Farewell Again, Sarah…

After a two week whirl wind, our good friend and surrogate sister will bid us farewell and head back to Israel. We fight back tears, both happy and sad ones as we write this. When we recall the fabulous, laughter and food filled times we have spent together over the past two weeks, we smile in the realization that true friendship transcends distance and grows stronger with time.

So Sarah, although your stay has been short, it has been oh so sweet. We bid you farewell for the second heart breaking time. (How can our little hearts handle this?) We wish you all the very best in everything you do, may fortune and god’s grace always be on your side.

Lots of love
b+l

Christmas in July (with the Westies)

In addition to Emily's Christmas in July post, here are some photos of the overly indulgent, gift giving night.

Good Bye Strange Temp…

For the financers and bankers amongst us, you may well be aware that we have just completed yet another end of financial year. In the rushed race to balance, rec and hedge positions, I hired a temp to assist with filing and scanning documents. I could feel in it my waters, that something wasn’t quite right with her…my instincts proved spot on as a couple of month passed; her antics became stranger and stranger.

At first, it was the fact that her pants were pulled sky high, I used to cringe as she walked by, sporting a permanent wedgie for all to see. This was closely followed by the fact that she would work with surgical gloves on both hands and every finger would also be capped off by rubber thimbles. Not a good look for work ladies.

Her eccentric antics further proved my theory that this temp was indeed, “special”. We would arrive at our desks together every morning and like clockwork, she would excuse herself and then disappear for about 20-30 minutes. Upon returning, she had a freezer bag filled with goodies from the kitchen. Such goodies consisted of a packet of biscuits, a loaf of Noble Rise grained bread (I noticed she had a thing for the grained bread), a small sample of fruits and who could forget 2 liters of full cream milk, in which she would proceed to consume in one huge gulp.

I have been on annual leave the past week and coincidently it was also her last week with the Bank. I meet up with some work peeps for a leaving do at the Arthouse on Friday and was greeted with a bundle of sly looks and giggles from my team. I couldn’t pretend to ignore the strangeness anymore and confronted a colleague of mine. She proceeded to tell me about a ‘goodbye’ email the temp had sent before she left. This is the cherry on top and fries on the side, it went a little something like the this:

“Hi All,

Thank you for everyone’s help and patience over the past couple of months…blah blah blah (other formalities)…

p.s Betty and Kenny (another team member), I really feel that you two belong together. Kenny is the only one who makes you laugh, Betty. And Kenny, since Betty’s been away, you haven’t been yourself; you just don’t seem to be as happy.”

Needless to say, I was a little mortified. To top it off, she sent it to a worldwide email address…for all to see! Who puts something like that in a leaving email!?!

Good bye strange Temp…

The Best-est Time of our Lives Part 2

After a little light entertainment at a Motown show, the ladies all packed into a car and headed off the Equilibrium bar (also known affectionately as EQ bar). Unfortunately, EQ is located on what we call the dodgy end of the cityÂ…no convenient work parking for us this time. On Liverpool Street, we spotted a security guard patrolling World Square (I think his name was CHUB.) Kat was immediately smitten. Never one to shy away from a perfect match making opportunity, I rolled down my window and gave the gentlemen Kat's number (Chub sported some very pronounced eye brows and a fringe that was worthy of a mention on the Blog)

We arrived at EQ bar where we where able to walk straight though (woo hoo!). On the inside, the ladies managed to steal the last available booth in the room; it was located in a prime position, on the edge of the dance floor and right next to the DJ. We danced up a storm as the DJ dished up soulful sounds of Stevie Wonder and other Motown classics. On the dance floor, we experienced the phenomena known as a wing woman. My sis and I were approached by a very forceful wing woman, her name was Bella. She proceeded to grab our wrist and pull us against our will towards her friend who waited in the middle of the dance floor. Lucky Lisa, managed to break free of the wing woman's evil clasp and ran like a hungry jungle cat. Feeling not dissimilar to a somewhat hairless dog, I had declined a drink with the semi attractive friend (I don’t believe in guys who feel the need to troll women by the employment of other woman). As I headed back to my friends, I was approached by wing woman number 2, this time with a marriage proposal from her friend. As un/flattering as this was, I politely excused myself and searched for the ladies.

The ladies by this stage, was surrounded by a group of very tall, handsome and slightly scary men (I think they were part of the Russian mafia, however, they’re inclination to bogie suggested otherwise). The main Russian had declared that the next song was dedicated to us; we waited in anticipation to hear what sweet tune he had requested. As we were greeted with the first few lines of the Village People’s YMCA we knew, it was time to relocate.

We left the Russians, who by now, where enthusiastically rehearsing the best of the Village People and headed for the club upstairs. Luckily we bumped into our good friend Breezy, who managed to wave the cover charge for us (snaps for Breezy!). The sweaty and steamy room upstairs was spilling over with grinding bodies, a drummer percussionist in the centre and a DJ in the corner (a very sexy set up). Remembering Sarah’s recent bout of DVT, we urgently searched for a spot for Sarah to put her sore feet up. I searched desperately for spare seat; I couldn’t find anything other than a free bed. The bed was laid with cushions, pillows and satin...how perfect! We spent the rest of the night entertaining from our bed. Somewhere between 2-3 am in the morning, we left EQ and headed to Katina’s house, where we ate Greek omelet and giggled until the sun came up.

Check out the BIG bed!

The Best-est Time of our Lives Part 1

On a high anticipation of Sarah’s arrival home, we decided to kick the festivities off with the Bobbi’s Pole Dance Amateur night on Thursday night. Where we watch students of the Bobbi Pole Studio perform at Pure Platinum (PP) on Pitt st. Students were only strictly allowed to dance, and there were specific guidelines about removal of clothes, so it was family rated. As anticipated, PP was a roomful of men surrounded by naked girls in the VIP pit, and Katina non-discreetly starring and subtly drooling.

The students ranged from nervous and rigid, to professional, sexy and burlesque. Although one performer was in a field of her own, when she stumbled on stage intoxicated, and failed numerously to get onto the pole to do a simple spin. All things went south for her, when she proceeded to strip off her g-string to reveal more than anyone bargained for, and her bra slipped south too. As amusing as it is to see a drunk amateur, bits and all stumble next to a shiny pole the ladies decided to retreat to the Gloria Jeans across the road around 10.30pm.

We all sipped on our warm coffee and discussed the performers and my (Lisa) decision to reject the opportunity to be an MTV interviewer for the Urban Music Awards. When we realized Katina kept slipping up with inappropriate language such as penis and the like, within earshot of the little kids that were staring gob-smacked at us. So we gracefully exited, with the fuming glares of the kids’ parents burnt into our backs. Ehhhh, better to leave with an impression than to be forgettable I say!

…. The next day we had the ladies over for a fabulous long lunch.

Menu:

Entrée: tomato and bocinccini salad and pumpkin, onion and feta tartlets
Main: Lamb roast with crispy potatoes, pumpkin and macadamia nut beans.
Desert: Home made Apple crumble and Tiramisu courtesy of Katina... and Sarah too.

Beverages: Champagne and strawberries!

TEASER: tune in soon, to find out what happened on the crazy Friday night, here are a few sneak previews …. Mr. Hong Kong 2005, bed hopping and the Russian mafia…

More Photos Here

The Wonder of Stevie

A miserably cold and wet night saw me make my way to a farewell dinner at Il Trattoraro, a quant and unassuming little Italian restaurant in Paddington. Being ditched by both my sister and Katina, I managed to convince a friend to accompany me. With a little persuasion, some bribing and the uncomfortable repeated usage of the word date, he agreed to pick me up and be my buffer for the night. After an emergency stop at the convenience store and a couple of wrong turns, true to form, we were the last ones to arrive. As we entered the restaurant, the side whisperings from the other guests where as subtle as a pink elephant. We were introduced to the other guests, all of who’s names I have conveniently forgotten and sat down beside a handsome couple.

After a little light hearted conversation, we came to the realisation that the husband was actually a sub contractor for Macquarie Bank. As the food began to disappear, the drinking began. Politeness aside, the husband of the handsome couple began telling us about his fetish for chocolate, Coke and strange vodka-like Irish alcohol. I thought this a little bizarre, but continued the conversation none the less. He began to inquire me about my fetishes and then it hit me, I think the husband was trying to flirt with me! His wife was completely oblivious to the situation, because she was subtly trying to hit on my buffer! Being typical twenty-something’s we cleverly had a second set of plans for the evening. We politely excused ourselves from the dinner and left feeling a little violated and VERY full. Next stop the Basement.

The Basement was featuring a Stevie Wonder extravaganza. The vocals were spectacular (then again, I am a little bias) the song selection was perfect and the band was amazing! It was a sell out performance, there must have been hundreds of Sydney-siders packed into the un-air-conditioned bar. I squeezed my way through the sweaty and enthusiastic crowd to meet Lisa and Katina who were squashed beside the DJ booth. The crowd mouthed every single word of the songs and swayed in unison with the exception of an anal couple who should have packed up and gone home, the night was a complete hit. Here are some pics from the fab night, featuring the talents of Katina, Lisa, Shai, Jessica and me.

2 sleeps until Sarah comes home!!

Soccer- woot- woo

Call me a sore loser, a bad sport or a cry baby; however the above caption still conjures the odd tear and the over whelming urge to succumb to a horrid case of turrets, aimed at the closest person who is wielding a whistle and a ref shirt.

The boys did us proud. Even after all the time it took for me to get over the shock of how we lost to a melodramatic little man by the laughable name of Fabio. I now finally appreciate the game for what is really is… a good perve at great talent... and yes it should be mandatory to rip all items of clothing off after a win (underwear optional).