Our first Halloween in Sydney. I say "first", coz I'm starting to entertain the possibility of staying longer than the initial 1 year visa. This will involve 3 months working in the outback pickign fruit or working on a farm, so its not nice work, but its compulsory so....
Anyway, it was halloween last night. Australians love dressing up so everyone around town was up for it and dressed up in all sorts of cool and funky costumes. AnneMarie was dressed up as a bumble bee, and I was dressed up as a musketeer. AnneMarie bought her costume in a costume shop in Newtown, but I just got random bits around Woolworths and K-Mart and when I put them together, I closely resembled a musketerr, so I figured "Hey, I may as well go with it!".
Everyone in the terraces was dressed up. We started off at a house party in one of the houses and went out into Sydney City afterwards. I met up with an old friend of mine from school and his little brother. It was good fun. The rest of the Terraces ended up in there too so there was a lot of us there.
Ater,we went home and had a few beers in the house. Waing up this morning was a killer. I dunno what it is about Austalia, but the hangovers are a LOT worse than Ireland!!! :D
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The Sydney Terraces
So, we've been living in Sydney about a month. The Terraces are great craic.
We've gotten to know the lads from number 17. When we moved here first, there was 2 girls who were moving home. They were absolutely mad! Drinking all the time. It was some laugh. They used to come down to our house and offer me drink to ply guitar up at their house party, which I duly obliged! :D
But unfortunately, they left after about 2 weeks. We've still been going up to number 17 anyway to the boys. They're some drinkers! The whole area is full of alcos, but 17 is the main party house on the street. There doesn't seem to be any rules! Walls do be kicked in, ceilings do be punched through, doors knocked off their hinges. It's a great laugh!
We're getting to know the area well enough now and have started venturing up to Newtown to a couple of the bars. The place is full of lesbians and brothels! What more can you want!
We've gotten to know the lads from number 17. When we moved here first, there was 2 girls who were moving home. They were absolutely mad! Drinking all the time. It was some laugh. They used to come down to our house and offer me drink to ply guitar up at their house party, which I duly obliged! :D
But unfortunately, they left after about 2 weeks. We've still been going up to number 17 anyway to the boys. They're some drinkers! The whole area is full of alcos, but 17 is the main party house on the street. There doesn't seem to be any rules! Walls do be kicked in, ceilings do be punched through, doors knocked off their hinges. It's a great laugh!
We're getting to know the area well enough now and have started venturing up to Newtown to a couple of the bars. The place is full of lesbians and brothels! What more can you want!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Rabobank
So, I started my new job today. I am working for Rabobank in Daring Park Tower, beside Darling Harbour.
The job is an IT helpdesk job. This means I sit at my desk taking calls all day from people having problems with their computers. The majority of the calls come from rural areas, but we also get a lot of calls from people in the building. This can break the monotomy of sitting down all day as you can walk down and fix the problem in person. I've done helpdesk jobs before and the main thing I hated about it was tht you sat down all day on your ass. At least this job I can walk around a bit.
The building is nice. It's part of Darling Park Tower, with Price Waterhouse Cooper, and IBM. I think Google has an office in there somewhere too. I'm on the 17th floor so I can see everywhere in the city. I'm also overlooking the Maritime museum in Cockle Bay Wharf, so I can see a warship and a submarine semi-submerged in the bay from out my window. The kitchen also has a big plasma telly with all the Foxtel channels, which is nice for watching premiership highlights. I've still yet to see a full 90 minutes of soccer since I left Ireland! I doubt I'll get to see any in work, but at least I might get to see more highlights.
The people are nice too. My boss is Irish, from Kilkenny and there's a few other Irish people floating around the office. Should be good for the free office beers after work every Friday! :D
The job is an IT helpdesk job. This means I sit at my desk taking calls all day from people having problems with their computers. The majority of the calls come from rural areas, but we also get a lot of calls from people in the building. This can break the monotomy of sitting down all day as you can walk down and fix the problem in person. I've done helpdesk jobs before and the main thing I hated about it was tht you sat down all day on your ass. At least this job I can walk around a bit.
The building is nice. It's part of Darling Park Tower, with Price Waterhouse Cooper, and IBM. I think Google has an office in there somewhere too. I'm on the 17th floor so I can see everywhere in the city. I'm also overlooking the Maritime museum in Cockle Bay Wharf, so I can see a warship and a submarine semi-submerged in the bay from out my window. The kitchen also has a big plasma telly with all the Foxtel channels, which is nice for watching premiership highlights. I've still yet to see a full 90 minutes of soccer since I left Ireland! I doubt I'll get to see any in work, but at least I might get to see more highlights.
The people are nice too. My boss is Irish, from Kilkenny and there's a few other Irish people floating around the office. Should be good for the free office beers after work every Friday! :D
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
I got a job!
I finally got a job!
I went for an interview with Transfield for the HelpDesk role, but didn't think it went that well, so the girl from the agency arranged to meet with me face to face and work on my interview skills after my other interview for Rabobank. So after the Rabo interview, I came down the lift, walked out of the building, walked up the street towards the agency and 2 minutes later I got a call offering me the Rabobank job that I had just interviewed for!
Apparently, straight after the interview my new boss phoned the other agency and said straight away that I have the job. They tried calling me back to tell me but couldn't get through to me. I later figured out this was because there was no phone coverage in the lift! So then he phoned me back 2 minutes later when I was outside informing me of my new job! Brilliant!
I start next Wednesday (15th) :D
I went for an interview with Transfield for the HelpDesk role, but didn't think it went that well, so the girl from the agency arranged to meet with me face to face and work on my interview skills after my other interview for Rabobank. So after the Rabo interview, I came down the lift, walked out of the building, walked up the street towards the agency and 2 minutes later I got a call offering me the Rabobank job that I had just interviewed for!
Apparently, straight after the interview my new boss phoned the other agency and said straight away that I have the job. They tried calling me back to tell me but couldn't get through to me. I later figured out this was because there was no phone coverage in the lift! So then he phoned me back 2 minutes later when I was outside informing me of my new job! Brilliant!
I start next Wednesday (15th) :D
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs...not!
So, I still haven't got a job yet.
I've had a few rejections and some people saying they won't hire me because I'm a backpacker and only on a holiday visa, and they're looking for someone more long term. Pain in the ass.
I have a couple of more interviews coming up this week so hopefully something comes up.
The first one is with Transfield in Sydney for a HelpDesk role, and the 2nd is for RaboBank in Darling Park for a desktop role. I'm hoping for that one. Its more money, and basically a better job. I've done enough of sitting on my ass answering phones so at least in that job I wont be confined to my chair.
Lets see how things go...
I've had a few rejections and some people saying they won't hire me because I'm a backpacker and only on a holiday visa, and they're looking for someone more long term. Pain in the ass.
I have a couple of more interviews coming up this week so hopefully something comes up.
The first one is with Transfield in Sydney for a HelpDesk role, and the 2nd is for RaboBank in Darling Park for a desktop role. I'm hoping for that one. Its more money, and basically a better job. I've done enough of sitting on my ass answering phones so at least in that job I wont be confined to my chair.
Lets see how things go...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Getting a job in Sydney
We're starting to get really low on cash at the moment. I would have been broke a couple of weeks ago if it wasn't for Anne-Marie coming over with her life savigns to blow on me! :D
So, to remedy this lack of disposable cash, we've been forced to get one of those "job" things. You know them things that force you to get up early and pay attention and exert effort into what you'r edoing? Yeah, well we've all had to try get one of those.
I've been applying online to a number of job websites here in Sydney. I've applied mainly to IT jopbs, but if I can't get an IT job, I may be forced to look elsewhere, like in a pub or restaurant or supermarket. Hopefully I'll get an IT role though. If not, I'll then also need to get an RSA (Responsible Supply of Alcohol) card. These cost about 60 dollars and you've to sit through 4 hours of powerpoint presentations to get it, and nobody will hire you without one. Not officially anyway! :p
So, to remedy this lack of disposable cash, we've been forced to get one of those "job" things. You know them things that force you to get up early and pay attention and exert effort into what you'r edoing? Yeah, well we've all had to try get one of those.
I've been applying online to a number of job websites here in Sydney. I've applied mainly to IT jopbs, but if I can't get an IT job, I may be forced to look elsewhere, like in a pub or restaurant or supermarket. Hopefully I'll get an IT role though. If not, I'll then also need to get an RSA (Responsible Supply of Alcohol) card. These cost about 60 dollars and you've to sit through 4 hours of powerpoint presentations to get it, and nobody will hire you without one. Not officially anyway! :p
Saturday, September 20, 2008
First week in Sydney
So we've settled into our new house. Myself and Anne-Marie are in number 25 on the street, Ciara and Donna are in number 24, and Dave and Nikki are in 25. Christy is still floating about somewhere. There was no more free rooms on the street so he's staying the hostel down the street, which is owned by the same people. When I say he' staying there, I mean he was told he has a room there, but he's still actually sleeping out of the back of the van! We still have them for another 2 weeks so he's fine. Although, the guys in the office told us that another room in number 24 will be empty next week, and the other room will also have 1 bed so myself and Anne-Marie will move into the room with 2 beds, and Christy can share with the guy thats in the other room. Sorted! :D
I'm starting to get used to this place now. We live right beside the bus stop where we can get a bus right into the centre of the city. We went in to see the Opera House. I felt like such a tourist! But it was good. After seeing the opera house on Tv from the opposite side of the world, it was good to finally be here in person! From the opera house, you had agreat view across the river and of the harbour bridge. Yuo can actually do a walk across the harbour bridge, but it takes 3 hours and theres no toilet break! Haha, that might put us off doing it, but it'd still be fun to do it! We'll see how we get on in the future.
So, now we're settled, we need to figure out how to get ourselves a job! To the jobsites I go....
I'm starting to get used to this place now. We live right beside the bus stop where we can get a bus right into the centre of the city. We went in to see the Opera House. I felt like such a tourist! But it was good. After seeing the opera house on Tv from the opposite side of the world, it was good to finally be here in person! From the opera house, you had agreat view across the river and of the harbour bridge. Yuo can actually do a walk across the harbour bridge, but it takes 3 hours and theres no toilet break! Haha, that might put us off doing it, but it'd still be fun to do it! We'll see how we get on in the future.
So, now we're settled, we need to figure out how to get ourselves a job! To the jobsites I go....
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Sydney - Bout frickin time!!
Haha about frickin time is right! While I absolutely loved travelling down the east coast, I longed for a bed that wasn't in the back of a van! And with AnneMarie over, I doubt we'd fit in the back of the van with Christy!!
We got a house in the Sydney Terraces. A row of 10 houses, and a few more around the corner, that were inhabited solely by Irish backpackers/alcoholics! Rent is $145 a week. Its a decent enough place. Has all the mod cons you need. TV, Oven, filthy microwave, washing machine, dryer :D.
I reckon the reason it was a party street was coz there's literally nothing else to do in the area. Theres a small shopping centre, 2 pubs, and thats it. Theres a small town a few minutes walk up the road called Newtown. This has a few nightclubs. It has a huge gay scene. Lesbians everywhere! This would've been so good if they were good lookin....but they weren't, unfortunately!! :p
The place seems cool though. There's a communal grass area out the back with a BBQ. Really nice.
Oh, and the houses are directly under a flight path, and it near the airport, so the planes get pretty low over our heads, especially when the Airbus A380 flies a few metres over the house!! They start at 6:30am and stop at 11:30pm. Handy for whe nya wanna get up early, but not so handy when ya've been up early and want sleep before 11pm! :p
We'll see how it goes. First port of call....getting a job!
We got a house in the Sydney Terraces. A row of 10 houses, and a few more around the corner, that were inhabited solely by Irish backpackers/alcoholics! Rent is $145 a week. Its a decent enough place. Has all the mod cons you need. TV, Oven, filthy microwave, washing machine, dryer :D.
I reckon the reason it was a party street was coz there's literally nothing else to do in the area. Theres a small shopping centre, 2 pubs, and thats it. Theres a small town a few minutes walk up the road called Newtown. This has a few nightclubs. It has a huge gay scene. Lesbians everywhere! This would've been so good if they were good lookin....but they weren't, unfortunately!! :p
The place seems cool though. There's a communal grass area out the back with a BBQ. Really nice.
Oh, and the houses are directly under a flight path, and it near the airport, so the planes get pretty low over our heads, especially when the Airbus A380 flies a few metres over the house!! They start at 6:30am and stop at 11:30pm. Handy for whe nya wanna get up early, but not so handy when ya've been up early and want sleep before 11pm! :p
We'll see how it goes. First port of call....getting a job!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Coffs Harbour
The next stop long the line was a small little town called Coffs Harbour. It is situated halfway between Brisbane and Sydney. Its a nice place, with a small enough population.We arrived here out of a need for somewhere to stay. It was getting late so we needed to set up camp at the next place we came to on the highway. What we found was a pleasant surprise! Its these small towns that are the highlight of travelling the east coast.
Theres pretty much one main road in Coffs Harbour. Everything stems from this road. We drove in on this road and went looking for a caravan park. We asked directions in a garage and we got given 2 options. We could pay for the nice caravan park down by the water, or we could park up by the forest up the hill for free. Needless to say, as we are free and easy backpackers, we chose....the caravan park with its nice electricity, TV room and all mod cons!! Haha, you'd hardly expect us to live without electricity for a night???
So we checked into the caravan park anyway. Got settled, and went to explore the place. As it turned out, we ended up exactly where the guy in the garage said we could stay for free. It was up in a kind of viewing area that you can park in, then walk through the forest only to come out the far side at a really nice secluded beach. We went into the forest and thought we were lost, until we met an old woman walking through the forest alone. She told us the beach was only a few minutes walk further down through the forest. She was right. A few minutes later, the forest opened up onto this gorgeous private beach. There was only maybe 10 people on it, including the 6 of us, and it stretched for about a kilometre. We had a dip, got a bit of sun, and headed back through the forest to our vans, still parked back up the far side of the hill.
It was getting late and the light was starting to fade. Throughout our journey, we have always kept an ear out for any dangerous wild animals lurking in the bushes beside our vans. A few times we've heard things, including up in Port Douglas when we had the infamous Crocodile incident, mistaking water for a crocodile, only to see Christy dive into the van, pushing the girls out of the way to get there! So Coffs Harbour was no different. As we were finishing up, we heard some rustling in the bushes. Not big enough to be human, but still big enough to be dangerous. We listened on as it got louder and louder, closer and closer. Noises sound a lot scarier when you're in a strange country, where nearly everything is either poisonous, or dangerous to humans, and you haven't a clue how to tell the difference.
The noise got closer. We still had no clue what it was, only that it was big! We got the torches out. We even tried throwing stuff into the trees to either scare it off, or flush it out so we could see what it was. Everything went quiet. Did we scare it away? Did we kill it with out leftover ham sandwiches? Neither! The noise returned, this time only a few metres away in the bushes. After a few more seconds everthing became clear. As the noise veered towards an opening in the bushes, we saw a figure. It was about6 foot tall, and definately not human. As it came out behind the bushes, we saw standing in front of us, a 6 foot odd tall......bird!! Yes, it was an emu or an ostrich, or cassaworie or something like that. It was cool to see such a creature in the wild, but still an anti-climax that it wasn't a vicious croc, or massive snake or something cool and dangerous that could have killed us!! Ah well, maybe next time!
We returned for the night to the caravan park, and the next morning, we would go our separate ways. AnneMaries flight landed in a few days, and I needed to get back to Brisbane to meet her at the airport. About midday, I was dropped off at the train station, and they all headed on to Sydney.
The train didn't actually leave until after 3pm, so I had a few hours to kill. I decided to explore the town, and I found a nice nature reserve over by the sea. It was a steep climb with my bag on my back, but I made it. Theres a viewing area on the far side that I sat for a while. I managed to spot several schools of dolphins, which was amazing, as well as seeing a hump back whale off in the distance. I had seen both dolphins and whales before, but never from such a vantage point. Definately one of the highlights of my trip!
I went for a bit more exploring, had some food, then caught the train to Brisbane. My brother said he'd meet me off it so I had a point of contact once I got to Brisbane.
Theres pretty much one main road in Coffs Harbour. Everything stems from this road. We drove in on this road and went looking for a caravan park. We asked directions in a garage and we got given 2 options. We could pay for the nice caravan park down by the water, or we could park up by the forest up the hill for free. Needless to say, as we are free and easy backpackers, we chose....the caravan park with its nice electricity, TV room and all mod cons!! Haha, you'd hardly expect us to live without electricity for a night???
So we checked into the caravan park anyway. Got settled, and went to explore the place. As it turned out, we ended up exactly where the guy in the garage said we could stay for free. It was up in a kind of viewing area that you can park in, then walk through the forest only to come out the far side at a really nice secluded beach. We went into the forest and thought we were lost, until we met an old woman walking through the forest alone. She told us the beach was only a few minutes walk further down through the forest. She was right. A few minutes later, the forest opened up onto this gorgeous private beach. There was only maybe 10 people on it, including the 6 of us, and it stretched for about a kilometre. We had a dip, got a bit of sun, and headed back through the forest to our vans, still parked back up the far side of the hill.
It was getting late and the light was starting to fade. Throughout our journey, we have always kept an ear out for any dangerous wild animals lurking in the bushes beside our vans. A few times we've heard things, including up in Port Douglas when we had the infamous Crocodile incident, mistaking water for a crocodile, only to see Christy dive into the van, pushing the girls out of the way to get there! So Coffs Harbour was no different. As we were finishing up, we heard some rustling in the bushes. Not big enough to be human, but still big enough to be dangerous. We listened on as it got louder and louder, closer and closer. Noises sound a lot scarier when you're in a strange country, where nearly everything is either poisonous, or dangerous to humans, and you haven't a clue how to tell the difference.
The noise got closer. We still had no clue what it was, only that it was big! We got the torches out. We even tried throwing stuff into the trees to either scare it off, or flush it out so we could see what it was. Everything went quiet. Did we scare it away? Did we kill it with out leftover ham sandwiches? Neither! The noise returned, this time only a few metres away in the bushes. After a few more seconds everthing became clear. As the noise veered towards an opening in the bushes, we saw a figure. It was about6 foot tall, and definately not human. As it came out behind the bushes, we saw standing in front of us, a 6 foot odd tall......bird!! Yes, it was an emu or an ostrich, or cassaworie or something like that. It was cool to see such a creature in the wild, but still an anti-climax that it wasn't a vicious croc, or massive snake or something cool and dangerous that could have killed us!! Ah well, maybe next time!
We returned for the night to the caravan park, and the next morning, we would go our separate ways. AnneMaries flight landed in a few days, and I needed to get back to Brisbane to meet her at the airport. About midday, I was dropped off at the train station, and they all headed on to Sydney.
The train didn't actually leave until after 3pm, so I had a few hours to kill. I decided to explore the town, and I found a nice nature reserve over by the sea. It was a steep climb with my bag on my back, but I made it. Theres a viewing area on the far side that I sat for a while. I managed to spot several schools of dolphins, which was amazing, as well as seeing a hump back whale off in the distance. I had seen both dolphins and whales before, but never from such a vantage point. Definately one of the highlights of my trip!
I went for a bit more exploring, had some food, then caught the train to Brisbane. My brother said he'd meet me off it so I had a point of contact once I got to Brisbane.
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