Back from Taree!

On Thursday morning I didn't go to the gym, cause I woke up a bit late and I also had to get dressed for work (unlike the norm now, where I get dressed at work).

I did some miscellaneous work, and then just thought for a while to see if I had everything I needed. Alanna had to go to court so I didn't get to see her before I left, so I just sent her an email wishing her a happy holiday. I think she'll come back engaged. I can't imagine what it's going to be like without her for the next month.

After about 11-ish, I grabbed my trolley and fitness first bag and headed out. I took a taxi to the airport, had a bit of a chat with the driver about road rage and speed cameras. I checked in with no problems, but forgot I had a can of deodorant in my bag so got held up a little as I had to take it out.

I was really early, so I walked around the airport a bit. I decided to walk right till the very end. On the way, I saw this Asian girl checking me out as we passed eachother. I took a seat at the end, watching the people work on the runways. Maybe it's just a "grass is greener on the other side" view, but I reckon it'd be awesome to work with planes. Not only because they're planes, but like, the airport is 24 hours so it's like constant excitement.

After I while I went to my gate and waited there. Boarded the bus then the plane. Glad to have an isolated seat. The hostess was a hot blonde, but for whatever reason she seemed to be a bit defensive towards me. Like, she seemed pretty friendly to the other passengers, but when it came to me she just looked so defensively.

The flight wasn't an hour as I had thought (or as the ticket had shown). It only took 30 minutes. I guess the ticket included the time it would take to get to the next destination.

I took a taxi from the airport to the motel, and the place reminded me of Lismore a bit. It didn't seem as country-like, but there were still cows around. My motel turned out to be just around the corner from the court, which was pretty good. It looked a bit shabby from the outside, and I suddenly remembered what Alanna had said about trying to get a decent priced accommodation.

I went into the place and found the service desk empty. I pressed the buzzer a bit and waited. No one. I pressed it for longer this time and waited. No one. I walked outside the other end where there was a car park and saw a few cars but no one about. I pressed the buzzer more and more, and even hit the small bell they had with the mini drum that came with it. Still no one.

I wondered if I should go check out the court first and then come back, but then a small man appeared in the car park doorway and said the lady was next door and he'd get her. An old lady by the name of Gina came around who seemed to treat me like a long lost son. She seemed to be impressed with the 'city' image I had brought, and said she thought someone had come wanting to buy her motel.

After checking in I was relieved to go to my room. It was absolutely brilliant, definitely a lot nicer than I thought and totally different to the image given outside. There were two beds and I wondered why Grace had booked a room with two beds for me.

Anyway, I quickly changed and then headed to the court. Both doors were locked so I went to the registry and they told me court had finished for the day. Oh well. More time for me then.

I eagerly went around exploring and checked out the two malls they had. It really wasn't much, but I suppose the new-ness of things made it exciting. I ended up getting some Thai takeaway and taking it back to the motel to eat.

I had planned to go over the file a bit but ended up laying on the bed watching tv and half fell asleep. I woke up and went out to get a Subway sandwich whcih I would also use as breakfast the next day. There were some teens in the room opposite me who said hi to me as I closed my door.

I went to Subway and got my sandwich, nothing extraordinary about that here. I went back and ate half of it as I watched tv. I watched until 8:30pm when I started to do a bit of work, and then watched How I Met Your Mother at 9:30 until 10:30 and went to sleep. I felt like I couldn't sleep much during the night because it was a bit cold, and then in the middle of the night realised I had been sleeping on top of another layer of blanket instead of under it - duh!

Woke up in the morning and did a bit of exercise, went out to get some gum and face wipes as I couldn't be bothered bringing my toothbrush. I got changed and headed off to court.

I sat around and waited a bit before the barista from the other side came over and introduced himself to me. We had a bit of a chat about the case before his sol came over. I felt a bit intimidated that I was surrounded by two of them, like I was being pushed into a corner, but then realised this must've been what it felt like to be the pros when I used to do it on defence.

We went into court and it was indeed that young mag that looked very familiar. I wondered if she thought the same about me. We had to stand the matter down to talk about it, and when I sat down on the side she glanced at me, but not sure if it was out of familiarity or "why aren't you talking to the other side?" (because the guy had said he wanted to speak to his client first).

So because I thought maybe it was the latter, I decided to wait outside. He finally came out and told me they wouldn't oppose to me withdrawing it, which was one hurdle jumped. Then we had costs. I was soooooo prepared for this. But I wasn't prepared for what his argument was. Maybe I was too prepared.

His argument really sucked, it took me one line to shoot it down, and the mag didn't have to ask me to speak any further before decided in my favour.

So that was it. All the hype and preparation and now it was over - in my favour. I felt a bit disappointed actually. Maybe losing triggers more anger inside me and is so more exciting. But I guess I was happy that I didn't have to go back to the office and tell them another costs order had been made. I had just saved them money.

I quickly packed my stuff and returned to the motel. I got changed and decided to do more exploring. I passed the other side at a cafe and they asked me to join, but I politely declined. The barista actually wanted to catch the same flight as me, and I really didn't feel like having to make convo during a flight so I said I'd stick to my 5pm flight.

I walked a long way along the main road, and then back again. I ended up eating at Hungry Jack's. I had been looking for some souveneir, but there wasn't really anything you could get in Taree that you couldn't get in Sydney. I went back to the motel and watched Dr Phil and Oprah while waiting for my plane.

I got changed and headed out, and returned my key to a different older man who apparently worked there. He said I had stayed longer than allowed (I actually wasn't sure when I was supposed to leave, but figured we paid for 24 hours). I asked him how much I had to pay and he looked down really sly-ishly, trying to come up with a figure that didn't seem too greedy, and now I knew he was just trying to squeeze me for cash. I told him Gina had my company details and she could call them to sort it out and left.

I waited outside the court house for my taxi which came fairly promptly. Had a nice chat with the driver as he too owned a couple of Holdens, and he was also a nurse. When he dropped me off at the airport, he said "see you later" and I said "yeah, it's a nice plane, I wanna come back" and he said "nah don't", lol!

The airport, unfortunately, was closed. I guess it was because there were no flights and they didn't want to pay the cost of running it. So I sat around out back playing with my phone for about an hour.

Finally the doors opened and I went to check in, and then waited another 45 minutes until the flight came. I boarded the plane, which already had passengers on it from an earlier flight. This hostess, again, seemed a bit defensive towards me.

What the hell?

She even joked with another male passenger and then her smile quickly disappeared as she next offered me a snack.

ANyway, on the boarding bus back to the terminal I bumped into Jessica from 'the' trial. We chatted a bit, and I was still a bit shocked that I had bumped into someone on a flight. Damn.

As like last time, I lined up for a taxi and caught it to the office. I was somewhat eager to tell Karina and Wendy about what had happened. The taxi driver seemed kinda cool, everytime I tried to start a convo he'd just give short responses. Then I figured out why - he began talking on his phone so I guess he was busy. Oh well, I enjoyed not talking abyway.

I was a little disappointed that everyone had left the office by the time I got there, but then again, it was 7pm on a Friday night.

I hung around a bit waiting for my computer to load up so I could check my emails. It took a while so I walked around, and noticed Katie's desk was a lot clearer and cleaner than usual. Had something happened?

I waited more and the stupid thing just kept loading so I left. I went home and then went to the gym. I thought that girl would be there so I kept my jacket on, but unfortunately it was that Sergio guy who is quite handsome but has a creepy stare/smile. I did my stuff but with no bike or rowing cause I didn't have a towel and they were closing soon.

I went to buy some KFC and took it home to eat with rice as I watched the second half of Tigers vs Raiders. Great game.

This morning, I went to the Bra gym to do my stuff. I went there cause I figured the Wick would open late as usual, but apparently they did it here too. Guess it was just accepted these people couldn't wake up after a Friday night. I did my stuff and rowing, and it was good to get back onto it after two days of basically nothing.

I just checked the forums and apparently there is a 'new' shop with a girl named "Nabi". I'm tempted to check it out to see if it is her. I just called her number and it's still 'off'. Look, I'm sure it's just another girl with the same name, but I can't help but want to find out...