Dinner with A

Friday at work was pretty normal, just kept plugging away at a brief. At one point I walked past an office where Turk seemed to be having a conversation with her supervisor, and I heard her supervisor ask "what are you going to do about it?" in a "how do you plan on achieving your work goals" sorta way. It didn't seem right, I think the past days she has taken off sick have affected her.

At the end of the day I went to ask Karina a question and we ended up talking about work in general. We both agreed that Alanna was a heaps good supervisor and that we were lucky to have her (especially after I heard that Turk conversation), and she told me about how she went out to lunch with Turk once and learned that Turk had stuffed up a bit. We also freaked a bit about our goals of 12 briefs per month, it was going to be pretty hard given that we were new and we also had to be out for court.

She told me that if we don't meet our goals, then the head boss in Canberra breathes down our head's neck, who breathes down Wendy's neck, who breathes down Alanna's neck, and then who breathes down our neck. Shit, lol.

It was a bit confronting to see that behind all the smiling faces, and the exquisite offices, there was this real pressure to meet numbers.

I was glad that we could be that candid with eachother, and even more glad that we were in the same team.

After that I went to ask Genie a brief question which turned into a talk with more substance. I asked her how contracts were renewed and she said that technically they weren't reviewed - when positions came up you had to apply for them and if you got it then you entered into a 'new' one. Shit, lol. So that meant we had to compete with eachother and outsiders.

I obviously didn't feel very secure after that, so returned to do some more work even though it was like 5pm on a Friday. I tried to get the brief done but was frustrated that some documents hadn't been included. The boss came around later and told me to go home since there were "funner" things to do on a Friday afternoon.

Yeah I know, but at the same time, I don't wanna get fired!

I noticed that quite a few people stayed back late that day. Maybe we were all being pushed to excel.

I had lunch with Shuing that day as well. We went to the sushi train near the cinemas. We shared dishes, which meant that each dish we got, we shared exactly half the sushi. I was a bit annoyed at how slow he was eating, because while I was swallowing them down quickly and looking forward to taking the next dish, he wouldn't reach his for ages meaning that a lot of old dishes remained, leaving no room for new dishes.

We talked about Bob a bit, about how he was so lonely and asking Shuing to spend time with him all the time. Shuing, like me, didn't understand his obsession with that wrestling thing, and moreover, why he needed to tell everyone about it. Malay was a good distinction - he's into it, but because he knows you're not into it, he doesn't labour on the topic.

We talked about his birthday party which is tonight. I said it was sad that he had to invite people he didn't even like (Linda) and people he didn't even hang out with (Tracy) just to make up numbers. He seemed to have this thing about showing others about how many friends he has.

We talked about Katie a bit, much less than I wanted to. I wanted to drone on and on about her. I told him about the photocopier thing, and he said that it was good, lol.

I ended up taking up 70 minutes for lunch, but thought I could anyway since most times I don't even use up all of my 60 minutes.

There was also an email from the boss saying there was a new guy starting on Monday. My first thought was "what if this guy's tall, dark and handsome, and Katie goes for him instead?" As you can see, the green eyed monster raised himself rather quickly.

God, you haven't even met the guy yet, he could be some ugly mofo. And also, you gotta have some confidence in Katie. Besides, if she does go for him, then it's better you learn now than later.

True, true. I wonder if this thing stems from the whole Emilee experience.

After work I went home and got changed to meet up with A for dinner. I was planning to drive, but there was a lot of traffic for the George Michael concert, so I caught the bus. I ended up getting there first, called him and he was only a few minutes away.

It was good to see him. He hadn't changed, but I noticed the first thing he looked at was my hair. I bet you it was the receding hairline. Or this stupid haircut. I've been considering going to a proper hairdresser and growing my hair long. After all, I kept my hair short for bball, but now that I've semi-retired, was there a point?

Anyway, we went to a restaurant in the Wick (the same one we all went to after Michael L's wedding) because I was craving for a steak. We got a table sitting outside, and he told me about how in January one day he returned to his car after work and found two notes on the windscreen. Apparently the rear of his car had been smashed. Some truck's door had swung open, smashing into his boot. He said it was lucky that the witness left a note.

We talked about his work, and he was pretty excited because one of his commercials will be coming out soon. We talked about my work, and also about my previous case, which led to a discussion on racism in this country. He agreed with me that it existed, but he had the confirmation much earlier than I had. We agreed that it was wrong for Australians to judge whether it existed or not, because they weren't the ones on the receiving end of it. He also said that it was lucky that we went to a multi-cultural school, because it meant that we grew up in an environment where racial variety was the norm.

I told him about the whole Spawn saga. He's pretty much isolated from everyone else in high school, so I felt safe to tell him. He didn't believe it at first, but then probably figured it wasn't really something you make up. He said he liked Spawn in high school, lol.

After dinner we checked out the ice cream place nearby. He didn't seem too keen on it so I didn't buy any. We walked to his car and I told him about the girl I liked at work by first asking if he had known of any couples in the workplace. He said at his old company there was, and the guy dumped the girl and she ended up resigning because it was awkward to see him around with the new girl he hooked up with.

I will, of course, keep that in mind with Katie.

He drove me home and we talked a bit about the high school reunion and Grizzly's attempt to put together a bball team. We talked about our old bball comp a bit before we reached my place.

It was still early, and I wasn't ready to call it a night yet, so I went for a drive, up to Bondy, then to the Wick to get some ice cream, then to the sea side and back home.

Yesterday morning I went to the courts for a shootaround. I thought I had lost pretty much all my skills since not having played for so long, but everything was right there. It was like natural, my instincts. Of course, the accuracy of my shots wasn't there, but everything else was there. The way I moved, how it was so natural to take only two steps after stopping your dribble. I thought it was pretty amazing. I guess all the training in the past paid off. I had managed to build everything into my natural instincts.

I was in the mood for a pick up game, and there were people around. I could touch the backboard. Actually, I didn't just touch it, I slapped most of the black stripe that borders it. But after that, my knee felt kinda empty. It didn't hurt. I didn't damage it, but it just felt like it was telling me that I'd done enough. So before the others had a chance to rig up a game, I left.

I went home and then went to the gym. I've realised that it's hard to do my planned Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule, because I usually go out on Fridays after work, so maybe Saturday can be my thing. Or I can be flexible with it.

I've noticed that my arms have started shaping up pretty quickly, but this time round I'm trying to focus more on my abs, hence all the jogging I'm doing as well.

I had breakfast at home, and luckily when I turned on the tv there was an NBA game playing - Warriors vs Nuggets. I haven't followed the NBA in ages, so it was good to finally catch up with it a bit. Even though there are a lot of new players, I still felt right at home. I mean, usually if you're watching a soap opera and they change all the characters it's kinda weird and you may even stop watching it; but with the NBA even though there were new players, it was still the same show for me, the same show that I grew up watching and loving.

It was a good game, until the fourth quarter when the Warriors practically gave up. Watching Dell Curry's son play made me feel soooo old, because I still remember watching Dell Curry play.

I bummed around on the net a bit after that, then Shuing called me up to say he was going to the auto place near me to get some touch up paint and asked if I wanted to go, so I said yes and we met in 15 minutes.

While we waited around for the paint, he grabbed some polish and wax products as well. When walking back to his car, he told me (or maybe he let slip) that Ele once told Bob that her two ex-boyfriends had cheated on her. I thought this was recent, but then when I realised that Bob hadn't invited her to his bday, maybe he was talking about back then when they used to talk.

Anyway, Shuing was telling me that in the context of whether Michael L was likely to cheat or not while Eva was away. I said he didn't seem like that type of guy, but Bob reckons he's actually quite perverted.

Hearing that thing about Ele made me feel sorry for her a bit, but then another part of me thought "well so she picked guys who cheated on her, and stalled on me" and kept reminding myself that she was the one who decided not to call me back, so she had to live with it.

Shuing ended up walking me home, and we joked around a bit about Spawn attending Bob's birthday dinner. After we parted, I had a bit of a nap before meeting up with Brain, Scope and Thai in the city.

I got there about 10 minutes late to see Thai standing there. We had a bit of a catch up talk while waiting for the others. I just kept talking to avoid the awkwardness of silence, but managed to find out that he likes to watch wildlife documentaries, hehe. I did too, so I felt like I had hit something in common, but then Brain and Scope arrived.

We checked out the session times and decided on Wolfman at 7pm. I was hungry so I suggested we get some quick Macca's, and went across the road. Only Thai and me got something to eat. Even though Brain had said he hadn't eaten, he didn't get anything. I was a bit annoyed at that because it felt a bit like a kill joy. I had lent him my book The Game as well.

There were a lot of people at Macca's, because it was mardi gras night and it seemed like every single girl in Sydney had taken it as an excuse to dress up. Maybe I'm getting old, but why is everyone so attention seeking? Everyone seemed to be peacocking themselves and showcasing themselves to the world - for what?

After that we went to watch the movie. Pretty much as soon as it started I felt a headache coming on, something similar to that time we went to watch Sherlock Holmes. But it didn't get that bad and it allowed me to enjoy the movie. It didn't seem like anything special, it was like a 5/10 movie. Don't know why Anthony Hopkins opted for the role, he usually picks good movies.

After that we went to the same sushi train that I had been to with Shuing. One of the ladies working there did a bit of a double take when she saw me as I sat down. She must be thinking "geez, he must like our food", lol.

I sat next to Scope, and talked to him about photography and a game on facebook. He's learnt to be quite interesting, which was far from what he was a few years ago I reckon. I admire that.

Brain on the other hand still seemed as aloof as he had been in high school. After we finished eating, we were deciding on what to do, and when it came around to him, he gave his usual "I don't know". It's like the guy has absolutely no directions or initiatives.

See, I reckon out of all of us, he'd have the best chance of getting a girl, because he's tall and thin, with good hair. But once you get to know him, or even speak to him, you realise how undecisive he is. I mean, if me, a guy, gets annoyed at that, imagine how a girl feels. The thing is, I feel that he wants to achieve things in life, but he lacks that motivation or desire to take that first step. If he was a leader and not a follower, he'd achieve much more (whereas some achieve more by following than leading).

I decided to go home because of my headache, while they decided to go to a club for drinks.

Today, it seemed like I got a lot done. Early in the morning, I went to the courts again. Shirt off, I shot around a bit, before falling into this drill where I had to make at least 50% of my free throws, or else I had to run the court up and down for lay-ups and then do the jump rope. I failed a few times, which meant a few of those sets, before I finally hit the last four free throws to make 50%, hehe.

I kept thinking about the possibility of returning to comp. I thought about the guy who king hit me and then realised I was in no shape to be at that level. If he wanted to fight, I'd be dead. In that scenario, I'd need surgery to return. But then again, maybe I could just return to the Thursday comp, and play a lesser role?

I was still up in the air about it. But watching me shoot around, no one would believe that I had a knee injury, I knew that for sure.

After that, I drove up to the Wick to rent Ghost Town, and then went to Bondy to the post office to pay my phone bill. I returned home and almost straight away washed my car because it looked like it was going to rain. After that I had breakfast, and then later went out to get some Chinese takeaway because they were playing the Celtics-Cavs game.

Man, the Rasheed Wallace trade was stupid. He's so old now he does nothing. And why on earth did they think they would need Nate Robinson??

I had started watching the movie a bit, but after the game I took a nap.

Man I am thinking so much about Katie it's not funny. This is really the whole NTM thing again. I think if I keep obsessing over her, I'm gonna screw up. I need a distraction.