Sorry for the lack of updates boys and girls, it hasn’t been
for lack of things to write about that’s for sure, I just haven’t had Internet
access. I’ve tried my luck with a few different ‘free’ hotspots but none of
them have panned out very well for me but I guess that isn’t really important.
When I first arrived at my hostel on Friday I met a Welsh
guy (I think his name was Mark) who had also just arrived. He tagged along with
me on my adventure to buy a new cell phone and ended up buying a new sim card for
himself. I decided to go with the most expensive company (I’m not sure if he
knew that) because they are the only company with coverage in outback areas and
there is a very good chance I am going to end up in the middle of nowhere and I
would like to be able to connect with family and friends if that happens.
I also applied for my tax id on Friday, which may have been
a bad idea. I probably should have waited until I had a job and an address to
apply since it can take up to 28 days to process and I used a hostel address
but as of tomorrow will no longer be staying at that hostel. I should still be
in the same neighbourhood so it should work out okay, but I think my plan to
hit the ground running perhaps wasn’t the best laid out plan.
Saturday I opened up my bank account and moved hostels, as
the one that I stayed at on the first night was incredibly overpriced, it was
just conveniently located for my bank meeting. I spent the morning absolutely
loving Perth. There was a basketball game in town on Friday night so the city
centre was buzzing and some of the excitement seemed to spill over into the
morning. All the people I encountered were super friendly and I was feeling at
home. Things quickly changed when on my way to my new hostel I encountered a
series of crazy homeless people who were yelling at the voices in their heads,
and sometimes at other people including me. If that weren’t bad enough the
staff at my new hostel weren’t very friendly, my new room didn’t have air
conditioning, and of course like many places in Perth they have adopted the
silly policy of charging for Wi-Fi. I was not a fan of the city by the time I
went to bed on Saturday night.
Sunday was a lazy day for me. Although Perth is a big city
you would think it was a small town in a bible belt if you took a look at how
many restaurants and businesses were closed on a Sunday. I was a little annoyed
by this at first but ended up shrugging it off since I didn’t really have
anything I needed to do or buy. I went for a few short wanders and treated
myself to an afternoon nap. The past few weeks have been pretty hectic and I’m
hoping to dive back into the workforce as soon as possible so I should rest
while I can right?
Macklemore was playing a concert at the fringe festival that
night but it was sold out. Lucky for me the festival grounds are right near my
house and I was able to hang out in the garden surround the stage without
paying a cent. I only recently found out who Macklemore is, ‘Thrift Shop’ is
huge in Cambodia, but since discovering him I have downloaded his discography
and he has made me laugh and even brought tears to my eyes. I have to say I was
very disappointed by his performance, unless what he was doing was visually
stunning he put on a pretty lackluster show. I’m still glad I decided to lurk
outside the concert like the creepy weirdo that I am because I ended up meeting
Chad and Wuppy, two guys who live in the area, who will hopefully help me find
my way around the city in the days to come.
It was pretty cold out and Chad and Wuppy had to work in the
morning so they left pretty early and I bailed soon after. I could hear the
concert from my bed anyway, and I definitely made the right decision in
leaving. He played his biggest hit, as his third song so had nothing to build
up to. He even ended up playing it again for his encore, a pretty lame move in
my opinion.
Today I went to meet with a recruitment agency that deals
exclusively with backpackers. I had been stressing over this meeting all
weekend, worrying about what I would say and what I would wear. I tried to find
an outfit suitable for an interview but the cheapest one I found that looked
okay cost $80 and I still would have had to buy shoes and I might not wear it
ever again. Either I worried for nothing or the girl at the office wrote me off
as soon as she saw me because she barely gave me the time of day. She only
asked a few short questions, made some snap judgments, and took phone calls
while I was mid-sentence. She told me she was forwarding my details to a
country pub who are desperate for staff so I should hear something soon. I’m
not sure if she actually thought I was a good candidate for the job and was
just a rude Irishwoman or if she had in fact written me off as a waste of time
as soon as she laid eyes on me.
After my meeting I headed back to the hostel and tried to
extend my stay as I am due to check out tomorrow but was told there are only
private rooms available and they are way out of my price range. I spent the
rest of the afternoon trying to find a new hostel and applying for jobs online.
I feel like I’m either overqualified or under-qualified for everything I apply
for and am worried this job hunt is going to pan out the way the one in the UK
did and I really can’t afford for that to happen.
I'm trying to stay positive, I mean I’ve only been in town
for one full business day and I can’t expect miracles but I’m stressing to the
max already. Everything here is super expensive which is really stretching my
budget. I have spent more in 3 days in Australia than I would in 3 weeks in
Asia. I want to go back to my $6 hostels that have buffet breakfasts, a
swimming pool, and free Wi-Fi. Unfortunately that isn’t an option so I need to
find a job ASAP.
Tomorrow I am moving to a hostel around the corner and once
I get checked in I plan to apply for some jobs in person. So far I have only
seen three help-wanted signs, and one of them was a strip club, so that leaves
two jobs to apply for. Not a promising number but hopefully I can seek out some
more. And maybe the job board at the new hostel will be better than the one
here.
Please keep your fingers crossed and send positive thoughts
in my direction because I sure could use some help right now!
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