On the job

And folks like me on the job from nine to five

And folks like me

Having survived the car journey from LA to San Diego we found the apartment that Sara(h) Squared had booked. They were letting me crash on the couch. I told them that if they wanted to go lesbian for the duration of their stay in San Diego I would be able to count them as two of my 80 gays. They didn’t seem up for it. Spangles and I jumped out of the car leaving Ricey to do a loop round the block while we found the apartment keys and the fob for the parking garage. The apartment keys were in a security lock box, the opening of which, despite detailed instructions, was beyond me. I told Spangles that I was not accustomed to having to deal with getting into boxes. I’ve also never been good at practical things. I remember the first time I ever used a power drill unsupervised. I drilled the hole without hitting any pipes or wires but the experience left me a little light headed and I had to have a sit down before I could resume my DIY. Anyway, Spangles had a go and opened the box straight away. We let ourselves in to the apartment and hunted for the garage fob. I felt just like Anneka Rice in Treasure Hunt (without the helicopter or Wincey Willis giving me hints on where we could find it). Spangles found it so I didn’t get to shout “stop the clock, stop the clock, I’ve found it”. Ricey returned having done a loop and we jumped back in the car, parked up and unloaded our cases.

Having gone for a bit of a wander to get our bearings and a coffee to keep us all awake we decided it was time for something a little stronger to drink. We had a quick flick through the guidebook and I checked online to see what was near. We weren’t doing a very good job of deciding where to go so in the end we opted for going out and walking along until we spotted somewhere that looked ok. We found ourselves sat at the bar of a place called the Knotty Barrel. The barman explained that they were in the middle of San Diego Beer Week and had a number of special ales still on tap. He seemed to take a bit of a shine to Ricey and she asked if she could try a sample of them so help her decide what to order. We all sampled several of the ales, Ricey and I both opting to get a pint of local pale ale and Spangles getting a glass of white wine.

On the job from nine to five

We sat at the bar enjoying our drinks and the conversation turned to the latest gossip from the office. I was totally out of the loop on what had happened in the six months since I had left. I enquired who had filled my desk, how certain people were getting on & whether there was anything exciting going on. The office rumour mill seemed to be working, churning out the same gossip as always with the occasional new juicy piece. For the first time since I had left on my travels I actually realised that I was missing the office, if not work. It was mostly a feeling of missing the people I used to work with and the regular interaction a part of me was missing the structure and routine. I didn’t say anything to Ricey and Spangles as I don’t do talking about feelings. Besides, if I said I was missing work I think they would have both laughed at me.

After I was all caught up on the office happenings the conversation turned to food. We all admitted that we were “a bit peckish”, a phrase that had become standard on our previous holidays regardless of the time of day or proximity to our last meal. It was probably second only to “Is it beer o’clock yet?”, the answer to which was invariably yes regardless of the time of day. The food menu at the Knotty Barrel didn’t tempt us so after settling our bill and thanking the barman we headed a couple of doors down to get some food. We split a few appetizers between us and then headed back as we were all getting sleepy. We are such a rock and roll gang that we were all in bed (separately) by 10pm.

I woke early the next morning and could hear stirrings from upstairs. Ricey and I were in the Starbucks across the street by 6am getting the coffees in. It felt like being back in the office again when we would do the coffee run together, chuckling about how one of the women we worked with once got a bit confused with her order and asked for a “short, black American”. From then on that was known as a Gary Coleman. Ricey and Spangles did a bagel run a little later on as the bagel place hadn’t been open when Ricey and I passed it on the way back with coffee. I asked for either a cheese bagel or an “everything” bagel. I mused that an “everything” bagel really should have cheese on it otherwise it really wasn’t an “everything” bagel. Ricey told me to stop my wittering. I feel like Ricey is my London big sister, taking the piss out of me, telling me to shut up and giving me the same exasperated look my sister gives me when I am being annoying. 

Despite having a leisurely breakfast and having to wait for two girls to get ready we were out exploring before 8am. Ricey was in charge of the guidebook and we did a nice little tour of the Gaslamp Quarter, Ricey pointing out various buildings of historical importance and reading out loud from the book. We continued on along to the harbour walking along the sea front to Seaport Village where we took a seal boat ride out into the harbour. The ride was a great way to see San Diego. We also spotted a number of seals out sunbathing on the pontoons. Much to everyone’s disappointment they were of the aquatic mammal variety rather than the US Navy variety.

That evening we decided it would be nice to see the sunset while having a cocktail. I did some research and found the sunset time and a rooftop bar on a nearby hotel. We set out, cameras in hand. As we got to the hotel we walked through the lobby and to the lifts. There was a lift waiting and we stepped in. I pressed the button for the top floor. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing, the light didn’t light up and the lift stayed where it was. Just as we were contemplating getting out of the lift the doors closed and the lift went down. The doors opened and we found ourselves in the underground car park. A guy got in, swiped his hotel key against the pad and pressed the button for his floor. I pushed ground hoping that it would also stop there to let us back out. The three of us were all stifling laughter as we piled out back into the lobby. Having avoided getting stuck in the lift we check with reception how to get to the bar. He told us that it wasn’t open yet and would open at 7:30pm. The sun would have already set by then. We didn’t have a Plan B so we just headed back to the harbour to watch the sun set from there.

As the sun dropped over the water, creating a spectacular sunset, we all said the same thing – it was time for a drink. We found a spot for a pre-dinner drink, sat outside a place called Harry’s Pub. A couple of drinks and some great Thai food later we were all sat at the table yawning. For the second night in a row we were all in bed before 10pm.

“And folks like me on the job from nine to five” 
Lyrics from Nine to Five from the musical 9 to 5