Nanny State

11/05/2012

Today a lady tried to get me to go and dry up all my mopping as my shift was ending. I told her I could put some wet floor signs up but that didn't seem to appeal to her so I just left. I mopped under the shelves where nobody walks anyways... Later, on the way back to work, a truck backed out in front of me and then pulled over a bit further down the road behind a girl who was walking. As I passed her she started running and as I looked over she told me not to talk to her... so I just kept riding. Hard to say what was going on there but I'm guessing the guy in the truck was up to something and she was trying to avoid some sort of confrontation. At work I had another incident with the store people not sharing the cleaning closet - they took my mop, bucket and cleaning chemicals. I don't know why they're so territorial about that closet but it's really starting to bug me. They also blocked off my cleaning cage so I can't get to my equipment...

11/06/2012

Today a couple of the ladies gave me a condescending lecture about the floors again. I had "wet floor" signs up but they were still concerned that some illiterate fool would slip and sue the store... I also got stared down by one of the deli ladies while I was buffering the floor. Finally, after I returned home, I got a call that the store people complained but weren't clear on the problem. First it was that the store was dirty, then it was that the floors weren't shiny enough, then it was that my mop and water were dirty... well, of course the water is dirty, I just finished mopping the floor with it! Doesn't help that they hid my cleaning chemicals... with all of the complaints and constantly derailing my work efforts it would seem that I am not quite welcome there.

11/07/2012

Today I spoke with the manager in charge and she gave me a couple things to fix but nothing major. Apparently the floors were a bit spotty from the scrubber having issues yesterday and the stockers left some marks by the milk after I finished that area so none of it was actually my fault but all of it is my problem...

11/08/2012

Today I didn't get any complaints and I met a very Aussie sheila in the bakery. She told me about some good hiking around Brisbane and a job at the meat works that looks specifically for backpacker and pays $30/hour... probably too late for me now though since they require a few months but, then again, I've heard that the meat works factories are very disgusting, depressing and full of gore so maybe it's best that I'm just now hearing about this one. After work I went home and bought some chicken pies from Jenny for $10. A bit steep on the price but a nice arrangement nonetheless.

11/11/2012

For the last couple days I've been sleeping a lot and fortunately avoiding the rain on my way to and from work. Today I got back with just enough time to leave for the meeting but after brekky it just wasn't going to happen. Around noon I finally received my first major pay but it wasn't as expected. Apparently when Jeff told me $700/week for my new job he was including my other one as well so the new job only contributes $500/week... this will still be good, just not great.

11/12/2012

Today is my birthday. I had an awesome brekky with three slices of ham, three eggs, cheese, toast and hash browns. Later I spoke with Jeff because he was short $50 on my pay. Apparently he forgot that I'm doing the extra job for a total $200/week for the evenings so he only paid me $150 for the first week of the fortnight. What I don't understand is that he says the morning shift is $500 more a week so he knows that $700 is $200 more than that. Anyways, we eventually sorted it out and he will send me the $50.

11/13/2012

Today I got told to dry up a "puddle" by the checkouts... of course, as usual, it was just a bit damp by the edge but the safety patrol deemed it a risk and made me dry it with some towels. I wouldn't mind but its near the end of my shift when I'm just trying to finish up and its nothing that wouldn't dry in a few by itself anyways ...

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Karawatha Revisited

After the meeting this morning I went home and met up with my Italian friend Giacomo for a hike in the Karawatha. I took him to the new area that I found.


After checking out the new lookout and water tower we went along Wallaby Track. The fire had severely damaged one side but left the other as green as it was the first time.


Finally, we went back to the house and both got ready for work at our respective jobs.

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Back to the Grind

10/28/2012

Today I brought Anita to the meeting. On the way I got a call from Jeff offering me a new job - this one is five hours a day and will result in an extra $700/week, a total of $1800 a fortnight when you add in my current wages! This should pay off my credit line, give me a good buffer on my student loan payments and provide me with all the funds I need to travel around NZ for the next year assuming I find a way to cover room and board. Happy days!

10/29/2012

Today I trained 4-8 so I could take on my new contract cleaning the whole store. Back home I slept till noon then ended up teaching Anita how to ride a bike. I noticed my tyre was flat on my bike so I had to ride down to Browns Plains and replace the tube. I came back briefly to eat but then had to return back to Browns Plains for work...

10/30/2012

Today I left for work at 3a again; on the way I saw wallabies skipping around by the freeway.

10/31/2012

After my night shift today I was on my way back when I started hearing sounds of something smacking into the pavement. I didn't realize at first and when I heard the bushes move I figured it was something in there. Then I heard some laughing and saw the projectiles coming from across the road. I figured it was just some kids but I wasn't sure what they were doing so curiosity got the best of me and I headed over. Sure enough it was a group of about four adults and a kid all hucking eggs out at passersby. They explained that they were throwing them as a Halloween prank. I figured they seemed pretty harmless and was about to leave when their leader told me I had five seconds. Of course, I assumed they would start chucking the eggs as soon as I turned to leave so I told the guy, "you throw that at me and I'm coming after you."

I figured that comment would either buy me more time to leave or get them to give up altogether... I was a bit groggy from work and didn't realize how aggressive that came across... They chucked a few eggs at me and as one hit I realized they were trying to inflict some pain so, after they ran out of ammo, I walked down the hill to have a go at them (verbally). The others dove into the car (to reload) and I was about to tell this guy off when he started shaking and moving into a fighting stance - this drunken idiot wanted to fight. Judging by his body language he was about to come at me so I told him to relax and left.

As I was leaving they began the assault again but kept missing so I got away with just a little egg on me. After I had made some ground I noticed my arm was bleeding so I decided to stop and report them for being excessively violent. On the phone it took a while but they eventually transferred me to the police who were more concerned with what I was doing out on my push bike then what had actually happened. I told the officer on the phone that the main guy had red hair, seemingly an Irish background, to which the he said, "oh right, he has red hair so he must be Irish?"

I said, "well, he does look Irish."

He kept a sarcastic tone in response and asked a couple of times if I wanted to press charges. I explained again that my arm was bleeding but I just wanted these guys dealt with before they hurt someone - they were throwing eggs into traffic and the aggro guy was clearly looking for a fight.

11/02/2012

Today was a miserable day. I was exhausted, more of my cleaning supplies were missing, the scrubber vacuum wasn't working and I received complaints for missing a spot - there was even talk about having me go all the way back down just to spot mop for about five minutes. Note: they have heaps of staff...

11/03/2012

Today I filled out my election ballot then checked online for the hours of the post office. Most branches were closed for the weekend but a couple were open till noon. It was about 11:20a so I rushed out and arrived just in time to post my ballot.