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Published: February 3rd 2009
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Sorry about the delay, but I was away from the computer for a few days. Hope you enjoy!
Sydney, Australia - February 2nd - 11:00pm
Well today had its ups and downs. I got up with Lee bright and early. He was scheduled to be in the office at 7:30 but Luc said to take it easy. We’d all have breakfast (Lee, myself, Luc and Ana) and then they would all run back to the ship for work. Well Lee called Luc around 7:30am as that is when we planned to have breakfast, Luc said that he’d catch up with us later as Ana and him wanted to catch some more zz’s. So Lee and I went down and enjoyed our free breakfast. It came with the room last night which was nice considering that breakfast was 27 bucks per person for continental. A little pricey but it’s even better when you don’t have to pay for the food. They had some really good cinnamon French toast that I had 2 servings of but the rest was plain Jane breakfast stuff.
Lee had to head back to the ship for a quick shift so I walked him the taxi
and said my see ya soons. I went back up to the room to shower and pack as I didn’t have too much time before Lee was back again. I got everything packed, I really don’t know why I brought so much shit. I don’t think I’ve used half of it but I really didn’t know what to pack because if I was staying on the ship and other things. Hopefully this will teach me a lesson as to what to pack and things next time…Probably not though. I had received a cheque from the registration for the association of massage therapists that I had to cash. I thought I’d better try to get this done now instead of later with all my luggage, key word in that sentence ‘try’. I went to the bank that the cheque was issued from and they weren’t open till 9:30 and they close at 4pm…I want banker hours. So I went to the backpackers place to check my emails as I had a few minutes left and wasted some more time. Before I knew it, it was 9:30am so I wandered back to the bank and asked the lovely lady for help…
The association had signed the cheque with ‘non negotiable’ written on it. I wasn’t too sure what that meant so I didn’t ask when I received the cheque. I was informed at the bank that it means that it can only be deposited directly into a bank account. I explained the situation that I was a tourist, etc. I was going to sign up for a bank account but the system was down and it would have cost me a monthly fee. I said thanks, I’ll try something else. I was fuming. I decided to just go back to the hotel and wait for Lee cause there was nothing else they could do for me. I was unsure of what to do but figured I’d explain the situation to Lee and he’d wave his magic wand and make everything better.
Lee got back to the hotel, helped me check out of the hotel and brought me to starbucks, where we were going to meet Linda. Linda is married to Lee’s 2nd cousin, who I’m going to stay with for a bit before I figure out what I want to do before I head home. We got there safe and
sound with my ton of luggage. We had a nice little chat with Linda and caught up on things. Lee brought up the cheque thing and asked if I signed the cheque over to Linda could they deposit into her bank account and I’d get the money from Linda, I got my fingers crossed this will work, other wise I have to get on a train to go into Bankstown to get them to re-issue the cheque.
I then had to do the thing I was dreading and say see ya later to Lee. It wasn’t as bad as I thought as I was happy to be going back to Linda. I think it’s going to be nice to see another part of the country from another persons perspective. Plus I know I’ll get to see Lee soon, whether it’s in a month or not.
As you all may know, I don’t really know what’s going on sometimes with me and the future. I’ve decided that I’m going to come back to Canada but when is the next decision. I’ve thought of extending my flight till March 2nd to see Lee again and travel around Australia a little
more. Or I might just keep my original flight on the 15th of February and come home. Either way I’m going to be coming home to look for a job in Vancouver, live with mom and dad till I get things figured out…Oh by the way Mom and Dad can I live with you for a little while, while I figure things out? I love you...
Linda and I jumped on the ferry, I enjoyed the gorgeous views of the city. Ferries are so much nicer to travel on rather than buses and trains as you get to enjoy the beautiful harbour for what it has to offer. Many people say that it is one of the nicest harbours to sail into, if not the nicest in the world. We got back to the house and unloaded all my luggage, unfortunately Linda lives in a house with 4 floors. We then relaxed for a bit before we went out to do some errands. First stop was the bank, luckily for me, the bank had no problem cashing the cheque in Linda’s account. I was very grateful and happy after this, since I know had some money, rather than pulling it out of my account and paying an arm and a leg for exchange rates. We then went to the butcher shop and grocery store. They have just moved into their new house so they had no food. After about an hour in the grocery store, we were done with the errands and went home.
It was nice to relax as I was getting pretty tired from all the excitement I’ve had in the past few days. We put dinner on and relaxed with a glass of wine. As Linda and I were having dinner, we heard someone fiddling with lock outside the front door. Linda looked a little stressed as they just moved there and not many people had keys. After nearly shitting our pants we realized it was just Courtney (Linda’s daughter). Dave (Linda’s husband) is in Singapore for business and Courtney usually calls before she comes over. So we calmed down and enjoyed the rest of our dinner and the company. Courtney and her friend Eloisa were very interested in cruise ships, so I gave them the low down on the fun and excitement of working on ships.
I was getting pretty tired by this point so I slowly got ready for bed. Talked a bit more with Linda then hit the pillow. I think my eyes will be closed before my head hits the pillow…Zzzz
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