Weekend of catching up

Man, haven't blogged for a few days, so can't remember when events have happened. But at work, I'd like to note the following:

- I spent Wednesday to Friday reading transcripts in a matter, so kinda felt like I had locked myself in a room for those three days doing just that;

- I found out Mario goes for a run during lunchtime. I was so surprised to see him in his tshirt and shorts all sweaty, I just blurted it out and basically invited myself to join him for a run. Then I thought about it and decided I probably shouldn't get too close to someone at work. I also questioned how I felt closer to people below me than above me. This was the same observation Shuing made of Bobby, which made me realise again how similar we were;

- I had a bit of an email exchange with Alanna, which was work related, but it kinda made me feel that we were, after all, good friends in the work sense, and that maybe she even missed me a bit;

- I got a call from Jacqueline basically asking me to do a list. I thought as an LO1 I was only supposed to do one and assist one, but now I'm doing two, which I thought was the job of an LO2. It made me think how this was another way they were trying to get me to do more but not pay me for it. Anyway, I confirmed my suspicions that I was given Karina's list, and then looked for her name in other lists to see if she had swapped. She hadn't. This meant she was leaving. I presumed she had found another job, remembering she said last year that she had applied for one.

- On Friday afternoon I decided to dispose of some excess files on level 10 since it was a level 10 related file. As I approached the para-bay I heard a voice say my name. It sounded familiar, yet I just couldn't put my finger on it. I did know this: it was a very friendly voice, with a little bit of chirp in it, as if they were eager to see me. I waited at the para-bay as I disposed of my files and saw that it was Karina. She looked a bit fresher, a bit tanned, and generally very jolly. But it was a bit odd seeing her - it was like seeing an ex-girlfriend (not that I would know). I also wondered why she was being so jolly since she decided to ignore my email. We chatted a bit, and I said "you're leaving". She asked how I knew and I told her. She said she was going to study full-time. She seemed happy to be leaving, and I wondered if she had hated her job. It certainly didn't seem like it. She said 16 February would be her last day. I didn't know how to end it, so I said I'd make sure I see her before then. She asked about my knee, which was thoughtful.

- I left the conversation thinking, "I sure know how to pick them", meaning, I had intended to pick someone to be my best friend at work, picturing us climbing the ladder together, but turns out I had picked someone who was leaving when they hadn't even been around a year.

After work I was to meet up with Egghead for a catch up, along with Shuing and G. I wasn't sure how this combination was going to go down, but figured I'd be social and include them, since Shuing had criticised Malay for not mixing his other groups of friends with us. I had some time after work, so I went for a walk to Myer. They still have that shirt I want, but the price hasn't changed at all. I soooo want it, but not for $70. Not now anyway.

I went to the bar opposite my office to wait for them. I felt very much out of place as I awkwardly walked in, looking for a seat. It seemed like there weren't any, yet the place wasn't that busy at all. I went to the bathroom and came back to order a lemonade. I found a seat upstairs and played on my phone while waiting.

A while later, Shuing and G arrived. We moved to a sofa area and started chatting. Shuing bought G a drink - I thought it should've been the other way around. We actually waited a long time for Egghead. I noticed after a while that G didn't seem to be into our conversation. He was checking his phone a lot. Then he stood up and walked off.

Shuing and I weren't sure where he went. We presumed he may have gone to the toilet or gone outside. Shuing and I talked, and I actually didn't really like the conversation. At times it felt like he was cross-examining me, asking about my sister, and how my parents felt about me and my sister not having partners. Maybe I was being defensive about my family, but I didn't like it. I so wanted to change the subject but couldn't think of anything.

He told me G asked him for $650 to go skydiving with Amanda. I said he had asked me the same thing earlier but I thought he was joking, so I said I would if he gave me $850 in return. We then had a discussion about separting emotions from logic, and about how it was good our professions taught us to do that. I had read some books on it, and I'm pretty sure he had too. We agreed that G was thinking with his emotions, rather than using his logic. It made me realise that, even though I may be behind G financially, I was at least more knowledgeable than him when it came to these things. I'm not saying I wouldn't be sad if I was in his situation, but I'd be better able to analyse it. Perhaps the pay off from my negative experiences was beginning to show.

G came back and seemed different. Shuing and I asked him where he had gone. Shuing basically kept hounding him about it, whereas I'd try to inject some humour into the situation (I know, criticise me for not being serious). I noticed he was very very quiet. Obviously so. He ignored our questions as to where he had been the last half hour or so. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact. To me, he looked like he was about to cry. I was guessing he had called Amanda and didn't have a pleasant conversation.

Soon, Egghead arrived. I knew it wasn't the best timing. We all greeted Egghead, and he became the centre of attention in our group. He had my attention too, if not for the fat girl constantly rubbing against me sitting behind me. I moved several times away and the contact was constant.

It was good to see him again. He said I sounded like a bogan on the phone, lol. I found that it was mainly just me and him talking, perhaps because we were sitting closest to eachother. I could feel G feeling absent because of whatever may have happened. I could see Shuing trying to think of a solution.

After a while, they wanted to go eat, but I was sure Egghead didn't want to have dinner with us. Egghead suggested they eat here, but Shuing wasn't one to try non-Asian food. They left for dinner and said they'd come back. I was a bit upset at that, because: 1) I hadn't eaten and they were leaving without me; 2) I felt it was disrespectful to Egghead - I mean, here Shuing was, always talking about how Malay doesn't mix his groups of friends, so what happenes when I do it? He doesn't even talk to a guy who went to our high school together, so how does he expect to get along with Malay's group of friends? and 3) I felt that Shuing had positioned himself as the resident psychologist, always wanting to delve deep into our minds, our problems. He may not have any malice to do so, but it irked me that he wanted so much personal information about us.

After they left, Egghead and I could have a bit more of a 'closer' conversation. We moved outside so he could smoke. I bought him a drink and another bowl of chips (I was pretty hungry). Some of the things we talked about were:

- Michelle had been pregnant with Tayyer several times. She was the reason Egghead and Vien had a falling out.

- Schlong was heading towards Bumville in terms of careers.

- Egghead's parents had gotten him to buy a share in a property back when he was about 21. Another person financially ahead of me. It made me want to stop whoring even more, but also made me wonder why my parents hadn't looked after me like that financially. He is now close to paying it off.

- He had also recently bought a car, a convertible.

- He is now very good at picking up girls. He has grown a beard, which gives him an even more masculine look. I must admit, even before the beard he was a pretty good looking bloke. A girl came to our area. She looked at me and I instinctively raised my eyebrow as if to say hi. She ignored me. But I noticed she was turning back to look at Egghead.

- He invited me to go for a ride in his new car on Sunday, but I declined, sure that I had something on but unsure as to exactly what. I did, however, say I'd like to go the following Sunday.

I noticed a girl who had sat at the other end with her friend had been alone for a while, and now seemed to look at us from time to time as we talked. Even Egghead looked over at her. He may have thought she was interested, but I feared she was listening to our conversations because I was talking a bit about my work. She could've been another lawyer, or a police officer, or a juror, or even a spy. See the difference between Egghead's mentality and mine?

He decided to meet up with his work friends at another club, and wanted me to go. I wasn't very comfortable with it so I said no, but I'd walk with him there. On the way there, he told me a bit about picking up girls. He said you needed to just not care, or at least, pretend not to care. He said girls were attracted to guys who looked like they were having fun. I asked "so not be self conscious?" and he said "everyone is self conscious". I could see what he was saying, but wasn't sure whether I'd ever be able to reach that stage.

I walked there with him and briefly met his friend, who seemed to be smashed. I then headed off. I had seen the flashing star of the casino, and briefly thought about it, but then dismissed the idea. I felt a bit abandoned and lonely. I had run out of trips on my bus pass and wasn't sure how I'd get home. Luckily convenience stores sell them so I bought one and caught a bus home.

Saturday
I went to the gym at the Wick in the morning. Got there at 7:30am thinking I would miss the queue, but even at that time there was a line up.

After that I went home and washed my car. It always feels so good to have a shiny and clean car. I bummed around a bit before heading off to pick up Mike. I had thought about whether I should take him or not. I mean, I wanted him there, but didn't want to drive all the way there to pick him up, but then figured he'd been a good teammate and friend all these years, so I shouldn't be caring about these things.

I got to his place and picked him up. He looked exactly the same and talked exactly the same, but it was good to see him. He didn't seem surprised I had shaved my head. We caught up in the car. He had been playing in the Sunday comp and came second, albeit with the help of two players from premier league. I was waiting for an invitation to join the team (not that I would've, as they start again in February and that's way too early for me) but the closest I got was him asking if I was going to return.

We talked about Fat Pat. Apparently they broke up only after a month in Hong Kong. Mike reckons the difference in status, with Jannet being a lawyer, was too much for her. She did seem like that kinda person, but they were such a good couple. Oh well.

We talked about our knees, and apparently his knees are alright even though he hasn't had surgery. I'm not sure what his condition is exactly, but he said his older said he was too young for surgery, and it had something to do with arthritis.

Mike was working at the cinemas now, or at a bar within the cinema, so he makes drinks and all that. It was good to see he was at least working.

The drive to the courts took a lot longer than I expected. First, I had underestimated the distance, and second, there were terrible traffic jams throughout the entire trip.

We got to the courts half an hour late. I was surprised to see only a few guys shooting around. Will called out to me, because I couldn't recognise anyone. When we arrived, Laurence was so eager to play he immediately called me to start a game.

So I didn't even get to warm up and started a game with Mike. Immediately, I recognised how good it was to play with Mike. I knew how he played, and presumable he knew how I played. He was hitting a lot of shots, which made things easier. That Kenneth guy was playing as well, and even Mike later said he was a tool.

There was an opposing point guard who looked a bit familiar. I could tell he could play. He was probably the best there. He wasn't doing much, but just from the way he played, his movements, I could tell he was good.

Midway through the first game Mike walked off, which annoyed me a bit. He seemed to have an injury but said he was just tired (???).

That Mike guy from social lice twisted his ankle, landing on someone's foot, and I cringed badly inside. It was almost as if the injury had happened to me. I didn't want to see anything like that at all. I found out from him that the familiar looking point guard was Dennis, and had played in our Sunday comp. I then recgonised him as the point guard in that red team.

I went to say hi to him but he didn't seem very talkative, although that may have just been his personality since he didn't talk to anyone much. I couldn't believe I was playing against him. I thought it was probably a bit too much for my second game back. I didn't want to guard someone so good. I wanted an easier assignment. He drove past me very easily. I was still going easy on my knee in terms of quick sudden movements.

I also didn't try to rebound much, choosing to just stand there when there was a rebound or if some guy was shooting around the basket. At one stage, I felt a small nudge around my right knee as someone's leg had made contact, and that was enough for me to turn things down a notch.

My shot was falling after I had warmed up, so I had become a spot up shooter.

During a break, some guys arrived and one of them had a girl with them. She smiled at me as she passed. From my experience the previous night, I kept a cold hard face as we made very brief eye contact - I didn't want to risk being ignored again. I was a bit self conscious during the next game since she was watching, and I could tell I wasn't myself. I was focusing on every small movement I made, instead of the game. It was affecting my performance as we lost the game.

I remembered what Egghead said and decided to just pretend she wasn't there. The next game, I was back to my previous form and resumed knocking down shots as we won the game.

The social Mike had invited us to lunch, but then I turned it down. I went to eat with Mike, even though G had sent me a message for dinner and karaoke. We went to the shopping centre and I watched him eat a kebab. I didn't want to eat as I knew I'd be meeting G.

I drove Mike back home and asked him if I was back to my 'old self'. He said I didn't run as much. I think that can be improved with time. I headed home myself after dropping him off.

Malay had asked me if I was going to dinner, and told me Bob was going. That was enough for me, so I bailed when I got home at around 6:30pm. To my surprise, I was pretty out of it, and napped on the bed, ignoring the constant calls to my phone.

I woke thinking about twisting my knee. It had become a nightmare for me now. I was constantly thinking about it as if it was going to happen. I needed to get out and went for a drive to get some petrol.

Today
This morning Malay and Thai picked me up for training. We picked Brain up and went to Bondy beach. I was actually not looking forward to this, as I wanted at least one day to sleep in.

We went to a park, different from last week's, and did some exercise on the equipment there for a bit. The chin ups really made me struggle. I think I need to do more at the gym. Brain said he was too tired to jog after that, which really fucking annoyed me - how the hell does doing chin ups and push ups stop you from jogging?!?!

We went to the beach, and Brain was still not up for a run, until he got some prompting from Thai. Malay had done a short run so he could return to the parking meter. I took my shirt off because it was too hot. I was actually feeling a bit insecure, because I didn't have toned abs, but Brain said "you got the chest going" which at least made me feel a bit better. Good to know your hard work is acknowledged.

Thai, Brain and I jogged, only to have Brain stop after about a minute (which he claimed was his most ever) and Thai and I went the rest of the way.

I was very very disappointed that Brain hadn't even chosen to walk the rest of the way, instead opting to just walk back to base. Seriously...

Thai and I jogged to the other end of the beach and went back to base with Brain. We managed to convince him to at least walk with us, so we did that, and then Thai and I jogged back to the other end. Malay and Brian had joined us, and then we talked about heading off, but Thai wanted to run once more to the other end, so he did while we walked back to base.

It was close to 9am, so I said we should head off, but Thai wanted to go to Macca's. I was hoping they'd just have takeaway, but they instead sat down to eat. I was surprised and disappointed that Thai didn't accomodate my sense of urgency. Malay did, because he drove in a rush to get me to the uni pool.

I thanked him and got out of the car to meet A. He had messaged me, and I knew he'd be annoyed, understandably so. I was about half an hour late. After our first three laps, I noted how fast he was going and he said "well I had half an hour's rest..." and I wondered if that was a jab at my punctuality.

I did 12 laps and he did ten, and then he drove me home. I had a shower, two pieces of toast before I met up with Malay again at the auto shop. I needed to get detergent for my car and a polishing cloth, and he said he was going to get touch up paint but didn't. I also wanted to get backseat covers for my car, but they didn't have any that were suitable.

After that I went home to have a nap, then went to Broadway to watch The Dilemma. Mike was right - the trailer made it better than it was. I liked the plot, but it could've been so much funnier, especially with these two guys. The first laugh from the audience occurred about 20 minutes into the movie, and I wondered if this was even a comedy.

Winoa Ryder was so hot, but you could tell she was ageing. I enjoyed the time to myself, with my popcorn and Lift. It's not the same without Coke, but oh well.

After that I went for a drive to the seaside and then returned home.

I saw on facebook that Bob had met up with G, Shuing and Gnat earlier for tennis. I thought it was funny how we were now going through another cycle - the one where they get together again just because Bobby's single again. I thought I remembered Shuing saying he wouldn't fall for it since Bobby left everyone so blatantly last time, but I could be wrong...