Erica back to Korea??

Starting from perhaps Saturday, I was feeling like it's been too long since I saw Erica. Guess I was starting to miss her. Guess around two weeks is when you start to miss someone...or about the maximum amount of time you could go between seeing them whilst building a relationship at the same time.

So today, naturally I was looking forward to seeing her. Throughout the day I would occasionally think about her, and was rather surprised by how quickly time went by. Plan was to go see her at around 7pm for an hour, then head off to gym. I would bring the Angry Bird plush toy in for her. I wouldn't have sex, but just wanted to talk. Work has been somewhat stressful, so I just wanted to lie down and talk to her.

I keep thinking about her face when she made the Angry Bird face, lol.

I called at about 6pm, a guy with rather good English picked up the phone. I asked if Erica was working tonight, and he said no, that she had gone to Korea for a holiday for two months. I was...stunned. Shocked. Flabbergasted.

I hung up, not knowing what to do.  Remember when you used to see Naby on a regular basis and then every now and then you'd find out she wasn't working, and you'd think the world was coming to an end? Well, this felt like that. It was just so...unexpected.

I wondered what I should do. I thought about going to the casino, but didn't see any point in blowing my cash just because of this. I started telling myself to think logically.

Maybe the guy was wrong? 

Maybe he misheard me and thought I said another name?

Why would she give me her number voluntarily just to mislead me?

Maybe it was out of her control as to when she left for Korea?

I decided that she must still be in the country, but she had stopped work from now until she leaves. So I messaged her "Hey Angry Bird how are you?"

I waited for a reply. I went to the bathroom and came back. Nothing. I decided to read the rest of my brief, with the volume on my phone on, just in case I couldn't hear it vibrate.

I finished reading the brief. I sent an email.

Still nothing.

I decided to give her an hour at least to respond. Maybe she was with a customer? Maybe she wasn't allowed to bring her phone with her to work?

At about 7pm, I left the office and walked to the casino, occasionally checking my phone. Despite having my credit card with me, I didn't gamble. Instead, I watched this huge player on a $10 table. In addition to the stack of colour chips, he was throwing $100 chips all over. I mean, all over. I watched as he won the maximum $7000 twice. I told myself to watch until he loses it all, which could take a while given he was betting on every number. But logic told me that the odds were against him in the long run and he'd eventually bleed to death. Other people had started watching.

Suddenly his winnings weren't as big. He didn't hit on the maximum bets anymore, yet his returns still seemed significant, but I knew otherwise. Then it landed on a number where he only had a small stack of colour chips. He now didn't have enough to bet on every number. The next spin, it landed on 8...he had no chips on that.

So in a span of about 15 minutes, he lost $14,000. The look on the faces of observers was disgust. I walked away, not really wanting to see the rest as he pulled more cash out of his pocket.

I went to a quiet area of the casino and called the shop again. I had checked the roster and it was updated today, and Erica was working this week. I decided that the guy must've misheard me.

I called, and I was put on hold, then it hung up. I called again, and asked, trying a deeper voice to mask my earlier call. But although he seemed to be a different guy, he sounded like he knew I called earlier, as he hesitated before telling me (again) that she had gone to Korea for two months. The other thing was, when I called this time, the first thing he said before I said anything was apologise for hanging up earlier...I wonder if they have number recognition?

I hung up, still distraught. I walked out of the casino. I decided to try the last resort...calling her.

I went to a payphone and put in 60 cents. I had my mobile out as I needed to dial her number. To the keen observer, this was weird - why use a payphone when you have a mobile?

Anyway, it went to an automated message straight away. Hmmm.

I started the walk back to the office, wondering.

Why the hell would she deliberately mislead me? 

Or had I done something and now she told the shop she doesn't want to see me?

The roster seems pretty detailed, setting out her off days as well. Unless it's just some automatic roll over thing.

Looks like from the old roster she worked yesterday or Saturday...why would she leave Korea so quickly?

I decided that I'd wait two months for her. At least this way, I'd save some money.

I started to recall our last meeting. Perhaps there was some miscommunication as to dates? But no, it can't be. She was very specific and I had my calendar out. I last saw her on 24/9. She said she wouldn't be working on the week starting 1/10 because of her "woman problems". So I figured I'd see her on 8/10 (today). She initially suggested dinner on 18/10 and then changed it to 19/10, and told me she was leaving on 22/10.

If she knew she was going to leave way before this, why would she change it from 18 to 19? She wouldn't care!

Hmmm...I don't know.