Well the first two weeks of training have gone ok.

Week one of training started off with Scott, Blair and myself all bundled into one small room at the Formula 1 Hotel in King's Cross.
Budget was not the word….even a door handle on the inside of the bathroom was an option extra….one which we obviously didn't go for.

The training course was good tho…..each morning started with a "nutritionous" cereal bar and an apple as we didn't have a fridge or any facilities in our room. We were told to dress "smart business attire" for the training course so were ironing shirts on one of the many suitcases we had in our room.

Trainers were really nice. Alanna, Janet, Terry and Hayley and a few others popped in to do their bit too.

On about tuesday or wednesday Blair got a call to say that we'd been accepted on the flat in Darlinghurst that we'd made an offer on. Right in between Liverpool and Oxford Street near Hyde Park. Was a massive relief and I perked up right away. Just too much stress all of us in one room for one week, although we all got on fine.

Met some Virgin America crew at the training centre who were halfway through their exchange with Virgin Blue. Lovely people….Cassie, Toni and Matt. Cassie invited Blair, Scott and myself over to hers for dinner that night as she was having a load of people over and was a really nice night.

By about friday though, I was ready for the weekend. It seems really strange going from a job where you only go to work about 6 times a month to what is essentially a 9-5 office job (during training.)

Friday night a few of us went out. Neil and Jorge, Scott, Ben and Casey and I went down Oxford Street for a few drinks getting back to the doss-house at 2:30am
The next day was saturday and was checkout of the Formula 1 hotel….YAAAYY!!

Casey came to help me drag my cases to their flat in Woollahra / Edgecliff which was lovely. Had a blow up bed on their dining room floor. Really old fashioned place but amazing views of the city especially at night.
Spent the rest of the saturday in Bondi junction shopping for a duvet, duvet cover, pillows and a few other must haves.

Sunday was revision day and had my head in the books all day. Was really good testing each other with Ben and Colin and we got through lot of stuff while Casey went to Ikea and winged it….git still got 100% though in the exam the next day.

Well the following week started off with our first proper exam. Locations on the little 737-800 Domestic and International (well they say International, but they just mean that it goes over water….lol) and a few other things. I was dreading it but seemed to sail through with no problems - 100% brilliant!! The rest of the week was pretty non-eventful. Popped over to Louisa and Jess' place after work one day to see their flat. Its right by King's Cross station in a big block. Lovely little girly flat with gorgeous views and a massive roof terrace with a couple of barbecues for having parties on.

Settled into the boys place in their dining room and cooked a meal for them during the week. Going to and from the training centre in Botany all week on the train and bus does take it out of you. Now I remember why I don't do a regular 9-5 job!

Shopping here is ridiculously expensive too but getting wiser to it now. If you buy stuff from the deli counter instead of pre-packed it does work out a lot cheaper. Still at $40-$60 a pop on the trip to the supermarket, Im feeling that a $1 bag of dried pasta and sauce is the way forward….hehe.

On thursday we had a trip out to the airport with a couple of the firefighters that came in to do a talk with us. Took us to their fire station actually on the runway where we had to go through a dark, smoke filled cabin. Had a walk through the station and got to sit in the firetrucks, put on all their gear and put out a few fires as well.

Friday was our self defence and security day where we got told how to defend ourselves and how to get out of situations with knives and guns and stuff. Was also Louisa's 30th birthday so I did a collection and bought her a kangaroo and the rest of the money towards her going diving. Everyone signed the card and she loved it.
Anyways, back to the training….pretty scary when they brought out a bag of rubber knives and we had to have one pressed to our throats. It was good though but the day just seemed to drag on and on. Didn't get back to the boys place until about 8pm. Ben had some mates over from Atlantic, so him, Casey and the guys from Atlantic all went down Oxford Street while Colin and I had an early night.

Thought it was about time I went for a run the next morning….my 3rd one since i'd been in Sydney. Was only out for about 40mins though as was getting really hot and it was bloody hilly!

Texted Matt from Virgin America to see what he was up to and then met up with him, Derek who is also crew and Derek's girlfriend and her friend. Went for lunch to Tiger Bakers in King's Cross. They're all from San Francisco and are half way through their exchange. Said they didn't want to go home. Had to get back to the flat then as it was almost time to get ready to go over to Louisa and Jess' flat for her party that evening.

Sarah (aka the walrus…because part of her surname is Waller and it also begins with a W....don't ask!) came over and left her car at the boys place and we all got the train to King's Cross to go to Lou's. Got a birthday cake and a load of meat to take with. Everyone was already on the roof terrace by the time we got there and the view was awesome! You could see the harbour bridge and the opera house one one side as well as the main CBD in the city and the Sydney tower. Was a really good party with everyone there. None of them seem like work mates anymore….they're more like my Sydney family now and everyone seems to get on really well on the whole. Seeing the sun go down over the city with a drink and a burger in hand really felt like being in Sydney. During the week at the training centre, you could have been anywhere but here we were….fireworks going off in the distance, with some great people and an awesome party. Scott bought out Lulu's surprise birthday cake in full drag with heels, wig and dress and we all had a toast to her birthday. About 9:30 decided to go home and caught the train back and went to bed.

Today Colin and I went over to Pyrmont to go get our hire car for the week. The week's training ahead was going to be mainly 4:30pm to 3am as it's the only time the aircraft are actually on the ground and it would be up to us to arrange transport home at 3am….not great and a $45 taxi ride 4 nights on the trot. Well we picked up the car and then popped to Bondi Junction to do a bit of a food shop. Spent the rest of the day going through study notes and the manuals trying to revise. Ah well……lets hope the exam goes ok in the morning!