I slept in, through my alarm.

I was woken at 9am, my mate at Wyong calling to ask me something about a computer he's trying to install XP on, and it keeps shitting itself.

I don't really remember what I told him, I'd just woken up.

I got off the phone, dived out of bed, in the shower, got ready.

I grabbed some clean clothes, because I'm thinking about staying up in Maitland tonight, and left for work, about 9.40 am I think it was.

I was heading for the freeway, and went through a speed camera in school zone before the freeway. it went off as I went over the line, I checked my speed, about 42, in a 40 zone. WTF? Doesn't matter anyway, it took a picture of the front of my bike, so there's bugger all they can do about that.

I checked the other side of the road, behind me, I didn't see anyone speeding. Bloody thing's probably just stuffed.

I got to work at 10.45am, and went in the back fire stairs as usual.

I just got to my desk, and was told by a woman working that there was cake and stuff for me.

I went out, and they're all like "oh, good timing".

Someone had bought a mudcake for my birthday, but about 2/3rds of it was gone by now.

I grabbed a bit of one of the other cakes, poppy seed or something, and stood back to eat.

My manager said something smart, and then everyone got quiet, and someone said "speech". What? a speech? and I said that, "what? happy birthday to me?".

Then my manager said that he didn't mean for everyone to stop, so they all went back to chatting.

The guy from upstairs was there, and the chick hired for the relocations project, I spoke to them for a minute, and then they went back upstairs to work.

I stood around for a few more minutes, and then went out to get my mug to have a cup of tea.

I'd cracked into the tea bags yesterday afternoon, so I grabbed one of them and my mug, and went back out, made a tea.

I had another bit of cake.

I stood around for a bit, everyone started going back to their desks, now it was 11am.

I went back to my desk, and a few minutes later the guy from upstairs came and spoke to me, and said that both air conditioner units in the comms room were alarming.

I said I'd go and have a look (because I've previously had to open them and switch the breakers off, when the compressors wouldn't run properly).

We went up the stairs, to go in the comms room. The guy from Orange was there, and he asked the guy from upstairs if he'd found the building manager, and he said "no, but I've got the next best thing". "tss" I thought.

I opened the door, and went in, yep, both units are alarming.

I muted both of them, and then started looking through the menus on the LCDs on them. I went into the alarms on the first unit, it had both a "HP1" and "HP2" alarm. I noticed that the unit had lost power, and only come back on 1/2 hour ago.

I checked the other unit, it was the same, but just a "HP1" alarm.

The building manager came in at this point, and I told him what I'd found, and he said to ring the air conditioning place we deal with.

I said that was fine, and he pointed to the sticker on the front of the unit with their support number.

He said "there's a phone in the rack there". I opened up the back of the rack to get the phone, it wasn't patched.

I went around to the front, opened the rack, I looked for a spare port on the voip switch, none.

Ah, here's one that's patched, but there's no link light, must be no phone, I'll just pinch that for a second. I unplugged that patch, patched the phone in.

I went back around to the back of the rack, near the units.

I rang the service number, someone eventually answered, and I explained that we had 2 units they service, and that they were alarming, and the woman said she'd put me through to service.

I waited on hoild for a bit, then the phone was answered again. I explained who I was, calling from DoPI, and that we had two units, alarming, and the alarms etc.

The woman queried where I was calling from, and then said "oh, DMR", so someone's identified us as DMR to them, even though we're really DoPI in that building, anyway.

I asked if there was anything that we could do to sort out the issue, and she said, no, that she'd send someone out. I got off the phone, went and unpatched it again, and put the original patch back in.

I left the comms room, and headed back down the stairs.

As I went down, I spoke to the db guy, and just asked him to tell the building manager that there was aircon guys coming out, when he sees him again.

I went back to my desk.

I don't remember what I did then, I assume I was working on Oracle code or something.

We went out for lunch a bit later, went to the cafe up the road, and I had something substantial to eat.

We went back to work after that, and I spent more time working on something.

I went upstairs at one point, and someone said something about a guy who sit's up there's car.

I had a look, and on the pillar near his desk, there was an A3 print of Bob Carr speaking, and right next to him was the guy's car.

Ah, that's the car that was in the blocked off area, the guy's crappy old Toyota Corona, with the front bumper falling off, right in the shot of Bob Carr, that's a classic.

Above it, someone had made up a headline "Caption Competiton - What is Bob Carr saying?"

(I think I mentioned in later blogs, but in case I didn't, the captions collected over the next few days, and some were quite good, one being "would you buy a used car from this man?")

I got a copy of that picture. It's just brilliant. here's a link, but I never got around to resizing it.

I hung around up there for a while, while they worked out what we were doing, because we were planning to go for dinner, because the guy from Orange who's taken over, is going back to Orange, and it was only a temporary arrangement, and now they've hired a guy to run the IT department.

A few of the people from work were down waiting in the car park to go, they called me, I said I'd go down in a bit, because I was going to move my bike.

They said I should park it in the secure parking under the building, and leave it there. That's a good idea.

I ran downstairs, grabbed my key, and went out to the carpark, I jumped on my bike (don't need to worry about a helmet riding in the carpark, gees I love riding without the stupid helmet), I rode over to the secure parking entrance, swiped my card, and rode in.

I stuck it next to another bike in there, and then ran out and jumped in the car.

It's one of those hybrid cars, a Prius or something, and it has this stupid screen display thing on the dash for economy, below it, there's a row of buttons, and they're huge, it makes the whole thing look like a poker machine.

So much so, that while we drove down the road to park behind the pub, the guy sitting in the front seat was slapping all the buttons with 2 fingers, like you do when you play a pokie.

We pulled up out the front of the pub, jumped out of the car, and went in.

We all went up to the rooms, I sat on the lounge and waited, while they dumped their bags and stuff, and got changed.

After that, we went down, and out the front, and across the road to the other pub, we usually drink at.

We sat out the back, and then a few more people turned up, so we dragged another table over.

We sat there for quite a while, until about 7.20pm, and then we decided to go down to the other pub, one I haven't been to before, where there's a Mexican restaurant.

One of the guys from work had a work car, so we decided to jump in that to go down there.

We went to the car park behind the other pub, and wandered over, it's a 4wd. It's a 5 seater, and it's got a couple of extra seatbelts in the cargo area, but there's no seats there, or it would be a 7 seater.

5 of us piled in there, leaving 2 other guys, they stopped, and then decided to go and get in another car, instead of getting in the "dog box" (as someone called it) at the bag of the 4wd.

We drove down to the other pub, on the way, there was this really fat chick walking, with this really bad shirt on, that might look good on someone about 1/4 of her size, we started pissing ourselves laughing.

We got to the other pub, parked, crossed the road and went in.

There were only a few us in here at this point, we ordered drinks, and sat down.

I got a "7" of JD and Coke.

We sat and chatted for a while, more people turned up. I had another drink, same again.

We waited more. Someone said something about going in to eat, but the restaurant was full at the moment, but there was a large group leaving soon, so we decided to wait for that, and I had another drink.

We waited, until about 8.30pm I think it was, and then we went in, there was a big table organised for us.

We all sat down, they came and gave us menus to look at.

A few minutes after that, they came and told us that it had already been ordered as a buffet thing, where they'd just bring out food, and we ate what we wanted, and they took the menus away again.

A little while later, they came out with some starters, corn bread to start with, and butter.

We finished that off, and a little while after that, they brought out corn chips and some sort of molten cheese dip thing, we finished that off too.

A little while after that, some plates of enchiladas came out, beef, chicken, and seafood. With gobs of grated carrot on the side.

The guy from upstairs went outside for a smoke at this point, so I mucked around with his phone, and put the menus all in Chinese for a laugh.

We finished those, I'd had more than enough cheese at this point (I was thinking about the Weird Al song "A Complicated Song" where he goes on about cheese pizzas and constipation), so when the next plates came out, (I can't remember what it was, mainly cheese though), I just skipped them.

There was more grated carrot on the side of that dish, and then the relocations chick started being smart, and putting on the shoulders of the people next to her.

It was then moved from their shoulders to hers, and at one point we played "pass the carrot", where a couple of single pieces of grated carrot were moving from one shoulder to the next person's shoulder.

There were olives on this last meal too, so they ended up someone shoulder too. "How long is a whole olive going to survive on someone's shoulder?" we thought, but evidently, it was a long time, the sauce on it had stuck it to someone's shirt.

We sat there for a while more, no more food came out, oh well. I can always eat something later.

The guy from upstairs went out to have another smoke or something, leaving his wallet on the table, I put it in my pocket to look after it, in case he forgets about it.

The guy who runs the social club organised us all chipping in to pay for the meal, $20 each it worked out to be, gees.

While he was sorting that out, the relocations chick put a piece of carrot in his shirt pocket. He didn't notice that, so then she got another olive, and put that in his pocket.

Only because the guy next to me and myself were watching so intently, about 5 minutes later he cottoned on to something funny going on, and found the olive in his pocket.

We sat at the table for a while after that, chatting, someone got a desert, the rest of us couldn't be bothered.

There was a huge sombrero (sp?) hanging off the door, the social club took it down, and put it on the head of the guy from royalty, he just sat there wearing it, continuing the conversation he was having with someone sitting near him.

I went and played the pokies after that, had a spare dollar. On the first spin, only betting 5c, I got 15 free spins, won up to $4.

I thought I'd just take it and go, but when I pressed collect, it said "hand payout only", argh, that shits me, like I'm going to call the guy over to pay me $4.

I just tried to get rid of it after that, spinning 20c a go, but I kept winning, not very much, just enough to make it last for ages. Eventually I spun it down to nothing.

I went back out to the front bar, and ordered another drink, JD and Coke. The woman (a bloke had been serving me before) grabbed a can of Beam and Coke out of the fridge, I told her it was Beam, before she opened it, and that I wanted JD.

She put it back, and got a bottle of JD and Cola out, and asked if I wanted that or a glass, the bloke heard, and said to make a 7, since they're cheaper, and stronger. Whatever, she made another 7 up.

I sat down near a couple of people from work, and polished it off, and ordered another, that's 5 now.

We decided to leave now, the guy from upstairs finally worked out he didn't have his wallet, after I'd had it in my pocket for like an hour.

I gave it back to him. The guy with the department 4wd wanted to go home, he hadn't been drinking, we managed to convince him to give us a lift to the other pub we go to, so we all piled in the car.

This time there was 6 of us. 4 of us got in the car, and then some smartass locked the doors, so a couple of people were locked out.

We joked they had to get in the dog box in the back, so they did, opened up the back door, and climbed in, and pulled it shut behind them.

We pissed ourselves laughing, and the guy drove us to the other pub.

The 4 of us in the 4wd piled out, the 2 were stuck in the dog box in the back, they couldn't open it.

We just waved to them, and pretended to go inside the pub, then someone opened the back door of the 4wd for them.

We went in, and ordered drinks.

I wanted a Long Island iced tea, but the bar tender wouldn't make it, said he didn't know how. Someone piped in that it's just all the white spirits, and then the bartender complained it was too much mess to clean up.

What mess? Apparently, the other night they'd managed to get him making up margeritas for them, that must be the mess he's thinking off, oh well.

The others ordered a bottle of wine, and got a glass for me, so I drank it.

I really wasn't in the mood for red wine. We had a game of pool, I was a bit shitty, they asked why, and I said it was because I didn't get my Long Island.

I saw a bottle of Contreau behind the bar, so I decided I'd just crack into that. I finished my glass of red wine, and ordered a Contreau. Ah, much better.

I put a couple of bucks in the jukebox, picked out 6 songs. I put on some Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Doors, Beatles, more Led Zep, and something else I don't remember.

I sat down with my Contreau, and listened to the first song, Stairway to Heaven I think I'd put on.

Someone from work commented on how good a song it was.

I played another game of pool, while LA Woman was on, when it finally finished, someone asked if that was the longest song in the jukebox.

I got another Contreau. More songs came on, Come Together by the Beatles, and then Money by Pink Floyd, and the support guy was going on about how good that song was.

Afetr that, another Led Zep song came on, Heartbreaker I think it was, and the support guy was going off, saying he couldn't believe my taste in music was so good.

I got another Contreau, the third now.

I played another game of pool. We listened to a whole bunch more songs the support guy had put on, more Pink Floyd, and some other terrific stuff.

The social club guy came up to me, and he commented on my taste in music too, saying that it was really good to see young people enjoying such good music, and he told me a story about how his son had come to him, asking where his Deep Purple LPs were, and it had brought a tear to his eye.

At this point it was almost 11.30pm, and the bartended had wanted to close at 11pm, so we started trying to drag our large group that had assembled in there by that time out to another pub.

About half of use left, the others had started another game of pool.

We started walking to the other pub, on the way, there was a shopping trolley abandoned, and someone was like "oh, get in there" (not to me, to someone else walking with us), and I said I wasn't interested in having that go on, because it's all fun till someone gets hurt.

We kept walking, but then someone climbed in, and someone started pushing him along the footpath.

We kept on our way to the other pub, about a minute later, the trolley tipped over, and the guy riding in it came spilling out.

Hmm, what did I just say? he wasn't hurt though (or too pissed to notice) and we just kept going, leaving the trolley tipped over in the gutter or wherever it was.

Someone walking with us called someone else who was still in the pub, and asked them to drag the rest of them out. It went on for a bit, and eventually we told them to put the bartender on, so that we could tell him to throw them all out, but they wouldn't do it.

We got to the other pub, went in, ordered drinks, I got another contreau, someone shouted it for me.

They wanted to have a game of pool, there was another pool table out the back, but they'd already started to pack the pub up, and there were stools on it.

We asked if we could take them off and have a game, if we put them back, they said it was ok.

We took all the stools off, racked up the balls, and started playing. Some clown from work took the triangle, and put it on his head.

He did that a few days ago too, and it wasn't found to be particularly funny then either, anyway, he proceeded to keep that on his head while playing.

Eventually the rest of the crew turned up, they'd either left or been thrown out of the last place.

I finished my Contreau, and ordered another (that's 5 of them now), and then we were told that it was take away only now.

I had a look, and saw an unopened bottle of Contreau on the shelf, I asked if they'd sell it to me, and how much, the chick said she'd have to find out.

We kept playing, and then went around to the front of the bar to order our takeaway. Someone bought my another glass of Contreau (I'd forgotten about that one until now), and then I asked again how much the bottle would be.

The chick asked the other one working there, and I was told that they couldn't sell it to me. Bugger.

I said I'd just have 6 cans of Bundy and Coke then, and she grabbed them out of the fridge (6 individual cans, not a six pack or anything), and put them in a bag. She rang them up on the till, $33.

Fark, I'm used to paying $15 for 6, but that's bottle shop prices.

Oh well, at nearly midnight, in Maitland, I don't have much choice, I grabbed a $50 note out of my wallet, and paid.

We hung around for a few more minutes, and finished our game of pool, and then we put the bar stools back up on the pool table, and we left.

We started walking back to the pub we were staying in, on the way, a guy with us complained he wished he'd got some takeaway. I asked if he wanted a can, and I gave hime one of mine. I think I got carried away, I won't really need 6 cans.

We walked the rest of the way back to the pub. When we got there, I was with guy who'd had the triangle on his head, and we weren't sure if the others trailing along behind us had a key, so I grabbed a receipt or some rubbish bit of paper I had in my pocket, and stuck it against the security tab on the door, to stop it from shutting properly, so they could get in, if they didn't have a key.

By the time I'd propped the door open, they got there, so we just went in, and upstairs.

We all sat out on the balcony, but they'd put blood and bone, or some other really offensive fertiliser on the plants out there, and it really stank.

It was actually worse inside though, in there it smelled like cheese, out here, you got used to it after a minute.

We started drinking, and chatting.

We were there for a good while, I had a can, and gave another one to someone siting at the table, because they'd finished all their drinks.

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We kept drinking, and chatting. A couple of people left. [ edit, text deleted ]

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We sat there a bit more, but then someone was whinging about the smell, so we took our drinks, and we went and sat on the bus stop seat out the front of the pub, and watched the widescreen tv in the window of Radio Rentals.

Apparently they'd done this a few nights ago too.

We sat there for a while, about 15 minutes after we went out, a taxi turned up, so someone jumped in, and went back to wherever he was staying.

The rest of us stayed sitting there.

A cop car went past, and a security vehicle, both had a good look at us (4 of us out here) and kept going.

We sat there for another while, I went and got another can (the door still had the paper in it, so I could open it), they were in the fridge in one of our rooms.

I came back with another can, sat and started drinking.

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I finished my drink, and went inside to get another one. When I came back out, the others had gone inside. I sat there on my own for a bit.

A cop car went past, slowed right down, I turned around and looked at them, and then they kept going.

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A car came screaming up the road behind me, I looked, it was a persuit cop car with it's flashing lights on, followed by a paddy wagon.

As the paddy wagon went past, it put it's lights on too, and the continued speeding up the street.

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I went to the room I'd been given and I went to bed.

Just as I got into bed, the clock changed to 4am.

Ugh, let's have a drink total..

5 x 7s of JD and Coke
1 x red wine
6 x shots of Contreau
4 x cans of Bundy and Coke

that's 16 drinks, and the cans are 1.5 standard drinks each, and I know the bartender wasn't giving me single shots of Contreau, so I must have had close to 20 standard drinks in the last 10 hours.