Disappointed in the Aussies (2005-01-27 - 2:58 p.m.)

This job is getting worse and worse. Two more days till my escape! I should have told them I can't work Monday. Too late now, I suppose... me and my compulsion to obey the letter of the law ("must give one week's notice").

Apparently we had a complaint yesterday: someone had to wait for their call to be answered. This annoys me, as there's nothing to complain about. If there are two operators and three calls, SOMEONE is going to have to wait! If it's that big a deal, hire another temp, don't yell at me. Sheesh.

Anyway. Also have to say that I am quite disappointed with the Australians. I expected a little more out of their national day! No wonder they all crash Canada Day instead. Perhaps I will have to do as Michael suggests and in the future skip Australia Day in favour of Waitangi Day.

We did try to go to the Walkabout, but the queue was insane. I was in it for 45 MINUTES!! (unheard of in Edinburgh). I suppose I got my dose of Australian culture, being surrounded by a million of them in the lineup. Anyway, Jen, Keri and Lysianne were already inside, and of COURSE they decided to leave the exact moment I got to the front of the queue! I was seriously the next in line. It sucked but they said it wasn't all that great inside, so I gave up and went with them.

We went to every Australian and Australia-related pub in Edinburgh, and there wasn't anything too interesting going on at any of them. Furthurmore, they were all either so packed you couldn't get in, or completely empty. Keri and Lysianne had already ditched out, so that left Jen and I to try the Irish bars and every pub in the Grassmarket in the increasingly futile search for somewhere that was not dead.

Nope, no luck. So we stopped at the Walkabout again, which STILL had a queue, and then gave up and went home.

It was fun to hang out with Jen, though. Shannon was not along, because she has DATES with BOYS all this week (one, in fact, from SpeedDating!)

I had a rather odd experience on my way home. I walked, as usual, since I really need the exercise this week. (Must get around to finding another free sample gym membership). Anyway, someone asked me for directions, so I gave them and walked off. Then he shouted after me, "Would you like to get a beer?"

I was vaguely weirded out by this, but by that time he had caught up. He said he was a student from India and had only been in town two days and didn't know anyone etc. etc. So could I PLEASE just come for a beer, just for 20 minutes, then I can go home. I said no thank you, it's late and I want to go to bed, I have to work tomorrow. (Actually, what I meant was, "I want to go home for a grilled cheese sandwich" but I figured that was a less cast-iron excuse).

So he asked how much I make in a day, and I told him, and he said, "Okay, I will pay you the amount you would have made tomorrow and you can come out with me." !!! I must say, I've never come across anyone else willing to bribe me to spend time with them!

So then I spend ten minutes trying to politely disengage myself, while explaining that no matter how much cash he was willing to shell out, I DO NOT WANDER OFF with random men off the street (usually) and would still be going to work tomorrow. So then he wanted to get a taxi with me. NO THANK YOU! I kept remembering that girl down in Cambridge who got into a car with some random person and ended up dead in a field.

Eventually I managed to get rid of him, after letting him borrow my mobile - and then of course the person he called rang MY mobile back because that was the number that showed up on their call display. Gah...

In retrospect, maybe I should have told him I earn �200 per day and seen how high he was willing to bid for my company!

I was still pretty wound up when I got home, so I called Sam to see how things were going with Mom & Dad away in Cuba. Turns out he's fine, Grace is fine, the house has not burned down, and Will had called the day before for the exact same reason! It's because mom was so worried about leaving the kids alone that she convinced us something might happen, so we just had to check. sigh.

So then I called Will, who is amusing. Also, he is the best brother ever because he has agreed to send me a care package containing Lady Speed Stick Invisible deodorant in Orchard Blossom. The deodorant here is gross and wet, in general, and I miss my invisible deodorant. Of course, knowing Willie, the package will get here sometime next August. He's two Christmases behind at the moment, though he says he's remedied that. Mail! I can't wait.

It's kind of weird, too. We've both had dreams where Grandma showed up, and in both cases we were confused because we thought she was supposed to be dead. In Will's dream she actually mentioned she was back from the dead, but in mine she didn't say anything and I didn't think it was polite to ask. So I just took a lot of pictures of her (in the dream) to prove to everyone she was there. I think it's becoming pretty clear that I haven't come to terms with the whole thing very well.

However, it was great to talk to Will. Apparently he gets to take Grandma's car for the moment (once the estate's settled) and when he's done with it maybe I will borrow it! Provided I'm back in the country by then, of course.

The bus driver let me on for free today. I have no idea why. He just wouldn't take my money and sort of waved me past. Maybe he felt sorry for me (I do look a little haggard today, due to staying up all night talking to the bro), or maybe it's just one of those weeks when slightly strange things keep happening. Either way, I'm up 80p!

I am going to lacrosse practice tonight. I'm nervous. Not only am I out of shape, I don't have any idea how to play lacrosse.


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Missed anything?
moved! - 2008-05-12
Sunday = time to ramble on - 2008-05-11
apparently I'm doing monthly updates these days. Sorry. - 2008-05-04
watershed - 2008-04-06
end of trip - 2008-03-31

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