Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Silly Season 2004
[Life] It's been almost twelve months since I've had a holiday, so this month off has been long anticipated.
(Continues...)
I finished work on the 20th & flew up to Brisbane on the 21st; I like to get home for Dad's birthday. I'd only been in town a few hours when - heading into a pizza place for the old man's birthday dinner - a voice I'd not heard for years was yelling at me. Dee & her other half were/are back in town to renew their visas for the States; what'd be the chances... After I ran into Atko and Miss K & the Pawnstar in the mall the next day I got the hat trick I was strangely expecting.
Even though it'd only been about a year since I'd been up here, after a few days I realised that I'd forgotten a bunch of things about Brisbane; that wrapped-in-a-hot-wet-blanket humidity, mozzies (the little fuckers), and that the Queen Street Mall is full of friggin' morons who think that the first stop off an escalator is the best place to stop and get their bearings when Christmas shopping (I know that probably happens all over the place, but I've only experienced it up here). That it's also full of beach bunnies in summer is its saving grace. I'd also forgotten what it's like to live in suburbia, under a fight path and on a bus route. The damn traffic starts around 6am and doesn't let up. Thankfully the planes are less frequent (I think we're under a north-western approach that doesn't get used as often as others).
Christmas day went as well as can be expected; not too much more weirdness than usual. I did ok on the gift front; a pretty good Marie Claire cookbook (Kitchen), a shirt & tie and a bunch of cash towards the camera. After a massive brunch I didn't have to do much for the Christmas dinner I'd promised to do. Chicken in a bag is dead easy.
Boxing day came and I was off to The Victory for beers, steak burgers and cricket in the beer garden. After a couple of hours we wandered up into the mall seeking food and got into Sizzler! (There's no Sizzler in the ACT and Pawnstar & I have been talking about hunting one down in NSW for months) The cheese toast was worth the wait. After the joy of the palace of all we could eat, we headed back to the Vic for more pool.
The rest of the trip has been pretty good too; yesterday one of my multitude of cousins arrived for a short stay & she's a bunch of fun, and today a couple of mates & I hit 'Brisbane's worst vegetarian restaurant' - the Norman Hotel - for a 600g Big Norman steak. I made it through the steak and the potato, but the side salad and bread roll got the better of me.
Looking forward to seeing the gang in Adelaide on Friday. Hope you all had nice Christmases.
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