Monday, Monday - Can't Trust That Day

Well, week #5 has started. As usual, my Monday was rather uneventful. I don't have too much for you guys in the way of entertainment, so I'll tell you a couple of quick stories, just to say hello. Hopefully things will pick back up a little later this week. Oh, and I found out today that my business trip will actually be two weeks in Canberra. However, I also found out that there is not a whole lot there, as the town is pretty quiet. You guys know me - I'll do what I can to scrounge up some entertainment for you guys. But I guess the Australian national capital can't compare to the excitement in the US capital city. Maybe if we can convince the Aussies to let Marion Barry get into politics here, it might be a different story... Got crack?
So things this morning were a lot less hectic. You could tell that most of the pilgrims from World Youth Day had headed home. Or at least were not in the city this morning. However, since it was a little less crowded, people watching was a bit easier. The best story of the day came as I was walking down Market Street from the train station to the office. Those of you who I give a lot of grief to for wearing flip flops and pants will really appreciate this one. As I was walking down there street, a guy was walking towards me on the sidewalk. Something in my mind said, "That's not right." (The fashion police senses must have started tingling.) As he got closer, I figured out the problem: The guy was wearing a nice looking suit, and with his suit, he was wearing a flip flop. Wait, re-read that sentence again; I want to make sure you understand. Yes, he was wearing one flip flop. On the other foot, he had on a formal dress shoe. (No, Tony, it was not a pump.) There is nothing in my mind that can understand that one. And before you guys start offering suggestions: he was not limping, there were no bandages on his foot; there was nothing to indicate that he could not get his foot into the other dress shoe. I don't get it, but I did manage to laugh to myself about it the rest of the way to the office. So there might be a blog post out there somewhere about the crazy lady laughing to herself as she was walking down Market Street in Sydney this morning.
I got to my building and got onto the elevator. I think my elevator karma is a bit off kilter now. I have no idea what elevator karma is, but I'm having some interesting luck with elevators lately. There are two elevators in my apartment, and one of them was out of service all weekend. I don't know what was wrong with it, but it was buzzing all weekend, and was still out of service this morning. For the elevator at the office, I got on with several people, and there were three stops before getting to my floor. Before I continue, I need to explain that this elevator is pretty freaking fancy. There is a woman's voice that comes on at every stop and announces what floor you are on. After the third stop, the voice came over the elevator. "This elevator is on fire... mode." Huh? Some lady on the lift made a crack about the lift announcing that it was on fire. (There really was a decent delay after the elevator said the word "fire.") Then it stopped at my floor and one of the guys who got off with me said, "Well, I'm glad I'm getting off here!" I just have to wonder if there was a camera in the elevator that was watching everyone's face when the voice announced it was on fire. (Mode.)
As I was walking to the train station tonight after work, I noticed that the WYD pilgrims were back. Well, some of them. You can tell them in the crowd: They are all wearing this yellow, orange, and red WYD commemorative backpack. Yeah, it looks about as bad as it sounds. But at least you can pick the tourists out in the crowd. The funny thing was that there were a group of WYD teens sitting outside of the QVB. I have to wonder if it is a smart thing to have this big holy week, only to have those of us who remain in Sydney to have the parting memories be a group of teens wearing hood-looking clothes, hanging outside of the mall, smoking cigarettes, all while holding onto their happy little orange, red, and yellow WYD backpacks. I guess these are the youth of the world...
When I got to the ferry, I noticed that there were still several people hanging around Sydney. Not nearly as many as last week, but it was definitely crowded. The ferry was a different sized boat tonight. In fact, as I got on behind a large group of people, I was really wondering where everyone was going to fit. I ended up standing near the bow of the boat with a bunch of other folks. I'm not sure where everyone was going, but I don't think the ferry has ever been that crowded before! But it was kind of nice to stand out on the deck of the boat tonight. It was cool out, but not too cold, and I got to get some nice nighttime views of the city. The city had actually projected a screen onto the side of the Harbour Bridge that lit up with the WYD logo, and then had another screen that said, "Thank you, Sydney." It was kind of cool to see. But the night was really nice. The sky was clear - I think it was the first night I noticed the stars out. As I looked up at the sky, I laughed to myself. I asked myself what I was looking for. I was pretty sure that the bright star in the sky was not the North Star. And even though I know very little about constellations, I was also pretty sure that I would know even less about the stars here in the Southern Hemisphere. I don't know why - I just thought it was funny that I was looking up at the sky, as if I was going to recognize something...
When I got back to my apartment, I was on the lift with a couple of other people in my building. One of them lived on my floor. We said hi in the elevator, and both walked down the hall. As he walked by, he told me to have a good night. Nice guy. Young guy. But I didn't figure out until I was halfway in the door that he lives next door to me. HE LIVES WITH THE CAT! So the next time I run into this guy, I am going to have to ask him about it... HA!
So I think I am out of random stories for you guys today. Even the mX newspaper let me down a little. I do have a couple of quotes for you. But since the events of today were a little lacking, I thought I'd share one of the mX stories, as well.
VENT QUOTES:
"Who else has an impossible boyfriend? Or is it just me? Oh god. Can a guy be less fussy and complain less? Over my head." - Niva from Wollstonecraft.
"Why call it World Youth Day when there are so many oldies?" - L from St. Leonards. (I told you guys there were some old "youth" here!)
"Number of niterides per hour: two. Number of pilgrims: 125,000. Number of extra late trains: zero. Watching thousands get on two buses an hour: priceless." - R.S. from Lidcombe.
STORY:
A Dutch woman on the toilet accidentally flushed away about $1,426 in euros when it fell from her pocket. [JP NOTE: A Euro is pretty close to $1.60 US.] A sewage department spokesman said: "At first my colleagues were dumbfounded, but the woman was in such a panic that they believed her." The woman dried the nine 100 euro notes on a clothesline after they were fished out of the system.
With that story in mind, as my parting comment to you guys, I have to ask: What kind of a reward do you give a sewage department employee for helping you with that kind of problem? And if you were this worker, and you were offered a monetary thank you, would you take it???