New Years was nice...picnic in the park and fireworks at midnight. Celebrations got real when three competing factions of the crowd began setting off their own fireworks. These were some serious boomers, too.
And then some kids took to setting off flares in the middle of traffic. Happy New Year!
Backtracking - after picking me up from the airport, Petra gave me a little driving tour of Melbourne and we stopped in St. Kilda to get a bite to eat. Fresh calamari and chorizo salad. Let me tell you something - the calamari was not chewy. At all. Just creamy and delicious.
After that we went to the mall to try and get me a cell phone. Trying to understand a cell phone plan after two beers and a fifteen hour flight was tricky. You don't buy "minutes" but rather more money. For $20 a month I'm getting $450 worth of credit. But other plans had different setups...one was unlimited texting. One was rollover. And they all have different allowances and different rates. Brand loyalty kicked in and I went with Virgin Wireless.
So that was New Years Eve. New Years Day was even longer.
Eben and his friend picked me up at 11AM to go to the races at Hanging Rock. On New Years Day, there are horse races all around the country and the closest one to Melbourne was the one we were headed to. We arrived a few minutes before the first race and decided to place a little bet to make things interesting. There are a ton of bookies standing around with computer terminals and an LED board with their odds listed. Like the good novice gambler I am, the first thing I did was look at the horses' names. "Silent Harmony"? How could I resist?
Well, he was just about last in everyone's predictions. A bookie named "Chippy" had him at 42:1 to win it, and 7:1 to place. Yikes. But after a little bit of walking I found someone who had him at 10:1 to win. I figured that guy's confidence was enough for me to return to Chippy and place $2.50 each way on Silent Harmony. If the horse wins, I get $105. If it places, I get $17.50.
Well wouldn't you know it, that damn horse came in second place. High fives and beers all around! I knew this was either the beginning of a very good day, or perhaps the beginning of a very bad one. Time would tell.
So as soon we place our bet for the next race...$5 on Fat Tony to place. A cool $25 was bound to be in my pocket, I knew it. But then a voice from the loudspeaker: Ladies and Gentlemen, unfortunately there is a hole in the track that is unrepairable. Therefore the remaining five races are cancelled and no refunds will be given, as is the racetrack policy. But please stick around, we still have the band and the TVs, so you might as well enjoy your time here. Also, if you have a Founder's Club ticket, a full refund will be given.
No, I didn't have a Founder's Club ticket. And no, I didn't have any interest in the band or the TV's in the 90 degree sun.
But I left a winner. And that's all that mattered.
More to come on this day later...
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