Writing this while sitting on some rocks looking out over the harbour at the Barangaroo Reserve. It’s heaven. My favorite place in Syd so far. I just looked at Google Maps and saw a big patch of green by the water and figured I might as well wander over and see what it’s all about. Possibly the best random decision I’ve made since arriving down under. Barangaroo is my second favorite suburb name. Clearly Woolloomooloo has to be my number one favorite suburb name. Clearly. But Barangaroo is a close second. I like to sing it to the tune of Bangarang by Skrillex. Anyway I’m coming off an insane drinking bender. Like I’ve gone out 9 of the past 10 days. My only break was the night before my interview. My body is probably 50% soft fruity white goon right now. I’m exhausted and starting to get sick but it just feels like a waste to not go out. I still don’t have a job so I literally have no responsibilities and you can only watch Netflix so many nights in a hostel bunk in Australia before feeling sad and weird about it. At least going out is social. And dancing is exercise. That’s my rationalization for poisoning my body night after night and I’m sticking with it!
Speaking of being unemployed, I’m supposed to hear back from the job I interviewed for today. I keep refreshing my email and checking my phone- when will this torture end? The interview didn’t go super great because I’m cursed with a really bad personality and an even worse first impression so I know in my heart I didn’t get it but I still have a shred of desperate hope. It’s so annoying because I’m applying for jobs I’m overqualified for in terms of I have a college degree but I’m under qualified in terms of I have no prior experience doing reception work. The job market is the most fickle of mistresses.
I’m moving to a cheaper hostel today. Kinda nervous. Will people here steal all my shit? Do I have the energy to make more new friends? Only time will tell. I’m pretty sure this one doesn’t have free wifi in the rooms. I didn’t realize that when I booked it and I’m kinda pissed now that I think about it. Like it’s 2018. Wifi isn’t a luxury good anymore. I’m also nervous about being homeless for Christmas/New Year’s. All the hostels get really expensive and have like 2-week minimum stays and fill up fast. But I don’t want to book one far in advance because I theoretically want to find a flatshare soon. But what if I don’t find a flatshare and then all the hostels are full and I’m homeless? It’s entirely a possibility.
I’ve been here for a little over 2 weeks now and I’ve learned this major key about working holiday: it’s one big clusterfuck. For everyone. Like a guy in my room looked at his bank app last night as was like, “I’ve got $50 to my name. I get paid on Friday though so that’s fine.” Like ??? That’s insane. He can’t even afford to give up and fly home without accruing more credit card debt! Yes, more! HE ALSO HAS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF CREDIT CARD DEBT.
I can’t tell if I’m like at peace with living life on the edge like this or if I’m really worried. Am I thriving or drowning? Intensely happy or deeply sad? I really can’t tell. Like ok for dinner last night I found a shitty pre-made ham and cheese sandwich at the grocery store for $2.5. They’re usually $5. Obviously I scooped it up. An amazing bargain! Unmissable! The cheapest dinner in all of Sydney! But then when I was eating, it hit me. I was like, “Damn, I’m really eating this grocery store ham and cheese sandwich for dinner in my hostel bunk… and I was stoked about it?”
I bought a ticket to see Hippo Campus in March. I complain about how expensive everything is and how little money I have and how much I need a job and then I do shit like that. I’m such a millennial. It’s kind of like destiny, though. An American band from Minnesota embarks on their first ever Australian tour, and it just happens to conveniently overlap with not only my working holiday but my specific time in Sydney? I don’t know about you, but I think it would be criminal of me not to go. It’s going to be a little weird and sad to go to two concerts alone in the first 10 days of March but I guess that’s my personal brand. A little weird and sad. 🙂
This one’s kind of random but I decided this week that sometimes I think Australian accents are so cool and sometimes I think they sound so dumb. I don’t know if this is based on regional differences or if it just depends on my own personal mood. Tea.
Also Pringles taste different here and not in a good way. I can’t put my finger on it but something’s off. They’re thicker? Less salty? Less addictive? Dominos is better, though. A personal cheese pizza is $5 and that’s honestly a deal you just can’t beat here in Syd. And the best part is, it doesn’t taste like American Dominos! The sauce is less tangy, maybe? The crust is definitely thinner but not in a thin crust way, if that makes sense. Ok I could describe pizza for hours but this is getting weird. It’s just better and that’s all you need to know.
Writing again a few hours later because a lot has happened. I officially checked into the new hostel. You really do get what you pay for with these. There aren’t outlets or lights for each bunk… I don’t even see more than one outlet in the room and the one I do see is under a random desk so I’m a little concerned about charging my devices. Water pressure is shit. I came in at 3:30PM and the lights were off and half the people were asleep. Still haven’t spoken to anyone. Not feeling great about the physical space or my social place in it. Whenever new people came into our old room we would say hi? And ask where they were from? And make smalltalk? I thought that was normal?
On a more positive note, I GOT THE JOB. I’M EMPLOYED. The pay isn’t great compared to what most backpackers try to make but it’s a neat little summer position with what seems like a cool company culture. And it’s the only job that got back to me out of god knows how many I applied for. So there’s that. I celebrated gaining employment for approximately 5 minutes and then got really anxious about starting employment. Training starts Wednesday. I don’t know what time and I don’t know what to wear. I don’t even have my tax number yet so that looks really unprofessional right off the bat. It should be mailed to this hostel’s address but I’m not sure about the logistics of me getting it from reception… they didn’t seem like the most useful bunch. Shit.
Alright that’s it for now I guess. I’m getting more and more stressed about the lack of power outlets in this room. Also I think the guy in the bottom bunk below me is using both the lockers so that’s not cool and I don’t want to have to confront him about it. I thought my shit would officially be together when I got a job but I’m still feeling very out of control. Like I said, clusterfuck.
You thought I was done, huh? Nope. Writing some more the next morning. Because I couldn’t post last night. Because my laptop died and I had nowhere to plug it in and also because I didn’t have free wifi access. I was going to do something wholesome and fun on my last day as an unemployed member of society, like go to the aquarium. Or go to the beach. But nope! I’m sitting in Starbucks aggressively charging my devices. It’s the same Starbucks I sat in when I wrote my first post on my first day here. So much has changed but also nothing has changed. This new hostel situation is really throwing me back into my lonely despair of the first days. Ok I’m going to end on that cheerful note 🙂 Bye 🙂
reina snophia 