Stumbleina

Traumas, Tribulations, Travels and Tomfoolery Down Under

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Temping: The Agony and the Exctasy (but mostly the agony)

Its back to reality in Sydney now while I earn some pennies so I can go and see Ellen and meet Sarah again in Melbourne. Temping is a good way to earn fast bucks without demeaning myself to a scummy cafe or whatever.

It is-however-a corporate minefield. You are the shit on the office shoe sole. For a start you're dealing with someone who is already annoyed with the person you're replacing as they've probably a) rang in with a hangover b)are on some swanky holiday or c) have been sacked for nicking money/sleeping with the boss/delete as (in)appropraite. You get forgotten, you get ignored, you get expected to pick up a complicated job in 5 minutes, you get shafted for tax and you never know to expect.

On the plus side you meet loads of people, get to know the city you're working in, if a job is rubbish its over before you know it, you get to read peoples emails (haha!)and you can get away with allsorts cos you don't actually work there.

Case Study: Good Job
I was working at a propher glam media company for a while. I got to hear loads of scandel with all the B-List Celebs they work with and the phone system was really sophisticated and took no effort. Everyone was nice and funny and told me the best places to go in Sydney. I had internet access and a view of the park. It was sweet.

Case Study: Testing Job
At the moment I'm working in a sodding Old Folks home full of absolute nutters-old people who talk to flowers, move at 2 miles an hour on frames and delight in telling you their life stories. The actual job as a receptionist is straigh forward-what is difficult is placating the old bids who love complaining about just about anything from the food (i don't blame thme it looks ming) to having their teeth stolen in the night (!?)
The scariest thing is this is a low care home...high care homes must be like an asylum on crack.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

its an obsession


DSC02609
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

more aus pori!


aus pori!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Aussie Pori!


DSC02610
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Kat on...




Backpacker Culture

When i was in Sydney i didn't feel like a backpacker at all-and quickly learned from my normal freinds that backpackers generally had a reputation for being;
a) stinky
b) promiscuous
c) lairy/tarty and, unfortunately
d) theives!

This didnt really seem like a world i wanted to enter...however upon me and Sarahbelle arriving in Cairns, i have embraced the backpacking life with both hands and feet-and i love it! I've come to learn that it basically means being a drifter, an open minded person with no real life plans apart from enjoying yourself which is pretty damn cool in my book...everyone has interesting experiences they want to share with you, noone is judgemental and , vitally, everyone is up for a bloody good time. yeah there are the idiots who think they're on an 18-30s holiday in Faleraki but they're a minority. Me and S have been enjoying our hostel so much that we havent even been out on the town in Cairns-the party is just outside our dorm door!
As well as the drinking and bonding with a fab crowd, we have
~cycled about 20klms to the nearby botanical gardens (gorgeus!) and northern beaches
~explored the rainforest and waterfalls at kurunda (we got soaked in the rain but it was worth it!)
~chilled at the local lagoon where i learned how to swim properly and not like a old dog trying its best
~i found a job at the night markets
~sarah went diving in the reef

Yes, being a boho traveller and living out of you rucksack is mint (mine is hideously 80s in green, pink and yellow-love it!) the only downside is that i must be an official girl beacuse i miss my boyfreind. How lame am i? Answers on a postcard

Thursday, October 12, 2006

Living la vida loca in Cairns


We have arrived in our second location on this haphazard whirlwind tour-Cairns. Seasidy and touristy-like Blackpool but with Crocodiles and good sanitation. The people at the hostel are wicked (esp the people from northern Britian-i feel at home-woo!) and theres plenty to keep us busy-surrounding rainforest, hikes, the reef, bbqs, 2 hour drining sessions....you get the idea. ^_^

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

sarahs first day in aus!


sarahs first day in aus!
Originally uploaded by NekkoChan.

Kat and Sarah's STD Tour of Australia...

...is about to commence! (and STD stands for Super Tremendous Debauchary don't you know. haha)
Sarah arrived today and I suddenly feel like I'm on holiday rather than living and working in Sydney. We're staying in Kings Cross at the moment-a kind of seedy but fun boho area and will fly to Cairns next week. In the meantime I"m going to try to show Sarah "my" Sydney and give a goodbye for now to all the fab people people and places that have made the last few weeks amazing...I'll be back! ^_^