Asked her out!

Woke up today and skipped the plan to work out at the courts, figuring yesterday's two training sessions warranted some rest on my (old?) legs. I left home at about noon and caught the bus out to the city for the Team Mary lunch. I was running a bit late so ended up catching a taxi in the city, which was only a bit of help as there were road blocks everywhere and the driver dropped me off about a five minute walk from the hotel.

When I got there, everyone was already there - Ogre, Moira, Clare and Mary. It was a really nice venue, with an open view to the water allowing a cool breeze inside, but at the same time, you just knew it was one of those really expensive but small servings meals types of places.

Everything went ok I thought, but I was a bit embarrassed about what happened with dessert. I ordered something with berries, and when one with berries came along, I said it was mine and Moira put her hand up for it too. It was given to her, and I thought, fine because girls should have it first. But when mine came, it was different, and everyone was like "I thought you ordered the same as Moira's" and I realised I didn't, but they insisted on letting the waitress know. When the waitress came, she was adamant she got my order right, and I said not to worry about it. So everyone thought I was either a dumb fuck for not knowing my dessert, or a weak dumb fuck for not insisting on my order.

Just before I left home, I thought about the possibility that this would be a present giving event, and if it was, I'd be dead because I didn't get anyone anything. Turns out Mary got everyone a present and so did Ogre. Lucky Moira and Clare didn't.

When we parted near Circular Quay, it was a bit awkward, because I just waved bye to Clare and Moira, but Mary and Ogre offered a hug. Hmmm. I'm always so bad at these things.

Anyway, I caught the bus home, then drove to get some groceries for my weekly lunch. I took them home, then went to the cinema to watch Fury at 6:20pm. I figured going to the casino after the movie was a good time to see Julie.

The movie was actually pretty good. I thought they spent a bit too long on the scene where they were at the house with the two ladies, but I really loved the end fighting scene, and how the movie finished.

Surprisingly, the movie went on for about two hours, which was good, because it meant I wouldn't get to the casino right at 8pm making me look too eager.

I got to the casino probably around 9pm-ish. When I went there, I scanned the roulette tables and was a bit disappointed at first because I couldn't see her. Then I spotted her and realised why I couldn't see her - she had changed her hair style. She no longer had the fringes, but now her hair was straightened for a simpler look.

I really needed to use the bathroom, and there were people at her table, so I went to use the bathroom first. I thought of a perfect line on approach: I'd walk up to her and ask "excuse me, I'm looking for Julie" and then pretend to be shocked at her new look.

After using the toilet, I went to buy in eight $100 chips, and there were still people at her table, so I went to the one diagonally behind her. The dealer was Ben, I bought some colour chips and started playing. I wasn't sure if Julie ever saw me when she turned around at times, but there was never any eye contact.

For the most part, I decided to wait until she changed to my table, whenever that would be. Once or twice, it seemed her table would be empty and I thought about quickly going over, but it was lucky I didn't because it soon got packed again. I told myself to be patient.

I was down at first, but noticed Benjamin was hitting a lot of 0-3 sections, so on one bet I mini-smashed that section and it landed on 32 where I had four splits. I was up, and decided not to lose it all. At least before Julie came over anyway.

Ben seemed interested in my work, asking me what time I started tomorrow, what time I planned to leave etc. Hmmm.

The first shift change in the pod was at the table next to mine. After that, the next one took Julie off her table. I wondered if she'd come to my table or the one in front of me. Later on I saw she had come to my table. I didn't know how to greet her, and she didn't seem to make any eye contact at first, but then we made eye contact with a bit of a nod.

Benjamin made some remark about leaving, and I jokingly gestured like "what are you doing?" as if to indicate he was doing well for me, and he said something about me winning. Julie asked me "is that all your winnings?" pointing to my chips and I said yeah.

I told her I watched Fury and asked if she had seen it and she said no. I was a bit disappointed with her short answer, and my insecurities made me feel depressed, but then she added that she had seen Interstellar. I asked her if it was good and she said yes. I asked if it was like Gravity and she said kinda. I asked her who was in it and she was trying to remember the guy's name until I asked if it was Matthew McConaughey, and she said yes. I said he was in Wolf of Wall Street and asked if she saw that and she said yes. I said he was funny, and started beating my chest like he did in the movie lol. I added that I had read the book.

At times she would speak to her supervisor, a short Asian guy called Bao or something. It made me feel or realise that maybe she wasn't interested. But I told myself to be content to be there, and also, he was her supervisor, so she couldn't exactly ignore him if he wanted to talk

I asked her when she returns to day shifts, and I can't recall her exact answer, but it seemed like she didn't know, although she did say she wanted day shifts.

I asked her if she liked working with animals, and she said not really. I asked if she liked working with children and she said yes. I said the childcare area was booming and she said she knew. Some guy at the table joked that she was working with animals here everyday, and we both laughed. I told her I had a friend who has a toddler and needed to book a year in advance for day care, and she gave a surprised look.

I told her I had my interview and she asked how that went. I was kinda waiting for her to ask me about it but oh well. I told her it went ok but it was a bit intimidating because there were six barristers, when normally there are only three. She asked if I thought I got it and I said only time will tell. I told her it seemed like a good place because they didn't care about where I'd get my work from as they seemed to have enough work, whereas others would always ask me where I'd get my work from.

I also added that someone who I studied with said you'd only need to work two hours a day to make six figures. Further, I said that it was a bit ridiculous because someone with no experience who suddenly passes the exams can charge $250/hour.

I asked her if she had any more thoughts on studying law. She said it was just a thought and she only asked previously because someone working there was studying law to be an immigration lawyer. I said I encouraged her to study law but not to be a lawyer. She asked me why, and I said we were leading all professions in terms of suicide rates, depression rates, and relationship breakdown rates. She said she thought it was dentists and I said we took over. She said something about dentists looking into a hole all day.

I asked her how her work was going and if she was settling in. She made a face like she wasn't really enjoying it. She said she wasn't used to people swearing at her for no reason, and I joked "no reason? You're not hitting their numbers" and she laughed, saying she couldn't control that. She also added "supervisors". I whispered I didn't think this job was right for her. She mentioned something about being too dumb, and I said she wasn't dumb. She said she didn't mean "too dumb", and I said I try to read people and I can see that she just needs a bit more confidence and a bit of a spark. I said she just needed something to be passionate about. She looked at me with a bit of sparkle in her eyes. I think she enjoyed these types of comments more than my compliments on her appearance.

I mentioned something about Brad Pitt saying in Fury that he thought he had the best job in the world, and that was how she needed to feel. She asked if I felt that way about my job and I said I did.

I said a government job would be perfect for her, as it was stable, good pay and no stress. She said she didn't think so lol. I asked if she had thought about working for [the agency that can't be named] and she said she didn't know what it was. I said it was basically being a spy and that it'd be good for her because no one would ever suspect her.

We talked about gambling as well when I mentioned studying law. I said it was good because it teaches you to think logically, and it was helpful in casinos because so many people think emotionally. She seemed to agree with this point. I mentioned something about chasing losses being an emotional reaction, and she agreed. She said (I think on two separate occasions) that it was good that I wasn't an emotional gambler. I mentioned that I had a reason for gambling but it was another story for another day.

She asked me why I wanted to go to the bar anyway, and I told her my story about initially being on a one year contract when I sat the bar exams. Somehow we got to her talking about a Korean barrister. I asked who and she said there was only one. I thought about it and then asked if it was [insert his name] and she was like "huh? How do you know him?" and I explained that I had worked with a lady from his chambers when I was junior.

She said he was a good family friend and used to love them when she was young. She said she hasn't seen him for a long time and he probably still thinks of her as a 13 year old girl. I felt like we had bonded over this, as now I wasn't just some random gambler who was purportedly a lawyer; I was someone who was in some way connected to her, and that supported my story.

I asked if she knew Rebecca and she said she did, but we couldn't confirm if we were talking about the same one. She asked me if Rebecca had married a white guy, and I said I didn't know, that I hadn't checked on her on fb for a while. I said "that reminds me..." and she gave me a blank look. I said I was still waiting on her to add me on fb. She said she doesn't use it much.

Should I believe her? Hmmm, well she does seem to be using the same profile picture from like five months ago.

She asked me if the bartender job was still vacant and if it was at the Hilton. I said it wasn't a specific vacancy as such, but my friend worked at the Hilton and still had connections there so he could pass on her resume. She said it was probably too late, and I asked her what she meant. She said no one would be hiring in December and I said you never know, and that there was no harm in trying.

I relayed a story about meeting a guy one day and we got chatting, and he told me he had lost a few thousand, so when he won a bit back I tried to get him away by offering to buy him a drink, but then he wanted one more spin before we went and then he lost. She asked me why I would do that and I said he seemed like a nice guy. I did add that if I had pulled him away and it landed on his number then he'd be angry with me, and she agreed.

I thought about asking her out, and figured doing it on exit would be good. I had to wait until some random guy lost his money and left. I bet black/third column and it landed on 7. I had previously lost once or twice like that with her (one time she said "you just lost $80 lol), so I said she was sending me broke and I wanted to cash in ($1210 with a $410 gain). She asked me how much I started with and I joked $5000 but I don't think she got it. She said she hoped she didn't get it wrong, and I said she better not short change me. When she laid out a $10 chip with two $100 chips, I was like "awwww" and she wondered if she was wrong, before grabbing a $1000 chip for me as well.

After her supervisor approved it and went the fuck away, I said "hey we should go get a coffee when you return to day shift after one of your shifts". She nodded without saying anything, and I said "have a good night" and she said "you too".

Now, the nod - I'm not too sure. I went away with a positive feeling, but there's a good chance she was just doing as a friendly way of saying no. She did the same when I initially asked her to add me on fb, so hmmm.