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Published: April 6th 2007
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St Paddy's Day!
We lived in Brunswick West for only one week. St Paddy's day started pretty early at PJ O'Brians where we met the 5 Irish we were living with. We got there about 4pm but had to queue in line for about 45mins. We were fed curry fries while we waited in line, and I have to say - they were delicious! Many Guiness pints were consumed and everyone had a good time with all the hats and green that decorated the entire bar.
Job Hunt
After a little recovery the next day we started looking for a job. Carolyn managed to get two interviews lined up straight away for early in the week with telemarketing jobs. I called a few trades type jobs, as I wanted to work with my hands and have full time work rather then working in a pub or a cafe. These were all looking either for a longer duration or trade certification. I finally found an ad that seemed like a perfect job - delivering and setting up gaming machines for sales and party hires. I went in for an interview and started the next day. I drive a delivery truck
all over Melbourne and its suburbs, picking up and dropping off pinball machines, juke boxes, Datona and arcade games. Of course after I have them set up, I have to make sure they are working properly and have a few games. All those years in the Cove playing Datona between classes paid off! I have worked the last 16 days straight, with just 4 or 5 hours on the weekend days.
Carolyn started at the telemarketing job, but wasn't very happy with it at all. It was entirely commission, and after the first 5 hours had made something like $30. She was calling phone lists, trying to get people to answer surveys about tourism, for which she was paid $1.30 for each one that was properly answered. She went into this for 3 days all together while looking for another job. She had a phone interview with Zest Marketing, and was hired on the spot. The company is a marketing company that is commissioned by other companies and organizations to do their marketing for them. The last couple weeks she has been working on a team approaching people on the street to sponser Amnesty International. Again she is getting
paid commission, and although isn't very satisfied with the amount of money she is earning, does enjoy the team and company she is working for. The peole are very friendly and easy to get along with. From Monday (April 2) to Thursday(Apr 5) this week she was on a road trip with three others stopping in three different towns to the North of Melbourne. It was strange for us to be apart for so long, after 7 months of constant company.
On going Van Repairs
I have been doing some body work on the van for the last couple weeks and it is looking loads better. I took it into get another roadworthy done, and after I fix up one more section of it, it will be good for the road after a little mechanical work. Should have the certificate by early mid next week, so we'll be able to go about finding a buyer for it! It will be very good to finally have it sold so we are not tied to the state of Victoria and can head on to Perth!
FIFA Swimming Championships and the Grand Prix
We managed to get out to see abit
Waiting in line...
Hooray for free fries and water in line! of these events that were on for a couple weeks. We watched the end of the 5km open water swim in the bay. It was amazing - the winner finished in 56mins for the men. That is crazy fast! They had good technique with their strokes and breath matching the .5m swells that blew in. It was difficult to see the swimmers at some points because they were out so far! Just splashing in the water... Carolyn was able to catch the end of the 25km open water swim the next weekend, the women finished after about 5 hours in the water!
During the medal ceremony of the 5km, a fighter jet was flying overhead for the opening of the Grand Prix event. It was so loud that the announcer could not be heard over top of it. It did take away from the ceremony - talk about poor timing! We didn't want to spend the $100 on tics to get into the Grand Prix, but we could hear the engines screaming for days as the qualifying and trials were run, and then the final event on Sunday.
It is amazing how many festivals and events there are
in the city - there is always something on the go - Food & Wine, Comedy... It makes it impossible to see everything, but it is hard to be bored.
Birthday Boy
We celebrated my 25th birthday at an Indian restaurant on Sydney Street in Brunswick (Thanks Wendy!) The food was very reasonably priced and quite delicious! We were thankful for the 30min walk back to the house because we were absolutely stuffed! Carolyn had bought me a cake, but we were much too full to eat any when we got home, but the whole house celebrated the next night with my blowing out my candles and having my wish come true!
We are moving!
Carolyn found an ad in the paper for a place in St Kilda East that looked a little nicer then the place we were staying at in Brunswick. There we were sharing 1 bathroom and kitchen with 8 other people (10 in all!). This made for a bit of a nightmare in the morning with everyone trying to get to work. We decided to take the new place, and say our farewell's to our newly made friends. It was also $30 a week
cheaper, much cleaner and nicer, and closer to the water. We moved in on Mar. 22, late in the evening. It is about the same distance to the CBD (central business district), but closer to my workplace. I usually ride my bike in which is a 30min hard ride each way. It is great to get an hour of good exercise every day. Carolyn usually takes the tram into the city as she wears much nicer clothes then me, and has to look good! :D
Meeting up with Friends
A friend we made on Fraser Island is also staying in Melbourne at the present, and we have met up with Julien a number of times in the last few weeks. Coincidently, he lived only a block from our house in West Brunswick, but works in St Kilda, making it easy for us to still get together.
We met up with Garett Smith, a friend of mine from Uni, who randomly met Carolyn on the street! Strange how in a city of 3.5 million, this can happen. We went for drinks one night, and over to his friends flat, which was a street over from ours for a lasanga
dinner. It was delicious and we all ate loads!
Working hard...
Carolyn's team at work met one of the company's sale goals, and won a night out on the town as a result. They drove around Melbourne for a couple hours in a Limo van and went to a club after a few rounds of free drinks. Talk about employment perks!
The first few days for me on the job, I had no idea where I was going. I have only been early to 1 drop off since I started because the guy scheduling my time always underestimates traffic and distances. It isn't really a big deal though and people are usually so happy to see their machines they don't sweat too much over the time it gets there. It is amazing how people turn into little kids when they start playing! I get other backpackers to help me with the lifting, because some of these machines are very heavy and awkward to manuever, especially up stairs or through doorways. I will also receive a $50 a week bonus if after I leave I haven't crashed the delivery truck! They have had some problems in the past....
We are heading out to Bells Beach Sunday with Ryan Gledhill and Kyle Stashuk, friends from Waterloo, to check out the surf competition there. It is apparently one of the best in Australia. We are planning to employ the services of Betsy one last time... it'll be sure to bring back some memories! Seems like a long time since we moved out of her now....
Today and tomorrow, we are enjoying our long weekend - it's tough to get back into the work world of 9-5 jobs....We hope everyone enjoys their long weekend back at home. Happy Easter and enjoy your turkey and chocolate!
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M. Flood
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Happy Easter doods! Don't work too hard...