The life of a retiree and a working person:
Tuesday 15th, attend Good Guys to correct previous purchases. Lunch, Sandbar, Middle Park. So nice to lunch at the edge of the sand with water views.
Wednesday 16th, nothing much, just work.
Thursday 17th, R takes Mother out. Picks up Dog Jack on the way home. Sister, Bone Doctor and Little Jo arrive a little before 6 and go off to a recording of RockQwiz at The Espy. I arrive home from work at 7 and Little Jo and ourselves ate R's most excellent lasagne. Sis, Bone Doctor and Little Jo stayed the night but I saw neither of the former two as I was off to work before they awoke. They were gone before 7.30 to make the 1:20 journey home for Bone Doctor to start work and Little Jo to get to school. Rain was falling heavily, so it must have been an awful trip home.
After R's last volunteer shift, he had a good and harsh whinge about the roster person who writes impossible rosters. Par for the course. He had very bad thoughts about her, as he has in the past. He was a bit upset when he was called Thursday morning and told the roster person at about the age of late 50s was dead. As poor as she was as rostering, at least she made the calls to volunteers on Thursday nights to let them know their starting time for the next day. Her quick replacement forgot to make the calls, so R assumed he did not have to attend on Friday.
Friday 18th. While tidying up after hurricane Bellarine family left at an early hour, R was quickly called to work on Friday. He had to take Dog Jack out for a quick walk and rush off to work. I arrived home at lunch time quite puzzled. Where is R? He said he wasn't working today. Perhaps as discussed he is doing Saturday shopping on Friday, but no, the shopping trolley is still at home. I guessed he went to work, in spite of him saying he would not go if a mistake had been made. Unlike me, he is such a kind person, hey Jah Teh. He was so dog tired and exhausted when he came home, I had to guide him through paying online the deposit for the kitchen from his bank account. He had recovered by the time I arrived home at 7pm. The evening was spent discussing plans for Saturday, my day off, in the company of the Scottish Doctor.
Saturday 19th. My visage looked extra plain when I rose at 7, no doubt the fault of the Scottish Doctor. Nevertheless, I had to function and I did. I was showered by 8. The appliance delivery person was to call at 8 to deliver to us our kitchen appliances. R left home at 8.30 to attend a work training course. I took Dog Jack out just before R left. 9am delivery man called. I'll see you between 1 and 3. Ah, that makes our plans for the afternoon sticky. We are going into town to buy easter eggs, see a movie and have dinner. Fortunately the delivery was just after 1, so R had time for a wee nap and Dog Jack got an extra walk for the day.
We went into town on the tram of course. But it is Grand Prix weekend, so the trams are operating differently. As we arrived at the tram stop, people were being turfed off a tram that was returning to St Kilda. We waited with the crowd and caught the second next tram to arrive and it was nearly empty so we had a seat. But we were then turfed off the tram at Flinders Street and not a tram behind us was to be seen. R was very cross with Yarra Trams and soundly berated the customer service person and then I had to listen to his moaning while we walked from Flinders Street to Bourke Street. He was not at all distracted by the Indian dancers in the City Square, not even by a bearded hipster in a pink tutu on a monocycle.
The glitzy world of Target's Easter egg department distracted him from wanting to blow up Yarra Trams. We bought eggs. For the first time we only bought eggs for people who we will see at Easter, rather than the extended family to be given youp to a month later.
We were a bit early to see to see the movie and so we had coffee and cake. For a short time we queued behind old people buying movie tickets to the same movie we were seeing, in spite of there being seven other movies showing at the The Kino Cinemas. We enjoyed Lady in the Van. Maggie Smith, as the best English actors do, played herself and she did so brilliantly. Pathos was involved and the actor who played playwright Alan Bennett did so with wonderful restraint. Knowing nothing in advance of the movie, about one third into it I clicked that Alan character was based on Alan Bennett.
We had a nice enough meal afterwards at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. With our bag of Easter eggs in tow, we were given a table for four. A table for two was next to us and soon a man in maybe his late forties sat with a man in his early twenties. It quickly became clear they were not father and son. I was idly gazing around when I noticed at another older man with a younger man. This pair was more obvious by the way they were dressed. Ah, there are two dykes in the corner there. R said, don't look now but two more have arrived, that is two more gay guys. We are drowning in a cesspit of homosexuals and lesbians in this inexpensive Chinese restaurant.
Afterwards we struck an interesting situation when we went to pay. R offered over his card and the madame said something like, Sir, there is a credit card fee if you use your card. I forget the figures she mentioned and she then came up with a figure for cash that was less than the original amount. We were both a little flummoxed by what was going on. I had enough cash, so I paid the reduced amount. Confusing people in such situations is a tried and true tactic when something not quite right is going on. While we weren't cheated, I expect taxpayers may be losing out somewhere.
Sunday 20st, nightmare at work, while R travelled to the Mornington Peninsula for a barbeque to celebrate Little M's 2nd birthday..
Monday 21st, Dog Jack's mum is supposed to pick him up at about 12. Her flight is delayed, twice, and she eventually gets here from Launceston at 4. It has taken her the whole day to make a 50 minute flight. Nice work Jetstar. The Brother Friends have returned from Thailand after a month away. The not so well one spent two non consecutive weeks in a western hospital. Tomorrow Ex NT Politician/Policeman will return from his travels.
Timelines are jumping about, so as I write this, Tuesday, it is R's birthday. Thursday it is Mother's birthday and Monday is Step-Mother's birthday. We are off to the Bellarine for Easter.