Australian Open 2008 - Day 5

OK, so Colleen busted me.  I indicated on this post that there were interesting things afoot.  That was probably an overstatement on my part.  Interesting in the sense that none of the people I have worked with from IBM Australia are here this year.  Interesting in the sense that the weather so far has been cooler than I had anticipated (which means walking back to the hotel late at night might be almost considered cold.)  Interesting in the sense that things I took for granted about this event changed (information I had tried to insert into the marketing message was removed and we're basically doing very little to help the marketing message here.)  All of those are interesting to me, but probably not to my readers (like there are so many of you out there.)  So, mea culpa for that and onto today's posting.

Worked the early shift and got the chance to leave for dinner early.  We opted for Syracuse Restaurant just around the corner from the hotel.  It is Greek Tapas, which means little snack plates that you share amongst the table.  Some of the selections struck me as overpriced for the quantity of food, but overall it was good eating.  I also enjoyed some Mythos beer.

Since dinner ended early for the folks that were packing to leave on Wednesday, I wasn't quite ready to retire to the hotel, and chose instead to wander around to find a pub for a pint.  Now, this is one of my biggest complaints about the Melbourne CBD.  Bars are open "late" but that is a highly subjective term.  I went by Pugg Mahones because I like their beer selection, and they were already closed.  I wandered over to Turf Bar because they typically have several sporting events on (the closest thing to a sports bar in Melbourne) but they had announced last call less than 10 minutes before I arrived and were closing.  That left me frustrated, but undaunted.  I wandered over to The Irish Times and they oddly were still open.  I don't really like their beer selection, but I was determined to have a pint.  I wandered in and sat at the bar.  I ordered a Coopers Red and started watching the show court tennis on the TV.  I struck up a conversation with the bartender and two couples next to me overheard.  Well, let's say they heard my American accent, so they felt compelled to start talking to the American. :-)  That of course meant that I was now having a second and a third pint, which I probably should have avoided.  At 8 dollars Australian a pint, it isn't cheap to drink beer, but I was having a good time listening to the English couple and their Australian friends they were visiting as we talked about a variety of subjects.  Decided to leave the bar around midnight, as I know the bartender wanted to head home and I was keeping the crowd at the bar, effectively.

Tipsy, I realized as I was walking to the hotel that I hadn't called Colleen like I said I was going to try to do.  ARGH!  I scrambled up to the room and dialed frantically her cell number.  No luck.  Turned out I also forgot she had a doctor's appointment and she wasn't able to answer her cell.  I thought she was mad at me, so I proceeded to make a drunk ass of myself on her voice mail, furiously apologizing and nearly to the point of tears.  We have had arguments before for this very situation happening at prior events, and I needed to head this one off at the pass.  I was beating myself up more than anything.  I missed her, and I really hadn't intended to not call.

Was at least sober enough to remember good oral hygiene.  After deciding to end my ban on visiting the dentist, I spent a year and a half in dental jail.  I had to go in every three months for cleanings and listen to hygienists browbeat me about needing to floss more.  So, after the cleaning where they let me out of jail (I was able to come back for a 6 month cleaning) I chose to floss as regularly as I cared to during that six months to see if their browbeating stopped.  Of course not.  They still found something to complain about.  So, I am torn about continuing the trend, but I guess it's good for me anyway.  My head hit the pillow and I was once again dead to the world.

Cheers!