Day 11

Day 11 started really more as the end of Day 10. It was Clare's last official day as a member of the IBM Australia Team. They were having her farewell soiree at a club not very far from the tennis center, or so we thought. It was scheduled to start at 10PM, which meant I'd still be at work. When we got out for the night, Andy called to let me know that he was just looking for a good excuse to leave, and would we stop and pick him up. Since we had to walk by the bar anyway, it wasn't a chore. When we got there, he said he wanted to get another pint somewhere quieter, cheaper, and less pretentious. He also said I could stop by the flat and let me change into long pants. We made it to the Turf Bar, where it is usually 80's night on the weekends. That meant a ton of drunk Australians dancing madly to Technotronic, Bryan Adams, and Michael Jackson. We chose to observe, and settled in for a couple of pints. On the way back to the hotel, I called Clare to see where they were, as I wasn't really ready to retire for the evening just yet. That's when the experience really began.

Clare called back and said they had moved to the Club Odeon in the Crown Casino complex. Tony and I decided we'd hop a cab and see what was going on. Odeon is a techno club (they have quite a few of those in Australia) so that means loud music, dark lighting, and likely a cover charge. We paid the $15 entry, and it included a coupon for a free well drink. It didn't take long and we ran into Clare and the crew that had migrated with her. I loaded up a few more drinks, and did a bit of dancing. I am a terrible dancer, in my mind, but I do love to do it. If I get enough drink in me, I'll dance like nobody is watching. :-) And, thanks to the miracel of disco, I really don't have to dance with anyone and nobody really notices. After about an hour or so, Tony and I decided to hit the casino. That meant blackjack for me of course. I was able to play for a little under 2 hours on $50 and won enough to break even after the drunken cab ride home.

Gambling closes here. An odd concept, given the years I spent in the city that never sleeps. I have never actually been at a casino that kicked me out, and it was a novel concept. I also wondered why they'd close at 5:30 AM anyway. I mean, if you are going to be open that early, why would you close at all? Oh well, it was likely for the best, as I was fairly three sheets to the wind by then. A quick cab ride home, and I was in bed and out for the day.

Woke up at a little before 1PM. Scrambled to call Colleen, since that meant it was just after 9PM for her. We chatted for a while and housekeeping came in. Since this was the third day in a row I was in the room when he came by, he decided we should chat for a while. He asked where I was from in the United States, and I told him North Carolina. He said he had a brother in "Nort Caroleena" working as a civil engineer. When I asked him what city, he said Phoenix!!!! Suppressing a chuckle, I wanted to make sure I had heard him correctly. He said, the city in North Carolina that was about 300 KM from Los Angeles. I explained that was in Arizona, and that it was a very nice area, but definitely not a part of North Carolina. I am not sure he grasped the concept, and I felt we had a small degree of kinship. I tried to put it into perspective and said that if Melbourne was in North Carolina, Phoenix was in Western Australia. That definitely helped put perspective on it for him.

I made two errors in judgement today. The first was choosing cargo pants instead of shorts. The second was deciding I could walk to the venue in pants. It was, depending on the thermometer again, somewhere between 95 and 105 today. Add in the humidity that followed yesterday's rain shower, and I was melting all over everything. Still I stopped in at a Hungry Jack's on the way to the venue. Nothing better than a little fast food grease to help settle a hangover. I am still surprised at the lack of ice they put into their drinks. I can understand it would mean a better value since I would get more soda, but it also means the drink is not the super chilled beverage I have come do expect, and had hoped for while sweltering today. But, with my iPod on and rocking in my ears it definitely fit the bill. Since they are not actually a real Burger King franchise (seems there was a mild amount of copyright infringement that didn't hold up in court because Burger King hadn't at the time registered the trademark in Australia) they have a decent spicy chicken baguette. Not sweat on the forehead spicy, but it is fast food. :-)

Tonight marks my last evening shift. Andy and I swap. That means I'll have a late/early switchover. He seemed only mildly concerned about that, despite my protestations that there wasn't anything he needed to do about it. I wasn't. Last year, I rotated shifts every other day, which meant that I was doing a late/early swap every 2 days. Ugh! Shift work is a good thing for the venue. I know at one time, both teams (my team and the Atlanta folks) had worked straight through. I can't imagine pulling 16 to 18 hour days for two solid weeks. It probably explains why they needed what was referred to as decompression time after the event. I know I'd be close to nuts. :-) That translates into a slight delay in my updates as I'll be away from my computer well before the end of the day. Since I told myself I'd post daily for this event, I feel I have to get closer to the end of the day to really call it a daily entry. :-)

Cheers!