Teen train in Adventures in paradise

After my brother dropped me back off at the train station, and he and my mum continued on to the Gold Coast, my train arrived shortly after.  It's luck of the draw which carriage I get on the Ipswich line, given the other characters on public transport (and let's face it, the Ipswich one can be dodgy at the best of times - I think only the Caboolture line is worse), but this time I happened to choose a carriage that had a group of teenagers in it, who all seemed to be in a good mood.  I had hardly say down when this guy said to me, "Fist bump?", holding out his fist toward me.  I initially hesitated, thinking I would get a prank electric-shock or something, but decided it would be worse if I left him hanging, so I pretended to be cool and fist-bumped him.  He seemed happy with that and walked to the end of the carriage with some other teens, I assume his friends.  I went back to my own world in my head (where I live 24/7) and watched the world go by outside.  I only realised a question that was asked was directed at me, loud enough for me to hear from the other end of the carriage, "Do you go to the gym?"

Again, me trying to be cool among a bunch of teens, "Yeah, sometimes!" and before I knew it, he was back near me, sitting on the seat by me, opposite the aisle.  It was then I realised how cute this guy was, you know, for a bogan.  I guessed maybe 19 or so, you know, less than half my age now lol.  And obviously straight.  He had a long rats-tail, which a gay guy wouldn't be caught dead with.  Maybe a bi guy.  But damn, he was chatting to me, so I wasn't gonna complain haha.  He asked me to flex for him, since I was in a singlet, so I did with my left arm.  His eyes lit up, 'phoarr!'  Oh you little... well I dunno.  I just find it ironic that the most attention I've had from a guy lately is from a bogan teen on the Ipswich train line haha.  Then he moved his attention to the other group of teens, mostly girls in front of where I was sitting, and was playing a game of guessing everyone's age.  He got back to me and he thought for a while... "I don't think it's 20's..." LOL - oh this guy was really buttering me up!  He then took a guess at '32' and I said no.  He then guessed '42' and I said, "Well done!  I'm 41," and he was like, "You do not look 41!"  Then the next station arrived and he departed the train, leaving me in a good mood for the rest of the trip.  I was thinking, "Man the girls would really love that guy, with his social skills and good looks.  I'm not even that confident now and he's only 19!"  I appreciated the interaction.  It was nice to think about.  I could have sat in a quiet carriage and never come across the guy at all.

It's a few days since then, and I was exhausted when I got home.  I wanted to write about it earlier, but was just too tired.  It's yet another long weekend, with tomorrow being ANZAC Day.  So my work is closed, but it's my usual day off anyway.  It's also raining again.  Such strange weather lately.  I was glad to get a bit of a sunny day on Tuesday, so I tried to get a bit of sunbaking in by the pool, but that didn't last long.  I have to time it right and try to beat all the other sunbathers on Tuesdays and Fridays, when I'm home.  There's usually quite a few there though, as I guess a lot of people work from home.  It's still a foreign concept to me, as I've never worked from home.  My housemate does all the time though, and it's like he never leaves the apartment.  Luckily he's pretty cool.

Some of my goodies arrived, including the 3-tier shelf, which I bought on the advice on ChatGPT for storage solutions in the kitchen.  I like how it looks, but it isn't very sturdy, with just one leg in the middle of each section.  Still, nothing has fallen yet.  I have it housing the kettle, toaster and Google Home, on each shelf.  I'm still umming and ahhing about if I like it.  I would love it if it were more sturdy.  My new Brooks shoes have arrived.  They are comfortable but I'm not used to them yet.  I feel like they feel smaller than my other ones, even though it's the same size.  Maybe I just need to stretch into them a little more?  I dunno.  I just know the other ones, I loved right away and were perfect, wheras these I feel like I should've gone a size up.  It's a bit hard to be sure.  My new umbrella arrived.  It was expensive, like over $100, and shipped from the U.S. but I'd like to think I bought it before all the tariff talks came in :P  Anyway, I've probably spent hundreds on flimsy umbrellas over the years that just keep falling apart anyway, when I think about it, and this one is meant to last, so I shall see.  It certainly looks sturdy, and came in such fancy packaging that it almost hurt to put it in the recycling.  Again, a ChatGPT recommendation.  I think I'm going to start using it as my therapist soon.  It's even helped me with my 'health issue' lately.  It recommended Vaseline, as a barrier cream.  I went and bought some, applied one tiny smear, and have barely felt discomfort down there since.  My God.  What a relief.  I still need to heal, but I think healing has a chance when I'm not whincing in discomfort after every time I use the bathroom.  My gym gloves arrived today, and they are just okay.  Like they'd do the job, but I do still think I will go into Rebel Sport in person and try to get a replacement pair of the same type for the pair I'm replacing, just because I prefer them, as they have a bit more padding.  The only thing I'm still waiting on is the under-sink storage and my vacuum cleaner storage stand, just to make things a bit more neater around the apartment.  Look at me adulting.

Today was a decent day, mentally.  I was quite productive at work and in good spirits.  I only had one Karen-customer who was adamant that she bought a product from my store that we haven't stocked in years lol.  My stars say that I'm going to be feeling my feelings a lot more and that I'll stand up for my beliefs without treading on too many toes, so it's nice when they read positive.