2008-06-29 - 4:44 p.m.

So the Engagement Party went well. I didn't feel like I was under too much pressure to run around and talk to everyone- I think the fact that we started at 2pm and finished up just after midnight meant that there was time to talk to everyone, although possibly some more than others. There was a touch of rain, but to some extent that just made putting up all those tarps worth the effort. The night before we'd been out to Parramatta for Jo's friend Brad's 30th (albeit briefly) before heading to Kings Cross for Sara and Paul's Engagement/ 30th.

I won't bother going into who came and when, it seems a bit too far down the track to do that now. Jo's ex work buddies were some of the stayers (including Maid-of- Honour-to-be Francis), Nathan took a train to his sister's place in Sutherland just after midnight, and the last half an hour it was just Jo, Steve, my brother and I. My brother and his cooks/chefs did the catering- including a leg of beef and various curries, and we got through the beer keg as well as numerous bottles of wine and champagne (although not nearly as much as we didn't get through). So thanks to all that came (or the two people who read this anyway).

Last week was the first 5 day week I've done in a while. I took the Friday off before the Engagement Party, the following Monday was the Queen's Birthday public holiday, and the Monday and Tuesday the week after I went to a two day course on certain aspects of management in the city. It wasn't hand picked by work, they sent me a flyer and I asked my boss and the L&D department if I could go and they said yes, and as a result I think there was a bit of irrelevant or contradictory stuff in there (you can't tell a bunch of managers "You can take this course of action" if many of their work policies prevent it) but I've already utilised some of the tips so I think it was worth it. It was nice to step into a little fantasy world of catching the train to work in the city instead of driving to Kurnell for a couple of days.

What else? The month seems to have just passed me by. I really don't feel like I've been overly productive at work, and I still don't know if I've got the job permanently yet (thanks to the final applicant having been overseas, and then on shifts that didn't agree with the interviewers, and then sick).

The week after the Engagement Party I went to trivia on Wednesday and Thursday, and then on Friday Jo and I had dinner at Blancmange- an upmarket local restaurant in Petersham (on West St just opposite the park). We realised that we hadn't had a nice dinner on our own since Jo got back- we've had dinner with people (hmmm, the almost monthly dinner thing is falling behind), and had parties and something to eat before events, but no "dinner for two" since January. It was nice, and not what I would consider expensive- definitely recommend it.

Saturday (14/6) we did our grocery shopping, didn't do much else during the day, and then headed into Opera Bar at night for Sally's birthday drinks. It turned into a pretty big night (I guess we suspected as much), moving onto the Orient afterwards (which was less dodgy than I expected/ remembered- and there was plenty of singing and dancing going on), and I think we slept until about midday the next day.

Tuesday (17/6) was Fordie's birthday, so in her honour a bunch of us (Lucy, Meegs, Janis and Mark) were at the Rose on Wednesday for Bernie. I had dinner with Meegs and Janis beforehand- Jo was at home with the flu. Lucy and Meegs went down to Bowral on the Tuesday, while Jo and I stopped in on the way to Canberra the following weekend. I didn't really know what to do (inasmuch as we only stayed a few minutes, and I wondered if we should have stayed more), but it was important to me, and to Jo who wasn't here for the funeral, so I put a whole lot of Bernie on my Canberra trip playlist, and bought her some flowers from Woolworths in Bowral (classy I know).

By said weekend Jo's flu had caught up with me- I didn't feel to bad when we went to the Brazilian BBQ place in Coogee for Rob's birthday, but by Saturday morning I felt like crap- just in time for Canberra. After our detour to Bowral, we stopped in to visit Liz (Uni Friend) in Canberra's northwestern suburbs on the way in, and then after checking in to the Crown Plaza Hotel in the city, headed out to have dinner with Mark and Phoebe. Phoebe lives literally a stone's throw from Tilley's (you can see it from her apartment block), so that's where we had dinner. Still looks the same inside, and there's an old grand piano sitting on the stage which helped make the flashbacks complete.

Sunday was my cousin's temple wedding. He had a legal ceremony last October, but in his parents eyes he wasn't married until last weekend. Indian weddings tend to stress me out, because nobody ever knows what's going on, or what time one needs to be where, but it's always nice to see everyone. And we came back to a significantly emptier house. I really loved having Lucy here for a little over a year, but I do appreciate her giving us a bit more space, and I'm really happy she was able to do it so effortlessly on her own terms. Don't worry Lucy, the dinner invitation won't be far away :)

So then this week was the 5 day work week (shock, horror), I had some difficult issues to deal with (try being the manager of someone who is one of your friends, even if not a close one, when they are having performance issues), I went to both trivias (came equal second in music trivia), and then on Friday night we had a much needed night at home. Jo brought sushi home for dinner, we had a drink or two watched "Chocolat" on DVD and went to bed before 10pm. Yesterday we did some stuff around the house, did our grocery shopping, Jo cooked dinner and then we headed off to Rowan's "Holy Fuck I've Finally Finished My Thesis" party- he's heading overseas for 5 months with his girlfriend on Tuesday. It didn't feel like a particularly late night but we didn't get home until 3am or so.

Today we had Yum Cha with Nathan and some of his friends, then lazed around for a bit before going for a walk. I have to get my Dad a birthday present but I think I'm going to stop into Miranda Fair after work. Dad's notoriously difficult to buy for, and this year he's proclaimed he doesn't want books. He's always asking for boring things like business shirts and ties, and I always refuse to buy said things, but he might be getting a nice tie this year. I mean, if that's what he wants, why shouldn't I buy it for him for once?

And that's where I am at the moment. I'll try not to leave it so long before the next entry.

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