We finished our lunch at the sidewalk cafe in North Sydney and made it back to the car just as the time was expiring on our meter. There was conversation between Melissa and Jo about doing some shopping and Robin suggested we visit the mall at Bondi Junction as it was somewhat on the way to Bexley North. Since Melissa lives in Canberra she thinks its imperative to make the effort to shop for clothing any time she returns to Sydney as the city offers greater selection and typically better prices. Now, I'm not much of a shopper, in fact I refer to myself as a "buyer" but not wanting to rain on the girls' parade I feigned my most enthusiastic confirmation of the plan. During the 30 minute trip to Bondi Junction we spoke about our visit to Zlata Creative Dezign and the good feelings we had about our time spent there.
We arrived at the parking structure for the mall and Robin entered the multi-story garage and began the seemingly never ending hunt for a place to park. It's obvious to me that parking requirements for new construction projects (as this was a recently built shopping complex) in Sydney are much more liberal than in California as the search for a space to park one's vehicle is seemingly non-stop. This particular parking garage even had little lights over each space that were somehow linked to the current occupancy of said space and indicated the availability by shining either red or green. Although I don't remember encountering any red lights that were unoccupied there seemed to be a fair number of the green beacons that were obviously malfunctioning. After a series of spins around the various aisles we found a spot to leave the car.
We entered the massive complex that was at least 6 stories tall with every type of department store, boutique and specialty shop. The interior was well lit and modern and had the typical American been secretly translocated there would have not suspected they were at least 8000 miles from home but possibly just right around the corner. I was somewhat dreading the next period of time suspecting that the shopping routine of these 3 Aussie women would no doubt be exactly that with which I was familiar and held absolutely no interest for me. Then, I spotted what appeared to be rows and rows of computer screens mounted to permanent tables and benches that were available to anyone with a credit card for their personal use. I muttered something to the women about staying put there until they returned, needing to check my email and probably some other unintelligible remarks. They took the hint and headed on their way weaving their way through the great numbers of other mall walkers, promising to return to that very spot once they had exhausted their shopping requirements. I selected a work station that included a set of headphones along with the PC and monitor and booted up the machine. After a self-guided initiation which required the input of a credit card number for $6 Australian for 2 hours of usage I began to navigate my way through various processes. I spent a good amount of time checking my work related email as well as a personal account I have. The emails revealed a few business related questions I was able to respond to, as Mitzi and my business partner, Art, were handling virtually everything along those lines in my absence. There were many expressions of sorrow and support from various friends, business associates and family members that either I had not been able to access previously or had only been able to quickly read and now found that I had the time to absorb all the good wishes. I was taken aback by the outpouring of concern and sympathy; I suspect one never takes an inventory of all those we know that would feel that it was important to communicate in a situation such as this one in which I found myself. Even now its somewhat overwhelming to me to have received all the outpouring of support. I only hope I can be as considerate as my life continues to unfold.
I was able to access the program for Geoff's service at Our Lady of Fatima as I had saved it in a format to allow for just that. I read and re-read the various parts of the booklet and then decided to cue up the music on the YouTube website after donning the relatively high quality headphones. I listened to "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzales (listen to Heartbeats) and "Burial" by Miike Snow ( listen to Miike Snow "Burial") multiple times while staring straight ahead at the monitor, seemingly viewing the accompanying videos. Although video presentations that were airing on You Tube no doubt were those that were recorded by the artists my mind's eye took me back to the confines of that Catholic Church in Kingsgrove and played over and over the events that had unfolded only a couple days before. Suddenly, I became aware of a young Asian woman staring at me from just behind the monitor that had been working on a computer directly behind mine and as I made eye contact with her I realized that a flood of tears was streaming down my face. I saw what looked like obvious concern on her face and I mumbled something to let her know that I was alright, at least physically. I looked back toward the computer screen, closed out all the programs that were running and shut down the PC. I got up from the stool upon which I had been sitting, recognized a sign for a Men's room that was in close proximity and made my way there where I washed my face in the cool water from the tap. I wasn't embarrassed, I didn't feel apologetic, only sad.
I stationed myself at a railing that overlooked 3 or 4 stories of the mall below the level that I was inhabiting and was nearby the kiosk for the Internet computers. I could observe much of the foot traffic that was passing from that vantage point which would also provide a good position so as not to miss Robin, Melissa and Jo when they returned. After about 15 minutes of watching mothers pushing their babies in strollers or dragging reluctant toddlers that resisted walking and couples of all sorts going about their individual purposes for being at the mall along came the girls toting a number of large shopping bags emblazoned with the names of various stores. As is customary they each proudly commented on their respective purchases and bargains they had luckily happened upon as we walked to the car park.
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