Christmas with Myself

Yup, I could've gone with that 5-days 4-nights tour to Gold Coast and the cruise to the Great Barrier Reef, but because of work, I had to stay back. The network has experienced major downtimes for the past two Decembers. The customer warned that if it goes down again this year, heads are gonna roll. I want to make sure it's not mine.

Spending Christmas alone is not as sad and bleak as it sounds. You've got the whole place to yourself, the whole day to yourself to do whatever you want. First off, I went to Circular Quay to catch the bus to Maroubra Beach. A lady passed me by and said, "Merry Christmas." I returned the greeting. Then she said, "I like you." Silence. That caught me by surprise. I don't think that's something you tell someone you've met for the very first time. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Sydney." After more than a year, do I still look like a clueless tourist?!

I've heard people say that Maroubra Beach is one of the best in the world. Definitely the place for surfing. There's only relatively few people when I got there. The skies are cloudy and overcast, the waves are choppy, and the wind is just howling, whistling behind my ears. I can't even keep my earphones in place. The rock pools of Maroubra Beach is definitely unique - moss-covered boulders arranged in neat, rectangular shapes.

Back in Circular Quay, I saw a friend's niece, so I called out to her. An extra second of neuron-firing, then she bounded over and gave me a full-on bearhug. And we've only met for a couple of times. I think everybody likes me on Christmas. Her parents are bringing her Grandma on the Manly cruise, and she practically begged me to come along. We played math games and spelling bees throughout the ride. I think the girl needs to get a regular playmate for Christmas.