Friday

I'm woken at 3.50am to a fire alarm. I lie in bed, where just a short time ago I fell asleep... to see if it goes off on its own. (There was a false alarm last night here at the hospital, and these things are ALWAYS false alarms). It switches off and I don't hear the next false alarm at 4 something because by then my body doesn't care about fire any more - it just wants sleep. At 7 I hand over to the next doctor and go back to bed - swimming is off - my body still needs sleep, and I'm happy to oblige.

Today's breakfast special at the beach is a mix of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, semi dried tomatoes and fetta cheese all melted into a huge mass on top of some now invisible gourmet toast. Washed down with a banana pineapple strawberry smoothie I feel like I should have swum, but regret nothing. A regular breakfast buddy leaves early and my coach texts from his New Zealand triathlon camp, I think he's missing breakfast at diggies. I read the paper which tells me mixed signals about the election tomorrow, and skim through the October Details magazine which has a lot of style but no discernible substance. A light rain blows onto me from time to time, they worry at the cafe about a cocktail function there that evening.

Finally I get to work and it all goes smoothly. My afternoon swim is just right, but at gym the ipod chooses all the wrong music. Slow when I need upbeat, upbeat when I want slow, and too loud when I need... you get the picture. I might need a new gym buddy soon, or to download something more to the ipod. I decide downloading will be easier. I'm in the change room when I get a call from a friend who can tell I'm somewhere waterproof by the echo, and asks if there's anyone hot there... I think of London Preppy's Gym Tour and realise that I am completely alone in the newly renovated white and stainless steel space. I report same and he's disappointed, as am I, but I manage to cope.

I leave in a burnt tangerine shirt for the first and largest (270 people) of many various work Christmas parties. The Frenchman makes a guest appearance and we get told the following: 1. I thought you two split up? which is news to us. 2. I can't decide who of you two is the cutest. which we're both happy with. 3. We like working with you because you never lose your cool. to which I definitely don't get upset, and finally 4. when asked my age: I thought you were (about ten years) younger. So I feel all my Christmases have come at once and we go home early, happy with that stash of gifts thank you very much. Though we had to return the first one, it just didn't fit.