A New Record

11 January – Another record breaker on the slowness front ... Definitely the quietest Toll day to date ... I seem to recall having done a 13 trip day at Crisis and a similarly shocking one at Novex but I can’t get my brain to confirm it completely – either way 21 jobs in a day seemed pitifully slow over the day.  Managed to meet Louisa for coffee in the morning and Kate for lunch in the afternoon (although lunch didn’t turn out as well as planned with a visit to the Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour where there was a hefty charge to enter so we sat outside and there was absolutely nothing for sale that was edible so just ate a muesli ar and smoked a cigarette instead).  The pace of the day probably alleviated the one stress job of the day – a dodgy order booked for a bike but clearly a large box marked fragile (not heavy but a handlebar jobbie nonetheless) - twasn’t far but because of its size it meant not being able to drop at loading dock at its GPT destination - so I had to take the secured goods lift at GPT and the loud and rambling Russ had the day off so the old and incompetent Brian took his place – walked up to him, told him which floor I was going to and he responded with a mumble, he was faffing around the desk while the lift came, waited for him to swipe his card to let us up to the floor (which, in reality, is his ONLY job when he sits there (besides check IDs occasionally)) but he ignored it and it loeft and went to Level 61 before eventually coming back down to Level 8 (the basement ... Obviously).  He then finally switched on enough to let us in to the elevator where he swiped me up and made the motions for swiping up another group but once we’d left the dock it turned out only my floor was on so they had to go back to the loading dock for he dopey security guard to do it all again.  Where do they find these people?  Evening spent with a few sequential visitors – Reed is heading south by way of thumb on the morrow so won’t see him for a few months ... Great to see him before he left but boy can that boy talk ...