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Sunday 1 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| What a dull day... went to the Mosman round robin again, just for a quick knock about as I thought I was playing in the comp. the next day. Turns out I was misinformed about that and wouldn't be playing until Friday (what a stupid day to have this?) so I stayed for a lot longer then I would have. Was pretty busy given the dodgy (non beach) weather. | |||||||||||||
Monday 2 - Thursday 5 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Nothing much exciting to report. Typically the sun came out as soon as we went back to work and managed 30+ the first few days of the week. Was very humid all day Wednesday, which brought shower upon us (work players) when playing soccer that evening.. Very nice and cooling - shame it stopped so soon to leave me to get hot and sweaty again before going home. | |||||||||||||
Friday 6 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Was very tired after work, so came home and had a nap. First round of squash comp. was away at Frenchs Forest. Drove over when Kim came home with the car (she stayed home and watched TV). Had a good game, very long, but pissed off to loose (3 - 2). There was obviously little communication between the home side (who supply food) as two plates of chicken arrived, plus some nachos. Ate this with the teams before leaving around midnight. Could not turn off the car alarm when I tried to leave, so had to call the NRMA out to start the car. The guy took an hour to show up (looking very pissed off) and bypassed the alarm. Trouble is he couldn't be bothered to disable it totally, so I had to drive home with the hazard warning lights going. Lucky it was 1am by now and there wasn't much on the roads. | |||||||||||||
Saturday 7 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Had to get up early and get the car sorted out. Drove up to a place in Mosman who disabled it in half an hour. Went home and cooked a curry for lunch (yes, I know this sounds strange, but we had some chicken that needed using). Had another afternoon nap to make up for the lack of a lie in. Went to Roddy and Richard's in Manly for drinks that evening. Watched some of his dodgy (sorry Roddy) home movies and rambled on for a while. Kim stayed sober and drove home (thanks!). | |||||||||||||
Sunday 8 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Kim got up feeling OK, but it was more of a struggle for me. After much persuasion I was talked into getting up and going out for a few hours. Drove over to Watson's Bay, and walked around headland. Was very windy so the sea was pretty rough, and was an impressive sight breaking against the cliffs, etc. There is also a pretty impressive view toward the harbour and city from some points. The Gap, as one part of this headland is known is famed for people committing suicide by throwing themselves off, Kim cheerily told me. There is also a nudist beach on the headland, but was full of the usual dirty old men, not the sexy young women one would hope for. Another tourist draw for the area is Doyles famous fish and chip restaurant (and take out) on the bay, but because the weather wasn't really up to much we didn't fancy lunch here in the open air. Went home and watched the GP (very disappointing really) while Kim did some study for work and some letter writing. | |||||||||||||
Monday 9 - Thursday 12 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Nothing much went on this week. Got well and truly beaten in the second round of the squash comp. at home. Best part of that was that I could relax and have a few beers after the game, having played first and got a cab there (and back). Perhaps if we didn't do this and eat pizza after each match we might win sometimes? | |||||||||||||
Friday 13 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Glorious day again (apart from work), came home and wrote the following: And it's Friday, just gone 5pm. Sat on the balcony drinking ice cold beer in 28C heat (with a nice gentle breeze). ... [Various obscene comments to Sean Removed] ... it's a hard life!! Out of interest, he replied saying it felt about -20 in the UK, and he had the whole day of work ahead, with a cracking hangover to contend with. Ha, ha, ha! Kim brought Sylvia (friend from work) home with her and we all headed out to Newtown to meet a load of her other work mates for dinner. The public transport (train) took ages and we turned up almost an hour late in the middle of the garlic bread course (this being an Italian restaurant). Still, no-one had ordered yet so it was all OK. Pretty good food, and the BYO booze slipped down easily. I found a copy of TNT (the traveller's mag.) in the bottle shop when buying this, and just as well as for some reason we took the train home again, rather than the sensible hop in a cab option. At least we had something to read on the way though! | |||||||||||||
Saturday 14 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Absolutely knackered from the last few days so took it easy in preparation for the evenings event, a party in Cremorne to celebrate Kasia's (another of Kim's friends) birthday. This was supposed to be a come as 'your fantasy' party but no one could really be bothered, with the exception of Tarzan & Jane and some guy in red fury boots and a cape (was he meant to be Dr. Lurve or something?). Was quiet a hot and humid night, so I just wore beach gear and claimed I was a beach bum (because we'd all like to just doss on the beach constantly without work wouldn't we?) and Kim turned up as Kasia herself (as she's a rather posh girlie that Kim wants to be like - either that or she was taking the piss!). I did plan to stay sort of sober(ish), but this went out the window as we sat on our balcony drinking Baileys before we set off for the main event. Not far away, but the lift from Thao (arranged at the dinner the night before) was much appreciated. Of the party though... glug, glug, glug... complain about the music... mingle, glug, glug, mingle... glug, glug. That's about it! Left around 2am and staggered home in the drizzle (minus the now empty cold bag left by mistake). Was warm though, so didn't matter, not that there were many senses functioning by then anyhow. | |||||||||||||
Sunday 15 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Did nothing much due to hideous hangover. Thao had left the party early, and we had forgotten to get Kim's wallet from her car before this. Plan A was to pay Thao a visit to get it back, but luckily she came over and saved us the hassle (and stress) of going out on a big hangover Sunday. | |||||||||||||
Monday 16 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Typical Monday... what more can you say? | |||||||||||||
Tuesday 17 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| St. Patrick's day... spent all day at work telling people I wasn't Irish and the English didn't use the day as an excuse to go drinking, and even if I did I wouldn't be drinking the foul black stuff they all love for some strange reason. After a whole day of this though, decided it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Shame Kim couldn't join me as she had already decided to go sailing with her dad, so I took the ferry over to the Rocks to meet some of the guys from work in The Mercantile. Easier said then done though, I wonder up the street to find a 100m long tent come marquee filling the road outside, and a huge crush to get into the bar - not a hope of finding anyone. Still, had a couple of drinks while I waited in vain before taking the ferry home again. Turns out they arrived at about the same time as me, but had similar thoughts about the chances of meeting anyone, so wondered off to a quieter (relatively) bar down the road. Thanks! | |||||||||||||
Wednesday 18 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Nothing much, played squash with Alex 8pm in preparation for comp. on Friday. | |||||||||||||
Thursday 19 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Zip... | |||||||||||||
Friday 20 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
Great day, so took a few of pictures of the surroundings at home and from the top of the Optus Tower:
Another Friday round of the Squash comp. (although thankfully the last, so they are now both out of the way), this time at Elanora. Very hot night, I but played first again, and managed my first win (wow!). Had an absolute nightmare of a game to referee. Far to many lets being asked for, no-one happy with whatever decision I made. Made even worst by the apparent difference in rules between the UK and Aus. (or is that just the difference in my play and the couple moaning down on the court?). Either way, our team also scored it's first victory and it was all forgotten at the after game nosh. Got home 12:15 (as Elanora is a fair way North) and looked out the window to see 26C registering on the thermometer - told you it was a hot night! | |||||||||||||
Saturday 21 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| I thought this was supposed to be Autumn? Went to Freshwater beach on this scorching day (topped 36 in Sydney!) and lazed around most of the afternoon. In the evening Greg, Karen, Simon & Jenny came over and had a few drinks before we headed out. They had all been up drinking 'til 6am that morning apparently so didn't fancy a big night. Because of this we stayed in North Sydney and ended up having dinner at the Black Stump Char-Grill, mainly because there isn't much in the area that's open at the weekend. Of all the places in Aus. tried so far, this was the one most like a British pub! Had a huge lump of steak there so I was happy. Things were looking a bit more happening when we left after dinner, seems midnight is the best time to go out around here, but the group couldn't stay and make the most of it due to the previous night. Some of us were rather amused (and some shocked) by a couple in a park on the way home. Seems they may have come from the close by house party but were having a pretty good time all on their own, if you know what I mean. | |||||||||||||
Sunday 22 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Very hot again, so glad not to have stayed out too late Saturday night. Got up and took a trip to Balmoral beach. Grab a newspaper on the way, CD player in my bag, good way to kill a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. Went home and kicked back some more, watched TV, Kim cleaned out her filing system, etc., etc. | |||||||||||||
Monday 23 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Typical Monday... what more can you say... again! | |||||||||||||
Tuesday 24 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Kim went sailing with her dad again as this was the last race in the season. I went over to Drumoyne Yacht Club after to meet them for dinner. Not half as posh as it sounds, but nice grub (seafood & chinese) non the less washed down with a few beers. | |||||||||||||
Wednesday 25 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Zip... again! | |||||||||||||
Thursday 26 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Played Squash at MAASH - Marsfield All Australian (or was that American?) Sports House. Personal (3-1) and team (3-1) victory again. Good job too, as they claimed not to have won anything yet and we didn't want to be their first victims. Got a ride there and back with Alex (no. 2) so appreciated the free beer (and pizza) laid on. Got home at 12:30 as is becoming the norm with away events. | |||||||||||||
Friday 27 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Headed over (if you can use this phrase for going to the building next door) to the Berry St. Tavern after work for drinks. Enjoyed a few beers before going home to meet Kim who was meant to be out in Balmoral doing the same (but with soft drinks) with her work mates. The strain of the week had proved too much though, and I found Kim asleep when I got in at 8:30! The weather forecast for the weekend was good though, so I decided on a quiet night in to prepare for a busy weekend. | |||||||||||||
Saturday 28 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Awoke pretty early, great day as predicted. Did the laundry while trying to fully wake up. Spent most of the afternoon on Balmoral beach reading parts of the newspaper, listening to music (this was good as it drowned out the noise some crazy drummer was making there), slept (when the drumming had finished) and did all those other beach things you do. Got home around 4ish and feeling revived from the lazy day wondered over to Powerhouse for the open house thing. Played five, quarter of an hour sessions with a few breaks and returned home knackered. After a quick shower and change went to dinner at Flea & Alex's in Drumoyne, just down the road from the yacht club (see Tuesday) as it happens. Very nice place, great Thai curry and Toblerone cheesecake - thanks guys. | |||||||||||||
Sunday 29 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| End of DST (and BST for that matter)... woke up too early, tried to sleep more but eventually gave in and got up. Went out to get a newspaper and happened to stop by MD just in time for a big breakfast & hot cakes. Back home, ate this, read a little then went back to sleep. Got up again at 1pm feeling much better! Travelled to the Macquarie Centre for some shopping, then Lane Cove National Park for a bit of a stroll and more relaxation. Went over to Kim's dads for dinner to celebrate his BD (on Monday) with Tod, Brad and their respective partners. Found an aerial postcard of London on the fridge and got mightily confused trying to find Broadgate (my old place of work) to show them. Was it the beer or the length of time away that caused this confusion? Got there in the end though. | |||||||||||||
Monday 30 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Almost a typical Monday... asked a barber to 'trim' my hair and got it absolutely butchered. Concocted a great salsa sauce from tomato ketchup and chilli sauce to dip our nachos in while watching TV and partaking of a few drinks. | |||||||||||||
Tuesday 31 March 1998 | |||||||||||||
| Nothing spectacular to report. | |||||||||||||
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