Day 291+

Friday night at volleyball was incredibly humid, you could just feel it.  I was rather tired from being out on the reef all day, and the humidity did not help. Everyone was rather lazy in their playing, no one wanted to expend too much energy because it was just too hot!  It did get a bit more bearable as the night wore on, so the level of play did increase a bit.  The humidity level was near 100% someone told me later on.  I'd seen that the forecast for the weekend was for a high of around 36C.  I didn't really know how hot that was, and had decided it must be around 90-92F because most times it's really the humidity that makes it unbearable.  While that may be true, I never should have looked it up; 36C is actually nearly 97F!!!  I know, I know, you all are suffering with below freezing temperatures so I shouldn't complain, but for someone who is always hot, this is a bit much.  I can't remember that last time I was so thankful for air conditioning!!!

Anyhoo....my shift at the Casino last night was a bit nuts.  There was a bit of a kerfuffle with the seating plan, so we were still shuffling seats and rearranging tables as the guests were arriving.  It was a Christmas party for the local karate club, so there were lots of kids; by the end of the night they were all running around like wild animals.  It was a bit of a challenge to navigate your way through the room and arrive unscathed at the kitchen with your tray full of dirty dishes.  For the most part though I was pleasantly surprised by how well behaved they all were.  The ones at my tables were extremely polite, so for that I was thankful.  I had told my manager for the night, Scott, that I needed to be done at midnight because I had to work this morning, but the manager in charge always seems to disappear after dinner and you're lucky to see them again.  It was midnight and I was trying to debate if I should search for Scott or just go with it.  The trouble being that sometimes the set up for the next event isn't over until 2am or later!  My tables were all cleared and they sent me to help polish silverware; rather tedious as there is so much of it, but at least I got to sit down for a bit.  By the time we were done the rest of the team had the tables already set up for the next function and all we had left to do was put out all the plates, cutlery, and glasses.  We were able to do that rather quickly and at 12:30am Tim (the other events manager - he was my manager last time I worked there) said we were done!  It was a long day to be sure, but I could use some cash to fund the rest of my travels around Australia, so I'm just taking what I can get.  There's a huge Christmas Carol concert at the park tonight, so I might join Pukari and Caterina for that.  My church is having one as well, and I was going to go to that, but I think it will be more fun with friends...

Some Frangipani flowers I found on my walk to volleyball