Phew, where do I start? So, I had a productive Friday with the end of the day being at 6:00 pm in the form of a big set of recrystallizations. I can't remember what I did after that, but it obviously wasn't particularly exciting. I think I went shopping and came home to eat yogurt like a slob in front of the computer.
Saturday was a BBQ at Burt St with Bridget and two of her friends Amy and Clare who had come up from Melbourne. Suffice to say they are fairly wild girls. I dropped into the lab and got around to Burt St at about 1:00 pm and everybody was mostly there. I brought alcohol (even though I was driving), lollie-bananas (an absolute stalwart junk-food among my Uni friends) and myself. It was quite pleasant chatting away in the back-yard letting the smoke from the BBQ sting our eyes and drinking "Dry and Dry's" in the sun. I had the genius to bring 30+ sunscreen but not actually put it on. Later when the numbers had dwindled, some people went shopping and other (myself included) went for coffee (and to discover our particular areas of sunburn) and then later we returned for a little while until I had to go home and get ready for my next social occasion.
A shower, some laundry and I was off to David's place miles away in L*****. It was easy to find, and his friend Michael was down from Sydney for the weekend. We ordered pizza and after admiring David's particularly large collection of Manga and Animee, we settled in for "Galaxy Quest", followed by "Ghost in the Shell" and then a short animee called "Plastic Little" which reinforced my personal belief that most animee drawers think that breasts are permanently aroused and have pneumatic suspension. By then it was midnight, and I came home for some well deserved sleep and the opportunity to put some moisturizer on.
Sunday was to be another brunch affair, with David and Michael from the night before and Peta G too. I was a bit late and had underestimated the ferocity of wind in Canberra in Spring. After a few hours sitting outside for coffee and breakfast, it was nice to escape into the relative calm and warmth of Impact Records and browse the Manga section like a kid in a comic-store (pardon the metaphor).
After saying goodbye, I got a jacket, headed to the lab (~2:30 pm) and then didn't get all that much done before my mobile rang. I would have recognized that voice and laugh though it had been a million years. Rather it had by some synchronicity been only one. It was Sarah. We met up at the fountain (complete with washing-detergent foam) and I hugged her as though I thought I had never expected to see her again.
We talked and chatted like maniacs, we went over to Essen and had the most wonderful time even though it was but an hour. She was returning from a cousin's wedding in Bega and came through Canberra on the way back. Unfortunately we were unable to contact Madeleine. She didn't ask about my changes (though they were plainly evident) and so I didn't let the issue be a concern. She had to return to Sydney with Leigh (her sometimes boyfriend) and so at 5:00 pm we parted. For quite a while after I had the happiest glow and a tear of happiness in my eye.
To complete the day, I drove down to Susan and Jules's place to watch the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games. The first part of the entertainment made me cringe, but once the ceremony actually started it was amazing how great it was. Songs we all knew (Bed's are Burning- Midnight Oil, Down Under - Men at Work, Dancing Queen - done by Kylie Minouge), a strong message of reconciliation with Aboriginal Australians, some Drag Queens, and a lot of other Australian icons. Considering how cynical about nationalism I am most of the time, this had more of a party atmosphere and (excepting the flame lighting) was much more enjoyable than the Opening Ceremony.
Monday it seemed was my day for catching up on the sleep my body and been missing out on for the rest of the weekend. It was Labour Day long weekend, and so I enjoyed not getting out of bed until 11:00 pm, and not leaving the college until midday. After some indecision at not having anything actually planned, I dared myself successfully to go and look at swim-suits. I found some in Grace Bros., and after going through the arduous task of getting changed I think I looked Ok. A bit like a female Chinese Olympic swimmer (Australian joke) with less curves, but otherwise mostly presentable. This was motivated by the possibility of going down to the beach next weekend, and so I figured the time had come to bite the bullet. The price was a rather grievous sticking point, with one of the swim-suits I tried on retailing for $99. Considering I blew my last pay-check on frivolous rent, I may be looking at a different market segment. I think before I go (if it eventuates) I'll be liberally applying fake-tan and doing lots more gym-work on my stomach. ;)
The rest of the day was spent at the lab looking at the recrystallization which had originally signaled the beginning of the weekend. I got some interesting email from Illara about one of the slightly better diary entries (which I had posted on Sunday afternoon) and then I was off to the "Bars" class at the gym.
The class, followed by a long warm shower, eating my Androcur and a big rice dinner all conspired to send me to sleep for the next three hours, and here I now am.