Got a big day ahead of me. I've gotta ask the flatmates for money for the phone bill.

I know what's gonna happen.

I'll probably ask Flatmate R for it first, well into a conversation.

The conversation will go like this:

Flatmate R has just been to a wedding.

Flatmate R: "Oh man, that wedding was fucking terrible. [Flatmate R's ex-girlfriend] was there, and all her friends who fucking hate me were there, so I had to get drunk. Tab ran out pretty fast, so I had to start paying for 'em myself. That suit I bought last week was pretty cool to wear, though."

Lith: "You had to drink?"

F.R.: "Yeah. I couldn't leave early - they'd fucking hate me for that. And they'd get suss if I was sober. Worth it, though. Had to spend forty bucks to get a cab home from Mt. Cootha."

L: "So how much did you spend?"

F.R.: "About sixty bucks, not including the fifty I borrowed from you to spend."

L: "Right. What'd you last night?"

F.R.: "Girlfriend [who, disturbingly, shares the exact same name as his fourth last and sixth last girlfriends] came over. Spent twenty buck in petrol, plus I took her to Tomato Bros for pizza. Fucking expensive, fifteen bucks in gas, like twenty bucks per pizza and another ten for dessert, but worth it. I had some cash - worked Saturday for time-and-a-half and Sunday for double time."

L: "So you got money for the phone bill?"

F.R.: "Awww, man, I don't have a lot of money to spend, you know that. Work pays fuck-all, and Centrelink's gone in half a day. I've got forty bucks to last me until next Thursday. Forty fucking bucks. Man, I can barely live on what I get. How much is it?"

L: "You tell me. The printout's stuck on the wall; you pay for the calls you made."

F.R.: "I thought we were splitting it four ways?"

L: "I never fucking said that. You said that."

F.R.: "But it's too much hassle to do the itemised thing!"

L: "I understand how it could be a fucking hassle. You lose the chance for foist off on me a quarter of the calls you made. Personal calls, remember, aren't meant to be done. Getting neurotic about whether or not your friends are really still going out tonight and not just trying to ditch does not constitute such an emergency that would allow you to use the phone. There's six fucking calls to Warwick on it. Why the fuck would I or the other flatmates call someone in fucking Warwick?"

F.R.: "They could've been calling their dope grower! I think PMS's drummer comes from Warwick Look, you know how it is. There's always some fucker who doesn't own up to all their calls."

L: "Yeah, I can understand that. I can, right now, utterly and totally comprehend how and why someone would do that. Tell you what - I'll call any disputed numbers, see who owns them, on my mobile."

F.R.: "Look, I'll see when I can get you the money. Probably not until two weeks time."

L: "Bill's due in ten days. You get paid then."

F.R.: "Late notice! Late notice! I should get a discount."

L: "Pay your fucking share of the bill. It's not fucking late notice, I got the bill yesterday."

F.R., sulkily: "Fucking fine. Won't be able to fucking do anything this week - I've got uni!"

Ten days later...

F.R.: "HEY LITH! WHY'S THE FUCKING INTERNET OUT? AND THE FUCKING PHONE? MAN, ME AND THE GIRLFRIEND ARE TRYING TO FIND A FUCKING RESTAURANT AND NEED TO CALL AHEAD! DID YOU PAY THAT FUCKING BILL LIKE YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO? I NEED THE FUCKING PHONE AND INTERNET!!! JUST COVER ME UNTIL I GET THE FUCKING MONEY, I'LL HAVE IT WITHIN A WEEK, OK?!"

Dude, you've heard of the "cell phone", yes? Buy one and tell your rat bag housemates they're on their own.

What did you think "mobile" means, HB?

City in Alabama?

the captain moved back to the office he was in before he moved in here.

'morning everyone

he took the space cadet with him.

morning.
on slow motion here today.

the chancer is on holiday. he may or may not be away. what he told different people doesn't add up.

we had one day of heat in this office, before which we ordered two little heaters to keep us warm.

the chancer made one of the new heaters vanish before it was even out the box. we never realised till he had vanished as well.

for a few days last week it was just me and the new girl. who are getting on reasonably well.

but now we have a retiree sitting in the captain's seat.

guy who worked here for years, then retired. but has friends in the right places.

not sure how he will be to work with, changes the mood anyway.

its appraisal time. got to fill in the self-assessment form. hate these things - examples of how well i work as part of a team, in an innovative fashion, with one eye on the business goals of the company, while actively promoting them. like most folk, i just get on with my job

likely will have appraisal session tomorrow. should be interesting.