I Love Riding...

Even though it's only 9:30, I have had a busy morning. I was up at sparrow's to go and water the lawns at the centre for one of the last times. It was peaceful, and serene. I gave the grass a really good soaking because it I don't think that I'll be up before 7 tomorrow morning, but I guess you never know. So I listened to the radio on my phone while I spread the love around and then I finished. I went back to Ria's place, and I thought about getting some croissants on the way back to have for breakfast. Then I remembered that Ria didn't really like them, and there's not much point in just buying them for me, so I didn't.

I got back to Ria's, let myself in with her key, then told her about my wet adventure. When I got up to the part about the croissants she told me that she did in fact like them. And since the idea was now in my head, it was decided that I'd go back and grab some. So after a bit more of a sleep in, I headed back out into the big bad world to pick up some croissants for breakfast. I went down to the Rock and Roll Market Place which is on Logan Rd. I've driven past this place many times, but haven't actually been in there before. It was pretty cool. And guess what? It's not called the Rock and Roll Market Place for nothing! Oh yes. They were playing rock n roll over the speakers. Although it wasn't Cannibal Corpse or anything heavy like that. It was more your old style 50's rock n roll. But that's still cool. I liked it.

So I bought some croissants and then some strawberries too. The girl behind the counter asked me what I was doing up so early, and if I'd have had any sense I would have said that the early bird gets the worm, but I don't so I didn't. I think that I mumbled something like I don't know. Smooth.

I drove back to Ria's, past some people who were packing up for the weekend. They looked like they were heading out for a camping trip somewhere. One of their number was certainly excited. He was wearing a wide breamed hat. Sun smart.

I took the croissants upstairs, and Ria put them into the oven while she made some coffee. I ate some strawberries. I wasn't too sure whether I should have bought two punnets of them, because they were 3 dollars for one, but 5 dollars for two. They were delicious strawberries, but I think that two punnets would probably have been too many.

Once breakfast was over, Ria finalised getting ready for work, and I sat around reading a QHA trade publication. It wasn't terribly interesting. Articles about how to use email databases to keep people coming back. Little jokes and quotes and things that you could stick on the end of the emails, and another idea of putting tips for avoiding hangovers in them. One of the tips was from Russia and involved eating salted cucumbers. Another of the articles was about the changes in business since the introduction of the new smoking laws, and general market forces. I didn't get too into any of it, but it was okay. There was also a write up on The Fox, the new pub in South Brisbane that I was at last Saturday night. I didn't read any of that article, I just looked at pictures of fuckheads dressed up like gangsters and molls.

Soon it was time for Ria and I to jump in the car, and make our way over to New Farm, where I dropped Ria off for work. She was a couple of minutes early, which is much better than being a couple of minutes late.

On my trip home I needed to get some diesel for the car. The fuel light had been on since the previous evening, and I thought that it would be a good idea to get some sooner than later. I had put a shopping docket that would give me the 4 cent discount at all Caltexs in my pocket the day before, but unfortunately I had changed out of those shorts, so now I was faced with the prospect of having to pay the full price for fuel.

Until I remembered that Mobil was now offering a 4 cent discount if you spent 5 dollars or more in one of their service stations. So I hunted down a Mobil. I thought that there might have been one on Lytton Rd, opposite Mowbray Park. That one turned out to be a BP. That was cool though, I was pretty sure that I'd be able to find one on Old Cleveland Rd somewhere. And I did. In Carina. So I pulled in, and filled up the truck. It was actually a really good pump. The reason I liked it so much was for the fact that it was one of pumps that has a hold for the trigger. Because a lot of larger vehicles are diesel, and larger vehicles have larger fuel tanks, some service stations have holds for the diesel pumps so that you don't need to squeeze the trigger the entire time that you are filling up. The service stations that I usually fill up at don't have this luxury. So I stood around while I filled up the car, watching the workmen feeding cable into a hole. Eventually the tanks were full, and I went inside to pay the attendant.

The attendant was a lady a couple of years older than me, she was speaking frantically to someone on the phone and holding her eye. While I looked through the store's meagre supplies to find something worthwhile spending the 5 dollars I needed to spend in order to receive my 4 cent per litre discount she continued her conversation on the phone. I ascertained that it was to do with the computer system, and specifically the EFTPOS system. This was going to be a problem as I only had 100 dollars in cash, and was looking to pay the rest on my debit card.

After umming and aahing for a few minutes I ended up settling for FHM. A magazine that I've written about before as being pretty terrible these days. I guess when in doubt go for the T and A. Dear oh dear. I picked up my copy and made my way to the counter.

As I approached the counter the attendant put down her phone and spoke to me. I told her how I would like to pay with both cash and with my debit card. She said that this would be okay, but I would have to wait for a couple of minutes for her to get the EFTPOS online again. That was okay with me, so I hung around. She hadn't taken her hand off her eye yet. Before she picked up the phone again, I asked her about the eye, she said that yeah, it was sore. So I kicked around the store for a couple minutes, read the front page of the paper, looked at the new slim line 300mL coke cans, wasted time.

The attendant finally finished on the phone and told me that I would now be able to pay for my purchases. This pleased me a great deal, and I did exactly that. Before I left the store I asked her about the eye again, wondering if there was anything I could do for her. She said that it had been flicked by a rubber band last night, and had apparently "taken a chunk out." This seems pretty extreme, but she did seem to be in pain. So, who knows? I suggested putting some ice on it, or even sunglasses. She said that she'd have a look at the shades in a bit. I said farewell, and walked out of the store.

I jumped back into the car, and proceeded to the exit of the station. I looked to the right and saw a line of traffic approaching, so I let my eyes wander further to the right to watch the workmen still feeding the cable into the hole. I don't know how long I was watching, but the next thing I knew, there was a gap in the traffic and I jumped in and pushed the car to full revs to get up to speed down Old Cleveland Rd. At the Creek Rd intersection I turned right and went past the Carindale Shopping Centre then made my right turn in Winstanley street. I made a few more turns, and then I was back at my house, where I pulled up on the easement next to my driveway.

When I walked through the front door I called out to the dog who came running down. Reg picked up the paper and then we went inside together. I took my bag and magazine upstairs, then got my dirty clothes together and brought them downstairs where I intended to put them into the washing machine. At the washing machine I found my brother, Stuart, already loading his clothes into the machine. That was okay. We talked briefly. Then my dad came downstairs with his dirty clothes. Saturday is washing day here at the Musgraves. While Dad and Stu were having breakfast I thought that I would put a post up on my blog.

Before I started writing about it I thought that I would write about the oysters and steak I had last night at the Story Bridge Hotel. Or the walk that I went on yesterday. Or the crazy parents that I spoke to yesterday at the centre. Like the one who had come out from Western Australia, signed up within half an hour, then an hour later again cancelled because she didn't get the house she thought that she was going to. Or the one who had recently found her birth mother after 25 years, and was now not speaking to again. Or I thought that I might even write about the burrito that I'd had for dinner on Thursday night. But apparently not, because this is what has come out.