The joys of part-time employment and an easy-going boss.

Phew, that was a close one.

Yesterday, as noted in my journal, I fell off my mountain bike. No big deal, but this morning I was feeling rather sore and sorry for myself. So I decided the best thing to do would to be call off work today, and instead work all day on Thursday to make up the time. My boss is good like that. He doesn't mind how I do my three days a week, provided that I'm there for court Tuesdays and Wednesdays. However, when I tried to phone in at 8.20am, no-one answered.

'This is strange,' I thought to myself, and hobbled back to bed to try again in ten minutes - it was too cold to stand around the lounge room in my jammies, especially the summer ones I was wearing because my doona is an extra-thick one and gets too hot otherwise. Eight-thirty rolls around and I try again, letting the phone ring for ages, but still no answer.

'This is a worry,' I thought to myself, because normally Paula is there at eight to do the cash and collect the mail. I gave it another five minuts and tried again - still no answer.

"Shit," I said aloud. "This means I'm going to have to go in." So off I went to have a shower, a quick one. BRM couldn't come to the rescue with the Flying Eggplant (his 1969 purple Morris Mini) because he was getting a lift with David and Suzanne (the girl whose birthday BBQ he was at last night, and obviously had some problems with Kate at - from what I can tell, he doesn't want to talk about it), so it was going to be biking again for me, sore knee and slighty-out-of-whack neck and all. Out of the shower and at 8.50am, I decide to give it one more try.

Success!

Apparently Paula was there all along, just ignoring the phone becauuse I was calling on the public line. (Mental Note: Program the private number into the phone instead!) So now I've got the day off, to do as I like. Which will include calling the Flight Centre to check on my tickets - they were having some problems with my rarely-used credit card on Friday. Happy me. :) Only I can't go back to bed because my hair's wet from the shower. :P

At the end of the day.

Posts each end of the day. Apropos, really. :)

A so-so day today. I got email from Doc Benway, which was good, although he won't be able to make Dexcon this year, more's the pity. I also sent luba what I've done of "Justice", becaus eher puppy eyes are so hard to resist, damnit! :) And I spent a fair whack of time in chat, which was good and bad. Good because I got to talk to folks, bad because it was a lovely day outside and I should have been out there enjoying it. :P Curse the chat people for being so interesting!

Actually, I'm glad I logged on. I got to talk to folks I haven't "seen" for a while, like Mitai and Shai, and not have to rush off. Although the initial conversation about my breasts was rather disconcerting. And when I started feeling a bit down after an entirely innocent remark on someone's behalf, Raph and Tai cheered me up. Enough to go out and practice escrima kata, any way. It's a good thing the kata are right-handed, since my left shoulder is grouchy - bruised and clicking a bit when I move it. My guess is that it took the brunt of the fall yesterday. The neck's better now, 'though.

I'm not sure how I feel at the moment. Not happy, but not out-and-out depressed either. Sorta melancholy and regretful. Like I was saying to Raph, it's my 31st birthday in three days and what have I to show for it? Not much in terms of career or marriage or kids (god forbid I should have the last!), when the people I went to school and university have all that and the house in the suburbs. Or they're like Alex, working overseas and having a wonderful time... I think. It's been an awfully long time between emails, and I'm tired of sending out messages that never get answered. We were best friends through university, balanced each other out, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside like so much else. I just feel like I've accomplished so little. True, I have the writing, but, no offence, it's small fry.

When I was a kid, I had so much ambition. Now I'm starting to wonder where that all went.