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22nd September - 12 October 2007
I know, I know, I know I have got a lot of catching up to do and I apologise for the length of time it has taken me to get round to writing this blog! Well settle in for a long one!!
22 September we set off from Byron Bay and spent 13 hours on a bus getting to Sydney. We had planned to meet up with Sam whom we had travelled through Asia with but we didnt get to the hostel called Wake Up until midnight so hit the hay as we had a big day planned the next day.
The next day we went and met Chris who Si had worked with back home and is now is Oz working here too on a holiday visa. We met him in the Rocks as his room mate had ran in the marathon that morninga nd had reserved a table in a bar in the Rocks called The Glenmore, overlooking the Harbour. It was gorgeous and a nice way to introduce ourselves to Sydney!!
We moved from there to a few other pubs and the night ended up pretty messy as people decided to start buying jager bombs. Ang, Dave and Dan came and met us and Chris's sister and friend plus a few others also joined us.
The next day we went started updating CV's as the time had come to get working again! ARGHHHH! That night we went to Wooloomooloo to meet up with Sam who we travelled through Asia with and finally met Amy (Aimes) his girlfreind. They are originally from Perth but had moved to Sydney to live and work after Sam got back from Asia. They were living in Potts Point and so we went for a few drinks round there and seen there flat. We decided that we would look for a flat in the area as it was so close to the city and if we got jobs in the city we would be able to walk there. It was great catching up with Sam.
The next day we checked out of Wake Up as we were moving to Chatswood in the afternoon as Tom, Martin's cousin had kindly offered us to stay at his until we found a flat etc. We put our stuff in storage unti lthe afternoon and had a day long search looking for flats, god its exhausting. We moved to Chatswood that night and it was great to finally be out of hostels, we are completely in debt to Tom for that, I had an actual oven to cook in! Thanks again Tom! The next day or so were pretty hectic as Si had interviews with different companies and I searched the whole of Sydney for suitable accomodation!! The first flat we visited was in Potts Point and in the building we did eventually get a flat in but the viewing of this flat was unbelieveable. We were early for the viewing as we had seen it on the net and decided that we did like it, then as the time got nearer to view it more and more people were waiting outside for the agent to turn up! There was 20 of us!! Anyway when we went in to see it Si and I hadnt even looked at the bathroom when a Chinese girl popped her head into the flat, without even looking round she grabbed the application form and legged upto the estate agents to put a deposit down!! She hadn't even looked around! We just stood there in shock! We couldnt believe it! It was going to be dog eat dog to get a flat here!
Si had a lot of interviews from here so i continued the search for a flat and seen so many awful places I was losing the will to live with it all. I was searching the internet and everything and had alot of flats to view over the next few days when a flat that looked half decent was for viewing on the saturday morning in the building that we had viewed the flat which the Chinese girl got. I had enough of fighting for flats and I know you are all going to laugh how neurotic I can get when you read this...so we were up early and decided to go to the estate agents and fill the application forms in before we even viewed the flat and then Si sat on the wall outside the estate agents while I went to see it, I then rang Si when I had looked arpund and told him to run wuick and put our forms in and pay a deposit!! Hee hee! It worked though we got in before ther est of them even tough they wouldnt take a deposit and we moved the following Saturday!! See sometimes it pays to be neurotic!!
After the viewing we walked around Potts Point and Kings Cross as we near enough in Potts Point and walked around the weekly market and found a British Lolly shop that sells the all english imported sweets, chocolate, crisps, its fantastic! they have quavers, wotsits, vimto, bisto gravy and hellmans mayonaise as the mayonais here is what we call salad cream at home, very weird! The only problem with the lolly shop is its really expensive for eample a fudge which is 15p back home is 90p here!!
We went back to Chatswood, i bought a few work clothes and Si and Tom went to Toms rugby dinner. The following day was spent in Manly at the Manly Wharf hotel drinking overlooking the harbour all day and night as the rugby final Melbourne v Manly final was on, we had a great day out and definitely one to be repeatedly in the future.
Poor Tom had to go to work the folowing day so we had a BBQ for tea, our first Aussie BBQ and went to Curl Curl beach for a swim then watched the sun set at North Head.
The next few days passed in a blur as Si had a few more interviews and I forwarde my CV to some legal recruitment agencies and had interviews and 2hour tests with them plus we both had to buy suits for work etc and then on friday we went and signed the lease for our flat and finally got the keys! We met Tom back in the Orchard and had a few drinks to celebrate!!
The next day I went and bought all things for flat like towls etc and then that afternoon Tom helped us move in. We had been at Toms for nearly 2 weeks and its amazing how much you manage to accumulate!! I was so happy to finally unpack that bloody backpack and chuck it in the bottom of the wardrobe!! Tha tnight we went out with Sam and Aimes to a little czech restaurant behind our flat for a few drinks and then we went to meet there two friends andy and serena who also live in potts point, to watch the England v Australia in the Rugby world club. There flat was amazing, it overlooks the whole city unlike ours, we have a lovely view of a wall!
The next day Ang, Dan and Dave came round to see the flat as they were still searching for a place and still living at the hostel wake up. That evening we wnet back over to Chatsood and took Tom for a meal as he refused to take any money off us for rent.
The next week was a really long one for both of us after alot of umming an arring Si accepted one of the three jobs he was offered but told them he couldn't start till the Tuesday (this is hilarious we hadnt worked for 7 months but he couldn't face a Monday morning!) On the Monday I had another interview with a recruitment agency and then on Tuesday Si started work with a heavy heart! On the Tuesday I got a call fro mthe agency with an assignement to start the next day, Wednesday for a Solicitors called Blake Dawson and it was to be for 3 weeks (..im still there by the way, and its my 8th week!) to work on an upcoming trial. so it was back to the real world for the two travellers. Poor Simon's feet were cut to ribbons having to wear proper shoes, he went throgu hso many plasters! I was amazed the day I started at Blakes as the view is fantstic, the building overlookd the harbour bridge and the opera house. We were both shattered, we would come in from work eat in silence and then near eough go to bed! It took so much effort to concentrate in work, so by friday i was like a zombie.
Sam, Amy, Andy and Serena wanted us to go out on the friday night, iwas knackered I couldn't get off the couch bear in mund i had only done 3 days work !! Si had to go on his own, he kept ringing trying to drag me out but i wasn't moving off that couch!!
Further Sydney update soon...
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