The email that started it all

Feb 2, 2005

G'day mates!

After 2 weeks in Sydney, things have finally come together. Laura and I are living in the city, sharing a flat with 4 other people. We have our own room and we share a large bed and we have our own bathroom, so it's nice and we have our own space, but the people we live with are actually quite cool, so we spend a lot of time in the very spacious living room with them. The kitchen has a leaky faucet that is actually a constant stream of water, the dishwasher doesn't work, and the carpet is a little funny looking, but it's a good flat. We live with Carrie (Kaz) and Chris, a nice british couple around our age. They've been traveling all around Asia and the islands and were actually really lucky they weren't hit by the tsunami. There are two other girls in the flat, Jody and Kirsty, Brits traveling around as well. I went out with Kirsty and Jody the other night to a bar on Darling Harbour and it was really nice getting to know them and chatting up random Australians at the same time!

As far as jobs go, it's been a bit of an odyssey, but in the end, I lucked out and got a job at this really cool Irish pub called P.J. O'Briens. I'm a bartender (YES!!!!!) and a waitress. I'm still being trained as a bartender, but it's nice cuz since it's such a beer drinking bar, most of the stuff I need to learn is just different types of Irish beers and how to pour them the right way. I must say, I have MASTERED the Guinness pour. For now, I've been working in the upstairs bar and restaraunt. By Saturday night, I get to have a go at the main bar downstairs. I'm excited!!! Everybody is really nice who I've met so far and they are pretty much all Irish with the exception of a a few of the managers who are Australian. I'm a bit of a celebrity as the only American in the pub! People are really friendly and take the piss out of my accent and just want to know a bit about where I'm from. It's still a little crazy getting used to everything and the really fast pace, but I'm liking it so far.

So it took about a week and a half to find the job. Everyday, laur and I would get cute and scour the city with our resumes. i handed out 38 in total. Got interviews at 2 other places, hired by a nightclub as a bartender (which i had to turn down but i can still go back to later if i need more hours), and got offered shifts at a high-priced Indian restaraunt on the harbour which I had to turn down as well. I might need to find a second job, but I'll see how it goes at O'Briens.

While we weren't looking for a job, we explored Sydney! It's a great city, very laid-back, people dress either really smart like they're going out or are just wearing flip-flops and shorts and beach-like gear. My hair has gone SUPER curly out here so everyday it's like i'm a Spice Girl. I love the view from Circular Quay where the Opera House is. It's beautiful. Laura and I walked across Harbour Bridge to Kiribilli to visit some friends and we saw the entire view from way up high, which was gorgeous. We've been to a few beaches too. Bondi beach is awesome, we went there for Australia Day on the 26th. We also went to Manly and Coogee which were great. At Coogee the waves were intense! I've never been in waves that big. It was high tide and I got my ass kicked out there, getting caught in the rip. After Laura accidentally kicked me and I got hit by a phantom boogie board in the neck, I decided to get out of the water. I haven't gotten too burned yet, I'm trying to be really careful!!! The sun is really strong, though, and I can see how everyone here is really paranoid about cancer. There is, afterall, NO ozone layer.