No more salt fish!!

Another day off - well, not completely. I was asked to come in for one special guest ride, a half hour water experience with 4 Americans that was easy enuf to do since I was already at Seaside to use the internet. So I earnt $10 tip and some overtime on swimming in the water with horses. My job could be worse.

The people wanted me to take pictures with their camera, encased in an elaborate waterproof thing, and I agreed as I didn't think the photographer was coming... then I saw her there and I felt bad she might lose a sale. As luck would have it, the battery ran out on their camera so they ended up buying the pics from A anyway. They really are great quality photos, I would probably buy them too if I was a tourist. Instead, I get them for free before I leave from both photographers!

Left with Polly, but she didn't end up coming home as she tried to eat a manky old chicken bone from the street and when I wouldn't let her, throwing it over a fence, she got all sulky at me and turned her heels. She didn't even come home with R at the end of the day, just stayed overnight at work. Stubborn old thing!

So the internet didn't work at work. Another temperamental day for either my computer or the internet, but either way it was annoying and meant I was back at Pineapple Pete's to get access to my mail. Had to go to the restaurant instead of the sports bar but somehow managed to still get $2 beers. Some kind of happy hour, perhaps? I never know. The wait staff do know me by now so maybe... yeah, who knows.

Organised to meet La and E in Philipsburg to go get a quote for the hairdresser to "finesse" my dreds, and then realised that in our fart-assing around to wait for E to pick me up, find a park, wait for La... it wasn't actually much time before E had to get her nanny-boy from school. I used the opportunity to get a lift to the bank near my house and finally cash the cheques I had been asking for since the cut-off of my monthly pay.

N had asked me to go to La Bamba to see her friend play an open mic kinda night, so I accepted - just before dinner. Dinner - urgh!! What an event! I had bought some salt fish from the corner shop (funnily enuf, the place to go for your groceries, the supermarket is actually more expensive than the local corner shops) and thought I'd tackle it as the locals seem to like it, and hey it can't be that hard.

It was that hard.

I chose to just cook it up on the fry pan, and toss it into the stir fry kinda rice I had going on. Let me tell you, it completely contaminated my rice and veggies with its ultra salty taste, and I almost wretched halfway through. But I was determined. No meal of mine would be wasted! Well, it should've been. It was horrible. And I am certainly not trying the second half of that packet, it can go to hell. And die. Or better yet, be charity to my much worthier local neighbours. They'd probably love it. I hate it. With a passion.

It made me feel all funny and I was almost going to cancel on N but I thought I needed the fresh air. She picked me up and I went along, telling her the story. At La Bamba, I drank some soda and water, and then plucked up the courage for a rum punch. All the while, there were some mildly and moderately talented people it their all on stage. Well, I'm being harsh, a couple of them were really talented but it was just locals doin' their thang and it was nice.

Actually, gave me the idea of getting a guitar for A in Melbs and him and I starting to learn some cover songs and develop some of our own. Would be so cute to have a boyfriend girlfriend tag team on stage - if we ever got to be on a stage! Maybe someone's backyard pub or something...

Anyway, I digress... tried to make conversation with N's friends who I largely had met before but didn't have that much to say to, but for the most part, just stared blankly into space while putting together some daydream about what could be if, if, if......... Which was about the time I started talking to a nice Scottish lad and his Belgian flight attendant friend who of course I assumed was gay from his job but who I think was definitely straight.

After some time dealing with attention from guys limited to passer-bys whistling or some random guy saying hello, I hadn't actually had a proper pick-up attempt for a while. This Scottish guy, completely not my type, gave it a crack and it actually made me feel funny! Like, is he seriously trying to pick me up? Cute! But no. No thanks. I think by the time he'd dropped the lines (very sweet lines too) I'd mentioned my boyfriend so it was just a throwaway thing, but it's nice to know some people still think nice things about me.

Shortly after, we were on our way home and I was looking very much towards getting home and getting to sleep. Back to work the next day and man, I needed those tips!