Hello! Once again all my good intentions to post in a timely fashion have come to... well, another late blog post. To be fair, the computer in our house has been out of commission for a week or so now, so all my computer time has to be stolen by using a house mate's laptop, and has been mostly limited to work-related and essential communication only. I wanted to do another big picture post, but seeing how I just got an email from my parents wondering what I've been up to since they haven't heard from me in ages, I figure I'd better stick to news first, and do pictures later if there is time.
Earlier in January I arrived back to the glorious humid heat of a Queensland summer, and while sometimes it's maybe a little too hot, after the frigid temperatures in Seoul I am not complaining. I was back at work with USM my first weekend back, and seeing all those triathletes sweat it out made me - oddly enough - want to get back into it myself. I am only working on call for USM now, no longer working at the bike shop and therefor not commuting to work as much I was before, so I have much more free time and energy to train. I just started the training with the Carina Leagues Triathlon Club, and while I am still getting used to the 5:30 AM workouts, it's good to be back at it. Yesterday I did about 120km on the bike with a little swim and run in the middle, complete with torrential rain for part of the ride, and strong wind for some great surf to swim in. I was completely exhausted when I got home, and missed my swim this morning so I could sleep in, but am looking forward to getting back into shape.
I have also, finally, got to do what has been on my list since I arrived in Australia: go surfing! Now that most of my weekends are free, I took the opportunity of having mutual days off and went with a couple housemates to the Gold Coast. One of them grew up in the area and has a couple extra boards at his mom's place, so I got surf tips and the use of a board for free! It was once again pouring rain when we started, and I probably wasn't as careful with my sunscreen application as I should have been... I was wearing a long sleeved shirt on top but only bikini bottoms and no shorts, so I have some nice burn lines along my bum from paddling around on the board all day, which later turned out to be sunny! I did OK for a beginner, even managing to stand up for a couple seconds, but the paddling is tough on the shoulders and I am looking forward having another go in a few weeks when hopefully my triathlon training will have improved my fitness.
I was also invited on another trip to the Gold Coast, and with all my free time, who was I to turn it down? No surfing on that overnight trip, but after swimming at the beach, over-dosing on lollies and an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, and going to Movieworld, I felt like I was on holiday. I think we must have gone on the Superman ride at least three or four times :)
However, during all this time I have luckily had enough time to job hunt, since it became clear pretty quickly that I was going to need more income than I was getting from USM to get by. I was off to a good start with a lucky spot from a housemate in the classified add - a talent agency was looking for people to sign up as extras for film, TV, and catalogues, and within a couple days I had had an interview and was on their list.
Unfortunately, there is no guarantee of regular work with them, and as my bank account shrank to an uncomfortable low I started to panic a bit. But I found a job before so I knew I could do it again... it is amazing what you can find if you just ask. After some disappointing browsing of online classified adds I simply asked at the reception of the pool I train at if they were looking to hire, and got rewarded with phone numbers of swim coaches and the canteen manager. Not knowing if I had the energy for coaching, I called the canteen manager and am happy to report I will have my first shift this Wednesday. It turns out that she has mobile food vans that she sells from at the triathlons USM Events runs, so we had a connection right off the bat. She does other events as well, so I will hopefully be able to pick up some casual work at those events, or when there are other competitions or events at the pool and they need someone extra at the canteen. I'm actually happy about not having regular hours, since all I am looking for is a little extra work now and then for some extra cash, but not a job that will tie me down and prevent me from going on the odd getaway here or there.
So, in general, life is good, I have enough money to get by and enough free time to enjoy myself. There are no plans for any grand adventures across the continent or anything like that in the immediate future, but my time and budget should allow for trips around the area or maybe a road trip or two. I also have to start thinking about what will happen when my visa runs out, though I am putting that off for the moment. It is possible to renew my visa here and extend my already extended stay, which has crossed my mind in the past few weeks. But I would also really love to go to New Zealand, and there again there is the decision of how long to stay - get a working holiday visa and find work, or just a short visit and then home. I still have some time to think about that, but you can be sure to see updates here whenever I get around to making a decision. In the mean time, I think I will take advantage of this uncharacteristically cool evening and walk to the shops for groceries, and hope it doesn't storm on me on the way.
No comments:
Post a Comment