Friday 05/11/21 - West Perth, MYER & Subi

Wake up 0615, am tired but not too tired. Get ready for work, no tie. 8am leave my unit and walk to Jolimont bus stop on Hay St. The 28 bus comes about 0809 and slowly heads east through Subi until it crosses over into West Perth. I get off the bus at Harold Boas Gardens and walk down the hill to AFG building level 2 - my work. I make it to my desk in the corner which looks out to Watertown (if I face the other way). Time = 830.

Sometime during the next 7.5 hours I go downstairs to lunch and later realise that I am so tired that I must only do straight forward work and must not send any complicated emails. I do well. Time now = 4pm. 

4pm - 430pm: do quick job review with Sam, tidy up some loose ends and then go to the lunchroom to clean drink bottle and to see if Michael’s leaving feast has arrived. Leaving feast is nowhere to be seen but people  have started congregating for drinks. This is where my work day ends.

435pm

I spend the next 2 hrs drinking and socialising for Michael’s leaving drinks and the turnout is pretty good, like 12 + people. In this situation it can always be a little sombre as someone is leaving and you realise that nothing is really ever permanent... (this is a very common feeling at Pascoes 🤣). Anyway, drinks drop from about 12/13 people to four and at this point it must be about 640pm. The sun is starting to fade too and I feel like I really need to get out of the empty office so I don’t feel lonely. Michael stays, I say goodbye and then go to the bathroom downstairs to plan my next move.

7pm - 730pm

I spend the next half hour at several different locations in the building and basement, deciding if I should go home or go to the city to buy a tee-shirt. I do some research on my phone one last time and say “f*ck it, just do it!” I walk to the Yellow CAT stop at Watertown and catch the CAT into the city.

730pm - 750pm

I get off at the Perth station on Wellington St, a bit of commotion like always on a Friday night, cross the road, climb the stairs and head through MYER to the bottom floor - a journey I’ve done many times before 😂. I grab the tee shirt that I want and take it to the change rooms. I don’t have much time so I decide that it will fit without even trying it on, walk out of the change room to the counter and buy it - very quick. I cross the bridge over Wellington St, into the Perth Train Station, walk down to the platform, wait like 2 minutes and catch the 8pm train home to Daglish. I walk home.

820pm - 1110pm

Make it home, eat food, play on my phone and watch videos on Instagram, cook fried rice and do a week’s worth of dishes. At this point I realise that I’m like an hour behind schedule which is common for me but this happens a lot on Fridays when I’m so tired.

1120pm

I drive to Goodlife in Subiaco on Hay St, park my car and walk up to the entrance but it is not open, sign says “Closed until 12am for maintenance” - damnit, I talk to security guard and tell him I come back later. I walk back to my car and I try to decide if I go to gym on St George’s Terrace or Floreat instead, I decide I’m too tired and wait out the next 40 minutes in my car on Hay Street and try to sleep. It is 0005 now, I walk to the entrance, the lights are still not on. I try my luck... the door opens. As I walk in the lights start turning on and soon the music starts playing... the enormous gym in the middle of Subiaco (a focal point), with 20 tv’s, lots of equipment and Goodlife music tv is all mine. 

2am

I am so tired but still stay there until about 2am - everything takes so much longer when you’re tired. Finish my workout on the treadmill and then drive around the corner to Wembley IGA. I buy some bananas, frozen mangoes and ice creams. I normally talk to the staff there but I am too tired so just leave.

215am

Drive south through Jolimont, very slowly at like 20 km’s per hour, stop to have a look at an owl, keep driving.

220am

Make it home, eat some food... play on my phone.

3am

Go to sleep on the couch. Classic Friday.

Oct 09/10/21 - Claremont Showgrounds & Marketgrounds

I woke up early for a Saturday to make sure I was on time for my first COVID vaccination. Arrive at the Showgrounds by 10am, not knowing what to expect, park my car nearby and head in with the rest of the crowd. It is pretty busy and am ushered into one of the undercover pavilions and sit at the back of maybe 20 rows of chairs. Must be a few hundred people sitting down and some more on the other side who have already received their vax. I am tired but kind of enjoying being here as I don’t get out in public that much outside of work, gym, shops etc and Saturday nights... it is kind of nice. I keep moving forward through the rows of chairs and eventually get vaccinated. The whole ordeal takes maybe an hour and I am home by 1130.

The next few hours I eat and sleep and don’t wake up until 1630 or so, I am kind of f*cked. Jas msgs me to see if I am keen to go out, the plan was to meet at Reveley to celebrate JC’s Bday and I am expecting a big crew but turns out Kiel has pulled out so it’s only going to be Jas & Vesper. I’m like “Damn, where is everyone?!?” Such is the life of adulthood and when responsibilities kick in... anyway, I am def going to support my friend. It is about 6pm and I drive to work to use the bathroom (it is en route to the gym 🤣) and then quickly go to the gym to do some weights. I make it home just before 8pm, get ready and head to the train station about 9 o clock - good by my standards. I make it to Marketgrounds by 930.

Marketgrounds

I had totally forgotten about this but it was the night of Oktoberfest and the city was seriously hectic! I am having to line up outside by myself and there are a lot people like me, either in the line or standing around deciding if the line is worth it. Like people from 18 - 60, everyone! Some people find the line tough, especially if they’re not drunk or with friends, my line experience is strong and I am good solo so I wait the 30 mins and make it in, 1010pm.

JC and Vesper are sitting down in one of the booths near the entrance, we all talk and start drinking, a lot of young and drunk people in tonight. We see my rival or anti-thesis, “Anti Dutch” - the skinny guy with spiked blonde hair who Jas & Kiel recognise from Mint 5 - 10 years ago, and this time he has a new male partner, slightly younger than his usual accomplice... I’m sure it won’t be long until Anti-Dutch gets kicked out again for being too theatrical or a similar misunderstanding, always such drama 😂. Anyway the night goes on and we keep drinking upstairs and eventually on the dance floor.

We keep drinking, Vesp is being social and maybe has found someone he likes, a fiery blonde haired lady. The crowd is a little hectic, many drunk young people, some getting kicked out, and wide cross section of other people. I am struggling a bit from my COVID injection earlier on, I keep drinking (by my standards anyway), it is definitely a classic first Saturday of October kind of vibe, where people are getting loose like there’s a full moon, two girls are kissing hard, like right in front of us on the dance floor and everyone is just looking at them and thinking “what the f*ck is going on?!”.

JC confident as always, MB msging Vesper the whole night, eventually after 1am MB rocks up, also looking extremely confident as always. I am there until just before closing, we are outside in the middle of the sitting area. I say goodbye to MB, JC by using fight moves, hug Vesper and then head past the security guards at the entrance, head up Wellington St towards West Perth and walk home. This will be my last city Saturday mission for nearly 3 months.