Ok - this has been a bloody long time so I guess an update is needed...
NEWS NO.1: I got a job - or more precisely, I got two jobs. The idea was to only work part-time to pay for the rent and some food but I had the trials for both positions on the same day..and they both wanted me to work for them. Both waitressing jobs, one in a busy italian restaurant in North Adelaide (evenings) and one in a bar/bistro in the CBD (breakfast and lunch). Great financially, I thought. This way I don't even have to touch the money in my german bank account...it only took two weeks for me to realise that with more than 50hrs/week of working plus cycling back and forth (yeah..I bought a crappy bike for 40 bucks but splashed out on a helmet and lights!), I was left with no energy or any time to do exercise, see friends or look for any "proper" jobs.
So I quit the "italian job", much to the disappointment of Peter, who so wanted me to get the recipe for the "dolce vita-sauce" - SORRY, BRU..:)
So the place I work at now is called AIR and it's pretty relaxed work. The girls are cool, my boss is a bit of an arrogant prick who thinks the world revolves around him but it's easy work, I'll get between 20-30hrs/week which pays my rent and since I have adapted to the tighter budget I haven't taken too much money out of my bank account either. I exercise 3-4 times a week (swimming) and I don't feel like I'm wasting my time here, I get to hang out with friends, go to some music gigs, spend time at the library for free internet...
...but appaerantly not to write this blog of mine but - and that takes me to
NEWS NO.2 - to send off applications to Europe. Cos that's where I'm going next. soon.
I love Adelaide, I'd absolutely move here. Great place, great people - I feel fantastic here, my health is still pretty good so ther's not much more I could want. Just two little things are keeping me from staying here for good: Job and CF.
Waitressing to fund my travels is all good but I'm not only the oldest one among the girls but it's also boring as hell. I mean, it's not a challenging, interesting job and I really don't want to do this forever. So I feel like it's time to try something new, to move in a different direction. Also by staying here I'd jeopardise a lot of health insurance security, more so in Germany(or Europe)than here because here I have no coverage for any CF issues anyway. Maybe I could even get some meds through other CFers but if I get really sick and need an IV treatment (which I need once a year), I'm screwed cos it's totally unaffordable for me overseas. And I don't wanna push my luck like I did in South Africa with just the minimum or no supply of meds cos it took me all this time (almost one year) to get my health back up.
Geez, it really sounds like I've learned a losson there, huh...?! Hehe.
Anyway, so this is why I have applied for jobs with UK adventure companies, as Group Leader and Outdoor Activity Instructor.
Yeah, you all have a laugh. :)
And you probably think : "how the hell did she come up with that one...?!" Well, to tell you the truth, I had thought about doing this already in South Africa after i went canyoning but then I got so sick I had to cancel the training course. And I never really thought about it again until I sat here, wondering what career I could pursue.
I was thinking of Tour Leader before but I couldn't find any seasonal positions (cos I do wanna come back to Adelaide at the end of this year to escape the European winter again!) and they all required qualifications I don't have, like recent first aid course, NGB, etc.
But some of the Adventure Centers I applied for offer courses to get these qualifications while working there so the idea of becoming a tour leader isn't completely dumped...just post-poned.
Most of these jobs start in Feb-March but they really get busy towards the summer, so April onwards...so I hope I'm still on time for that. oh, did i mention it's kids and teenagers who are at the centers...?!
hehe...yaeh, it's heaps (I'm such an aussie..!!)easier to get the "foot in the door" at Youth Centers cos the requirements are higher when working with adults - which I think I'll eventually do when I have the qualifications needed.
So applying for these positions involved a wholelot of paperwork - 5 or 6 pages at least, about all the employment history and stuff - which is quite a lot in my case (not because i'm such a workaholic but because I've had lots of different short-term jobs).
AND, more importantly, they always asked about any physical illness or disability, probably because the job is quite physically demanding (yeah..I'm a bit worried that the CF is gonna restrain me from doing this job - that's why I'm exercising and eating healthy like an idiot...).
So I had to write about the Cystic Fibrosis and the daily meds, the first time ever I put that in an application. And to be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about doing it. I mean, CF is quite well-known in the UK but I imagine them all having a picture of a rather sick CFer in mind (due to fundraising and PR events), which would keep them from considering me for this position.
To my surprise, out of something like 10 applications I sent off I already got 4 positive responses, they are considering me for the job and need more papers, some references, a copy of my passport and a police check report since we're working with minors and they want to kow when I'll be in the UK, available for a personal interview and a selection day!
Not bad, I think I'm just gonna have to take a chance here, even if I don't pass the selection day (appearantly only 25-30% of the applicants pass). I just have a feeling I should try this. And if all else fails I can always get a hotel job in the UK to save up money for a ticket back to Australia..:)
So I'm flying out on the 29th of April - will get to London on the same day due to the travel through time zones which really sucks cos I so wanted to celebrate my 25th here in Adelaide. Or at least in New Zealand, where Arja and Jelmer are at the moment (the dutch friends I stayed with in Groningen in October 06)....but I guess one's gotta get his priorities right, eh..?!
Anything beyond that isn't sorted out yet - so we all can be surprised...:)
But lemme tell you what's been going on in Adelaide so far...
To my surprise and total excitement, two days after I had moved into my new house (that I share with an Aussie couple, Tim and Pippy), Biensche, a friend of mine from Germany (we met at the boarding school during our hotel business apprenticeship in 2001) and her sister Ulla who are doing their work & travel year in Australia now, came down on their way to Perth for a weekend. they had only been to Sydney, bought a van (so good to hear their van-breaking-down-is-fucking-frustrating-stories...now I know I'm not the only one!!!) and did fruit picking near Adelaide when I sent them an email about my arrival in SA.
Was great seing Biensche again and meeting her sister, they absolutely indulged in the artsy scene of Adelaide, we went and saw Jaan and Holly play a coupla times which was fantastic..I almost felt like a local, showing them around...hehe...cheers, girls!
Then there was WOMAD, a 3-day music festival which took place in the Botanic Park, only a 10 min walk from my house. I could only afford a one-night-pass but it was awesome, also got to spend some time with Alice and Jaan and their friends.
Soon after that the Fringe followed, a month of arts of any kind, every day, all around the city center of Adelaide. All sorts of events and performances, some free, some really cheap - I treated myself to some poetry and other lyrical sessions. some great, some I didn't quite get but all very interesting and I enjoyed it! Most poets are weirdos though...:)
Absolutely loved the Fringe and since it's now an annual event I definitely wanna be back next year for it!
Have spent my Tuesday afternoons at the Grace Emily (pub) where a group of Jaan's and Alice's friends catch up with a coupla pints - that has been great and it's what kept me sane during those weeks of working and sleeping only. Such a good bunch of people!
Last weekend alex, a friend of jaan's from the Uk came over to stay with him and Alice so we had a bbq with them and Peter and Trudy (I met them both along with Jaan in London) and on Easter we had a nice picnic at the Botanic Garden...so relaxed! I also visited Alice at her workshop (she makes really cool jewellery), I took some pics as promised ages ago.
Have been to dinner @ Becky's for coupla times, she is also a friend of Jaan's I met in London in dec. 2005 and then I stayed at her place before flying off to South Africa in jan 2006 (geez, all this sees ages ago...argh!!). She makes lovely thai food...or veggie burgers, for that matter...!
So, it's all pretty relaxed and I feel like I've settled in...now it's almost time to head off again...so annoying! But hey, I shouldn't really complain, cos it's all up to me, eh...?!
oh, I forgot to tell you - I had to go to the hospital about two weeks ago due to some killing pain in my left hip and thigh. I'd had a bit of a discomfort (I like that word..hahaha) for days before but i just blamed it on a sore muscle from exercising.
Turns out, part of my hip bone had broken off ( I honestly have NO idea how that happened!!) and because of the exercise and walking at AIR the muscle rubbed up against the fractured piece which caused an infection which then made my gland swell up and because of that I couldn't move my leg at all.
seriously, I took the bus to the hospital (too stingy to afford a cab...hehe) and on the way almost threw up because I was in such pain...this kinda shit always happens to me when I'm overseas!!
Anyway, after x-rays, ultra sound, blood tests and doctor's examination I was given some strong inflammatory pain killers and told to take it easy until the infection had gone away.
Great, a waitress that can't walk.
My boss wasn't happy at all when I called him from the hospital, fortunately I had the next day off anyway but the day after that i was back at the restaurant, pumped up with pain killers which was a bit tricky cos the side effects were nausea and dizzyness and I almost spilled the drinks over our customer a coupla times...
Anyway, exercise was down to twice a week but i feel better now so I'll do more from now on. went swimming today and my hip felt fine.
So, enough rambling...pics are up...!
xxx
