OOOOOOOH YES!
The moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived... In a little over 48hrs I'll be back in Falmouth.
I'm going to try and see as many people as physically possible before I have to fly back on the 16th so give me a ring, my English number is the same as before. Just don't do it til Friday evening or it'll cost you a fortune.
See you on the other side...
17 December 2008
14 December 2008
Another Day, Another Job Offer...
Sooo I had a meeting on Friday with the Group Engineer for one of the biggest international coal mining companies (let's call them "X" if that isn't too big a clue). They've just bought an absolute nightmare of a mine south of Sydney and they want to buy more than $10m of our machines. In order to stop the machines being destroyed within weeks they need a complete overhaul of the processes at the mine. This is where I'd come in, the engineers currently in place are working 24/7 just to keep the place running, they have no time to plan these changes or even think about how they'd use completely different, brand new machinery instead of the half dozen wrecks they have atm. I'd be underground for several months and would look at every single process in the mine from shift patterns, cutting cycles, development, ventilation etc which would be the best possible experience I could get for my 3rd year. This place has rock falls, outbursts, water, massive levels of CO and methane, bad ground, you name it they've got it! They mine under a railway, under a river and a town! There are very few mines where you can experience every problem and danger facing a mine in just one place! Unfortunately the guy I spoke to can't just hire me, my resume which I bodged together the night before has to go to "X" HR department who may say no or even assign me to a totally different project... God knows how this will work with the fact that I'm still employed by my current company and I don't want to even think about the complications it could cause for my visa... The simplest way would be to just hire me as a contractor from my current company but it's all up in the air.
The long and the short of it is that I'm assuming that this isn't going to happen. This is the third grand scheme they've tried to get me involved with since I got here and the first two have fallen through so I'm not getting my hopes up. Would be an incredible thing to put on my CV if I did get it though, not to mention the 5,000 word report I have to do... apparently I could fill that with just the introduction on this mine!
Sooo apart from that... I got nothing.
The long and the short of it is that I'm assuming that this isn't going to happen. This is the third grand scheme they've tried to get me involved with since I got here and the first two have fallen through so I'm not getting my hopes up. Would be an incredible thing to put on my CV if I did get it though, not to mention the 5,000 word report I have to do... apparently I could fill that with just the introduction on this mine!
Sooo apart from that... I got nothing.
10 December 2008
Just For The Record
The best thing about free speech is that with this being MY blog I can write whatever the fuck I want to and if you don't like it then TOUGH SHIT. Just wanted to get that off my chest.
RTC xxx
(3 posts in a day, what ever is the world coming to?)
RTC xxx
(3 posts in a day, what ever is the world coming to?)
I Should Have Known…
The really cool geotechnical project that could revolutionise roof support is not just in the planning stages, it hasn’t even been approved yet. I spoke to the guy running it and apparently they won’t be in a position to even think about starting it until late February at the earliest. Seeing as they need someone for 12months and I’m leaving in June… If I did start working on it I’d be around long enough to do shit loads of background reading and do the boring-assed labwork before someone else would have to takeover and do all the fun site visits and field trials. That’s juuust great. So assuming I’m stupid enough to still agree to do it then I have another 2-3 months of being bored out of my skull before it starts.
In other news my boss has kindly arranged a meeting for me with a representative of one of the biggest coal mining companies in Oz. For 7.30am on Friday… WTF??? Starting work that early should be illegal never mind the fact that the earliest bus I can catch won’t get me here before 7.35. The last thing I want is to be late for something like that. At least after that meeting I’ve only got another 20-25 different companies to contact, at this rate I might have done 6-7 by the time I come back to the UK in June.
Speaking of which, I’M COMING HOME IN 8 DAYS!!! WOOOOOOOOO!
I’ve got my tickets for the Sydney-Dubai-Gatwick flights and I’ve booked my flights from Gatwick to Plymouth so I should be back in Falmouth approx 9pm on Friday the 19th. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be coming back to the UK, even if it is just for a month. Party party party :D
In other news my boss has kindly arranged a meeting for me with a representative of one of the biggest coal mining companies in Oz. For 7.30am on Friday… WTF??? Starting work that early should be illegal never mind the fact that the earliest bus I can catch won’t get me here before 7.35. The last thing I want is to be late for something like that. At least after that meeting I’ve only got another 20-25 different companies to contact, at this rate I might have done 6-7 by the time I come back to the UK in June.
Speaking of which, I’M COMING HOME IN 8 DAYS!!! WOOOOOOOOO!
I’ve got my tickets for the Sydney-Dubai-Gatwick flights and I’ve booked my flights from Gatwick to Plymouth so I should be back in Falmouth approx 9pm on Friday the 19th. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be coming back to the UK, even if it is just for a month. Party party party :D
In The Loop?
So I’ve decided to go about this blogging thing a slightly different way, this is mainly down to the fact that I’m bored to tears at work and partially due to my guilt over not posting regularly. Until I get bored of this too I’m going to be writing the next few entries at work over the course of the day then adding them to my blog at night.
I’m writing this at work on my 5th consecutive day of doing fuck all. This is because I’m waiting for my boss to give me some information and I’m still waiting. Bearing in mind that I can’t continue with my project without it and he said he’d give it to me 2wks ago. My days now consist of copious amounts of hot, caffeinated beverages interspersed with emails to my boss asking for info and the gaps are filled with browsing the internet for anything remotely interesting. I spend my afternoons chatting on Skype to the two guys in Perth about just how bored and unmotivated all three of us are and that’s about the highlight of my day.
The fucking bitch a.k.a. “S” from an earlier post had the temerity to tell me to get off the internet last week or I’d be sacked for misuse! The fact that my research project is internet based obviously bypassed her and I won’t go into the sweet, sweet irony that she told me this over the office I.M. system… On that note the stupid cow still refuses to talk to me even though we sit about 5m away from each other and are both often participants in the same conversation! I even helped her out with getting a clothes washer for her new flat by showing her how to use www.freecycle.com.au but again, she had to direct her comments through a third party. It’s like being back at school but without having hundreds of other girls to perve on while ignoring her….
Because anyone walking around the office can see my computer screen I have to pretend to be doing something but I gave up on that two days ago when I got fed up of the comments from other people about me not doing anything. If they know I’m not working then I can’t be arsed to pretend. For some reason I’m not doing any drafting anymore and I don’t have a fucking clue why. I was working on a pretty complex diagram last week and one of the guys just came over and told me to save it and then he took away the paper copies I was working from and told me to get on with something else! Since then no-one has even suggested I go near a drawing which is odd seeing as they’re all rushing around manically. I either did a really shit job or my boss told them I had to concentrate on this research, it beats me. They constantly have meetings that I’m not invited to so I can safely say that I’m not just ‘out of the loop’; I’m a million miles away.
I’m writing this at work on my 5th consecutive day of doing fuck all. This is because I’m waiting for my boss to give me some information and I’m still waiting. Bearing in mind that I can’t continue with my project without it and he said he’d give it to me 2wks ago. My days now consist of copious amounts of hot, caffeinated beverages interspersed with emails to my boss asking for info and the gaps are filled with browsing the internet for anything remotely interesting. I spend my afternoons chatting on Skype to the two guys in Perth about just how bored and unmotivated all three of us are and that’s about the highlight of my day.
The fucking bitch a.k.a. “S” from an earlier post had the temerity to tell me to get off the internet last week or I’d be sacked for misuse! The fact that my research project is internet based obviously bypassed her and I won’t go into the sweet, sweet irony that she told me this over the office I.M. system… On that note the stupid cow still refuses to talk to me even though we sit about 5m away from each other and are both often participants in the same conversation! I even helped her out with getting a clothes washer for her new flat by showing her how to use www.freecycle.com.au but again, she had to direct her comments through a third party. It’s like being back at school but without having hundreds of other girls to perve on while ignoring her….
Because anyone walking around the office can see my computer screen I have to pretend to be doing something but I gave up on that two days ago when I got fed up of the comments from other people about me not doing anything. If they know I’m not working then I can’t be arsed to pretend. For some reason I’m not doing any drafting anymore and I don’t have a fucking clue why. I was working on a pretty complex diagram last week and one of the guys just came over and told me to save it and then he took away the paper copies I was working from and told me to get on with something else! Since then no-one has even suggested I go near a drawing which is odd seeing as they’re all rushing around manically. I either did a really shit job or my boss told them I had to concentrate on this research, it beats me. They constantly have meetings that I’m not invited to so I can safely say that I’m not just ‘out of the loop’; I’m a million miles away.
4 December 2008
Busy like a busy-busy-bee...
I've just had an Epiphany: I really quite like Australia. If I could fly my mates and some decent beer (seriously, it's fucking terrible) over here than I could probably be quite happy. As it is I can't wait to have that month in the UK, without it I couldn't hack staying out here til June (mainly due to lack of decent beer ;P).
In other news: I went to the Sydney motorbike show last weekend as can be seen by my facebook pics... It was pretty damn good. Lots of sexy motorbikes, the odd sexy woman and I finally bought myself a pair of thing summer riding gloves after putting it off for 3yrs. They were a bargain at $30 too, about 12 quid.
I'm also negotiating things like internet access etc with the HR people atm, it pisses me off they didn't sort it out 3 months ago but better late than never...
Oh and I'm certain that Aussies really, really, really don't 'get' my sense of humour. Especially not where I work. The admin girl got angry with me the other day when she failed to realise that I was taking the piss and it's probably the 10th time someone has taken me at face value when they really shouldn't. Sarcasm and irony seem to be enigmas to them, I just get a blank look or a strained smile. God knows what they think of this blog...I know you're out there... ;D
Because it wouldn't be an RTC blog if it didn't have a rant somewhere:
FUCKING BUSES ARE SHIT! I had to wait over an hour outside work because the bus didn't turn up today. Not only do I have to spend 2hrs a day on the moron-infesting wankmobiles but they turn up late and actually charge for the privilege! Not to mention that any vaguely attractive female seems to avoid them like the plague so I can't even distract myself with a bit of good 'ol' perving.
To be fair today it was because the first bus got taken out by a lorry then the relief bus got hit by a car... but that's not the point. They're still fucking shit. Here's an open letter to the lorry/car drivers:
Dear Sir/Madam/window-licker,
Your are a complete cunt. Thanks to your sheer stupidity at not being able to avoid a FUCKING BUS! I had to wait out in the dust and flies for just over an hour. Had you been present there would have been multiple homicides. I hate you.
Yours,
RTC
In other news: I went to the Sydney motorbike show last weekend as can be seen by my facebook pics... It was pretty damn good. Lots of sexy motorbikes, the odd sexy woman and I finally bought myself a pair of thing summer riding gloves after putting it off for 3yrs. They were a bargain at $30 too, about 12 quid.
I'm also negotiating things like internet access etc with the HR people atm, it pisses me off they didn't sort it out 3 months ago but better late than never...
Oh and I'm certain that Aussies really, really, really don't 'get' my sense of humour. Especially not where I work. The admin girl got angry with me the other day when she failed to realise that I was taking the piss and it's probably the 10th time someone has taken me at face value when they really shouldn't. Sarcasm and irony seem to be enigmas to them, I just get a blank look or a strained smile. God knows what they think of this blog...I know you're out there... ;D
Because it wouldn't be an RTC blog if it didn't have a rant somewhere:
FUCKING BUSES ARE SHIT! I had to wait over an hour outside work because the bus didn't turn up today. Not only do I have to spend 2hrs a day on the moron-infesting wankmobiles but they turn up late and actually charge for the privilege! Not to mention that any vaguely attractive female seems to avoid them like the plague so I can't even distract myself with a bit of good 'ol' perving.
To be fair today it was because the first bus got taken out by a lorry then the relief bus got hit by a car... but that's not the point. They're still fucking shit. Here's an open letter to the lorry/car drivers:
Dear Sir/Madam/window-licker,
Your are a complete cunt. Thanks to your sheer stupidity at not being able to avoid a FUCKING BUS! I had to wait out in the dust and flies for just over an hour. Had you been present there would have been multiple homicides. I hate you.
Yours,
RTC
3 December 2008
Sunny Side Up
Hmmmm, 35 degrees in December, something's different??? It's baking here and poor ickle wobbie-woo is actually looking forward to getting back to cold, wet England and bundling up in layers rather than sweating even with the aircon on.
Oh on that note, I may have failed to mention that I'm coming back to England for Xmas :D The company is flying all three of us back to the UK and I managed to blag my supervisor into a signing a leave form which gave me an entire month off!! That means I should be in the UK from the 19th Dec to the 15/16th Jan. Friggin awesome. I'll be heading straight back down to Fal from Gatwick to go to a gig then home for a few days before (probably) going back to Fal for New Year and staying there til the 13/14th.
There's even more good news: I'm currently working on a fairly interesting project which is a survey of every single underground coal mine in NSW, QLD and NZ (more fun than it sounds, honest!) and my boss is trying to get me involved with a geotechnical engineer who is trying to revolutionise the roofbolting in coal mines... that means extra pay for me, lots of travellling, lots of field work underground AND the company is going to pay for me to get my car license :D So right now, things are looking pretty rosy, can anyone spot the elephant in the room?
Oh on that note, I may have failed to mention that I'm coming back to England for Xmas :D The company is flying all three of us back to the UK and I managed to blag my supervisor into a signing a leave form which gave me an entire month off!! That means I should be in the UK from the 19th Dec to the 15/16th Jan. Friggin awesome. I'll be heading straight back down to Fal from Gatwick to go to a gig then home for a few days before (probably) going back to Fal for New Year and staying there til the 13/14th.
There's even more good news: I'm currently working on a fairly interesting project which is a survey of every single underground coal mine in NSW, QLD and NZ (more fun than it sounds, honest!) and my boss is trying to get me involved with a geotechnical engineer who is trying to revolutionise the roofbolting in coal mines... that means extra pay for me, lots of travellling, lots of field work underground AND the company is going to pay for me to get my car license :D So right now, things are looking pretty rosy, can anyone spot the elephant in the room?
30 November 2008
Beach Parties and Drunken Texting...
One is fucking amazing, the other fucking embarrassing... wanna guess which one's which?
Went to a beach party up at Newcastle Uni last night, they dumped 140tons of sand outside the SU, added 4 stages, some amazing hip-hop and rock bands, chucked in a load of booze and let the party begin! I have never seen live hip-hop before and I'm not exactly a fan of the genre but fuck, these guys were good! Then the Getaway Plan came on and again I'm not a fan but they blew me away. They got the whole crowd going crazy for 40mins, felt like I was back at Download. Then after being bored to tears by the Beatiful Girls (shit, boring, wankers) we headed inside to finish the night with more hip-hop type music. I managed to get completely plastered by about 8pm (it started at 3.30) and following Nick's lead started trying to chat up anything roughly female in the immediate vicinity... I should have listened when he said that Aussie girls are hard work! Didn't stop me having a wicked time even though I think I was turned down more times in one night than I ever have been in my whole life!
So after that we headed back to Nick's and because there were 6000 people all leaving the uni I didn't have a snowball-in-hell's chance of getting a taxi back to mine and I slept on his sofa. Not before getting his housemates number (success at last!) and sending two stupid (not sleazy, just stupid) txts as I slowly passed out... Hopefully she was too drunk and deleted them, yeh right. Even more so I hope she doesn't know I tried the same little trick with her other housemate 2wks ago and got soundly denied. Can't blame a guy for trying eh?
So there you go, beach parties = fucking amazing, drunken texting = fucking embarrassing. I'll let you decide which one you want to indulge in...
Went to a beach party up at Newcastle Uni last night, they dumped 140tons of sand outside the SU, added 4 stages, some amazing hip-hop and rock bands, chucked in a load of booze and let the party begin! I have never seen live hip-hop before and I'm not exactly a fan of the genre but fuck, these guys were good! Then the Getaway Plan came on and again I'm not a fan but they blew me away. They got the whole crowd going crazy for 40mins, felt like I was back at Download. Then after being bored to tears by the Beatiful Girls (shit, boring, wankers) we headed inside to finish the night with more hip-hop type music. I managed to get completely plastered by about 8pm (it started at 3.30) and following Nick's lead started trying to chat up anything roughly female in the immediate vicinity... I should have listened when he said that Aussie girls are hard work! Didn't stop me having a wicked time even though I think I was turned down more times in one night than I ever have been in my whole life!
So after that we headed back to Nick's and because there were 6000 people all leaving the uni I didn't have a snowball-in-hell's chance of getting a taxi back to mine and I slept on his sofa. Not before getting his housemates number (success at last!) and sending two stupid (not sleazy, just stupid) txts as I slowly passed out... Hopefully she was too drunk and deleted them, yeh right. Even more so I hope she doesn't know I tried the same little trick with her other housemate 2wks ago and got soundly denied. Can't blame a guy for trying eh?
So there you go, beach parties = fucking amazing, drunken texting = fucking embarrassing. I'll let you decide which one you want to indulge in...
25 November 2008
Just a...
quickie. The mega-positive post ain't happening for a while... same shit, different day.
On one hand it's been 2wks since I quit smoking and I'm not missing the fags at all.
On the other I'm hungover, angry and not very impressed at all.
On one hand it's been 2wks since I quit smoking and I'm not missing the fags at all.
On the other I'm hungover, angry and not very impressed at all.
20 November 2008
Stopgap
I really should update this more often but I'm sick of writing angry or depressing shit on here. I don't have enough news for a decent update yet but suffice to say I've bought tickets for a student beach party and a metal festival in Sydney today so I'm a bit happier....
11 November 2008
1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back
Well I don't really wanna talk about it but my birthday was definitely the lowest point of this trip so far. Eating 3-day old pizza on my own isn't quite how I imagined I'd spend the night. Not to mention my boss being the biggest fucking prick to me then effectively excluding me from the project I'd traveled all the way to Ulan to work on. So work was really good for all of 3 days and now I'm back to wasting time because they don't have enough boring, simple jobs to keep me busy.
While I remember: THANKYOU TO EVERYONE WHO SENT ME A BIRTHDAY MESSAGE! They cheered me up no end and were the highlight of an exceedingly poor week.
Anyway, enough of that. Had a really fucking weird night on Friday, the two girls from the office invited me out in town with them. We went shopping in the afternoon so at least I have some respectable clothes now but when I met up with them later it all went pear shaped.
The hottie had a stunning friend with her and they both left within 20mins! They left me with "S" and her friend, neither of whom are at all attractive, not to mention that "S" was plastered. Without going into too much detail I spent the next 3hrs watching her scream at people in the street, kick bins, throw cans at people, steal a bike lock...the list goes on. She ended by telling me to fuck off home which I promptly did.
I was reassured that this was normal behaviour for her but I waited all weekend for a txt saying "please don't tell anyone at work"...it never arrived. So come Monday when the people at work (who knew exactly what I'd let myself in for) asked me what happened I just said that she was drunk and got rowdy, causing bit of a scene. No details, no bitching, just the facts. Cue 20mins later and "S" is doing a lovely imitation of a 14yr old with "you're spreading shit behind my back, friends don't tell secrets, we never liked you anyway just felt sorry for you, you're a fucking this-and-that". I don't think she appreciated me laughing in her face....oops my bad. I couldn't help cracking up when she turned a simple 30 second conversation into a massive drama and brought out insults I haven't heard since school.
After pointing out that I'm not her friend, everyone at work knows she's a rowdy bitch anyway and that I didn't tell them any of the details that would have actually caused her embarrassment I left her to it. There was more amusement today when she insisted on pulling faces at me while I was trying to make a coffee...I'm taking bets on how long it'll be before the immature cow tells me "you're not coming to my birthday paaahrty" :D
Sooooo apart from that nothing has changed, still bored, still pissed off with work. However I have actually entertained the thought of jacking it all in for longer than 5minutes which is worrying. Have been looking into ways to get a flight home in the early New Year for a visit home.
Chow for now...
While I remember: THANKYOU TO EVERYONE WHO SENT ME A BIRTHDAY MESSAGE! They cheered me up no end and were the highlight of an exceedingly poor week.
Anyway, enough of that. Had a really fucking weird night on Friday, the two girls from the office invited me out in town with them. We went shopping in the afternoon so at least I have some respectable clothes now but when I met up with them later it all went pear shaped.
The hottie had a stunning friend with her and they both left within 20mins! They left me with "S" and her friend, neither of whom are at all attractive, not to mention that "S" was plastered. Without going into too much detail I spent the next 3hrs watching her scream at people in the street, kick bins, throw cans at people, steal a bike lock...the list goes on. She ended by telling me to fuck off home which I promptly did.
I was reassured that this was normal behaviour for her but I waited all weekend for a txt saying "please don't tell anyone at work"...it never arrived. So come Monday when the people at work (who knew exactly what I'd let myself in for) asked me what happened I just said that she was drunk and got rowdy, causing bit of a scene. No details, no bitching, just the facts. Cue 20mins later and "S" is doing a lovely imitation of a 14yr old with "you're spreading shit behind my back, friends don't tell secrets, we never liked you anyway just felt sorry for you, you're a fucking this-and-that". I don't think she appreciated me laughing in her face....oops my bad. I couldn't help cracking up when she turned a simple 30 second conversation into a massive drama and brought out insults I haven't heard since school.
After pointing out that I'm not her friend, everyone at work knows she's a rowdy bitch anyway and that I didn't tell them any of the details that would have actually caused her embarrassment I left her to it. There was more amusement today when she insisted on pulling faces at me while I was trying to make a coffee...I'm taking bets on how long it'll be before the immature cow tells me "you're not coming to my birthday paaahrty" :D
Sooooo apart from that nothing has changed, still bored, still pissed off with work. However I have actually entertained the thought of jacking it all in for longer than 5minutes which is worrying. Have been looking into ways to get a flight home in the early New Year for a visit home.
Chow for now...
1 November 2008
Fan-fucking-tastic
I'm not coming back from the mine til Thursday morning now so will actually spend my entire birthday either underground or in a motel, doesn't get much better than that! I'm hoping there aren't any fires, explosions, rockfalls etc... knowing my luck....
I probably won't be online until Thursday night now so there'd best be plenty of birthday messages waiting for me!
I probably won't be online until Thursday night now so there'd best be plenty of birthday messages waiting for me!
30 October 2008
Finally
I'm going underground! Woooo! I was innocently sitting at my desk this morning and got shouted at to get into the boardroom...after spending 2secs wondering what I'd done wrong and whether they were gonna sack me I went and got told that as the only engineer in the building that isn't completely stacked with work I'm being sent to one of the oldest and most established coal mines in the country to do some troubleshooting. It turns out that we've been supplying rigs with dodgy seals for well over a year and the quick-fix of new seals isn't working out so me and one of the draftsmen who designed it (no engineering knowledge!) are being sent to try and work out what's causing the seals to wear and essentially fail. I'm excited about going but slightly nervous after reading through dozens of e-mails today that have gone back and forth between us and the mine. It looks like there are gonna be some very hacked off production managers and operators there as the dodgy seals have cost them mega-big-bucks in lost production time....
For those of you that haven't worked it out that means I'll be spending my 22nd birthday hundreds of feet undergound watching a rig go up, then down, then up, then down, then up, repeat *ad infinitum*. It's a 4-5hr drive home so I should be back in Newcastle just before midnight and the end of my birthday, hardcore! I was meant to be doing my motorbike training on the 4/5th but have to postpone that now for another few weeks... damnit.
So this weekend I've got a work xmas party, on the 1st November! WTF? I'm not gonna complain though, is a good excuse for a piss-up and should actually meet some people from the office I spent 3weeks at in September. Unfortunately my favorite pub has been shut down by the police so the closing party I was going to won't happen, need to find something else for tomorrow night now...hmmmm.
That's about it for this thrilling installment, my sunburn has faded to a nice brown tan so will be hitting the beach some more this weekend if the weather holds. Saw a whale off the beach to day too, go me!
For those of you that haven't worked it out that means I'll be spending my 22nd birthday hundreds of feet undergound watching a rig go up, then down, then up, then down, then up, repeat *ad infinitum*. It's a 4-5hr drive home so I should be back in Newcastle just before midnight and the end of my birthday, hardcore! I was meant to be doing my motorbike training on the 4/5th but have to postpone that now for another few weeks... damnit.
So this weekend I've got a work xmas party, on the 1st November! WTF? I'm not gonna complain though, is a good excuse for a piss-up and should actually meet some people from the office I spent 3weeks at in September. Unfortunately my favorite pub has been shut down by the police so the closing party I was going to won't happen, need to find something else for tomorrow night now...hmmmm.
That's about it for this thrilling installment, my sunburn has faded to a nice brown tan so will be hitting the beach some more this weekend if the weather holds. Saw a whale off the beach to day too, go me!
27 October 2008
Women...
are also fucking morons! Yes I'm still harping on about the moron but this time it's slightly more specific. He may be tall, blonde and good looking but the guy is slower than the tectonic plates and has fuck-all in the way of conversational abilities, this doesn't seem to bother the women in the office. Every last one of them goes up to him when they come in the office and stands there giggling in that oh-so-fucking-irritating way, twirling their hair and blushing. I can't believe they spend so much time and effort flirting with a bloke who could barely pass a yr6 SATS exam! If he wasn't in the same office I probably wouldn't have even noticed let alone cared but I'm getting mighty sick of hearing said oh-so-fucking-irritating giggling especially when I'm trying to do some work and he can't even give me the most basic instructions without me questioning him for 10mins to make sure he's told me the right thing.
On other, slightly less vitriolic news, I have nothing to say. Did bugger all over the weekend and shall probably carry on doing the same for the foreseeable future. Nught get some photos up before the weekend....
On other, slightly less vitriolic news, I have nothing to say. Did bugger all over the weekend and shall probably carry on doing the same for the foreseeable future. Nught get some photos up before the weekend....
21 October 2008
Some People...
Are fucking morons.
One of the apprentices at work needs to be put down, seriously. Our convo this afternoon was a little like this:
RTC: so in the materials listing is it a block or a sheet?
Moron: a sheet
RTC: It looks too thick for a sheet...
Moron: it's a block of course
RTC: so I enter it as a block?
Moron: no, it's obviously a sheet.
*goes off into a mumbling 5min explanation of why a block 50x50x90mm should be a sheet not a block*
Fuck-me-sideways that was a painful conversation! It must have dragged on for another 20mins with the moron throwing in needless explanations of irrelevant bollocks and contradicting himself everytime he spoke. Unfortunately as he was meant to be showing me the ropes I just had to grit my teeth and breath deeply.
Other than that work has been fairly good for the last 2-3 days. I've finally got my own desk and PC so I have been cracking on with some real work; drafting, detailing etc. My boss is hunting down a laptop for me and now I've got my SGS card I can be sent underground... should be a trip to Ulan Coal in the next week or so. The pretty, blonde admin girl spent 20mins rounding me up a bunch of stationary today too...fuck knows why! She asked me if anyone had given me any pens (wtf?) and when I said no she promptly dissapeared and returned 10mins later with an armful of pens/pencils/sharpeners/rulers/post-it-notes/cellotape/you-name-it-it-was-there. I know I should never turn free stationary but it seems slightly pointless as I'm working in the design office and 99.9% of everyone's work is done on a PC but heyho! I even have my own desk calendar so I can count the days til I leave...joy!
The weathers been pretty weird here this week, was scorching on sunday, I managed to get a wee bit of sunburn on the beach (bloody hurts) then a few hours later we had spectacular storms with sheet lightning and the loudest thunder I've ever heard. The same again last night too... I love having a balcony I can stand on and watch the storm head out to sea.
2wks til my birthday...hmmm. Not so sure about this one. I don't actually have a key for my postbox atm so any mail I get might not be picked up for a couple of weeks... I don't have a clue what'll happen with parcels (yeh I know I'm getting at least 2 so there!) so that should be interesting. I think I'm gonna have a 22nd/flatwarming party on the 7th and invite everyone I've met and some randoms lol. Few crates of beer, snacks and I might even fire up the mahoosive gas BBQ if the weather is good.
Talking about food: Mum, you'd be proud, I actually boiled down a chicken carcass and made soup from scratch like we used to have at home... carrots, celery, lentils, herbs etc etc all boiled for about 2 days til I ended up with a damn fine tasting chicken 'n''veg soup/stew. Tonight it's beef stroganoff, I've found cooking properly keeps me occupied and stops me spending cash on crap like pizza/maccy-d's. Gonna marinate me some steaks too and have a proper BBQ one weekend.
Right, I've been writing so long I don't have a clue what I've said and what still needs to be written down. Ummm... I've sent some postcards out to a few people, more on the way...my english phone is busted so if you need me use (+61) 429 912 214... I miss all of you so fucking leave comments you CUNTS!!!
xxx
One of the apprentices at work needs to be put down, seriously. Our convo this afternoon was a little like this:
RTC: so in the materials listing is it a block or a sheet?
Moron: a sheet
RTC: It looks too thick for a sheet...
Moron: it's a block of course
RTC: so I enter it as a block?
Moron: no, it's obviously a sheet.
*goes off into a mumbling 5min explanation of why a block 50x50x90mm should be a sheet not a block*
Fuck-me-sideways that was a painful conversation! It must have dragged on for another 20mins with the moron throwing in needless explanations of irrelevant bollocks and contradicting himself everytime he spoke. Unfortunately as he was meant to be showing me the ropes I just had to grit my teeth and breath deeply.
Other than that work has been fairly good for the last 2-3 days. I've finally got my own desk and PC so I have been cracking on with some real work; drafting, detailing etc. My boss is hunting down a laptop for me and now I've got my SGS card I can be sent underground... should be a trip to Ulan Coal in the next week or so. The pretty, blonde admin girl spent 20mins rounding me up a bunch of stationary today too...fuck knows why! She asked me if anyone had given me any pens (wtf?) and when I said no she promptly dissapeared and returned 10mins later with an armful of pens/pencils/sharpeners/rulers/post-it-notes/cellotape/you-name-it-it-was-there. I know I should never turn free stationary but it seems slightly pointless as I'm working in the design office and 99.9% of everyone's work is done on a PC but heyho! I even have my own desk calendar so I can count the days til I leave...joy!
The weathers been pretty weird here this week, was scorching on sunday, I managed to get a wee bit of sunburn on the beach (bloody hurts) then a few hours later we had spectacular storms with sheet lightning and the loudest thunder I've ever heard. The same again last night too... I love having a balcony I can stand on and watch the storm head out to sea.
2wks til my birthday...hmmm. Not so sure about this one. I don't actually have a key for my postbox atm so any mail I get might not be picked up for a couple of weeks... I don't have a clue what'll happen with parcels (yeh I know I'm getting at least 2 so there!) so that should be interesting. I think I'm gonna have a 22nd/flatwarming party on the 7th and invite everyone I've met and some randoms lol. Few crates of beer, snacks and I might even fire up the mahoosive gas BBQ if the weather is good.
Talking about food: Mum, you'd be proud, I actually boiled down a chicken carcass and made soup from scratch like we used to have at home... carrots, celery, lentils, herbs etc etc all boiled for about 2 days til I ended up with a damn fine tasting chicken 'n''veg soup/stew. Tonight it's beef stroganoff, I've found cooking properly keeps me occupied and stops me spending cash on crap like pizza/maccy-d's. Gonna marinate me some steaks too and have a proper BBQ one weekend.
Right, I've been writing so long I don't have a clue what I've said and what still needs to be written down. Ummm... I've sent some postcards out to a few people, more on the way...my english phone is busted so if you need me use (+61) 429 912 214... I miss all of you so fucking leave comments you CUNTS!!!
xxx
11 October 2008
New Flat...No Internet
So I moved into the new flat on Wednesday, it's wicked but I can't put the pics up yet as am in an internet cafe... Will be getting wireless sorted asap. I've got a spare bedroom with its own balcony so those of you wanting to come stay start looking at flights!
I'm only 15mins walk from the centre of the city centre (??) and within 2mins walk I've got a 24hr supermarket with a bundle of other shops, a metal pub, 4/5 other pubs, 3 tattoo shops, 2 "adult" shops, a strip club and a brothel!! The area is half scummy half brand new and people keep telling me not to go out at night alone but so far I've out after dark every night and barely seen anyone, let alone anyone who poses a threat.
I can actually go and socialise of an evening now, there's a second metal pub about 15mins away, went there last night and watched 3 quality metal bands. Will be going back there tonight as they have 3 more bands and the atmosphere is great there as well as having the cheapest beer I've found yet.
I've finally sorted my motorbike training out, am booked in on the 4/5th of November so can go and celebrate my birthday in style after passing the training :D Looking at getting a CBR250 or ZXR-250 maybe...we'll have to see what's around when I get my license.
Hope everything's going well back in England, freshers seems to be going pretty well, I'm gutted I'm missing out but meh...
Oh and I know Gary Hughes was back at CSM recruiting mining engineers for this year out next year...my advice is go for it!! Even if you're not sure just apply for it and have an interview. It's been pretty awesome so far (this blog makes it sound bad cus I like to whinge!) and you'll have a wicked time as well as learning shit loads about the industry.
Stay safe...
I'm only 15mins walk from the centre of the city centre (??) and within 2mins walk I've got a 24hr supermarket with a bundle of other shops, a metal pub, 4/5 other pubs, 3 tattoo shops, 2 "adult" shops, a strip club and a brothel!! The area is half scummy half brand new and people keep telling me not to go out at night alone but so far I've out after dark every night and barely seen anyone, let alone anyone who poses a threat.
I can actually go and socialise of an evening now, there's a second metal pub about 15mins away, went there last night and watched 3 quality metal bands. Will be going back there tonight as they have 3 more bands and the atmosphere is great there as well as having the cheapest beer I've found yet.
I've finally sorted my motorbike training out, am booked in on the 4/5th of November so can go and celebrate my birthday in style after passing the training :D Looking at getting a CBR250 or ZXR-250 maybe...we'll have to see what's around when I get my license.
Hope everything's going well back in England, freshers seems to be going pretty well, I'm gutted I'm missing out but meh...
Oh and I know Gary Hughes was back at CSM recruiting mining engineers for this year out next year...my advice is go for it!! Even if you're not sure just apply for it and have an interview. It's been pretty awesome so far (this blog makes it sound bad cus I like to whinge!) and you'll have a wicked time as well as learning shit loads about the industry.
Stay safe...
7 October 2008
Ugh
So this weekend was a complete waste of time...almost entirely due to the fact that I didn't get any further than the shops across the road.
After going for drinks and a meal on Friday night with people from work I slept in on Saturday which wrote off the day completely. There's been a fuck-up with paying for my cabs to work and back so I'm paying for them atm then claiming it back on expenses...wouldn't be a problem except I earn about $60 a day and the cabs cost $80. This means I chewed through my last paycheque and am now spending my motorbike money. So basically I don't feel able to spend any money that's not entirely neccessary just incase I end up not having the cash to get to work. I know I'll get it all back in 2wks but it's not much fun. Over here the shops all shut at 1pm-ish on a Saturday, few open on Sunday and then 1pm again today cus of the public holiday. So sleeping in all 3 days has meant I haven't been able to get into town before the shops shut. Not to mention that the buses stop stupidly early on Sundays/public holidays and I can't afford a cab.
Which leads me nicely on to the whole reason(s) I needed to go into town...
Passport Pics: very few places have the machines so need to hunt for one.
Visa: once i've got the pics need to post the forms.
Postcards: got quite a few to post to people.
Lighter: got to go to the tobacconist to get the flint sorted on my petrol lighter.
Books: really need something to fill the time.
Yeh I haven't even posted my visa forms off yet...can't do til I find a passport pic machine and they're like rocking horse shit over here! The best bit is that having a full time job means I can't get them done til next weekend now... am getting shit off my boss every day about the forms but there's nowt I can do.
Now for something totally different... Got a really weird call yesterday to the phone in my flat...was from a security company that monitors alarms, turns out there was an alarm at the company office in Hexham. That in itself isn't strange but they had my name down as a keyholder!! Fuck knows why they had my name and number (I haven't given ANYONE that number, I don't even know it!) but let alone having me down as a keyholder! I checked that he meant our office and the bloke was pretty adamant so all I could do was give him my managers number and hope it got sorted. Will see if there's any fall out tomorrow cus the guy could have been a crackpot for all I knew. I'll have to speak to my boss and ask him if I did right lol.
Speaking of tomorrow I can see it being a really shit day. I've been using a desk belonging to a guy who is away for the last week and he's back tomorrow so I need a new desk. There's a few empty ones in the office but.... no computers! So unless they can find me one I'm gonna end uo doing nothing as it's all 3D design work in that office. Also need to make double sure that my boss signs my accomodation contract and gets it back to the agency ASAP so they can get the keys ready for me to move in on Weds morning... if not I'm gonna have to spend another night here...might kill myself lol. Then expenses...must have spent $200-300 on taxis in the last week!
Yeh so I'm gonna stop whinging now...apart from to say that the weather has been complete shit here for the last 3 days too...pissing rain and cold :(
After going for drinks and a meal on Friday night with people from work I slept in on Saturday which wrote off the day completely. There's been a fuck-up with paying for my cabs to work and back so I'm paying for them atm then claiming it back on expenses...wouldn't be a problem except I earn about $60 a day and the cabs cost $80. This means I chewed through my last paycheque and am now spending my motorbike money. So basically I don't feel able to spend any money that's not entirely neccessary just incase I end up not having the cash to get to work. I know I'll get it all back in 2wks but it's not much fun. Over here the shops all shut at 1pm-ish on a Saturday, few open on Sunday and then 1pm again today cus of the public holiday. So sleeping in all 3 days has meant I haven't been able to get into town before the shops shut. Not to mention that the buses stop stupidly early on Sundays/public holidays and I can't afford a cab.
Which leads me nicely on to the whole reason(s) I needed to go into town...
Passport Pics: very few places have the machines so need to hunt for one.
Visa: once i've got the pics need to post the forms.
Postcards: got quite a few to post to people.
Lighter: got to go to the tobacconist to get the flint sorted on my petrol lighter.
Books: really need something to fill the time.
Yeh I haven't even posted my visa forms off yet...can't do til I find a passport pic machine and they're like rocking horse shit over here! The best bit is that having a full time job means I can't get them done til next weekend now... am getting shit off my boss every day about the forms but there's nowt I can do.
Now for something totally different... Got a really weird call yesterday to the phone in my flat...was from a security company that monitors alarms, turns out there was an alarm at the company office in Hexham. That in itself isn't strange but they had my name down as a keyholder!! Fuck knows why they had my name and number (I haven't given ANYONE that number, I don't even know it!) but let alone having me down as a keyholder! I checked that he meant our office and the bloke was pretty adamant so all I could do was give him my managers number and hope it got sorted. Will see if there's any fall out tomorrow cus the guy could have been a crackpot for all I knew. I'll have to speak to my boss and ask him if I did right lol.
Speaking of tomorrow I can see it being a really shit day. I've been using a desk belonging to a guy who is away for the last week and he's back tomorrow so I need a new desk. There's a few empty ones in the office but.... no computers! So unless they can find me one I'm gonna end uo doing nothing as it's all 3D design work in that office. Also need to make double sure that my boss signs my accomodation contract and gets it back to the agency ASAP so they can get the keys ready for me to move in on Weds morning... if not I'm gonna have to spend another night here...might kill myself lol. Then expenses...must have spent $200-300 on taxis in the last week!
Yeh so I'm gonna stop whinging now...apart from to say that the weather has been complete shit here for the last 3 days too...pissing rain and cold :(
2 October 2008
Hotter than Natalie Portman in a pool of jelly...
It's hot! 30-34 degrees and not a breath of wind...not the most comfortable I've been, especially with a dodgy air-con unit. The weekend should be good if I don't get too burnt, got 3-days thanks to Labour Day so gonna spend most of it in town at one or several of the beaches.
I might have finally got my new apartment sorted after a fucking mess this morning. The woman who was meant to be helping me threw a paddy and sent a whinging e-mail to her boss then he sent a whinging e-mail to HR in Brisbane and my boss' PA which she then forwarded to me so I could tell her what had happened. A couple of hours and many e-mails later they finally got a letter sent to the rental agent and the first weeks deposit paid so fingers crossed I can move in next weds the 8th :D:D:D:D That makes me really fucking happy cus the staff here are so damn rude! I just went in to ask for some binbags so I could empty my bin and you'd think I asked for a platinum-coated hoover! The attitude in there sucks! I know they have a shitty job but a bit of customer service never hurt a soul. Not to mention the attitude I got when I told them I had friggin cockroaches running around my kitchen! $110 a night and still fucking cockroaches!
On a lighter note I had a crackin time last night, went to the pub for a meal and quiz, there was just four of us but had a fun time. I think it was just having some human interaction that made me feel so much better, that and the 4-5 pints of oh-so-fizzy beer. I got some strange looks and a comment from a barman because I drink pints...out here a pint is served in an old-fashioned "handle" and a normal serving is a "schooner" which looks like a UK pint glass but is only 300ml... I calmly pointed out that in the UK only women and wimps drink half-pints and that it's $3 cheaper to get a pint than 2 schooners.
So apart from that not done much, the new office is pretty cool except they're not a very chatty bunch...there can be 2hrs where no-one says a word. As soon as they get on a break you can't shut them up! I got trapped by a girl from accounts who just fucking talked at me for about 10mins when all I wanted to do was go back inside!
That is all...comment bitches!
I might have finally got my new apartment sorted after a fucking mess this morning. The woman who was meant to be helping me threw a paddy and sent a whinging e-mail to her boss then he sent a whinging e-mail to HR in Brisbane and my boss' PA which she then forwarded to me so I could tell her what had happened. A couple of hours and many e-mails later they finally got a letter sent to the rental agent and the first weeks deposit paid so fingers crossed I can move in next weds the 8th :D:D:D:D That makes me really fucking happy cus the staff here are so damn rude! I just went in to ask for some binbags so I could empty my bin and you'd think I asked for a platinum-coated hoover! The attitude in there sucks! I know they have a shitty job but a bit of customer service never hurt a soul. Not to mention the attitude I got when I told them I had friggin cockroaches running around my kitchen! $110 a night and still fucking cockroaches!
On a lighter note I had a crackin time last night, went to the pub for a meal and quiz, there was just four of us but had a fun time. I think it was just having some human interaction that made me feel so much better, that and the 4-5 pints of oh-so-fizzy beer. I got some strange looks and a comment from a barman because I drink pints...out here a pint is served in an old-fashioned "handle" and a normal serving is a "schooner" which looks like a UK pint glass but is only 300ml... I calmly pointed out that in the UK only women and wimps drink half-pints and that it's $3 cheaper to get a pint than 2 schooners.
So apart from that not done much, the new office is pretty cool except they're not a very chatty bunch...there can be 2hrs where no-one says a word. As soon as they get on a break you can't shut them up! I got trapped by a girl from accounts who just fucking talked at me for about 10mins when all I wanted to do was go back inside!
That is all...comment bitches!
29 September 2008
All Change
God last weekend was boring... went to the mining expo on Friday and it was a washout. Was almost entirely small firms advertising services rather than any of the big players, they were obviously too caught up with the Las Vegas expo. I did get to chat to a couple of vendors, one was an Englishman who graduated from CSM 30yrs ago! One thing that pissed me off was the sheer ambivalence of a lot of the vendors, I tried to talk to a few and they just couldn't be arsed! Several couldn't even tell me what their companies did and what services they provided! I did get a few ideas for my dissertation though, we'll see where that goes in about 6 months.
I spent the rest of the day taking the pictures shown below and spent Saturday on the beach chilling out with a book. There's a book shop that has a massive stall where you get 5 books for $25 (£12) so I've bought 10 so far! Can see that being a regular stop for me. Sunday was too windy to go to the beach so went slightly stir-crazy in my apartment flitting between the internet, crappy tv and a really bad book.
I've had an interesting day today because I got into work this morning and was immediately told I was being moved to a different site! Was picked up by another English guy who's been here 15yrs, he works in the draughtsmen office and that's where I'm going to be for the next few weeks, doing 3D CAD work which is a damn sight more interesting than what I have been doing. The office I'm in has about 10 other people and *shock* *horror* a fair few of them are quite young and there's even two women! Looking forward to working there so we'll see how tomorrow works out. The only downside is that it's 2x as far from where I'm staying as the other office so could take me up to 45mins to get to work and back.
The only remotely interesting thing happening this week is a meal and pub quiz on wednesday night with a few people from the Hexham office...hopefully that'll be a good night and if not the meals are only $10 for a steak dinner so I can't really complain!
Let me know how you're doing people...comment away or Facebook me...it's bloody lonely out here!
I spent the rest of the day taking the pictures shown below and spent Saturday on the beach chilling out with a book. There's a book shop that has a massive stall where you get 5 books for $25 (£12) so I've bought 10 so far! Can see that being a regular stop for me. Sunday was too windy to go to the beach so went slightly stir-crazy in my apartment flitting between the internet, crappy tv and a really bad book.
I've had an interesting day today because I got into work this morning and was immediately told I was being moved to a different site! Was picked up by another English guy who's been here 15yrs, he works in the draughtsmen office and that's where I'm going to be for the next few weeks, doing 3D CAD work which is a damn sight more interesting than what I have been doing. The office I'm in has about 10 other people and *shock* *horror* a fair few of them are quite young and there's even two women! Looking forward to working there so we'll see how tomorrow works out. The only downside is that it's 2x as far from where I'm staying as the other office so could take me up to 45mins to get to work and back.
The only remotely interesting thing happening this week is a meal and pub quiz on wednesday night with a few people from the Hexham office...hopefully that'll be a good night and if not the meals are only $10 for a steak dinner so I can't really complain!
Let me know how you're doing people...comment away or Facebook me...it's bloody lonely out here!
27 September 2008
21 September 2008
Progress?
Well after my astonishingly shite week last week it all dramatically changed on Friday after my boss finally showed an interest and starting lighting fires under people. He came in on Thursday afternoon and asked how things were going, I told him about the whole not-having-anything saga and he left...come Friday my phone arrived, they're paying for all calls/txts apart from overseas calls. Then I got an IT logon (limited atm) and my boss even said he wants to get me underground asap! So he introduced me to two guys who are doing underground safety training and got me signed up for it so in a few weeks I'll be spending 4 days learning how to escape a fire/explosion in a coal mine using rebreathers and other funky kit :D I've also had 3 guys who go underground a lot say they'll tell me when they're going and let me tag along, woo!
At the end of this week is the Hunter Valley Mining Expo so every single mining company and equipment supplier involved in coal mining in NSW is going to be there, I've registered so hopefully will get to spend Friday there having a jolly :D Most of the senior management of every mining company and equipment supplier in the whole world are going to be in LA for the next week or two for the LA mining expo so hopefully the office will be a bit more relaxed.
I had my first night out in Newcastle on Friday, was a leaving party for a couple who are moving to Perth. Was nice to meet more people from work and see the people I'd met in a more relaxed atmosphere. It's a bit weird that most people go straight from work on a Friday at say 4.30-5pm to a pub and have dinner there while getting trashed and then most people are home by midnight...I'm sure I'll adjust eventually. I was invited to a cocktail party with loads of people from work on Saturday but after getting rather tipsy on Friday I gave it a miss. Not to mention the fact that I feel like a tit drinking cocktails and don't like most of them. Will have to meet the rest of the office another time.
Oh I've pretty much decided on the apartment I'm moving into, after talking to a few people on Friday I'm gonna go for a split-level apartment which is about a 20min walk to the very centre of town. It's a 2-bed with 2 balconies and is right next to a train station, supermarket, tattoo shop and rock club :D Not to mention that it comes with leather sofas, huge BBQ and the biggest TV I've ever seen! Will be calling the agent tomorrow...
That's it for now, here's a couple more pics...
At the end of this week is the Hunter Valley Mining Expo so every single mining company and equipment supplier involved in coal mining in NSW is going to be there, I've registered so hopefully will get to spend Friday there having a jolly :D Most of the senior management of every mining company and equipment supplier in the whole world are going to be in LA for the next week or two for the LA mining expo so hopefully the office will be a bit more relaxed.
I had my first night out in Newcastle on Friday, was a leaving party for a couple who are moving to Perth. Was nice to meet more people from work and see the people I'd met in a more relaxed atmosphere. It's a bit weird that most people go straight from work on a Friday at say 4.30-5pm to a pub and have dinner there while getting trashed and then most people are home by midnight...I'm sure I'll adjust eventually. I was invited to a cocktail party with loads of people from work on Saturday but after getting rather tipsy on Friday I gave it a miss. Not to mention the fact that I feel like a tit drinking cocktails and don't like most of them. Will have to meet the rest of the office another time.
Oh I've pretty much decided on the apartment I'm moving into, after talking to a few people on Friday I'm gonna go for a split-level apartment which is about a 20min walk to the very centre of town. It's a 2-bed with 2 balconies and is right next to a train station, supermarket, tattoo shop and rock club :D Not to mention that it comes with leather sofas, huge BBQ and the biggest TV I've ever seen! Will be calling the agent tomorrow...
That's it for now, here's a couple more pics...
17 September 2008
On The Way Up.
So the last couple of days have been better, got to meet a few more office people and feel a bit more settled in. One thing I have realised is that if I want anything to happen, even the smallest most obvious thing than I have to ask and ask again. Working for an international company is a new experience and nothing happens quickly and no-one does anything til they've been asked half a dozen times! The IT guy has been promising to come down "this morning/afternoon" for 5 days now! It really does take the piss but there's nothing I can do about it. I won't even get started on the paperwork involved, I've had to fill in forms for everything and anything, talk about bureaucracy in action...
I've had my medical for my visa and it took about 5mins for most of it then 2hrs to get x-rayed and get the results. Just waiting for my IA to send off the forms and should hear back within a month if I'm lucky.
I've got a viewing on some flats right in the city centre on the waterfront tomorrow, can't wait to move out of this villa, takes ages to get anywhere. They're all fully furnished and serviced too, probably the nicest place I'm gonna live for many many years!
Some more weird things about Oz:
- The coins only go down to 5c so even though prices are say £1.99 or $5.67 they round everything to the nearest 5c.
- All of the cabs have card machines in them so you don't need cash.
- Buses don't stop unless you wave them down. Ever.
- They automatically pack your bags for you in supermarkets.
I've had my medical for my visa and it took about 5mins for most of it then 2hrs to get x-rayed and get the results. Just waiting for my IA to send off the forms and should hear back within a month if I'm lucky.
I've got a viewing on some flats right in the city centre on the waterfront tomorrow, can't wait to move out of this villa, takes ages to get anywhere. They're all fully furnished and serviced too, probably the nicest place I'm gonna live for many many years!
Some more weird things about Oz:
- The coins only go down to 5c so even though prices are say £1.99 or $5.67 they round everything to the nearest 5c.
- All of the cabs have card machines in them so you don't need cash.
- Buses don't stop unless you wave them down. Ever.
- They automatically pack your bags for you in supermarkets.
13 September 2008
Can I Go Home Yet??
My worst day yet...ozzie taxi firms are staffed by fucking idots, ozzie buses are plain fucking terrible, ozzie teenagers are all cunts and it's too fucking hot in this shithole.
It too me 2.5hrs just to get into the CBD, a grand total of 6miles! I can walk it in less than that. I spent an hour before that trying to call a taxi but the ONLY taxi company working today was engaged all 20 times I called and the other 4 I tried refused to come to my area. The buses here only run hourly and take an hour to get to the CBD (city centre) and stop at 5pm. I walked to the nearest train station to find that the trains aren't running so had to get a coach...then the fucking cunt of a teenage lad who was stewarding people onto the coaches told me to get on one to Newcastle and it took me 4 miles the wrong fucking way! Finally got into the city and it was 5pm so every last shop was closed and none of the pubs were open. Fucking terrible. After walking around aimlessly for less than an hour I came back again only to find the wankers staying below me were having a massive BBQ outside with screaming kids and drunk women cackling like mad. Not to mention that it hit 30 degrees here and my aircon is playing up so I've been sticking to everything all day.
Apart from that it's been a really good day! I've got a few pics to put up when i can be bothered.
So now I've only got one more day of being trapped in this apartment before going back to work to be ignored all day...
It too me 2.5hrs just to get into the CBD, a grand total of 6miles! I can walk it in less than that. I spent an hour before that trying to call a taxi but the ONLY taxi company working today was engaged all 20 times I called and the other 4 I tried refused to come to my area. The buses here only run hourly and take an hour to get to the CBD (city centre) and stop at 5pm. I walked to the nearest train station to find that the trains aren't running so had to get a coach...then the fucking cunt of a teenage lad who was stewarding people onto the coaches told me to get on one to Newcastle and it took me 4 miles the wrong fucking way! Finally got into the city and it was 5pm so every last shop was closed and none of the pubs were open. Fucking terrible. After walking around aimlessly for less than an hour I came back again only to find the wankers staying below me were having a massive BBQ outside with screaming kids and drunk women cackling like mad. Not to mention that it hit 30 degrees here and my aircon is playing up so I've been sticking to everything all day.
Apart from that it's been a really good day! I've got a few pics to put up when i can be bothered.
So now I've only got one more day of being trapped in this apartment before going back to work to be ignored all day...
11 September 2008
Newcastle NSW
So I'm here, in my final destination. Newcastle is pretty cool, surrounded by water on 3 sides, massive crashing waves and sandy beaches too. I haven't managed to walk around in the daylight yet, but have been shown the good drinking spots for the weekend... all I need now is someone to drink with, only met about 5 people from the office so far and none of them likely to come out :(
Had my first day at the Hexham office today, was "interesting" to say the least...got there to find out that they assumed I had everything already so I've still got no phone, no laptop, no uniform, no IT logon, no permanent flat... I'm sure it'll all happen fairly soon but they've had 2 weeks to sort this crap out! My manager obviously hasn't read my contract either, he expected me to pay for my own internet, yeh right. My 'office' is in a portacabin next to the lunchroom, near the outside toilets! It's a far cry from the swanky top-end offices in Brisbane but it's got a lot more character too, there are groups of cockerels that strut around and a cat that plays with them, the site is in the middle of a large swampy area so plenty of wildlife including huuuge colourful butterflies. I did get to walk around the workshops, they build LHDs from scratch there so I finally got up close and personal with some serious kit. I was given some work to crack on with by the only other person in my office, a young electrical engineer (i think) called Ashleigh, she seems pretty cool but was manically busy most of the day. Looks like I'm gonna be working on datalogging/reporting software for the next month or so, my idea of hell! Luckily I'm at my most enthusiastic right now, it's another half-finished project that I have to patch together and deliver...the shittest type. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my own log-on so I can actually put some notes together. Apparently another guy is away at the moment but when he gets back he will take me underground to see a few sites and the equipment they use :D
It's not all bad, I'm going to see a flat nearby tomorrow, is in a block with another 15 or so students from the nearby uni. I'm not going to jump into the first one I find, they seem to be willing to pay $800 a week for me to live here so I'll hang on for somewhere as nice as possible. I'm booking my motorbike training tomorrow too, can't wait to start riding out here. My Varadero has been sold in England so I've got the best part of £700 to buy a bike out here, that's a lot more than I expected so very happy with that.
Hmmmm so what else to say...there are pictures coming, not many yet but there will be after the weekend, promise! Met an English girl who works across from my new apartment and practically jumped on me as soon as she heard my accent lol, pity she's boring and ugly! Oh and in the last 48hrs I've been mistaken for a bouncer (while smoking outside a bar) and a local student (i was wearing a suit at the time, what the fuck do students wear here???).
To finish this mammoth entry here's a few things I've noticed about Oz so far:
1) The streets are deserted by 6pm
2) Everyone drives a 4litre turbo'd ute that's never seen mud.
3) Philadelphia comes in solid blocks that taste rank.
4) You can only buy booze in off-licenses, otherwise known as "bottle shops".
5) These are often "drive-thru"
6) Petrol only costs 60p a litre!
7) Prostitution is legal and the sex shops/brothels advertise openly.
Photos soon...
RTC xx
Had my first day at the Hexham office today, was "interesting" to say the least...got there to find out that they assumed I had everything already so I've still got no phone, no laptop, no uniform, no IT logon, no permanent flat... I'm sure it'll all happen fairly soon but they've had 2 weeks to sort this crap out! My manager obviously hasn't read my contract either, he expected me to pay for my own internet, yeh right. My 'office' is in a portacabin next to the lunchroom, near the outside toilets! It's a far cry from the swanky top-end offices in Brisbane but it's got a lot more character too, there are groups of cockerels that strut around and a cat that plays with them, the site is in the middle of a large swampy area so plenty of wildlife including huuuge colourful butterflies. I did get to walk around the workshops, they build LHDs from scratch there so I finally got up close and personal with some serious kit. I was given some work to crack on with by the only other person in my office, a young electrical engineer (i think) called Ashleigh, she seems pretty cool but was manically busy most of the day. Looks like I'm gonna be working on datalogging/reporting software for the next month or so, my idea of hell! Luckily I'm at my most enthusiastic right now, it's another half-finished project that I have to patch together and deliver...the shittest type. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get my own log-on so I can actually put some notes together. Apparently another guy is away at the moment but when he gets back he will take me underground to see a few sites and the equipment they use :D
It's not all bad, I'm going to see a flat nearby tomorrow, is in a block with another 15 or so students from the nearby uni. I'm not going to jump into the first one I find, they seem to be willing to pay $800 a week for me to live here so I'll hang on for somewhere as nice as possible. I'm booking my motorbike training tomorrow too, can't wait to start riding out here. My Varadero has been sold in England so I've got the best part of £700 to buy a bike out here, that's a lot more than I expected so very happy with that.
Hmmmm so what else to say...there are pictures coming, not many yet but there will be after the weekend, promise! Met an English girl who works across from my new apartment and practically jumped on me as soon as she heard my accent lol, pity she's boring and ugly! Oh and in the last 48hrs I've been mistaken for a bouncer (while smoking outside a bar) and a local student (i was wearing a suit at the time, what the fuck do students wear here???).
To finish this mammoth entry here's a few things I've noticed about Oz so far:
1) The streets are deserted by 6pm
2) Everyone drives a 4litre turbo'd ute that's never seen mud.
3) Philadelphia comes in solid blocks that taste rank.
4) You can only buy booze in off-licenses, otherwise known as "bottle shops".
5) These are often "drive-thru"
6) Petrol only costs 60p a litre!
7) Prostitution is legal and the sex shops/brothels advertise openly.
Photos soon...
RTC xx
5 September 2008
One week down...
So I've been here a whole 7 days now, it really doesn't feel like it. Really missing a few people from home...they know who they are. No actual homesickness as such yet, that might kick in when I'm finally settled in Newcastle.
If anyone has actually been paying attention you may have noticed I've removed all reference to the company's name on here as Dad pointed out people have been sacked just for mild criticism on blogs and I'm not one to hold back on the criticism front! So if you notice the company name sneak into a sentence or a photo then let me know asap and I'll delete it.
The last couple of days have been safety training (further freebies include neoprene stubbie holder, baseball cap and mining helmet shaped keyring torch) and medicals. The medicals were surprisingly brief, blood pressure, urine sample etc and we were done. Spent the afternoon wandering around Brisbane and exploring a bit then went out tonight for a few beers under the bridge. We've been eating there most nights and it's a very cool bar/pub with a lot of talent walking about but we're still not used to staying up past 9pm so were back in the hotel before 10pm!
Tomorrow and Sunday may involve a trip to either the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast depending on how we feel. Will be the first time I've slept past 6am since I got here! More photos will be forthcoming, should have had my camera on me today as we saw two foot long lizards and Ben had a green jumping spider on him all right next to our hotel.
That's all for now...I think...all comments appreciated.
If anyone has actually been paying attention you may have noticed I've removed all reference to the company's name on here as Dad pointed out people have been sacked just for mild criticism on blogs and I'm not one to hold back on the criticism front! So if you notice the company name sneak into a sentence or a photo then let me know asap and I'll delete it.
The last couple of days have been safety training (further freebies include neoprene stubbie holder, baseball cap and mining helmet shaped keyring torch) and medicals. The medicals were surprisingly brief, blood pressure, urine sample etc and we were done. Spent the afternoon wandering around Brisbane and exploring a bit then went out tonight for a few beers under the bridge. We've been eating there most nights and it's a very cool bar/pub with a lot of talent walking about but we're still not used to staying up past 9pm so were back in the hotel before 10pm!
Tomorrow and Sunday may involve a trip to either the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast depending on how we feel. Will be the first time I've slept past 6am since I got here! More photos will be forthcoming, should have had my camera on me today as we saw two foot long lizards and Ben had a green jumping spider on him all right next to our hotel.
That's all for now...I think...all comments appreciated.
You know you're Australian when:
YOU KNOW YOU'RE AUSTRALIAN WHEN...
You know the meaning of 'girt'
You believe that stubbies can either be worn or drunk
You think it is normal to have a Prime Minister called Kevin
You waddle when you walk due to the 53 expired petrol discount vouchers stuffed in your wallet or purse
You've made a bong out of your garden hose rather than use it for something illegal such as watering the garden
When you hear that an American 'roots for his team' you wonder how often and with whom
You understand that the phrase 'a group of women wearing black thongs' refers to footwear and may be less alluring than it sounds
You pronounce Melbourne as 'Mel-bin'
You pronounce Penrith as 'Pen-riff'
You believe the 'L' in the word ' Australia ' is optional
You can translate: 'Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas'
You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep
You call your best friend 'a total bastard' but someone you really, truly despise is just 'a bit of a bastard'
You think 'Woolloomooloo' is a perfectly reasonable name for a place
You believe is makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that's twice as big as its $2 coin
You understand that 'Wagga Wagga' can be abbreviated to 'Wagga' but 'Woy Woy' can't be called 'Woy'
You believe that cooked-down axlegrease makes a good breakfast spread
You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis
You know, whatever the tourist books say, that no one says 'cobber'
You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels' song 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again'
You believe, as an article of faith, that the confectionary known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year
You still don't get why the 'Labor' in 'Australian Labor Party' is not spelt with a 'u'
You wear ugg boots outside the house
You believe that the more you shorten someone's name the more you like them
Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language
You understand that 'excuse me' can sound rude, while 'scuse me' is alway polite
You know what it's like to swallow a fly, on occasion via your nose
You understand that 'you' has a plural and that it's 'youse'
You know it's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle
You biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules of beach cricket
You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call 'Anzac cookies'
You still think of Kylie as 'that girl off Neighbours'
When returning home from overseas, you expect to be brutally strip-searched by Customs - just in case you're trying to sneak in fruit
You believe the phrase 'smart casual' refers to a pair of black tracky-daks, suitably laundered
You understand that all train timetables are works of fiction
When working at a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer
You get choked up with emotion by the first verse of the national anthem and then have trouble remembering the second
You find yourself ignorant of nearly all the facts deemed essential in the government's new test for migrants.
You will immediately forward this list to other Australian, here and overseas, realising that only they will understand!!
You know the meaning of 'girt'
You believe that stubbies can either be worn or drunk
You think it is normal to have a Prime Minister called Kevin
You waddle when you walk due to the 53 expired petrol discount vouchers stuffed in your wallet or purse
You've made a bong out of your garden hose rather than use it for something illegal such as watering the garden
When you hear that an American 'roots for his team' you wonder how often and with whom
You understand that the phrase 'a group of women wearing black thongs' refers to footwear and may be less alluring than it sounds
You pronounce Melbourne as 'Mel-bin'
You pronounce Penrith as 'Pen-riff'
You believe the 'L' in the word ' Australia ' is optional
You can translate: 'Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas'
You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep
You call your best friend 'a total bastard' but someone you really, truly despise is just 'a bit of a bastard'
You think 'Woolloomooloo' is a perfectly reasonable name for a place
You believe is makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that's twice as big as its $2 coin
You understand that 'Wagga Wagga' can be abbreviated to 'Wagga' but 'Woy Woy' can't be called 'Woy'
You believe that cooked-down axlegrease makes a good breakfast spread
You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis
You know, whatever the tourist books say, that no one says 'cobber'
You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels' song 'Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again'
You believe, as an article of faith, that the confectionary known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year
You still don't get why the 'Labor' in 'Australian Labor Party' is not spelt with a 'u'
You wear ugg boots outside the house
You believe that the more you shorten someone's name the more you like them
Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language
You understand that 'excuse me' can sound rude, while 'scuse me' is alway polite
You know what it's like to swallow a fly, on occasion via your nose
You understand that 'you' has a plural and that it's 'youse'
You know it's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle
You biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules of beach cricket
You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call 'Anzac cookies'
You still think of Kylie as 'that girl off Neighbours'
When returning home from overseas, you expect to be brutally strip-searched by Customs - just in case you're trying to sneak in fruit
You believe the phrase 'smart casual' refers to a pair of black tracky-daks, suitably laundered
You understand that all train timetables are works of fiction
When working at a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer
You get choked up with emotion by the first verse of the national anthem and then have trouble remembering the second
You find yourself ignorant of nearly all the facts deemed essential in the government's new test for migrants.
You will immediately forward this list to other Australian, here and overseas, realising that only they will understand!!
2 September 2008
Corporate Inductions
Are shit. Really shit.
So basically the last two days and the next two weeks are corporate inductions/medicals etc. It's all been the usual boring sitting-in-a-room-watching-stupid-slide shows but it could be worse. I actually won a company branded water bottle today in a quiz ha ha! I met my line manager yesterday who is possibly the least organized/interesting person ever, the other guys already have their mobiles/laptops/car/apartment sorted and I have....nothing. I'm going to be working in the Underground Soft Rock sector which isn't my first choice but hopefully they'll be sending me out to various sites...although they'll all be coal mines :(
On that point, apart from the apartment, all our meals are paid for, we're getting mobiles, laptops, and transport, it's looking like they're going to pay for me to do my driving license :D Apparently the offices in Newcastle need a vehicle to get between them so that's fine with me. I don't actually have anywhere to live yet, going to be in another serviced apartment in Newcastle until they can find a suitable place for me.
So the next two days are health and safety training...the only plus point being the free food and the fact we get a nationally recognized qualification which is something else for my CV. Then it's medicals on Friday and a long weekend. Hopefully a few of the CSM lot will be in Brisbane over the weekend so party time!
Yeh so apart from not much to say...will do a bit more exploring over the next week so keep checking back for more pics etc...
So basically the last two days and the next two weeks are corporate inductions/medicals etc. It's all been the usual boring sitting-in-a-room-watching-stupid-slide shows but it could be worse. I actually won a company branded water bottle today in a quiz ha ha! I met my line manager yesterday who is possibly the least organized/interesting person ever, the other guys already have their mobiles/laptops/car/apartment sorted and I have....nothing. I'm going to be working in the Underground Soft Rock sector which isn't my first choice but hopefully they'll be sending me out to various sites...although they'll all be coal mines :(
On that point, apart from the apartment, all our meals are paid for, we're getting mobiles, laptops, and transport, it's looking like they're going to pay for me to do my driving license :D Apparently the offices in Newcastle need a vehicle to get between them so that's fine with me. I don't actually have anywhere to live yet, going to be in another serviced apartment in Newcastle until they can find a suitable place for me.
So the next two days are health and safety training...the only plus point being the free food and the fact we get a nationally recognized qualification which is something else for my CV. Then it's medicals on Friday and a long weekend. Hopefully a few of the CSM lot will be in Brisbane over the weekend so party time!
Yeh so apart from not much to say...will do a bit more exploring over the next week so keep checking back for more pics etc...
31 August 2008
Pictures!
Made It
Made it to Brisbane ok, am still kinda jetlagged even after 14hrs sleep. We're all moved into our seperate apartments for the next 2wks and looking forward to starting work on Monday. I think.
Oh if anyone actually cares the flights went fine except for when we tried to check in at Heathrow...turns out the immigration agent didn't actually sort out our visa's so we weren't allowed to fly until the airline staff called Oz and a few other places and finally got us a visa! The stopover at Singapore was pretty cool, the airport is a lot nicer than Heathrow and the smoking area was brilliant, a rooftop cacti garden with a beautiful view and it's own bar with a music system!! The only problem was it was so hot out there you couldn't hang around too long without sweating for England. The duty free kicked ass too, 400 Davidoff's for £18!! For the last leg to Brisbane a stewardess asked us if we wanted to use 3 spare seats at the back so I moved to row 69 (lulz) and had 3 seats by the window to myself :D I put the armrests up and stretched out, managed to get 4hrs horizontal sleep.
We spent yesterday morning exploring the city a little bit, the easiest way to get around is the ferry service which runs every 10mins from right outside our apartment block to the main shopping area. The city itself is ok, I'm not a massive fan of cities anyway but this place does seem a bit more chilled out than most. One thing that was weird was that on a saturday morning almost all of the food courts were completely shut..wtf?? Just trying to find some lunch was a proper hassle, not impressed! The apartments we're in are pretty cool, double bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and balcony to myself :D The balcony looks out over the river and the city centre which is awesome. The company sorted out some food for us but it's not gonna last long so gotta try and find a supermarket later today.
That's all I have to say... pics will follow...honest.
Oh if anyone actually cares the flights went fine except for when we tried to check in at Heathrow...turns out the immigration agent didn't actually sort out our visa's so we weren't allowed to fly until the airline staff called Oz and a few other places and finally got us a visa! The stopover at Singapore was pretty cool, the airport is a lot nicer than Heathrow and the smoking area was brilliant, a rooftop cacti garden with a beautiful view and it's own bar with a music system!! The only problem was it was so hot out there you couldn't hang around too long without sweating for England. The duty free kicked ass too, 400 Davidoff's for £18!! For the last leg to Brisbane a stewardess asked us if we wanted to use 3 spare seats at the back so I moved to row 69 (lulz) and had 3 seats by the window to myself :D I put the armrests up and stretched out, managed to get 4hrs horizontal sleep.
We spent yesterday morning exploring the city a little bit, the easiest way to get around is the ferry service which runs every 10mins from right outside our apartment block to the main shopping area. The city itself is ok, I'm not a massive fan of cities anyway but this place does seem a bit more chilled out than most. One thing that was weird was that on a saturday morning almost all of the food courts were completely shut..wtf?? Just trying to find some lunch was a proper hassle, not impressed! The apartments we're in are pretty cool, double bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom and balcony to myself :D The balcony looks out over the river and the city centre which is awesome. The company sorted out some food for us but it's not gonna last long so gotta try and find a supermarket later today.
That's all I have to say... pics will follow...honest.
28 August 2008
Leaving now...
I'm finally pretty much packed, think I'm over the weight limit but I'll have to sort that out later...
See you on the other side...
See you on the other side...
It's nearly time...
...and I haven't even started packing!
Less than 24hrs to go and I'm nearly there with all the paperwork/organisational side of things but no sign of a suitcase let alone a filled one!! People keep asking if I'm excited and all I can say to that is that I'm bricking it! There's a long list of things to do and I'm a very short way through it but I'm getting there slowly:
Less than 24hrs to go and I'm nearly there with all the paperwork/organisational side of things but no sign of a suitcase let alone a filled one!! People keep asking if I'm excited and all I can say to that is that I'm bricking it! There's a long list of things to do and I'm a very short way through it but I'm getting there slowly:
- My motorbike is going to the garage tomorrow morning to be sold so I can then start packing my bike gear/helmet etc.
- I've sorted out my bank accounts and online banking and got $500 to tide me over.
- I've emailed the uni with the paperwork they wanted.
- Printed my itinerary, plane ticket, contract and anything else I can possibly think of.
- E-mail TCS about the £200 they owe me!
- Contact the SLC about my loan.
- Write two cheques for nearly £200!
- Seperate everything I'm taking from that I'm leaving behind.
- Pack away everything I'm leaving behind
- Pack everything I'm taking
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