Happenings

Being that this was my FIRST week of full time work in sydney I thought I should document it.
         It started last week with a temp agency placement in North Sydney (which I recently discovered is an actual suburb name-- like Manly-- not a region-- like Northern Beaches) I was so excited to get my first whole week of work that I didn't even care I was also scheduled to work the weekend at my (newish) restaurant job Havana Beach. Let's get busy!! we all know I've had plenty of time to chill!

The view from my Restaurant

So I worked a half day Friday (to begin the full 9-5 thing starting Monday) then got home to change clothes and go straight in to HB. I wasn't quite geared up for what was coming- a full restaurant and I was the only official server on the floor (the owners kinda help out) it's not a big place so it really shouldn't be a problem except that it was only my 3rd shift working off the a la carte menu and 2 of those were "dead" (my other shifts have been private functions where I was tray passing 'canapés' and helping the bar polish glassware) so the reality is I still don't know the menu or the POS system and quite frankly- I'm rusty on my waitressing skills overall (it's only been 7 years since I worked at Joe's Crab Shack in San Diego) yikes!! Surprise, surprise I made a few mistakes that night which I'm still trying to make up to the kitchen crew and my boss :S oh well, everybody was new at some point right?!! The good news is they feed us! (And it's the closest version of Mexican food I get out here.)
          Speaking of feeding- my office this week went beyond having the typical kitchen to provide tea, coffee, and milk. This place had a full bread and cereal line-up complete with all the smears you could want for a morning toast (including the Australian staple vegemite, and my favorite Nutella) My flatmate tells me fruit and toast is a big thing down here for an at-the-office-breakfast. Hmh

         Two days in to my assignment I realized how good God is to have spared me from a role like this long term! I've certainly applied to a million places across a broad spectrum yet nothing has panned out. Even most of my temp agency placements are just a few days at best. And this job made me thankful for it! I think people there had "buns of steel" in a sense.  I had to get up and move around every hour, and if not for the ease of my bottom, just to stay awake.  I've never been in such a quiet office space, with such little interaction.  But that drove me out of the office at lunch seeking sun and fresh air which led to some lovely walks in a new part of town (another bonus of temping- it gets me places I probably wouldn't have otherwise) 

Blues Point Park

        So after another weekend of night work at the restaurant, I'll be back at it monday morning with my next placement lined up for 3 or 4 weeks. I'm returning to the telemarketing gig, which isn't my favorite. But hey- it pays the bills, expands my skill set, and you can't beat the hours and the short commute (at least- these are the things I tell myself to get through) But I'm always thankful!

Rooftop lunch

SawMillers Reserve

Chinese Friendship Garden

Friday night on the ferry ride home- looking back

hitting the phones....

and BONUS since this blog is all about work-
here's a little pic of me in my penguin suit for
catering jobs (which I haven't had much time for as of late)

Make Me Wanna Roll My Windows Down and CRUISE

Over Easter I had the chance to really start to see some of this amazing country with a road trip down NSW's south coast and it was so lovely!! I hired a car with another American gal from church (as a duo we are the Sara(h)s and I call her lil Sarah which makes me big Sara. Ha) we got a tiny Nissan, brand new, (39k off the lot) and put about 500 miles on it over 5 days. So I now consider myself an excellent driver on the left side of the road :)

         Our adventures took us on a tour of all things beautiful (except I saw my first road kill kangaroo) lots of beaches, scenic lookouts, iconic landmarks, some of the bush and also rolling green hills of cattle grazing and vineyards.
         A little town called Mollymook was our Easter destination where we spent two nights with a friend's family (10 years after she spent Christmas with my family in MI. How cool is that?!?) We went to a small-town parade/festival and I was instantly transported back to childhood memories of high schoolers' homemade floats, marching bagpipe corps, and firetrucks running lights and sirens. The only thing missing was the candy tossed to the onlookers and curb-campers. Oh yeah. And 'elephant ears' But nobody has those except Michigan. :( We did manage to find some yummy cinnamon sugar fresh donuts (like an orchard makes back home) from the Lions club or something :) In addition to my time-traveling rendezvous, It was really nice to have home-cooking and be around a family dynamic after being a travel-induced-orphan for the past 3 months.

 

           Monday morning after a beach run and swim we headed into (the next neighboring) town for brunch and a little shopping before we hit the road for more adventure. Compared to the drive down on saturday where we did a lot of quick stops, and brief photo moments (there was so much to see) on the way back to Sydney we wanted to slow down at a few places to enjoy a little bit more. So we took beach walks and beach naps. We hit cafes and shops. It really started to feel like a proper holiday.  Wellllll, one of those budget holidays where you sleep in the car and eat PB&J for lunch. It wasn't all that bad (but you can see why we even more appreciated our 'home stay' for a few days) The second night we were able to get a spot in a campground (called a camper van park) so we were really high rollers that night with a kitchenette and hot showers. 

Sarah representin' well in her cut-up camo shirt
and americana bandana

         I'm convinced that traveling on-the-cheap and without much preplanning can be the best way to get the most laughs, make memories, and really experience a place.  You can bet we had a laugh about airplane-recline-style sleeping arrangements after discovering that our "or similar" rental car's back seats didn't fold flat as we were expecting from the online quoted car (we should write the company and inform them they were NOT that "similar") And microwave S'mores taste that much better when you didn't think you would get any at all once informed that nearly the whole country is 'protected national forest' so NO bonfires allowed. Then we got invited in on a game of darts with some of the local caravan folk (quite possibly genuine bogans) These are experiences that never get booked by any travel agent ;)

caravan park: outnumbering the tent & RV sites were these more
"permanent" "vacation homes"

There were a few downers about the trip however, 1: We didn't see kangaroos at Pebbly Beach like we were expecting. 2: we couldn't find a decent place for night-cap because some of these towns are so small that there may only be one option (and it may be already closed down early, just dead and empty, or the 'geriatric express' as one lady described our options. Come on. Sarah and I were scouting for local talent) 3: My surfboard didn't fit in (or on) the car. 4: The rest area that had signs for 'free coffee' was a total let-down! The place wasn't even a proper bathroom but a dark port-a-potty on a gravel turn-off. They must have to lie to get people to heed all the signs (posted every 5 miles) that say "STOP. REVIVE. SURVIVE." I guess they have a problem with bad drivers...?!?!

And the last (and obvious) disappointment was we woulda loved to have doubled the amount of time we had to see more and stay longer!!

Is it bad if I can't even remember what beach this is?!? Just another
beautiful stop on the coast

Sea Cliff Bridge. Supposedly
one of Australia's most photographed
locations

"Little BlowHole" at Kiama

Jervis Bay: voted Guiness Book World Record white sand beach
(we were the only ones there for hours!)

Beauty

Rolling Hills

A little town called Berry that felt like a step back in time to 1950s Pleasantville :)

ANZAC DAY

Australian New Zealand Army Corps Day was friday
It's a national holiday and it's a BIG deal! Starting out all I knew about it was that everyone gets the day off and that a gambling game called 2-Up is played at all the RSL (return service league) clubs.
It's the only day of the year that it's legal to play so I had to check it out!
So I made my way to the local 'Diggers' (referring to men digging ditches at war) where I queued up to show ID and sign in as a guest. I then proceeded to walk around the place and learn the ropes while trying to look as tho I'm not gawking and/or sticking out like a sore thumb. (aka- American girl with out a clue) all I could figure out was that you got a drink and then joined a crowd of people outside where there was yelling, money being waved around in the air and passed between people while the attention seemed focused at the center of the circle which had some undetermineable action taking place that resulted in cheers or booing and more money passing.

Wha?!?! I had the brilliant idea to scout out a handsome fellow (because there were plenty!) strike up a convo and get the inside scoop ;) But... I didn't! And then my friends showed up and taught me the ropes. This is what I learned:

The holiday is actually quite celebrated by everyone (with more than just a party) there are dawn services everywhere, a big parade in the city, singing, flags and everyone posts "lest we forget" etc. Even most of the servicemen will go to Europe for Anzac Day sometime in their life because it's a big deal. No matter how many times I had it repeated (and even spelled) for the life of me I couldn't understand the name of the place/battle (their equivalent of D-day or Pearl Harbor. It's european) I have found over three months that although Americans and Australians both speak English, it is NOT the same language! Anyways- apparently Mel Gibson is in a movie about it that I will have to watch. (Since then and for this blog I found this site http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac-tradition/ and learned is Gallipoli)
So back to 2-up now:
The game is basically a coin toss. In the center of the circle a "spinner" (even I had a go) flips three coins at once and 2 out of 3 showing heads/tails wins it. The spinner always bets on heads and they have to 'hit' three times in a row to make any money. But it is 8 times their initial entry because it doubles on itself with each toss. Basically- I saw some bets get up to $400+ But most people (everyone around the circle) plays with smaller bills and it is toss for toss you either double your money or bust. If you wanna play you just hold your money above your head and holler what you're betting "ten for tails"  or "tweny-ed" (which is Aussie short for "20 head") and then you find someone else around you who is playing with the same bills (it's helpful each denomination is a different color) with the opposite wager. Then the flip happens and there you go. Everyone once and while everyone breaks into a chant "heads, heads, heads" or some song  "Olay, Olay..." I don't know why they did that! Maybe it still sounds confusing. This description and pics really can't capture it at all. Could be one of those things you say "you just had to be there" So may I recommend you experiencing an ANZAC day for yourself some day :) So glad that I did- in the end, it was very enlightening, quite a bit of fun and a very Aussie thing to do

"what's it gonna be....?"

this is a random part of the program where people
throw coins at the bucket (fundraising for the club)

The scene I walked up on, having NO IDEA what was goin on

Baby Steps

So I've settled in a bit down here. I've got my place dialed in. I know the "lay of the land" I have a little routine: Church sunday night, small group on tuesday night (pronounced choose-day) catering friday and/or saturday, and for the last three weeks I've been working M-Th and for the last week- going out for a morning surf at 6:15. YIKES! Hard to believe, but it's true- I'm converting to a morning person.
I've found it's practically a requirement down here because there's no sense being a night owl and starting the day late because nothing is open! Gone are the days of going to a coffee shop at 7pm to do some computer work. Heck, even starting at 2:00 is late because some places start closing at 4:30. There's only one night a week that shops (the mall) are open later. Overall it reminds me of being in Haiti, or a small town (I guess I've fully acclimated to San Diego's way of things) On top of that, my surfing girl friends all rave about the wind here in the arvo (aka- afternoon) and just swear that surfing is better in the mornings and that's why we haul ourselves down to the beach at 7:30 on a Saturday morning for a girls group paddle out. Well. Fine! Be that way! But it's not going to work with my night-owl tendencies, so I told myself I'd better switch over to being the early-bird. I used to do it for the fishing boats, so I know it's possible, and believe me- I have to remind myself of that every morning still when the alarm goes off and it's dark outside. But I must admit, I've enjoyed it.
shhhh
I almost can't believe I'm saying it. But yeah, to have a surf then come home to shower, make breakfast, read my bible, pack a lunch, maybe even start dinner in the crock pot and get out the door in a non-rushed-putting-my-make-up-on-on-the-way sort of manner is quite amazing! Of course, it helped that work didn't start until 10:00, but still. The previous Sara would have slept until 9:00 :S I certainly haven't fully arrived yet, because on saturday and sunday when my body woke up too early for the day's requirements I wasn't happy about it and just rolled over because I couldn't convince myself to get up so early with "nothing to do" (I'm pretty sure that's not how true morning people think!)
I'm not sure how long this trend will last, but I'm gonna keep "having a go" because a friend of mine has committed to 40 Days of Surfing and I've been joining in (except that I'm sick right now so I've allowed extra rest) I did 8 days in a row, which is probably a record (another thing to be proud of!) and I can really feel the difference in my surfing. It's only obvious really. I would have never settled for shooting hoops once a week back in my basketball days. But surfing is weird. One, because it feels more like a hobby than a sport. And two, because you can't really just practice like you would with most other sports. The whole sequence can happen so fast from paddle, take off and ride, to fall and recover that there are times I get back in position to wait for another wave and think "what happened on the last one?!?" and that's another thing- waiting! you can't just pick up the ball and try again. You're waiting for the next 'good' wave which could be awhile, and even then that wave is probably quite different from the last one so it's not just a repeat the exact thing and get the muscle memorization working. Despite all of these drawbacks, I'm still rather "keen" for it (which is a very Australian thing to say and means different variations of "interested" I guess) And my 'stoke' is renewed because just these last two sessions I've started to walk up my board :o I'm not to the point of hanging ten, or even five yet, but someday!! So for now, just as it was with finding my way in Sydney- with circadian rhythms and with surfing- BABY STEPS

Navigating

If you've known me for a week you know that I struggle with timeliness. And if you've known me for two weeks you also know that I struggle with directions. Well I'm sure you can imagine how that mix suits me while trying to run my life on public transport in an area I still don't really know.... :(
Just tonight I've missed my 4th intended ferry. And it was nearly 5 except this morning I "ran for it"
I HATE that!!
Two times it was a miss by literally two minutes, grrrr!  and both times it's as if I'm surprised 😮 made me realize that my normal-life mentality must be "if I'm in the general area within a couple minutes then I'm still on time" obviously that won't work with A BOAT!! (Tho let me proudly point out that in my five years working  on the fishing boat in San Diego I NEVER  missed the boat! Even the Captain can't say that!!! Anyways) thankfully in these moments there is sometimes an acceptable plan B which involves shelling out a few more bucks to take the "fast ferry" which in an ideal world is on a staggered schedule from the normal ferry. (It's not always ideal)
I have a "member card" with them now :S
I would like to point out that this is not always 100% my fault (well it is. But there was justification in my mind) Sydney has a fairly decent iphone app that allows you to track the time of departures for all public transport. Well. Last night after working in the city I met up with a girlfriend for a glass of wine and when that turned into another place with a live band and some dancing I said "why not?!? I can catch the last ferry home @ 12:20" But when I rolled up to the warf- no ferry! Last one on weekdays is 11:45. AH! Don't trust technology!
Sooo, the friendly gentlemen there calmly advises me to get the bus from Wyndham. As if I know where that is!! Come on trusty google maps- please guide my steps to get me to this bus (an hr ride opposed to 30 min on the ferry) before I miss even that and am stuck with a taxi bill. And that leads me to part B of this blog- buses
Allow me to summarize:
Just picture me with my phone glued to my hand, head bobbing up and down between trying to find myself as a little blue dot on a maps screen and street signs/bus stands (or lack there of) with a lot of circle walking and backtracking
Nightmare!! What more is there to say other than I miss my old truck and "auto pilot" driving

These days

Old days

Everyday I'm hustling

And that means the ole job hunt. There's not much more in life that I hate more (except maybe getting my fresh white-tee dirty in the first 5 minutes it's on) this process has 2 phases worthy of dread:
1) update your resume to sound like an amazing-you that has generic (without sounding generic) statements to qualify you for any and everything.
1a) make multiple versions of this (ie: serving, admin, personal assistant, and general) because let's be honest- it can't be THAT generic and we all know I have an assortment of past employment to reference. Ha!!
Oh yeah and finally 1b) send this out to a billion different ads from online (with a customized (yet so boring) cover letter EACH time keep in mind) to put your name on a list somewhere for a job (or a scam*) that you don't even know if you want, and will probably not call me back until I already am hired somewhere else!
And 2) humble yourself to door knocking at every business in town: asking if they're hiring, being told no, leaving your "CV" anyway...
Or being told "yes" or "maybe" and then talking with a manager briefly (which silly as it sounds I was rusty for that too! "what are my strengths as a server?" uh... "the people" what was that?!? FAIL)
Or maybe if you're really lucky you'll get asked on the spot to do a "trial" (by fire it must be short for)
This happened to me at the 2nd cafe that I walked into.
-Have I mentioned how serious they take their coffee down here?!? If you think the States (or San Diego) is overrun with Starbucks... There are literally 5 coffee shop/cafes in a block here. So it's not about crank it out commercialized style. It's about the roast and the pour (I guess. I'm not a coffee drinker at ALL)
so let's resume: Me- "Are you guys hiring?" Guy- "You wanna come around the bar and make a couple drinks right now?" My Inner Voice- "NO" but what comes out of Me- "sure"
At this point I'm totally faking it (and sweating) because it's been three years since I've frothed any milk or pulled espresso shots, and even then it was very casual (I pretty much taught myself) so in case you haven't guessed yet- I bombed it :( LOL one cappuccino and one latte: I poured them out of order, the capp was too wet (let's forget about coffee art!) and the latte came out as what he called a "flat white"
He kindly gave me a second go with the milk (he did the shots) and this time I was flustered and turned the frother more on when I was going for off! and burned it. He showed me the proper pour, had a small teachable moment (which was nice), shook my hand and said "better luck at the next place" MIV- "next place ha- I'm not doing that again!! Where's the opportunity for on-the-job-training?!?"
Needless to say, when a restaurant told me they mainly need bartenders and would like me to do a trial on sunday my excitement over a job prospect is rather dampened by the reality of my inexperience behind a bar :S
to be continued..................

*

sure, I'll just get a western union account!

I've found the fountain of youth

Really! And it's just across the street.
Yup. Today I felt like I was 15 all over again by strapping in on the right side (but the wrong side) of a car and then driving down the left side of the street. Oh buddy, did all those anxious nerves and excitement come flooding back with the fear and freedom of driving.
         Now, I've been in training for this occasion from the very moment I set foot in this town and constantly found myself on the wrong side of the crowds on the sidewalk. And that led to the very difficult effort of looking to the right before the left (the urge to "just glance" still lingers) when crossing the street. The next phase was biking: I was on the road with traffic, navigating turns etc. and admittedly felt pretty confident about my adjustment. But getting behind the wheel was a whole different story! And it came about a lot sooner than I was anticipating. It was definitely for good reason- I got a place to live- so getting my luggage, surfboard, bike, and a bed (from Australia's craigslist= gumtree) was NOT an option for the train and ferry combo required on public transport.      
      So my plan was to go down to the Hertz and hire-aka rent-an SUV by the hour and count on my American Express extra-insurance-coverage-for-rentals if things went bad :S Then my gracious host, Eric, offered his green machine (a Mitsubishi wagon) AND a short training ride-along. So I'm grateful, but also nervous (no amex cushion). We took off on a short 10 minute trip and more than once did I hear Eric say "whoa" under his breath. So what if I was hugging the curb a bit (and all the parked cars there) isn't that still better than charging over the centerline into oncoming traffic!?!?! Ha.
and apparently the Aussies are even relaxed in their driving, because as I pulled up behind a car at a red light in an appropriate San Diego fashion/distance Eric gave another "whoa: that's too close!" All in all, I did fine until he expected me to parallel park at our destination. that was a mess!! I didn't even know which mirrors to use or how to crank the wheel or anything- it was quite ridiculous and I abandoned the effort when  the car was still only halfway in the spot, about 1.5m from the curb.
           After that Eric set me up with TomTom and sent me off on my merry (and tense way) It was about an hour drive with busier roads, tolls, tunnels, freeway, bridges, construction zones: the whole bit. I think it was also a drive with some scenic views but because of the aforementioned items I didn't really get to take much notice. I arrived safely, with a slightly stiff neck and am proud to report that I did it (and the return trip) without anyone honking, flipping the bird, or having to slam on their brakes. (Well, truth be told- that last point may be false, I only had a glance in the rearview mirror so I can't be sure but I didn't hear the brakes or see smoke so let's just say it didn't happen)
So now I'm in my new room at my new place with a bed frame and nothing else. I once again considered hiring a car for my furniture and mattress pick-ups. When I called the local ute place (aussies term short for utility vehicle) she informed me it's a manual transmission truck. And I thought, I'm not yet ready to drink from that fountain again....

Old school pumps. $60 for half a tank ($/liter) EVERYTHINGS different