Last days

So it is my last day in Brisbane and I will be flying home in less home two weeks. The feeling is bitter sweet.  At one end I'm going home to see my friends and family that I have been away from for so long. On the other hand I'm leaving a place filled with some of the most kind and friendly people I have met in all of Australia.  

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to stay in XBase Central, because the room smelled weird, there was a loud party every night and on top of that, I was the new guy who didn't know anything.  But the people there made each of these annoyances seem small one after another.  I grew used to the odd smell that only 4 guys in a cramped room can produce.  When the party was too loud I would go down to the tv room where there was always someone to talk to.  And the longer I was there the less I was the new guy.  In fact I became the most experienced dishwasher for a time.  I felt like I was the tallest of the midgets.  

But now like all good things, my time here must come to an end. Workers of XBase Central Brisbane, you will be sorely missed.  

Just because it is legal doesn't make it okay.

So I made an Australian friend who is my age (I was 18 at the time).  Shawn seemed like a pretty cool dude.  We got along pretty well and I decided to hang with him at the bar.  As the night wore on and the females came in I noticed him noticing a girl.  She looked older but not too much older for someone our age.  After he got to talking to them I did my best to be a wing man; as he hit on this girl I chatted up her friend.  Later when we were all talking we found out that she was 31.  I was shocked but I did my rest not to let on.  The group conversation continued and I watched his built relationship with her slowly deteriorate.  Then the conversation turned in to a debate wether it was okay for "Someone our age to sleep with someone your age".  It was his last and most desperate attempt to get into this girls pants who he'd been talking to all night.  I would have stopped him and saved him the embarrassment of being not only being shot down but also told off, but I sat back and enjoyed the show.  The conversation reached a climax when Shawn said

"Well, it's not against the law or anything"

And she harshly retorted

"Just because it is legal doesn't mean it's okay!" 

Since then he has left the Brisbane hostel I am staying at and moved on.  And from all of this I learned one very important lesson; I am a bad wingman.  

Sunset

Just wanted to share the sunset of Brisbane.  

18,000 km

So I have recently moved hostel from the Base Uptown in Brisbane to the Base Central.  They are about 3 city blocks away from each other so it wasn't that hard of a move.  I am now staying in a work for accommodation room. 

Work for accomm. rooms are always hard to move in to, because your roommates who could have been living here for a week or a month or 6 months get comfortable and start laying there stuff everywhere.  So not only are you shockingly walking into the aftermath of something that was once liveable, you also have to find your own space for your own stuff.  It is my second day here and I am already getting adapted to what this room is.  

Anyway this story isn't (supposed to be) about me.  It is about my new bunkmate right below me. Just today he bumped in to his friends from home.  Now this would be something that would be common if "Home" was here in Brisbane, but his home is not here in Brisbane.  His home is 18 THOUSAND kilometres away in a small town in the UK.  Apparently he hasn't seen these guys for two years and then just today he bumped into them.  His two friends who used to live less then a few kilometres apart are now sharing a flat here in Brisbane. 

You Must Be This Experienced To Work

I find myself surrounded by jobs that refuse to hire me because of my lack of experience.  I mostly hear "You need more experience" or "We are looking for someone a bit more skilled" or "We can't afford the time to train you".  The fact is that there are jobs in hospitality, retail and cafes.  Jobs that you just pick up and do.  Training should take about 2 days to 2 week at the absolute most.  It took me  days to learn my dishie job.  I think the hardest part of having a new job is getting adjusted to the schedule and that isn't even that hard.  Well I have heard one thing over and over again from multiple backpackers and kind people giving advice; Lie.

Well I don't have too many qualms with lying but there is a certain amount of lying that I can't do.  I can lie on resumes about as much as I can back up.  I wish I could back it up a bit more but I just can't.  Say I were to say that I have experience making coffees, they would expect me to get there the first day on the job and know how to work a contraption that I have never seen before.  Well I have tried that with the one job I got a response from.  Did not work out.  That said, I did my best to follow though and contact the owner (who I never met) who offered me the job in the first place.

I am not the only one going though this.  Many backpackers I have talked to agree that not only is it not easy to get a job but the place looking for work have an extremely high standards when it comes to qualification.  I have also been told that many places treat backpackers poorly.  Either you get paid poorly or you get treated poorly.  I'm honestly fine with both of those things as long as I am getting paid.  That is my goal right now; Get a job, get paid.

Brisbane

I haven't really been up to much lately in this big small city. Mostly I just have been handing out job applications and talking to people about my job searches.  Other than that I have been taking care of myself as best as I can on the smallest amount of money as possible.  It's not so exciting or eventful but with that said I am enjoying Brisbane.  The city has a sort of "Getting started" feeling.  Like it is a city in its beginning, if that makes any sense. It's culture is in many ways the same.  There is much eastern Asian culture as well as British and German culture.  I talked to an Aussie about this and they agreed.  "Pretty much everyone in Australia is at least 3rd generation Australian".  Well I'm not sure how valid that was (she was a bit tipsy) but none the less, it does show how young this country is.  

Green Peace

So I was finishing my rout of handing out job applications yesterday and there were a few people walking around the sidewalk talking to people.  By the amount of green on their shirt and the way one of them was sheepishly trying to talk tot people I assumed that they were Green Peace.  I went up to the girl who seemed distressed due to the job which obviously did not fit her and just talked to her for a bit.  Her affable counterpart came up to us and told her to keep trying while he talks to me.

We talked for a bit.  I explained that I was looking for a job and after he asked "What are you passionate about" I responded with "Technical theater"
"Well I hate everything theater related.  Tell me what's so great about theater"
I then passionately spilled all of my knowledge and feeling about why theater is great and when I was done he said "Well actually I'm an actor, I was gunnu be a hippie but then I decided to be an actor.  I was lying to you before.  I think I have a job for you doing what we're doing if you are interested.  If you are I think you will be good at it"
This took me a little off guard.  I thought I was just talking to someone.  I kind of got the hint that there was a job involved when he told me that he hated theater.  But not only did he just offer me a job (which I'm typically used to asking for) but he said that I would be good at it.  "Why would I be good at this job?" I stupidly asked.  I saw the hippie in him come out a bit when he told me "It's all in the eyes man, I can see it in your eyes"

It is now the next day.  I am kind of expecting a call but I will beat them to it.  He also mentioned that they were short on people so I am going to apply on their website for a position in Brisbane to up the odds.

50+

Handing out job applications isn't easy.  Especially if you have to walk to each location and seem energetic and dedicated every time you hand your summarized life to someone.  Yesterday (I looked it up today on Google Maps) I walked more than 50 miles from place to place handing out resumes and getting lost in the city.  Getting back to the hostel I just passed out on my bed and took off my shoes.
A funny thing happened when I was handing out my last resume that day.  Just before I decided it was time to head back, I was in "The Valley" (which is actually called Fortitude Valley) and I handed my resume to a guy behind the counter at a Mexican themed restaurant.  Looking at my resume he got a curious look on his face.  "Oak Park... is that anywhere near Forest Park?"  and he followed that up with "What did I say?".  I was finding it hard to answer as I was busy picking up my jaw from the floor.  "Yes" I managed "The OPRFHS is actually Oak Park River Forest High School.  Oak Park and River Forest are right next to each other.  How did you know?",  he said "It seemed familiar, I have a friend from Forest Park and he talks about his home a lot".  I was a little too flabbergasted to cope with all this so I politely thanked him for considering me for the job and got out of there.  I had to get a little air so I found my way to a stoplight. Leaning myself against it I took a hot second to take a breath.
I curse myself now for not getting the guys name but now I know one thing is for sure.  I will head back to Fortitude Valley and continue that conversation... tomorrow.  Today I will rest a bit more.

Brisbane

So I have been in Brisbane for about a week and a half now and I am really enjoying it.  When I have talked to other backpackers about Brisbane, most of them spoke ill of it saying that there weren't that many clubs or there was no beach to surf on or hang out at.  These claims are only half true.  There are many great clubs in Brisbane they just didn't know where to look and it is true there is no beach but to complain about that is stupid.  My reasoning for that is that there are beaches (beautiful beaches) all up and down the east coast of Australia and they get to this one city and start complaining about the lack there of.  Well whatever.  I am enjoying my stay here to the fullest.  That said I have been trying to be cheap in every regard until I get a job.
I have handed out a total of 34 resumes and I am now keeping my fingers crossed that I get a job.  The critics are also very wrong for criticizing Brisbane so heavily.  The lagoon (like a giant communal pool) here is giant.  Bigger than any other I have encountered on the coast and it is open 24 hours.  The Valley is also a great place to visit for it's China Town and various clubs, the libraies have amazing free WiFi (which I am currently using) and fantasitc views of the river, and the Queens Street Mall has huge variety of shops and stores along with its giant Myre Center which contains 6 levels of food courts, super stores, small shops and even a cinema at the very top.

Internet

I know I keep complaining about internet again and again.  Unless you haven't noticed in which case I will complain to you now that it is the most annoying thing ever.  It is always a boring story of "I tried this time and it didn't work and then I tried another time and it didn't work and then I asked a few people and they told me to go here and now I finally have internet".  But this is just how it is. There aren't any Starbucks with free wifi, there is hardly anywhere with free wifi.  Usually I have to stumble around a town for a week before I come across decent free wifi, but here in Brisbane I got extremely lucky.  My hostel is a mere three blocks away from the main library for all of Brisbane, and the internet here is AMAZING. The are maybe 70+ people on it and it still works smoothly.  Like a YouTube level of smooth.  Which is amazing.
I don't think I have ever appreciated internet as much as I should have until I got here.  I think I appreciate good internet even more because most of the internet over here is pretty crappy.  During a trivia night at a nearby bar the question was asked "Which country invented wifi?    A. Japan   B. Australia   C. America"
When the announcer announced that it was "B.  Australia" that invented wifi, someone in the audience responded, "Then why does it suck!".  And he was right.  There wifi over here is expensive, slow and hard o find.

Fear

Well I have talked much about my travels and adventures not only on my blog but to individual people such as family friends and even people who I have met over here.  It is nice to see people being so supportive and happy for me.  I also suspect many of being secretly envious of my travels.
I confess I have been filtering out much of the less thrilling or less tell-able stories.  There is also the fact that I am usually tense every day whether it is managing money, making sure I have a place to sleep, or making sure I have another meal that I can put in my stomach.  There is also the fact that I can be totally alone yet surrounded by people every day.  That said I wouldn't want to be stranded with any other people.  I have found backpackers to be some of the most friendly and giving people in the world despite them having almost nothing but what is on their back, on their plate and underneath their head.

Keep On Movin On

Noosa is such an amazing place and I'm sure that I will come back here eventually but I have recently lost my glassie job and I must now move on.
In a few ways this is good and in others it is bad.  It is good because after looking for a job and not finding one anywhere in the area asked around and apparently it is incredibly hard to get a job in this are because everyone wants to work and live here.  So after looking tirelessly I decided that I would try again to work in Brisbane.  So the good is that now I am going to Brisbane and can be financially steady.
There is the bad that I no longer can no longer stay in Noosa for free.  The good is that I didn't pay for a single day to stay here and I still have a few days left.  I paid for staying here only using vouchers and the work for accommodation.
The bad is that I have lost my job and the accommodation that came with it.  The good is that I lost a really crappy job that didn't pay that well.

The guy who fired me was the same guy who hired me.  Named "Joep" pronounced "Joe" he is a really nice guy.  He was obviously uncomfortable with firing me so I didn't make it any harder for him than it needed to be.  He explained that I was let go because I skipped a few hours early on in my employment which was true.  But in my defence; Getting used to a new sleep schedule at a literal moments notice was not easy for me.  That lost me my job along with the shift in ownership here at the Noosa Nomads hostel.
By the way I do mean that the hour I was offered work for accommodation here was the same hour I started training for my job.  That "literal" was quite literal.

Anyways I optimistically am looking forward to my stay in Brisbane.  I was told that there is a man at the hostel I will be staying in who's job it is to find backpackers jobs.  I will get a job in Brisbane.

Where I got the "Keep On Movin On" title.  (By the Spoons)

Independent Job!

So after extensive searches I came across a guy by the name of Henry who had a job that I could work.  I sent my application and a little letter explaining that I "Love construction work!".  He then sent a reply explaining that his add was about  4 months old... BUT he did have a small job that I could do. It would be $100 for 5 hours work and it didn't conflict with my glassy job.  

So yesterday he picked me up at my hostel and we drove about 10 minutes to his giant shack next to his tiny bribes house.  He worked along with me which was nice.  It made the work feel much faster.  As we worked he explained that we would be working on multiple pedestals for displaying his wife's jewelry.  I sanded the pedestals I painted the pedestals then we got rid of some scrap wood that he had.  Easy money.  

At the end of the day as he was driving me back he offered me another job on Friday that would be just painting the pedestals and getting rid of more scrap.  I happily took him up on his offer.  

So I am working a paying job but i still don't have a job.  

Oh and it rained today. Which was nice.  

Victims of the Boot

Despite my room not being pleasant and clean everyday like a typical hostel stayer would expect, my room does have a lot of nice things.  We have a toaster, a restroom, two showers, to fridges and a electronic kettle.  In addition we have two tables, a few milk crate (that act as chairs) and 3 couches.  This spot is great for people to socialize.  And that's what many people do.  Some are my roommates, there are other people that stay in the hostel and even a few young adults from town, they all hang out in that spot.  Many of them out there smoke cigarettes and weed as well as drink.  But during the night they can get kind of rowdy.  They talk, they laugh and they wake others up (not me, I'm working at that time).  So they rudely awakened tell management the management tells security and security tell the people outside my room to get out.  That is how 3 of the people in my room and a few people in other rooms were kicked out over the course of two days.  It wasn't as bad in the past, but this hostel now has a new owner and he has a no faffing about policy.  One of the people in my room was kicked out just because his bosses friend didn't like him.  Many of the people in my room are leaving because of the new rules put in place because of this new management.  He is taking away many of the perks that this job has.  It is weird having a half empty room.  

It is also quite scary.  Imagine being told on a days notice that you can no longer sleep in your bed that you have been resting on.  The hostel is also fully booked for the next few weeks.  Meaning if I were to be kicked out, I would have less than 16 hours to find another place to sleep, find a way to get there and then get to that location.  I'm not going to lie; I could do it.  It can be done, but that would also mean an immense amount of stress in that short period.  Also all of the jobs that I spent time applying to would be void because I would not be able to work them being so far away.  

I don't like to think about this too much. It stresses me out.  I hope you guys don' mind me using this blog as a public diary of sorts.

 

Advice

I got some advice from an Australian in my room who apparently used to work in a recruitment office.  He says that he used to get hundreds of online applications for jobs and he would just toss them out one after another.  He told me that if I really wanted to get a job then I should hand in a resume TO the manager him (or her)-self.  He told me that those are the only ones that they would ever look at because it was in there hands.  He also told me to sell myself in the first 10 words or else the chances for my resume getting canned were very high.  He took one look at my resume and said "Your name should be bigger, and so should your phone number.  Also make sure to get a sharpie and highlight those two things too".
I'm still looking for a reliable job here.  I have this glassie gig but I've been seeing my peers drop like flies.  Most of them are noisy drinkers and pothead.  That's pretty much the reason they are canned and then curbed.  Even though I'm not like them I could still be accused of doing such and them be kicked out.
Goal #1: Find a job
Goal #2: Find an apartment
Goal #3: Find a job to pay for the apartment

Work for Accomidation

The guy who checked me in at this Nomad hostel in Noosa was very friendly and I talked to him telling him that I was looking for a job.  He told me about a few local places that might be looking for work.  I'm still looking around but in the meantime he offered me a two week position for work at this hostel.  

This was perfect. I could look for work and not waist money staying on the same place.  So I took him up on being a "Glassie".  It isn't the most glorious job.  I work 3 hours from 10 to 1 each night and I get free accommodation.  

Job

Job hunting is the worst, especially when you have no experience in the matter.  I have heard much advice from any of the people I have met in the hostel as well as the community.
Speaking of the community, the people here are very nice.  There is a great bakery with a sweet old lady in it who still seems very active for her age as well as a thrift shop with a woman working reception that I could talk to for hours about everything, and finally the mango vendor down the road is the most awesome of all.  He had countless tenacious tattoos and a great sense of humor.

The new staff room that I just moved into is pretty cramped but I kind of expected that from people who have been staying here for so long.  The room has a totally different feel from the rest of the rooms that I have been staying in.  Many of my new roommates have their stuff strewn about, not to the degree that you would think, it is just hard to find my own space among the rest of what is there.

Fraser Island

I just got back from a place called Fraser Island. The largest sand island in the entire world.  When they present it as the largest sand island ever they really mean it.  We ha to drive 4x4 down this stretch of beach that seemed to go on forever.  Oh yea. That's right I got to drive a gas glugger on a sand island.  

The bad of it: I didn't rent a sleeping bag for the night so the first night I was freezing and had to take a sleeping pill to knock myself out.  The next night was fine though.  There are these tiny flies that get everywhere that they call poo flies.  The gross little guys would land all over your skin and when you smacked them you got a pleasant squishy thing on your neck.  They totally filled the bathroom at night making it impossible to even walk in there without feeling uncomfortable.  And the toilets were just awful.  

The good of it:  There are just so many amazing sights accosts the beach.  There was plenty of jungle  and a few fresh eater lakes despite the fact it was on sand.  It is just a great example of how nature prevails. Also the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere was very relaxing.  My second night I just sat under the stars and looked out into the vast night sky.  It was amazing how many stars one can see without any light pollution.  Speaking of nighttime I impressed everyone with my dancing.  

In past years I would just crank the speakers in my house while everyone was out and dance.  I just took that and applied it to some crappy pop music.  

I also met a non-backpacker named Nick who is in the Australian soldier.  Just one of the coolest guys I have ever met.  And I know it feels a little creepy but I honestly saw him as an older brother for the short time we were on the island.  

After Fraser I was just totally wonked out and burned from tannin in he sun for.a little too long.  I just got back to Rainbow beach Hostel and passed out.  

Today I arrived at Noosa.  I have to say that this place is beautiful.  I was originally thinking of going to Brisbane and starting work there but Noosa is just so nice that I might just start work here.  

Just a thought

I wish I could not just record an entire experience, not just a picture or a film.  Being able to document exactly how you feel and express that to others would be just the best thing ever.  

Just a thought.  

I'm on a boat!

So I have left Magnetic Island an made my way to Arlie Beach where I then stayed and went on my Witsundays Islands tour.  The tour was so relaxing.  The people on my boat were incredibly chill.  We did a lot of sun tanning and snorkeling.  On the second day out we went to a beautiful beach.  The sand was almost as white as paper and squeaked under each step.  I saw a sting ray and a shark that was later identified to me as a lemon shark.  The views were breathtaking.  On the second day I paid $60 for a 40 minute dive. There we saw a giant fish witch had an am ward lump on its head and giant blue lips.  The fish were swimming all around the scuba instructor.  It was a colorful vortex of fish just going around and around.  The rest of the scuba diving was cool but that was the highlight of the dive.  

Now that I am on land everything seems like I'm still on the boat.  I was reading earlier and the book seemed to move even while nothing around me was.  I guess being on a boat for two days and two nights will do that to someone.