Blogs from Brunswick, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, Oceania - page 5

Well it has been a while, but then again there is not a lot to report... Work is interesting. I am still trying to get a hang of what my job entails. Like I said previously, I am working for a company called Servier, which is headquartered out of France. I am their "Theraputic units coordinator" in the international center for therapeutic research (ICTR). Well the job title sounds fancy, but basically I am a professional drug dealer ;). I am responsible for dispatching drugs to differnt centers and doctors. They are doing many differnt drug trials, so I need to import all the drugs into the country, and send them out to where they are supposed to be. This is my second week and I am still learning. I am temping for someone who is ... read more

As promised, here are pictures of my new apartment!!! My apartment is on a kind of dark and residental street, which at first made me think I was not going to like it. My apartment tour was at night, and the building doesn't look much from the outside. Once I got buzzed into the gate, I was pleasantly surprised. It was cute beyond the security gate. There is a sidewalk down the middle of the complex lined by trees, hedges, and street lamps. It is quiet and cute, it almost seems like a little resort or something. My unit is in the very back, which is nice because it is quiet becasue it is far from the street! The only time this has been a problem was yesterday when we were trying to move my new ... read more

Ahhhhh, on the road again, if even for a few days! I was determined to do some "good stuff" with the girls in the greater Melbourne area while they were here, so a day after we got back from Sydney I had arranged for us to hire a car, and set off down the Great Ocean Road. Now, obviously I have driven in Australia before, but driving in Melbourne presents a whole new list of problems due to the "feckin trams". Main problem being, you have to turn right from the left hand lane if you are crossing a tram track. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me either. Also you have to remember to remain behind a stopped tram, even if there is room to pass on the left hand lane, cos if you do ... read more

Ahhh yes, the three P's of travel: Preparation, planning and packing your dacks with the terror of it all. I first decided to go on a trip to Thailand around six months ago. It was originally a friends idea and i got on board with a ferocious enthusiasm that surprised even me. I imagined us trekking through jungles, sipping beers on busy side streets and arguing with tuk tuk drivers as the best fucking team to ever explore Thailand. But things fall through and people's plans change (as is life) and by the time i was thinking about buying a ticket, it was me and me alone holding the torch for Thailand. I wrestled with the idea of going it solo for ages, just too scared to book a ticket and break out of routine. Courtesy ... read more

Well, here we are - just over a week in and already feels like we've been here ages. We arrived on Monday 22nd October and took a taxi to our friends warehouse apartment in Brunswick, we got there about 17:30. The apartment is awesome, it is in a huge old warehouse that was split into apartments about ten years ago. David & Stephanie bought this one earlier this year and gutted it, remodelling it into an open plan 'New York' style apartment. Hardwood floors, granite worktops and high ceilings. Very nice. We spent Monday evening settling in and catching up. Tuesday we hit the ground running. We headed into the city to activate our bank accounts that we had opened from the UK, they ordered our bank cards and cheque books. We arranged a hire car ... read more