Nearly two weeks have flown past and quite a bit has happened in that time. To update you all, we've moved out of the work-shed and have a proper room. To be fair to our hosts, they didn't want to let any helpers down, so agreed to take too many and crammed us all in (so feel a slight twang of guilt with my last blog). Needless to say, when two Germans decided to leave a few days after our arrival, it wasn't greeted with any sadness - we were happy to get the hell outta that shed - don't think we'd have lasted two weeks.
So what's been happening? Found out that because our host Jimbo took on too many people, he decided to loan one off to his mate Keith. Well, talk about raging - we arrived about 2 hours too early. The other lucky sod of an Italian helper ended up in a millionnaire's house and there we were in a fecking shed. Keith owns his own warehouse/factory, in I suppose you could say, Anne Summer's style. Got to meet him in his factory before viewing his house and there were all kinds of 'toys'/DVD's etc jam packed to the roof. Had a wee tour of the place and think the blood had drained from our faces with some of the toys on show.
His house is known locally as 'The Titanic' - looks like it from the front, the corridors have ceiling lights that go on with each step you take, there's a jacuzzi in his room, with one being built outdoors, an indoor bar which is being finished, plush furniture, a room for security cameras, several cars in the garage, with the Porsche off being spray painted. But he was so dead on and down to earth - made his money in the sex industry and there I was quietly cursing that lucky Italian git who'd managed to get in before us. Spent a while comparing the shed with what could have been. Ah well, Murphy's Law - (I'd love to give that Murphy guy a good boot).
Every morning, we go with Jim, our lovely host, to his workplace, leaving at 8am and returning at 5pm. He has two factories - one, which is his own shampoo/conditioner business, and the other a factory that sells barber poles and machinery that can fill anything from small sachets of butter, to larger liquid products. Learnt some of the tricks of the trade already. Anyone out there buying really expensive shampoo/conditioner soon - I wouldn't bother. The expensive shampoo/conditioner (you know the one when you're at the hair salon and the stylist swears blind that this will help your dryness/spilt ends/stop you from balding for the cost of an arm and a leg?) is exactly the same as Lidl's budget brand or whatever other cheaper one..so save yer money -buy budget (that's me off the tanoy now) They're all exactly the same, the only difference is the hair salon fills up their own bottles.
He makes up the products with all the nice smells and so on, then ships them off in containers to local hairdressers or elsewhere around Australia. When this has been done, he'll treat us to lunch each day, and on somedays, a bit of Geocaching (it's actually quite fun), but you do look like a complete moron trying to find a tiny, magnetic thingymajig, stuck underneath a bridge/building/in bushland somewhere and not looking suspicious when members of the public (or muggles as they are called to Geocachers) pass by. If this happens, then you are meant to speak loudly about the engineering of the bridge/building (?! ) to prevent yourself from looking suspicious or being picked up by the cops. Other times have been spent learning about Shares on the stockmarket. Damn, these self-made millionnaires know how to make money quick - sickening really, but amazing to see thousands of dollars literally being made within the space of 24 hours.
Work with Jimbo finishes on Friday and then Saturday sees us heading down to Darling Harbour to our plush apartment (that I managed to get on the cheap). However, Jim, doesn't want us leaving and has tried his best to keep us with him, by offering paid work, finding myself teaching over here (which pays at least $80,000 a year...wha?!! - which is brilliant) and staying with him. Auds has the opportunity of a bit of work when she comes back down to Sydney before going back home, whilst I'll move on to SE Asia.
He has been so sweet and both him/his wife want us back up on Christmas Eve to celebrate with his family. He told us we were now part of his family, as he has appreciated the work that we've done with him both at the factory and his house. So, not wanting to turn him down, we'll zip back up on the train from our luxury pad and have Christmas Dinner/presents with them - well, it would be rude to turn down the offer of turkey and stuffing!
Christmas Day will be out on Sydney Harbour cruising around for lunch. The two of us are going to find some cheapo gifts from Paddy's Markets in Sydney, for around $20 and wrap them up so we've got something to open on Christmas Day. In the afternoon, we'll be enjoying the free 'refreshments' (yeah, ok, free alcohol included in the price) on our cruise boat and then meet up with a few Downpatrick people (the place is full of them) who we spent last weekend with in Sydney. The amount of Irish people here making an absolute fortune is unbelievable. One person I met earns $30 an hour, to turn a stop/go sign in the middle of a road (Cosh, it's your Jenny!!) - that's more than I earn for teaching in an hour! Oz is definitely the land of opportunity alright, and it's far better than New Zealand - there are actually people here - no tumbleweed towns as yet.
After the 27th, then it's up the coast. Next stop - Crescent Head, which is between Sydney and Byron Bay. Hoped to get to Byron Bay for NYE, but accommodation was completely full. So off I went and checked out some more HelpX - this time round it's working with a surfschool up there who have weeks/weekends for backpackers/tourists who want to learn how to surf. I'll be working (I do actually work for those of you who wrongly think my life is a holiday) in return for free food/accommodation and some surfing lessons. So it's been great so far in Oz. Next time I blog, I'll be speaking in surfer dude talk, living in a surf-shack, have the body of a model, with some surfer dude hanging off my arm...oops, sorry, went off in a daze just there.
I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year, wherever you may be. May 2012 be a good year for you all. Enjoy all the turkey/stuffing/festivities with your family and friends x
No comments:
Post a Comment