My surprise return

Yesterday morning I went to get some bread as well as to pick up my frames. I was afraid the place wouldn't be opened yet, but their door was slightly ajar so I slid it open to see that dodgy looking guy at the back. I said hello and he didn't seem to remember who I was. He asked me if I was the one with the gold frames and when I said they were silver, he started flipping through the paintings. As he was doing that he asked for my name and when I told him, he remembered and got me my frames. The borders had been pretty well done (much better than me doing it myself) and he told me briefly how to put things in. He handed them to me and I walked out of the shop.

I had breakfast at home and waited till about 11:30ish to go out for my surprise return. Shuing had asked me to get there by 11:45am, so I was a bit late, but luckily they were running late as well.

I caught the bus out and walked to the restaurant, and on the way stopped to watch a bit of lion dancing in Chinatown. The beat of the drums always seems to pump me up a bit.

I went to the restaurant and walked straight in, seeing them at a table on the left. Most of them had spotted me already, but G and Brain had their backs to me, so I went up from behind G and said to him "is there room for one more?" He looked up and said "what the fuck?" LOL!

I sat down next to him, and Michelle asked if I had made up. Shuing had told them that it was Bob's surprise birthday party so they were obviously still under that impression, and I was just another attendee. Shuing then revealed his devious plan, and I told everyone that I had returned because of my new job. Shuing also invited me to let them know that it was my shout.

Going clockwise around the table, it was me, G, Brain, Shuing, Michael L, Eva and Michelle. Eva told me that Ele was worried about me because I hadn't answered her calls, thinking that something had happened to me, and that Ele had asked Michael L to call me (he didn't). I just nodded and didn't say anything, thinking that either Ele had told Eva a lie or Eva was telling a lie. Ele knows why I didn't pick up. It made me sick and disgusted to even think about it. That was so in the past now.

Shuing looked pretty happy with his efforts. G seemed like the happiest to see me, as did Eva. I could see Michelle's brain recalibrating to figure out how my now-permanent presence in Sydney would affect her personal position. So manipulative. She said something about me not answering her calls when her place flooded, and I refrained from saying that I didn't know anything about insurance anyway.

Anyway, we started ordering and talking about my new job, and found out that Eva was leaving this coming Friday because she's going to China for a three month internship. It just seems like it's so hard these days for everyone to be here at the same time.

I didn't want to, but the main talks were about my cases and that. I wanted to talk about how everyone was. G told me a bit about his trip to Cairns. Brain is always hard to get talking. Shuing was too far away, and I wanted to wait until we were alone to talk about more interesting things. We talked a bit about Michael L's and Eva's new place, but they were too far as well. I wanted to ask Michelle about her trip to New York, but wanted to avoid that whole credit card fiasco.

I asked Michelle why her bag was so big and she said she had clothes inside. When I asked why she had clothes and she said it was because she's staying at another's place, I stopped, not wanting to get into a whole drama, suspecting that it may have something to do with her mother.

We had a pretty good meal, and when the bill came, it was just over $250. I had left home with $250 in my wallet, thinking that it was enough, but luckily, I had decided to be safe and withdrew another $50 just before I arrived at the restaurant. I didn't mind shouting; in fact, it gave me an appreciation of money. It felt a lot better to shout my friends yum cha than to spend on whores.

After yum cha we decided to head to Michael L's place for some board games. I suggested celebrity heads, having seen it on Inglourious Basterds and wanting to play it.

Michael L and Eva caught a train back to their place while G drove the rest of us there (we only had one car). It was a bit funny when we got there, because G called Eva's phone, saying "we're outside your place", only to realise it was another girl because Eva had given her phone away, lol. We also got a bit of a scare when there was mention of Linda's car, and Shuing and I joked that we had been sprung and wanted out. Apparently Linda had left her car there for Michael L to use while she was away.

We caught up with Michael L and Eva later, and went to their place. It was a small unit in an apartment complex. It was a nice enough place, but it was small. The bedroom and the lounge seem to be connected. It was like just one large room with a bed in one area, lounges and tv in another, along with the kitchen, none of which is separated by walls or doors. I suppose it was sufficient for a couple like them.

We played this board game called Settlers, which was interesting enough. I kept looking at their bed and wondering what it'd be like to live in a place like this with, say, Ele or Katie. I don't think I could do it. Maybe it had to do with the size of it, but I just couldn't picture myself spending the rest of my life with someone else in such close proximity. An example could be seen when I was in Lismore - when either Pandy or Kim were around, I tended to stay in my room more often. I liked to be by myself. So how was I going to live with someone else?

Also during the game, Eva and Michael L would have small disputes, which made us all a little awkward. I felt that Michael L was a bit rude to her at times, but I also felt that she played the "husband" card too much. What she would do is demand favours from him in the game, merely because he was her husband. It's cute once, but if you keep doing it then it's annoying and tyrannic.

Michelle left during the game, because she had to go somewhere. I watched as she hugged Eva goodbye. She didn't look good. I don't think she was happy that day, but her face just didn't look good. Call me superstitious, but I think I caught a long glimpse of what Ding's fortune teller saw. Her face is very...bitter. I don't mean she's a bitter person or has bitter traits, but if faces were an indication of our future, she had a bitter one.

Shuing left after we finished the first game because he had soccer, and we played another game. I then suggested again celebrity heads, and so we went out to get some post it notes and pizza.

It was lucky that G came along, because then it would've been just Michael L and I, and I would've struggled to make conversation.

When we returned with dinner, we played celebrity heads as we ate the pizza. We played three rounds in total, and I only got mine in the last round. In the first round I was Jennifer Lopez, and when told that I wasn't white, black or Asian, that really stumped me. I was the Green Power Ranger in the second round, and them saying I was from a video game led me down the wrong path. Because Brain and I kept losing, we asked for easy ones so I got Jessica Alba in the third round and guessed it right.

I realised during the game that it reflected in some degree a person's social intelligence. In other words, if you were stupid, then it was gonna show. I think Shuing would be good at it. Michael L is good at it. I suck at it. Brain gives up too easily. He can't even think of basic questions to ask. I think Michael L was worried that Eva wouldn't know many people.

I designated her as Ele in the second round, which she guessed. I saw that afterwards, she made a phone call, speaking in Mandarin, and checking her computer. I wonder if she called Ele to let her know that I had chose her in celebrity heads.

We watched X-Men on tv during the third round, and then a bit of Predator after that, before Brain suggested going because he had to go to work the next day.

G drove Brain and I home, and got pulled over on the way in a random breath test. I can't believe G keeps complaining that he gets selected when his car is made to attract attention.

All in all it was a good day, but I just wish I could've gotten the chance to speak with Shuing a bit more.

Today I went for a mile jog, couldn't be bothered doing the HIT training on the last stretch. Upon returning home, I immediately started washing my car. It is sooo clean now, hehe.

After that, I bummed around at home a bit, finally eating breakfast, and then taking a nap.

In the afternoon I went to the shopping centre near me to watch Shutter Island. The trailer looked good so I had been looking forward to it. The first 75% of the movie was good, but then the twist had pretty much been done in other movies (ala A Beautiful Mind) and I felt that kinda ruined it towards the end. It would've been better had Leonardo DiCaprio been right.

After the movie I went to that bbq ribs place near my house to get dinner for my mom and sister. That place has been there for longer than we have, and I've always been meaning to try it, so thought this was a good chance. All my mom kept saying was how it wasn't as good as food in Hong Kong, which made me realise that she was one of those ungrateful people. She's never happy or content with anything, can't appreciate the present, and always has negative things to say instead of positve things. Must not be like her.