Day 141-147: Sydney (Week 16)
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2004
1
27
57
Trip End
Jan 05, 2006
Sydney,
Australia
Monday, February 7, 2005
Work was a complete nightmare! So so busy, would appear that a huge number of people have most of January off so this was their first day back and the place went into melt, it was pretty much constant on the phone....bloody awful, glad I'm not gonna be doing this for much longer! On earlies again this week too so getting up at 6.15am...not natural, I'm supposed to be on holiday for god's sake!!
Done a little shopping after work and then wandered home. The plan was to jog to the gym for the Combat class at 6.30, but Al called with a better offer of a trip out to get some dinner down at Coogee. Was a lovely warm evening, still a bit too humid for my liking but it's better when there's a breeze coming off the coast. We got down there about 6 and wandered around looking for somewhere to eat, as usual we couldn't agree as Al has an aversion to overpriced cafes, and there's plenty of them around. Ended up in a Thai restaurant, food was really nice and made sure I had something reasonably healthy as I was skipping gym.
Wandered down to the beach after food, still warm and although it was about 7 there were plenty of people on the beach and loads of people in the sea still. The water was pretty choppy, over the weekend there'd been a few deaths and loads of people had to be rescued along the coast as there was a huge swell causing massive waves and dangerous rips, things had calmed down a bit since then but I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be in it. Lovely way to pass the time, sitting by the beach, chatting, watching people go by, especially those with tans and no tops on! ;O)
Had a Gelato as we walked back toward the car. Now Gelato is practically ice-cream, but when I said that I was corrected, it is apparently different though it looks the same. Gelato is made with milk not cream making it slightly healther as "ice cream typically contains round 14% fat by weight. Our milk-based gelato is 4.3% fat by weight" - yeah, nicked that off a website. Of course I'm mentioning all this to just justify why I ate it and not so you know more about it. I had a cone with Cookies and Mint Choc Chip flavours by the way.
Al then wanted to show me Watson's Bay. This is right on the eastern edge of Sydney near the south head which marks the entrance to Sydney Harbour from the Pacific Ocean. It was about 9.30 by now so pretty dark, you could see back to the city and it looked fantastic all lit up from a distance, and in the bay there were loads of boats and you could see the lights from the houses and ferries running across the water, annoyingly I didn't have my camera on me, tho whether or not I'd have got any decent pics out of the darkness I don't know. It was very scenic plus as we were away from the city the stars were really clear so we were trying to make out constellations. Getting knackered by now so jumped back in the car and drove home along the harbour passing Rose Bay, Double Bay and Rushcutters Bay on the way home....all in all it was a much better way to spend the evening then going to the gym.
Tuesday:
Still really busy at work and one lazy arse called in 'sick' and another didn't even bother to call. There's some cheeky buggers at this place...they even talk to each other over the phone system so they don't have to take calls!! Realised this morning that I was so busy yesterday I didn't even complete my timesheets so rushed them through, initially I claimed time for Australia Day forgetting that I was off last wednesday, then I thought "Sod it" and claimed it anyway, the Manager signed it off and didn't even notice so I've been paid for an extra day, considering I don't the piss as much as most people here I don't really care. Also called Rosey's the casting agency to see if there's any sign of the money from December's photoshoot, plus when I got the TV job Rosey said it would be a 20% commission, but having read the contract the other day it's 20% for photo and 10% for film and TV...so looks like they might try and rip me off for that too!! Of course no one was available to speak to me at the time so asked for a call back, which I'm sure won't happen, may have to pay them a visit.
Went to Bond St after work, 20 min run, 20 min cycle, 15 min step followed by weights on the legs. Carlos was there and we spoke briefly, wanted to see if he's around any night this week, he said he's pretty busy at the mo as he's now teaching sports during the day and night but was free Thursday, of course Thurs is the only night I always do something that was a no go, almost impossible to find time to go out with him. Finished at the gym about half 6 and wandered up to the bus stop. Al called whilst I was on the bus, wanted to know if I fancied a drive out again. We seem to be getting on just fine since the 'split', in fact better, I know for a fact that I'm being more relaxed with him, I can be a bit clingy when I'm dating so there's less of that now, which in turn I guess makes him feel more relaxed, ironically there still seems to be a little bit of flirting there but it's all playful and I'm enjoying having a friend who's spontaneous and likes doing different stuff.
Anyway, he had just left the gym so turned up at mine only about 5 mins after I arrived, I had a quick bite to eat at home and got changed, was even warmer this evening than last but last night I managed to get bitten 3 times by mozzies so wanted to cover up, but way to hot for that so smothered myself in mozzie stick. Al initially wanted to go back to Coogee and go for a walk along the coast track, in the end we drove to Bondi, couldn't find anywhere to park so headed back to the city passing through Rose Bay and stopping off at a Chicken Restaurant for something to eat. I'd had a little something earlier so wasn't that hungry but as usual Al bought loads of food and I picked at it. I drove for some of the evening which Al appreciates coz he always has to drive everywhere for his friends, he says I'm covered under his insurance so I better be! After eating we drove across town to the inner west, have no idea where we were but we were near the bay, by now it was dark and in the distance we could see lightning, some of it fork, so it looked really cool. We pulled up at a car park by the bay and watched the lightning in the distance, it was beautiful, and the nice thing was it was dry and warm where we were. Just sat and chatted for an hour or so and then headed home as it was getting late and as usual we were both getting tired.
Wednesday:
Things were a little quieter at work, the guy who hasn't shown for a couple of days still hasn't appeared, could be dead for all we know, more concerned about the fact it means more work for me! Left another message with Rosey's today but still hadn't had a call back by the time I finished work so paid them a visit. Managed to catch fat Rosey Bitch - as she's now known - and asked her about the commission rate, she said it was 10%, told her that she'd said 20% down the phone and she said she must have just got it wrong....yeah coz it's easy to forget what the commission rates are for your own company. Anyway, the accounts bloke was doing a photo shoot - as they do, so couldn't find out where the December money is, she suggested I email him.
Then went and done a little shopping, trawling around Myer looking for some clothes, ended up with socks...my exciting life ey! Upon leaving Myer it appeared that the heavens had opened and were attempting to dump the Pacific Ocean over Sydney, of course it was still really warm so it was kinda like being in a shower at home, luckily I had the brolly with me, it was like movie rain, you know the stuff where you're soaked in about 5 seconds. Was gonna walk home but clearly that would have been stupid so waited for the bus. I never seem to get the air conditioned buses anymore, they hardly ever run on the 389, so imagine a bus, stuffed full of people, hot, humid and wet....nice! There were storms around too, some lightning and at one point a crack of thunder right on top of the bus, as you can imagine it made the women jump - I was of course calm, cool and collected.
No gym or anything tonight, had a night off. Had picked up some sushi in town - buy 2 get 1 free!! - so had that for dinner and just sat in front of the telly for the evening watching Wife Swap US and Outback Jack, high brow intelligent entertainment for the masses.
Thursday:
Had an argument with a Judge at work on the phone, well she shouted at me actually coz the stupid bint is on a Computer Laison Committee or something and therefore thinks she's Bill Gates. Didn't seem to be interested in me trying to help her, just ranted on and on. Judges are supposed to be treated as VIPs in the system, their calls get looked at first, etc, but half of them think their PCs are televisions and don't have a clue, or they're verging on Alzeihmers....oh the joys of helpdesk...roll on Feb 18!!
Weather is much improved today, after the showers and storms last night the wind has moved to a cooler direction and the humidity has disappeared, was the first night last night that I've slept without the fan on for ages, and this morning was verging on cold - but it was very refreshing, still blue skies, hot and sunny but so much nicer when it's not sticky too. Rest of the week is supposed to be as good and getting hot, high 20s by the weekend, so arranged to go to the beach on Sat with Al, haven't done that with him yet...will drag him to La Perouse, help him lose his inhibitions...lol.
Went for a swim after work, 1500 metres as usual, took about 50 mins I think, was being a bit of a slow arse today. Very very depressed though as I somehow managed to lose my £80 ($200) Ray Ban sunglasses - the silver frame orange lens ones - at the pool. I 'heart' those sunglasses, must have left them either on the bench in the changing rooms or at the counter when I was paying to go in coz I took them off as I was walking to the pool and put them in the case, just would appear I didn't put the case back in the bag. Went to the counter to see if they'd been handed in but supposedly not - tho I suspect the I left them on the counter and counter guy has stolen them...bastard!
So walked home in tears...well not quite, but not overjoyed at having to spend money on new ones, you need sunnies in Sydney so gonna have to go get some tomorrow lunch time. Quickly chucked some dinner together, pasta, tuna, pesto and parmesan....bloody flatmate has managed to leave a pile of washing up on the drainer since Monday and I'm not damn well gonna clear it away for her! Maybe I'm just getting het up about nothing - me do that...as if! - but she seems like such a lazy cow, she even started a new loo roll and left the old core on the holder and put the new roll on top of the washing machine (yes the laundry is in the bathroom) - anyway, enough about her.
Choir rehearsals this evening, one of the first things Chris said when I saw him was "You look tired"...which is great! I don't think these early starts are good for me, it's not as if I got to be that late, think the latest I've gone to sleep this week is not long after 11, that should be plenty of sleep. Maybe sitting in front of a PC all day is draining all my energy. Anyway, I'd already bought some dark circle cream for my eyes coz at night sometimes it looks like i've been smacked in the face they're so dark, oh and also coz it was reduced from $15.99 to $2.99! Supposedly takes a couple of weeks before you start to see the effects and you have to put it on every night, the things I do to stay this good looking!
Anyway, choir went ok, trying to do the songs without sheet music now, and there's more choralography being introduced. We had a new piece tonight, the guys medley which consists of It's Raining Men and Macho Man....how bloody embarrasing!! The women's medley has got some really nice songs and we end up with tacky camp crap! Almost tempted to say something about it coz I can cope with the odd camp song but we're singing enough of it already. There's only 3 weeks to the concert and we seem a long way away from being ready. We're still learning new songs and moves, and as soon as they introduce the moves into the song it goes to pot coz people are trying to remember the words and the moves, I'm sure it'll come together soon....hopefully!
Didn't go for a drink after as I thought I should go straight to bed as I seem to look so tired. Washing up was still on the drainer when I got home...lazy cow!
Friday:
Went into the city over lunch to hunt around for a new pair of sunnies. I really wanted to get the same as I already had coz I really liked them, just the right size for me. Found some Ray Bans, same style even but couldn't find the ones with the orange lenses which was really annoying. Didn't really have enough time to wander round loads of shops, ended up in the Sunglass Hut which is where I bought the original sunnies in Norwich. They didn't have them there unforunately but did find a similar pair of Oakley's which were in the sale for $200 (£80), plus there were some small marks on one of the arms so got another 10% off so in the end got a bit of a bargain. I still prefer the Ray Bans and will keep an eye out for them coz I can still take the Oakley's back within 14 days. This is what they look like...dunno how long that link will last though!
Was surfing around this afternoon and saw an article on the Evening News site that said Elton John was going to be playing Carrow Road!! Bloody hell! Norwich seems to have moved on a bit, wish I was there, would kinda like to go to that. Plan for the evening was to go to the launch for this year's Mardi Gras in Hyde Park. Got an email from Al this afternoon saying he's arranged for us to be'ushers' at the launch...not quite sure what that means, apparently his friend Jojo called him saying they needed volunteers for the launch, I'm going anyway so might as well get a few perks.
Went to the gym after work, about 30 mins of cardio and then worked on upper body for about an hour. Was gonna get the bus home but Al called to say he was already at mine so he drove over to the city and picked me up. Got back to mine, Al jumped in the shower and I got changed. The event started at 6 but we didn't get there until 7, met up with Jojo who told us where we need to go to sign up. Turns out what we were actually gonna do was fundraising, shaking buckets to raise money for the 'People Living with HIV/AIDS in NSW' charity, there was one perk and that was a few free drinks when you've finished. So Al and I shared a bucket, got a load of stickers and found a prime spot right on at one of the entrances to the park. As people flooded in we managed to trap a few with my hilarious banter and shouting, I was collection boy and Al was sticker boy. Some people even thought that they had to pay to get into the launch bless them, wasn't our fault, we were entirely honest and upfront about what we were collecting for, otherwise we'd probably end up in jail. It was actually really good fun and a great way of meeting and talking to people. Think we done it for an hour or so and by then the bucket was getting pretty heavy. Dumped the bucket back at the volunteer tent, picked up our complimentary t-shirts and drinks vouchers and wandered off to watch the entertainment.
Realised that I hadn't brought my camera with me and was really annoyed coz I wanted to have something to remember the event. Basically it was in the north end of hyde park, the area was fenced off and there was security in place to prevent people bringing in their own alcohol, obviously so that they could charge stupid amounts inside. The queue for the bar was huge, luckily as we'd volunteered we could jump the queue and flash our t-shirts to get our free drinks. The entertainment included Bob Downe...which was marvellous, various singers and comedians and some political type stuff as you'd expect. There were food stalls so grabbed something to eat too and just sat on the grass and chilled for a bit, the stage entertainment finished about half 9 and then it was just music through til 11, most people left at this point as did we, wandering up Oxford St as Al wanted to get something to eat. Ended up in a Thai takeaway place, food was gorgeous but I'd already eaten so only had a little bit.
As we were going to the beach together tomorrow Al suggested it would be easier to stay at his and go from there, so went back to mine to pack some clothes and my beach stuff for tomorrow. By now was pretty knackered so went to bed when got back to Als.
Saturday:
Got up about half 9 having some brekkie and a shower to get ready for the beach. Weather was gorgeous, blue sky etc, looked like the perfect day. We left late morning and stopped off at the supermarket to get some nibbles for the beach, plus Al nipped into a greek deli to get some cakes and rice pudding - that boy has no self control, and even then westoped off at a deli in Mascot to get a couple of salad rolls. By the time we got to La Perouse it was half 1ish and clouds had started to roll in, it was still warm but not as nice as the morning. The beach wasn't too busy, probably coz of the weather, but the nice thing about La Perouse is the second beach is much more peaceful, it's tucked away and there are hardly any screaming kids around, when we arrived all you could hear was the gentle murmuring of people speaking and the water washing onto the shore....so relaxing. Despite being a nudist beack Al kept is vest, shorts, cap and sunglasses on, think he was the most dressed person there. Of course I don't go nude but at least I take my top off, he's pretty self concious tho I don't know why coz if I can get my body out than anyone can, and no matter what you tell him he won't listen. Actually it's more because it's a 'gay' beach, he'd take his top off on a 'normal' beach he claims....I said he can choose the beach next time.
We hung around till 3.30 as Al was going to his friends Nick and Rob in Castle Hill to get his hair cut. Last time I met them was at the Spanish restaurant a few weeks ago in early Jan I think, you know the night I vomited a lot, though luckily they didn't see that. I got on really well with Nick that night but didn't speak to Rob as much but enjoyed both they're company. They'd also invited me along this afternoon as they were cooking dinner after Al had his hair done. Rob is the hairdresser, turns out he spends most of his saturday cutting peoples hair from home, during the week he's a sales rep for salon products. We got to their place about 5, it's in Castle Hill which is one of the newer suburbs in Sydney's north west. Took us about an hour or so to get there. They've got a lovely place, it's split level with a garage and utility room downstairs where Rob does his hairdressing, upstairs is the main living area, lounge, kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, couple of bedrooms....very nice and they also have a backyard which Nick has done all the gardening in as he's a keen gardener and used to work on his families farm as a kid.
Nick and Rob are really good hosts, friendly and always making sure you're having a good time. We sat out in the garden chatting and drink basically all evening, there were a couple of customers hanging around when we arrive, they slowly disappeared though one of them who was clearly a good friend was also invited to dinner. Al had his hair done and to be honest I barely noticed the difference but obviously didn't like to say. I also had a shower whilst he was having that done as I still had the same beach clothes on and had that suntan cream/sweat/sand thing happening so felt so much better after a good scrub and a change of clothes. Whilst dinner was being prepared I nipped to the bottlo for Nick to get some beers for the evening. It was a beautiful evening, just right for sitting outside with a drink and some nibbles and chatting.
Dinner was lovely, Nicks the cook in the relationship and he certainly put on a good spread; veggies, roast potatoes, deep fried camembert, cheese sauce, and a sort of chicken and veggie roll in pastry. All eaten at a fully set table, all very fancy and civilised, haven't eaten like that for ages. Went back into the garden after and continued chatting, topics turned to religion and moved on from there, Nick is Catholic and is apparently planning to become a priest....luckily he's not the kind of guy to force his views upon people. We also had a little desert which consisted of some of the stuff Al and I bought earlier in the day including some rice pudding and muffin bars, Nick threw together a dessert sauce too which was gorgeous, some sort of chocolatey caramel thing.
We carried on chatting to around midnight and everyone was starting to get a bit knackered so we left, stayed at Als again as it was easier for him to go home rather than drive to the other side of the city and drop me off and then have to drive all the way home.
Sunday:
Had a little lye in getting up about 10, had a pretty good nights sleep actually. Al made one of his weird massive breakfasts, first plate to arrive was hot Pesto, Cheese and Lettuce wraps....couldn't really stomach that so just took a bite, next plate was some hot danish pastries which were more palatable, and third course was spaghetti on toast...well spaghetti in bread as he couldn't be bothered to wait for the bread to toast properly. Suffice to say I didn't really eat much of it and left it to him to clear the plates....I'm sure he uses me to experiment with weird food combos at strange times of the day, I mean who has that for breakfast???
Al dropped me home just after lunch, he's doing the relo thing today so spending time with his brother and dad. A new sofa had been delivered when I got back to the flat, Niki mentioned that it would be appearing over the weekend, not my cup of tea, a grey three seater, a sort of boxy thing, doesn't look very comfortable and haven't sat on it yet so can't confirm either way. Niki was trying various room layouts to see what would fit where. Weather was much better today without a cloud in the sky so I'd sent a text to Carlos earlier to see if he was going to the beach this afternoon, he said him and his boyf Andrew (they're back together) are going to Bondi, so I basically just jumped on the bus and headed to Bondi. Traffic was stacked up but luckily the bus I use - 389 for anyone that should be in Sydney soon - goes the back roads so wasn't quite so bad.
As you can imagine the place was rammed with people, southern and central beach weren't as busy as the north beach where there was barely a square metre of sand. I'd actually turned up before Carlos and Andrew as they were on the slow bus so I found a patch of sand we could fit on and settled down. They turned up about 30 mins later, it was the first time I'd met Andrew who was blond, attractive, toned and hairless but seemed like a nice guy. Turns out he was meeting friends of his at the beach so they were going to sit with them, and they were only going to be there for 40 minutes anyway as they had other plans. Carlos said I should sit with them but after seeing how much room there was there was no way I'd be able to fit my towel in without pissing off people around me so stayed where I was. Had a quick swim and catch up with Carlos, apparently they're dating at the moment as Andrew has to wait 3 months before becoming boyfriends with someone! lol....asked Carlos if he gets a certificate after the 3 months!
I stayed on the beach until about half 5, still really warm at this point but people were slowly leaving, although some were arriving too. The bus took ages to get home, about 40 minutes as it crawled through all the traffic leaving Bondi at the same time, was home by half 6. Had some ironing to do so got that out of the way and wandered down to the Sushi Train for dinner as all i'd eaten all day was Al's crazy breakfast mix. Went to Bodyline for a couple of hours and that was it for the evening, had an earlyish night ready for the week ahead.
