d6 of 14. got back to my room and stood under the shower longer than usual, till the red dust was out of my nose and i could stop tasting it every time i breathed. shoulders felt decent today, forearms still warm from the job but not sore. sat on the bed in clean shorts with the aircon going and nearly fell asleep sitting up. the sheets feel colder here than at home, probably because nobody else has been in them. pulled the blanket over my feet and lay there for ten minutes before dinner. wasn't thinking about the knee or the gym numbers for once, just how good it felt to have nothing touching my legs except cotton.

the bloke at dinner reckons he can tell which of his kids is coming down the hall just by the footsteps. been trying to think if i can do that. can definitely tell when the boy's running because it sounds like something's fallen over, but normal walking, not sure. got me remembering our old place when i was a kid, hearing dad's ute and knowing whether he'd stop at the letterbox before coming in. no idea why that bit stayed in my head. i can draw half the switchboards on site from memory but couldn't tell you what our front door sounds like from the kitchen. probably a squeak. kate would know, then ask why i hadn't bloody fixed it.

kate sent a video of our boy trying to kick a footy and he kept looking off camera for someone to watch. she was watching obviously, she was filming the bloody thing. still got to me. i watched it three times in my room and then couldn't think of much to say when they rang because he'd moved on to telling me about some game. i wanted to hear more about the kicking but didn't want to make him do the whole afternoon again for my benefit. felt pretty flat after the call. the bloke next door asked if i was coming down to eat and i nearly said no, then went anyway. didn't feel like sitting there with the phone waiting for another video.