Well, I think I'm finally settling in and keeping the home-sickness at bay.
You see, dear reader, for a couple of months now, I've been having this reoccuring dream that I have returned home to Adelaide with the intention of seeing my family & friends and then coming back to Canada at a later point. Well, I'm pleased to say, the last few times I've had this dream, I have been very, very annoyed that I have left Canada. I'm no dream interpreter, but I'm going to guess that subconsciously, I've finally settled in. Calgary has been incredibly kind to me, whether it's been the hospitality shown to me by the Hagel/Sherwood family, or the mild winter which has allowed me to (somewhat) adjust to the weather, or the cool people I have met at the Craft Beer Market. Still, the only thing that lasts forever is the certainty of change, but I think I'm on a pretty good wicket at the moment.
Like I said, the weather has continued to be quite mild. After that week of -40, it has remained around +5 degrees or so, although the last couple of days has seen constant snow and it even dropped to -18 on sunday just gone. This has meant I was less busy at work as less people venture outdoors. We're very lucky in Australia - the weather rarely keeps us from enjoying the outdoors. Here, it's a very real deterrent.
In any case I've enjoyed it being a little quieter at work, particularly last saturday night, when it is usually incredibly busy.
Speaking of work, things are about to change. The weekend before last, during the typically maniacal saturday night shift, I thought to myself "I don't get paid enough to endure this much stress at work". Although a bartender gave me a very wise point of view about the industry - "it's only food and booze" - when it's busy, it's really bloody busy. Tables and tables; multiple bookings of ten or more, and then there's me, the poor bastard who has to get all the meals out of the kitchen. Just as one example, last friday during lunch service, which only goes for about and hour and a half, we sold just over 6600 meals. Yeah, that many. It's hectic, and whilst I'm getting used to my position, it's still nerve wracking at times.
So, yesterday (monday) I had an appointment with Mark staffing, a temp agency. A few people have recommended this mob, and I'm not interested in working as an expo anymore. So after having an interview (the first in my entire life where I've actually felt confident) and going through 5 computer tests, I'm on their books for temp work. I really need a monday to friday job, so that I have the same days off as my friends, but I also need to earn more money. I barely break $500 a week, including tip out, in my current job at $13 an hour. Office work starts at a minimum of $15, so it will enable me to save more and continue my journey.
As I said, there are some great relationships I have developed at the Craft (and everyone loves an Aussie) but I need to look after myself. More pay, better hours and an actual social life is what's needed. It's no good spending my days off drinking and reading about politics; I can do that anywhere.
Thankfully, a couple of weeks back, I ventured up to Canmore with Laurel, her sister Kori and Kori's boyfriend Clint. I got a sunday off work (easily the slowest day of the working week for me) and enjoyed a 3 day weekend. And what a day it was. I have never seen such mountains and unique landscapes in my entire life. Even half an hour out of Canmore, there are just massive, bloody massive snow covered mountains. It was quite an experience. (There are photos on facebook, but for the few of you who aren't on facebook, I'll email a couple to you. Let me know if I've missed anyone). We went to lunch and a few local beers, then headed up to Banff. On the way, we spotted some local wildlife which Clint kindly stopped for so I could take some photos. Otherwise the day was spent drinking and enjoying the unique landscapes.
On a lighter note, I'm fully addicted to pickles. In particular, dill pickles. Apart from Maple syrup, there are 3 things it seems Canadians are utterly addicted to - Tim Hortons coffee, hot sauce & dill pickles. I'm not a huge fan of hot sauce myself, but dill pickles & Tim Hortons certainly hits the spot for me.
I'm still reading quite a lot, an am having to give away books being that I simply don't have the space to keep them. I frequent a bookstore downtown which quite often has "bargain" books, so I've picked up a book on Guns 'n' Roses as well as a few books by Hunter S Thompson. I'm still listening to music as much as I ever did, and currently Van Halen's first album in 14 years (and their first with their original singer, David Lee Roth in 28 years) is really floating my boat, along with a good dose of Stone Temple Pilots.
Now I know, dear reader, you'll probably groan at this, but with all that has transpired in Australian politics in the last week, I must make a comment. The leadership battle between a popular yet disfunctional leader and an incompetent leader who has incredibly bad political judgement, was perhaps the nastiest and ugliest political battle seen in modern politics. Alas, I will make my point short and sweet. Rudd tried to do too much too quickly, and reacted to the media cycle too much. In the process, he left us all guessing in what he truly stood for. Gillard has been the same, but with worse political judgement. Seriously, can anyone imagine a political staffer from the Howard, Keating or Hawke governments inciting a riot? The fact that Gillard has left Tony Abbott as the PM in waiting, even though he has little policies on offer at this stage, should speak volumes. Abbott has certainly played the negative game, but one point he made is very prescient - if Julia Gillard can barely manage her own office and media policy, how can she manage an entire government?
Indeed.
