I walked up to the lifeguard tower door and tried (unsuccessfully) to take a discreet selfie of me outside the door. What an iconic shot that would be to post on Instagram. I was finally here. There were a couple of girls walking past as I was trying to get the angle just right to get the “lifeguard” sign on the door in the background. They asked me if I wanted any help and offered to take the pic for me. I gave up trying to twist myself round to get a decent shot and gladly accepted their help. They took my camera and I posed by the door. They clicked a couple of shots and went off to continue their walk. I went back to the apartment and flopped into bed, I was more tired than I thought.
I slept in pretty late the next morning. It was gone 10am by the time I stirred. For a split second I had no clue where I was. I sat bolt upright in bed and then it hit me. I was in Bondi. I crawled out of bed and went over to the kitchen. I’d had the foresight to unpack the box with my teabags in the night before so they were in the cupboard. Crap, I thought to myself I had no milk. I was a creature of habit and I needed my brew in the mornings; just couldn’t function properly without it. I had an idea. I picked up the phone receiver and dialled the concierge’s number.
“Hi Justin, Its Alex in apartment 3b. I just wondered if you had a tiny bit of milk I could borrow until I can get out to the shop later please?”
He told me that there was already milk in the fridge, bread was in the bread bin and some other necessary little bits and pieces in the cupboards.
“Oh my god, thank you so much” I hung up the phone and headed over to the fridge. I hadn’t even thought to check it. I made my cup of tea – milky and 2 sugars, I know I should cut down but this was my one weakness. I decided to go and sit on my balcony and take in the view which was even more stunning now there was full daylight. The beach was so beautiful. I always wondered if the colours on the tv were enhanced. They weren’t, if anything they were undersold. It was so much more than I could ever have imagined. I made my plan for the day. I dug out my laptop and while having a 2nd cup of tea, I checked my emails for updates. After the long day of travelling I’d not had chance to see if there were any updates. I had a confirmation from a meeting I’d arranged for the Friday. Oh no, that was tomorrow. I’d already done some preparation but that needed tweaking a little. I opened up the document and started writing and making notes for the meeting.
After an hour or so I decided I’d best head out and try to find some food. I dressed in the obligatory bikini and still having zero tan or sun confidence I put a white chiffon shirt over the top. I knew there were plenty of cafes in the area and I fancied a sandwich that I could take down to the beach and eat. I walked through the reception area and said Hi to Justin on the way past. He recommended a cafe just down the road for my sandwich. He was going to be a very useful guy to have around.
After eating my lunch which was delicious, I’d definitely be eating at that cafe pretty regularly. I decided to go and cool off in the rather inviting-looking ocean. I left my shirt by the lifeguard rescue board by the shoreline – so I’d know where it was when I came back. I had a waterproof armband pouch for my phone and money (didn’t want to leave them on the beach for the thieves). I didn’t have the energy for a proper ocean swim so made sure I was within the red & yellow flags and stayed close to shore. I went in to the water until I was about waist deep and started to duck down to shoulder height. I started to jump the waves. Wow this was fun, and invigorating. I could see why so many people got caught out getting swept out to sea. I decided to head back to the beach. As I reached down to pick up my shirt from the sand, I felt a familiar feeling coming from my nose. I had a medical condition that meant when I was under pressure, stressed or sometimes just under the weather – the blood vessels in my nose decided to burst and caused a nosebleed. Now I think, that due to my extensive travelling the day before and my nervous excitement my body decided this was a good opportunity to throw something else into the mix. Drip, Drip, Drip I felt the blood running down my face. Oh crap, I had no tissues with me. I held my hand up to my face and pinched my nose at the end of the bone. It had happened to me several times before and I was used to dealing with it. I’d had to have my nose cauterized twice before to re-seal the blood vessels – this was not a pleasant experience and certainly not one I wanted to repeat in a foreign country. I held my shirt up to my face. A couple of surfers appeared from behind me
