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Hello!
Or should we say 'Welcome to Flybuys, this is...' The big news first of all is that we have jobs! Yay! And that we have booked the flights for the rest of our trip! Double yay! Back to where we left off all that time ago though:
On Sunday (31st Jan) Steve and Fiona took us to the Yarra Valley for the day. We first visited a winery and took in the views before grabbing some lunch in a little town on the way to the Healesville animal sanctuary which was really interesting (though so hot!) and Mary-Ann got to see all of the aussie animals. On the way home we stopped for another view and an even better one closer to home at Pin Oak Court (aka Ramsay St) which was fun to say the least! Though weird to see people other than the Neighbours cast emerging from the lived-in hosues.
Monday we were on another CV mission and finishing the day off with a spot of shopping when Amy recieved a phonecall from a company offering her an interview for a temporary position with the company Flybuys. Well after answering a few questions she managed to wangle that Mary-Ann come along for the group interview too. And so it begun... Anyway we raced to the clothes shops which were all shutting and bought ourselves some smart trousers. We were so keen to get the jobs as they were really well suited for many reasons. Firstly, it was a temporary contract which meant no lying about the length of our stay and that it ended just at the time we wanted to move on. Second, it was based in the CBD so within good commuting distance. Thirdly, we would have weekends off to be tourists. Fourthly it was good work as it was for an inbound customer service line. Fifthly it was great pay and lastly we would be doing it together so we would not be in the pickle of one of us having a job and the other not.
Tuesday was interview day, and on the way we were quizzed about how well we knew each other by the guy sat opposite us on the tram, honestly, they all come out on public transport! The interview went well, though we discovered that all other interviewees had experience in call centres. We left feeling a little less optimistic about our chances. Mary-Ann also recieved another interview offer for a shoe shop that day (later to be cancelled by text - ouch!)
On Wednesday we had a date to meet with Steve's friend Andrea in St Kilda. After being misled by the transit officer about which number tram we could take, and walking for the best part of an hour, we were picked up by Andrea and she took us to her friend's fast food cafe where we were going to discuss the possiblity of jobs there, until he found out we were based so far away from the area that it wouldb e unsafe for us to travel after late shifts in the early hours of the morning. He did however compensate by offering us free lunch, we weren't hungry so took a drink each instead, so kind! Afterwards Andrea took us around to see some of the suburb, and we begun handing out more cvs. At about midday we recieved a phone call saying we had got the jobs and begun training Monday. The grins on our faces, it was such relief! We then grabbed lunch in a wonderful little place called 'Lentil as Anything' which was all veggie food and with a 'pay what you think its worth' basis. Dinner was shouted by Steve and Fiona who took us back to Sofia's for a celebratory meal.
And just like that we had jobs. We just realised it's comparable to the creation story. On the first day, there was a phone call, on the second day there was an interview. By the third day, there were jobs. And on the fourth and fifth days we rested. Partly because they were rainy days and by Friday we decided rain meant hot chocolate and hot chocolate meant Max Brenner's which is supposedly, and we agree, the best cup in all of Melbourne!
On Saturday we decided to be super touristy so we took lunch to Fitzroy gardens and did the standard Cook's Cottage tour, which was actually very interesting. We also went to the conservatory, the model Tudor village and the fairy tree. On the way home we returned to the state library to look at the other exhibitions and to see the famous reading room which really is quite impressive.
Sunday was Steve and Fiona's anniversary so we all went to Williamstown for lunch and ice-cream which was lovely! We also prepared ourselves to start training on Monday.
An early 6am start and the day didn't get much easier as we were overwhelmed with info about how to do the job and so on. The whole week was a bit like that but day by day it sunk into place gradually more and by Friday we were taking calls all by ourselves. We really enjoyed the training week as everyone both already at the company and all the other new people are so friendly. The only other notable things about that week were:
On Wednesday morning, we had the wierdest start to the day as a tampon company decided to advertise their brand by making a hot air balloon into a giant packet of their own brand. We couldn't believe it either when we saw a giant pack of Libra tampons floating across the Melbourne skies.
On Friday the company treated us all to pizza - so nice!
On Saturday we made a trip to the Ian Potter centre - we've really seen so many art galleries and museums! This one was really interesting though, we just ran out of time so will return, but there was some amazing art on display. We explored Fed square a bit before heading to the Lindt cafe where Amy had an 'exploding lava cake' with vanilla ice cream and a raspberry and Mary-Ann had a waffle with icre cream and hot fudge sauce - yum! Also impressive was their range of Lindors including a cookies and cream one!!!! That evening Fiona took us to Blockbuster where we rented a few movies, we watched 2 that night.
Sunday, and Valentine's day, we went to St Kilda where there was the annual festival. It was so much fun! We discovered a few really good bands, wandered round the stalls and took part in a silent disco! It was a long day but really fun and all for free!
Since then we've just been working really, still settling into the jobs. We've updated the travel plan so you can see where and when we're travelling. Hope you're all well!!!
Lots of love,
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