Playing through injuries / Hurricanes (Jenny)

When was the last time I felt like I had an awesome basketball game?

On Wednesday, with my knee in pain and causing me to limp every time I walked after a prolonged period of sitting, I suited up and played the game. It was against the shittest team in the division, so why did I play? Because we had lost to them before, and I didn't want to risk losing to them again, which would seriously put us out of the playoff race.

My only goal that game was to shut down their only scorer, number 21. He wasn't that good, but he was enough of a threat last time to beat us. So almost every possession, I made it a priority to shut him down and at times covered him from full court.

It worked. We were up by eight at half time, and he sat out the first ten minutes of the second half, but by then it was already over. And despite my knee, I still managed to sneak in one of those steals where I steal it from their inbounds pass after we scored.

I just felt so proud of myself that I was able to play through pain. When was the last time I did that? All I can remember is being too old and being too cautious nowadays. I pictured myself as a 40 year old Michael Jordan trying with 110% effort to win the game.

After the game we went to Eastwood to eat. It was quite enjoyable, as we went to a HK style cafe, and everything was really cheap despite the large servings.

Thursday
On Thursday I was to meet Jenny for dinner. Originally I said we would watch a movie but then realised picking her up at 8:30pm meant it would be a little too late for a movie, so I changed it to dinner and she said ok.

I decided to play a bit of a prank with her - just before I arrived, I sent her a message saying my mum wanted to meet her and so would be joining us for dinner. There was a bit of a pause, and then she replied with "ok". I mentally gave her credit for her calmness and agreement to meet my mother, even though I knew she'd hate it.

I parked outside the casino and waited for her. After a few minutes, I saw her walking towards my car, looking into it to look for my mother. I told her it was a joke and she said she half knew it. I said it was to remind her of G's situation lol.

But the joking soon ended. She told me that Coco had told her supervisor Corinne that they didn't get along, and so Corinne separated them on their allocated shift together. I couldn't believe Coco had done that, seriously affecting Jenny's career. I think any personal disputes like that should be left outside the work place and not be used to interfere with work.

So the whole car ride was filled with that topic, and this time I was much more passionate and siding with Jenny because: 1) it came as a surprise (whereas with the dispute, Coco had got to me first); and 2) I really did believe Coco had done the wrong thing.

I mean, why the hell would you tell your manager, before starting the job, that you didn't get along with someone? That just makes you look bad, and makes things difficult for the manager. I told Jenny to be calm about it, and not bring up the topic at work, but if asked, to just say there had been a misunderstanding and that she was a nice person (so that Coco would play the villain). She said she wasn't sure if she could say Coco was a nice person.

I took us to Bondi Beach and after I parked, I got the coloured rose out from the back seat and gave it to her. She was like "another rose?" and I said it reminded me of her when I saw it because it was so colourful. She thanked me, and I had this big fear that she'd want to leave it in the car so people didn't see it and think we were a couple, but to my surprise, she took it along with her. She said it was beautiful and asked me if I knew how it was made. Luckily I asked the guy when I bought it earlier (they split the stems and feed it dyed water).

We went to the restaurant and had a table outside. I was thinking of ordering a main each, but she suggested sharing a main and a salad. I figured that may be wise anyway since they seemed to be pretty big servings, and it would be more cost effective.

We continued talking about Coco, interspersed with various other topics like her moving on Sunday. I told her I would be meeting Coco on Friday night to give her the $500 rental money, and she seemed to just want me to drop it off and go. I said I'd probably just have a quick meal with her to try to smooth things out so she doesn't hurt Jenny's career. But I wondered if she wanted to keep me away from Coco just because she didn't like her, or if she felt some degree of jealousy now. She did say at one point that she felt Coco abandoned their friendship after meeting her new boyfriend Jay.

The food turned out to be just enough, and we didn't even completely finish the salad. When it came time to pay, she left about $30 on the table and insisted on contributing, and I just nodded. She said she needed to go to the toilet, so I just stuffed the money back into her purse and paid for it. When she returned and we left, she asked how much it was and I said $90, and she commented on how expensive it was after converting it to HKD.

We walked back to my car, and I thought about suggesting a walk on the beach, but it was dark and slightly windy, and I figured she'd say no. So we went back to my car and I drove her home. On the way home we got talking about her drawings and I jokingly asked her to draw me, and this time she said she would. I joked that I would only accept it if she made me handsome, and she said "I don't know what to say" lol. She said she would do a simple drawing and I asked if she would just do a circle with eyes and a mouth, and we both laughed.

Helping Jenny move

Yesterday at about 2:30pm I got a call from Jenny. I wasn’t sure what she wanted, but I let it ring out, and then called her back from my office phone. She was telling me about how she had been out inspecting different places for rooms, and how she was on her way to meet one who didn’t show up. She said she was running late and messaged the guy and he was ok with it, but when she arrived, he wasn’t there and she messaged him like ten times and there was no response.

She said she was thinking of moving to a friend’s place later on in the day and asked if I could help her move. I said yes and asked when she would find out, and she said she’d call by 4:30 or 5pm.

I worked through the rest of the day (relatively productively) thinking about how this might upset Coco. I felt like I was secretly helping Jenny escape. It would be pretty obvious when Coco got home that Jenny was gone. Should I admit it or deny it? And would Jenny pay the rent that was due?

I also spent a considerable amount of time checking motel prices. If Jenny was that desperate to move out, maybe I could pay for a few nights in a motel for her? Problem was, I had no money left in my bank account (next day was pay day) and only about $1,000 on my credit card.

When I finished work I changed, and thought about waiting for her to call me. But then I thought, if she doesn’t need my help anymore, then I would go to the gym. So I called her and she sounded excited to receive my call. She said she had found a place in Central and was trying to decide between that place and her friend’s place in Auburn.

She seemed to really want my input and to base her decision on it. She asked which place was safer, and talked about which one she would feel more comfortable at. In the end I suggested the Central place, and she went with it. We agreed to meet at about 6:30pm at her place.

I bought two small pieces of chocolate for her to try to cheer her up, as she had also said the fight with Coco had been aggravated. I went home, got changed and left. But annoyingly, as I was about to drive off, my dad asked me to drive him somewhere. I did it, and then went to pick up Jenny.

I was a bit late, made worse by the need to find a parking spot since it was too early to park right in front of her building. I messaged her and saw her waiting downstairs with a suitcase. She said she had more and wanted to take that to the car first, so we did. There was a bit of talk about Coco as we made our way to the car.

Then we returned to the apartment to collect the rest of her stuff, being one more suitcase and various bags of stuff. I wondered if she took the coconuts I had bought her. I doubted it, and so didn’t want to ask.

As we went back to my car, she mentioned that she had left the rent money for Coco. I said it would be safer to somehow pass it onto her in person and that I could do it, to avoid any possible argument of not receiving the money. She agreed so we went back into the apartment and she grabbed the money and gave it to me. I asked her if she would leave the keys in the letterbox and she said she would return it to the agent the next morning. As we got into my car, I asked how much rent money there was and she said $500, which was a bit more than what was due.

I also gave her the two pieces of chocolate. She asked what it was for, and I said to cheer her up as I knew she had had a long day. She thanked me and started smelling it. She started eating one, asking me what flavour it was and I said mango, because the other night she wanted a mango drink and it wasn’t available.

Maybe it’s not obvious, but this was one of my ‘tests’ for her. There were two pieces there and I wanted to see if she’d offer me a piece. As she was eating her piece, I thought she was just going to start eating the other one as well, however, to my surprise, she asked if I wanted one. I smiled and said no.

As we headed there, we talked more about Coco. She said she just didn’t agree with the morals of Coco, referring to how shortly after her husband left, she found a new (and younger) guy via Wechat and spends every night out with him, returning home at midnight or 1am. I agreed with her, saying even though I had never met her husband, I felt sorry for him. She said something about him like, yes, he might be a bit boring and never goes out, but he seemed to be a caring husband, who worked and cooked for her every night.

When we were in the vicinity of Central, I asked her where it was exactly. She couldn’t really pronounce the name of the street, so looked it up on her phone. She had a bit of difficulty finding that message containing the address at first, but then she eventually found it. As I was driving, I reached over for her phone to have a look, and deliberately touched her hand as I took it off her. I had a look and read “Chalmers Street”, and handed the phone back. I noticed that as she took it, her hand touched mine in much the same way as I touched hers moments earlier.

After a bit of fumbling around on the roads, we eventually found it. It was one of those established apartments across from the basketball courts at Central, which I had walked past countless times but never paid much attention to it. She boasted that there was a pool and a gym, but from what I saw, it probably wouldn’t be too good. Don’t get me wrong, the apartment wasn’t too bad, but just not as good as what she may have made it sound out to be.

She called a guy called Tony and said we were there. As I was unloading some of the suitcases, I saw a Caucasian guy standing at the gate waiting for us. We greeted him and he led us into the apartment. We caught a lift to I think the first floor and he led us to door number four. It was a bit of a cramped apartment, with narrow hallways and furniture taking up a lot of the space. I saw an Asian guy sitting in the lounge eating something.

We put her suitcases in what looked like a study room. At first I thought this was just to put her suitcases, but then I saw two bunk beds allowing for four people to sleep. This was her room now. To be shared. At least for the next six weeks.

We left to retrieve the remaining bags from the car, and returned to the apartment with them. I put them down where the suitcases were, and I supposed that was it. Jenny thanked me, and I turned around to leave. She patted me on the arm as I walked off. I said “take care” before adding “see you Thursday” and she said goodbye. I felt a bit…I don’t know, like I was deserting her, leaving her alone with a bunch of strangers. A bit like leaving your kid at school for the first time, or leaving your pet with someone while you go on holiday.

As I made my way up the mini stairs in the apartment, I heard the Tony guy say something like “oh, you want to say something?” and I heard Jenny call out to me. I turned around to see she had rushed to the lounge area as if to catch me one last time. She said goodbye, and I said I’d see her Thursday, and we waved at each other.

I left and went home. When I got home I messaged Coco saying that Jenny had moved out and that I had the rent money. She asked me how much, saying it should be $650. When I said she gave me $500, she said she wasn’t accepting it as it should be $650. Then later on she realised it was only rent for three weeks, so $500 was right.

I messaged Jenny a bit and then at about 10:30pm sent a good message along with an emoticon. I told myself that if she replied with a similar message, it would be a good sign. I woke up at 4:50am to see she had sent one at 4:13am.

Double trouble?

On Saturday, after the long talk with Coco, I decided to do a facebook status update of “Please don’t 

mistake my kindness for weakness”, viewable only by Coco and Jenny.

At about 1pm, about two hours after I posted it, Jenny sent me a Wechat message asking if I was 

alright. I had no intentions of replying immediately, but thought I’d just reply with “I’m good thanks” 

later on. Then the idea of not replying at all was starting to grow on me.

I felt like thinking about it anyway. I had a relatively busy day set out. I had already done my 
Saturday morning basketball. So much has changed in the two weeks I had been absent. The usual 
courts we played on have had their backboards taken down, and we were now relocated to one of the new courts closer to the road. When I arrived, there were six guys there and I only recognised Paul.

My mind wasn’t on the games and I think it showed. I felt a bit lethargic. In the middle of the games, it started raining. At first it was a few drops, then it was heavy. I thought everyone would stop and
dash off, but both courts stayed to finish their games. I had rain going into my eyes and couldn’t see
at all. I didn’t even feel like playing anymore as I didn’t want to slip and get hurt.

I walked home in the rain, and felt that it was suitable given what had transpired the night before with Coco. I went home, had a shower, then had a nap as I had basketball at night.

Later on I drove out to pick Daniel up, and we went to basketball together. I was much more into it 

now. Early on, I had two steals and both led to me sprinting down to the other end for easy lay ups.

I thought there was some pretty good competition, and I was up for it. I started playing hard defence on some of the guys playing hard, but at one point one guy’s knee ran into my right knee (yes, that 
knee) and I played the rest of that game in damaged mode. It was tough too, because that was the 
game where we went into triple over-time.

I sat out the rest of the games and watched and talked to Daniel. Afterwards, Mike, Daniel, Derek, 
Sam and I went to Eastwood to eat. By now I was limping very seriously. I was worried I had done 
some damage to my ACL, but logically I was telling myself a bone to bone impact would only cause a bruise or something.

The food at the restaurant wasn’t too nice, but I enjoyed hanging out with the guys. I told Mike 
about how I was watching a video of our basketball game about seven years ago, and I think we 
both reminisced quietly inside our minds.

After dinner I drove Daniel home, then went home and had a shower. By now it was quite late, like 
1am or something, and I sent a short reply to Jenny saying I was alright, hoping the delayed and brief response would send her a signal.

On Sunday I was looking forward to a peaceful day at home, just playing TLOU, and saving some money. Then at 11:31am Jenny replies to my previous Wechat message (which didn’t require any 
response) with “Gd…”

Before I could decide whether she wanted to continue the conversation or if it was just her way of 
expressing some interest, she sent a follow up message saying she had gotten into an argument with Coco and that she doesn’t want to be friends with Coco anymore.

I already knew about the fight, as Coco told me on Friday, so I had to play innocent. I asked “really? That serious?” and “are you ok?”

She said it was serious and that she’d move out soon. Part of me just didn’t want to deal with it, but 
another part felt like Jenny was reaching out, and that this was an opportunity. I asked if she wanted 
to meet up for a coffee and she asked if I would have time before 3pm as she had work at 4pm.

So she got more shifts…

I said I’d be there in 20 minutes and she said 30 minutes as she needed to change. I said ok and then went to the Wick to do some grocery shopping. That, of course, made me late, which is pretty bad 
since I’ve been playfully jabbing her for being late before.

When I got there I messaged her and she came down shortly after. She asked why I wasn’t playing 
basketball today and I told her I hurt my leg. She started asking me about it and I told her some brief details before I changed the topic and asked about her fight with Coco.

She explained that the agreement between her and Coco was that she would stay rent free in the 
living room whilst Coco’s husband was around, but that she would start paying rent when he moved out and she had her own room. She said the rent period started at the beginning of February, and she would pay by the end of the month as she hadn’t found a job yet.

She said she had told Coco she might be moving out if she got the babysitting job, and then without 
anything further, Coco said she had advertised her room, which Jenny felt was unfair as she wasn’t 
sure yet as to whether she would be moving out. She also said Coco seemed to keep changing her 
mind about things, as she had already told her that she’d pay the rent by the end of the month but 
was now asking for it again.

Contrary to what Coco had said, Jenny said she had helped clean the house during her stay. She also mentioned that she had bought lots of presents for Coco from Hong Kong, including a handbag. She 
said she thought Coco was making things up about the electricity bill being more expensive due to 
Jenny using the air conditioning.

She explained that she had told Coco that there were no more shifts available at the casino job during the Chinese New Year, but Coco interpreted this to mean that there were no shifts available at all. 
So when Coco called the casino and found out they were hiring for more, she thought Jenny had 
deliberately lied to keep her out of the job. She said Coco had initially sent her the ad, but that she 
was the one who landed the job.

She asked if I knew about their fight. I paused, and then answered no, as I didn't want to reveal that I had met up with Coco on Friday night. I knew that by doing this, I was risking losing both Coco and Jenny if they found out the truth.

Jenny had asked if I could take her to the main CBD area as she wanted to buy a pair of shoes for 
work, and suggested we eat there as well. I parked in a car park and then we walked to the main CBD area.

I was going to take her to a ramen place in the shopping centre, but she wanted sushi train, so we 
ended up at a sushi train restaurant in the shopping centre. We sat next to each other on stools and 
she suggested sharing the food. I kept in mind that she felt I needed to be more “switched on” and 
prepared some soy sauce and wasabi for her.

We continued talking about her fight with Coco. Initially I thought perhaps there was a chance for 
reconciliation, and I tried to lightly press upon her that Coco wasn’t necessarily a bad person. 
However, I could tell she thought I was siding with Coco so I dropped it. She also seemed to really 
want to make sure that I understood her point about how Coco misunderstood what she said about no shifts remaining, making eye contact with me and asking if I understood.

She picked one sushi dish off the train and remarked how it was so beautiful and unique. I said 
something about the sushi making class we took and used the opportunity to tell her I wasn’t wearing my glasses so couldn’t see how the sushi was being made. She said she thought I was wearing 
contacts and I said no.

She said she wanted to move out of the house and was hoping it could be done within a week, and asked me if that was reasonable. I said it was possible, but it takes time to pick a place and flatmates 
you like.

She said she felt she didn’t share the morals of Coco, referring to how Coco was still married but 
was off seeking other guys – younger guys. 
She seemed to focus on this a bit, adding something about how Coco met this guy ‘online’ (from 
Wechat).

She talked about her job as well, and I was lightly probing into the topic. She said she was still 
getting four hour shifts on a part time basis working 3- 4 days a week. 

She said her manager is really nice. I asked if there were any guys in her team and she said no. I 
asked if she could talk to the dealers and she said not really. She said she only gets a 20 minute break during her four hour shift.

She asked again if I knew about the fight. I said Coco had sent me some message about not being on good terms with her, but I wasn't sure what it was about.

We stayed at the restaurant for a while. Even when we had stopped eating, she said she wanted to sit and talk for a bit longer, and we got our hot green tea re-filled and kept talking.

When it came time to pay, she gave me a $20 note and said that would be her contribution. I joked 
and asked “we don’t know how much it costs yet, what if it’s $300?” and she laughed and punched 
my arm. When she insisted, I joked again “what if it’s $5?” and took the summary of the dishes to 
the cashier for payment and paid it myself.

We then went to the shopping centre for her to look for shoes. We went to a few stores before she 
found a suitable pair in one of them, but she wanted to check out other options. I suggested Myer so we went there. Being me, I figured all I had to do was tag along and she’d just mind herself, as she 
couldn’t possibly expect me to be into women’s shoes. However, I found that she wanted me to keep up with what she was doing. For instance, when she found a pair she liked in Myer, and they looked 
similar, she asked if it was the same brand as the one she found suitable in the other shop.

She wanted a black pair because it was for work, and she wanted a sizeable heel to make herself look taller. She wanted one that closed off the tip so her toes weren’t showing. I tried to look for ones 
having those traits and felt good when she tried on one or two pairs that I pointed out.

In the end, we went back to the original shop as she wanted the pair she liked in there. After we 
walked out, I asked if she wanted some chocolate and she asked where. I led her to a chocolate stall I had spotted earlier and she seemed to like it ok. I had in mind just to buy two pieces but she had a 
look at the packs. When I told her to just try the individual ones, she said ok. She said she wanted the orange one and I got the raspberry one. She fought to pay for it and I let her, and it only cost $1 for 
both pieces anyway.

We ate it as we walked out of the mall and she liked her one. I didn’t feel like my one tasted much 
like raspberry.

On our way back to the car park, she mentioned something about a friend she knew who ran several 
cafes and she was trying to get in touch with him to try to get a job at one of the cafes. From my 
conversation with Coco on Friday, I knew who she was talking about – Dion. 

We walked back to the car park and I dropped her off at work. It made me think – if I had never been to the casino, I wouldn’t have known how to drive there. However, this 
‘knowledge’ had now proved useful. Did I pay (ie. lose) all that money just to obtain this simple 
piece of knowledge for the purpose as shown today? Did all my losses lead me to today? Was this 
why I had lost all that money?

As usual, when she left my car she waved goodbye at me and I drove off. I went home and played 
TLOU for a bit and then thought I should get onto looking for accommodation for her as she had 
asked. I did a bit of a search and sent her some results which I thought were suitable.

Just before dropping her off, I had asked if she wanted to catch a movie later in the week and she said yes, and added that she wanted to see the lanterns. I thought she meant the Terracotta warriors 
lanterns, so I looked that up as well. Anyway, both lanterns I realised were to finish on the day, so I 
told her on facebook and asked if she wanted to see them after work.

To my surprise, she checked the messages and replied during her shift, saying yes, so we organised to meet at 8:30pm at where I had dropped her off. 

I left home a bit earlier as I wanted to get a phone charger for my car as she was looking to charge her phone earlier. Most shops would’ve been closed but I figured the Woolies in the city would have one. So I drove out and realised that the Chinese New Year parade was going on. I managed to find 
parking reasonably close, but when I tried walking to Woolies, found that the parade was blocking 
my path. I didn’t use much more effort in trying, as I figured I shouldn’t spoil her anyway.

I returned to my car and drove to the casino. I tried to look for parking somewhere in between the 
casino and Darling Harbour, as that would’ve been most convenient when we finished checking out 
the lanterns, but it was all jam packed. So I parked where I used to park when I’d normally go to the 
casino.

She messaged me saying she’d be waiting at the big sign, and I messaged back saying I had parked 
and was walking over now. As I walked towards the area where I had dropped her off, I was looking out for her but couldn’t see her. Part of me wondered if there were any CCTV cameras watching, and if there were, would they recognise me and think there was something suss about me seeing her.

As I closed in on the area, I heard her yelling out my name. I spun around and saw her sitting at a 
table behind the big sign. I sat down and told her about the slight change in plans and she said ok. 
She wanted to put some bags in my car but I said I’d carry it for her since I parked kinda far away.

We walked over to Darling Harbour and walked through to the lantern area. On the way she said she felt like bbq chicken wings. So I checked the menus of the restaurants we passed but they didn’t have any. She said she also felt like nachos so we went to one of the restaurants with nachos.

She again offered to pay, this time leaving some coins on the counter as I ordered, but I put them 
back in her purse. We sat a table outside sharing the nachos and sipping on our drinks.

I told her about how I used to have shares in the casino, and she seemed interested in knowing about 
the past, and about the new casino opening up. I also talked about how the whole going to the bar 
thing had reared its head again as my tutor was going to see if I can share his room.

She also brought up Dion, showing me his photos on facebook. That annoyed me a bit. They were 
photos of an event he had MC’d, which had Tony Abbott present, and he had posed for some photos with him. She made it sound like he was all that, but I didn’t think so. She asked if I knew him and I 
said I had met him a long time ago. Going by what Coco had told me, I think Jenny wanted to see if I could introduce her to him.

She showed me a photo her friend had sent her on Whatsapp. It was of her at her friend’s wedding, jumping up into the air and catching the bouquet. She said her friend was laughing at how high she jumped for it. I said she must’ve wanted to get married, but she gave some explanation about how no one else wanted to jump and she didn’t want to let it fall to the ground.

We sat there for a while before moving on to check out the lanterns. After that we went back to my 
car and drove to Dawes Point to check out the Terracotta warriors lanterns. They were pretty cool, 
but problem was, that was all there was. It lasted about 10 minutes max, but good thing was it had a 
good view of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

She mentioned something about the stars being very bright, and actually said it twice. I wonder what she was trying to get at. We went back to my car and then I drove her home.

The answers (Jenny)

Yesterday I had lunch with Rom, DC and a PLT student following him around called Phil. He was a bit older, and said he was in finance before, and had just started law as a career. I thought that was a bit weird.

We went to a restaurant in the shopping centre, the same one I had been to with Victoria a while ago. Got talking about how DC was opposing my office in one of my matters, me going to the bar, and joked about the terror trial and how one of those who was released is now appearing in beheading videos. It was a bit weird when I tried to ask him about his recent holidays, he said to Phil "don't believe him".

Anyway, about me going to the bar, he offered to ask his place for me to share his room. I didn't want to bother him since they had already rejected me formally, so I was saying "no it's alright" and he insisted, and I kept resisting, until finally he half joked "ok so you don't want me help?" I had to try to be diplomatic and say I would be happy if I just stayed where I am if I can't find a place. At the end of the lunch he said he'd ask his place to see what could be done. I'm grateful, but feel a bit uncomfortable with it.

He also paid for the whole lunch too, which Rom and I felt uncomfortable with. But DC joked it off saying he had received presents (I gave him a buddha I got from HK, and I gave Rom a Doma usb stick).

At the end of the day, I got really restless and bored, and left half an hour early even though I had to go to Alanna's drinks at 5pm (Mob wasn't in the office). I went to check out JB Hifi to kill some time. Eventually I went to the drinks, as it was her last day at work as she got appointed a Registrar.

When I approached, Jessica waved out to me, and I walked over half awkwardly, making introductory remarks with Alanna, Erin and Jessica. I could feel myself sweating on the top of my head, and I saw Alanna look at it. I excused myself by saying I'd go to get a drink and out of courtesy asked if anyone wanted one.

I returned to sit next to Jessica and made small talk with her. I felt she wasn't as receptive to me as in previous times. I would later go on to discover that she had met a boyfriend eight months ago.

I also spoke to J Wong and his law firm partner Jamie. I was open in talking about my work until Jamie asked a question, and I saw Justin give him a look as if it was a set up, and I knew they were asking as they probably had a case about it. I stumbled a bit, trying to figure it out and give a more diplomatic answer. I didn't like that.

Alanna came over for a chat so that was nice her, to take time out for us even though she was the star. After that Chris came over and sat opposite me, and we started talking in a group. She asked me openly if I have a girlfriend yet and I shook my head. Interesting enough, Jessica didn't catch me my response and asked Chris what it was.

Chris and I got talking about basketball, she said she is playing in a Tuesday comp after work, and I said I could fill in if she ever needed someone. She seemed to like that idea. I thought she was kinda attractive, and started thinking about her. But later on, when Jamie and Powell were asking her about the type of guy she likes, she said she didn't want one who tried to please her all the time and someone she could step over. Hmmm.

I had to meet Coco at about 6:30-7pm so at 6pm I said goodbyes to everyone and left. I went back to the office to get my bag and went home, re-scheduling Coco as I knew I'd be late, which she was fine with.

I caught the bus home, dropped off my bag and drove out. I parked in a car park in the city just on time, only to have Coco constantly delay me by a little bit each time. I was annoyed, but was interested to see what information I could gather, so I let it slide. She was sending me messages with "honey" and "I'll buy you drinks" (because she was late) which made me think maybe she was making a move on me, but turned out she wasn't.

We finally met and walked up the main street in the city to find a bar which had a lot of investment bankers. Pretty soon, we found ourselves being frank in our discussions about Jenny. I said tonight whatever was said would be in a bubble, so that no one would ever know. Despite that, at the time I was still telling myself to hold back my true thoughts and I would see what she'd say.

She began by telling me about why she was pissed off with Jenny. She said back when Jenny was in HK, they were messaging via Yahoo! Messenger and Coco said Jenny could live at her place when she came to Australia and stay in the lounge for free. However, when her husband leaves and Jenny gets a room, she would have to start paying rent ($150 per week).

So the other night, Coco asked Jenny for the rent and Jenny said that was never agreed upon, that she thought she could stay at Coco's for free. When Coco asked her to check the messages, Jenny went silent and said she'd pay the rent later.

On top of this, she said Jenny appears to be somewhat demanding - about the air conditioning, leaving a mess everywhere, saying she will cook and clean and doesn't. Coco also mentioned how it was a bit irritating for Jenny to say she doesn't have any money, and then go out and buy clothes for herself.

Then even more recently, on Wednesday (the day Jenny had the 'headache'), Coco got even more pissed. She said she had a profile on a job networking website and was contacted by someone from the casino. She was told the shift hours and realised she couldn't juggle them with her current bank job, so she passed it onto Jenny (that is how she got the casino job!).

So Jenny contacted this person and arranged to work. Then after the first night of work, Jenny posted all these photos of the casino, including a selfie of her and the girl who hired her, saying something about how great of a Chinese New Year she was having.

No mention of Coco.

No tagging of Coco.

No thanks for Coco.

So Coco got really pissed. And when Jenny came back from work that night, Coco said she was expecting Jenny to talk to her a bit about the job, but she basically just went into Coco's room to get something and then left, and went to upload the photos onto facebook.

At this point, I knew all bets were off. Coco was being 99% frank, and I would be too. I told her I felt the same way when Jenny posted those photos from the sushi making class. We would go on to talk about the Valentine's Day date.

Coco first asked me how I thought it went. I tried to be positive and said Jenny seemed to be happy with the class. She then asked "was she happy with the class, or happy with you?" At this point I knew what she was getting at. She proceeded to explain how Jenny thought I wasn't "switched on" during the class. I asked what she meant, and she said I didn't know how to cook (make the sushi). She gave the specific example of using the fillet to make the heart - apparently Jenny told her she made it but I said I actually made it (it was the only thing I made). Also, Jenny thought I took too much time (like 10-15 minutes) to look at the same one to see how it was made.

I later explained that I actually wasn't wearing my glasses during the class, so I couldn't see how the sushi was being made and remember it. Even Coco said it was a bit unfair to expect someone to remember how it was make and then make it later on. She said if you followed the demonstration it would be much better.

Coco suggested I should've taken Jenny to something I was good at. I explained how hard it was to actually find that class, and I actually picked something I thought Jenny would enjoy, rather than something I was good at. She said that was the difference between a nice guy and a player.

Coco said Jenny didn't want to go ice skating because she obviously knew what was going to happen - I would try to hold her hand. Apparently a day or two before, Jenny asked Coco to come ice skating and Coco said no.

Remember those facebook photos Jenny posted the day after Valentine's of her with a bunch of new friends at the beach? Coco explained that as well. She said it in the context of her annoying Jay. She said the next day Jenny really wanted to go to the beach. The initial plan was for Coco and Jay to spend some time alone, so Coco hooked Jenny up with Ferres who just happened to be going to Coogee beach that day for some guy's birthday.

They said they'd drop Jenny off at the beach and then do their own thing. When Jay arrived, Jenny made him wait for a long time because she was washing her hair. Then when they got to the beach and were about to drop Jenny off, she didn't want to be left alone with a bunch of strangers so insisted Coco and Jay stay with her. This annoyed Jay because he wanted some alone time with Coco.

Coco pleaded with Jay to just spend a bit of time there and then they would go. So they did that and then made some excuse to go get something to eat. Jenny asked them to get them something, and she felt it seemed a bit demanding.

She also said from the beach, one of the Aussie guys asked Jenny out to take her swimming, and Jenny was showing her the photo of the guy later that night (but he was ugly).

By now we had ended up at a Starbucks instead of a bar, just sitting outdoors sipping our drinks (which Coco shouted). The frankness was full on.

Her main complaint was that she felt Jenny was ungrateful and didn't appreciate what she did for her. I agreed with that sentiment.

I asked her what else Jenny said about me, and she said that was basically it, that I didn't seem to be switched on. She said she wished I would be more switched on, more talkative, and more funny. I said it was a two way street, that she can't expect to be 'made' happy without doing or saying anything. Coco said that was ultimately Jenny's princess attitude.

I told her that G had previously told me how he thought Jenny was a bit of a princess. She was very surprised and pleased that G, of all people, had managed to make that observation.

Coco told me what her boyfriend Jay said, after he observed us at the Thai dinner the other night - that I would have a 70% chance with Jenny...after she had exhausted her options. Coco seemed to agree with that, and began telling me about other guys she dated.

Turns out when Jenny was here in Australia the first time, she went out with Kenneth. He took her to a zoo and attempted to make a move on her, by holding or hugging her, and Jenny turned him down. This time when Jenny came back to Australia, when Kenneth would create events, she wanted (through Coco) to ask Kenneth to pick them up. He did this twice, but refused on the third. He created a Wechat group chat just to specifically tell her that he wouldn't pick her up, and she replied with something like "you don't appreciate our friendship". Even Coco was astounded.

Then she dated that Mike Lin guy. Went out with him three times, but found him to be boring. Coco said he was a nice guy, focused on his career, just works and gyms. She said Jenny went swimming with him once and thought that very much gave the guy the wrong impression. I confirmed that Jenny had cut off contact and she said yes. I also asked if she was currently seeing any other guys and she said no, but said Jenny was still looking. She said Jenny was looking for a husband and definitely wanted to stay in Australia.

She mentioned how one night in bed Jenny was showing her photos from her facebook, and pointed a couple out to her, remarking how much money/assets the guy had, and made a "sizzling" sound with her teeth (as if to show envy).

She also mentioned how Jenny wanted one of the babysitting jobs because the couple were very wealthy as they owned several cafes, and how she would try to get a job at one of those cafes later on. However, Coco also said how Jenny was a bit unrealistic in setting demands before even being hired, such as asking for Saturdays off as she wanted to socialise on Friday nights. The couple said no and then Jenny joked that Coco could look after the kid for her on Saturdays, which annoyed Coco.

Another thing that annoyed Coco was that when they had an argument about the rent, Jenny sniped about Coco's boyfriend moving in, adding something about it being "inevitable" anyway.

I asked Coco if Jenny would say yes if I asked her out again, and she said of course she would, but it would only be to give me a chance to see how things go rather than actually being interested in me.

She also mentioned how Jenny's ex-boyfriend had two properties in Hong Kong. I asked why they broke up, and she was a bit unclear on this. At first she said something about him being a player, not returning her calls and stuff. I said that's what actually makes girls like them and she agreed. Then she said he was too controlling.

She also said that what initially attracted Jenny to her ex-boyfriend was that he seemed very knowledgeable and that she was able to learn from him. She said I should've done something on Valentine's Day that I was good at to impress Jenny. She said maybe I should've just settled for movie and dinner, and I said you could do that any time.

I told her I had thought about the prospect of renting a place and how I could support Jenny if I wanted to, and she said not to mention that to Jenny. She said Jenny would like to find a husband who can support her without her having to work, but that didn't necessarily mean that she didn't want to work, but that she just didn't want the pressure of having to work.

She said Jenny thought the Asians in Australia wouldn't be as rich as the ones in HK, as the people who have the high level corporate jobs here in Australia are mainly white people.

We sat at Starbucks for a long time and after a while we started feeling drops of rain. Coco asked if we could get something to eat, and I said that was a good idea because I hadn't eaten. I asked what she wanted to eat and she said fried chicken, and I said that was perfect. We walked down the main street to Korea town and went to Madang.

Whilst waiting outside for a table, she told me that Jenny had asked her to organise something or somehow get in touch with that Dion guy so that he could offer her a job, as he owned several cafes.

When we got offered a table, walking inside brought back instant memories. I hadn't realised it, but I had been here with Jin before. I walked past and looked at a table where we had sat, where she had cried and told me her mother needed urgent surgery for her cancer and where I agreed to give her $15,000 more.

We sat down and ordered. Coco would throughout the night text her boyfriend on the phone or give him quick calls as apparently he wanted attention. I used some Korean words to greet the waiters/waitresses which seemed to bring a smile to their face.

We ordered a dish of fried chicken and a pancake, as well as two drinks. We continued talking about Jenny. I thought we would've exhausted all aspects of the topic but it managed to get us through to the end of the meal (we didn't finish the food, it was too much).

I told her how Jenny had placed her finger on mine when we were holding the tray and she said I was thinking too much. She also said I think too far ahead. I told her it did seem a bit odd, objectively, that a 29 year old girl, single, would just drop everything in her home country and travel to another country. I said something must've happened. She said something must've happened in Jenny's life to make her so self centred.

After eating, we walked back to the car park. On the way, she said she bet Jenny would soon either move out, or push me to find her a job.

I dropped Coco home and thanked her for the talk during the night.

Is Jenny selfish?

Maybe it was the walk to work, maybe that allowed me to get some peace in my head, but I managed to feel content about the Jenny situation. I told myself that she is going through PMS and a new job (at least for a few days), and to just wait it out for about a week before trying to contact her again.

I could use the time to focus more on basketball (may not be needed, after hitting a three last night, and getting two steals off an inbound pass after we scored) and save some money. Win-win.

However, at about 2pm, Jenny sent me a message on Wechat, "Hv u heard abt ABN"

I felt this may have been urgent as she was starting her job today, so I responded quickly, explaining to her what it was. She asked why the casino would want her to do it and I told her because they didn't want to hire her as an employee which saves them money. She asked if she gets taxed at a higher rate and I said no.

I told her she could apply online and she replied "Yes" and "Reading now" and I left it at that.

Maybe it's being stuffed in the room all day, but later on, I started pondering whether she was a selfish person. My main gripe was that she had posted the cooking class photos without ONE mention or indication of me. I mean, something like what she said (about how she was happy) plus "thanks [insert name here]!" would've been great.

Did she omit me because she didn't want to give an impression that it was a date?

I started growing angrier and angrier. I then thought about all the other selfish things she did, like how she never thanked me for the latest batch of job ads I sent her (although we did talk on the phone that night) or even thank me for answering her ABN enquiries today.

I also thought about how she didn't even tell me she didn't go to the job interview yesterday until I asked. Then I thought, maybe she has a habit of doing that? I recalled the time she was too sick to come to Kangaroo Valley with us. That was relayed to us through Coco; Jenny never said it herself in the group. Maybe she was too embarrassed about PMS? I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Then later on I message Coco about meeting up for drinks tomorrow. Turns out her new guy friend Jay isn't coming. Neither is Yvonne, so it'll be just us two. She then tells me that she and Jenny are not on good terms. I asked why, and coincidentally enough, she says that she doesn't feel appreciated for the things she does for Jenny, being the air conditioning and allowing her to pay her rent later.

I decided to tread carefully and think about things before saying anything, so just confirmed what time to meet tomorrow. But how coincidental, that as I was thinking this very same thing, Coco has the same concerns?

But thinking about it now, would it really be fair to criticise Jenny as selfish? I mean, she did offer to buy bread that time when you told her you went to buy bread to feed the ducks. And she did buy that fairy floss to share.

I think I'll give Jenny one or two more chances.

Anxiety relieved...somewhat

Last night when I called Jenny, there was no answer and no call in return. Today at around noon, she sent me a message on Wechat apologising saying she was on the phone, and asking me what was up. Part of me thought that by doing this instead of calling back meant she wasn't interested, but another part thought she probably didn't call because she knew I was at work. But then again, why didn't she call back after her phone call last night?

Anyway, I said I'd call her tonight. So earlier I texted her asking if she was free now, that was around 9:30pm. No reply. I saw on facebook she hadn't been active for a while. At about 10:30pm I decided to go to bed with this on my mind. 

Maybe she will never call back? Maybe that's her sign to you?

I saw on facebook that she hadn't been active for the last two hours. I imagined that she was at the movies. With a guy.

Why do I assume these things?

So I went to bed, and was trying to fall asleep. When I started hearing the faint beginning of a ringtone. It was so faint that it could've been my imagination, or the phone in the next building.

Could it be...?

The ringtone got louder.

Yes! That's my ringtone! From my phone!

I checked and it was indeed her calling. After a few rings, it stopped. I went to the kitchen.

Why did she only ring a few times? Was it just to show she tried but she didn't really want to talk to me?

Why must I always be so goddamn negative? At least she called you soon after she became 'active' again on facebook.

I decided to play it cool for a bit and played a game of Anipang 2 before calling back. I stepped out into the backyard as the phone rang. She answered, with a warm and familiar "hey [insert name here]". I put on an Indian accent which seemed to fool her, as she was saying something about not having changed her voicemail yet.

I reverted back to my normal voice and laughed a bit and she laughed along. I asked if she was asleep and she said no, as she had actually just come back from dinner with "a friend".

'A' friend? Hmmm. HMMMMMMMM.

I tried to dig a bit deeper without coming off as being a totally jealous and obsessive creep, but all I could manage was to repeat the question "just dinner?" and she said yes with a friend. 

Did I sense some annoyance? Did I sense some attempt on her part to hide who this friend was? Or was all this just my insecurity speaking again?

Anyway, I moved on by asking if she ever ended up calling about that babysitting job. She said she did, and actually went to an interview for a different one, being in Coogee. She said the lady was Chinese and ran some businesses and even suggested she could help her out with it. She said she asked for $150 per day as the arrangements would be the same, meaning live-in. She said the lady would think about it but was a bit concerned as Jenny didn't have any babysitting experience. I joked that she should've said she did as she had to look after Coco and G. She laughed. Good.

She offered to talk more about the job, which I took as a good sign (ie. she didn't want to end the call asap). She was saying how this lady seemed much nicer, and how this job seemed to be better than the other one. I agreed, saying the other one paying $100 per day really wasn't much when you consider that you're basically on duty 24 hours a day.

She also mentioned how she had landed a job at the casino.

The casino! Of all places!

She said she got a job as a PR, with her role being to help the Chinese translate and fill in forms during the anticipated busy period of Chinese New Year. I was pretty happy for her, and asked when she starts, and she said Thursday. I really was genuinely happy for her.

At this point someone from next door asked me to be quiet, so I started walking down towards the front of my place. I said to her she should've told me because I sent all those job ads to her today. She said something about being too busy to check her messages today but said it was good nonetheless. I suggested that she apply for them as well and she said yes.

I got down to the balcony area of my place and we were still talking about the casino job, She mentioned it was only temporary but that it could be longer. She also said the pay seemed to be good at $40 per hour for four hours.

I said we should celebrate, hoping to get in a date/dinner with her this way. She said ok and mentioned something about the dinner Coco proposed this Friday. She said she wouldn't be able to make it as she would be working, but said I should go. I said Coco called it off because both her and Yvonne couldn't make it.

I asked her what she was doing on Saturday and she said possibly the babysitting job, so dinner would probably not be good then. She said "next week will be better". My quick, initial reaction in a flash was to think of this as fobbing me off, but seriously, she hasn't done that to me so far. So I told myself to just be patient and wait till next week.

When that topic seemed to have been exhausted, I started telling her the reason of my call. I explained that I have basketball on Wednesday nights and we usually need six players - five on the court and one to do duty. But we will only have five tomorrow and so I asked if she could come. She said she had that babysitter interview tomorrow after 5pm. I told her my game was at 9:50pm and so she'd have plenty of time.

She said she'd let me know. I said I could pick her up from her interview and this sounded good to her, but she'd still let me know during the day as she wasn't sure when she would finish. I asked her where the place was and she said it was past Manly, called "Ingle" something.

That seemed like a good point to end the call for both of us, so I said goodnight, and she said goodnight and we ended the call.

I was pretty happy :)