swim between the flags

so today was one for the books. or the blogs. whatever -- it's one worth writing about. so here i am to write.

it started as one would normally start their day at 5 a.m. groggy. wishing for a few more minutes of sleep. wondering if another hit of the "snooze" button will result with catostrophic effects in the time schedule for readying oneself for work. and yet i still rolled out of bed for that shower to beat hot water on my head and wake me up. i was ready. ready for another day of work. ready for anything. today was going to be a good day. i could feel it.

i popped in my earphones and cranked the tunes on my ipod as i speed-walked the 3km to work. i got lost in my groove and made it to my work with a few minutes to spare. crossing the street to the juice bar my sense of early morning euphoria was quickly taken away and replaced by a feeling of uneasiness. i reached the shop only to find that the door was ajar. i got closer and found that it was not just ajar.... it was kicked in. i was immediately glad that whoever did that didn't break the glass pane - only the wooden frame. glass is a huge annoyance to have to clean up.

that turned out to be the least of my worries. i scanned the inside of the shop to find that there were no sudden movements inside.... should someone still be there. though it was only 6:30 in the morning there were all the regular people out for their runs, swims and beach boot camps - i figured if i needed help, it was only a hollar away. so i stepped in. and stepped over a newspaper. i wondered when the newspaper guy got a key... then realized that he must have stuck the paper in after someone kicked in the door. so nice of him not to notify anyone of the damages.

i rounded the corner and found the cash tray for the register on the floor. empty. i wasn't surprised. if someone takes the time to kick in a door to a shop - one might as well grab the money to go. i picked up my cell and called my co-worker to let him know we had been broken into and robbed. i then called the police... it all felt like second-nature from my last job, only this time my fingers punched in the numbers 0-0-0. wierd. i filled the report via phone and the operator stated someone would be out "shortly." they always say that as though one should believe the police has extreme interest in coming to an overnight burglery at a shop that has no particular security system and/or way of actually witnessing what "allegedly" occurred.

my co-worker showed up and we sat outside. waiting. and waiting. and re-directing customers to the other cafes. and waiting. and answer endless questions as to why we had decided to perch ourselves outside the shop instead of actually opening up. answering endless questions of "what happened," "what did they take," "what happens now" and giving our best grimace and head nod to those who exclaimed one after the other "oh that's horrible."

and so we waited. untill 8:30 a.m. when a single police car finally decided to show up at the shop front. between 7:00 a.m. and then i had to continuously explain to my co-worker as to why it would take the police so long to arrive. we weren't exactly high on the priority list. i was just happy they had decided to come at all in the morning.

we showed the police our "evidence" of a break-in and robbery. they took our statements and then told us to sit tight as the fingerprint crew would be out within half and hour. right. we sat back down and waiting. and waited. and waited. by 10 a.m. we ended up calling our boss (who happens to be on vacation) to ask when to stop waiting. he said to open immediately. we did. put the pieces back together and took off the broken door.

the fingerprint "crew" (one woman) came. she left shortly after as we had contaminated all the potential evidence.

eventually a maintanence guy came to fix the door tempoarily so that we could actually lock up for the night. it will be any wonder our door doesn't scream for attention from every other potential store burgler as it looks like something straight from a ghetto horror movie... but time will tell. in the meantime i simply hope that we get a new door - fast.

in other events, i spent my time at work trying to keep my mind on my positive endeavors - such as attempting my first taste of octopus. not too shabby, but i won't be ordering up a full plate to myself anytime soon. it was something such as really thick, chewy bacon fat...... with super tiny tenticles attached to it. oh-so tasty. right.

lets just say that after all the days events of wierdness, after i locked up shop i needed to rid myself of all of it. so i jumped in the ocean and swam. and let the waves crash over me. and floated. and blew bubbles. and let the salt water into my eyes, nose and throat. and breathed.

and then i walked home in the rain.

and then i got back to my flat, hopped in the shower - clothes on. i just let it beat down on me. let it wash everything away. it was beautiful. i never wanted it to end...... then i remember i had to pay for the water and i shut it off.




like i said - a day for the books. and now it has been written. happy reading!