Birthday Bash

I buy the Jackaroo in Brisbane. This is familiar territory for me since I studied here too many years ago at Queensland Uni. My younger brother Dave still lives here. Unlike me, he seemed to enjoy his schooling years (he went to the school that produced John Eals, I went to the one that produced the leading drug dealer on the Northern Beaches) and when the family left Brisbane he stayed behind.

My arrival just happens to coincide with Dom's (Dave's girlfriend) 24th birthday. Dom's the kind of girl you'd have to work hard to not like and her party is unsurprisingly packed with a wide variety of people from all walks of life.

Dave and Dom still live the student life (i.e. they're broke) and Dom's place is the ultimate student house. People pack the huge back yard, and lounge on the beat up old couches on the cement slab designating the back porch. A wooden, outdoor dunny-shed requires someone to hold the wooden slats shut while in use. It reminds me of my old student house, where my 21st birthday turned into mud wrestling in the back yard.

Although the back seat has been removed from my car, the guy who sold it to me insisted I take the free seat for the added re-sale potential (I couldn't really see the value-add but I didn't want to insult him). I mention that I'm trying to get rid of it to Dave and Dom and they get very excited. Needless to say they now have a new living room 'couch' to join the rest.