A Slow Train And Lunch With Keith (Part 1)

Stuck At Home Again

Tonight I have been stricken with laden restlessness for I yearn these new clothes to breathe but I say they shall not breathe inferior air tonight. My wish would have been to head out to the city where these clothes would receive their warmest welcome but none want to travel that distance, they are too afraid, too anxious. Campbelltown really is a hole that you can’t get out of and as much as I try home is where the hypocrites are.

Forgone criticism that tonight yields me nothing but to sit in front of this computer, eager to head out somewhere but knowing that it will probably end up a clubless weekend. Just to recapitulate what was proposed, I could have gone to the movies with Jett or I could have gone to Chevy’s with everyone else. However, I called Jett for a quieter night but it turned out he didn’t have enough room in his car and now I can’t get in contact with anyone who went out to Chevy’s.

I’m doomed to sit at home but it is far better an option than to head to Chevy’s again. Keith really knows how to kill something quick and in his mind he’ll kill an idea with repetition. Just look at what happened with ‘Subway’, he killed it with repeated visits daily and I was the one (As I will be with Chevy’s) to put an end to stupidity.

I hoped to ring Ace and Tyler tonight to see if they wanted to head to the City but I never got the chance from work and it was too late once home. Therefore, I am destined to stay home tonight because I’ve started writing in my diary. For so long it has been a chance to procrastination but now I can’t wait any longer and I shall talk of my Thursday and today’s events in proper detail…

A Train Taking A Detour

Thursday morning began for me as usual, around 6:00 a.m. Although for the past fortnight I have been getting to sleep just before midnight it hasn’t done that great a catastrophe to my frame of thought or my day in particular. Doing all the little jobs I have to do of a morning I made my way out of the house and jumped on the regular bus. Heading down to the station I found the timetables to be a little different.

My usual East Hills train had been cancelled for some reason and as I walked to the information counter I overheard the man saying that there was a train heading through the Bankstown line with no stops until Redfern. This seemed to be the alternative option rather than waiting fifteen minutes for another East Hills train so after some hesitation I jumped on and hoped for the best.

The train actually stopped all stops until Glenfield and from there it seemed to have a mind of its own in direction. Taking a seat to the side of the doors I sat there in my own little world, wondering if I would be late or on equal part with what would have been my normal train. While in this pondering stage I looked over at a girl who was standing near the opening doors in her St.

Pats uniform and for a split second I thought it was Sama. Having a second look at her as she tried hard not to look back (Fear of recognition) I became more cognizant to the fact that it might indeed be her. The person I was seeing was a perfect example of Sama but what struck me curious was how she could possibly still be going to school and what the heck was she doing jumping off at Glenfield.

For most of the trip I kept to myself and in the chance that I did glance over at her she never returned the favor. It seemed to me that it was Sama and she was avoiding eye contact. That I can understand because when we have conversations they get all weird and without the bulked quality that one would normally have.

Crawling Into The City

The reason the train was late was due to there being a fatality on the East Hills line, somewhere near Padstow. As this became aware to us from the start of the trip I figured our little trek past Bankstown won’t take all too long. However, I thought too soon as the train seemed to be traveling at the slowest pace imaginable after Glenfield. The train didn’t actually stop too often but it was traveling so slow at some points that I could have walked faster.

No one was really impressed by the way Cityrail was treating the situation and I was more surprised when we ended up heading past Berala and Ashfield. Even though there were no stops we slowed down long enough to pick up everyone on the route and there were no mixed feelings, everyone was on the same level as me. When 8:45 a.m. arrived we were only heading past Ashfield and from there the train was at normal speed.

Finally reaching Wynyard at 9:05 a.m. I didn’t rush myself to work because I was already late but kept the pace up as I normally do. I was a fair degree late as I walked in but luckily Najla was the only one that I had seen on the way in and she understood my troubles as she had been late days before.

Quiet Without Jana

The day began with the knowledge that Jana wasn’t in for the day so in part, that meant no badgering voice of drilling perfection on our backs. It was a day like any other but more calmed and laid back as well as with more respect to do our work effectively because now we were without that knowledgeable hand of guidance. I’m not too sure what the morning would have brought forth but I do remember that I received a call around 10:30 a.m. from Keith.

This is the second time Keith’s had the nerve to call me at work and even though I didn’t mind he showed no decency or understanding that I had to work. Nevertheless, Keith called to inform me that he was in the City with Shawn who had an interview to attend. Keith wanted to know if they could join me for lunch and as I talked over what time I should head out with Najla I agreed on heading out at midday. Asking Keith to meet me out the front with his car at that time we ended our conversation and I got to work as well as chatting with Najla.

Now before I made these plans with Keith I bumped into Linh at the photocopier and we made some uncertain plans of having lunch together. Finally it looked like I was finally going to get the ball rolling by having lunch with someone from work but because Keith and Shawn were in the City I couldn’t say no to their company. Just to note, if I wanted to have lunch with someone, I now have the option of calling Harley, Lucas, Aleka, Linh, Jonas or even Lyssa if I felt the urgency for some companionship.

Keith And Shawn Wait Downstairs

Twenty minutes before midday I received another call directed to me from Keith. Speaking to Reception from downstairs I was told on how two guys were waiting downstairs for me and as I talked to the persistent Keith I told him to wait downstairs. Keith had the nerve to actually ask if he and Shawn could come upstairs to my floor and wait for me but there was no way I would allow that.

For one, I didn’t want to baby-sit the both of them and another, it would look bad having the both of them there. I knew the only reason Keith was being so persistent was because he wanted to check out the women I talk so genuinely about but I was so against the both of them coming up with their rough appearance that I didn’t even allow them the knowledge of my floor.

When finally it was time for me to head out at midday it was somewhat of an anticlimax to see them both sitting downstairs on a bench in the Reception area but those are my eager acquaintances. Heading out towards Wynyard as I asked Shawn about his interview he told me how he drove his mum’s car to work and because it was raining in Campbelltown Keith couldn’t work. Keith and Shawn both noted about my grandfather collar suit which I bought eons ago with Lyssa, noting they had never seen it on me before.

Sushi In Martin Place

As we made our way to Wynyard I bought my usual Sushi and as I ordered Teriyaki Keith commented on how I was all upper-class now. He seemed to find it an amusing truth as he noted it but as with my nightclub clothes and so many other things, Keith is only trying to demean my good fortune by making it seem like I was putting on a show. Keith bought himself some Macdonald’s as we then headed towards Martin Place with some time to spare for eating. Included with my Teriyaki was two sushi rolls and I figured since I was eating with someone, might as well enjoy my food.

Making our way to Martin Place Shawn commented on how Centrelink didn’t pay him but he had $250 in hand for selling his motorbike. As the three of us sat down just inside Martin Place where other workers were sitting at a building we started chatting about Hound Dog clothes and knowing he wants to get his hand on some I offered to show him around. Shawn kept bagging me because I was eating sushi and he thought the rice was raw fish eggs, not true.

Despite my advising him that it was only rice he failed to believe me being squeamish just for the sake of putting up an argument. After twenty minutes and my stomach practically full with the last forced bite we headed off towards Pitt Street Shopping Center by the eager call of Shawn to head off. As we walked through Pitt Street I noticed Tatiana, Zenia (The hot blonde) and Kelsey walking together. As Mary noticed me I looked at her, waved and smiled at her greeting smile.

Hound Dog With The Boys

Who knows if she noted Keith and Shawn walking a couple of steps behind me, who knows… Showing Shawn the different shirts and pants in Hound Dog I took notice of a couple of items myself. There were five different items that appealed to me favorably and by the end of the day I had come back to buy one of them and ended up buying a horde of clothing.

Altogether, just on clothing, I spent $500 of my money and as I had placed $120 in my Credit Card Thursday morning I had taken the most of it back out by the end of the day. Shawn and Keith didn’t look like they belonged in Hound Dog but neither did I when I first set food in their doors with Lyssa and ended up liking the place. Shawn didn’t want to try anything on because he didn’t have money but I guess he’ll open up one day to a whole new world.

With only fifteen minutes to head back to work I quickly showed Shawn ‘Gas Station’ as well as’ French Connection’ and from there we quickly made our way back to Kent Street in the sprinkling rain. Walking across the street as they continued back to their car I made my way to the elevators at work. While down there I bumped into Aleka who was just coming out of the mail room and was heading for lunch.

As she stopped to talk to me we just chatted away about where she was headed and as the lift doors opened I quickly added casually that we should have lunch together one day. As she agreed I jumped onto the lift and made my way up to our administration section with bettered news. For the rest of the day at work Najla and I prepared some more brief updates as well as complete the outgoing mail.