Had a massage

Up early, I made a pot of coffee and had a cup before heading out down Harris Street to the Powerhouse Museum, where I had agreed to meet the girl to see the Mummies exhibition. I saw it for the first time last Friday but I thought she would get a lot out of it because she likes antiquity in general, and Ancient Egypt specifically, so I booked tickets again. We had agreed to meet at 9.45am but she rocked up - out of breath from hurrying - at 10am. We went to the entrance and she asked if we could go in a bit later; normally tickets for the Powerhouse are sold on the basis that you either go to the early session - from 10am to 1pm - or the late session - from 1pm to 3pm.

The woman at the entrance said it was fine to come along a bit later, so we headed to the cafe and I ordered some eggs with a bagel and avocado. The girl ordered a breakfast wrap, which turned out to contain sausage and bacon and egg. She also got an orange juice, and I got a small flat white. We had our meals then headed into the exhibition. There were a lot fewer people than there had been at the 10am session the previous Friday (which was the day after Australia Day, and a day people were likely to take off work).

She spent a lot of time reading all the information provided in the textual signs affixed to the walls and display cases. When a guided tour came along about five minutes after we entered, we joined it, and it turned out to add a lot of value to the exhibition; I had not had this opportunity on the previous Friday, probably they had not run it due to the crowds. This time, we had the benefit of the learning of a PhD in Egyptology, who was the host on this occasion. He took us round all the displays in the main part of the exhibition, but departed before we entered the enclosure for the Roman mummy.

Later, the girl took my phone and got me to unlock it - she had left hers at home this morning - and went around taking photos of a lot of the displays, and movies of some of the interactive displays and videos in the exhibition. I was tired by this time and went to sit down near the exit, but got back up when she didn't materialise after about 15 minutes; she was still inside photographing things. We went outside after 1pm and got in a taxi on Harris Street and headed home, on the way buying some frozen dumplings and soft buns.

At home we set about making a meal out of the things we had bought. She also made a kind of crepe with eggs, flour and chilli using a plain frying pan and a bit of oil. I opened up the second window - one of the windows to the balcony is always open, the one with the fly screen - to offset the smoke she made. She also sliced up a mango for eating with fingers for dessert. After lunch we had a bit of a nap then later I had a glass of wine. I did the dishes. She went to the website of a file transfer platform in order to get the photos from my phone to her email; they were too big to send using the phone itself due to memory constraints.

Later, she decided she wanted me to have a massage so we left after 7pm and headed down toward the Pyrmont Bridge where there is a Thai massage place. It was fascinating for me, as I have never had a massage before. The masseuse had very strong hands and we had booked a 90-minute session each, each in a separate room. The masseuse put me on my stomach and started on my feet and legs, then did the torso, then the arms. Then she turned me over onto my back and set to working again on the legs and arms. Last of all she did the neck and head. I felt extremely wobbly at first and had a bit of trouble standing to put my clothes back on, but I managed in the end. I paid and we left; I took the girl down to the bridge and saw her off as she had decided to go home on the train.