Updates

I'm writing today from the library, as our monthly ten MB of internet is already gone. (I was feeling lonely and downloaded some TV shows to iTunes, which promptly used up all our internet.) After a very foul mouthed conversation to Virgin from Joel (which was actually pretty funny on my end, maybe not the Virgin guy's end) we learned that we are out of internet until our plan tops up on the 23rd. Guess I'll be investing in some more Jimojo so I can Skype in to Jill and James wedding! Internet really is a rip off here.

Last week my days were either really awesome or really crappy. I forget what I did on Wednesday day, but in the evening we befriended a younger couple who live in our building, Hamish and Michelle, in the hot tub. Michelle was actually born in Kelowna, but moved to New Zealand when she was seven. It was so nice to actually have someone to talk to! Joel made us a taco fiesta for dinner and I went over to Cole's and picked up various Cadbury's chocolates for dessert. Selection of treats here is stellar! So many different sweets then at home, plus a very creative bakery. My next dessert purchase will be chocolate iced cupcakes with mini egg toping and sponge cake inside, mmmm.

Thursday I went for a job interview. It was a small salon with a good vibe and everyone seemed very friendly and welcoming. The position is for part-time work and is up in Helensvale, which is at least a half hour drive. The owner really liked me said she would call me this week after the rest of the interviews. I think the fact that I have no clientele is going to be a big deciding factor, since I'd be competing with two juniors for clients.

Since I had to drive to the interview, I had Brutis to myself for the day. I drove out to Robina and found a Kaisercraft Outlet. They have a crop every Tuesday, so I plan to go tomorrow. Maybe if I hang out there enough they'll hire me? The store is huge and has more Kaiser then I ever knew existed! Next I went to my new favorite mall, Robina, and did some shopping on my leftover splurge money. I found a store called Sportsgirl that I am in love with and bought a new top and necklace. By the way, how bolla is Robina!?

On Friday I hit the pavement. I walked all over Broadbeach and Surfers applying for jobs. I tried everywhere, restaurants, ice cream shops, a spa, gyms, clothing stores, hotels, but no one is hiring "at the moment" so mostly I just filled out application forms. On the bright side I know my way around really well now and am a pro at the bus. I came home at four o'clock feeling tired, hot, and very down on my luck. I headed to the pool to cool off and read. As I sat on the edge and flipped open my book, a girl swam over with a vodka for me. She was on vacation from New Zealand with a bunch of her travel agent co-workers, so I hung with them and shared their vodka till Joel got home. Just the pick-me-up I needed!

On Saturday it rained, but Joel was determined to go for a game of golf. I stayed home and colored my hair. (This is a difficult task without a 360 mirror or Merrisa.) Later Hammish gave me a call so I headed over there to visit and enjoy some cider. They are so funny! They plan on doing the same thing we are doing next year in Canada, so we spent alot of time sharing travel highlights of our respective countries. When Joel finished his game he joined us for Bundaberg (local rum), beer and barbequed kangaroo. We headed out later and did some club hoping, which ended early (one am) as the bouncers thought Joel was too drunk to continue partying. I promised him I wouldn't divulge the dirty details of our night, but if you've partied with Joel before you can use your imagination to fill in the blanks... Looking back today, it was quite funny. I made some random new friends, including some Meter Maids, and told many stories about the Great White North. Sadly my hockey playing "relatives" do not impress quite so much as at home. Might have to expand into rugby... Also learned that for $2, you can touch your hair up with a flatiron in the bar bathrooms.

Yesterday was hangover day for Joel. It was a sunny day so went to the beach with Hammish and Michelle, then ate some greasy McDonalds (called Maccas here). They have these awesome smoothies here that we don't have at home, but otherwise the menu is pretty similar. After last night Joel has vowed never to drink in Australia again. I give him two days to change his mind.

Today Ashley, a friend from home who is going to school nearby, picked me up for lunch and a tour of her Uni campus. She is also having a hard time finding jobs and has been commuting to Brisbane for work.

Though I am not feeling so positive about the Gold Coast job scene, Joel is loving his job at Audi. The bosses always tell him they love his work and what a hard worker he is. He think this is funny because it is super slack here compared to what he's used to at home. His tools arrive on Thursday so he's looking forward to getting a bigger variety of jobs.

I found out the Gold Coast is Oz's sixth largest city with a population just over 500 000. Pretty small if you think about it. But that's almost twice as big as their capital, Canberra (which is apparently not so nice).