no doubling back now
I'm sorry it's been ages since I wrote - time gets away from me here in Oz!
Well, things on the job front have changed quite a bit, and I wouldn't be surprised if they continued to do so, but here's where I'm at for now:
Slow Down! @ Harley Court didn't do the boom business they hoped to in the first couple of weeks, and I became a casualty of that. Just not enough hours to go around when people aren't coming in to eat. So I had about $47 in my bank account, and set out on a desperate job hunt for about a week and a half. But, fear not, all is well now, and I have not one but two jobs!
The first is working at a cafe in Melbourne's CBD (central business district), The Terrace. It involves 6:30 am start times, the occasional room service order for the neighboring hotel, and pretty great hourly pay! So I get up at 5 am at least 3 times a week and go to work until 11 am, come home, take a nap, and then have the rest of the afternoon and evening free! It's rather nice, actually. Getting up at 5 was and is a bit of a chore, but a hot shower and cup of tea go a long way toward making me feel human.
The second job is somewhat nebulous still, but for the moment I'm employed at Waterfront, a high end seafood restaurant in Port Melbourne. I have only worked there 6 or 7 times, always weekends, and 3 of those shifts have been working weddings in the function room upstairs. I quite like working functions, but apparently there are no more functions for the next 2 months, so I'm back to working in the dining room. The reason it's nebulous is I'm not remotely experienced in fine dining or seafood, and this particular restaurant requires quite a high level of service. Basically, I'm highly unqualified, and it makes me nervous. The money is good, and I quite like a lot of the other waiters and bartenders. But Port Melbourne is a bit of a chore to get to. The trams don't really go from St. Kilda to Port Melbourne, so I bought a second-hand bicycle to ride there. It's about a half hour ride, roughly 5 km or so. It's along the beach the whole way, so it really is scenic, but it's flat and sort of tiresome riding, and riding home after being at work for 8 or 9 hours is no fun. Plus there's a massive hill to get back to my house at the end of the ride. Last Sunday I just couldn't be bothered so I hopped off my bike and walked it up the hill. In the rain. Yeah.
Anyway, so that's the job situation. I'm hoping to maybe turn the cafe into a few more shifts than I'm presently working and ditch the seafood gig. But we'll see what happens.
Australia is quite big on public holidays, so Easter weekend involves both Good Friday and the Monday after Easter being public holidays. You get paid at least double if you work on public holidays, half the stores and pubs are closed, and the trams run on a Sunday schedule. It's a bit odd, really, since Australia is not really a religious country at all - I think America is more so. But they love their public holidays here!
I have pictures from another bike ride along the beach, but I'm too lazy and tired to post them now.
Have made a couple of friends, here and there, and joined a book club. Fall is definitely upon us here. It will be warm and sunny during the day mostly, but the nights have gotten quite brisk. It's quite nice, really. Or it will be when I finally get my jacket back from Sydney, where I left it thinking I would be back in a few weeks. That was nearly 2 months ago!
Tomorrow am going to a church up the street for Easter, then to my friend Roisin's house for Easter dinner. Her boyfriend, Michael, is an apprentice chef and is making Moroccan lamb shanks! Yum! I will take pictures and report back!
Well, things on the job front have changed quite a bit, and I wouldn't be surprised if they continued to do so, but here's where I'm at for now:
Slow Down! @ Harley Court didn't do the boom business they hoped to in the first couple of weeks, and I became a casualty of that. Just not enough hours to go around when people aren't coming in to eat. So I had about $47 in my bank account, and set out on a desperate job hunt for about a week and a half. But, fear not, all is well now, and I have not one but two jobs!
The first is working at a cafe in Melbourne's CBD (central business district), The Terrace. It involves 6:30 am start times, the occasional room service order for the neighboring hotel, and pretty great hourly pay! So I get up at 5 am at least 3 times a week and go to work until 11 am, come home, take a nap, and then have the rest of the afternoon and evening free! It's rather nice, actually. Getting up at 5 was and is a bit of a chore, but a hot shower and cup of tea go a long way toward making me feel human.
The second job is somewhat nebulous still, but for the moment I'm employed at Waterfront, a high end seafood restaurant in Port Melbourne. I have only worked there 6 or 7 times, always weekends, and 3 of those shifts have been working weddings in the function room upstairs. I quite like working functions, but apparently there are no more functions for the next 2 months, so I'm back to working in the dining room. The reason it's nebulous is I'm not remotely experienced in fine dining or seafood, and this particular restaurant requires quite a high level of service. Basically, I'm highly unqualified, and it makes me nervous. The money is good, and I quite like a lot of the other waiters and bartenders. But Port Melbourne is a bit of a chore to get to. The trams don't really go from St. Kilda to Port Melbourne, so I bought a second-hand bicycle to ride there. It's about a half hour ride, roughly 5 km or so. It's along the beach the whole way, so it really is scenic, but it's flat and sort of tiresome riding, and riding home after being at work for 8 or 9 hours is no fun. Plus there's a massive hill to get back to my house at the end of the ride. Last Sunday I just couldn't be bothered so I hopped off my bike and walked it up the hill. In the rain. Yeah.
Anyway, so that's the job situation. I'm hoping to maybe turn the cafe into a few more shifts than I'm presently working and ditch the seafood gig. But we'll see what happens.
Australia is quite big on public holidays, so Easter weekend involves both Good Friday and the Monday after Easter being public holidays. You get paid at least double if you work on public holidays, half the stores and pubs are closed, and the trams run on a Sunday schedule. It's a bit odd, really, since Australia is not really a religious country at all - I think America is more so. But they love their public holidays here!
I have pictures from another bike ride along the beach, but I'm too lazy and tired to post them now.
Have made a couple of friends, here and there, and joined a book club. Fall is definitely upon us here. It will be warm and sunny during the day mostly, but the nights have gotten quite brisk. It's quite nice, really. Or it will be when I finally get my jacket back from Sydney, where I left it thinking I would be back in a few weeks. That was nearly 2 months ago!
Tomorrow am going to a church up the street for Easter, then to my friend Roisin's house for Easter dinner. Her boyfriend, Michael, is an apprentice chef and is making Moroccan lamb shanks! Yum! I will take pictures and report back!
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