I asked Claire out...

Monday
We had that "newbie meeting". It was the second, a follow up to the first. I went around collecting everyone, which was harder than it seemed. I had Lewis, then was waiting for the girls, and once I had the girls, Lewis had disappeared. Grrr.

The meeting went ok. The deputy boss wanted to know our 'criticisms'. I just gave praise to supervisors (read: Alanna; also read: that Trent guy is a fuckwit) and said the training with the computer system should've come later when we found out more about how things worked. That, is fairly diplomatic. Other people were not.

Maybe the deputy appreciated their honesty. Maybe I came off as phoney. Eh. I played it safe.

Afterwards we went back to our offices before going to lunch. Originally Dugon was in, but I was pretty sure when she knew Zena was out then she'd be out too. And I was right - she said she had work to do for the list the next day and bailed. So it was just Turk, Karina, Lewis and I.

We went to the food court in Chinatown. We had an ok time. It was an unusual combination - a first. We had a few laughs, but nothing really 'bonding'. I don't know if it was noticeable, but I treated Karina like I did with anyone else. No special treatment. That, in itself, meant a bit of distance had been created. I'd just figured that if she never came into my room to initiate conversation, then there was no point in me doing it anymore. Things have got to be two way streets.

Tuesday
I went for a swim in the morning, did my 10 laps and left. Felt refreshed, but was seriously tired by about lunch time.

At the end of the day, Heath came up for a chat. More of a whinge really. He said his supervisor went to see him about a fax coversheet which said there were three pages but which actually had four. I was like "OMG are you serious???"

I left work at the same time as Turk so we went down together. Conversation was just polite until I mentioned what Heath had been through earlier, which really got the ball rolling. We ended up talking at the street corner for probably half an hour - first about how pedantic everyone here was, then about how some people were pricks (read: that Trent guy), then about career progression. I found that she finds it difficult to work with her supervisor, Erin. I could sense a bit of beef there. She also seemed to complain a bit about her old work place, about how everyone was Anglo and went out for a beer every Friday.

So that went on for a while, and I left wondering whether I had said too much. But then again, she didn't exactly hold back. I guess exchange of information is a way of bonding and trust.

I saw that girl at the gym. Didn't get any vibes from her, and maybe because of that, I didn't feel anything for her either. No love found, no love lost I guess.

Today
Work was kinda dull, just prepared for a hearing. I've notched 15 files this month, which I'm pretty proud of, especially since I was out at court for three days.

At the end of lunch, Lewis came to talk to me, then Heath saw us and joined. I swear Lewis laughs so loud. It got to the point where Lynette came and had a look at us. They talked for way too long. But I couldn't exactly ask them to leave. Then Turk joined in, and I took a cue to go photocopy something for her in hope that they would get the hint.

Speaking of Lynette, she's getting a bit annoying. A few weeks ago I was just unloading the dishwasher, and she said she thought I did it because it was Karina's turn. I said I do it whenever I'm free and waiting for my toast, regardless of whose turn it is. Then today, I was walking behind her and passed Karina's room. I noticed a sign up, saying she was on leave until next Wednesday. When I finished reading, Lynette deliberately pretended she wasn't watching me read it. Grrrr.

I bought some shares today, was pretty exciting to finally see some 'progress' in terms of saving money, or at least, buying back my dad's shares which I sold in my gambling addiction. It made me feel like I knew what I was doing, and it was something good for the future. I don't know why, but just putting all my excess income into paying off my credit card isn't working, so I might as well change strategy.

I left work at 5pm, just like yesterday. Too tired to stay longer, and my eyes are really tired. I'm so short sighted now it's not funny.

I bumped into Rom at the bus stop, and we had a long chat, really exhausted it until I finally decided to catch like the millionth bus that came.

I went to the gym, and found it peaceful and it relieved my headache. After gym, in the car park in my car, I called Claire. There were enough rings for me to nearly hang up, until she picked up.

I asked if she had gotten a new phone yet which made her laugh a bit. She said no, but had been looking it up a bit on the internet and would probably get the Blackberry. I told her that Ele couldn't organise anything for the long weekend because everyone else had made plans, but that if she wanted to, she could come to the treasure hunt thing on Saturday.

I tried to explain it to her but then said I'd just send the info to her email. I also asked if she wanted to go to aqua golf next week. She asked "who else is going?" and it took me by surprise. I thought about saying "just me" but that sounded kinda lame, so I said I didn't know.

Having had some time to think it through, I decided to just bite the bullet. I sent her the info via email, and told her that it would be just the two of us for aqua golf. If she doesn't want to go, then fine, at least you can end it early and stop wasting time and move on.