First couple days in Adelaide

I woke up on Thursday morning at 4:00AM ready to go. I had all my clothing set up so I could just put them on without looking for them, and I had taken a shower the day before. As I was getting dressed I got a text message that the taxi I had ordered was approaching its destination. So when I had my two bags ready I exited out of my place and the taxi was ready to pick me up. We drove silently to the airport and the total cost was about $25 AUD, just about $10 more than if I had taken the train. But my colleagues at work had advised me not to take the train, for it was too unreliable. I don't know if that's completely true as it has never let me down so far in these 2 months in Sydney. The one guy told me that the extra fee for the airport station was too much and that taking a taxi was a better choice. But as I waited in the airport for nearly 2 hours I noticed a whole throng of people came in at the same time; obviously the train had not let them down, and they were all in time to check their baggage in as well. So next time I may do that so I can sleep in a little longer.

The JetStar plane I took was brand new, so it had that 'new airplane smell', you know what I'm talking about. Flying was smooth and I played my new Trackmania DS game trying to beat the fastest times. As we landed I turned my cellphone on again and there was a message from my cousin that he was coming to pick me up in his shiny black Mercedes Benz. He did get stuck in some traffic was he was a bit late but I told him 'no worries mate'. And when he got there he looked just as I remembered him from 5 years ago.

We first went to his office, and I met his attractive PA who had set up my flight. I couldn't believe how good-looking this girl was, just unreal. Someone who should be modeling or on TV. I can't believe my cousin works with her and doesn't get distracted. But his wife is also good-looking so anyway... he had some business deals to take care of but before that we went for a coffee and he shared some things about his life, how he had pretty much been disowned by his father for marrying a girl from a different church. His wife met up with us later and we had lunch. She wasn't supposed to know about Friday night, which was a surprise 10th Anniversary gift to her. The story was that it was to be a function for clients.

Their home is pretty nice too. Just one level because they don't have basements in Australia, but still very spacious. He has a hot tub from a Canadian company too, because he likes how they manufacture them. I feel so at home here, I can do whatever I want within reason. I almost feel like I should be paying to stay here. I asked my boss that day to extend my stay here and he said it was fine, so I am coming back Monday evening instead of Sunday morning. It's great to be a contractor and not be locked into working all the time. His kids are all pretty fun too, his oldest son and I played Zelda VS mode on our DSs. In the evening Dave and I went to the pier and marina area and he talked more about his life. It's very interesting and it would take too long too regurgitate it all here, but I think it would make a good book someday. It's a story of the human spirit breaking free from oppression, very inspiring. We then went and had some delicious greek yiros, but it proved to be too much for us and we both left half our plates full of food. That night I slept pretty well except my pillow had a funny smell to it and their cat was trapped in my room, so I woke up at 2am to let it out of my room.

Friday was hectic because we had to prepare for the party still. His wife was onto him though towards the end and he couldn't hide it anymore. I went into the city a bit and bought all The Killers CDs. One shop had the new one out a day early so I was happy to grab it. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to it, except in his Suzuki offroader which he built a dvd player into (touchscreen operated, pretty sweet). I'm sure I'll have the opportunity in the near future though. I also went into a collectibles shop and was tempted to buy a $300 Balrog figure from LOTR, but I decided against it, even though it looks sweet as.

That evening two of Dave's friends came over, one guy a Russion from Gold Coast who really likes to party. Dave's wife wasn't too surprised at the event but we had a fun time anyway. I even went alone into the dance floor and did my bad dancing moves. The DJ was pretty decent and the beats were grooving, so I had a good time. A lot of nice girls but of course being me and not having that much to drink I was too afraid to approach any of them. Free drinks too, so I had plenty of rum&cokes, and even an Adelaide drink called the swampy, which I had tried a little of in Sydney, but this was the real deal. A full glass, not just a shot glass. When we went home I was a bit afraid that Dave had had too much to drink, but he told us that he was fine. His Mercedes has proximity detectors anyway so they beep if he's too close to anything. Alex the Russian spoke a lot of Russian to us and a lot of dirty talk on the way home. He even went out afterwards with the other guy, after we went home, to a casino, and won himself 1000 on Roulette. Good on him!

Well today is another day and hopefully it will be fun times.

That's it for now.

JAN