28/02/2011

Yesterday afternoon, our Ikea delivery arrived. I knew it would be hard work, but wow. Over 2.5 hours later, I had a wardrobe. Still need to make up my desk, chair and bookcase. It was an amazing sense of accomplishment though, especially as dad wasn't there to help me as usual with his tools and tips and taking over because i'm messing it up. Know that i don't take you for granted, dad!

I still have a mattress on the floor and haven't unpacked, which i'll tackle this evening after work and tomorrow. Work's going well, I have barista training this week which i'm really looking forward to.  Loving my job here, other than the early starts and long days, but that will settle.

Interesting facts;
In the supermarkets here they sell "Coon" cheese.
They have drive-through liquor stores everywhere.
People actually tip. Apparently our place gets a little of what you could get if you worked in a fancier place, but still, i'll get about $150 a month extra no top of my pay. Alriiiight.
I won't have internet in a while. That's not that interesting though... I'll try again.

Facts;
I won't have internet in a while.

End.

27/02/2011

This morning, I went to church. During the sermon (about the lack of discipline in the 21st century, it was quite interesting) a lady had a heart attack or stopped breathing or similar. We sat there awkwardly for 5 minutes, where I wondered if anyone had called an ambulance and no-one around me seemed to know. The pastor then moved us into the church hall next door as the ambulance came screaming in.  He scrapped his sermon and instead we prayed for this lady, Jessie, and for NZ and for Libya.

Yesterday I went to Ikea. It was initially exciting, seeing all the rooms set up and the reasonable prices. Then it was awful. A big stupid warehouse where everything was heavy and people were crowded and dumbface dumb. I got most of what I needed and it's getting delivered today, which is good, but I don't have a man to help me. Be it my dad or astronaut Mike Dexter. A long day ahead i'm sure, Ikea ruins my life. PLUS i had an afternoon ahead with Ellie and her flatmate Meredith where we were getting our own boat and cruising the harbour. Now I can' cos i have to wait for a delivery. I had almond croissants prepared for it and everything.

On the plus side, this Tuesday night i'm going to the Australian museum where you sit with the dinosaur skeletons and listen to live music. So that's good.

25/02/2011

I moved into my new place on Wednesday, So far I have a borrowed mattress on the floor, a lamp with no lightbulb and some hanging racks. It's not the flashest, yet, but it soon will be. I spent a bit of time with my flatmate and we get on pretty well, he's very interesting and we have a lot in common, in a friend way which is good as i know it won't get messy later on.  Plus he agrees that Carole King's 'Tapestry'  is one of the best albums of all time. Yus. We're getting a couch made for the flat and we're going out to pick the colour. It's fun!

 

Work is going great, it just gets better and i really enjoy it.  Hard work though, 645am start and usually about 10 hours a day so feeling it a lot. On the plus side, there's the sandwiches. Also, cupcakes, brownies. The list goes on. And my weight increases.

 

The other day there was a 'blind' lady at the supermarket. She had a stick but was still looking around and had a basket full of groceries.  I didn't think she was really blind, just working the stick, so decided to test her. I tested my blind friend Richard's blindness by A) seeing his wiggly eyes and B) going on his blind side and playing tricks on him. While I followed her closely, deciding how to test her, she CUT IN FRONT OF EVERYONE and got the best check-out with the shortest line. She was so not blind. I found it remarkable that she got away with this. I'll ignore the irony that the 'blind' lady saw the shortest line before I did.

 

Things are generally pretty good, though It's hard seeing the headlines and being over here, away from everything. I can't even imagine the chaos over there. It's so horrible. 

 

No internet at home, yet...so this won't be as daily as I would like. However, you can sit patiently and happily, knowing that i'm winning at Sydney.

22/02/2011

Christchurch. Unbelievably devastating. It really made me sad, it's so close to home...yet being in Sydney, feels so helpless. Glad that those I know with friends and family there are comforted by the safety of their loved ones. I've been praying hard.

21/02/2011

Today I had my first full day of work. This week i'll be; helping roast, pack and deliver Allpress coffee, mkaing sandwiches, working in the kitchen and doing dishes; being trained to be a barista, p0wning at being an assistant manager. I found out today that they've been looking for someone since June last year. I was told that I have big shoes to fill....yikes. It's fun though, I like a challenge and it's a fun place to work.

Not much else to report on, other than that I discovered that when i'm super super tired, I talk to myself. Out loud. Then scold myself for talking out loud. Out loud. With the uncool frangipanis in my hair and the weird accent, i'll soon be the town crazy.

We can dream, can't we?

20/02/2011

To be honest, i'm struggling a little today.  It's is unbelievably hot and humid, literally sitting here sweating. The only place with free wi-fi is a cafe that does average coffee (though it is 100% organic and Fairtrade, which pleases me) and bakes Mexican coffee-cream buns all day.  At first this excited me, free internet to find a place to live and delicious buns, however, now I resent the place as the ovens are hot and they play the equivalent to a JuiceTV that repeats the same songs every day at the same time. Katy Perry is fine on occasion, not regularly. The employees are sweet though, they don't mind me sitting here for hours, applying for flats with just one cup of coffee. They re-fill my water and even bring me my coffee before I order it.

The idea of finding a place to live seemed much easier than I thought.  My previous flats fell into my lap, a flat with Erin, Sarah and eventually Merrin and Stina was fantastic, cheap and easy. I only needed to say yes. Similarly, my last place was generously offered by Lou's folks (who wouldn't want me as a tenant?!?...tell that to EVERYONE in Sydney). So now, it's all new and i'm stumbling my way through hundreds of ads, not know where anything is and reliably very much on the kindness of bus drivers. (The kindness of strangers, really. Maybe I should look for somewhere in West Egg).

Either way, it's hard work.  Trying to not stress, trust that something will come, but full-time work starts this week and it's becoming more desperate. Especially as the JuiceTV-type channel just started playing Justin Bieber.

19/02/2011

Sandwiches. Delicious, delicious sandwiches. Sandwiches that would make Liz Lemon cry, that could possibly compare to the magical Italian sandwiches with dipping sauce, that are healthy and tasty and FREE. Artichokes, capers, beef, chicken, provolone, chickpeas, anything you could want. And trout. Haha. It still makes me laugh when people order trout.

Work is going well, SANDWICHES, free coffee, breads, anything I want, really.  They look after their staff, do a great induction, training, work hard and do things by the book. We actually get the tips (instead of buying CDS for the cafe, of using it to pay when money disappears from the till) and people are really nice.

Moving to Sydney, job-wise, was the best move I could have made.  When I get paid, i'll be rolling in money, I hope. Makes finding a place easier now that I know how much i'll be earning, I don't have to worry if i can afford it. Now I just have to find a place....sigh. Believe it or not, i'm trying quite hard.

Oh, and i've made a new goal for my life here;   to see a Platypus in real life.  Research shows it's hard, but not impossible.  I can learn patience. It's worth it to see a furry duck beaver fish monkey, I think.

17/02/2011

The heat here is remarkable. Apparently it's hot by Sydney standards, which helps me a little. I'm looking forward to purchasing and wearing many new remarkable dresses. After I get my new and remarkable job, and remarkable place to live.

Come on, already, I want to start my new and remarkable life!

The interview yesterday went well, i think, though it's hard to tell. I definately have a shot at the job, but so does someone else.  I might have to Jenna Maroney my way in and use my sexuality to guarantee my position. Further updates as events warrant.

16/02/2011

Well, it's been a busy few days and this 'daily blog' thing has failed miserably. In saying that, I have been thinking of remarkable things each day, while enjoying Frangapanis.

In Sydney;
People stand up for older people on buses, every time.
They have crazy bugs. I saw a spider the size of my face. And a cricket, by jiminy.
People are either really, really friendly, or really rude.
Coffee is generally pretty bad.
Blueberry bagels are magical.
My accent is hilarious when ordering 'mint flips'.

I've spent the last 2 nights at Ellie's place, which has been great.  Before that I was at Em's which was lovely, she came to NZ and stayed with me so now it's her turn to show me around and it's been amazing. When Em took me to drop me off at Ellie's place, we 3 girls sat, drank Lapsang tea that smelt like campfire and tasted like delicious.  We sat in this lovely old house, with a furnished celing, old fireplace and loads of charm and just talked.  One of those nights where the time flies and you love your friends.

I'm so lucky. I moved here knowing that i had a couple of friends here but not wanting to burden them with helping me out, but they have, willingly. Friends that are honest and real and share and love like i do.  Friends that are remarkable.
I'm very grateful.

12/02/2011

Sydney is quite different from Auckland, despite being so close.  One thing i'm excited about is the abundance of Frangapanis. In NZ, my friend Brendan had a small tree growing on his deck, they grew about 10 flowers each summer and each individual flower was exciting and special as it had worked so hard to get there, despite Auckland's climate not really being warm enough.

Here, they're everywhere, literally lining the streets with colours and fragrance. The first night I arrived, i excitedly picked some up and put them in my hair. My Sydney friends informed me that this what Year 7 girls did and advised me that all the cool kids had stickers of them on their cars. They were amazed at how excited I was, as presumably, at 25 I should have grown out of this stage.

I'm determined not to get used to them. They are remarkable. And they smell so good.