Found out today I’ve got the job I had second interview for yesterday. It’s a short term (3 months) piece of work in Sydney, working for one of the big govt departments to help them work out how to engage more effectively with their NGO service providers. Good things about it are a) I’ll be earning instead of spending! (and it’s good money) b) it will help me get to know the ‘scene’ a bit more c) it will open up contacts and longer term opportunities d) it will give me a bit of breathing space to keep talking to people in Melbourne about potential options there. Not-so-good things about it are a) I’m not sure I’m cut out for civil service life b) it’s a bit more strategic/policy focused than I’d like. All in all I’m happy as I’d always rather be doing something than nothing and I feel like now I can relax a bit and just enjoy being in Sydney for a few months.
As a complete aside, you may be amused to know that K has now read this blog and has commented that he feels like he’s a secondary character in a Sex & The City-type column (he should be so lucky!). He’s also started referring to himself in the third person in a sardonic way – e.g. “K noted for the record that his preferred cinema choice was vetoed”, that kind of thing. Oh the laughs we have (!)
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Mon 28 July: Rain, rain go away
Had second interview for a short term contract in Sydney this afternoon (went well), preceded by a meeting with recruitment agent who’s been working on my behalf. When I went to meet her, it was sunny and fine. By the time I came out an hour later, it was pouring with rain and it didn’t really stop all afternoon or evening. It’s grim.
K’s first day in new job today. Seemed to go well enough for a first day – nothing too taxing and the usual paperwork/tour of office/’getting to know your desk’ stuff.
Had a lovely home-cooked meal of pasta with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and olives this evening (courtesy of K). One of his specialities and one of my favourites. Then it was off to the cinema again! This time to see the Dark Knight, the new Batman film, which was a considerable improvement on last night’s offering! There is loads of hype here about Heath Ledger’s performance and a bit of a campaign going to get him a posthumous Oscar. Hard to say whether that’s deserved or not – he was a lot better than a lot of Oscar winners have been in the past, but not sure what the competition’s like this year…Anyway, it was well done as a Batman movie – quite a gritty, dark feel to it, no ridiculous crash-bang-wallop effects and a reasonable plot. It felt a bit on the long side and Christian Bale’s deep, husky Batman voice was slightly odd (he sounds like one of the blokes that does cinema trailers). Other than that, I’d recommend it!
Really looking forward to getting into our apartment next week and hopefully the rest of our stuff should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. Living out of a suitcase is okay for a bit, and fine if you’re travelling, but it makes ‘normal life’ slightly difficult.
K’s first day in new job today. Seemed to go well enough for a first day – nothing too taxing and the usual paperwork/tour of office/’getting to know your desk’ stuff.
Had a lovely home-cooked meal of pasta with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes and olives this evening (courtesy of K). One of his specialities and one of my favourites. Then it was off to the cinema again! This time to see the Dark Knight, the new Batman film, which was a considerable improvement on last night’s offering! There is loads of hype here about Heath Ledger’s performance and a bit of a campaign going to get him a posthumous Oscar. Hard to say whether that’s deserved or not – he was a lot better than a lot of Oscar winners have been in the past, but not sure what the competition’s like this year…Anyway, it was well done as a Batman movie – quite a gritty, dark feel to it, no ridiculous crash-bang-wallop effects and a reasonable plot. It felt a bit on the long side and Christian Bale’s deep, husky Batman voice was slightly odd (he sounds like one of the blokes that does cinema trailers). Other than that, I’d recommend it!
Really looking forward to getting into our apartment next week and hopefully the rest of our stuff should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. Living out of a suitcase is okay for a bit, and fine if you’re travelling, but it makes ‘normal life’ slightly difficult.
Sun 27 July: Shopping & cinema
Today I was up early to phone back to the UK, this time to my dad. Really clear line and a good long chat including updated news on what’s going on in Scottish politics – there’s almost zero mention of the UK on the news here so I’m clueless at the moment!
Then we had a day of laundry, shopping (K needed a suit etc for starting work tomorrow), internet, cooking and then, in the evening, another fairly bad cinema experience. We went to see The X Files – the reviews have been bad but thought we might as well give it a try (well, it was probably me more than K!). Hmmm. It bore very little resemblance to the TV series and unfortunately Mulder and Scully’s characters were both pretty flat, caricatured and hard to engage with. Oh well.
Then we had a day of laundry, shopping (K needed a suit etc for starting work tomorrow), internet, cooking and then, in the evening, another fairly bad cinema experience. We went to see The X Files – the reviews have been bad but thought we might as well give it a try (well, it was probably me more than K!). Hmmm. It bore very little resemblance to the TV series and unfortunately Mulder and Scully’s characters were both pretty flat, caricatured and hard to engage with. Oh well.
Sat 26 July: Whale spotting!
After a long lie and a lazy morning, I managed to persuade K that we could do boring things like shopping tomorrow and that we should take advantage of the sunshine to explore the area around our temporary home. We set off around 1pm and found our way down towards Bronte beach, where we spent a bit of time watching the dozens of surfers in the water trying to catch the waves. We walked along the coast a bit and by this time hunger was setting in, so we stopped at a beachside café and had a veggie burger with chilli sauce (me) and a chicken breast burger (K), washed down with amazing fresh orange juices (they’re properly fresh here, and delicious). There was beach volleyball going on just in front of us, but the players weren’t of the sexy, bronzed variety – mostly middle aged men with an alarming propensity for taking their tops off in an appetite-spoiling manner!
Then we continued our walk along the coast, along some cliff tops and with lots of power walkers, runners and families out for the day. As we rounded one corner, we saw a group of people staring out to sea and decided to see what they were looking at. It turned out to be a pod of humpback whales, larking around fairly close to shore (about 50 m down from our cliff). Absolutely beautiful! They looked like they were having fun entertaining the cliff top audience and they actually looked like they, too, were trying to catch the waves breaking!
We walked right along to Bondi beach, where there must have been over a hundred surfers in the water. Apart from them, the beach was fairly empty (it is winter here after all) and it was actually quite pleasant (instead of being packed with posing types!). The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent sampling some of the local wines and beers , watching the Aussies tank the Kiwis at rugby (we were both secretly supporting New Zealand), playing a bit of pool and amusing ourselves by observing the antics of various drunk backpackers!
Today was a lovely day – Sydney was looking gorgeous and it made us feel that we would really like to have at least a bit of time here, even if we end up in Melbourne longer-term.
Then we continued our walk along the coast, along some cliff tops and with lots of power walkers, runners and families out for the day. As we rounded one corner, we saw a group of people staring out to sea and decided to see what they were looking at. It turned out to be a pod of humpback whales, larking around fairly close to shore (about 50 m down from our cliff). Absolutely beautiful! They looked like they were having fun entertaining the cliff top audience and they actually looked like they, too, were trying to catch the waves breaking!
We walked right along to Bondi beach, where there must have been over a hundred surfers in the water. Apart from them, the beach was fairly empty (it is winter here after all) and it was actually quite pleasant (instead of being packed with posing types!). The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent sampling some of the local wines and beers , watching the Aussies tank the Kiwis at rugby (we were both secretly supporting New Zealand), playing a bit of pool and amusing ourselves by observing the antics of various drunk backpackers!
Today was a lovely day – Sydney was looking gorgeous and it made us feel that we would really like to have at least a bit of time here, even if we end up in Melbourne longer-term.
Fri 25 July: New home (for ten days)
Spent today on the train back from Melbourne to Sydney. It was a long day, and thanks to lack of organisation on my part, I didn't have much to sustain me on the journey - a bottle of water, a massive back of Doritos and a pear - hmmm! I did get tea & scones from the buffet car too, but having seen the lunch & dinner options on my outward journey, decided to give them a miss - microwaved crap in a plastic tub. Anyway, arrived around 8pm, tired and hungry. K met me at station and we headed (after stopping for dinner) to our new home for the next ten days. We’re staying in a studio flat in the eastern suburbs, courtesy of one of K’s colleagues. It’s a wee bit out of town but near beaches and it’s free, so that’s even better! Sydney was perishing and very wet today. Also had 'I miss home' moment after spending a fortune on taxi to our place thanks to a driver who was incapable of using a bit of lateral thought to avoid a traffic jam and seemed to only be able to follow sat nav - oh for an Edinburgh or London cabbie with the ability to figure out short cuts!
Thurs 24 July: Last day in Melbourne
Today was my last day in Melbourne and it was spent in yet more meetings and a very enjoyable morning with a social enterprise cleaning business. I then went for dinner with a couple called Rachel and Doug, who are old family friends of one of my London colleagues. They were absolutely lovely and insisted on paying for dinner, as well as providing the wine. We had Italian and lots of good conversation – it’s great to talk to Australians about their country, really fascinating. Can't remember any of the fascinating things I discovered now of course! (writing this several days later)
Tues 25 July: Unfinished Sky
Courtesy of an invite from K’s soon-to-be colleagues, went to see an independent Australian film tonight, Unfinished Sky. In the unlikely event that anyone reading this will see it, I won’t give away the plot, but I’d definitely recommend it. Well acted and sensitively handled exploration of Australian culture – it centres around an illegal immigrant who runs away from a sex trafficking outfit and ends up being taken in by a gruff Aussie farmer.
After the film, had a drink and a bite to eat in another proper ‘foodie’ place. The food was lovely but the portions were definitely ‘gourmet’ – aka tiny!
After the film, had a drink and a bite to eat in another proper ‘foodie’ place. The food was lovely but the portions were definitely ‘gourmet’ – aka tiny!
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