Merry Christmas. I celebrated Christmas Eve by obviously not going to mass, and instead watching Black Swan. For the second time since seeing it at TIFF.
I have no reason to wake up early tomorrow (well, later on today since it's 1am on the 25th). No sister to come into my room at 8am bugging me to wake up so that she can open gifts. No gifts to give anyone. No gifts to unwrap myself. No family to see. No dog to pet. No big meals to eat. No snow to wade through. No cold to shiver to.
Maybe I'll head to the beach and sit there contemplating. Maybe I'll finally finish reading Jack Kerouac's On The Road instead of using it as a coaster. Or maybe I'll meet some new and interesting people.
Even though tomorrow is just another day to me this year that holds no sort of relevance, it'll be a good summers day. Fuck yes.
Aussie Word of the Day: "Ta". I don't get this one because I think it should be "Ty", but it means "Thank you".
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
9 Days of Tracking A Leopard
So two days ago, one of my coworkers, Mat, told me the details of Phil's full nine day expedition to kill a leopard for his tribe back in Rwanda. This is obviously not 100% accurate, but nevertheless it's still an amazingly ridiculous story. If there are weird errors or things that kind of sound stupid, it's almost 2am and I've worked all day. I'm tired:
At age 14 the path to become a man in Phil's tribe was to track and kill a leopard. Phil went out on his nine day expedition with only shorts, a spear and a knife on his body.
Apparently on the 4th day or so, Phil had seen a leopard, and chased it up a tree with a ball of fire that he had made from a bunch of twine and grass wrapped around a long branch he had found. The reason he didnt kill it was because their tribe only kills older leopards (you can tell by their spots how old they are) because they have more wisdom, so he left this one alone since it was too young.
At night, the temperature in Rwanda drops to around or below 5 degrees, and obviously since Phil had only brought with him shorts, he was freezing. What he did was he found a baboon cave to sleep in for a couple of nights, which is insanely smart because baboons have lookouts stationed all over the place so that if a predator approaches, every baboon in the pack (are baboons referred to as a pack? Whatever) will hear the calls and be alerted of an impending attack. Talk about knowing your surroundings.
By the 8th day or so, Phil had pretty much given up any sort of hope that he was going to be able to find an old enough leopard to kill so he's just lying down in the grass. And at this point, he's apparently absolutely ready to die. It's all or nothing right now for him, and he'd much rather face a leopard and lose than head back to the tribe without anything to show for it.
The 9th day rolls around and Phil's once again just lying in the grass defeated when he hears a pride of lions making their defensive calls to ward off intruders. Naturally, he thought that this particular pride of lions had spotted him in the distance and thinking that he was an enemy to the pride. So he stands up, and he sees a leopard just assaulting the pride (reasons unknown).
He apparently then waits. I don't know how long he waits, but it's quite some time later that the pride of lions chases this leopard from their grounds. From where Phil is standing, he knows that if he turns to run or make any quick movements, it'll draw attention to himself. So he just stands there, in the middle of the plains as the leopard runs past him, as the lions run past him. Now, apparently a couple of lions had charged at Phil real close to sort of intimidate him, but then kind of lost interest when he showed no signs of movement and went past continuing on after the leopard.
He eventually follows this leopard to a secluded area after the pride had given up the chase. For some reason he knows that leopards are quick as shit, but that their turning radius is very, very, very slow. What he then does instead of shitting himself is walk up as slowly as possible to this leopard sideways, so as to not look as threatening since he seems smaller. As he's walking up (again, slowly), this leopard takes notice in him and is walking slowly towards him. When he get's close enough, he runs quickly to his side to throw the leopards quickness off and get it turning. As he's running, he throws the spear in one fluid motion and hits the leopard in the throat/neck area.
The leopard collapses to the ground, and without giving it another thought, he runs at the leopard. And all in one motion, thrusts the leopards head up with his arm, and drags his knife across its throat. He apparently has scars all across his arm from where his arm was caught by the leopards teeth because of this.
And apparently after he dug his knife into its throat, he just fucking legged it and ran the fuck away, hahahahaha. He obviously went back when it was clearly dead, and cut out a tooth to bring back to his tribe, which he again wears proudly around his neck as a medallion.
Nicest most genuine dude I have met thus far in Australia.
At age 14 the path to become a man in Phil's tribe was to track and kill a leopard. Phil went out on his nine day expedition with only shorts, a spear and a knife on his body.
Apparently on the 4th day or so, Phil had seen a leopard, and chased it up a tree with a ball of fire that he had made from a bunch of twine and grass wrapped around a long branch he had found. The reason he didnt kill it was because their tribe only kills older leopards (you can tell by their spots how old they are) because they have more wisdom, so he left this one alone since it was too young.
At night, the temperature in Rwanda drops to around or below 5 degrees, and obviously since Phil had only brought with him shorts, he was freezing. What he did was he found a baboon cave to sleep in for a couple of nights, which is insanely smart because baboons have lookouts stationed all over the place so that if a predator approaches, every baboon in the pack (are baboons referred to as a pack? Whatever) will hear the calls and be alerted of an impending attack. Talk about knowing your surroundings.
By the 8th day or so, Phil had pretty much given up any sort of hope that he was going to be able to find an old enough leopard to kill so he's just lying down in the grass. And at this point, he's apparently absolutely ready to die. It's all or nothing right now for him, and he'd much rather face a leopard and lose than head back to the tribe without anything to show for it.
The 9th day rolls around and Phil's once again just lying in the grass defeated when he hears a pride of lions making their defensive calls to ward off intruders. Naturally, he thought that this particular pride of lions had spotted him in the distance and thinking that he was an enemy to the pride. So he stands up, and he sees a leopard just assaulting the pride (reasons unknown).
He apparently then waits. I don't know how long he waits, but it's quite some time later that the pride of lions chases this leopard from their grounds. From where Phil is standing, he knows that if he turns to run or make any quick movements, it'll draw attention to himself. So he just stands there, in the middle of the plains as the leopard runs past him, as the lions run past him. Now, apparently a couple of lions had charged at Phil real close to sort of intimidate him, but then kind of lost interest when he showed no signs of movement and went past continuing on after the leopard.
He eventually follows this leopard to a secluded area after the pride had given up the chase. For some reason he knows that leopards are quick as shit, but that their turning radius is very, very, very slow. What he then does instead of shitting himself is walk up as slowly as possible to this leopard sideways, so as to not look as threatening since he seems smaller. As he's walking up (again, slowly), this leopard takes notice in him and is walking slowly towards him. When he get's close enough, he runs quickly to his side to throw the leopards quickness off and get it turning. As he's running, he throws the spear in one fluid motion and hits the leopard in the throat/neck area.
The leopard collapses to the ground, and without giving it another thought, he runs at the leopard. And all in one motion, thrusts the leopards head up with his arm, and drags his knife across its throat. He apparently has scars all across his arm from where his arm was caught by the leopards teeth because of this.
And apparently after he dug his knife into its throat, he just fucking legged it and ran the fuck away, hahahahaha. He obviously went back when it was clearly dead, and cut out a tooth to bring back to his tribe, which he again wears proudly around his neck as a medallion.
Nicest most genuine dude I have met thus far in Australia.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
To whoever said "Post another blog entry" at Deryn's...
This week was tough, challenging, difficult, insanely tiring, but more importantly really fun. I met a bunch of new people from not only work, but also from around the towns of Horsham (shithole) and Ararat (really nice small town of 8,000 people surrounded by mountains everywhere you look).
In Horsham, I met a man from Kenya who was a peacekeeper in Rwanda, as well as Sudan and in other places in Africa. He had the most fucked up and horrifying but interesting stories I have ever heard. He was telling me of all the beheadings, the torture, and merciless killings he'd witnessed before moving to Australia two years ago. One example of torture he told me about was this method called the "golden cross" (probably not this because a quick Google search comes up with nothing, but it's something similar to that title), where you put three tires around a person, pour gasoline all over these tires and obviously set it alight. Not only does all the rubber melt to the persons skin, but it also apparently takes an hour or so for the person to die in this manner. What a fucking horrible way to die...
While in Ararat, I happened to meet an Aussie who not only likes watching the NFL, specifically the San Francisco 49ers, but also enjoys watching hockey (the Detroit Red Wings). We spoke for about 20 minutes before I high fived his fearless three year old son and was on my way. About 15 minutes later, I also met an old woman who was quite possibly the most caring and nicest person I have ever come across - so much so that it literally gave me chills everywhere. She donates to thirty four (34) charities on a constant monthly basis, she lost a daughter 8 years ago (reasons unknown to me), she offered me a drink of water right away because she saw how dried and chapped my lips were, she showed me and my coworker Surafel (awesome Ethiopian dude, backed hard) the outlines of a pregnant lady in the mountains (pictures below) of which I thought she was actually going to introduce us to a woman who was pregnant, and is just generally a kind and awesome person. Her and her husband (whose 80th birthday is January 15th, ps) owned a bed and breakfast on 15 acres of land out in Dandenong before selling it all and moving up to Ararat. At one point, the three of us were talking about how odd it is to me that it's Christmas and that it's warm, because usually it's snowing in Toronto around this time, and Surafel responds saying that he's "never seen snow in his life", which prompted the woman to say something along the lines of "Oh, so you're more drawn to exotic conditions and warmer weather, huh?" to which he responds, "I'm actually not a big fan of the sun. I get the nastiest tan", which we all found hilarious. This would be funnier if you were there, I promise.
Check out this awesome segue: One of my coworkers is Rwandan. His name is Phil. When Phil was 14, his passage into manhood through his tribe was to scour Rwanda for a leopard and return with its tooth. It took him 9 days to track this particular leopard down, and once he was in a close enough range that the leopard noticed Phil stalking it, the leopard turned and began slowly walking towards him. Phil in turn begins walking slowly toward it, then side stepping to the left or right (I'm not sure) to gain a better killshot - mind you, he is 14 and is only carrying with him one spear and one knife. He apparently calmly throws the spear hitting the leopard in the stomach area, where he proceeds to cut the leopards throat and then goes on to take out its tooth to bring back to his tribe as evidence. Phil currently wears this tooth around his neck. He also witnessed his uncle get murdered by rebels in the genocide in 1994 (I believe he is 22) when he was 6. His father has been a prominent figure in Rwandan politics since before the genocides, and essentially tried to expose the Rwandan government for all of its crimes. He and his family were forced to flee Rwanda to South Africa under the cover of darkness. Phil's parents and his two youngest siblings live in South Africa. In June, this June, while in their car on their way to the market, a gunman attempted to kill Phil's dad, hitting him once in the chest and in the hand, before the gun jammed and help arrived. His father is okay and healthy, but holy fucking shit.
Phil is probably the most interesting person I know because of the horrible stories he has had to endure, and I know it's really terrible to take "pleasure" from listening to his stories, but they're so bewildering and absolutely impossible to grip the fact that while I was growing up in Canada worrying about the mean kids at school making fun of me or whatever, Phil was living through a genocide and hunting leopards. He and Surafel are quite possibly the most humble, down to earth people I have ever come across. I really enjoy their company, and they're also hilarious and capable of giving great advice well beyond their years.
Anyway, Ararat is really pretty for a small landlocked town. I kept snapping pictures of it on my phone every so often. None of these pictures are really of anything, but here they are:
Can you see the "Pregnant Lady"? Left, her stomach with child. Right, her face and hair pushed back.
Friday, I saw the Descendents at the No Sleep Till tour, which wasn't really a great tour but Gwar (who I have no interest in) were hilarious. They had a dinosaur on stage at one point as they spewed fake blood all over the audience, and got fucking infuriated at a rainbow that had appeared overhead while they played. The dinosaur is pictured below, but it's really shit since I was pretty far away:
The Descendents, even for being 40+ year old nerds, were fucking awesome. Their setlist from what I could remember included (this is for Megan, if she still reads this):
Descendents
I'm Not A Loser
Suburban Home
I Wanna Be A Bear
I'm The One
Everything Sucks
Coffee Mug
Rotting Out
When I Get Old
I Don't Want To Grow Up
Hope
Nothing With You
Saturday night was works Christmas party. We went out to this place called Slate Bar which was pretty fun, and I got to meet a whole bunch of new people that I hadn't spoken to or seen before. It was a lot of hanging out and talking which was nice. We all decided to head out to this club called Wobble, but by the time that was decided upon it was around 230am or so, and Lawrence (coworker) and I decided that we were hungry as shit, so we walked over to "Macca's" (McDonalds), and then we both went our separate ways. I had previously thought that trams ran until like 430am, so like an asshole I sat there waiting for the tram for a good 15 or 20 minutes wondering where the fuck it was while freezing my ass off (it was chilly, and I know I've no right to complain since it's summer here, but still). I eventually figured it out that the trams are done at 140am, and so I had to walk halfway up Elizabeth Street since I didn't have enough cash to take me all the way up to Brunswick. I got home at around 3/330am. Overall, it was a fun night.
This last paragraph really dropped off in terms of entertainment value, I apologize. And now here's a song.
Aussie Word of the Day: "Muzza". A muzza is essentially one of those Jersey Shore type assholes. Every time I hear a word that I don't understand I have to stop the person and ask them what the fuck they're talking about, which in turn makes me feel stupid. It's great.
And oh, a "mozzi" (the last word) is a mosquito. I got the worst fucking mozzi bites on my feet because of this weekend. It's ridiculous and so very itchy when I walk.
In Horsham, I met a man from Kenya who was a peacekeeper in Rwanda, as well as Sudan and in other places in Africa. He had the most fucked up and horrifying but interesting stories I have ever heard. He was telling me of all the beheadings, the torture, and merciless killings he'd witnessed before moving to Australia two years ago. One example of torture he told me about was this method called the "golden cross" (probably not this because a quick Google search comes up with nothing, but it's something similar to that title), where you put three tires around a person, pour gasoline all over these tires and obviously set it alight. Not only does all the rubber melt to the persons skin, but it also apparently takes an hour or so for the person to die in this manner. What a fucking horrible way to die...
While in Ararat, I happened to meet an Aussie who not only likes watching the NFL, specifically the San Francisco 49ers, but also enjoys watching hockey (the Detroit Red Wings). We spoke for about 20 minutes before I high fived his fearless three year old son and was on my way. About 15 minutes later, I also met an old woman who was quite possibly the most caring and nicest person I have ever come across - so much so that it literally gave me chills everywhere. She donates to thirty four (34) charities on a constant monthly basis, she lost a daughter 8 years ago (reasons unknown to me), she offered me a drink of water right away because she saw how dried and chapped my lips were, she showed me and my coworker Surafel (awesome Ethiopian dude, backed hard) the outlines of a pregnant lady in the mountains (pictures below) of which I thought she was actually going to introduce us to a woman who was pregnant, and is just generally a kind and awesome person. Her and her husband (whose 80th birthday is January 15th, ps) owned a bed and breakfast on 15 acres of land out in Dandenong before selling it all and moving up to Ararat. At one point, the three of us were talking about how odd it is to me that it's Christmas and that it's warm, because usually it's snowing in Toronto around this time, and Surafel responds saying that he's "never seen snow in his life", which prompted the woman to say something along the lines of "Oh, so you're more drawn to exotic conditions and warmer weather, huh?" to which he responds, "I'm actually not a big fan of the sun. I get the nastiest tan", which we all found hilarious. This would be funnier if you were there, I promise.
So here's a "joke":
What do you call a black guy running down a hill?
A male of African descent sprinting down a geographical landform that extends above the surrounding terrain.
Check out this awesome segue: One of my coworkers is Rwandan. His name is Phil. When Phil was 14, his passage into manhood through his tribe was to scour Rwanda for a leopard and return with its tooth. It took him 9 days to track this particular leopard down, and once he was in a close enough range that the leopard noticed Phil stalking it, the leopard turned and began slowly walking towards him. Phil in turn begins walking slowly toward it, then side stepping to the left or right (I'm not sure) to gain a better killshot - mind you, he is 14 and is only carrying with him one spear and one knife. He apparently calmly throws the spear hitting the leopard in the stomach area, where he proceeds to cut the leopards throat and then goes on to take out its tooth to bring back to his tribe as evidence. Phil currently wears this tooth around his neck. He also witnessed his uncle get murdered by rebels in the genocide in 1994 (I believe he is 22) when he was 6. His father has been a prominent figure in Rwandan politics since before the genocides, and essentially tried to expose the Rwandan government for all of its crimes. He and his family were forced to flee Rwanda to South Africa under the cover of darkness. Phil's parents and his two youngest siblings live in South Africa. In June, this June, while in their car on their way to the market, a gunman attempted to kill Phil's dad, hitting him once in the chest and in the hand, before the gun jammed and help arrived. His father is okay and healthy, but holy fucking shit.
Phil is probably the most interesting person I know because of the horrible stories he has had to endure, and I know it's really terrible to take "pleasure" from listening to his stories, but they're so bewildering and absolutely impossible to grip the fact that while I was growing up in Canada worrying about the mean kids at school making fun of me or whatever, Phil was living through a genocide and hunting leopards. He and Surafel are quite possibly the most humble, down to earth people I have ever come across. I really enjoy their company, and they're also hilarious and capable of giving great advice well beyond their years.
Anyway, Ararat is really pretty for a small landlocked town. I kept snapping pictures of it on my phone every so often. None of these pictures are really of anything, but here they are:
Can you see the "Pregnant Lady"? Left, her stomach with child. Right, her face and hair pushed back.
Friday, I saw the Descendents at the No Sleep Till tour, which wasn't really a great tour but Gwar (who I have no interest in) were hilarious. They had a dinosaur on stage at one point as they spewed fake blood all over the audience, and got fucking infuriated at a rainbow that had appeared overhead while they played. The dinosaur is pictured below, but it's really shit since I was pretty far away:
The Descendents, even for being 40+ year old nerds, were fucking awesome. Their setlist from what I could remember included (this is for Megan, if she still reads this):
Descendents
I'm Not A Loser
Suburban Home
I Wanna Be A Bear
I'm The One
Everything Sucks
Coffee Mug
Rotting Out
When I Get Old
I Don't Want To Grow Up
Hope
Nothing With You
Saturday night was works Christmas party. We went out to this place called Slate Bar which was pretty fun, and I got to meet a whole bunch of new people that I hadn't spoken to or seen before. It was a lot of hanging out and talking which was nice. We all decided to head out to this club called Wobble, but by the time that was decided upon it was around 230am or so, and Lawrence (coworker) and I decided that we were hungry as shit, so we walked over to "Macca's" (McDonalds), and then we both went our separate ways. I had previously thought that trams ran until like 430am, so like an asshole I sat there waiting for the tram for a good 15 or 20 minutes wondering where the fuck it was while freezing my ass off (it was chilly, and I know I've no right to complain since it's summer here, but still). I eventually figured it out that the trams are done at 140am, and so I had to walk halfway up Elizabeth Street since I didn't have enough cash to take me all the way up to Brunswick. I got home at around 3/330am. Overall, it was a fun night.
This last paragraph really dropped off in terms of entertainment value, I apologize. And now here's a song.
Ola Podrida - Your Fathers Basement
And oh, a "mozzi" (the last word) is a mosquito. I got the worst fucking mozzi bites on my feet because of this weekend. It's ridiculous and so very itchy when I walk.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Road Trip
I'll be in Horsham, Victoria, which is about ... 4 or 5 hours northwest from Melbourne, tomorrow morning until Thursday night. We're supposed to meet at the office at 6am, so I have no clue how the fuck I'm going to manage that one.
The potential exists to see a kangaroo for the first time in the wild, although Horsham is a town like Lindsay would be, and I've never seen moose wandering Lindsay streets. I'm sure I won't see a roo, but I will attempt to snap a picture if I do. I will also attempt to put my right hand and foot in the pouch, and then pull it out to find my limbs covered in purple goo.
I'm not sure what time I'll be returning home on Thursday night, but I will be because I get to see the Descendents on Friday! Fuck yeah. And then the staff Christmas party is at 8PM in Melbourne at the office even though I've only been part of the company for one day. Not a bad first week. Road trip + Christmas party. The only shit thing is that I didn't make any sort of money on my first day at work. Kind of depressing, really.
I'm going to sleep right now at 10:30 to be awake by 5:30am. I probably won't go to sleep until 12:30 though.
Aussie Word of the Day: Mozzi.
I'm going to let you guys guess the answer to this one in the comments.
The potential exists to see a kangaroo for the first time in the wild, although Horsham is a town like Lindsay would be, and I've never seen moose wandering Lindsay streets. I'm sure I won't see a roo, but I will attempt to snap a picture if I do. I will also attempt to put my right hand and foot in the pouch, and then pull it out to find my limbs covered in purple goo.
I'm not sure what time I'll be returning home on Thursday night, but I will be because I get to see the Descendents on Friday! Fuck yeah. And then the staff Christmas party is at 8PM in Melbourne at the office even though I've only been part of the company for one day. Not a bad first week. Road trip + Christmas party. The only shit thing is that I didn't make any sort of money on my first day at work. Kind of depressing, really.
I'm going to sleep right now at 10:30 to be awake by 5:30am. I probably won't go to sleep until 12:30 though.
Aussie Word of the Day: Mozzi.
I'm going to let you guys guess the answer to this one in the comments.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Look for a rope that isn't burning, start climbing.
If you didn't have adult onset diabetes, I wouldn't mind giving you a little sugar.
Oh G.O.B., you could charm the black off a telegram boy!
News!
I landed a job helping out Doctors Without Boarders, which is obviously an awesome cause because they go overseas and volunteer their time and services to aid people in dire need of medical care. The unawesome part about this is that I essentially will be volunteering my time, in that I will be working for commission, and well... I probably won't be making any money doing so. I'm decently alright with this aspect of the job so long as I'm able to meet some great people I can have some good times with here, and perhaps keep in touch with when I possibly return to the place of blistering cold winters and short summers - I'm talking about Sweden, apparently.
I won't specify the job any further other than saying it is a marketing company. I bitched about the last interview I had in the post below for another company, and now it seems a little hypocritical if I go on any further about this one. The reasons I took this job are because Ben (owner) seems like a really genuine and incredibly inspiring person, someone who seems as though he can make you believe in yourself even when you severely doubt your abilities. The second reason being that the girls I shadowed for the day, mainly Ashleigh (team leader at 22, and opening her own marketing company in Perth next year) and Rachel, seemed not only ridiculously upbeat and energetic, but also sweet, generous, and kind people (for example, Ashleigh bought myself and this other guy lunch, and she genuinely cares about the cause she's supporting). Also, the receptionist, Melanie, is very welcoming and sweet, it's a very comforting and homely feeling she gives off. I like that.
I begin training tomorrow morning at 10am. I'm not excited or nervous, but rather kind of indifferent about it - for now, at least. About the training aspect, I mean. I'm stoked to finally interact with new people.
Side note: it all of a sudden started pouring out of no where after being extremely nice and sunny all day. It sounds like the roof will cave in any minute. And now it's done. Fucking Melbourne weather.
Side note 2: Rabbit Hole just leaked and it comes out nationwide December 17th. I wanted to see this at TIFF, now I just want Black Swan and Blue Valentine to leak. Oscar season is going to kill my internet usage.
Side note 3: Listen to Pygmy Lush. Be careful though, because they're sometimes folk acoustic (like the video below, and all of Mount Hope) and sometimes genuine screamo as they consist of members of the former pg.99. I love this band though. The full show is here.
Pals through and through.
Huddled in a violent room
Carve it on the wall.
The broken finger nail.
We did nothing wrong.
We did nothing wrong.
Aussie Word of the Day: Icy Pole. To be fair, it's more so a brand name rather than a name, like Kleenex and tissue, but it's what Aussies call a Popsicle (also a brand name). They also say serviette instead of napkin. I know the latter is not that odd because a lot of Canadians say it, but then Americans make fun of us for it and we stop. Or at least that's what happened to me.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Job hunting & St. Kilda
I can't stand this backdrop. It's so insanely ugly.
Last week I managed to spend $193 on groceries, I paid rent for $420, and I bought three pairs of shorts today for $210. I need an income.
Speaking of which, I was called yesterday for an interview with a marketing company, Taipan Marketing. This would be great and everything if it was some sort of creative outlet where I could write new proposals and stuff like that in which to sell a product or whatever. I'd kill that. I'd be great at that. This, however, is paid work for charity. There's nothing wrong with doing charity work, I would love to do actual charity work where I can directly help somebody. But no, what I'd be doing is I'd be one of those assholes with a blue binder who stops you on the street with an extremely fake conversation regarding the weather, or where you're off to today, and then ask you for a $35 monthly donation to help battle heart disease in Australia. I knew right when I was called back yesterday afternoon that it would be just some horrible job - especially when she asked, "Do you have any previous marketing experience?" and I said, "Nope, none" and she said, "Well, that's alright. You don't need any. We cater to everybody and anybody". Right then and there I lost all interest in the position. Also, I was at the beach when she called, so... Still for some reason I thought it'd maybe be a good idea to go to the interview even though I didn't want to, just to be sure that it wasn't for an actual real position in an office. What a fucking waste of time.
Anyway, I was asked to come in for a second interview scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8:15am. I will be standing outside with a current employee to frustrate and annoy the absolute living shit out of pedestrians while it rains and without an umbrella. Fuck. That.
As I was leaving for this bullshit interview, Guess the retail store called me in for a group interview on Friday morning at 10am. I don't think I've ever stepped foot in a Guess store, but hopefully I can some how manage to confuse the interviewers into thinking that I'm a good employee and land that job for at least the time being. I'm trying so hard to land a gig with a paper or a broadcaster or in public relations, but so far no luck... Hopefully I at least get a fucking interview for that Triple J job at the ABC. I doubt it, but I would be so great at that job. Fuck.
Last week as I was paying for my $200 of groceries, I asked the cashier for some extra bags incase some of them broke on my walk home. She seemed to be very, very concerned and was asking if I'd like a cab called to drive me home. I refused and said I should be fine, so long as I had a few extra bags. As I was attempting to shove the heavier shit into my backpack, the woman who was standing behind me in line approached me with her under ten year old son (who had the most awesomely disgusting rat tail) and asked where I was headed. This is paraphrased, but:
"I'm only headed about a block or two away on Hope Street."
"Do you want a lift? I've got this old station wagon and we don't have much to carry, so I might as well share it with somebody who needs the help"
"Are you sure? I think I could manage, it's not that far"
"Right, it's not that far. So come on, get in"
So she drove me home, and her son grabbed all of the groceries for me out of the trunk of the like 1960 teal station wagon. It was really nice of them, and they seemed like really awesome people. It's good to know that there are nice people willing to help others even in a big city like Melbourne. Even if I don't want to help cure heart disease in Australia by asking you for money.
I made it to St. Kilda Beach yesterday. It was really hot, but I like the area in itself. It has the feel of a big city with the look and vibe of cottage country, which is always rad. I took one picture as I was on the St. Kilda Pier on my phone since I forgot my camera. I just found out that at the end of the pier on the rocks, Fairy penguins make their home there, so I'll have to definitely head back and take some more pictures with an actually decent camera. Speaking of, I want to buy the Nikon D3100 now thanks to Lenny, because of it's HD film capabilities, not to mention that it's a photography camera as well.
Okay, here are some Google images to let you know where I was yesterday "arvo" (right click, open in new tab or window to see the original size):
The pier and the kiosk at the end of it:
To the right of the kiosk at the other end of the Pier:
The view from the pier at the city (the Eureka Tower on the right. It's now the fourth largest residential building in the world after being surpassed by the Q1 building in Queensland, the HHHR Tower in Dubai, and the Ocean Heights Tower also in Dubai. I was wrong in my earlier post about the Eureka Tower being the largest building in the Southern Hemisphere):
Is this really fair, that the Eureka Tower has a higher top level, but the antenna of the Q1 is what makes it the tallest residential building in the world?
Also, how creepy is the Luna Park in St. Kilda amusement park logo?
Anyways that's all I've got for right now, other than the Aussie word of the day:
"Arvo", meaning afternoon. I don't get it.
Now to use the dunny.
Last week I managed to spend $193 on groceries, I paid rent for $420, and I bought three pairs of shorts today for $210. I need an income.
Speaking of which, I was called yesterday for an interview with a marketing company, Taipan Marketing. This would be great and everything if it was some sort of creative outlet where I could write new proposals and stuff like that in which to sell a product or whatever. I'd kill that. I'd be great at that. This, however, is paid work for charity. There's nothing wrong with doing charity work, I would love to do actual charity work where I can directly help somebody. But no, what I'd be doing is I'd be one of those assholes with a blue binder who stops you on the street with an extremely fake conversation regarding the weather, or where you're off to today, and then ask you for a $35 monthly donation to help battle heart disease in Australia. I knew right when I was called back yesterday afternoon that it would be just some horrible job - especially when she asked, "Do you have any previous marketing experience?" and I said, "Nope, none" and she said, "Well, that's alright. You don't need any. We cater to everybody and anybody". Right then and there I lost all interest in the position. Also, I was at the beach when she called, so... Still for some reason I thought it'd maybe be a good idea to go to the interview even though I didn't want to, just to be sure that it wasn't for an actual real position in an office. What a fucking waste of time.
Anyway, I was asked to come in for a second interview scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8:15am. I will be standing outside with a current employee to frustrate and annoy the absolute living shit out of pedestrians while it rains and without an umbrella. Fuck. That.
As I was leaving for this bullshit interview, Guess the retail store called me in for a group interview on Friday morning at 10am. I don't think I've ever stepped foot in a Guess store, but hopefully I can some how manage to confuse the interviewers into thinking that I'm a good employee and land that job for at least the time being. I'm trying so hard to land a gig with a paper or a broadcaster or in public relations, but so far no luck... Hopefully I at least get a fucking interview for that Triple J job at the ABC. I doubt it, but I would be so great at that job. Fuck.
Last week as I was paying for my $200 of groceries, I asked the cashier for some extra bags incase some of them broke on my walk home. She seemed to be very, very concerned and was asking if I'd like a cab called to drive me home. I refused and said I should be fine, so long as I had a few extra bags. As I was attempting to shove the heavier shit into my backpack, the woman who was standing behind me in line approached me with her under ten year old son (who had the most awesomely disgusting rat tail) and asked where I was headed. This is paraphrased, but:
"I'm only headed about a block or two away on Hope Street."
"Do you want a lift? I've got this old station wagon and we don't have much to carry, so I might as well share it with somebody who needs the help"
"Are you sure? I think I could manage, it's not that far"
"Right, it's not that far. So come on, get in"
So she drove me home, and her son grabbed all of the groceries for me out of the trunk of the like 1960 teal station wagon. It was really nice of them, and they seemed like really awesome people. It's good to know that there are nice people willing to help others even in a big city like Melbourne. Even if I don't want to help cure heart disease in Australia by asking you for money.
I made it to St. Kilda Beach yesterday. It was really hot, but I like the area in itself. It has the feel of a big city with the look and vibe of cottage country, which is always rad. I took one picture as I was on the St. Kilda Pier on my phone since I forgot my camera. I just found out that at the end of the pier on the rocks, Fairy penguins make their home there, so I'll have to definitely head back and take some more pictures with an actually decent camera. Speaking of, I want to buy the Nikon D3100 now thanks to Lenny, because of it's HD film capabilities, not to mention that it's a photography camera as well.
Okay, here are some Google images to let you know where I was yesterday "arvo" (right click, open in new tab or window to see the original size):
The pier and the kiosk at the end of it:To the right of the kiosk at the other end of the Pier:
The view from the pier at the city (the Eureka Tower on the right. It's now the fourth largest residential building in the world after being surpassed by the Q1 building in Queensland, the HHHR Tower in Dubai, and the Ocean Heights Tower also in Dubai. I was wrong in my earlier post about the Eureka Tower being the largest building in the Southern Hemisphere):
Is this really fair, that the Eureka Tower has a higher top level, but the antenna of the Q1 is what makes it the tallest residential building in the world?
Also, how creepy is the Luna Park in St. Kilda amusement park logo?
Anyways that's all I've got for right now, other than the Aussie word of the day:
"Arvo", meaning afternoon. I don't get it.
Now to use the dunny.
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