• 9 December 2008 05:53pm: The guy sitting next to me must have been felt silly about taking up two seats go retrospect.
• Yesterday at 08:45am: "in" and "go" are the same keys on my phone.
• Yesterday at 04:05pm: Actually wrote my test case before writing my code today. Yay for test driven development. :)

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Running late today, and this guy was ambling down the escalator on my way to the train, so I shifted into the passing lane and ran for the door, which announced “stand clear, doors closing” just as I jumped through the threshold. Only it was just like that scene in Aliens when Sigourney Weaver and Kyle Reese^[1] jump into the elevator when the xenomorphs^[2] are chasing them and it is all suspenseful, because the train doors stay open just long enough for ambling man to sit his butt in the door and mumbles something vaguely sounding like if this train is going to mumble-muble to a couple of asian girls who clearly have no idea what he is saying.

“In or out, dude.” Someone says in a thick American accent.

Okay, actually it was me. And I feel a little mean for having said it, as I am sympathetic with people who come to a train station they have never been to before and I understand the desire to know where the train you are getting on is going, and furthermore wanting it to coincide somewhat with your own final destination, but I hardly think that entitles you to delay an entire trainload of people, most of whom are already late to work, just because you are too lazy to read the big blue monitors strategically placed around the station.

He hops in and once the train is underway, he asks me “does this train go to Central?”

“Yes, it does.”

When I get to work I hold the elevator for someone who thanks me and we start talking about the weather. It struck me that it was totally the opposite reaction to the situation earlier in the train. It was just when Bill Murray and Egon Spengler are in the elevator with unlicensed nuclear accelerators on their backs. Except for totally unrelated.

1. I know, I know her real name is Ellen Ripley, what do you think I am dumb?
2. xeno-what?

In 1932 my grandma crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge when it opened. She was being pushed in her pram (she was about 8 years old, mum decided). Today, 75 years later Sydneysiders, myself included, celebrated the anniversary by closing the bridge to cars and doing it again. Walking over the bridge was fun. The ABC had big speakers set up along the length of the bridge blaring historical spoken and musical passages which gave the impression of walking through history. They were giving out free caps in this hideous shade of neon yellow green. Almost everyone was wearing one, which made for an impressive sight as the hats flowed and surged. On the back of the cap was written “our bridge.” I have decided that “our” is the Australian national pronoun, as Australians take any excuse to claim ownership of family, celebrities, buildings, bridges or anything that hails from the land down under. There were lots of people, but it wasn’t over crowded. Kudos to the organizers for pulling it off. The state government has gotten a lot of flack over a few recent fiascos ahead of the state election, so I think they were holding their breath hoping that nothing would go wrong! (like when the QE2 and QM2 came to town and the city had no plan for the huge amount of traffic they caused, and last week when commuters were stuck on the trains for 3 hours because apparently there wasn’t an evacuation plan; good thing the trains weren’t on fire or anything). I’d like to be here in 25 years to do it again, celebrating the bridge’s 100th anniversary!