Sorry Perth, But You Need More Than One Person For a Siege

Saturday was far more exciting than it should have been.

It started off all good, I ran some errands and fed my friends weird stalker chickens. They really are weird, they follow you everywhere making weird chicken noises. Anyways, I left, realised I had left my phone behind, went back, and had just missed a phone call. Really wish I had gotten that phone call. Phone call was from boyfriend who was calling me from a boat somewhere hours and hours north about the fact that some street near where we lived (which is another story altogether) was blocked off and if I wasn't home I may have a hard time getting there, and if I was home I may have a hard time leaving.

Sweet, but whatever, I was sure it would be fine. Which means it wasn't at all.

I drive back into Perth thinking about lunch and get to the block before my apartment and there is a crazy long line of cars. I am unfazed by this. Then I saw that the first street going by my apartment was blocked off by the police. Well, no worries I would go up the next one. Not so much. Instead I argued with a police officer over getting into the apartment. I tried to convince the police officer blocking off the second street to let me through, but apparently my pleas of 'but I live RIGHT THERE!' mixed with lots of pointing didn't work and I was told to go park somewhere else.

After much driving I found a faraway spot and started my trek back to the apartment, while carrying four chicken eggs from the weird stalker chickens. So I begin the walk back and head down a street blocked off by police from cars, but they are allowing pedestrians. Yay, almost home! Except not, because randomly in the middle of the street there is another blockade. Can't drive through it and can't walk around it. So I went back up the street and over towards the apartment. Eventually I get back, and assuming that because I was allowed to walk by other police cars I could walk by this one. Wrong. I made it a little ways until I got caught and yelled at. Opps. Back up the street and over.

Down the next street I thought I was set, particularly since the cop who was most recently irritated with me said I could. Wrong again. Walking down the street I noticed fire trucks and more cops. I got spotted again, although this time before the police barrier I was seen and then finally given an explanation!

Explanation: There was a siege! (Which to me sounded very intense and scary). A siege with one guy in a house with a gun.

Um, what?

I know I am foreign (and American) and have been jobless for four weeks and therefore have been watching an unhealthy amount of TV so my brain is kinda mushy (granted it's a lot of crime TV so I could be biased), but I'm pretty sure a siege is not one guy in a house with a gun. It's not, I looked it up. Found out Perth is not under siege, but was creating a siege, at least according to Merriam-Webster as they say it's "a military blockade of a city or fortified place to compel it to surrender." Ok fair enough, but still, 'siege' seems a little strong.

Anyways, police guy who actually explains things said there was no way I was getting to the apartment, despite my looking sad and holding up my chicken eggs. So I went off in search of a place to be and get a snack. After some wasting time I tried again. With success! Managed to get around the blockade and onto the street in front of the apartment I had originally driven on to get into the apartment. Found out it really was a guy in a house with a gun (at least according to the news) and hung out. Went back outside later and the police were still out there with a crowd of people watching them on the street. I went over and asked a guy if anything had happened (crowd guy, not police guy) who said they had just pulled a guy out of a house. I couldn't see anything so I went and bought groceries.

A couple hours later I ventured outside to see if I could get the car back and the police were gone and you would never have known it happened. At least it made my day more interesting.