I woke up about 8.30am. I had intentions of getting up, and getting out to the hairdresser shortly after 9am, but that sort of slipped a bit.

It was too cold to get up at 8.30, I forced myself out of bed about 8.50am, and had a shower to defrost.

I had some breakfast, and left about 9.30am. I figured it would probably take me about an hour to get out to Erina, get a haircut, get home again, get my stuff, and take off hopefully around 10.30am, to be down there by about midday.

I got out there about 9.45am, I rocked up to the hairdresser, and sat and waited.

It took about 15 minutes, not too bad.

I got my hair tidied up a lot, the mohawk was barely recognisable anymore, it was just a mess.

I got the guy to trim my beard and moustache too, they both keep getting in my mouth when I'm riding (because of my balaclava and neck warmer).

They usually don't charge me extra for trimming my beard, because I just get them to run the clippers over it, but the guy fiddled around with actually shaving bits of it this time, so I got charged extra for that, oh well, it's not like I can't afford it now.

I came out, a bit after 10am.

I decided to spend a couple of minutes to see if I could find a new phone cover, because carrying my phone around in my pocket is really annoying.

I went to the first phone shop I came to, asked about a cover for an 8210, the guy grabbed a cover for an 8250 (tiny difference, but a difference all the same), I asked if it had a metal clip, yep. Cool.

"What do you want for that?", I asked, expecting to hear $10 or $12 or something. "$25" came the reply. eek. Oh well, no time for shopping around now, and it looks like quality anyway (would want to be for $25), so I bought it.

I put my phone into it as I walked back to my bike. It was a bit of a mongrel to get it in, because there is a small size difference between the 8210, which I've got, and the 8250, which this cover it for.

I managed to force it in however, I was half expecting the zipper tab to bust off as I tried to zip it shut, but it didn't.

This cover looks a bit better than the last one, the leather doesn't cover up half the buttons.

The clip is different, and a bit more fiddly to get on and off my belt than the last one, but I'll get used to it.

I got back to my bike, and rode home.

As I got just near home, the dopey dog that wanders around the streets was following a couple of people wandering along.

I was half expecting him to just wander into the middle of the street, so I setup on the brakes ready, and then when he did wander out into my way, I was able to brake easily in time to avoid it. Stupid animal.

I got home, and was about to swing up in to the driveway, but someone had parked the car right up the driveway, and on the wrong side, so there was nowhere for me to go.

I parked on the street, ran inside, grabbed my bag I'd packed last night, with my suit and stuff, and then I went down, loaded up my bike, stuck on my music, and took off, about 10.40am.

I got down the freeway, no issues at this time of day. I decided to go across the motorway, since I wasn't sure what sort of time I was making.

I went to the toll booth, and I paid the guy $3.80, thinking that was the toll, but the guy said it was too much, and gave me some back. Hmm, perhaps the motorway goes off peak or something.

I didn't take any notice of what he gave me back, $2 something, I just shoved it in my pocket and took off.

I went across to my mate's place, and I was there about 11.30am. Woo, excellent time. It about 74km to my mate's place from home, so that's an average speed of just under 90km/h.

I went in.

My mates were already there (my mate told me last night he was doing the work this morning, and heading over about 12.30pm). They were all dressed up, so after a couple of minutes of chatting, I went in and got changed.

I noticed my phone was off as I got changed, I turned it back on. It rang as I was finishing getting dressed, my message service. I answered it, it was a chick from the temping agency, they were trying to get in contact with me, to get details to send me my timesheet etc.

I finished getting dressed, went out, and called the temping agency. I spoke to the chick, and explained that I wasn't at work today, and was at a funeral, and she said she had already managed to get in contact with my mate at DMR, and had sent him my timesheet. I said I would get it sorted out in the next couple of days.

(When I spoke to my mate on Thursday, and I mentioned them trying to call me, he said they were trying to get in contact with me, to apologise for not paying me this week. heh, well, it's not their fault.. they can't pay me when I don't put a timesheet in).

I polished my shoes up.

My mates said they were going to a shopping centre, to buy a tie, and my mate had to find a pair of shoes, because he had left his dress shoes at home, and only had a pair of yellow boots with him.

I jumped in the car with them, and we went around to the shopping centre. We went to a shopping centre we used to go to every now and then, when I lived down near there.

On the way over, I asked them in the motorway goes off peak or something, trying to work out why the toll was less than it was the other night. They told me it depends where you get on, I didn't think about that. Apparently it's only $1.60 to do the first half of it, and it's $3.80 to go the whole distance.

When we got there, it was a fair bit different to when we used to go there (but that was about 15 years ago).

We went into one of the variety shops, and went to the shoe section.

My mate found a pair of seude boots pretty cheap. My other mate and I wandered around a bit, we noticed some bogan looking thongs, and slippers, with Ford logos on them. We both thought of someone who would appreciate them (one of our mates), and I remembered it was his birthday in a couple of days.

I didn't end up getting them though, I thought I would find some other time (perhaps tomorrow night, late night shopping), to get them then.

My mate wanted to wear the shoes out, he asked for something to cut the tag off. The woman at the layby counter (or whatever it was) near the shoe section called up someone to check, and told him that he had to pay for them first.

We went around the shop a bit more, they picked out a tie, and then got some aftershave, and we went to the registers.

I wasn't buying anything, so I just stood back a bit while my mate bought his shoes.

The checkout chick commented that we looked like the Blues Brothers. My mate replied in a dry tone that we were on our way to a funeral.

We got outside the shop, and my mate changed his shoes again.

My other mate went to find some food, but apparently it was a fair distance away. We decided to get some drive through on the way back to my mate's place.

We headed back towards my mate's place, decided which greasy fast food to get. We decided on Hungry Jacks, we went into the drive through, and my mate asked for a large Big Mac meal. The person on the other end of the crappy speaker didn't seem too impressed, but it was difficult to hear them anyway.

He then went on to put my proper order through, (although I realised I meant to ask for without mayonnaise, but couldn't be bothered trying to sort it), and the person on the speaker thought that that was it.

My mate then put through my other mates order, (who always orders it without about 6 different things, he might as well just ask for meat and a bun), and he put that order through wrong, asking for it without something my mate did want, so then he had to argue with the speaker to try to sort it out.

My mate who was driving then got around to putting his own order through (not a Big Mac meal this time), and we were told to move to the waiting bay.

It took them about 5 minutes to bring the stuff out, we got it, and then went back to my mate's place.

Everyone was pretty much ready by now.

We started eating, they had really gone overboard with the mayonnaise, I kept having to fold the paper over as the greasiness disolved the paper.

My mate's (who's mum died) Dad and family arrived (his Mum and Dad separated a long time ago, and his Dad has a new family, so my mate's half brothers and sisters etc).

We started moving outside, and it was now about 1pm.

After spending a bit of time hanging around chatting outside, we all started driving over to the church.

I jumped in the car with my mates again, and we followed the minibus with my mate and his dad and family over.

We went into the church about 1.20pm, and the service started about 1.30pm.

There was about 100 people there, the church was full.

I don't think I should say all that much about the service, just that it had some really good bits in it (considering the circumstances), where the relatives got up and paid their respects.

There was a slideshow/video of photos towards the end of the service, (some of the photos ones I got off the machine for my mate on Friday night), and I got a bit upset towards the end of it.

The service went for a bit over an hour and a half, and then they carried the casket out, and we all moved outside, before getting into the procession, and heading across to the cemetery.

About halfway to the cemetery, my mate's dad pulled up along side us, and asked where our mate was. Apparently his dad was going to pick him up as we went past the church to leave, but the route we took, following the hurse (sp?), went around the block, and not past the church.

Uh oh, I hope he hasn't got left behind. One of my mates made a few phone calls, managed to get in contact with him, someone had picked him up, and he was on his way over.

Because of traffic, and traffic lights etc, the procession had become a bit broken up. We found the rest of the procession, everyone had their hazard lights on, as well as their headlights.

We ended up getting to the cemetery just as the hurse was getting there.

As we headed into the cemetery, it felt very familiar for some reason.

We drove up the hill, following the other cars, and I worked out why it was familiar. This is the cemetery where my grandfather is.

We drove up the hill, parked, and we walked over to the plot.

They had a mobile shelter thing there, they must have been planning for the rain, that was expected, but it was actually a fairly nice day, just cold.

We moved over there, and a few minutes later, I noticed my mate, who had almost been left behind had arrived.

It was now about 3.30pm.

I looked over to see if I could work out where my grandfather was, but I couldn't really remember, I haven't been here for about 15 years.

The casket was moved over, and placed on to the mechanism that lowers it into the ground.

I think almost everyone from the service had come to the cemetery.

There was a bit more of a service here, and the casket was lowered. I didn't think it was very deep, unlike when my friend was lowered in a few months ago.

I got upset when the sand went in, like last time.

My mate's young brother had put some in, and then sat down again, a bit upset.

After everyone else who wanted to put some sand in had, he asked if he could put a bit more in, and the proceeded to put a few more handfulls in, before tipping the whole container in.

Everyone stayed around chatting for a while.

I thought about going over to find my grandfather, but I didn't think I would have time, it was a fair distance away.

Because we were getting to be so late in the day (now after 4pm), the caretakers must have been finishing up shortly, so they brought the truck in with the fill for the hole.

My mate and his dad were over near it, and it was a scene worthy of a photo as my mate and his dad stood there, with his arm around my mate, and the fill went in, and all the dust came up around them.

I was sitting in the car with my mates at this point, so our view was a little bit obscured by the shelter thing, but we could see our mate and his dad helping raking the fill and everything.

I found that a bit unusual, but it's typical of my mate, always helping out with physical work wherever he can, and after meeting his dad, it's clear that he's very much his father's son.

We left the cemetery, and headed back to the church, it has a function centre, and that's where the wake was.

We were here for about an hour.

We sat and had some rather deep conversation, about religion, and other related things.

I think this event has changed some of us. It could have just been the day, but everyone was acting a bit differently.

My mate who drove down (and I'd been in the car with all day) had to leave, to get back up the coast to go to university. One of our other mates had come down in the car with him, so he was going back with him. I decided to leave too, since my mate who's mum died had a lot of family and friends there, and he wouldn't see any of them as often as me, so I wouldn't have felt right being there taking away from time he wouldn't have with other people there normally.

I said goodbye to a few of the people there, my mate's older brother, his sister, and her husband (who are leaving to go back to Germany on Friday), his father, and his younger brother.

My mate gave us his keys, so we could get into the house.

We left, jumped in the car, and went back to his Mum's place.

My mate grabbed his bag, and they both left. I got changed back into my casual gear, for the ride home, and I locked up and left. I hid the keys on my way out, since my mate only has one set.

It was now after 6pm.

I went across the road to the service station, and I refilled my tank. I put my music on, and I took off.

I went back across the motorway, paid the toll, and then rode all the way towards home.

I went to the supermarket before getting home, I bought something for dinner, and a few other things, and then I came home.

I went in and saw my parents, chatted to them for a while.

I came out, and sat and started scripting the stuff to work on the database. Hmm, I'm supposed to have something working tomorrow morning.

I put on some dinner about 9.45pm, sat and ate it while I kept coding up my export script.

I came across a couple of issues that would require some googling around, to find the best way to do things, so I gave up, and went to bed a bit after 11pm.