Surely That's Not Your Real Name?

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So here I am again, I’ve had a few people asking me if I’m still alive and when the next blog installment was going to be so here it goes. The hostel has been full for so many weeks now and times have been fun in all sorts of ways. One of the funniest things is the names people have from other parts of the world. Considering the complexities and unusualness of my name you would have thought that any name which I came across would be on a par, but no. One morning Mark turned to me and said “This person’s having a laugh aren’t they?” Obviously I was quite intrigued; the Ozi Inn had received an e-mail from a Fanny Cancel checking in during September! We were in hysterics, surely no one uses the name Fanny anymore………they do. Even more laughter ensued when another e-mail arrived not long after Fanny’s’ from an Estonian female called Kerlie Parts. Yes, this is no lie, of course Mark and I considered the possibilities that these e-mails could be pranks from friends, siblings, ex Ozi Inn guests and the like and therefore confirmed their stays with a 10% booking fee by card. The names were confirmed and Fanny Cancel and Kerlie Parts were arriving on the same day at Perth airport and would await their pick-up from a chuckling Mark.

When the day came when Fanny and Kerlie were arriving, the hostel was buzzing especially as the sunshine is now firmly over Perth, Mark called from the bus as I was sat outside enjoying an afternoon beer with guests “Hi babes I’m just leaving the airport now, I’ve got Fanny in the bus!” I couldn’t help it; I burst into laughter and announced that Mark had Fanny in the bus which of course meant everyone was in fits of giggles whilst Mark remained professional as always. Fanny and Kerlie have both been subjected to all sorts of lewd, crude and interesting facts about their names, both of them have taken it all in their stride and as far as we know have had an enjoyable time.

I myself have taken a few steps away from the hostel. I found myself wandering around the hostel day after day doing general duties but not really doing anything much at all. I ended up taking the great unemployed from the hostel to the beach, shopping anything to get out! Not a bad life I guess but I needed to do something. Mark however always wanted to do the airport runs, the cash and carry runs, the accounting and most of the hard work so it seemed silly for me to be there. I registered with a temp agency in the city and sat a few tests. The tests were on Outlook Express, Word, Excel, Typing and Data Entry. For those of you who know me when I left my wonderful job at Countrywide I was elated to never have to look at an Excel Spreadsheet again, and having been away from a working environment where I used a computer and the aforementioned programmes every day since the end of March I was concerned I would be a little rusty! As it turned out I hadn’t lost my touch and passed all my tests with flying colours.

I got a call 48 hours later with a contract on the other side of the city working in the Account Payable department of a company called Landmark. I won’t bore you with all the details but basically Landmark supply farms, rural stores etc with supplies such as, cattle prods, sheep tags, work boots, electric fencing and the list goes on. I can safely say it’s the most boring job I have ever done in my life. I endlessly type invoices into a system which is complicated and un connected for the Countrywide clan amongst you think TRAMPs or POS but WORSE! The first week I was ready to quit sat facing a wall for 8 hours a day in a corner on my own was no fun with a system which was inadequate and a an accounting team as dull as a wet Sunday on Southend Pier. By week 2 I decided to just get my head down and plough on through and now the days fly by I start at 8:30 and finish at 4:30 not bad eh? I’m now on week 3 and am delighted that I will only work until Thursday as Friday Mark and I will embark on our luxury week in Bali. We are both so excited that we will get some quality time together, in luxurious surroundings away from the hustle and bustle of the hostel. Hope the weather is good back at home.

We've had a few highlights recently in the form of social events, one being the 80's party which i arranged complete with a disco ball, 80's signs like 'totally 80's' and 'rad' hanging from the ceiling, pass the parcel, glow bracelets and of course countless 80's classics booming around the hostel. So many people got dressed up and really made an effort on the night and we partied until the early hours of the morning. There are some excellent pictures of everyone and it will certainly go down in Ozi Inn history! I was most proud of myself 😊 This weekend just passed there were many guests leaving on road trips or home, a 22nd birthday in the hostel and so in true Ozi Inn tradition the famous Friday at Black Bettys was on the menu. It turned out to be another historic night as a total of 44 out of 54 guests paid their $10 and headed to the club. The biggest shock for most was that Mark even came, in the 5 months that we've been here Mark has frequented Black Bettys just once. With a little bit of persuassion and 10 bottles of beer we twisted Marks arm and even he will admit he had a pretty good night! The whole hostel had such a good night in fact that Saturday night was spent with most people going to bed early or watching a movie on the big screen!

Not so good news on the weekend was my poor legs. Those of you who can remeber mine and Marks stint at WWOOFing in Jurien Bay will recall the 170 odd bites i got on my legs. I woke up Saturday morning to around 12 bites on my legs. As always they looked like no ordinary bites as they were red and swollen, i have no idea why i react to them the way i do. An anti-histamine and some after-bite applied i spent Saturday at the beach enjoying the 31 degrees of heat. Saturday night i was armed with my insect repellant long trousers and a jumper, i was so sure i was going to be safe. Not so, Sunday mornig we counted in total 32 bites mainly on my legs and feet with just 3 on my arm and shoulder. I have no idea why they like me so much or why they are immune to my 'OFF' mosquito repellant but they are! I am on a mission this week to find deet, or at least something that will keep the pesky things away from me!

Sunny (the owner) is back at the moment, he always comes with gifts, and this time for me he brought me a set of Vidal Sassoon hair cutting scissors for my sideline business, a Loreal hairdressing gown and a friendship bracelet with my name on it, which has sadly broken. Mark received a set of Callaway Big Bertha golf clubs, he is obviously delighted and cannot wait to get onto a course to try them out, and plans are in place for when we return from Bali. We have also begun re painting the hostel, very good friends of ours Marc and Christie who have been staying the double room since before Mark and I were here took 10 days out to go to Kuala Lumpa, Penang and Langkawi. Mark and I decided it would be great to surprise them on their return with a bedroom make over. We repainted, re curtained, put new storage in the room and purchased new duvet sheets. Mark put a TV in the room too with a DVD player to be added shortly. When they returned I couldn’t wait to see them so I went to the airport at 6am with Mark to welcome them back. Tired and weary from their trip they were looking forward to getting their heads down but remarked that their beloved double room in the Ozi Inn was a step down from the accommodation they had enjoyed on their trip. I could barely contain my excitement as I helped them take their bags upstairs and they opened the door to their new bedroom complete with chocolate Tim Tams on the bed wrapped in foil, a backpacker’s favourite biscuit! It was great to see their faces.

As for our room whilst we are in Bali it will receive the same make over treatment, a fresh lick of paint, new curtains and bedding etc. I’m sure it will not be a patch on our villa in Bali but home is where the heart is and it is safely in Perth and the Ozi Inn.

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Photos

80's Party
The Hulk and The Pink Panther.....apparently

80's party
Girls Just Want to Have Fun

80's Party
Verlie

Mark's Birthday
Not One...but TWO Cheesecakes!

Comments

[mum]

Bites
You get the allergy to bites from your dad. Every mozzi within 30 yds zooms on to him and bites. Glad to hear you are having a great life thats what its all about. We miss you and I cantr wait to see you in November. Stay safe and Love you xxx