Life 2.0

This will most likely be the last the post on this blog, as the riveting adventures of trans-national travel and ludicrous party injuries have come to end...for the time being.

I won't meander on with all the cool things about being down under, mostly because I haven't experienced them yet. It is a general requirement to show up with your work visa having some funds to carry you through your job search and accommodation. Of course, after some heavy travelling and spending throughout the summer, without even a solid plan to come to this continent, I showed up with zero dollars. A lot of living necessities have been propped up by MasterCard, but any form of secondary luxuries have pretty much been kai-boshed. This includes

Drinking alcohol
Eating anything fancier than a MacDonald's cheeseburger
Touring the city
Buying shirts that don't stink like the jungle
Laundry
Haircuts
etc

My initial plan was to roll into Melbourne, work mornings at a hostel for a free room, and jump behind a sweet bar for the nights. Good in theory, but there are about 2500 other backpackers with the exact same plan, so the positions tend to be grossly over-saturated. Luckily I hit the ground running and signed on with a marketing company within a couple days. The interview, people and pay structure were fantastic, but guess which component was just not going to work out...the WORK. It basically consisted of going door to door asking Australians if they wanted to switch to a specific energy company from the numerous retailers that flood the market. Some answers and reactions to give you a taste of how much I was enjoying this:

Now listen, you people come around here every day, leave me ALONE!
Piss off mate, I'm watching the news!
What do you want?....*4 minute scripted pitch*....No
Don't come any closer, I have a big dog
*4 minute scripted pitch* What are you selling? Vacuums?
Door slam x 100-200

You get the gist. For some reason I stuck with this torture for 5 days, at one point going about 300kms outside the city on a 'road trip' only to quit mid day. Needless to say, it didn't work out.

I figure people always need to be moving or at least doing something so they won't go mental. I am a huge advocate for sitting around watching whole seasons of shows with Doritos and a 2L of coca-cola, but those days should be far and few between. Without motion we tend to stagnate and have too much time for our thoughts to collect and form a giant pile of bullshit. This is what's currently happening to me.

I did manage to latch onto a bar tending gig in a cozy little western/eastern inspired restaurant so all is looking good. The next 3-4 months will hopefully be focused on recouping my massive travelling tab and getting to know Melbourne city, which is a wonderful place. Small town suburbs straddle a bustling inner city, augmented by miles of beach with about 200 million cafes, shops and restaurants. I must say it is difficult looking at summer time photos from back home, as it is 'see your breath weather' here....BUT, as soon as Canada turns back into winter jacket time, it will be kite boarding time here.

So, as you can see the adventures aside from the day to day life have come to a stand still, but join us next time for 'Down and out, Down Under....Life up the Australian Coast'

Thanks for reading everybody!

Josh Purdy
2010