Ele's early birthday

Yesterday I bummed around the house before leaving at noon to walk to the office. I found myself being overly cautious as I walked on the road, thinking about the previous night's accident.

As I walked on the sidewalk, I kept thinking about the possibility that a car might lose control and hit me. I thought 100 times before I crossed the road. I had that fear of being hit by a car with almost every step I took.

I bought a Subway sandwich and ate it in the office, then got to work. To my surprise, I finished my subs by about 4pm and then walked back home. I felt good that I had gotten some work done. The walk back wasn't nearly as bad.

Today, I went for a jog in the morning. I didn't really want to. I was quite comfortable sitting at home eating Pringles, but then I called myself a fat lazy bastard and that was enough to get me up and out.

I did a full lap without stopping, and when I finished, my right knee felt tired. This is really a bit like rehabbing all over again.

I took a shower then waited for my parents to come back with the car. When they did, my dad made me a late breakfast and I ate that while watching Game 1 of the Celtics-Hawks game, then when I finished I left to go to the city.

I went to Paddy's to get some apples and avocado, then went to the office to drop off the apples and pick up my shirts. I then drove to Surry Hills and dropped off my shirts at the cleaners, then bought some smoked salmon.

Despite it already being 2pm, I stopped at Ikea to get a toilet paper holder, intent on doing a little home improvement. After that I went to Ele's place. She hadn't called me even though I was late, so I thought either they were having too much fun or no one was there yet.

It was the latter. When I got there, it was just her, Yang, Sterling, Luke and his girlfriend playing mahjong. As soon as I took my shoes off I realised I had forgotten to get bread, and Ele said she'd come with me. I thought that looked a bit dodgy and said I could go myself, but she insisted, saying I'd get lost.

So we went, didn't talk about anything controversial, just about Vivian renovating homes and that.

Then when we went back, the others were set into their mahjong game, so I took a seat on the couch, and Ele played Avengers for me. She seemed intent on being a good host and keeping me company, despite me being in a boring mood and not knowing what to say.

We played blackjack for a while, then checked out her ipad. I showed her some funny youtube videos which she enjoyed more than I thought, and I caught Yang looking at us when she laughed really loud.

Later on, Daniel and Vivian arrived, and we watched the movie, then I made some salmon and avocado toast for them, and they liked it. After a while Eva arrived, and we all started having dinner, eating what everyone had brought, as well as a cake at the end.

Then Sterling, Eva, Yang, Luke and his girlfriend and I played that Acquire game. I remembered how Daniel won last time and tried to imitate him. I quietly accumulated shares in a shit company hoping for a takeover, and voila - I ended up being the winner. Someone said "but he didn't do anything!" and someone else said "that's the point, he just sat there clicking the mouse making money".

I drove Eva home, and she said something that shocked me - she said Michael L had suggested they separate if she didn't find a job by June :o

She told me she had found a job which could be used as experience in actuarial studies, but it sounded more like a marketing job. Also, it was only $40k. Damn, can't believe that guy said something like that.

When I got home, I - INSTALLED - TOILET PAPER - HOLDER!!

Death...

Walking along Elizabeth Street after gym in my long black socks, yellow Pandas shorts, and grey hoodie with black Champion jersey underneath, I was listening to Beautiful by Eminem as I headed to the bus stop.

I heard a loud bang, and my first thought was a car had run over a large metal plate on the road - the type construction workers use to cover a hole during work in progress. Then I thought, there isn't any road work here, so I looked to see what it was.

Looking to my right, I saw a dark figure/object fly/skid along the middle lane. At first I thought it was a jacket, that someone had thrown a jacket onto the road. Then a man and a woman started walking towards it, and I realised it was a person.

The woman was Caucasian, about six foot tall, thin, glasses, brown hair a little longer past the shoulders, quite attractive. She had her phone out and I got mine out. I asked if she was calling the police and she said yes, so I didn't call. The man was Caucasian, bald with glasses, I reckon about late 30's. He had knelt down next to the man, and there was a girl to my right who said not to move him. She said this a few times in the ensuing moments.

The man looked like he was checking for a pulse and/or breathing. He told us the man was breathing but not responding. I could hear the woman on the phone. I saw to her left two other people were also on the phone, seemingly to the police as I heard them describing what was in front of us.

I didn't know what to do, but remembered from somewhere that it was important to keep the person warm. I took my gym towel out from my bag and asked the man if he wanted to keep him warm. The man took the towel and placed it on the man's bottom half. This was when I saw that the man on the road had his pants down. Not sure if he was wearing any underwear, but his buttocks was exposed. The man placed my towel to cover his buttocks.

I could now see blood flowing out from his head onto the road. I froze as I watched, not knowing what to do or what I could do. I thought about helping out with re-directing the traffic, but no vehicles were threatening to come into our lane. A taxi was in the first lane earlier but had driven off.

I stood there watching. I wondered if the man was homeless. There was a blue carry bag on the road, presumably his. I heard the bald man ask someone to retrieve the man's shoes, which were about 10 metres south. A male retrieved them and placed them near the man lying on the road.

I thought maybe the guy was homeless and had decided to end his life. I was assuming he had just ran onto the road. What would make someone do such a thing? Homelessness? It made me appreciate everything I had.

The bald man was now asking each of the three people who they were talking to, and confirm that they were all speaking to the police/ambulance. Then a blonde lady approached and asked if anyone had any medical training, and then she said she was a nurse. She started attending to the man along with the bald man.

Shortly after, I heard sirens from the south and saw one ambulance 4WD approach, then moments later an ambulance came, and then a police vehicle.

An officer asked if I saw anything and I said yes and gave a statement.

WE SMILED!!!

Leaving home to walk to work today, again with my glasses.

I wondered where we'd cross paths today. I feared it would be at the traffic lights. That would be awkward...for me. Smiling at her in front of all those cars...and getting ignored.

Do it. You gotta do it. She smiled at you first, now you gotta reciprocate or else you're the prick. You already missed your chance yesterday. How many more chances do you need?


Luckily, I crossed the road without seeing her. As I neared the end of the storage warehouse, I thought maybe I wasn't going to see her today. Then, as I approached the corner, she appeared. I quickly smiled at her, and she smiled back then looked down.

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

After we passed, I put my glasses away, lol.

Today at work I managed to keep myself busy writing up a minute. As lunch I decided to go check out some PC games to see what my laptop is capable of, then I bought some KFC and went back to my office to eat it. As I was approaching the traffic lights near my office, I saw a girl with orange hair brushed backwards. I thought her eyes looked familiar...kinda like Amy's. After she passed, I decided to turn around for another look because she really did look like Amy.

She had gone a few metres away from me, stopped and turned around. She smiled, and we waved at each other. I noticed only her eyes really looked like her as I knew it. Her skin had a lot of pimples. I guess they really cake up the make up.

I still couldn't believe, as I walked back to the office, that I had just seen her. A prostitute. No one would've suspected it. This just lends more credence to my suspicion these days that most young Asian girls I see in the city are just prostitutes. I think that was the first person I've ever seen in the streets who I have had sex with.

I thought about how nice it was of her to smile and wave. Hell, she actually stopped to turn around. I wonder if she wanted me to talk to her. Then I think about Naby and how she just ignored my texts. Hmmm.

In the afternoon, I went to the supermarket to get some apples. When I got back to my computer, I saw that Alanna had sent me some messages. Earlier, I had sent her a minute she asked for as a sample. Coincidentally, that minute was done when I was acting up. She sent messages asking if I was now an SLO, followed up by messages like "why are you ignore me? Don't you want to be my friend?"

I couldn't tell if she meant it in a joking manner. If not, that was very scary.

New laptop!!!

I wore my glasses today while walking to work. Goddamn, this world is so much clearer with them.

I was earlier than yesterday - leaving home at 7:30. I saw her as I walked along the storage building. I couldn't maintain looking at her, occasionally glancing casually at the traffic. However, even with that, I think it didn't give her the signal that I wanted to smile.

As we passed, she wasn't looking at me, and only looked up and ahead just as I passed.

Hmmm. Tomorrow is another day.

At work today I decided to get changed and go check out the computer store MSY. I wasn't really planning to buy a laptop, but wanted to see what they had in store, because I figured if they didn't have what I wanted, then I could go to their Auburn store on Wednesday night (since I'm out that way for bball anyway).

When I got there, I asked for the $399 laptop but they said it wasn't in stock. I then asked for the $499 one, even though their website said it was out of stock. The guy checked the system and said there was one left. I thought he made an error, and waited for him to come back. He did, and came back with a laptop. He said it was strange that the box had been opened so he checked the contents. The serial number matched with the one I wanted.

And so, I bought it. It was one I had decided was a good deal. I only looked at others because the website said it was out of stock. And since this was the last one...well, I was sold.

I think Nunjo was a bit shook up at work today after receiving a harassing call from Jacqueline. She looked like her lips were trembling. I thought she was going to cry. I thought about buying her some candy in the afternoon and cheering her up.

I did go out, but couldn't find any good candy, so bought some biscuits. I went to her room and she was just walking in. I said the image I had sent her earlier had been photoshopped, and she seemed really surprised. Anyway, she seemed ok, so no need to cheer up.

I had planned to stay back late and go to the gym, but the devil inside of me was suggesting sins such as brothels and gambling. Hey, I had my credit card with me after all, that was how I bought the laptop. But then I decided to indulge in my eagerness to try out the laptop. I cancelled the gymming session with Shuing, and went home at 5pm to eagerly test out my new laptop, thereby forgoing any gambling or whoring.

Well done.

This new laptop is AMAAAAAZING!!! It is so much faster, no fucking loading like Vista. I'm so excited I actually can't figure out what to do with it for the time being. I have tried using the HDMI cable with the tv and it works, but I need some better ideas. I need to UTILISE this shit :)

SHE SMILED AT ME!!!

I left home at about 7:40am today, because I woke up at 7am and didn't want to get out of bed due to the cold. Anyway, I saw her at close to the childcare area. Some council worker was ripping posters off a street pole, and she seemed to have a bit of difficulty getting past. When she did, the council worker kinda gave her a look. Not sure if it was a dirty look or if he was just checking her out.

As I approached her, I looked at her, and...she smiled! SHE FRIGGIN' SMILED AT ME!!! I totally wasn't ready, so didn't smile back. I was just shocked. SHE SMILED!!! HAHA!

She actually has quite a beautiful smile. This put a smile on my face for the rest of my walk. This means that that time when she gave me 'the stare', it wasn't a hostile one.

At work, after I got changed, Melissa was standing at Genie's doorway talking and lured me into conversation. I felt obligated because she had just had her surgery and I needed to ask her how she was. Then they said they had both brought sweets to share later on in the day.

Later in the morning Genie said she had some KFC vouchers and asked if I wanted to go for lunch. Not being one to turn down KFC, I said yes. I went to the bank first to deposit the credit card money and my winnings, then went with her to KFC. As usual with her, there was no whinging about others. It was, relatively speaking, quite an innocent lunch. We talked about me getting a new laptop and the sentence I did on Friday. However, I get the feeling that she bitches along with Melissa when given the chance.

When we got back to the office, I walked with Genie in the corridor as I wanted to go see Melissa for a cupcake. I saw Jim was in DS's room, talking with one elbow on the stand near the doorway. I could sense Jim was looking out the window at me. At first I didn't look, but as I got closer, I looked up, and he was looking at me, then turned his head back to DS, and used his thumb to point back at me, waving his fist back and forth.

When I returned to my room, Melissa had placed a chocolate cupcake on my chair. I ate it with delight while reading over something, as I felt like a dessert. However, I was wondering what the hell Jim and DS were talking about.

Were they talking about me? About the SLO? About me not wearing a tie? Did they see me at the casino? Was this about the loud talking when we had pizza the other day? 


Don't speculate dude, don't speculate.


But why? Why would they be talking about me? Whhhhhhyyyyyyyy???

Then later in the afternoon, Genie invited us to her room to try the dessert she made. Melissa closed the door and we stood there eating it. To be honest, it wasn't that great. And I had to have two. Anyway, they started talking about what to do for my birthday, and also meeting for lunch at Melissa's house one day. As they talked about the plans (which involved their partners), I wondered to myself how the hell I got into this.

Why did they want me to join them? Why are all these girls wanting me to be their friends, yet at the very same time, I'm having zero luck in dating them? Why? Why? WHY?

I stayed back till about 8pm, half working, half trying to decide which laptop to get, then I went to the gym. My left shoulder/arm felt sore for some reason, it felt like I'd hurt it if I did my chin ups/dips, but I did them ok nonetheless.

The gambling urge!

Like I said, by Thursday night, I had money in my back account. Thousands of dollars. Readily available.

On Friday morning I made the conscious decision to just use it to pay off my credit card, but I was curious as to whether the 'amount available for cash advance' would now reset given I had repaid in full. I woke up on Saturday morning, and with only one eye open and half awake, I managed to use my phone to log into the credit card website to check.

It hadn't.

I called up the bank and asked whether I could withdraw cash. They said yes. So off I went.

I drove to the ATM in Chinksford and tried to withdraw money. I was almost dribbling with anticipation. But thee was one problem - I couldn't remember my PIN. I hadn't thought of this. I tried three times and couldn't get it. Then I remembered I must've had my letter that sent the PIN at home. I could go home and get it. It was now 7am, but I could still get back home early if I use the ATM near the casino.

So I went home, quickly found the letter with the PIN, and thought "aha!" as it brought back memories of me frequently punching that combination in. I then drove out to the casino and stopped in front of the convenience store nearby. ATM fees be damned.

But when I tried, it said I had gotten the PIN wrong three times. I tried calling the bank up to resolve it, but they called me telling me someone has been trying to withdraw cash and had gotten the PIN wrong three times. I said it was me, and they said ok, but it takes 24 hours to reset.

The rational and sensible side of me took over, silently thanking them for this stupid rule, and I said ok and hung up. I drove home, rationally glad that I hadn't done anything stupid.

I then walked to the doctor's for my 9am appointment. Despite arriving right on time, I was told that they were running behind schedule. I was happy to wait, until my phone battery started getting low because I was using it so much while waiting. I wonder if that is the nurse who asked if I was single.

I waited until about 9:40 when I was called. The doctor greeted me with his usual familiarity, asking me whether I had been up to Newcastle lately. I wonder how he has such a good memory. He told me the last time I saw him was six months ago about a knee injury where I had run into someone else's knee. I said it was more of the same today, lol.

He had me do some knee exercises, like:

1- standing slightly on my toes and squatting;
2 - standing slightly on my toes and on one foot and squatting;
3 - standing slightly on my toes and on one foot jumping up and down

I had no pain doing any of those and he had me lie on the bed as he felt my knee cap. I felt some pain as he pressed around, and he said I had a patella contusion, meaning a bruise on my knee cap. He gave me some tablets and sent me off on my way.

I then bummed around at home for the rest of the day. I had tried to organise a test car wash with Malay and Brain, but Malay never replied. Sometimes I am kinda disappointed in my friends, although I think he was just busy playing the newly released Diablo 3.

Today
In the morning, it was like ground hog day. I actually had this in the back of my mind all day. It was my plan all along.

I must've gotten to the same ATM at the same time. This time, I withdrew $800 successfully and went on my way to the casino. I couldn't wait. I was so looking forward to the good ole' days of having an early gamble, surrounded by people who had stayed up all night.

There was only one obstacle - as I got nearer to the casino, there was a road block. At first I thought nothing of it. Just make a detour and go round the block. But there were more detours. And a traffic jam. I watched as some taxis ahead of me did a u-turn, and I did the same and then parked on the street, and then scurried over to the casino. Turns out there was some sort of marathon, and the road which the casino was on was closed off for the runners. Lucky I didn't even try to get close to here.

I thought it was funny how some runners were crossing into the side of the road where people were supposed to be running in the opposite direction to get to the drinks station and how it required some police on their motorbikes to stop it.

Anyway, I went into the casino and went to the usual roulette area to the left. A few tables were open. There was one table with a female dealer and only one patron. That looked tempting, but I noticed the previous numbers hadn't been in my section. And for some reason, the dolly remained on the winning number and she wasn't moving it. She looked like she was waiting for something.

Screw the delay, I went to the opposite table where there was an old man in the middle, a young Caucasian guy playing colours, and an Asian dealer.

I bought in $400 worth of colour chips and bet on my first spin. I had three chips on a 4/7 split and it landed on...4!

I missed the next spin but it landed in my sector, and I thought "goddamnit, for once I'm going to try to ride a streak", so I bet on the next spin, again placing three chips on a 4/7 split and it landed on...7!

In a short time, I was up $270. I thought about leaving. My goal really was just to get $200 so I could pay for that goddamn phone bill which went crazy because I watched youtube videos on my phone. Now I had it, and some.

So I sat there thinking, and then there was a change of dealer. I sat thinking some more. A lady came onto the table - a pro by the ease she had with placing her bets - and pretty much bet all numbers outside my sector. I thought she had a pretty good chance, and then it landed on...34 - outside my sector, but I wonder if she had just forgotten to place her chips there. So all those chips of hers were swept away. That was enough of an example for me, and I cashed in.

I lined up at the cashier. There was a bit of a line as apparently there was some soccer game which had just ended. Anyway, I got my cash (query whether the dude was trying to short change me $10) and left. I drove to the petrol station to get $20 worth of petrol then went home.

I was pretty happy I suppose. I had won my $200, got some money for petrol AND some extra money for spending. Most importantly, I DID NOT LOSE. It can never be underestimated how important it is to walk out of there with at least what you walked in with. If only I had this mentality before.

After eating breakfast at home, I caught a bus out to work (it was raining) and slowly worked until 3pm. I say slowly because I kept checking my phone, as the team was trying to organise training (didn't happen), I had sent Jessica another message (no reply) and I was chatting with Erica. Part of me wanted to break down and cry because of Jessica. I thought she was suitable for me, but apparently she didn't think so. God, how much more money must I waste on these fucking dinners?

Chris' farewell / Jessica

On Friday morning I had the sentence matter for Genie. Her own one was going to be an adj and she had offered to take it back, but I had done the work and now wanted to get the credit for it.

So I went over to court with her and Alanna, and I found myself being kinda quiet as I was thinking about how court would go.

We were all in different courtrooms, and in mine, I ended up going first! When they brought the person up into the dock, I saw an old grandma looking lady and thought "goddamn I am going to look so bad cross-examining her".

Luckily everyone had left the courtroom when mine started, although I knew Genie and the cop were at the back watching. I did ask a few questions in xx, but not to sure if it was enough to create in the judge's mind that  it was worse than the other side made it out to be.

He asked me some questions and I was kinda scared in case I said something stupid. Hell, even when I was on my feet xx, I felt a shiver and felt for a split second I wished I could crawl into a hole so I wasn't the center of attention.

I think I got through it alright, and was quite relieved when it finished. In fact, I was over the moon I had just done it A-OK. The downside to that was now I didn't feel like doing any work for the rest of the day, lol.

We got back to the office at noon, in time to make yum cha for Chris' farewell. Genie didn't want to go, citing the reason as she didn't like yum cha, but I wondered what the real reason was. Does she and Melissa not like Chris?

Anyway, I just missed the group as they left, and caught up with them in the street. I quietly assimilated myself next to Clare and we walked to the restaurant together. We went to Zilver, and when we were finally given a table, I found a seat first in the deepest corner. Anne sat to my left and Clare sat to my right, and next to her were Chris and Nunjo.

I didn't say much, just talked to Anne occasionally and told Clare a Chris Rock joke (the focus in a relationship is 'her'). Other than that, I spent my time observing. I observed Ogre a bit. She seemed to have this quietly sly evil grin on her face as she watched others. I think she was quiet because there was no one she could talk to (Jacqueline and Fiona were next to her). I did say to Clare I still hadn't figured her out yet because she can be really kind (like when she gave Nelson the pizza) or really cruel like when I saw her go off at the court registry staff on Thursday.

We went back to work after the lunch, and I just answered some emails and phone calls before it was the 3pm afternoon tea for Chris. Moira had baked some small cakes for us, and I was bored so I watched as she finished preparing them in the kitchen, and she was like "don't hover" lol.

When everyone gathered, I took a seat at the back of the parabay, hidden by the large shelf in the middle. I watched as Nunjo presented the present to Chris and then shortly thereafter said "ok, back to work" and she just walked back to her room. I thought that was a bit rude and cold. Chris actually cried a bit because she was so sad to leave.

Then Mario blurted out that it was Steve's birthday as well, and he tried to deflect attention and remarked there was nothing good about being 37.

37? Hell, I hope I look that good when I'm 37.

When we all dispersed, Mary remarked that Nunjo didn't even give Chris a hug. Nunjo said she wasn't that type of person. I thought she was kinda a lot like me - maybe she wasn't hugged as a kid either. She seems to avoid emotional scenes, and isn't very touchy.

I messaged Chris about Steve, and she asked if I was going to drinks later. I had to say no because I was meeting Jessica for dinner. Also, Ele had invited me to a group dinner but I had to turn that down too.

Anyway, I went home at 5ish and then drove off to Parra. Despite the traffic, I made it there right on time. I didn't want to park in the shopping centre because I wasn't sure what time they closed and the last thing I wanted was to have my car locked in there. So I parked on a street nearby, and because I didn't have a credit card or coins on me, I couldn't buy a ticket (why don't machines take notes???)

I said I'd meet her at the cinema so I made my way there, feeling unusually calm. I looked around the cinema area and checked out the movies listed, noting Dark Shadows. Then I stood around waiting.

She called me and said she was walking there now. I looked around and couldn't see her. I did see a girl on a phone walking towards me, but didn't think it was her. She then said she thinks she sees me - oh my god that was her! As I approached, I realised she looked so much different from what I expected. From the photo she'd shown me, she looked taller than me, big boned and big eyes. In front of me was a girl maybe an inch shorter than me, thin and small eyes (I noticed she was wearing grey/blue contact lenses).

I said nice to meet you, and she asked how long we'd been chatting for and we agreed it was some months. We then started walking off trying to decide where to eat. I decided to leave it up to her, and she seemed fairly easy about it, and we decided to walk off to Church St to see what was there.

As we walked, I revealed that I hadn't bought a ticket, and she was like, shouldn't I be law abiding because of my job. Then at the lights I asked if she wanted to jay-walk and she brought that point up again, lol.

When we reached the street she said she wanted to try the Thai restaurant, and I knew which one she meant. I had been there for lunch before. I can't remember with who. I told her I used to work in Parra.

We looked at the menu and went in. I let her sit on the bench side, even though I really didn't like sitting on these low isolated seats. When she ordered a lemonade, I kinda looked at her and thought "hmm, she could be the one". We decided on what to eat (she pointed out one of our dishes was kinda raw, I offered to try it and she said that would be food poisoning and didn't let me, and had the waitress take it back) and she asked me about my work, and I asked her about her work. I had said earlier that she had a lot of luggage, and she said it was her laptop as she was taking work home.

We had some laughs, but mainly just asked each other questions and talked about our work. I felt like it was easy to get along with her, and I hoped she felt the same way. I noticed later on in the night, whenever I was talking and making gestures with my right hand, she would look at it as I waved it around. Hmmm.

When we finished eating and I could sense she wanted to leave, I asked if we should finish up and she said yes. I asked for the bill and could sense her fiddling with her handbag. I was hoping the waitress would give me the bill, and she did. I took it and checked the amount without letting her see it, put some money in it and gave it back to the waitress. She protested a bit but I basically said it was ok and ignored the rest of her protestations.

I asked if she had to go home and she said yes. I was hoping we could get something chocolatey from across the road. I said I'd walk her to the station and she said it was ok but I insisted. We talked about these people on the street handing out pamphlets and she said she never gets it, then some guy approached us, and she said it must be me who attracts them lol.

She again noted how my car was in a different direction and I said "the world is round", She took me up on that and asked what that was supposed to mean. I said in theory it meant if I kept walking straight I'd end up back here. She argued that I wouldn't, and I said "I just want to walk you to the station" and she said ok.

Once there, we faced each other to say goodbye. I noticed she was looking into my eyes. It was cold and I had my hands in my pocket. Kissing her flashed briefly through my mind, but I don't think that's what she was thinking, so I just sort of flapped my hands in my pockets to wave goodbye and we parted ways.

I drove back home, and when I arrived, I texted her " no ticket :)" to mean I didn't get a parking ticket, but she hasn't replied :(

Thursday night with Christina

I was to meet Shuing after work for gym at 8ish, so I stayed back, and Christina was the only other one on the floor. She messaged me asking what time I was staying till, and then said something like she was so tired. I didn't reply, but when I got hungry I went to her room and said I was going to the supermarket to get something to eat and asked if she wanted me to get her anything.

She said yes so I went and gave her a call when I was at the pasta section. There was no pasta, and so she had a hard time deciding between the curry and the lasagna , but went with the curry in the end.

When I returned to the office, we were both in the kitchen preparing our meals. It struck me as a bit odd that she kept asking me how to do it. I mean, you peel off the plastic, chuck it in the microwave and press a minute. Or was she playing dumb?

We talked about her cooking when she was married, and she mentioned that her husband expected her to clean as well. I thought it interesting that while she said that, I was putting some old dishes into the dishwasher and putting a tablet in to start the wash.

Ummm...nice guy right here. Hello?


She said that wasn't the reason they separated. I was curious to ask, but refrained.

After I heated mine, she said to go eat in the conference room. As I placed my meal on the table and took a seat, I had a flash of thought: would this be what it was like if we were married? That thought hit me so hard, I couldn't think of anything to say, so there was a bit of silence. We ate at the table in silence. Hello? That's marriage isn't it???

Anyway, we started talking about work, and I thought about making her laugh by telling her about the Chris Rock videos, but that didn't really get off.

After we ate we went back to our rooms to work. I flicked through some materials for my sentence matter the next day, and then left the office to get to the gym at 8pm.

I couldn't find Shuing, so I started my workout, and finished it before I saw him. I stayed with him as I took him through a workout with weights, and we talked about work, the economy (my favourite thing to do is picking his brains about this) and a bit about G.

After that, I got the gambling bug. I had transferred money from my savings account to my normal account to pay off my credit card the next day. I was very tempted to use a bit of this for the casino. But first, I had to get changed.

Christina had said she would be working till midnight, but I wondered if she may have given up and gone home. So I went back to the office and snuck in. I didn't want to alarm her of my presence in case she was there, so I went to level 10 and walked up. Stupidly, I didn't realise that the fire exit door was right outside her room. I opened it and saw the lights were on, then closed the door which made a loud slamming noise. She would've heard that fo sho.

So I quickly rushed out of there, catching the lift from level 10 and then leaving the building. I knew she didn't see me, but my paranoia wondered if she had. She was probably scared as hell having heard the door slam shut and yet not seeing anyone around.

Oh god, how the hell would I explain this if she ever asked and the CCTV footage showed me being there?

Dark Shadows / Shoyo

On Wednesday I was prepared to go to the gym after work then go home to get the car to go to the game. However, at the end of the day, I found myself in Nunjo's room. I can't remember how, but we started talking about Super. I told her that my guess was Greece was going to leave the Euro which would cause the market to crash, so she should change her super strategy. She made a post-it note and we continued talking.

She told me her dad has decided to live with her, because his other sons are either married with children or don't work. She said her dad was thinking about selling his property, and told me she was thinking of setting up a trust and renting from it as tenants in common. I could tell she was seeking my advice, but I didn't say anything. I mean, hey, I know a bit about the stock market, but what the hell do I know about trusts and shit?

I started talking to her about money, using money to make money, and the difference between assets and liabilities. She seemed to understand what I was saying, but was probably bored a little. When I started talking about the fractional reserve system, she said it was enough for one lesson. I was about to leave, and then she said she and Chris were going to watch a movie and asked if I wanted to go. I asked what time it would finish, partly because I needed to be at my game by 10:40pm and partly because I didn't want to be too available.

I went to my room to check something, and then went to the toilet where I saw her in Chris' room when I came out. I said I'd come, and then they were talking about getting something to eat. So we closed up shop and then left, catching a train to the Quay. We went to buy the tickets, apparently they had some sort of voucher, and so we got three tickets to Dark Shadows.

We went looking for something to eat but couldn't find anything where we could sit down and eat without it being too expensive, so we grabbed something from Hungry Jack's. While we were waiting for our food, I said to Chris "I got the wrap because I like rap" and she was like "oh my god that was so bad, please don't repeat it" and Nunjo asked what I had said. Chris told her I listened only to Eminem.

We took our food to the cinema and then went in. There was no one to check our tickets, what a waste. I asked them what the movie was about and they said they didn't know, they only watched it because of Johnny Depp. Hmmm.

Near the beginning of the movie, there was a bit of a scary scene, and Chris shrieked and turned to me. I kinda thought "sucked in if this turns out to be a horror film" lol. But it wasn't. It was kinda funny, but kinda random too. They said afterwards that all Tim Burton films were like this.

The movie was pretty ok, better than I had expected, although I guess I didn't have much expectations since I didn't know what it was about and had never heard of it. But one thing I took away from the movie was the chick Bella Heathcote. She was beautiful! Oh my god, everytime she appeared on screen I was in love. I also thought she looked a bit like Fat Pat's old girlfriend.

I had to keep my excitement contained after the movie, but if this had been with a bunch of guys I'd be talking about how hot she is.

After the movie we sat on a bench for a bit while we looked her up on our phones, and then started walking off. My bus came so I quickly said goodbye and hopped on.

It was only halfway through the ride that I realised: my car keys were in my bag back at the office. D'oh!

So I went home in case my dad had left his keys at home. He hadn't. So I caught a taxi out to the office, costing me $15, got my keys, caught a taxi back home costing me another $15, then I drove out to the courts, arriving while the guys were warming up.

I had already said I was out, because of my knee from Sunday, but I came to do duty. Jim came up to me and shook hands, then I went to Bo to shake hands. Apparently the referee was asking him if we had paid and he wasn't believing Bo, so Bo asked me and I said yes, and the referee accepted it, and Bo said "so you believe him but not me".

Anyway, I did duty, and we played against Mangoes, an easy team. I found myself secretly hoping Bo would lose the ball each time he had it. Sometimes he did, but for the most part, he played fairly well and scored a lot of points under the basket. If it hadn't of been for Abi's hot shooting, Bo would've led the team in scoring.

We had seven playing (Abi, Bo, Nick, Jim, Alex, Alex and Mike), and one of the benches would come help me with duty. At one point it was Bo, and we didn't really talk. After the game, I saw Jim leave without so much of a word, so I was about to do the same, but Nick couldn't find his ball so I hung around a bit.

After he found it we were walking to our cars, and Bo said Nick could drive me. I said I drove, and Nick said he'd give Bo a ride or maybe I could give him a ride. I didn't say anything, and just changed the topic by asking him when I was going to get one of those t-shirts from him.

When I got home, Nick sent me a message on fb asking if everything was alright between me and Bo. I said we were cool.

Busted!

Walked to work, saw her again. No eye contact, but I have started to realise that when we approach eachother, she will look straight ahead, but as soon as I look her way, she will look down. So me thinks she is keeping an eye out from her peripheral vision.

Making my breakfast in the kitchen, Moira walked in, and I noticed she had changed her hair to curls. I asked if she was going for the Mad Men look (I don't even watch that damn show). She laughed and said no, she just wanted a change, and started talking about how hard it was to do with an injured hand and how it would straighten back to normal after five minutes.

Later in the morning, I noticed there was a guy sitting in her room. When I walked past I saw it was Lincoln. Presumably they had a matter together. And now it all made sense. Zena showed her cleavage when he was around, and now Moira did her hair for him. But would they ever admit it? NO!

Anyway, yesterday Ogre and I had agreed to share a pizza for lunch today. I wanted to keep it small, like just the two of us, but she asked Genie who said she was busy, and then she went around asking our team. Ogre told me Nunjo wanted chilli and chicken, I went round to her room and was like "chilli and chicken?" and she abruptly said "yes, whatever". I know she was busy, but seriously, I ain't putting up with that shit.

When I walked with Ogre to the pizza shop, I asked if she felt Nunjo was a bit abrupt and she said yes.

While at the pizza shop, I found it hard to make convo with her about anything at all. Hmmm.

We bought four pizzas and then decided to take it back to level 7 instead of our level. I figured it wouldn't be a very good look, but according to Ogre, DS saw us holding the pizzas on the street, lol.

We got to level 7 and made some calls for them to come down. Katie and Yoshi were there having lunch. They really seem like an odd pair of friends, always having quiet conversations with eachother.

They left soon after, and then Nunjo arrived, then Clare came, and then Moira. It was kinda cool to sit around and eat pizza with eachother. It felt like a pizza party, lol. What really impressed me was when Nelson came in to have his lunch and Ogre gave him a piece. For her hard exterior, she sure has a soft spot.

Nunjo left after a couple of slices, because she had a conference to go to. So Ogre, Moira, Clare and I were talking about random stuff. I said Mary should go be a Mag, because she'd be a good one. I asked them if they watched 60 Minutes and we started talking about parents hitting their kids, then about James Packer, then about women making it in business. I said Sarah Murdoch was a smart business woman, and Moira said she couldn't of made it without her husband, then we were talking about how society values looks for women and money for men, and then...

...the door behind me opened!!!

Anne G walked out with a weird look on her face, followed by some dude. We were all fucking quiet as shit, looking at eachother, embarassed, not expecting that there would've been people in the room next door. It just never fucking occurred to us!!!

Moira looked into the room, and I kept looking at her as if her reaction could tell me who else was there. She closed the door slightly and then PoSho walked out! Fucking hell!!!

By now I was racking my brains, trying to think of what we had just said, and whether I said anything derogatory about the office. I'm pretty sure I didn't. Goddamnit.

We were still recovering from the shock when they returned to the room, and then Mary walked in and we told her, then we started talking about other stuff. I was obviously quiet from here on.

When I went back to my desk, I thought it was a bit of a shame - I had worked well all day, kept to myself, only to be ruined by this. Now there was no way I'd be getting the promotion.

But didn't you say that that would be a blessing in disguise? That it would give you an opportunity to look for another job?


Shut up.


I worked till 5pm and then went out to meet Ele. I had sent her an email at 4pm asking her, which was kinda sudden. It was a bit odd seeing her. I mean, I was greeted with a familiar feeling when I first saw her, but I found myself trying to re-catch myself onto her wave length.

One thought that occurred to me as we walked: I had a good feeling my right knee was done. It felt a little bit worse than yesterday. Not pain, but something was just loose, like I had damaged/impacted it. Not good.

I took her to a jewellery store on the main street, and told her about the crystal I bought for my mom, then she took me to various jewellery stores in Chinatown to show me real crystals. I told her about my problems with Bo, and she was actually making suggestions for me. I didn't think they were too viable, but I really appreciated her listening, understanding, and trying to help.

I walked her to Central and then headed back to the office. I saw that Maria was still at work, and it was now a little past 6pm. I messaged her "staying back?" and she replied "haha yeah a bit", and then asked me the same. I asked if she had court tomorrow and she replied "yes". I thought that was a bit blunt so I didn't reply, then she said something like "working on subs too" and wished me good luck on mine. I said the same to her, and that was it.

Hmmm. I was kinda disappointed. I don't think she's interested. So obviously, as I worked, my mind raced through the whole "why doesn't anyone like me" theme, and thought about going to Naby's shop.

I worked till 8pm and she was still online, and then I left for the gym. I did the weightless workout again and then went back to the office to change for court tomorrow.

Maria?

Walked to work today and saw her at that pedestrian crossing just before the large storage warehouse. I looked at her crossing and she looked up at me then looked away. HAHA!

I felt like I was ready to work, just really wanted to get through things and get things done. I kept thinking about the Chris Rock videos I had watched the night before and couldn't stop laughing. Like how he says he defends rap music, but finds it hard to do so these days - "bitch move out of the way, bitch move out of the way...so you see, there's a bitch, in his way, and he needs her to move" - haha.

I was making pretty good progress with work, preparing for matters on Wednesday. My plan was to get something for Maria in the afternoon, maybe around 3ish, something green tea-ish. But when I went out to lunch, I decided to get it for her then because I didn't want to leave the office in the afternoon.

I bumped into Ogre at the lifts as I was going out. And she was like "so have you proposed to your friend yet?" I think she meant Maria. I was like "you mean you?" She was like, no your friend. I said she was my friend. She said "your special friend", and I said "you are special", playing around with her.

I thought maybe Maria would be out at lunch, but I could just leave whatever on her desk. I went to Market City to look for things, and couldn't find anything green tea-ish. Instead, I went to Chinatown and bought some custard puffs. I needed to get lunch for myself as well, and thought I could drop it off in her room and then come back out to get some chicken, but nah, too many trips. Instead, I risked getting the puffs cold and went to get my chicken. Somewhat ironically, I saw Lewis as I crossed the road.

"Hey man, I'm just gonna go hit on the girl you like, ok?"

I went up to level 10 and thought about how weird this was, taking my lunch to a floor I didn't work on. I went through the sliding doors, and as usual, didn't really recognise any of the names I saw. Even the lady in Wendy's room wasn't Wendy. God, what the hell happened to this floor?

I saw Maria's door was partly shut and looked through the glass. She had her back to the door, and it looked like she was eating. I knocked on the door and she kinda clumsily turned around. She asked me how I was, and I said "good, you?" but I think I said it in a kinda rushed, cut off tone. Maybe it was my nervousness.

I asked if she wanted my chicken and she kinda reached out for it but knew it was weird. I said I was joking and gave her the puffs. She said thanks without even looking into it. Hmmm. She asked me how my week was, and then corrected herself and asked how my weekend was. I said it was ok, I played bball on Sunday as I play in a comp. She said she saw me running in the streets once during lunch with my "body suit" on, lol. I laughed and said yeah I go running sometimes, not wanting to correct her and say it's not a body suit.

I asked her how her weekend was and she said she went to "gum fook" in Chatty, as it was Mother's Day and her grandfather's birthday so they went there and had lobster for lunch, and how it was very filling for a lunchtime meal.

I asked if what she was eating was made from home, she said yes, it was her mom's cooking.

I told her about the present I got for my mother and how she complained that it was small.

I noticed she was kinda cute, and wore make up, most notably around her eye lids. Overall she seemed friendly, and maybe had an attitude that expressed interest, or at least accepted my interest.

I said I'd leave her to eat before her lunch got cold, and she said same to me, then I left.

As I ate my lunch at my desk, I wondered if she'd send me a message thanking me for the puffs.

Nah. Don't expect it, and when it doesn't come, you won't be disappointed.


She actually did, saying thanks and how it was good. I said I hoped it didn't get too cold, but she didn't say anything back.

When Nunjo left, she said goodbye and I said it back. I had the door at the corner of my eye. She stopped after she opened the door and paused. I wondered if she was looking at me. Nah, she was probably just checking her phone or her handbag.

At the end of the day, Genie and I were the last ones. She seemed like she wanted to leave with me, and I felt like going for a wander anyway, so I walked with her to the shopping centre and then went for a walk. I wandered around the block a bit. I thought about the casino but didn't want to use up more mileage on my shoes. I thought about going to the massage shop, that was a tempting thought, but I didn't want to 'ruin' the day in case Maria turns out to be the one.

Instead, I went back to Coles, got some chocolate, went back to the office to change and went to the gym. My left shoulder hurts, I think I must've copped a hit during yesterday's game, so only did rowing and abs.

Kainan: 0-1

Yesterday I bummed around in the morning then took a nap. I finally left home at about 1:30pm to walk to the office. I bought some Macca's before going in, and saw that Genie was in. I didn't want my Macca's to get cold, so I just messaged her instead of going to her room to talk.

I checked facebook on my phone, and lo and behold, it asked me to search for friends on facebook who I had on my phone but not on facebook.

This is new.


I did it, and about 15 results came up. One Korean girl showed up, named Ashley Park. I looked at her photo, and thought "is that Naby???" It didn't look like her, but I couldn't think of any other Korean girls on my phone (apart from Chris of course). I went onto the computer to check it out. It just didn't look like her at all. I felt a bit disheartened that she told me her real name was something else, but then I finally decided that it wasn't her.

Then I remembered another contact I had on my phone - it was Emily. My god she looked different without the heavy make up and fake eyelashes. She had a private profile but some photos were visible. I looked at them and she seemed like any other young Asian girl you'd see on the street. I suppose you'd never guess, eh?

Anyway, after that small revelation, I went to work, sorting out a brief for Troy. Genie came around a couple of hours later and we talked a bit. She said she was going to go look for a present for her friend, and I thought it weird that she didn't seem familiar with the major shops in the city. Then after she left she sent me a message saying it was cold. Ok???

I worked till about 5:30ish and then caught the bus home.

Today, I drove out in the morning to get some Gatorade, then went to the courts for a run around. It was too windy to shoot, so I just tried to run some fast breaks, but it was too windy for that too as the wind would sometimes blow the ball away.

Some guys asked me to play, so I said yes. My god, I haven't played full court in like years. They were all fobs, but seemed kinda nice. The guy guarding me seemed like he really wanted to shut me down. I was trying to focus on driving and scoring on the inside.

In the second game, this guy came onto my team, and I could tell by his legs that he was probably the best out of all of them. We seemed to have the 'connection', where he knew to dash if I set a back pick, or he knew to throw the lob when I cut to the basket. It's interesting when you just 'click' with someone like that.

I played a few games and then left, not wanting to get tired. As I was walking home, I realised I didn't have this 'chemistry' on my current team.

I then washed the car for a while, cleaning the inside as well, and polishing off the scratches made by my dad. So proud of my shiny car afterwards. Then I drove to the shopping centre near me to buy some wipes for my car as I had run out. I ended up buying one for the dashboard and one for the glass - Malay's constant complaints about his windscreen had finally gotten to me.

I also bought two sushi rolls for lunch and ate it in my car, before going to re-fuel at a petrol station.

I went home, got changed, and realised I might not have enough time to make the game if I was going to stop by the office to pick up my shoes and the spare jersey, so I ended up driving. Once I was at the office, I saw Bo had called me so I called him back, but there was no answer. I didn't really want to talk to him, didn't know what he had to say since he already said he wasn't coming today because his class goes till 5pm.

I sent him a message saying I'd be driving so can't pick up. He called me again (stupid) then sent a message saying he was on his way. I knew it. What a fucking drama queen. Why say you're not coming when you know all along you'll come?

I got to the courts about 5 minutes before tip off, and quickly changed my shoes. I shot around a bit but didn't say anything to Bo, who was also shooting around. It was only at tip off that he asked if I wanted to jump, and I said yes but he ended up jumping.

Even with the help of two other guys (which I didn't really want), we got flogged. On the first four possessions I gave it to Bo, and he either missed a shot or turned it over. For the remainder of the first half I played like the silently whinging Kobe Bryant back in 2003. Alex told me not to give it to Bo, and I said "I can't say anything".

In the second half I made a bit of a run, running on fastbreaks, and even drawing the foul when I split two people and made the basket (too bad I missed the free throw). Later on I banked home a three, then another one on the next possession, causing them to call a time out.

After that I basically sat on the bench until the final minute or so. Bo came off at one stage, and we sat together as we watched Alex get trapped and lose the ball. Bo said to me "Alex always gets himself stuck". I just nodded, not wanting to say anything in the spirit of "not criticising". He then said "fine, I won't talk then" and walked off. I was like "I didn't even say anything!".

Fuck, so if I say something he gets pissed, and if I don't say something he gets pissed. Fuck this shit.

When I got back onto the court, I ran on a fastbreak and clanged knees with another guy, and basically gave up after that. It was my right knee. I think it had nothing to do with my ACL area, but I was going to be cautious.

After the game we sat around a bit. I didn't want to leave first because I didn't want to drive Bo back to the city. Jim asked if I needed a lift and I said I drove. He asked if I'd take Bo, and I said he should take him. So he did. After they left, I told Mike and Alex about my fight with Bo, and even they agreed with me. However, I was wary that they were only getting my side of the story.

We talked about it for the next hour or so, as I vented my anger, then we parted and I drove home.

Missing Shoyo due to drama

Tuesday
It took me a while to get back into work mode. Practically speaking, it probably wasn't a good idea to take a day off when I was already feeling like I was out of 'work mode'. But hey, I won, and I deserved a day off. I just didn't like taking longer to get back into it.

The previous night, Bo sent me a message saying "hey [insert name here] I'm out for both teams". I read it really quickly and saw it as "I'm out for both games" so I was just like alright". He then sent me a message saying he felt like the new Angelo "so I am out".

Nick had sent me and Jim a fb message earlier saying he felt something was wrong with Bo. I didn't really say much, until Bo sent more messages. I asked why he felt like that and he said "you know it is frustrating to be yelled at when ever you get the ball. And I have noticed you and jim won't pass the ball to me. I hate the new uniform. Time for me to go".

"I don't want to be the guy the team is stuck with".

This is when I got pissed. I sent Nick and Jim back a message containing my points, and Nick said they were all valid. This is why I'm pissed:

1. He's accusing me and Jim of deliberately not passing him the ball. Well, first, I always look for either Nick or Carter first on offence, because, you know, they are the better players. Secondly, he is assuming that he should get the ball. It is selfish to assume that.

I wanted to watch the game again and make a spreadsheet of how many passes we all make and to who, but Jim said that'd be going too far. When I watched the game, I realised that, to his credit, he did cut a lot and didn't get the ball. However, that's not just from me and Jim, and also, if I think a pass will risk a turnover, then I'm not going to fucking do it. And the other thing is, each time he got the ball (which was a lot), he ONLY passed it once or twice (twice if you count his airball as a pass to Nick). It was actually pretty disgusting to watch him hog the ball like that.

2. We had just won. Why are you starting shit after we won? I was sooooo happy, and he completely ruined my mood!!!

3. This is just his way of saying "if we don't have it my way, I'm leaving the team". Wow, so you don't like the fucking uniform? Then leave!

4. Remember that argument we had in mid-season where I asked him to pass the ball? The result was I'd back off and wouldn't bring it up again, which meant, ok, I can't complain about him not passing the ball. Yet HE'S NOW COMPLAINING about us not passing it??? WTF?

I was just sooooo pissed. I was chatting to Jim on fb that night basically venting to him, and he said I was right but there was no point in arguing. He kept saying that he's only one person, and I always come back with, yeah, but y'all don't have to catch the fucking train with him.

I guess what made it worse was that during the day, I had this medium headache which I think was caffeine withdrawal due to the Red Bull I had and the coke I had on Sunday night.

Towards the end of the day, I realised that Chris and I were the only ones left in the office. I had made myself some toast to eat because I was hungry, then went to the bathroom. I didn't say anything to her when I went in or came out, but when I went back to my desk, she messaged me asking if I was hungry. I said I was eating a snack and asked if she was, and she suggested we go to dinner.

I'll admit, a small part of me - the male part - was hoping for something more. I knew she was now separated, so this could have the 'potential' to be something more. So, despite me having bagged her out a bit to Clare before, I agreed, and we went out for dinner at 7:30pm.

She asked what I wanted to eat, and I said either Thai or Japanese. She said "yeeeah..." and I knew that was a no. As I was locking up, she said she had Thai for lunch. I said I could detect the reluctance in her voice.

We ended up going to that 'Japanese' place run by Koreans that she took all of us to for Cameron's farewell lunch. We sat perpendicular to each other and talked...about work. But she also said "you know I'm separated now right?" and I said I figured that. She said only me and Nunjo know, and Mary keeps saying she expects kids from Chris.

I don't know, I am pretty sure I couldn't detect any 'signs' during that dinner. I also thought it'd be a bit soon anyway. Even if she was interested, I knew I was just the rebound guy and I'd really have some ethical issues with going ahead with anything.

After dinner we walked and were apart to part ways as she crossed the road to her bus stop. I was going to let her cross but the traffic was non-stop, so I told her to cross at the lights, she said ok and asked me to wait for the bus with her, which I did.

She ended up having a cigarette in secret as we waited for the bus. She asked when we were going to do the basketball challenge thing and said we should do it after next Tuesday when she moves. I was about to offer help moving, but then figured I'd be crossing just a little too far into that 'other' territory.

When her bus came, we said goodbye, then I went back to the office to change and went home.

Wednesday
The previous night I had decided to sleep on it. I was too tired and didn't want to make any rash decisions. But when I woke up, I knew what I wanted to do - I posted a message on fb saying I was going to skip tonight's game due to work. Jim, Bo and Nick would know the real reason. But the reason given to the media would be 'work'.

Jim sent me a message asking me if I was serious. At the end of the day, he pulled out too, saying he had a birthday party to go to. I just didn't want to deal with Bo's shit, and I couldn't imagine sitting on the train with him going both ways, so the best thing for me was to not deal with him at all. He was causing me too much stress.

In the morning I went to the para-bay and saw Chris talking to Alex. She said "hello, did you get home ok last night?" and I was like "yeah...did you?" thinking how it may have been a little odd for those around us to hear.

I had brought my trophy for Mary and the gang to see. They too thought it was a bit small but didn't say anything. I think they all noticed the "Division 4B" and would probably tease me about it behind my back, but oh well. Nunjo came late to the huddle and when Mary told her, she reached out for the trophy. I was a bit reluctant, but handed it to her anyway, and she took a look.

At the end of the day, I saw that Chris was working late again. I wondered (hoped?) if she would ask me for dinner again. I decided to go out and buy some lollies to give her. I went to the Asian grocery store and took a bit of time choosing, and finally got some melon gummy candy for her.

I worked till late and she was still in. Finally I went over and gave her some candy. She said thanks and got up to go to the public internet computer. As I walked off she asked if I knew anything about a particular program, I said no and kept on walking. I got changed and went to the gym.

Thursday
In the morning I had court. I was kinda looking forward to it because the cop in my matter is kinda pretty in that plain Jane way. I was, however, disappointed when she knew the cop from another matter and they were just talking. Sigh.

Anyway, the other matter belonged to Jenni and Heath. I wondered why Heath was there and then realised he was there to 'assist' her. Why the hell does she need assistance? He's been around longer than I have and is more than capable of doing it himself. What a waste of money. I wondered if he wanted me to fail, seeing that I was doing it without supervision.

After I got the matter done I got to talk with the cop as we walked out onto the street together. We stood at the corner talking for a long time. Mainly about work. Actually it was all about work. Mainly about my matter but then I said I was involved in Chris' trial which she was also involved in so we talked about that a bit. I swear sometimes I get lost in her eyes...aaahhhhhh.

At lunch, I asked Genie if she wanted to go out for a walk again. She messaged back saying she was going to go with Maria from level 10 and asked if I wanted to come along.

Would IIIIIIIIIII?


I think she was trying to help me out. Anyway, I said yes, and we met her in the lobby. We took a walk through the park. I think Maria doesn't like the sun. Or the heat. Anyway, conversation was ok, I made her laugh a few times, but I felt like I was still trying to 'grab' onto her wave length. She said she was taking classes for graphic design. I wondered if she was considering a career change (I did ask her, she said no, at this stage it was just a hobby, but I wondered if she was just being diplomatic).

Anyway, towards the end of our walk, it turns out that they had planned to visit this small cafe for macaroons. Although Genie had been there before, she couldn't really remember the way, so Maria led us there. I noticed she seemed to have a thing for navigating through small alley ways.

We found ourselves at this really small cafe tucked away in the middle of an alley way. I was hungry and was hoping they'd sell something more substantial than macaroons. Luckily, I saw a sandwich menu. But what I also saw was this totally HOT waitress working there. She had long orange dyed hair and big eyes. After studying her a bit, I realised she looked a bit like Emilee. Hmmm.

Anyway, I ordered a sandwich and bought a pack of green tea biscuits. Maria bought exactly the same, even though initially she said she was only going to get some macaroons. I gave her the sandwich that was ready first, and then realised maybe I should've given her the second one coming since that'd be fresher.

When my sandwich came, the girl came round the counter to hand it to me with both hands. I accidentally poked her a bit with my left index finger as I reached out to get it. I wonder if the guy working there was her boyfriend. Hmmm.

When I got back to my room, I sat facing away from the computer eating my sandwich. I wondered whether I should send Maria a message, something about the sandwich. I heard a message come through but couldn't be assed looking at it, since my hands were a mess with the sandwich. When I finished it, I checked it and saw it was from Maria. She said the bread was nice, and I said something about going there again next time. She kept saying things that didn't really flow on from whatever I was saying. She'd say something random like "I'm a green tea fiend".

We had our branch meeting at 3:30pm. There was a lot of talk (from Mary and Clare) about why it was at 3:30 which they deemed late. I didn't really give a shit, and didn't see the big deal. Anyway, the meeting was slightly entertaining. When all seats had been filled, there was an empty chair next to DS. Chris came in and sat somewhere else. DS made a motion to exagerrate that there was an empty seat next to him. Ogre then came in and had to sit there, but sat further back, until DS motioned for her to come forward, lol.

When they were talking about the new courtroom, Clare blurted out "[insert name here] was in there today". I was like "yeah, very new, very fresh". DS then added that I should've scratched my initials into the bar table, lol. And I said "I already did" haha.

One other funny thing was Jacqueline's phone rang. You'd think she'd just turn it off right? Nope. We all later heard her talking on it during the meeting. Lol.

After work I was walking through the shopping centre near my office and saw a girl sitting on one of the benches, looking up and talking to two guys. I thought she looked a bit familiar. Then I realised that she looked a lot like Tiffany - the girl I had seen once in Naby's shop.

I think I had caffeine withdrawal on Tuesday and Wednesday, but I am starting to wonder if it was gambling withdrawal? Really? Could it be? Could withdrawing from gambling cause me headaches? By my calculations, it has been nearly three weeks since my last gamble (based on when I got that friggin' parking ticket).

Maybe it was because of that, or maybe it was because it was pay day, but I went to the casino. I wanted to withdraw $500 but apparently that was over my daily limit, so I withdrew $400 and walked there. I found a table where there was just one old man (a regular) playing and bought in colour chips. I noticed like the last seven spins had been in my sector. I decided to go with the trend and placed a bet on my sector, but only using eight chips to start with.

I won. That gave me a profit of $50. I thought long and hard about whether I should keep playing or walk off with $50. I had told myself that even $30 would be good enough, but now playing only once didn't seem enough. I sat there through many spins thinking. I watched as the old man kept complaining. I watched as this lady bet on my sector. She had placed some chips on 4/7, then moved it to 7 at the last moment. It landed on 4, and she started complaining as well.

Overall, the trend seemed to be for the ball to land in my sector. I waited until it missed for two spins, and then I placed another eight chip bet. It landed on 29, which netted me another $50 profit. If I would've placed my usual amount, I would've won quite a bit on 29, but oh well. I was now content happy with my $100 profit. I sat there a bit more just to pass time before it got too crowded and I cashed in.

I went to the cashiers to get my money and then walked out. I thought about hanging around to watch a bit, and then realised it would be a good time to get a present for my mom for mother's day, so I left and went to Myer.

I decided to get her a crystal. I had seen a crystal rabbit last time and thought that'd be a good idea. As I was browsing, a chick (I think the same as last time) asked if I wanted any help. When I told her I was looking for a rabbit, she took out all the rabbits to show me. Apart from the one I wanted, the rest were all pretty damn expensive, so I went with the one I had seen initially which was $108.

I saw this crystal rose for like $380. I swear, if I was still seeing Naby, I probably would've gotten it for her. What does that say about me, that I'd spend more for a girl I like than my own mother?

After that I went back to the office to change, and then met Shuing for the gym. I had this inkling that he only wanted to meet up because he had some news he wanted to spill, but another part of me thought maybe he just really wanted to get into fitness.

Anyway, we met at the bottom of my building, and as we walked to the gym, he told me that G and Zoe had broken up. Apparently his parents didn't like her because she was older...she was 31! Goddamn, I thought she was only around 25ish.

At the gym, I showed Shuing my work out, and he was happy to do it, except that he couldn't actually pull off some of the stuff, like chin ups and dips. I said he'd get it eventually, and was kinda proud that he actually made an effort.

Friday
I thought I hadn't spoken with Ele for a while, then she emailed me just to ask how I was. I thought about asking her to lunch, but then figured I preferred to do my own thing, including picking up my suit from the dry cleaners, depositing my $400 back into the bank, paying my parking fine and getting some lunch.

During the day I somehow ended up with Ogre in my room talking about my plant. She said Maria has like a forest downstairs. I was like "Maria [insert her last name here]?" and she said the other Maria. She then teased me about how Maria seemed like a nice girl. Hmmm. Wonder where the hell she heard that.

At end of the day, I saw Nunjo walk out of her room as I was walking to Mary's. I said "purple", and she looked at her shirt. Then I added "branching out" like what she said to me when I wore blue. She didn't say anything (I suspect she didn't know what to say, like my reaction when she said it to me).

I was in kitchen with Mary, and told her about the crystal rabbit I got for my mom, then she told Nunjo when she returned from the bathroom to get her cup. I told them about how my mom was like George Costanza's mother, then Nunjo said her dad was like that when she got him an iPad, then talked about Draw Something and I told Mary Nunjo couldn't draw very well. Nunjo said "talk about the pot calling the kettle black" and said I couldn't draw either, lol.

As they were leaving for the day, Mary half joked to Nunjo that she should take me out for a wild night out. I said "she already has" and noticed her face went red.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN???

I left shortly after 5pm to meet up with Jim. Chris called me as I was at the lifts, saying she was meeting Chandler and Nunjo for drinks at the bar next door. I said I was meeting a friend and would give them a call later on to see what they were up to. I kinda wanted to go, but I could see no way of dogging it with Jim. I suppose it was a good thing anyway, to show them I wasn't always available.

I met up with Jim and said I was only gonna have something light because I was going to the gym later (the real reason was I was planning to meet with Chris and Nunjo for dinner). He kinda annoyed me by saying he couldn't really eat now since it was too early (6pm) and wanted a drink for now. I guess he didn't know I wanted to be elsewhere afterwards.

We ended up at Darling Harbour, at the LIndt shop where I was with G, Zoe and Shuing before. I said the place had bad service but he didn't seem to mind. I had an orange juice and he had an ice cream. I was just trying to pick the cheapest thing from the menu.

Anyway, I sounded off again on Bo, and he said he agreed, but you couldn't argue with an irrational person. He made one good point though  - he said I was trying to prove Bo wrong. I guess I was. Why was I doing that?

Anyway, after that we went to the casino. I didn't play because I didn't have enough money in my wallet and I didn't want to use one of those ATMs which charged really high fees, so I watched him play at the $20 blackjack table and lose $100. I thought the dealer looked like a dick, which made losing feel just that much worse.

Afterwards we took a walk around. Apparently there were some events going on, like models posing in lingerie, free champagne and ice cream. Not much to see really, then we went back to Darling Harbour and had KFC. I had a snackbox at first, while he had a full meal. I was still hungry and then bought another one, lol.

He was telling me about how he was thinking of leaving his job, because it wasn't giving him enough time to go on holidays and meet girls. We seemed to disagree a bit on one aspect of girls - I seemed to place more importance on money being an attraction tool wherehas although he acknowledged it, I think he wanted to be wary of gold diggers.

We parted at a street near his car park. I texted Chris asking if they were still out. I figured if they were then I'd meet up, and if not then I'd go to the gym. She replied saying Nunjo had gone home and she was back at the office waiting for a friend. I texted back saying I was heading back to change, just in case she thought I was going there to see her deliberately.

When I got back to the office, I saw her shadow pass through the door, and when I went though, I deliberately went directly towards my office. She called out to me from the kitchen area, I just said hi and continued walking. I did something daring - I couldn't be assed going to the change room, so I changed in my room. I figured she had just walked past and wouldn't be making another pass, so I quickly changed behind my door. Luckily, I was right.

I then went to the bathroom and when I came out, I asked her why they had such an early night. She said Nunjo had been up since 6am because she went out to Cessnock, so she wanted to go home. She said she lost a file, I said it'd turn up eventually, and then I left and went to the gym.

Kainan: CHAMPIONS!!!

Friday
I had a sentence on, one of Bec's old matters, but in the morning the barista from the other side calls me up and says he made a mistake and didn't put this in his diary, so he has another matter out at Parra. He reckoned he could get here by 2pm and do it, so I went to court and mentioned it.

I got a copy of the report and saw that the report was asking for an adj, so at the morning tea break, just as the judge was going to leave, I stopped him and told him, hehe.

At 2pm I watched another matter before mine, where this girl from the State had really aggressive body language, putting one hand on the lectern and the other on her hip. She kept speaking over the judge, and he let it go for a while, but then he said something like "look, I'm fair game, if you listen to me I'll listen to you". Most people would get the hint right? But she still kept doing it! Finally he took his glasses off and let off at her, and she apologised.

My matter got adj, and after all that waiting around during the day, I was tired and wasn't really prepared to do any work for the rest of the day. Close to the end of the day, however, I went to ask Mary a question. She didn't know the answer and asked me to ask Moira, which ended up being a group conversation in Moira's room with her, Mary and Ogre.

Nunjo walked past a few times, looking in, until Mary stopped her and filled her in on my question. She talked a while and then left the office early.

I hadn't spoken to her much during the week. I just didn't feel like it. I didn't feel like being friends with someone who had rejected me.

After work I went to the gym. I was looking forward to having a quiet Friday night gym session. Again, I did my weightless workout. I noticed this tall blonde chick there. I have seen her before, but I think this is the first time I have really 'noticed' her.

The reason I 'noticed' her was because we were both in the small stretching area. We alternated using the dips machine. I'm not sure if it was a silent agreement, or if she thought I was a prick for jumping in between her sets.

Saturday
I was content to have a quiet day before the Finals. I didn't go shoot around in the morning, and I didn't go to Ele's bbq thing. However, around 1pm Jim messaged me asking me if I wanted to meet up for lunch as he was at work in the city. I said yes and he came to pick me up at about 2pm.

We called Bo and collected him as well as he was studying at the uni near me. We went to a Japanese restaurant at Chinksford. Bo had already eaten, so he just watched us eat. I think Jim and I had a bit of a miscommunication when checking out the menu. I was going to order a main for myself and share any entrees we ordered, but he seemed to think we would order anything and everything and share it all. That resulted in a lot of bloody food, and about $30 each. Sheesh.

We talked about the game obviously, but also about the NBA and stuff. There was a bit of a 'debate' between them as to Jeremy Lin. I was content to sit back and watch, not wanting to stir anything up. I was surprised to see Jim didn't back down. Good for him.

Sunday
Although the game was at 2pm, I had agreed with Bo to meet him at 11:30am at the station so we could get there early to shoot around. That still gave me plenty of time, so I bummed around on the computer for a bit, and then finally got around to getting ready, like ironing out my uniform and packing my camera.

I still had some time to kill. I kinda felt like those early moments just before a uni exam. I kept asking myself if I had everything, knowing that what would happen later that day was very important. It was really creating history. Despite us being the favourites and Bo and Jim having confidence we'd win it easily, I kept asking myself "what if?"

I caught a bus out to the city and when I got to Town Hall, I saw that a train was coming in three minutes. I called him and he wasn't answering. I knew he wasn't drunk because he had posted on facebook about an hour ago, but it was annoying nonetheless.

I hopped on the train and sent him a message. He called and said he was running late and asked me to get off at his station to wait for him. That annoyed me, but at the same time I remembered all those times I was late and he and Nick waited for me.

So I met him at his train station and then we caught the next train together. I didn't really feel like talking much, because I was thinking about the game. Call it mental preparation if you will. I went to Subway with him when we got off, and walked to the courts together.

When we got there, the courts were more packed than I had expected. One court was occupied by an external competition. I would've thought Court 3 would be free for a shoot around but it wasn't. We sat around and watched a game on Court 2, and then watched the external comp on Court 1.

Finally, at around 2pm, the court was free and we started shooting around. I got to working on my threes almost immediately. I was getting the gist of it and felt like I could hit a few in the game. I was feeling a little nervous. As we shot around, I realised that this was my first Finals in this comp. Bo, Nick and Jim had already been here. I know it's cliche and you hear it a lot, but I always just thought "who cares about the experience, it's just another game".

But it really isn't. Knowing that this game matters more than anything else changes everything. Knowing that each and every shot is precious changes everything. Knowing that one slight mistake can have a serious impact changes everything. I almost felt like I wanted to ask them what it was like in their Finals and how they dealt with it. But that would've been ghey.

Start of the game was the usual - sorta. I got my camera set up and can't remember the period betweeb then and finding myself in centre court shaking hands with the other team. When did I take those steps onto the court?

I was tense in the first half. I think both teams were. I missed a three and then basically played "safety" apart from taking a shot here and there. The only thing I could have any claim on was when I released on a three and Mike threw an outlet to me down the court. He passed it a second too late so there was already a defender there. I gathered the ball and bumped into him fairly hard then put up a shot and missed.

We were only up by six at half time and I seriously thought there was a real chance we could lose. I felt...real.

But we came out of halftime scoring, and more importantly, they were not. That allowed us to slowly increase our lead. I was happy when we got our lead to double digit. They seemingly started to panick, throwing up rushed and wild shots. That was a good sign for us.

We were supposed to do the 1-3-1 but I forgot a few times, and then when I remembered, some others had forgotten (probably thinking I wouldn't be doing it). This is what the Finals atmosphere did to me.

Towards the end of the game, when it was pretty much sealed, I released on a three and ran smack bang into this other guy who seemingly was doing the same but in the opposite direction to crash the boards. I thought he'd think I ran into him on purpose, so I apologised and he thought the same so he was apolosiging. Problem was, Court 2 was so loud, we both had to yell, and so you had two guys going "I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" haha.

When the buzzer went, I was so relieved! I couldn't believe it. I had won! We had won!! I didn't know what to do, but was shaking the hands of the other team. I had scored zero points, but I didn't care. We went to our bench and I got my camera to take a photo.

Jim had a female friend arrive and I had her take the photo for us. I later found out her name was Olina. She started shooting around with us after as we played around the world. I was shooting with my left hand. Mike said I was only doing it as an excuse if I lost. Usually that'd be right, but I seriously thought I'd do ok with my left given my practice in recent times.

Anyway, we were waiting on the presentation ceremony which was at 4pm. We kept shooting around until we were called in a tone that was like "hurry up and stop mucking around". I jogged to the middle of the court to collect my trophy. I'm sure no one knew who the hell we were but I was a little shy. I got my trophy and we got some extras for MJ and Bert.

We then went off to the side to take photos with them, Mike doing stupid poses and shit. I didn't think using the trophies collectively to make a penis for him was very classy, but whatever.

There was one trophy for the team, and I kinda wanted it. I mean, I was the captain after all. I let Carter hold it for a photo but don't think it ever left his hands. Oh well, I was happy for him to have it anyway, because we wouldn't have won it without him. Mike did, however, pull me aside and say I should take it because I paid for Carter, but I was being the bigger person and said not to worry about it.

Nick missed the ceremony because he had to meet someone for work, so that sucked that he wasn't in any of the photos.

After more photo taking, we packed up and decided to go to the Outback Steakhouse. I went in Mike's car with Bo and when we got there, only Jim had arrived. His friend Olina and Alex and Nick arrived later and we all went into the restaurant.

I was excited to try this place as I thought I'd be really hungry after the game. But despite skipping lunch, I wasn't too hungry. I ordered a small steak and got to choose the entrees which were very nice.

I sat opposite Olina and didn't get to talk to her much. I wanted to because I felt like most of the times we were excluding her by our team talk, but Jim was sociable and would talk to her so that was cool. I didn't think much of her when I first saw her, but as the night went on, she grew on me a bit. I think the fact that she joined in our basketball shoot around and her being able to get along with the team kinda pushed me over the line.

After dinner we went bowling next door. We decided to play in teams, and I was quick to team up on Olina's side with Jim. I was afraid I'd totally suck at bowling, but actually didn't do too bad. We made a bet that losers of the first game had to do push ups and losers of the second game had to buy ice cream.

We won both games, hehe, but they didn't want to do push ups. I got along with Olina a bit better during bowling, not really talking, but just laughing and being part of a team. Afterwards we wandered around looking for ice cream but couldn't find any so we decided to go home.

Jim went one way towards his car and we all went the other. So I got to talk to her a bit and found out she;s in pathology at a hospital. She asked what I did and I told her. Then it was time to part. After she left, the guys asked if I'd go out with her and I said yes. Mike said my main issue was to see if Jim was interested. I don't think he was because I overheard her say she was coming to the game but he didn't tell her the time, and he was just like "I posted it on facebook". Bo was trying to come up with ideas on how I could see her again. As much as I appreciated him for that, I didn't really feel comfortable talking about it, but they kept wanting to talk about it and we stood there for 20 minutes talking about it, interspersed with me trying to change the focus to the girl Bo likes from bball.

After that Mike drove me to the station, and I caught the train back to the city with my trophy in tow. If anyone was going to try to steal my bag, I was going to smash them.

It's only cancer, your Honour

On Thursday I had a judgment matter which I was pretty sure was going to finish. I had read up on it the day before, but then at noon Melissa calls me and says the other side wants an adj because the def's mother has just been diagnosed with cancer. Melissa told me to oppose it. I think if she hadn't, I probably would've gone along with it.

So, how do I say "it's just cancer, your Honour" in a tactful way?


I went to court at 2pm and opposed it, but didn't get it. Oh well. I'm starting to get frustrated at how many matters are staying in my practice. Matters that should be finalised, but aren't.

I actually had to miss a group lunch for this. Ogre, Clare and Moira had seemingly organised a lunch on Tuesday at the dumpling place. It sounded like a girls only thing. I joked "so am I being excluded now?" and Clare laughed and said they were just planning. But I was really only joking and was fine if they wanted a girls only thing.

Anyway, Mary asked me as they were about to leave and I declined, mainly because I seriously thought it was a girls only thing, but also because I didn't want to be with Nunjo unnecessarily. Luckily she was already downstairs smoking so she didn't have to see my explanation. I wonder if Mary got slightly offended that I didn't go. I know she likes to keep her group close, but I keep thinking about the times when Stevie G always managed to avoid these sorts of things with very legitimate reasons.

Instead, I took a walk around the city to clear my mind and think of what to say about the cancer. I actually went to that Thai restaurant to see if that cute waitress could be seen. Unfortunately, the restaurant was packed. On my way back, I bumped into Mary and Clare. I was surprised at how quickly they had finished their lunch. I thought it'd be a two hour thing. They said Ogre didn't like it and went to get something afterwards, lol.

After court, I bumped into Nunjo in the photocopying room. She asked me how my judgment went and I explained to her.

After 5pm I was preparing for my sentence the next day, perusing through the bank statements of this def. Jim sent me a message asking me if I wanted to go for dinner. I had already eaten a sushi box, but said I'd come out for a drink. I figured he wanted to tell me about Bo whinging to him atfter Wednesday's game, and that's why I wanted to meet up.

He came and picked me up and we went to Broadway. We ended up going to this restaurant in the shopping centre, one that I had wanted to go to before whenever I went there for a movie by myself. There was this cute European waitress there who seemed a little extra friendly towards me. Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

Unfortunately, I was wrong - there was nothing to report on Bo from Jim. I even asked him and he said Bo didn't bring anything up. So we talked about the Finals on Sunday and about the NBA. I felt bad, but I looked at my watch sneakily and he knew I wanted to go. I really wanted to finish off my work and go to the gym.

He drove me back to the office and I looked through the bank statements for about another 45 minutes, then went to the gym.

Shoyo: 3-0-2

Wednesday

Nick messaged me in the morning asking if I wanted a lift to the game. I thought it was a bit odd, because he normally drives Bo, but I thought maybe he wanted to talk about the videos I made and posted the night before.

After work I hung around a bit and then went to the gym. I then went to his place. I was a bit curious as to exactly where he was, because he's said before it was next to a brothel, I wondered if it was the massage place I sometimes go to, and if it was, exactly how close he was to it.

I discovered that he lived in the alley behind the brothel, so he was pretty damn close, but it's not like he could just look out his window and see me walk in, because the entrance to the shop is on the main road. I don't think they use the back entrance in the alley.

I knocked on his door and thought he was coming to open it, but as the guy got closer I realised it was someone else, presumably his brother. I introduced myself, and he was quite chillaxed, letting me in and calling out to Nick. He made chit chat and then went into the kitchen, and I waited for Nick to come down. 

The place was quite small, but cosy in a way. I always pictured he had this mad apartment, lol. Oh well, at least  he has independence.

He came down soon, packed his bag and we left. During the ride we actually didn't talk much about the video. We talked a bit about work and about my visit to the cop shop earlier in the week. He thought it was pretty awesome too. I suggested he try to be a cop cause I think it'd suit him, but don't think he was that interested.

We got to the courts, and then shortly after saw Big Alex arrive. We were sitting on the baseline area of Court 3 and talking, and then A showed up. I deliberately didn't talk to him that much so that he could talk more with Nick and Big Alex. Nick made an effort, but I felt A was just responding rather than making an active effort.

Anyway, we played on Court 2 against Flash Bang. I didn't start, as a way of reminding myself that I didn't want to exert too much energy on this team. Also, I wanted to preserve myself for Sunday's Finals game.

Thanks to Mike's observations, I was made aware that the other team only had one good player - this little guy who was quick as and had made dribbling skills. He was basically running us around the whole court. When I got on, I felt like I had to shut him down - if not because he was a good player, then at least because he was wearing a stupid headband and really short shorts. I did an ok job staying with him and frustrated him a bit, but there were times when I lost him.

I drove on a fastbreak and got fouled, hit my first free throw, then hit a jumper later on for a total of three points. I got fouled on another fastbreak but missed both free throws, although on this one, I faked an inside-outside cross over, bumped into him and drew the foul. I also got elbowed in the mouth a bit.

We won the game relatively easily, dominating the boards thanks to Nick and Bo. Despite screwing up the 1-3-1 (because a lot of us hadn't done it before) I thought we played pretty well until towards the end when Bo started giving up some really hard fouls. I asked him what the point was when we were winning and just stopping the clock for the other team. He subbed himself off, but I later found out that was because he got fouled out, lol.

Only One and Foz didn't show up, so we had a pretty good turn out. I found out Dunnycan was now engaged, good on him.

I asked Bo if he wanted to go with Nick, and he said it was up to me. I said it was up to him. I thought it was only fair that he get a lift now since I got a lift here. But Jim seemed to usher him out and they left before there was any further debate.

In the car, Nick said he felt a bit of tension between him and Bo. He said he waved Bo off during that game when Bo wanted to sub Nick off. I told him next time to just come off and go back on. I also told him about my argument with Bo earlier in the Sunday season when he threw his jersey on the floor. Apparently he had never learnt of that.

During the ride back, we had a more frank chat - this time about women. I was saying how we as guys get discriminated against but we can't say anything, and as an example I told him about how in my Clink department all the seniors were blondes in their mid-20's, and he agreed. I could tell he shared the same views as me on this, so that was cool. Personally I think he feels he has been screwed over by women (ala his girlfriend) before.

Got home kinda late due to the 9:50pm game, but it was ok.

Second day of Alanna's return, still not quite used to a tall blonde in the office.

In the morning I got the same lift as Melissa. I was wearing a more revealing bball jersey, and in the lift she asked if I was cold, I said no, and she felt my biceps and said I wasn't. Geez, I reckon if I touched a girl the same way it'd be called inappropriate.

I managed to keep myself relatively bush throughout the day, no bludging, but unfortunately didn't get around to preparing for my sentence on Friday.

At lunch I decided to go to the gym. I got a call from Michal about the instructions I gave him. Actually, I got three calls. He wasn't angry and he didn't go off at me, but I was upset nevertheless about it, and I needed a release. I went out at the same time as Mary going for lunch and we walked together a bit. I felt a bit odd - wearing shorts, long socks and a jersey, walking with her.

At the gym I did chin ups, dips, abs and five minutes of the bike, then I went back to the office. I got some chicken salt on the way, and oh my god, do they make my salmon and lettuce sandwich 100 times better!!! I swear, chicken salt goes with anything! ANYTHING!!!

Alanna asked me a question and I went around asking for her. I tried Nunjo, walking into her room. She looked up from her brief and just shook her head and said no. The look in her eyes was...dead. I swear, there is nothing worse than disinterest. Put it this way - if I was Lincoln, her eyes would be sparkling. Reality is starting to hit harder and harder.

Fuck her, hope she leaves.

One of the lawyers in Chris' trial called me today, wanting her client's things back, which I thought was fair enough. She also wanted a copy of the document which listed the items, and I said I'd send it to her by end of day. I emailed Chris and she said she can use her own copy and it's not our job. Geez, I wonder if she's pissed about losing the trial. What I didn't like was the tone of her email and the fact that she included the cop on it.

Fuck her too, sucked in she's leaving.

I was near the parabay at one stage, and Moira was like "tighten up your tie" and reached out to try to tighten it. I backed away and joked "oh Cameron's not here anymore so now I'm your target?" and walked away.

At the end of the day, Clare came to my room and told me she learnt from Ogre and Mary that Moira and Cameron were no longer on speaking terms, which explains Cameron's "we're just friends" facade he gave on Friday. Also explains him turning his fucking attention to Nunjo.

I told Clare about my 'encounter' with Moira earlier and we both laughed. I also asked her to close the door and told her the reason Chris was moved. I had managed to hold it back this long, but finally had to tell someone. Damn. She said Chris probably shouldn't have sent that email to everyone correcting her departure date which DS gave, and also correcting the fact that she doesn't want to leave. We both think she didn't mean to include DS in on the email. Either way, I thought it was inappropriate to say something like that in an email to everyone.

After work, I walked with Melissa and Moira out of the office, and then went to the computer shop in Ultimo to get a 2TB external HD. I broke two in the last two days :(