokens which can't be converted to money.

Anyway, after that we went to the movie. Mike was a bit freaked out, saying he had never seen it by himself. Because it was designated seating, I sat next to some fat family where the son had his bare feet up on the seat. When the movie started I grabbed Mike's hand to scare him, and he fell for it, lol.

The movie was alright the second time around, bits and pieces made more sense. But I came to a firmer conclusion that apart from the first trap, all the rest were pretty weak in terms of gruesomeness.

We sat around momentarily after the movie finished, which was what I liked with this group. With others, they get up and leave as soon as the movie finishes. We walked to the outside of the cinema where we talked a bit before saying our goodbyes. It was a bit hard to believe that that might be the last time I'd see Fat Pat, and that this was how our partnership would end. I guess we were just one of those tandems that would never win a championship.

Farewell - John & library guy

On Sunday I went to the gym for the first time in what seems like a very long time. I did abs, weights and the bike, but really tanked it on the bike. I still did the 8km under 30 minutes, but not under the 25 minutes I usually push myself to.

I hadn't really had any breakfast, so bought some bread and went home to eat it with a canned chicken and corn soup. It was yum, mmm. Later in the day I drove to Parra to meet up with John and library guy.

I parked kinda far away because the shopping centre car park seemed closed, so I walked to the sushi place where we were supposed to meet. I thought we were meeting outside the place, but when I got there I looked inside and saw John. I went inside and was surprised to see that Spawn was also there. They had started eating and John invited me to grab anything I wanted.

We had a light chat before it lead to a talk about my case and what I was doing afterwards, which was when I told him about my new job. It was hard to read John, I didn't know if he felt betrayed, disappointed, or happy for me. Spawn had his usual jealous, uncomfortable look about him. In other news, John said something about how if his current relationship went well, we'd be going to his wedding next year. I asked, and it wasn't Jenny. There was some discreet talk about "dessert", meaning whoring, and I was half shocked and half embarassed because Spawn was there.

Does this mean Spawn knows? Does this mean Spawn has DONE IT???

Later on library guy arrived with his brother. I always thought he was joking when he said he had a brother. We ate a bit more before John called for the bill, saying we'd go for dessert (actual dessert). John paid the bill, which was nice of him. I was happy to chip in, but I guess he felt that he and Spawn ate the most.

We went to a cafeteria close by which looked a bit like they were closing, but still had customers inside. We were stopped as soon as we tried to get a table for ourselves, and then a girl led us to one. I thought they had gone the wrong way so I went separate from them, followed by library guy's brother. It was only until I reached the end that was blocked that I realised it was closed for cleaning. The girl walked up to us and said angrily, "can you..." and I apologised and said I didn't know. I understood how she felt, but I was kinda shocked at how rude she was.

We ordered our coffees and sat around talking. John was insisting that we had to meet up again for a proper farewell, and that it had to be in Newtown, insinuating it had to be whoring. I stayed silent, knowing that I would be a bit busy throughout the week so it was unlikely I'd get to see him again.

We talked a bit about travel, about how John was going to Vietnam later, and library guy was over as well, but they'd probably miss eachother. Everytime people talk about travel I always wonder how much money I would have right now to travel if I hadn't lost it all in gambling.

We heard a loud bang, and then heard one of the waitresses ask another if she was ok. The one who got angry at us said she was ok. I wonder if she was having a bad day and we were just a part of it. Later on another waitress dropped and broke a plate on the ground.

We called it a night at about 8:30, and library guy said his brother was catching a train. I thought about offering him a lift, but he didn't really speak English and I didn't want an awkward ride.

So with that, I got my farewell done with that group.

Farewell with the gang

I semi-rushed home after high tea, changed shirts, went to the toilet, then went downstairs to see Malay's car waiting for me. In it were Malay, Thai and Michelle.

We drove to Chinksford where we decided to have pizza at GPK. Scope, G and Brain also met us at Chinksford. Malay walked with me to the ATM, even though they said they were shouting me dinner.

Shuing came a bit late because he had soccer, but made it just after we had our entrees. I sat in between Malay, who was at the head of the table, and Michelle. I sat opposite Brain and Scope, and was far away from Thai, his wife, and Shuing, so didn't speak to them much.

It was good to have everyone around, but I wasn't really used to people doing it for me. I guess I just didn't like to be in the centre of the spotlight.

After dinner Thai and his wife had to go meet some other people, and the rest of us drove in two cars to Shuing's place because he needed a shower. While we were waiting, Michelle and Scope went into his house, Michelle because she wanted to watch tv and Scope because he had a headache. Malay, G, Brain and I stood around our cars talking about cars, lol. It was good to do something blokey like that.

When Shuing finished, we headed out to the city. G managed to find street parking, but because Malay was still pretty new to driving, I could tell he wasn't comfortable with trying to squeeze into a parallel parking spot so he parked at a car park which was pretty expensive.

We all went to that Riviera place for ice cream. I think Michelle didn't want to share the same ice cream as G, so she whispered something to Shuing and got a bowl for herself. Scope managed to upset her as well by just scooping some ice cream into his glass, instead of asking for a bowl, lol.

After ice cream, we all went to the arcade games place, where Shuing and Malay tried to "shout" me games, but I used my own credit and played a few games. What they did do though was play that huge clock game on the wall to try to win me a Wii, but all they kept getting were dolls for little girls. Shuing won this baby doll which I thought was a bit creepy, and he kept sticking it in my face.

After that, we decided to drive to that late night hotdog place where Shuing shouted everyone a hotdog or pie, and we stood around eating and talking. We managed to finish at like 2-3am, so it was quite a night out. Malay dropped Michelle off at home and she asked me to get out of the car to move to the front, but I knew she wanted a hug so I gave her one. Malay dropped Shuing off next, and then me.

High tea

Yesterday I washed my car in the morning, started at about 8:30am. My plan was to do that and then go to the gym, but by the time I had finished, I needed some time to find presents for Hayley, Rom Rom and Jennifer, so decided to skip gym. Haven't been to the gym for a while. Before my last ride with G, my knee had been feeling a bit wobbly because I hadn't been on the bike for so long. It has seemed ok for this past week.

Anyway, I went out to the city and checked out a Morning Glory store (MGS) on Goulburn St. I found some travel bag tags that I thought were cute and suitable for Rom Rom, and maybe a chocolate mirror for Hayley, but I wasn't really sure what I could get for Jennifer. I thought about those big soft toys, like the toad head, but I wasn't sure if she'd like it or if she had any use for it.

I then went to check out some of the similar stores in market city, considered getting her this rectangular crystal with the thinking man inside but then changed my mind, and then checked out the MGS in Chinatown. Here I found they sold mainly the same stuff, but they had this hand-held fan that looked like a cute cartoon character which I thought might be useful for Jennifer on the beach on a hot day, so I got that for her.

I went back to the first MSG to get the chocolate mirror and the tags, and then decided it was time to walk up to meet Rom Rom. I sat in a food court for a bit peeling all the price tags off, and I'm sure that if I looked like an Aboriginal people would've thought I had stolen the stuff.

After doing that I had a bit of spare time left so I went to a bookstore to check out the book "I, Mick Gatto", read it a bit and thought it was a bit too simple. I had a feeling one of the guys there thought I was there to steal something.

By then it was time to meet Rom Rom, so I went to the corner of Myer and waited a bit. After sitting down for a few minutes I saw her. We greeted eachother with a hug and I gave her the present and then we decided to go for a walk inside the store because Jennifer was meeting us later. We kinda just floated around a few levels, not particularly looking at anything, and I could feel my legs getting tired.

When we walked out it was time to meet Jennifer, and we found we had received messages from her saying she'd be a bit late. Hayley sent Rom Rom a message saying she'd be a fair bit late. Rom Rom showed me the state theatre across the road while we waited for Jennifer. We then had to walk to another corner to meet her because she was a bit lost.

There were no hugs or anything when she arrived, probably because she was on the phone with someone. I gave her the present as we crossed the road. She checked it out and laughed, saying she liked it. She leaned towards me for a kiss and I leaned in, and she kissed me on the cheek.

*SWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON*

I was like in a daze for the next five minutes, lol. I also wondered if there was a lipstick print on my face.

We went to the hotel and got a lift up to level 8. The setting was pretty classy, and I suppose this is where the price comes in. I find that women pay more for the setting and mood than the actual food. We found our reserved table and sat down. I sat next to Jennifer and opposite Rom Rom, but it didn't matter much because the chairs were so big there was so much distance between us. Jennifer pointed out the fountain of chocolate and was pretty excited.

We talked a bit before I decided to go get some food, because I hadn't had any breakfast. We all went to check out the food and filled our plates with sandwiches, cakes, pies and other sweets. It was more filling than I thought. I actually didn't eat much, and certainly not my $35 worth. We took some photos just before we started eating. I knew I should've brought my camera, Jennifer and Rom Rom had brought theirs.

Hayley arrived later and didn't eat much either because she had a major hangover. At one point she even went to the bathroom to throw up. That was when we decided to go check out the chocolate fountain. There were fruits and marshmellows around and you could make a kebab stick out of it and stick it into the flowing chocolate, lol, yummmm.

We took some photos, and there was this one of Jennifer and I holding our fruit kebabs near the fountain, sooo sweet!

By now Hayley had returned to the table and there was more talk as we ate our fruits. Jennifer said she was so full after that, lol. Jennifer and I didn't actually talk that much at first, I guess it was probably me. I feel like I need time to warm up before I start getting into the flow of things.

When Rom Rom and Hayley started talking amongst themselves, that sorta left Jennifer and I to ourselves. I don't think we really got into much of a conversation, we just talked about how both of us had been interested in joining the police force, I would ask her a bit about France and then think about how boring I just came off, but she also said she wanted to get that little toy that swings from side to side and asked if I could show her where the shop was, so I at least knew there'd be some post-high tea activities.

I also brought up the topic of her travels, and managed to make everyone laugh when I joked that she should make her own flag and then spike it into the ground of each and every place she has been to, hehe.

I thought she looked pretty stunning in her dark blue shirt, and with a jacket on she fitted right in with the settings. I couldn't help but wander off at times in my mind, lost in how beautiful she was.

Jennifer and Hayley talked a bit about their previous night, which sounded like they had met some guys at bars, like friends of Hayley or something. Jennifer said she didn't like one guy because he was boring, while Hayley thought he was interesting. I wonder if Jennifer thought I was boring. They also talked about a guy who apparently couldn't get his eyes off Hayley's breasts. This talk about other guys made me wonder if I was even in Jennifer's league. She's so beautiful, smart, and socialble, she must have tonnes of guys after her.

We stayed till closing time which was about 4:30, and then headed down to the first MGS. On our way we passed that arcade games place so I stopped them by and we went in for a look. I showed them the game where I had won the iPod, but my real intention was to try to win them (read: Jennifer) a toy. I played the one where you could get the soft blue puppy, and I got it on my first go! They were pretty surprised as they watched on. I offered it to Rom Rom at first, then she said no and I offered it to Jennifer, but she said to give it to Rom Rom, which I did.

I asked Jennifer if she wanted to play and she said she never had any luck with games like that. I had one more go and then we left. They were pretty amazed at the stuff inside the MGS, lol. I find that it can be a very good thing when you start bringing Westerners into the world of Asians.

They wandered around the store, intrigued by all the neat stuff they had. Jennifer especially liked that big grey toy, which was selling for like $300. I always melt when I hear her laugh in joy, and seeing her pat the toy just made me feel so good about having brought them here.

She ended up buying a small blue toad, and she kept hugging it and smiling.

Damnit, I told you to buy that damn toad!!

She said it was for her brother, but she also played video games.

Is she perfect for me or what???

She ended up carrying quite a few things, all with bags from the store. I joked that if she came to Australia again I would get her that big grey toy.

We left the store and Hayley said she was being picked up, so we waited with her at the corner of the street, and the usual hugs and goodbyes happened. I was kinda relieved now that it was just the three of us.

I was just going to walk with them to the bus stop because Rom Rom suggested checking out some shops in Paddington, and I had to meet up with Malay and the gang for a farewell dinner, but then Rom Rom invited me along and I checked the time and said I could, as long as I finished at 6pm.

So we walked to the bus stop and caught a bus. We sat on the three seater on the side that can be folded up for wheelchair access. Jennifer spent the whole trip texting, while Rom Rom who was in the middle talked to me about toys and stuff, which somehow led to marriage.

We got off a few stops later and crossed the road to an old reservoir which Rom Rom's partner sometimes goes to for photos. I must say, it seemed like a pretty cool place, like a place that would be good to go alone to for some thinking time.

We took a few photos, with Jennifer posing with her toad, and at one stage Rom Rom suggested I take one with her. So we stood next to eachother with our toys and posed for a photo. I don't recall whose camera that was with, but as of now it hasn't been posted on fb, waaaaa!!! Some of the other ones have.

Rom Rom's partner arrived later, by which time I had to go anyway. I said goodbyes to them, and the hug with Jennifer was probably the last time I'd see her - ever. She thanked me for taking her to the high tea place, hehe.

I walked off, with a mixed feeling of content, disappointment and abandonment. Content, because I left on an un-negative note. I mean, if this was a few years ago, I probably would told her I liked her which would've ruined everything including my reputation at work. I was content not to know whether she liked me or not, because I feared the answer.

I was disappointed because I knew I wouldn't see her anymore, and also because I knew she'd be returning home to France in December.

I felt a sense of abandonment because I was walking away, and also because I was leaving Sydney next week.

As I sat at the bus stop, waiting to meet up with Malay, I looked through some of the photos I had taken of Jennifer with my phone and smiled.

Sometimes, you just have to be content with nothing.

Dinner with GS and DC

On Friday I went to the office to do a bit more cleaning up. I have now cleaned up everything except for the secret stuff in the safe. Pretty proud of myself. It took a while.

I drove back to the city to drop off some stuff for GS, went home, then caught the bus back out to meet GS and DC. I met GS first, and we stayed at the bottom of his office for a while waiting for DC. DC suggested we wait in the bar nearby, and when GS and I went in, we could both tell it wasn't for us, so we went back out to the seats to talk.

A while later DC turned up, and we all started walking to the restaurant. I had no idea where we were going so I just followed along. DC and GS spent the walk talking mainly about DC's case next week and PL's case.

We walked through the city to a small street filled with lots of restaurants, a place I had never even known about. It had quite a good mood to the whole thing. We walked into the wrong place at first, and then walked next door to the pizza place that GS had wanted.

It was a small restaurant, and the way the tables and chairs were all squashed together made it look even smaller. We got a small table for the three of us, and I was kinda relieved that they didn't bring their partners. I think that figured it would've been awkward for me, both socially and because I didn't have a girl to bring.

They both ordered a pizza and I had a pasta. We talked mainly about the case, and DC gave up some pretty juicy "theories" about the case and why some of the clients got hammered so bad by the judge. Kinda makes you think twice about asking for stuff and consequently having secret statements handed up. Also talked a bit about my new job, and GS said I could call him if at anytime I needed help. How nice of him.

We had dessert there as well, and afterwards we split cause GS had to walk back to his office and DC and I caught a cab home. While we were standing around trying to flag one down, we saw this guy who we had seen in court before. I had always thought he was a police pro, but DC said he was the guy who just hung around court all the time doing nothing, lol.

The taxi dropped DC off first, and I told him not to worry about the fare, so I paid for it when it dropped me home.

Couples Retreat

On Wednesday I spent the day packing up stuff in the office, going back and forth from the office to my car. It was a pretty hot day, and I started to get fed up as I did more and more. What was really killing me was loading the car up and seeing it slump down due to the weight. Perhaps it's my paranoia, but I think it hasn't propped back up even after I have taken the things out of it.

When I filled up the car I drove down to Michael D's office. It was a lot quicker this time because instead of going through the city I just went straight there. Maybe the Eminem music made it more enjoyable too.

I got there at around 3pm and decided to get something to eat as I hadn't had lunch. I also sort of wanted to explore the place, because it was so beautiful, like the images of countryside you see in ads. I couldn't imagine many crimes being committed here. As I walked down the street from where I had parked, it was only a few steps before I noticed the court. I thought Michael D might be in there so I went in to check it out.

It was kinda an unreal feeling to sit in a small L court again, after this whole case. I saw Michael D at the bar, finishing a matter. As he walked away he saw me and acted surprised. He asked me to watch the next matter because it was interesting, but I think he just wanted to deal with his clients first.

After watching the matter, Michael D and I started unloading the stuff from my car and into his office. I was so relieved to see the pressure taken off my car. After that we had a bit of a chat, and then I left. I went to the Macca's that GS and I went to on Monday, and had a peaceful meal with a burger that didn't taste as good as it looked. I think I'll stick to their main menu.

I was a bit annoyed with the drive back, because these little insect like things just started smashing against my windscreen, dirtying and cluttering it. Grrrr.

I was supposed to give a folder to GS after that, but it was too late, so I held onto it.

My drive back would sort of pass the area where John and library guy worked, so I decided to stop by. I drove to their suburb and stopped outside what I thought was library guy's office. It was now a real estate agency.

No one had told me they moved?

I went to have a closer look, and then remembered there was a pizza place a few shops down from it, but that was gone too. I then looked across and down the street and realised I was in the wrong area, haha, stupid me.

I walked across his office and saw some guy and girl I had met briefly before. I called him but he didn't answer. I called John and he wasn't answering. I decided to drive to John's office but it was closed when I got there. The place was surrounded by Vietnamese people, but I felt way out of place. I felt like a foreigner, and was a little fearful that some may think I was a cop.

On Thursday I drove to work again because there was more stuff to be picked up. I didn't want to pick up as much, so just tried to fill up two boxes for Michael D and one box of stationery for myself. I then drove to the city where I dropped off that folder for GS, and then started looking for some food. I went to the Macca's at Chinksford at first, but the car park was full so I ended up going to the shopping near me. After having Macca's, I went to buy some kitty litter at my mom's request, then sat in my car, waiting to see Saw 6.

During this time, I started wondering whether I should ask Ele out to dinner. I thought about that entry I made telling myself not to, and then thought about how this could be the last chance I'd give her. If she agreed, then great. If not, then you leave it at that, and there's nothing to lose (except your pride and the shift of power back to her).

I texted her asking if she was available to meet up for dinner at 7:30pm that night. A few minutes later, she called.

Goddamn, this ignoring thing really DOES work! You ignore someone for a bit and next time they'll be craving to see you.

I answered it and she sounded very eager to hear from me. She was with Eva. She told me she was at some tea place in the city, as she had taken the week off work due to stress, and couldn't be seen in the upper part of the city to avoid her colleagues. She asked if I wanted to talk to Eva, and I said I wanted to talk to her (Ele), but she passed the phone onto Eva anyway. We eventually agreed for me to pick them up at Ele's place and then we could go to dinner from there. Ele asked me if I knew where she lived.

Ummm...of course I remember! I've dropped you off before!

When I said yes, she told me the address anyway.

I went home to drop off the kitty litter and then headed to Ele's place. I was kinda late because I was stuck in some heavy traffic. I was expecting them to be standing outside waiting for me, but when I got there they were nowhere to be seen. I called Ele, and after a lengthy ring, she picked up and I told her I was outside. She said something like "I told Eva you would say that!" It suddenly occurred to me that that was why she took so long to answer, because she was saying that to Eva.

They came out and got into my car. Ele had that familiar strawberry smell about her. It felt a bit odd seeing her again. I had somewhat moved on from my infatuation, having moved onto Jennifer. Ele gave me this little blue soft cuddly toy, saying it was an ugly monster. I joked "are you calling me ugly?" and she corrected herself as she read the label, saying it was a "mini monster". I was glad she finally gave me something and took it as a positive sign, until she told me that Eva had given it to her but she didn't want it. I teased her about giving me rubbish and asked her if she had anymore rubbish she wanted to give me.

Eva said that this was the first time she had been in my car. I think she was right. She said we had to go pick up Michael L. I was kinda glad too, because I thought it'd be a bit awkward having dinner with just the two of them.

On the drive to pick Michael L up, we talked about her situation, about how the doctor said she had high cholestoral due to the food she was eating and the stress from work. Eva would sometimes talk about her own stuff but I was kinda more interested in listening to Ele. I noticed that she didn't have any make up on. She had pockets underneath her eyes - exactly the same look that Bec2 had the day I noticed she wasn't wearing any make up.

We also talked about my case. Apparently they hadn't seen anything about it in the news. I don't think they watch the news much. I gave them the example that Shuing and I started about him picking up a washing machine for Michael L. Ele seemed like she was saying to me that I, or we, shouldn't be expecting fairness in this world. I told her I expected it when someone's life was at stake.

When we picked up Michael L (who immediately asked Eva how much she spent on shopping earlier, prompting Ele to tease him by asking me how much I had spent), Ele suggested a Japanese restaurant in the Wick, so I started heading off. As soon as I made a turn, Michael L said "you could've gone straight". Grrrrrrrrr!! Even when I went off the road where the restaurant was located, he questioned me, until I told him that I wanted to park in the shopping centre. I said I didn't want to leave my car outdoors.

Then Ele said the strangest thing out of the blue. She said she was telling Eva earlier that I was very sweet.

Where did that come from??

I was thinking about what I could say but didn't say anything.

After parking, I noticed that Michael L was not very familiar with the shopping centre there. We made our way to the small restaurant and found a table for the four of us. Michael L seemed more interested in showing off his iPhone than making actual conversation. I knew he was trying to save money, so I went with whatever order he wanted.

I kept trying to find the right moment to tell them about my new job, but it was kinda hard, because Ele and Eva were playing table hockey on the iPhone and then afterwards they were talking about something else. Finally when I found a break, I told them I was changing to the other side. Then I told them where it was.

Apart from Ele suggesting we have a farewell, and on two separate occasions stating that we should get a stripper for me, she remained fairly quiet. I wonder what she was thinking. When she mentioned the stripper thing, I was tempted to say "you could be the stripper", but didn't think it'd be appropriate given how Eva and Michael L were there. I remained silent, and it looked like she was trying to figure out why I didn't say anything.

There was a bit more talk about my new job, and then we eventually started talking about other things. But I thought I could notice how Ele seemed to be thinking about it.

When there was talk about organising a farewell, Ele suggested the Friday before I leave, but I said no, because I thought Shuing and co had something in mind. So then she suggested Thursday, and I said "I'm meeting up with a girl, who helped me...", I was obviously referring to Bush, but didn't know how to phrase it in a way that didn't seem as inappropriate as it was gor government jobs.

It obviously sounded like some sort of date to them, and Ele's response was "that's great!" which seemed a bit odd, and I took it as a slight sign of jealousy.

We agreed to go watch a movie. I said I wanted to watch Saw, but Ele said she wasn't in the mood, so I suggested Couples Retreat.

Towards the end of our meal, this girl walked in and ordered take away. She was very, VERY attractive. I couldn't help but think that I was probably eligible to go for girls like that, who, looks wise, were better than Ele. Was I punching below my weight with Ele?

Anyway, she was initially sitting at a table waiting, but when new dine-in customers arrived, she was invited to sit at another table where another guy had been waiting for his take away. I kept picturing how if that was me, I'd be killing myself to come up with something funny to say. I was a little disappointed that the guy didn't try his luck.

After finishing dinner, we drove to the shopping centre near me. When we initially got into my car, I lowered Ele's windows and asked her if she could do me a big favour, and she pushed out my side mirror. On the drive there I asked Ele about Tracy's birthday, and here's why I think she's more clever than the impression she gives off - she knew why I asked. After saying how they just went to a restaurant and karaoke, she explained to me that the reason I wasn't invited was because she had told Tracy that she didn't think I would have anyone to speak to there because, well, basically they were all fobs. I could understand it from her point of view.

When we got to the cinema, I saw Ele close my side mirror and then she said, "I can be trained", lol. We stood around the cinema in an unorganised queue for a few moments before a staff member waved me over. I told her the movie, and she asked "for two?" which I thought was a bit presumptuous, but anyhow, I said yes and waved Ele over. I gave the girl my credit card and when Ele realised what was going on, she tried to give over her card as well but I told her not to. She wanted to put a coke on her card but I asked the girl to put it on my card as well.

Everyone except Michael L went to the bathroom, and when I came out I saw him holding a coke and three straws. I asked him why there were three straws and he said it was so we could share the drink (him and Eva would share one straw).

The seating was a bit funny. We sat at the bottom front section, and initially from left to right it was Eva, Ele, Michael L and me. I was kinda content, but disappointed. Then Eva complained about not sitting next to Michael L, so Eva and I swapped seats. Part of me wonders whether she knew I liked Ele.

The movie was a pretty good reflection of what Shuing had told me - it was kinda like Role Models, a comedy with some life's lessons. Watching it with Ele, and the couple of Michael L and Eva, made me kinda feel that we were two couples. I wonder if Ele felt the same way, or was she thinking about her boyfriend?

I was in the mood for a comedy anyway, so I enjoyed it very much. I couldn't help but think whether Kristen Bell was hotter or that girl from Sex and the City.

After the movie, I dropped off Michael L and Eva first. That was the plan after all, to pick a location that was closer to their home so I could drop off Ele last, hehe. During that trip alone, Ele must've yawned at least ten times, so much that Eva and I were making fun of it.

After dropping them off, Ele and I were silent almost the entire trip.

Dude, you HAVE to tell her that the girl you're meeting (Bush), is married.

It was only until about halfway that she asked about organising a farewell for me. She said we had to because she wouldn't see me for a while, adding that they never saw me much anyway. I said "I want to see you more, but I think you are always busy". She didn't reply.

She asked me who I wanted, and I said not too many people. She started going donw the list, naming Shuing, Eva, and Michael L. I said no to all of them, and in my mind I was saying "all I want is you". She jokingly added that there wouldn't be any Bobby. So she knew.

When I arrived at her place, she said goodbye and started getting out. As she did, I said "hey, the girl I'm meeting with, she's married". She just nodded and said "ok" and then said goodbye as she closed the door. As usual, I waited until she walked up the stairs first before I did a u-turn and left.

It just dawned on me...

While I was waiting to cross the road to work just then, it just dawned on me that Jennifer had the three things I was looking for in a girl: she was smart, sporty, and beautiful.

Oh my god.

My farewell

Oh my god, I am TOTALLY in love with this girl!!!

Kate messaged me while I was still at home asking when I was going to get there, implying she was already there. When I got there I was the only one in the bar and she was nowhere to be seen!

I called her and as I was talking to her Rom Rom came out from the bathroom, and Kate said she was at the pizza place. So Rom Rom and I talked a bit, and I tried to exhaust any topic remotely connected with GS' and my visit to Michael D yesterday in fear it may lead to what was discussed. Luckily she never brought it up with GS.

She gave me as a present this little cool card holder thing which I still haven't completely figured out the logistics of. So I guess it was my farewell. Well at least when I told Twish it wasn't that it was my genuine belief at the time.

PL arrived next and they talked about his next case or something, and then DC arrived. He wasn't his usual funny self, and I was a bit annoyed that he's now saying they were all guilty anyway. Hayley arrived later and she talked about how sad it was for her to deal with the whole losing thing, and she even started crying.

Kate and Jennifer arrived soon after. Rom Rom was sitting to my right so my left was completely empty. I thought it was interesting to see where Jennifer would sit, and she chose to sit opposite Rom Rom, and so Kate, probably feeling bad about it, sat next to me. She gave me a bag full of gummi bears and other lollies, lol. Rom Rom, Hayley and Jennifer gave me a cook book, haha.

I stuck to my earlier advice and ignored Jennifer for the most part. I spent my time talking to Kate and Rom Rom. Kate was probably bored out of her mind. I find that she lacks interest in anything unless she is sitting next to DC.

I did a pretty good job of ignoring Jennifer, so good in fact, that at one point she wanted to say something to me but I had my head turned to Kate that she had to wave her arm to get my attention.

Kate was the first to leave, because she had a shitty day which caused a headache. I was kinda quiet from then on because DC was talking across the table to PL, and Rom Rom and Jennifer were talking on top of that conversation as well.

DC stayed a while but was the next to leave, so we just kinda sat around with PL constantly offering more wine and me having my coke. I could see that PL was pretty depressed about the closing of the bar.

I was surprised to see GS arrive later because I thought he wasn't going to come since we hadn't seen him at all. He came in casual wear and immediately asked to order a pizza, lol. I think he must've been really hungry. So we ordered some pizzas from Hayley's sister's shop down the road and they were later brought over.

We managed to devour them pretty quickly, although Jennifer just had the salad as she had pizza with Kate earlier. GS got into a conversation with Jennifer, and I was half listening to them and half listening to Rom Rom's conversation with someone else, when I heard GS ask Jennifer if she had a boyfriend. Needless to say, my ears stuck up in earnest. I wonder if he asked for me.

I was very, very, VERY surprised when she said no. I looked at her as if it was some way of confirming what I had just heard. Maybe I was trying to see if she was lying. She looked at me briefly and I looked back down at my pizza. GS left just after 9pm because he had to pick up his daughter or something from a recording studio.

There was some more dry conversations going on and I still wasn't really in the mood to talk to Jennifer. Then PL said he had to head off, and that's when things got a little more interesting.

Rom Rom was really engaged in a conversation with Hayley, so that pretty much left Jennifer and I. It started a bit awkward at first, but soon I was intrigued by her story of how she got her job, saying she got to the initial interview at 6am and was the first in a line of people, told the partner she wanted a job a year down the track because she wanted to travel to Australia, told him she played volleyball and apparently that was the clincher. She had to under-go a few more interviews, including a 45 page test in which she was only given 15 minutes to complete.

I said she must've had a very good run of luck in her life, and she hinted that she had had a lot of trouble before that. I wanted to inquire, but didn't feel that was the appropriate time. I asked her if she believed in fortune telling and she said no. I told her about the one I had in HK, and said the guy said that I would marry someone older, and then said that I would be better off with someone older.

She asked which one it was, and I said it was the latter, and she said it wasn't something to be believed anyway.

Hmmm...can I take that as a hint, since she's younger than me?

I think she also muttered something about having been with someone older as well.

We talked a bit about shopping here in Sydney, she said the things here were kinda old fashioned, and I said my mom thought so too. I told her I thought she looked good in that bright orangey colour she wears sometimes. Maybe it's just me, but I thought I detected a bit of positive surprise on her face.

Then we talked about the whole psychology of criminal clients, and she said she really hated those who were obviously lying, especially to their lawyers. This got us both talking about our experiences in past cases with past clients. Half the time I couldn't help but look into her eyes and just fall madly in love with them. She was soooo beautiful, and so smart, so sociable.

We talked like that for a long long time, and I kept trying not to ruin it, thinking that as it got longer, it would get dryer and more boring. But surprisingly, at one point she went to check on her phone and when she returned the conversational flow continued like there was no interruption at all.

She even suggested a photo, and came over next to me, where she reached out with her arm and took a group photo of us. I had my bag of gummi bears in the way but she just put it aside so that nothing was between us. The guy working saw us and offered to take a photo for us, so she gave him the camera and she leaned in soooooo close to me!!! Oh my god I could've died right there a happy man!!

Then we suggested that maybe we should go because we were the only table, holding up the guy who wanted to close up, but that just got us started on a bitching session about Twish. I got the most laughs when I talked about how Twish could relate anything back to CW, using coke as an example, where I'd say something like "oh this coke is really good" and she'd say "yeah, unlike CW", which made Jennifer laugh out really loud.

That went on for a while before Hayley said she had to get picked up, so we went outside where we said our goodbyes, and Hayley gave us all a quick hug. I had to catch the bus from across the road, and Jennifer said they'd cross the road with me because they were catching the taxi from that direction. We talked about meeting up again before Rom Rom leaves for her trip, and eventually agreed to meet on Saturday.

Jennifer apologised for not being able to have us over for dinner due to something with her flatmate, and I joked "I will never forgive you, it is only once in my life that a French girl comes into this country and cooks for me". So true.

I felt a bit awkward saying goodbye right there and then, because I knew hugs would be involved, so I offered to help them look for a taxi, and stood on the road a bit looking for a taxi as they talked. I soon hailed one down and gave them quick hugs before they got in. The hug with Jennifer was.........*swoon*

"You want to hurt her don't you?"

On Sunday I got a call from my client's sister saying the client wanted to see us on Monday, so I texted GS and DC about a conference the next day and they were both ok with it. I also sent Jennifer a text message in French, saying it wasn't good weather for the beach. I guess it was my way of testing to see if she liked me or not. I went through that whole crisis anticipation again, but not as severe as it wasn't really a question and I told myself not to expect a reply. She never replied on the phone, but later posted a message on my fb in reply. So I guess she doesn't like me.

I headed out to the internet cafe in the city to print and fax the letter to the jail. While I was waiting for the fax, I got a call from Ele. I recognised her number and put it back into my pocket. In hindsight, I wonder if she was at the internet cafe and saw me. Anyway, I saved her number for the nth time, but not for calling her, but just so I would know not to pick up.

I then intended to get a portable usb hard drive from Harvey Norman, but then remembered there was a cheap computer store near the city uni so I drove there and started walking around looking for the place. I called Malay up for directions but he wasn't answering, so I called G and he gave me a pretty good approximation of the place. So with his help, I eventually found the place.

There were a few people lined up, and I grabbed a catalogue to look at. It wasn't exactly the most user-friendly catalogue, trying to list about two million products on one double sided piece of paper. The wait took a bit of time because the people already being served seemed like they were interrogating the staff about products.

Finally when it was my turn, I decided it was better to play the idiot and ask about the product, even if it was very basic questions, instead of acting cool and getting the wrong product. When I asked stuff like "what does 2.5 mean?" the guy, I don't know if he was socially inept or just rude, gave me this look and answered in a tone as if I asked him what two plus two was. Anyway, I ended up getting a 500GB usb HD for $99, which was a pretty good bargain.

When I got home I had received a message from G inviting me for a bike ride and a missed call from Shuing. I called Shuing and asked him to come for a bike ride, and he sounded reluctant, and after a bit of persuasion he said he would try to fit his bike into his car or call G for help. I gave my new HD a run and started copying some work stuff onto it, and left it on while I went to the shopping centre near me to buy a bike helmet because I didn't want G to ride without one.

When I got to his house I found out that he found his old helmet, but didn't matter anyway, since I bought mine for only $12. We went for a ride at the same place again, this time taking me almost no time at all to get used to his bike, but it took a while to ride out those little gear changes that seem to happen automatically without warning.

We did ten laps, and didn't really talk much during it, but it felt comfortable to be able to ride with someone and not feel obliged to make conversation. I can't believe how many idiots there are who stand right in the middle of the bike track, as if they didn't know that they were an obstacle.

After that we went back to G's house where his mom gave me an apple. G didn't want to come for a drink with Shuing, so I drove there and picked him up. Shuing said he was shouting me dinner and I didn't see any point in resisting, so suggested to go to that blue place in Chinksford.

While eating, we had a pretty good talk about my case and the broader views of it, like how much actual prejudice goes into it when you have a jury of white Caucasian people. He preferred to label them as bigots rather than racists, and agreed with me that the accused were probably doomed from day one.

We went for an Easyway after that, my shout, and started talking about, with hindsight, the progress of the Ele/Bobby thing which eventually led to a debate as to whether or not I should tell Ele about my proposed departure. This topic continued into the car as we were stationary outside his home talking for at least half an hour.

He kept trying to persuade me to tell her, but I kept saying I wasn't going to. Like his trade mark self, in the back of his mind the wheels were churning and he had figured it out. He shot it out like an allegation: "You want to hurt her don't you?"

I quickly and instinctively denied it with a "no!", but my reaction may have told more than my verbal answer. Maybe he had hit it on the head. Maybe that was my main aim at the end of the day.

I told him I would think about it, and we left it at that, at around 11pm. I did give it some thought, and I knew I was being unfair about the whole thing, but ultimately, what I come back to is this: she's the one who turns me down when I ask her out, I've had enough so I'm moving on.

Monday
I walked into the office, as if it was just another waiting day, and saw DD in his office. I assumed he was there doing something else. We both said hi as if it was any normal day, as if our clients hadn't just been convicted a few days ago.

I started packing things up and made one trip to my car before DC and his daughter soon arrived, and then Kate, and then GS. I packed more things and took them to my car on a second trip, and then GS offered to help on the third trip after we all went for a coffee (except DD, who had left by then).

I was a bit surprised, and maybe offended, by DC bringing his daughter when I had told him we were going to see the client. So anyway, GS and I drove out there at around lunch time, and he said it was going to be like a "hold his hand" session, which I took to mean, a form of farewell.

What the client told us during the conference raised a potentially big issue for GS and our team. Although it started off normal enough, the client showed us a note handwritten in pencil, presumably his writing. He said he thought she looked familiar but couldn't be sure, until his sisters confirmed it for him, "just before the verdict".

We left the conference feeling annoyed. Just when you thought it was over, then this comes up. GS decided to join me on my drive down to Michael D's office.

GS showed me the way, and once we were on the freeway he had a nap, lol. It was a pretty long drive, and I didn't really want to do it again, but I just saw it as a warm up to my drive up to Lismore in a few weeks. I must admit I was kinda tired, but kept telling myself not to have an accident because GS was in the car. When we got close to the area, we stopped off at a Macca's and grabbed something to eat. I saw that Rom Rom had sent me a message organising drinks for tonight, and I invited GS as well.

After eating we drove for about another 15 minutes before arriving at Michael D's office. It was a small place like I had expected, but it was much nicer and cleaner than I thought.

So this was my office the whole time.

We unloaded the stuff from my car and then went into his room to talk about what the client raised earlier. It was mainly GS and Michael D doing all the talking. I just spent the time looking around the room.

GS and I left about an hour later, and the drive back seemed a little bit quicker. I dropped GS off at his office in the city. I was really looking forward to an early night and a lot of sleep, but on the way home my mom called and asked me to bring back a bag of rice. So I went up to the Wick and got a 10kg bag of rice, because they didn't have the 25kg type she wanted, and then I drove back home to have dinner and an early night.

Today
I woke up kinda late and decided to just do a bit of work in the city, then thought I better go to Parra to do a bit of cleaning up, and I was kinda looking forward to seeing Kate and maybe helping her move her empty folders to her office. GS called and asked if I was going, and I said yes but that I was still at home, and he asked if I could bring his suit jacket back for him, and I said yes.

I went out there, didn't see Kate, but saw some junior girl from her firm looking for her as well, and spent some time on my laptop writing work emails and then looking through the stuff I had received in the mail about my new job. I signed one of the forms and dropped it off at a mail box in Parra outside JB Hi-Fi on my way back to the city, holding GS' suit jacket and all.

The train was kinda full, so I had to sit on a two seater next to a girl who appeared to be reading something for uni. I tried to doze off to sleep at times, and when I closed my eyes, I could sometimes feel her arms brushing up against me, and I secretly enjoyed that. It wasn't a sexual thing, but it was like a sensation of closeness, intimacy, that I lacked in my life.

Twish had messaged me asking what this drinks thing tonight was all about, saying she heard from PL it was a farewell for me. I didn't know it was a farewell for me and said PL may be mistaken, in an attempt to defuse the situation and to stop her from coming. Like Shuing observed on Sunday night, Twish was actually a lot like Linda, and now I was seeing it.

I had to get off at Central and walk to GS' office because my ticket only went to Central. The walk was a bit longer and harder than I had anticipated. But even thought I was 10 minutes late, GS said DC wasn't even there yet. When I was standing at the lights waiting to cross, just after I had gotten off the phone with GS, someone put a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see it was DC, talking to someone on the phone.

We went up together to see GS, then left almost immediately to go out to lunch. While waiting for a long long traffic light to turn green, GS debriefed DC about what had happened yesterday. I'm pretty sure DC didn't expect this, lol.

GS had initially suggested the take away food court near his office, but DC chose a fancier cafe restaurant a bit further away. When I got there I wondered whether the $20 note in my wallet would be enough.

We talked about that issue throughout lunch, and pretty much came to the same conclusion, which was that we couldn't, or shouldn't, do anything now, and it didn't affect the sentencing anyway, just the appeal. But GS and I were now witnesses, although it was good of the client to admit that Monday was the first time he had told us.

GS paid for lunch, which was good of him, but I did have just enough if he didn't. We parted ways outside GS' office, and then I went home.

While I was in the toilet earlier, I had a thought. Maybe Jennifer's invitation to dinner on Friday night was just a test to see whether she could pry me away from Twish's farewell, which in itself was just a manifestation of the female competitive side trying to prove she was more desirable than Twish, and I was just a pawn. If you think about it, all the stuff she does on fb in association to me is all public, and therefore just another attempt to try to get Twish off side. Alright, act stoic towards her tonight.

Verdict

On Thursday just as I had sat down on the train and gotten my book out, a lady sat down next to me and said something. I looked up and it was Rom Rom. She had seen me from her carriage and had come over. I think she felt a bit bad about disrupting my reading. We talked about RB a lot, and it was quite fascinating to find out more about him, because he is a very stoic, serious and intimidating person in court.

At lunch we went to a Vietnamese restaurant nearby. It was GS, Rom Rom, the French girl (Jennifer) who sat opposite me, EO, SH, some guy called Paul, me and RB. We had quite a good time, and we also saw some of the people from the other side, including that hot para. I wanted to see if she'd make eye contact, but she didn't. I wonder if seeing me talking to Jennifer affected her at all.

After lunch Rom Rom, Jennifer and I went to the shopping centre to look for a present for Twish. I initially thought Jennifer was just coming along for the fun of it, or to avoid the boredom in the office, but she actually made some suggestions when we were discussing gifts for Twish.

They wanted a coffee first, so I went to the toilet which turned out to be very far away. When I returned, we checked out Myer, and got some moisturisers for Twish. Of course, both of them knew a lot more about that stuff than I did, as I just tagged along behind them, thinking about how all this was just a scam to make money off people.

We visited the Mr Smiggles store where Rom Rom and I had been earlier in the morning, but we decided to come back just to give it a bit more time. There was a small pouch we wanted to get so Twish could put all her things in. We spent quite some time there, and I was glad all the innovative things kept Jennifer entertained. I showed her the big bulldog clips and paper clips which made her laugh.

At one point we found this weird tampon-like object, but made out of see-through plastic filled with a liquid, resembling something like an ink cartridge. All it said was something like "insert into body", so we had a bit of difficulty trying to figure out what it was. I asked her to try it, and she said "where do you want me to put it?" Maybe it's just a guy's dirty mind, but I am confident she said that with wholesome innocence.

We got a small pen, a light for book reading and a note pad for Twish, all of which could be fitted into the pouch. When we returned I was told my client wanted to see me, so I let everyone have a look at the photo slide keyring while I went to see my client.

I caught the train back to the city, went home and then decided to go to the shopping centre near me. My mom asked me to check out some discounted cat food, which wasn't there anymore when I got there. I didn't really feel like seeing a movie in the cinemas, but did feel like buying a movie from JB Hi-Fi. I was really close to getting Wolverine, but then heard Kerry Packer's voice inside my head saying "that's not worth that much!" because I knew, in time, it would go from the current $30 to $12. I admired his ability, portrayed throughout the book, to know what was worth what. If we all lived our lives like that we'd save a lot of money.

I went to do a bit of grocery shopping, and then returned home.

Friday - Verdict
On Friday morning, I was sitting at my desk as usual and RB was sitting at the big table reading something, I think the newspaper. His phone rang. In the early stages when his phone used to ring, he would say "verdict!", half-jokingly. He stopped doing that as of late, but everytime his phone rang everyone paused for a moment to see who it was.

Most of the times it was nothing and he would walk off talking on it. Sometimes it was a jury note and we'd all try to listen in. This time it was the verdict.

I had a sick feeling in my stomach. But so did everyone else. The end was here. It hit us, and even though we had spent the past 22 working days waiting for it, it was like we didn't see it coming. I was pretty sure there would be a note today, but verdict? Goddamn. Was this really happening? Could it be?

I alternated between standing around feeling sick, and calling everyone involved to tell them. I called GS, and he said he was across the road, coming over. I called Michael D, and like his usual self, I couldn't get off the phone in less than five minutes. He said he was in court, so he wouldn't be able to come. I called DC, but no answer, so I left a message. I called my client's sister, who said she was coming. GS and I went to see our client to tell him, and he knew.

I went back upstairs, then went to the toilet downstairs, and then went back up. I stood around not knowing what to do. From an hour's notice, we now had 15 minutes left till we re-convened. RB was the most eager to go up, saying sitting in court actually calmed him. I waited for GS. I wanted to go up together.

The sight that greeted us as the elevator doors opened was unbelievable. It was swarming with people. The police seemed to be there in full force. Then there were all the lawyers. Then there were a lot of people I hadn't seen before, presumably from the media. There was now even a portable barricade to form a path into the courtroom door.

All non-lawyers were asked to wait while the lawyers walked in with a flash of the pass. I felt privileged. Even more privileged was getting to sit at the bar whilst everyone else had to cram up in the back.

There was some light talking, but you could feel the anticipation. Even though GS and I tried to make small talk, we both were too anxious to keep it going for long. When they brought the accused into the dock, all defence lawyers went to greet them, except GS and I. We had already seen him.

After the judge came in and asked for the jury, there was a long pause. Although there were soft sounds of chairs shuffling, the silence was deafening and devastating. I thought I heard the usual laughs from behind the jury door, but it didn't seem probable.

GS had said that it was a good sign if the jury looked at you as you came in, and a bad sign if they did not. As they filed in one by one, I caught a brief glimpse from the gay guy, and desperately hoped that that constituted eye contact.

The foreman was in a suit for the first time ever. The nerdy guy also wore a formal shirt, as opposed to his usual humourous shirts. The things that happened next all seemed to happen too fast. I couldn't even really watch as I was typing things down. I could really just hear.

As the foreman was asked what the verdict was for each accused, he read it out, holding a slim blue folder.

ME - Guilty.

Bang!

AH - Guilty.

Bang!

KC - Guilty.

Bang!

MC - Guilty.

Bang!

At this point, my mind went crazy, like I wanted to stuff a million thoughts into it at once, like I wanted to pause the whole situation. I wanted a time freeze.

Ok, you gotta give us one not guilty. You just gotta. Please. I mean, my client's too young, you won't convict him.

OJ - Guilty.

Bang...

I couldn't believe it. It was like each time the foreman spoke was a firing of a bullet. I sat there, angry, confused, not knowing what to do. I looked over at my client, and he just nodded. I had always thought he'd chuck a psych, but none of them moved an eyelash.

The judge started thanking the jury and all that shit, and I wanted to walk out. What was the point? Convicting all of them clearly showed bias. They didn't even look at the transcript of the defence, only the prosecution. Maybe I had become too biased, too involved with my client's case. Or maybe, we gave these racist motherfuckers too much credit.

A few people, presumably reporters, walked out. Looking at the reflection of the monitors in front of me, I saw a couple of female police officers smiling. How could they smile??? It made me so angry. The jury was wrong. WRONG!

I can't believe they fell for the Crown case just like that. They accepted it, even with all the holes and contradictions put to them.

After court, I walked out and hurriedly made my way to the elevator. It was closing, but I managed to get in with the door hitting my shoulder. Everyone's faces said it all. It stopped on a level and a lawyer got in, and he knew what the result was just by looking at our faces.

We all went down to the cells to see our respective clients. GS said sorry to the client. I kept very quiet, not knowing what to say. But I didn't cry. I didn't feel like crying. I was just sad, and angry. Maybe it was a sign of maturity, thinking back to the time HK client lost and I started bawling.

The client was very calm, not upset at all. I guess it hadn't fully sunk in for him yet.

No one could really talk back in the office. There were a few handshakes and farewells, but everyone just wanted to get out of there asap. GS and I decided to leave together in case the media bugged us, but surprisingly they left us alone. We made our way to the train station and caught the train back to the city.

There wasn't much talk, but on my laptop I had already found newspapers reporting the verdicts. We went to get lunch near his office. The food tasted crap. Conversation was dry. We weren't in the mood for talking. I can't believe DC missed it.

After lunch we parted ways, and I went to the courts to use my laptop for a bit. I started getting messages on my phone from people like Bush, Kylie and Mis about the results. I just wished everyone would leave me alone. After that I wandered around the city aimlessly, and at one point even questioned myself how I got from one place to where I was.

I finally had to go home because I was meeting everyone for Twish's farewell drinks. Rom Rom and I had initially talked about not going, because we were in no mood to 'celebrate' anything, but I changed my mind later, wanting to get it done and out of the way.

I caught the bus out and walked to PL's bar. I saw Twish, Rom Rom and another girl standing outside before I even crossed the road. They were a bit surprised to see me, and Rom Rom said I looked different (because I was wearing my black Industrie top). Apparently the bar was closed due to some unknown reason, and when Rom Rom had spoken to Jennifer she suggested another bar. There was also a girl called Jacky there, who I think works in Twish's office.

She was the type of girl who would definitely catch my eyes on the street - blonde, blue eyes, long eye lashes, and a slightly skanky face. She was actually a pretty nice person, whereas I thought the way she dressed gave off a bitchy demeanor.

We decided to walk to the bar Jennifer suggested, and when we were at the lights we met Rom Rom's partner Malcolm. For some reason, we decided to go back to PL's bar, and on the way back we bumped into Jennifer and her friend, Sarah. Jennifer laughed at me when I said something to Sarah like "so you're not a French person", lol. Sarah struck me as a plain Jane girl who just did not smile at all. It was like she hadn't smiled for the last ten years. She wasn't sad, just plain faced.

PL soon arrived to open up the bar for us. Apparently his partners had decided on that very day to close the business. Poor PL.

We went in and sat down where we were last time, with me wanting to be strategically close to Jennifer, and I ended up opposite her. Twish said she had received a call from the DDP offering her a job in the city. The city! Why the hell did they offer me Lismore and give her the city?? Guess it was because they got to me first on the list, I dunno. Anyway, she told them about her trip and they said they can only hold it until January, so she's deciding whether she should come back or not, saying that one aim of her trip was to go without a deadline.

We started with some drinks before being told we had to move because the group that booked for 16 people had arrived, so we moved to a smaller table in the middle. We gave Twish her presents, and she came over to hug Rom Rom and I. This time I sat next to Rom Rom and Jennifer was diagonal to me.

Because that group of 16 had arrived, PL was trying hard to serve them by himself, and so Jennifer offered to help and then Rom Rom started helping as well. I spent the time talking to Malcolm, and then felt bad about not helping so I joined in, with Hayley and Jacky in the kitchen. Malcolm helped as well.

We needed some nuts so I ran to the convenience store nearby and bought four packs of nuts, shoved them into my pockets so the customers wouldn't see and then went straight to the kitchen, where I quickly made some small cups of nuts.

Jennifer told me that she was planning to get some dinner with her friends and asked if I wanted to come, and I said yes. But that brought on a new dilemma - how the hell was I going to excuse myself from Twish's farewell to walk out with Jennifer and her friends for dinner? I even consulted Rom Rom, who encouraged me to just walk out, and I got the feeling she was starting to get annoyed with Twish as well. But that issue was resolved anyway when Jennifer got pizza for everyone.

I ended up spending most of my time in the kitchen drying glasses. At one point I broke a glass, because it was still hot out of the machine and I put too much pressure on it. PL said my name in a "grrrr" way, probably because I did it in front of the customer, lol. But geez, I am helping.

After that note of discouragement I returned to the table and spent a bit of time eating pizza and talking to Jennifer's other friend Leah. I was trying to think, was the lesson for guys to try to get along with the friends of the girl he liked, or the other way around? Anyway, I found Leah to be a bit weird. She liked to sit with her legs folded on the chair, and she had that "if people don't like it they can piss off" attitude. She was quite pretty, but as she revealed more about herself I was felt less and less attraction.

I returned to drying glasses after that, occasionally engaging in conversation with Hayley or Jacky, but mainly Jennifer. She spent a lot of time walking around, serving customers, but from time to time she'd come up to me while I was drying glasses to talk to me.

Twish didn't like us helping out at all, coming into the kitchen to either get more drinks for her friends or to tell Jacky and I to put things down because her friends wanted to meet us. This last message became more and more stern everytime she repeated it.

I did join her group, who had moved to higher tables and stools, for a bit. I didn't like it because Twish was drunk (earlier she had tried pouring some wine into her glass in the kitchen, only to spill it all over her hand), and it was just all talk about her, herself, and her. At one point the topic of me joining the DDP came up, and she pointed at me and loudly proclaimed me a "traitor" repeatedly. Needless to say, I excused myself saying I was getting a bottle of coke, only to never return.

I spent the latter parts of the night talking to Jennifer and Sarah, who was propped up on the kitchen counter. Jennifer asked for help with the dish washing machine, and I offered to help. She had told me about it before, but I wasn't expecting what was to happen. We walked over to it and she asked me to place the tray of plates into the washer, which I did. Then she slowly pulled the lever down, making the covers come down. As soon as they were down, a loud "boom!" sound attacked us and the machine started rumbling. I was like "ohh f..!", and she burst out laughing, lol.

At another point when we were talking amongst the three of us (Jennifer, Sarah and me), Jennifer said something like "you are talking to me, you are not with Twish, I think she will get mad". I said I thought Twish was annoying. Sarah questioned Twish's background, and I said she was half Singaporean and half something else. When Twish came in to get more alcohol, Sarah asked her, and Twish knew it was an attack. She bluntly said "Indonesian" and walked out, muttering something else. I was relieved things did not escalate.

At another point, Jennifer and I were alone where I had been drying the glasses and we came to that topic again. She told me how she thought the conflict started, and said she came close once to fighting back. I said I thought she handled the situation pretty well, and that anyone who knew about it could see Twish was in the wrong.

There was also a lot of subtle touching going on, always her touching me, like whenever I said anything funny. I felt awkward in that I didn't know if I should do anything in return, and if so, what.

Some guys came into the bar later, and most people seemed to know who they were. I didn't like how one of them was leering at Jennifer's chest, watching as she walked across the bar.

I asked Jennifer if she wanted me to show her where I got the tall ice cream from, and she asked where it was and said probably not because Sarah was tired, having been up since 3am. I thought "damn!" and was tempted to put blame on Sarah, but then realised that Sarah had been pretty accommodating throughout the night, and I wondered if she could tell I liked Jennifer.

Jennifer and Sarah decided to call it a night, and I took the opportunity to leave as well. PL shook my hand thanking me again (he had previously thanked me many times for helping out) and I walked out with Jennifer and Sarah. By this time Twish and her group had gone to another bar, and I just said I'd be there later, with no intention of going.

Jennifer and Sarah caught a cab, and I walked back to the main part of the city to catch a bus home. I didn't really feel like going home. Drying glasses and Jennifer had taken my mind off what had happened earlier, but now I felt like being alone and thinking about it. But it was too late and I didn't want to get a headache, so I retired home, wondering if Twish was now playing the role that I played with Emilee and Will, and if Jennifer was just using me to get attention and feel good about herself that she could divert me from Twish.

The Cth interview

Yesterday I woke up later than I had wanted, and made my way to the city and got there at about 9am. I saw DY while lining up for the scanners and she waved and asked me what I was doing there. I told her I had a job interview and was there to prepare.

I found a room on the lower ground floor and started preparing, only to realise the notes I had made the previous night I had left at home! Far out. Anyway, so I worked there for about an hour and a half, then went to the toilet and then went across the street to print my resume and stuff out.

I got to the office about 10 minutes early, and the receptionist didn't even seem like she knew they were holding interviews. After sitting down for a while a man came out from the doors behind me and led me to the interview room. There were three interviewers and one independent lady. I shook all their hands except hers because she was seated too far away.

Elizabeth was right on the money when she said that they didn't smile or anything to prevent the perception of bias and to appear neutral. Although I did detect a small smile from the female interviewer. I am sure I have seen her in court before.

Immediately the questions started. Four questions. The first was the difference between primae facie case and BRD. The second was what important legislation there were for Cth offences. The third was what I should do if a witness didn't come to court. The fourth was what I would do if a para-legal refused to do something I asked in a matter where there was also a senior lawyer.

I screwed up the first and mumbled some crap. I think I got the second right, although admitted that I didn't know why proccedings were held in this state, when in hindsight it was pretty fucking obvious - because they were arrested here! The third I basically kept saying it depended on why the witness wasn't available. The fourth I just said I'd do it myself, lol.

Although I didn't get a very good feeling about it, mainly because of their angry faces, I managed to find it funny as I walked on the street to the train station. I guess I felt relieved I had a backup job, but probably also because I had gone through a similar thing and expected the same. Just funny how they put on angry faces. I was so amused I went to get a cupcake to eat before boarding the train.

When I got back to the office, GS quietly asked me how I went, and said people asked him where I was but he just said it was a personal thing, although by then I didn't really care anymore. I told Rom Rom when we went for lunch with the French girl. I bumped into Bush and Shadi at lunch but only briefly spoke. I think we're seeing eachother a little too much.

After lunch we went to JB Hi-Fi to look for a present for Twish. We struggled a bit before I remembered that I saw a keytag before which could show slideshows of photos. I thought it was a bit small for a present for Rom Rom and I, and also because Twish had gotten me a tie so I asked Rom Rom if I could get the present myself, and she said yes. It was a pretty damn good idea. The French girl got one too.

After work I went to the shopping centre and bought 'Who Wants to be a Billionaire?', a book on James Packer. I had seen the documentary and thought it was interesting, so I got it. But $40 was a bit on the steep side.

As I was going down the levels of the shopping centre I bumped into Kylie, and we had a really frank and candid chat about our Cth interviews. She had hers the day before. She reckoned that she did pretty bad cause the guy kept repeating the question which made her feel stupid, but I re-assured her that he probably did it to see how she reacted under stress, and probably pushed her a bit because she was a good candidate. I think she bought it. We stood there talking for a while and it was a bit awkward when I introduced the topic of me moving for my new job. She later said she would've given anything for it, and would happily move there, and told me I would really like it at the DDP.

I read the book on the train a bit, and then decided to get something to eat at Macca's just so I could sit there to read. My mom called and asked if I wanted to go for a buffet, but I couldn't because I was full, so I said maybe next time. I stayed for a while reading the book, and was a little annoyed at the couple next to me making out like it was a hotel, because they were so noisy.

Today
Got to the train station and as I was walking through the dates, noticed a girl out of the corner of my eye going through the big gate for wheelchair access where you just had to show the ticket to the staff member. What stood out was that this girl stuck her leg out to keep the gate open, which was half funny/half unfeminine. I then looked at her as she walked past and realised it was Twish. I called out to her and we walked down the stairs together. She was going somewhere else so she caught another train.

I read a bit more of the book on the train, very interesting, but can't help but feel it was designed to draw sympathy for James Packer. When I got to the office almost immediately I went down to see the client as I hadn't seen him for the past two days. He wasn't upset or anything, and said he knew I'd visit him today. I told him about my new job, although not specifically the nature of it, and he was ok for me to leave before the verdict.

We talked for about 45 minutes and then I initiated my departure. I went back up to find GS chucking stuff out, and I felt bad so I started helping. I cleared most of the folders in his room.

GS had coffee with CJ, so I went with the French girl, Rom Rom and PL. The French girl just had an apple she brought, and I wondered whether I should've bought her a drink. I sat next to her at coffee and I asked her for tips about living with a flatmate, and she basically said it was important to communicate about cleaning duties and stuff, and that it was just horrible to live with people partying all the time, which kinda surprised me because I thought she was the partying type.

We talked a bit about cleaning our clothes, and she said she could teach me how to iron. I was not sure whether she was serious or joking, but it was kinda a cute idea.

We returned to the office where I started picking photos out to upload into the keytag for Twish, and then I went out to lunch with RB, GS, Rom Rom and the French girl to a Japanese restaurant that Kate likes to go frequent.

It was pretty interesting with RB and GS telling us some stories about past cases. They both know so much it's amazing. Sometimes when listening or thinking, I would stare at a spot on the table, and the French girl looked over and noticed a few times and asked what I was looking at, and at one point even asked why I was so quiet.

When we were getting up to leave, she dropped a photo out or something and Rom Rom asked "oh is that your boyfriend?" and she laughed and said it was her brother, far too young.

After lunch GS went to the bank, RB went back to the office, while Rom Rom, the French girl and I went for a coffee. I didn't actually have one myself because I didn't feel like one. The French girl offered to give me her portable wardrobe thing, and I wondered if it was because she liked me.

Could it be? Was it really working? Could this strategy of treating her like Twish, ala ignoring her, actually be the ideal challenge?

At the end of the day I got a ride off Rom Rom because she invited me and I felt rude turning her offer down again. Earlier, the French girl had received a phone call and then came over and asked me to tell Rom Rom that she would wait for her downstairs - half an hour before we were due to leave. I thought it was a bit weird, and she did look a bit sad.

When we got out of the building, she was there waiting for us, and we all walked to Rom Rom's car. I asked the French girl if anything was wrong and she said she didn't want to talk about it. I assumed it was a family matter.

She was pretty quiet in the car, and it was mainly just RB initiating conversation. I actually couldn't believe I was in the car with such a great lawyer, someone I admired from the back of the courtroom. That was actually one of the main reasons I accepted the ride, because I asked myself whether I would have this kind of chance again.

During the ride I wondered whether I should secretly try to cheer the French girl up. My idea was to type 'smile :)' on my phone and show it to her, but then didn't go ahead with it. When she sneezed, I looked at her until she looked and said "what?" and I just laughed. She did initiate conversation sometimes, asking me several times what was in my briefcase, saying it looked so serious, lol.

We all got dropped off at the same spot, and RB just crossed the road to his office. I walked a bit with the French girl to my bus stop and she finally confessed when I asked her where she was going. She said she was going to Twish's office to "have a fight" because Twish had called her to do something, and then started whinging about another occasion where Twish had made her wait for nothing. I told her not to be stressted by Twish, and I wondered whether Twish was deliberately making life hard for her because of me. Or am I giving myself too much credit?

I caught the bus home, and saw that Shuing had messaged me asking what I was doing. I knew he wanted to meet for dinner because that was what we had agreed on during the weekend, so we organised to meet in the city.

I caught a bus out and met him, and we walked to a restaurant in Chinatown. As we ate, we talked about a lot of things - about the girl he is currently pursuing, Twish and the French girl, Ele, and work. He thinks I should go for the French girl, and when I said that I thought she had a boyfriend overseas, he said it didn't matter and that's what girls who go overseas do. Hmmm.

I told him about how I was planning to just leave without telling Ele, and he said I should, to test her, and that her reaction would tell a lot. I considered it, and although it wasn't a bad idea, I decided to stick to my guns and just leave without notice. Nomad all the way.

After dinner we walked to Market City for an easyway drink where we sat for about another hour talking. We had a bit of a laugh when I told him Ele had difficulty spelling 'ugly', and when Linda was brought into the conversation I asked "do you reckon Linda knows how to spell 'ugly'?", lol.

After the drink I wanted to check out the arcade machines because my keytag had broken so I wanted to win a new one. It was that Stacker game, and it was pretty easy to win the keytag which was a minor prize. So anyway, I got to the stage of the minor prize and was selecting my keytag and pressed the button.

Nothing.

I thought it was stuffed and that I got screwed when I heard Shuing groan. I looked up and realised I had pressed the wrong button. I had pressed the button to continue onto the major prize!

So I had to keep going, and when I got to the last line I knew I'd miss because it was rigged. Everytime you get to that last line they fucking rig it. But for some reason this one seemed a bit more steady. I had more control of it with my eyes.

I pressed the button as I timed it.

I GOT IT!!!

I couldn't fucking believe it. I didn't know what to do. I hadn't even looked at the major prizes. Shuing just pointed to the iPod and I selected that. A guy watching with his girlfriend congratulated me as I reached down to pick it up.

Fucking hell, lol.

I was pretty happy. I mean, goddamn, I wanted the keytag but I got an iPod. I played again for the keytag and got it, lol.

Shuing wanted to grab a dog but missed on several attempts, and then I walked him to the train station. We had a bit of a talk there before parting, mainly about what we should do before I left because he was going to leave for holidays while I was gone.