DarkSlinky

Posts Tagged ‘Bundaberg’

Last time I updated I was so out of it, haha.  I was over-tired.  I mentioned in my last blog that I had been upset on (correct me if I’m wrong) Wednesday night.  This requires a short-ish story.  If you’d rather just read about my awesome weekend, feel free to skip ahead. It’s not particularly interesting. 

A few years ago I was having a difficult time; I think I was about 14 years old.  I had an image as my desktop background that would make me feel better whenever I saw it (see below).  I knew it was from an anime, but I never knew which one.

Angel Sanctuary: All love lost.

I must have deleted the picture at some point and for years I could never find it again, until on Wednesday night.  I somehow came across it through Google and saved it again.  I even managed to learn which anime it came from; Angel Sanctuary.  It was kind of overwhelming to come across an image I had clung to during some of my darkest hours and the irony of it coming from an anime called “Angel Sanctuary” really struck a nerve with me.  So yeah, I was upset.

If I’m not making sense again, it’s because I’m tired.

Onward!

On Friday Gavin got a promotion which is really exciting for both of us.  The beginning of this year started out crap for me and got progressively worse.  Gavin suffered a break up through the year as well, so for us to have found happiness together as well as the promotion and me going back to university next year, the end of 2009 is really tying itself in a nice, neat, little bow for both of us.

Friday evening was really lovely.  I got all dressed up to go to a work Christmas party with Gavin.  The food was really good and I got to meet the people Gavin was working with before he got promoted, which he was proud to tell his work colleagues about through the night.

I think I’m falling for this guy, pretty sure he’s fallen for me. Squee!

I stayed at Gavin’s place Saturday night so we could get up early in the morning and spend some time with his grandparents and family before heading off to Tweed Heads.  I’m pretty sure his family likes me.

When we got to Tweed Heads Jeff was washing his car so I washed Gavin’s for him because I promised I would while we were in Bundaberg.  I’m the sort of girl who keeps her promises, something I’m quite proud of.

Saturday evening we went to watch the Roller Derby.  If you ever get the opportunity to watch it, go!  I would describe it as boxing in fishnets on roller skates.  I’m sure a lot of guys would be in to that!  I certainly was.  It was a lot of fun to watch, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It’s definitely something I would watch on a regular basis and maybe even try out myself, just for the hell of it.

When we got back to Jeff’s after the Roller Derby we had a few drinks and then decided to go on a midnight run to McDonalds for ‘breakfast’.  Oh how I love having friends who are insane and spontaneous like I am!

So today, Sunday, Gavin and I wanted to go to the beach at Tweed because we didn’t have the opportunity to last time.  I took some photos of the same beach last time because I was so impressed with how beautifully clear and blue the water was.  It’s even better to swim in, even when it’s freezing cold.  I could have spent hours in there, although it’s probably lucky I didn’t because the water was freezing and I’ve had a throat infection for the past few days.  Lucky the breeze was warm or we would never have made it out of there alive, haha.

Jeff’s girlfriend, Amy, gave me a formal dress she bought years ago for cheap that has always been a little bit too small for her.  It’s black, silky and absolutely stunning; an elegant dress by all means.  I took some photos of me wearing it tonight, although I couldn’t get the back done up by myself and I could only take the photos in a dodgy little mirror in my kitchen/laundry.  You can sort of see what it looks like though.

I’m getting more tired.  Gavin left his work USB here so he’s going to come over and wake me up early in the morning.  It’ll be the first time I see him in his work uniform and I probably won’t even get out of bed.

I ate off cheese today. My stomach isn’t happy with me.

Check it out, I was just playing Minesweeper with my good friend Chris, also known as Darkr, and I fluked 6 shots (The ones circled in red).  How crazy is that?  I then won the match with one final fluke shot, which was where the red X is.

Fluke shots!

Sleeeeeeeeeep.

<3 DarkSlinky.

My weekend turned out to be a lot better than I expected it to be. I didn’t think it would be bad or anything, I just figured it’d be like all my previous visits to Bundaberg; hot, uneventful and just boring in general.

My parents left early on Friday morning so they could drop my Nanna at her twin brother’s house in Gin Gin. Gavin and I travelled up later in the afternoon because I needed to wait until lunch time to sign up with our new internet company, and he didn’t finish work until 3pm.

I spent the morning with Alex, trying to ‘sort out’ my Christmas present, driving to different places to see if they could do what he needed done to it. I had no idea what it was and he wouldn’t tell me so it was a bit of a mystery tour for me. In case you didn’t realise, I love ‘mystery tours’ and ‘adventures’ and anything that involves going somewhere with someone and causing mischief. In the end we gave up and went back to his place where he gave in and showed me what it is; a glove that fits over the first three fingers on your hand to help a pool cue slide along your thumb easier. He told me he intended to get “Slinky” embroidered in hot pink along one of the fingers. It sounds a bit random but Alex has been teaching me to play pool properly and my hands get sweaty easily so I constantly have to put chalk on my hand to help the cue slide along my thumb. Wearing a glove means I don’t have to worry about getting blue chalk all over my face anymore! Yay! Now all I need is a customised black pool cue with “Slinky” up the side in pretty writing. I might even start designing it.

The drive up to Bundaberg in the afternoon wasn’t exciting. I mean, it is just 4 hours of driving through Australian bush… Haha. It gave Gavin and I the chance just to be together and talk, though, which was really nice.

We stayed at my Mothers’ Aunty Nina’s (pronounced Nine-ah) for the weekend. She’s an amazing woman. Her name is actually Ingaborg, but my Grandmother (who was her little sister) couldn’t pronounce Ingaborg when she was young so she just started calling her Nina, and it stuck. She’s 89 years old, completely blind, mostly deaf and lives alone in a house she has owned for 55 years. She was very close to her two sisters, my Grandmother, Esther, and my Aunty Betty. Sadly they have both passed away, my Grandmother in December 2007 and Aunty Betty in January of this year. It pains me to think about it. My Aunty Nina is a lot like my Grandmother and I found myself often close to tears while I was with her. My Grandmother was a beautiful and inspirational woman and I miss her every day.

Saturday was a huuuuuge day. Firstly Gavin and I went to the Bundaberg Rum Factory in the morning. We bought 9 bottles of Rum Liqueur because that’s the only place you can buy it. It wasn’t all for us, we’re not that obsessed. 3 bottles were for Gavin’s mother, 3 bottles were for Gavin and 3 bottles were for me and my Dad. Okay, maybe we’re a little obsessed, but hey, rum is delicious.

We then met my Uncle and his girlfriend for lunch at my Mothers’ friend’s new Yum cha restaurant. Just so you know, poor Gavin was overloaded with my relatives throughout the weekend. He had never met any of these people before.

After lunch we went with my parents to a go kart track. Last time we went there I wasn’t quite old enough to drive a two-stroke go kart and I had to drive a four-stroke with my little nephew, but this time I was old enough. I was terrified I would flip and crash and explode and die but I’m the sort of person who challenges myself to do things I’m afraid of. I took the leap and enjoyed every second of it. I discovered I’m really not too bad at drifting around corners! My dad was so proud. I even overtook Gavin twice, but to be fair, his first go kart died and he weighs a lot more than I do. I’ve ended up with a massive bruise on my knee where it was resting against the steering column. I also got bruises on my shoulder blades from the seat and a burn on my arm from the engine, but it was all worth it. I had an absolute ball. I’d love to race professionally.

The three of us (Dad, Gavin and I) came off the track all sweaty and dry mouthed so my mother drove us to Bargara for a swim at the beach. It’s not a particularly impressive beach but a relaxing swim in the ocean will never go undesired on a hot day in Queensland.

Saturday afternoon was spent hunting for a pair of nice shoes because I had forgotten to pack mine and then getting all dressed up for my mothers’ cousin’s 50th birthday party. I’ll be uploading photos of all of these adventures.

My Auntie’s party was a lot of fun. Gavin and I spent the night meeting relatives, spending time with my parents, hunting for food and dancing. At one point I convinced Mum to come on to the dance floor with me and show me some of her dance moves from when she was my age. I always love dancing with Mum but after a while of dancing with her a man I hadn’t met before came over and swept me up in a dance of his own. Mum seemed relieved to be able to resume her seat. I can’t recall his name, but he was really good and he spun me around and round and swayed me and I just laughed the whole time. He said I did really well. I’ve never danced like that before and I certainly won’t be forgetting it in a hurry. He must have been a friend of my Auntie’s.

When our dance was over I politely thanked him and returned to my seat with Gavin, who was talking to my Mother and my Mother’s cousin. Turns out this cousin, Ian I think his name is, is a photographer and had been watching me throughout the night. He was telling Gavin and Mum about how he thinks I’m photogenic and would like to have a photo shoot with me one day. I felt incredibly flattered. It was the icing on the cake, my night was officially awesome. Little did I know it would only get better.

Upon exiting the party, quite a few of my Auntie’s commented on how good looking Gavin was and told me in private that they think he’s a wonderful man, a ‘keeper’ they called him, and told me to look after him. I told them I would most certainly keep this one.

My parents, Gavin and I returned to Aunty Nina’s house at about 11pm. When we got out of the car I commented on how beautiful the sky looked and the four of us stood there for a while trying to find the Southern Cross, but it must have been out of our view. I told them I’d like to sit outside for a while and watch the sky, one of the things I love to do if I have spare time in the evening. Gavin offered to join me. I can’t remember the last time I star gazed with company so it was really nice to have someone there with me.

While we sat there together and watched the stars I told Gavin about how they make me feel like both me and my problems are so small and insignificant. If I were to die the universe wouldn’t even flinch, it’s just so incomprehensible and vast. I’m just a spec in a picture so huge we meagre humans can’t even comprehend it. It gives me a sense of peace amongst the chaos and mayhem of my mind. I told him about how the stars remind me of people who have passed on from this life, how I’ve been to a lot of funerals for someone my age and how I miss each and every one of them. I told him about the numbness I’ve felt inside for the past few years, how I struggle to feel emotion after hurting for so long. He touched my cheek and must have felt that it was damp, because he pulled me close and told me I’m his world. Such a beautiful moment, you know the kind that just melts your heart? I’ve experienced more of these moments in the past month than I had over the course of my whole life. I’m appreciating every second of it.

Our weekend concluded nicely with the drive home being much the same as the drive up, except that we stopped for lunch at an old style Pizza Hut, which was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

I find myself missing Nicki. A few weeks ago that he decided he didn’t want anything to do with me anymore; I don’t fully understand why. I wasn’t angry with him or anything, I just told him that I would miss him but that I wanted him to be happy and that he should do whatever he needed to do to achieve that. I guess his decision was to cut me out of his life. My life really isn’t the same without him and I hope he contacts me again sometime soon. I’m going to think about maybe contacting him myself.

Hmm. The bruise on my knee is turning black. That’s kind’ve freaky.

Sleep. Sleep.

<3 DarkSlinky.

I think my ex will stop bothering me after today, thank goodness.

So the story begins with a message I received on Saturday from my ex-boyfriend asking if he could pick up the fishing gear he left behind.  I replied saying no, because I was out and wouldn’t be home until the following day.  He asked if I could have it ready Monday, I replied saying no because I’m flat out all week and that I would get everything ready in the following week and contact him then.  He replied telling me that he needed it this week, and to stop being ‘difficult’ and ‘ridiculous’, clearly not realising it’s his fault he failed to contact me earlier, and not mine.

Something you have to understand is that my ex has always had his way growing up, so if he doesn’t get his way he’ll stomp his foot and whinge and whine until he’s satisfied.

I wouldn’t back down.  I continued to say that I simply didn’t have time and he would have to wait. He wouldn’t back down either, so I began to ignore his messages, which gradually became more frequent and abusive.  I was telling the honest truth, too, about being busy all week.  Friday night I was in the city, Saturday I was with family, Saturday night I was at Gavin’s and Sunday I spent the day with Monique and Eevari. I was then meant to be Nanna-sitting full time from Monday to Thursday and then going away with Mum and Dad this Friday to visit family in Bundaberg.

He’s lucky my Nanna told my Mother she didn’t trust me to take care of her and my Mother decided on Sunday to ask one of her friends to stay at our house for the week (another story for me to tell!), because if she hadn’t then I certainly wouldn’t have had the time to be organising things he left behind.  He’s also lucky Gavin was around and knew what to look for.  Gavin found his fishing rods and got them out for me and on Monday I took them to my ex’s friends’ house because I certainly didn’t want him coming to my house after the abusive messages he had been sending me.

This wasn’t the end of the drama, though.  I received a message on Monday afternoon asking if that was it and where was the rest of the stuff, specifically, a tackle box.  I replied saying there was nothing else here, but of course, instead of listening to reason he immediately assumed I was just out for revenge or something.  By this point he had been harassing me from Saturday to Monday and I was really starting to get ticked off.  I called him on Tuesday.

Jayne:  “You must have taken it with you.”
Ex:  “I didn’t take it.”
Jayne:  “Well it’s not here.”
Ex:  “Then where is it??”
Jayne:  “How would I know?  Maybe you left it at your brothers.”
Ex:  “Pretty sure I’d know if I left it there.”

At this point he starts hurling fowl language at me.

Jayne:  “DON’T you speak to me that way!”
Ex:  <Silence, obviously taken aback>
Jayne:  “Come and see for yourself, it’s not here.”
Ex:  “I will then!”
Jayne:  “When can you be here?”
Ex:  “Tomorrow at 5.30, after work.”
Jayne:  “I’ll let you know if I’m free.”
Ex:  <Scowls and hangs up>

I let Gavin know what was going on and he told me he didn’t want me to be here alone with my ex,  so he and his friend would make sure they were here with me.  Having them here made the whole experience a lot easier.  I was really concerned and nervous about the whole thing so having people here to distract me and calm me down was very comforting.

So, this afternoon the three of us set up our computers so we could play the recently released Left 4 Dead 2 while we waited for my ex to arrive. As you know, my internet is speed capped and Gavin’s friend was getting bored while we waited for all of our accounts to sign in, so he decided to fish through the desk he was sitting at.  What should he find but a small, green tackle box.  We all stared, shocked.  After so much drama and so many messages and, on my part, tears, an overly curious friend just happens to stumble across the item at the centre of the drama.  How could it be?

Gavin’s friend sat where he could keep an eye out for my ex, who arrived soon after 5.30pm.  Just so you know, Gavin has a very deep voice.

Ex:  <Knocks on door>
Friend:  “You have a visitor.”
Gavin:  “Come in.”
Ex:  <Hesitates and looks concerned before entering>
Gavin:  “Is this what you were looking for?” (The small, green tackle box).
Ex:  “That’s mine, but the one I’m looking for is bigger.”
Gavin:  “Okay.”

So Gavin politely took my ex outside and helped him look for his bigger tackle box.  I’m so unbelievably happy with the way Gavin handled the situation.    Here he was, faced with his girlfriends’ bitter ex-boyfriend of 4 years and he remained cool and level-headed as well as assertive and protective.  I’m very proud to be able to call him my man.

Gavin’s friend stayed inside with me to keep me company, but I couldn’t stand knowing my ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend were alone together so I went outside too.  My ex made a point of pretending I didn’t even exist, something I expected.  Gavin tells me my ex scowled and swore and sulked while he looked and eventually gave up, saying “I’ve got to get out of here,” before storming off to his car and forgetting the rest of his things in the process.  I ran them out to him, because I am NICE!  Haha.

The impression I got is that he doesn’t have a shred of a soul or the warmth of life left in him.  He’s merely a robot in a cold and purposeless existence, trying to act like a big tough guy by deepening his voice and swearing, but he’s really not fooling anyone but himself.  For those who don’t know, a few years ago he was a conservative Christian, the kind that’s polite and doesn’t use offensive language or you know… smoke or get drunk or anything.  I never thought he would be this way but one thing that’s certain in life is that people will disappoint you.

A part of me is glad that Gavin has had the opportunity to see what I had to put up with for all those years.  Now he can understand why I’m having a difficult time trusting him fully.

Story over!

Yes, my Nanna told my Mother she doesn’t trust me to take care of her.  I’m very hurt and offended, to be honest, but there’s not much anyone can do considering she’s an 89 year old woman.  I don’t know why she thinks I wouldn’t take care of her and it makes me wonder if my family thinks I wouldn’t be able to either.  I’m not sure how to approach or deal with this sort of situation.  It’s possible that she’s just trying to be difficult because she doesn’t want my parents to go away without her.  I know it sounds awful but it’s definitely a possibility.  I haven’t given her any reason not to trust me so it would make sense.  I guess I just have to accept it and move on.

A few other things I realised I’ve failed to mention are firstly, that I got my hair cut a number of weeks ago.  I didn’t get it cut short but I had about 10cm – 12cm taken off and it’s certainly made a difference to how easy my hair is to maintain, haha.  It doesn’t get knotty so easily now, thank goodness.

The other thing I failed to mention is just how romantic Friday night was!

Gavin received an invite +1 to his friends’ dress-up birthday party and asked me if I would like to go with him.  The party was being hosted at a hotel where another friend works so we managed to get a room there ridiculously cheap.  It was a 4 and a half star hotel so it was really fancy.  I dressed up as  a pirate wench and Gavin dressed up as an Egyptian trader.  Such an odd couple.  Next time we get invited to a dress-up party we’re so going as Tarzan and Jane.

Anyway, when everyone had arrived in the hotel lobby we all went up to the entertainment room where the party was being held.  Gavin and I walked in together and the first thing I saw was the view; oh it was breath-taking!  Out of four walls, three of the walls were floor-length windows displaying a stunning panoramic view of Brisbane city.  I spent the entire night admiring the beauty of the city and reflecting on how lucky I am that such a difficult time in my life has resulted in opportunities such as this.

Also, like I said earlier, I’m going to Bundaberg for the weekend with my parents to visit family.  It should be good to get away for a few days, it won’t be particularly exciting.  I’m really hoping to go down to Tweed Heads for a weekend soon as well.

I officially reached 1,500 words.  I think this is my longest post, haha!

Sorry for rambling but ah, well, what are you going to do??

Sweet dreams world!

<3 DarkSlinky.