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.