Today I got a dongle for $80 so I won't have to go to Maccas for wifi anymore. Back at the hostel I made pasta with Roozbeh, Yanik, and William then sorted some things out on the internet and went to the meeting. After a bit of table tennis we went to a pancake house where I got some potatoes in delicous gravy then ate Daniel's leftover pancake.
03/11/2012
After the meeting today I went to Big W for some new tyres (tires) then went back for few hours. At 5p we played more table tennis before heading up into the hills for pizza. On the way up we saw smoke over the whole city - possibly from a bush fire. After garlic bread, three pizzas and some lasagna we headed over to Windy Point to watch the sunset over the city.
03/12/2012
Today I stained some boards for James and he paid me $100. He also helped me fix the front tyre on the bike that I borrowed and invited me to his party next weekend. On the way back to my hostel I noticed a loud sound and followed it until I arrived at the Future Music Festival.
I was disappointed thinking it was WOMAD (world music festival) but later found out it was just a bunch of kids listening to dub step.
Today I popped a balloon for making my first sale. At first I found nothing inside but then I saw a note fall to the floor and picked it up to see my prize. I opened it up looking forward to a $50 gift voucher or maybe the usual six pack of beer only to find a subscription for 200 magazines.. No, actually it was just a zoo subscription... hmm, not the most impressive first balloon pop but I'm sure I'll get another shot at it soon. As we set our goals for the day I put three sales which later proved to be right on. It was a less than desirable start with no sales at 2p but at about 4p I finally made one, then another at about 5:30p and yet another at 5:55p with five minutes left! I had to put the vero call time down because they lost connection and shut down the line, but the sale still counts.
Back at the hostel the guy at the front desk, Brian gave me a few hours on the roster so that I could earn my weekend. He's still not sure how well they'll be able to work around my schedule but at least that's something! Before working my first shift I decided to grab a snack from the kitchen. I looked in the free drawer and it just so happened that somebody had placed some delicious pumpkin spice banana bread in it! Ate a good portion of that then went to fold linen for an hour.
03/06/2012
Today I made my first sale in the first half hour and got excited only to find that the next few hours were basically dead. I revisited a couple homes where they seemed really interested but didn't work out. One guy sat down with me when I returned and spent an hour going over the figures even though he wasn't even the account holder and wasn't actually planning on signing up for anything... The other house I returned to was already a client so I checked their bill to make sure they had the best rates and started to leave when the lady decided to reward my efforts with a plate of cookies and some juice to drink. After spending a bit talking with her about traveling and her kids who are spread around the world I headed back out. It was almost time to leave but I managed to squeeze one more sale in before getting picked up.
03/07/2012
Today we got new reps and had a race out to the vans for a prize. Ours was positioned to leave first but Craig had the wrong key in the ignition so we lost. For lunch I had a meat pie from the bakery across the street instead of the usual Hungry Jacks burger. On turf I made two sales in two hours then a third one in the last minutes. One guy worked for AGL (big energy company) and said he was getting 25% off his bill.. so I looked at my rate sheet, back at him and said, "I think we can still do better."
Back at the hostel today I went to Maccas with a couple hostel mates where I used a coupon to get a free burger with my friends burger so I didn't have to pay. I also used a coupon to get two coffees so I could give one to our confused Korean friend.
03/08/2012
Today I packed some cheese sandwiches so I could save on eating out. After lunch I went out aiming for four sales but unfortunately everyone in this particular turf was in a snobby mood and slamming doors. At about 5p I was feeling a bit discouraged but still managed to make two sales. On the way back Danny and I had a couple beers to soften the blow we both took on our attitudes for the day. It was at this point that I realized we were missing a rep. Apparently he had a bit of a situation with a customer and no one can say what happened so it will be interesting to find that out when it finally becomes declassified.
On the ride back today I caught a big full moon in between some buildings.
03/09/2012
Today we found out that the other rep had been suspended under investigation for coercion... apparently he was a bit too pushy with a customer so we all had to go through a retraining on all of the things that are illegal in our work - some as simple as mentioning another company and others more severe with consequences such as a $50k fine and imprisonment.
On turf today I made a sale in the first half hour then continued on from call box to call box... half the area had call boxes preventing any opportunity for direct communication. I managed one sale later on but only because I tore into her logic until she finally gave in. While heading to the meeting point I ran into Danny whos Irish accent sounded a little thicker than usual.. apparently a bee flew into his mouth and stung the inside of his cheek causing it to rupture and bleed all over the place!
A lot of Normans here.
Back at the hostel I met a French girl who told me about some interesting customs from her home town including a six hour multi-course meal during the holidays where everyone just sits and eats course after course all day long.
Back at my room Roozbeh offered everybody free drinks and waited for us to figure out why. I quickly realized that it was because he had gotten the job he has been fantasizing about - electrical engineer at the Moonbaw mines. After a few celebratory drinks, I went with the Swedes (Marcus and Simon), the German girl (Matey), and the Italian (Ricardo) to the Fringe. Ricardo got us some VIP passes as his "coworkers" and after having some Piedina (fried flour tortilla sandwich with meat, lettuce, etc) we went to the Fringe Club (Fringe volunteers only) where we got in as coworkers again using the password "unicorn."
Finally we headed back to the hostel, with protest from Ricky who wanted to watch the sunrise at the beach, and on the way we discovered the truth about a fight from last night. The night before I had heard a guy saying "I don't want to fight you man," a loud banging noise, and someone saying "I'm calling the cops," but only now was I finding out the circumstances. Apparently someone stole one of the Irish guys' IPhone and then, after hearing that he was on video surveillance, brought it back saying that he found it by the toilet. Then, out of nowhere, a guy in a leather jacket started talking about fighting and stabbing people so another Irish guy asked him to leave. At this point the guy in the leather jacket tried to fight the Irish guy but fell down some stairs and that's when they called the cops.
Today I opened an account with Commonwealth Bank and started training at my new job as a door to door salesman for Lumo Energy. Apparently I was one of seven selected out of over a hundred interviewed so I knew I was in for something good. The training was very interesting - we went over our company's history, product and what we would be doing there all while getting regular breaks to go play table tennis (ping pong) with our fellow trainees. After the first day of training I went over to James' for a bevy (drink) and then back to David's for one more night.
02/28/2012
Today I recieved my PIN from my mom and was able to go check into a hostel called the Blue Galah - "galah" as in the bird, not the word Aussies use in referring to a fool...
02/29/2012
For my first day on the job today I got some dress shoes from Salvos which were a really nice brand but apparently not made for walking... After walking in the rain all day on an empty stomach getting doors slammed in my face I was frankly not in a good mood and my feet bleeding from the shoes I was wearing did not help. In fact, the only highlight from today was the chips (fries) and the show one of the reps put on as she lit matches with her feet.
03/01/2012
Today I came prepared with some better shoes, pants, a nice Lord of the Rings hat, new socks and some snacks from Cheap as Chips. Indeed this was a much better day - the weather was beautiful and the people were kinder. I didn't make any sales, but the environment was definitely condusive to learning.
03/02/2012
After some table tennis (ping pong) this morning it was time to put my experiences to use. I was sure today would be a good day... and I was right! Made 2.5 sales today - one guy got to the vero (verification) call and decided I had taken up too much of his time. FOUR minutes and we would have been done but he wasn't happy because I had said "just a couple minutes" and unforuntately the whole process takes more like 10-15... to save hundreds of dollars.
03/03/2012
This morning I asked about a job at the hostel that my French roommate, Yannick told me about last night over drinks. For 12 hours work a week I will now get free accommodation, food and laundry! I guess that puts me up at three jobs now - sales rep, hostel worker and handyman. After securing my new job I went to James' to finish the job I was doing for him.
When I finished he paid me $50 and I went to do some shopping... except everything is closed after 5p on Saturdays so I checked my email at Maccas (Mcdonalds) and spent the night at the meeting hall where we played table tennis, ate pizza and I slept under a mattress.
03/04/2012
After the meeting today I went to James' again where Nathan replaced my bicycle seat so I wouldn't get nutted anymore when I hit bumps.
Yesterday was 40* (104*F) so I found my self lounging around for a bit before heading to David's for the night. The plan was to go straight to living in a hostel but without my PIN I had no options. Fortunately this did give me the opportunity to finally get some footage of David and Cruz.
Other video of Cruz:
Year One
Year Two
Year Three
After the meeting today I wandered off into the city and ended up on Peel street where I saw some interesting graffiti art.
Next I went to Rundle Ave where I finally got my pics of the Rundle Mall pigs.
Finally I did some reading at the Garden of Unearthly Delights and headed back to David's.
Today I moved some beds around for Danielle and she contributed a bunch of food to my rations. Later I went to the Grace Emily and had a drink with Aaron. I hadn't gotten my confirmation text from the job I interviewed for so I began thinking about other options outside of Adelaide.. which is when I got the text. It read, "Hi Dermot from Kk marketing here,I'm sorry about the delay in getting back to you, it has been a super busy day. you have been successful in your interview. You were very impressive and I would like to invite you to training Monday and Tuesday from 12-6pm. You will get paid for both training days and start full time as of Wednesday. Let me know ASAP if you can attend. Thanks and well done."
My evening redeemed I excitedly finished my drink and headed out for the Fringe parade.
Today I went to a group interview for meter checking job where all you have to do is check the meter and explain the discount to the customer. They asked why we wanted to work there, how much we wanted to make, and our general interests. I explained that I like being outside and generally like the looks of the job environment (free BBQs, entertainment room, and nice pay rate). I told them bottom line - need to make money but I'm also enthusiastic about enjoying my work. Overall, the interview went pretty well and I will hear back tomorrow around 6pm as to whether or not I got the job. Something interesting is that the guy in charge of interviewing us is from Ireland and was sponsored to stay here by this very position... could be more to this job than just a paycheck.
Back at Danielles I finally gave the bank a call and found out that I need my PIN sent to my mom, a five day process... which means I will have to stay with David for a couple days after Danielle's renter shows up this weekend. After a couple days with David I should have my PIN and be able to stay at a hostel for $100/week.
Later, I cycled around a nearby pond and went to the Garden of Unearthly Delights again hoping to maybe run into Aaron or James. I sat and read for a bit on my kindle and then decided to head back for tea (dinner).
Today I went to North Adelaide for a walking tour and met Tim from Brisbane. Our guide, Phillip took us to see a view of the city.
On the way back we saw a couple fancy brick homes that the bishop and archbishop of the local Catholic schools live in.
The bishop's house was big but the archbishop's house was more of a mansion. Back at the library we saw a circus act and had some "morning tea" - fruit, biscuits (cookies) and "fairy bread" (white bread with butter and sprinkles on it - not a bad combination!).
Next, Tim and I went to the Art Gallery of South Australia. On the way I checked out a place offering security licenses for $600 which is not bad considering that this would allow me to get jobs paying $30+/hour. At the gallery we saw many interesting paintings, sculptures, video media, etc. One that stood out was by John William Lewin called "Fish catch and Dawes Point, Sydney Harbour.
It's the oldest oil painting known to have been painted in Australia (1800). Also, as a natural history painting and decorative still-life as well as a proud fisherman's momento, it's an interesting example of popular British culture at the time.
Today I stopped in at Danielle's neighbor Howard's to ask him about a construction job that he was looking into for me. He had suggested that I take a $60-100 class to get my White Card (a health & safety certification necessary for most all manual labour jobs in Australia) but the job wasn't even really available and I don't have money for food let alone a job that, as it turns out, doesn't actually exist. In town I checked and found that my card PIN still wasn't working even though I had changed it earlier (maybe BECAUSE I had changed it, but can't remember my old pin anyways because I haven't used it for too long). I went to the Grace Emily Hotel at 8:30p and drank water while meeting a few people and waiting for the free food at 11p. At 11:30p the food was finally ready... but they were charging for it. Oh well, it was worth a shot.
02/21/2012
Today I rode 15km to apply for another job and then went to a prayer meeting down Anzac Highway.
I've been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere exciting, like Brisbane. Brisbane is a place where I can see amazing things and visit one of the most beautiful places in the world – Cairns. On the other hand, I feel like any of these popular tourist spots are going to be big, expensive cities packed with other backpackers looking for work. The thing is that I am actually making some progress here in Adelaide – I have a network of friends, free accomodation, work to get me by, and maybe even a real job on the horizon (which is pretty good considering the current lull in the job market). Also, the Fringe festival is on so I figure it might be good to stick around for that. It’s just that I feel like when I finally do go to this new place (might also consider Perth or somewhere up North like Darwin) I might wonder why I didn’t go sooner!
I asked a blogging friend about this and he says that I'm in "an interesting situation but at the end of the day, it’s a good one to have! Having to choose between staying in Adelaide, where you seem to be well set up, or moving on to a different Australian city, where you’ll once again meet new people and find new opportunities, is a choice that many people don’t have. And I think you should do whatever you are comfortable with. Perth and Darwin and Brisbane aren’t going anywhere so if you enjoy where you’re at now, then stay. At some point you’ll feel that it is the right time to move on and when that happens, you should move on. But if you’re not fully convinced yet, then there’s no reason to change your situation."
I think that’s the right way to look at it, might as well stay a bit – I have a year and, as he says, “Perth and Darwin and Brisbane aren’t going anywhere.”
By the looks of it I had myself a run in with a White-tailed Spider (Lampona cylindrata) today.
... they're nasty lil pseudoscorpion types that can cause necrosis and leave permanent scarring. After getting footage of the lil freak I squashed him and went to the youth meeting with David Kho. When I got back I found another White Tail... not liking the looks of this.
Today I went with Danielle to meet up with her son Tane for a $5 Schnitzel. After a good meal Danielle and I went to the Grace Emily Hotel for a drink where the bartender told me that a place called Casablabla was probably hiring. On the way back we found a backpack on the sidewalk with a smashed up iphone, cigarettes, toilet paper and some clothing. I tried calling the contacts on the phone with Skype (phone didn't have any credit on it) and got a bunch of very confused aboriginals with no idea what I was saying. After searching the bag again I found a peice of paper with an appointment to see an Aboriginal Sobriety Group leader... steriotypes aside, this is a lead that might help in finding the guy.
02/17/2012
During the last couple days I've applied at Casablabla, Coles and a bunch of places online. It's funny, I told myself I'd never do retail again, but for $22/hour may just have to make an exception.
The sun in Australia is really intense, all the time, and thanks to the hole in the Ozone (which allows extra UV rays through the atmosphere) it is also really dangerous. So, it's no wonder that Aussies go out of their way to have, not only the best sunblock, but lots of it!
Today was a busy day so I made sure to "Slip, Slop, Slap."
I dropped off the backpack (that Danielle and I found a few days earlier) at the police station and tried to get some stuff at Salvos (Salvation Army) but, as usual, I missed the small window in which they operate... Next, I went to a hostel for jobs and pamphlets (for inspiration on things to do) and on the way to the next hostel I saw Coopers Ale House. David had suggested I try their Vintage Coopers so I went in and got one for $7.50.. during happy hour. It was a good beer though and as I was drinking it I got my money's worth. First, the bar brought out a huge platter of free food and since they were so slow I got a good go at it. Then, I met an Aussie who markets Vale Ale and had some suggestions for me on places to see in the city. At that point another Aussie named Paul sat down next to me and, after discussing a few of his insights on the local venues, we started talking about his business. Paul sells solar panels and also has a plan for a local venture, one that a backpacker like me fits right into. After buying me a couple of drinks, Paul showed me his business and we went down to the Fringe festival (Garden of Unearthly Delights) to discuss some ideas. During our visit he bought me a corn and a fantastic chocolate/strawberry waffle covered in ice cream as an incentive to possibly work with him.
Paul continued to show me around Adelaide a bit and then went home as I continued to the next few hostels. During my search I met a couple of Aussies who had just returned from Border Town (a town named, as many things in Australia, after its location - on the border between SA and Victoria). We talked a bit and I headed to a couple more hostels. At the YHA Adelaide I saw them again as I was heading out.
On the way back I was repeatedly harrassed by the same car whos inhabitants assuredly had tourettes... For a city with such perfect bicycling conditions (flat) and, therefore, a fair number of cyclists - Adelaide sure hates people on bikes! Oh well, at least I don't have to pay $1.50/liter ($6/gallon) for petrol (gas).
Antipodean life has been good - back in backpacker mode and loving every minute of it! Things have slowed down a bit, but still going according to plan. I stayed at my brother's for nine days and then headed over to Danielle's to give him a break. So far I've just been doing work for my friend, James
...but with all the help I've been getting from the church and friends in general, it's just a matter of time till something official turns up. I talked to some environmental advocates about working with them for $22/hour, a guy from the meetings offered to put me in contact with a friend in the mines and David's neighbor, who works on the rigs, gave me some advice on my CV then took it into work with him. Zsusha's sister, who works for Oz Minerals, also gave me some advice on working in the mining industry.
While I was at the Grace Emily today a girl named Lexy came over and started talking to me about Australia. She mentioned that she had $40k invested in her PHD and actually has to pay it back if she ever makes more than 35k/year. This explains how Aussies can go to school for free because I was starting to get the impression that the government just funded it outright. After talking about a few job ideas for me, including retail, Lexy pointed out that I wont likely get paid less than $22/hour because of my age.
At one point Aaron decided to go elsewhere so we left with his friend James to a place called Crown followed by a kebab place and a hungry jacks.
I used my coupons so we could buy a bunch of burgers and, after eating, we walked until we discovered a trolley (shopping cart) and I pushed James around in it a bit :P
02/11/2012
Today I went to Tim's for tea where we ate a potato dish called Cottage Pie (cottage because its made with beef otherwise called Shepard's Pie if made with lamb) and had ice cream for desert. After eating we all went to a home meeting, had more deserts (I was pretty much shaking from my sugar high at this point), and headed back to Tim's. I then headed back in the dark wearing Danielle's blinking vest, because it's illegal to ride without lights (let alone without a helmet) at night here... the tyres (tires) on my bike could also be in better condition - the threading that holds them together is coming apart and the wheels are wobbling a bit...
02/12/2012
Today I went to the meeting hall and then over to Michelle's for lunch. We ate pork, egg, beef stew, and bread rolls then watched some cricket on the tele. Cricket is a very unnecessarily drawn out game. They don't do three strikes your out... they do 300 strikes your out then the other team goes. This takes a full 8-hour day as opposed to the series games where they play until all the players are out... which generally works out to four days. Even if one team scores 1000 points right off (no coming back from that) they have to keep playing... and, unfortunately, there is no sportsmanship. If one team sees that they are losing they give up and just punt the ball for the next three days while everyone watches and boos from the stands.
02/13/2012
Today I went to the Grace Emily Hotel again to meet up with Aaron and Danielle. After an hour they finally showed up and we had a few beers. I got rid of a fair number of coins in a short period of time which helped make my pocket a bit more manageable (this happens when coin currency goes up to $2). While we were there I spoke with a guy who teaches psychology and is currently researching the mathmatics of life like in the movie "A Beautiful Mind."
After Danielle left Aaron bought us a couple more ciders and we talked about the values that people place on family vs friends. Aaron brought up the point that some friends might act more like family than family, but my opinion is that family is one of those things where you might not realize what you have until it's gone, so it's best to try and appreciate it while you can. After a bit Aaron left because he had to work in a few hours so I watched some live music. One band played some rock music and the next played very playfully - interacting with the audience and joking about the harmonica being a weird brand. They covered CCR and after they were done I decided I was ready to head out.
Today I went to Hahndorf, a small German township outside of Adelaide.. it was about 25km (15 miles) each way (50km total). The hills going there and coming back were pretty extreme, but I actually felt pretty good considering.
In Hahndorf I went to Otto's Bakery and had a doughnut with custard. It was pretty good - had a floury/doughy taste and plenty of custard. I went back in and had a hot dog bun looking thing with honey cream down the middle.. it was too sugary though and made me feel a bit sick.
Next I went to the supermarket for a can of beans since I wasn't going to be able to enjoy anything for a while anyways. Then I went to the sweets shop for some carmel/almond and baileys fudge. Finally, I stopped in at the butchery and got some veal jerky (I'm not necessarily into the whole process that goes into making veal nor do I appreciate the waste that probably comes from slaughtering an animal before it matures, but it was all they had). All in all it tastes alright and now I can say I've had it.
On the way back I decided to take a different route (the steep one since I would be going back down this time). I still had to climb back up some of the hills that brought me down into Hahndorf (maybe even a few more than it took before...) but the finish was all downhill, very downhill. In fact, I'd say that the chances of me surviving a crash were just about nonexistant... that being said I hit a pot hole at about 60kph (40mph) and my life pretty much flashed before my eyes.
During the last few days I've been staying with my brother, David. I borrowed a bike from a friend, rode it 14 miles to body surf at Glenelg and the next day I rode it even further to do some work for a guy up North. Today I went to Brighton Beach a ways down South of Glenelg and was surprised to find it was very calm. This is actually very unexpected considering that, according to Joseph (Zsusha's dad), there's supposed to be more waves as you near the coast.
When I got to the beach I swam out to the Pier and jumped off it a few times. After I was satisfied with my ability to jump off a high place I walked up to the boardwalk and looked at the sculptures.
Today we got up, packed our stuff and had breaky with Robbies mum who made us sausages, eggs, hamburger and toast. After eating our fill we headed out and I bought some new thongs (flip flops). After arriving in Adelaide we did one last kite session then Robbie and I went to Danielles.
We dropped off my stuff and then all of us went to the World's End Hotel for a drink. Finally, Robbie headed out to do some photography while Danielle and I stuck around for another drink. On the way back we found an Australian flag from Australia Day. Back at Danielle's we ate some pasta then walked over to her friend Liza's house and drove to the Grace Emily Hotel. We hung out with a couple others and Liza bought us a couple drinks each. After checking out the live music performance inside we headed back to sleep.
Today we woke up, grabbed some brekky (breakfast), and pulled out my kite. Camping and kiting - doesn't get much better than that!
After jumping off dunes and swinging through the air on my kite a few times we headed out for Renmark.
Robbie let me drive for part of our couple hours drive through the scrub. After driving through the Barossa Valley into South Australia (an unusual way to enter the state) we arrived at a caravan (trailer) park where Robbies parents work and holiday at. They threw us a big traditional Aussie barbie, my thongs (flip flops) blew and we camped out.
This morning we went to St Helens Beach for a car cruise - a word-of-mouth custom muscle car gathering which, far as I can tell, was started by Cam via facebook a few years back.
We headed off from there to Portarlington and had some of the hot jam doughnuts again and from there we went to Queenscliff where all the cars regrouped. Then we grabbed the Dingodine aka brown tortoise and met up with Paul for the start of our road trip to the outback. On the way we stopped at magnetic point for a "false flat" where you roll "uphill" and on our way through we saw a bunch of kangaroos in a paddock (field). Of course, I had to go and say g'day.
We entered New South Wales and stopped to enjoy the sunset. That night we arrived in Perry Sandhills and set up camp.
Today Robbie brought me to Deakin University to see the department of architecture and we got some more Cheeky Chicken chips at Westfield Mall.
Then we went to Klos Bros Custom Trucks to see some of his friends who do work similar to "Trick My Truck" - a custom truck show in Joplin, Missouri.
Next we went to Avalon Beach where some scenes from Mad Max (Road Warrior) were filmed. After that we went to the kite shop where we hired (rented) a 5m kite for the week. We took it to Belmont Common where I slid/flew around in winds that were slightly higher than expected, but manageable.
After a few photos and some video we headed over to Beck's for tea (dinner). We had some curly fries, lasagna, chicken nuggets, and pavlova (a very Australian desert likened to merengue pie). After tea we test pitched the tent and went back to prepare for camping tomorrow in the desert. Cam had his hot rod ready when we got back so we cut laps around town for a bit as people yelled and screamed at "the car from Dukes of Hazzard."
In actuality the car is not a Dodge Charger AKA "The General Lee" but rather a 1971 Chrysler by Chrysler coupe. Cam often has people trying to tell him that it's something else, then they realize they're talking to the owner and ask, "why am I arguing with you, it's your car!"
Back at Robbie's a bloke name Normy showed up in his ride so Cam and I jumped in. Normy has been working on engines for about twenty years and lost his license about ten times. He easily lived up to expectations as we took off down the road in his tricked out pet project.
