Extravagance

Monday was a strange, strange day. I guess I could just leave it at that, but something compels me to write about it. Most likely because I am rather bored and taking breaks from watching season 2 of Stargate Atlantis.

It all started in the wee hours of Monday morning. I had gone with my parents to Sydney so that, on the next day, scout out the location of my interview, which takes place this coming Sunday (more on this here, here, and here). I was ready to go to bed when my mum realised that she had left some important documents in Wollongong. I volunteered to go home and fetch said documents the next day. I proceeded to spend about half an hour figuring out the bus routes and schedules in Wollongong, as I had not caught public transport there in quite some time.

4+ hours on buses and trains later, I had made the return trip from Sydney to home and back in one piece. During transit, I ascertained that two of my friends were no longer attending a dinner I had planned (the other reason why I was in Sydney), leaving only three of us in total. The other two people were Jim and Apte, from the great Thredbo adventure.

After taking care of some travel-related things and buying some CDs at the $10 CD store (it must be noted that cheap CD stores are evil, but I digress), I jaywalked seemingly dozens of times (thanks to peak-hour traffic) and met the duo at Circular Quay station. Our eventual destination: the Heritage Belgian Beer Café. We came for the beer - as Belgian beer is among the best, if not the best in the world - but we were also there for dinner. The appetiser was a bottle of Forbidden Fruit, served in its own fancy special glass. After our main meals, we decided to go all out and split a magnum of Chimay Grande Réserve three ways. It was by far the finest beer I've ever tasted. It also cost us around 20 dollars each. The entire dinner (including drinks) cost each around 60-70 each. It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it for a nice fancy night out, and I would not count out doing it again some time. In fact, I would bet on it.

Sadly, the fancy-schmancy theme of the night ended there. After leaving the Heritage, we headed to a nearby bar and played some pool. I made the dubious decision to purchase a Jager Bomb. Stupidity and memory loss ensued, as is often the case when I have that drink. The last thing I remember after leaving the second bar was being at home. Later investigation (by way of looking at my TravelTen) suggests that I caught the bus home. Apparently somewhere along the line Apte climbed a pole too.