Green Things

Friday night, just as I was leaving work, the hot water pipe decided to spring a leak. A serious enough leak to involve the talents of a plumber. I was asked by a higher being to stay back and wait for the plumber. Lord knows what I role I was to play apart from showing him where the leak was, letting him fix it, and then saying goodbye. However, until I am also considered a higher being, I am merely a pawn. The problem fixed, I left work feeling a little concerned. That was the 3rd time in 6 months that it's happened, albeit in different areas of the pipe. I was told by the plumber that it was extremely necessary to get an overhaul - replace the whole pipe instead of patching it up. It's kinda tricky though. We're undergoing renovations at the moment, and in a few months the hot water cylinders will be in a different area, and new. What to do!

K was working last night and she calls me up in a panic. A guy who she'd just checked in and who had already gone down to his room was really angry because he thought when his wife phoned, she'd paid using her credit card. He said, 'The receptionist told her she was going to charge her card'. For all you backpackers out there, we NEVER do that! Only if they don't show up and haven't cancelled, or have called within the non-refundable cancellation period do we charge the card. So, after she asks him for $55, he yells that she's stealing his last $55, his only cash as he's just come out of prison after doing 18 years for murder.....

This weekend has been the best since I moved out. Last night we had a lovely dinner and only one of the housemates, M, was missing. We drank 3 bottles of wine. L and I (it's great having her back!) danced to anything and everything outside on the verandah. And when you thought it couldn't get any better, we all walked up the road and got ice-cream and coffee! It was just perfect! T, an absolute champion, woke up early this morning and bought bacon, eggs, tomatoes and stuff, and proceeded to cook this massive breakfast for us all! T, L and I then washed T's car which turned into a huge water fight! Just brilliant! I love it there!

An obsession of mine has come to light. Green. I've discovered that everytime I buy something new (apart from my sexy red coat), it's green. Do we all go through these stages of colour?

The silly season

Is winter the silly season in Brisbane? 'Cause at the dear old hostel, it certainly seems to be. There are absolute nutters everywhere! There's not been as many problems in the last 6 months as there have been in the last week. A guy caught perving on the girls in the women's showers after he locked himself in an 'out of order' cubicle....he didn't even leave after the girls started screaming! He was still in there when I went in and had a conversation with him that went a bit like....
Me: What the fuck are you doing in here?
Him: Nothing
Me: Do you know what fucking bathroom you're in?
Him: Uh...no?
Me: Stay there. (And subsequently running upstairs to call the police, asking the women that were still in the bathroom to keep him in the cubicle if possible...he escaped!)

Two older guests demaning to be reimbursed for a night they hadn't paid for because there was no reservation for them. When we were very firm with them about not giving them any money back, they tried to ask for petrol money that they wasted by driving up to us instead of to the hostel where they finally did find a bed. The hostel that they did stay at was less than 50 metres down the road.

The whole hostel was evacuated because of a fire alarm (we DID NOT tell guests it was a drill). All staff were practising the evacuation procedure (knocking on doors, asking people to leave as it was an emergency etc...). Two guests, after having walked past the front entrance where roughly 60 guests were standing, walked through the carpark and into the second building where the 'fire' was supposed to have been. Freaks! It was so loud too. I just don't understand some people!

For all you text lovers, I've a question. Ever sent a text that you were debating about, 'cause you knew the answer you got could either be really good or really bad, then as soon as you sent it, knew you shouldn't have? And then the feeling just gets worse and worse 'cause you were doing that instantaneous texting and then suddenly you're waiting like 20 minutes for the reply? And in that 20 minutes you keep hitting yourself? Or is that just me?