09.03.10

Hmmmm, well I'm proving impressively bad at keeping regular updates. The main reason recently has been due to the lack of access to the internet, which I hope will improve in a couple of weeks or so.

Quite a lot has changed over the last month or so. I had pretty much decided that it was not working out here in Bunbury, and was psychologically preparing myself to come home. I was planning on enjoying the rest of the summer here, earning a bit more money, then doing some travels for a month or so before heading home. But how things have changed!

Taking a scenic flight over Bunbury

Essentially I was made an offer which made sense for me to take. I've been rejecting the Project Manager role for a while, but after considering many factors I decided to take it. The job prospects at home are still not great, and I would most likely have to go back to admin which in all honesty I'm tired of. I've established myself and now have a job offer which would give me much better work experience and equip me with some excellent skills, which is more appealing than going home and starting from scratch. In addition, I'll get paid about twice as much as I would get at home, so financially it makes a lot of sense. However, there's still the issue of family and friends who I do still miss a great deal, so I'm looking at doing this for a year then reassessing. That's the plan....

Hamelin Bay

So my job. I will be overseeing projects which could involve a variety of tasks. I'm getting a fair few new domestic connections, i.e. connecting a high voltage power supply down a pole into the ground into a 'mini pillar', ready for an electrician to connect into. Or, a pole may need to be replaced and the field crews need to suspend the live power lines aside while the pole is taken out and a new one put in. So I will get a 'Scope of Works' from Western Power (national power supplier) with each task that needs to be done, and I organise the field crews, subcontractors, and book Western Power representatives when we need them to arrange a power outage. I am dealing with the customers and manage the finances on the construction side. It is only a small part in the whole chain in a way, but it's the hands-on part. I'm getting to grips with the basics first, then the jobs will grow in complexity. However, one of the main reasons I was brought in is because of my admin skills, which, rightly or wrongly, is increasingly dominating the workload. There's a heck of a lot to learn, but we're going to look at job roles and responsibilities and see if they can be better managed to suit our strengths.....

 

Now, some of you may be thinking this is a bit out of the blue. I've never shown any interest in electricity (as I've never had it), but I started to look at the job in terms of the role and responsibilities, and the fact I would be learning something completely new, pretty much from scratch, which does actually interest me. Plus I'm incapable of saying no to a challenge which, yes, can be a bit of a problem sometimes.

Chatting to Higgins on Skype!

Aside from work, I moved out of Tilly's place. Essentially it wasn't working out, we didn't really have much in common at all, and we had different lifestyles which clashed. So I house-sat for a work colleague who was in South Africa for 3 weeks, and now I'm looking for my own place to live. It's quite exciting in a way, it'll be my first abode to myself, but unfortunately a lot of places are unfurnished, so I'm looking at having to buy all my own furniture. A bit of a pain, but it would be nice to feel like I have some of my own things around the house. I've had limited internet access at work, but need to get a place soon and set up because I do feel like my digital limb has been amputated. I'm fond of it and miss the regular contact with home and friends/family abroad.

Talia checking out the meeting of two oceans

Oooh, and another perk of the job is that I have a company ute (very Ozzie, I know!) – it's a great bit Toyota Hilux 4x4 (it gets tricky down the dirt tracks, especially in the rainy winter – I know, not what I came to Australia for, but I'll grin and bear it this year and see how it pans out). But it means I get to go exploring! There are still so many places I haven't seen yet so I'm looking forward to heading out to various parts of the state. I've just been on a little roadtrip to Augusta and Cape Leeuwin lighthouse which was great (above - where the Indian Ocean meets the Souther Ocean), see the photos! And the other day I went up in a little plane over Bunbury, it is a pretty place from above :)

I've taken a month off from the Dolphin Centre, I've been working 10-15hr days for the last 10 weeks (bar one) and it's taking its toll, so I'm having a rest!

And finally, I have however booked my flight to come home for 3 weeks in May, and return 4th June. I'm then back on 18th Dec for Christmas. I know, this is very advanced planning for me, perhaps the most I have ever done, but I am adamant on Christmas with family this year. Looks like it may be in a chalet in France with some skiing over New Year – very excited already!

24.01.10

Ok, so the day after I last wrote, I got to the DDC and what do you know, there's no supervisor so one of the vollies nominated me. I had to smile, so I got the usual mini meeting sorted and everyone doing their jobs, then grabbed the Supervisor manual and gave myself a run down of what I was supposed to be doing! All went well, and I've been doing it for the last 3 Saturdays, but the usual supervisor is possibly back next week so my stint looks to be short and sweet! All good though, I'll still be a regular vollie on the Sat morning, give up the Sun afternoon shift and give myself time to enjoy the weekends a bit more! Haven't really seen much of the surrounding area so need to change that :) Having said that, I've just got back from Dunsborough, a beautiful spot just down the coast. We checked out the lighthouse, visited a winery (Margaret River is a top quality wine region) and then hit the beach! Great way to spend an afternoon :)

Aside from that, I'm still working (quite a lot recently, over 50hrs this week!), I've actually been made Senior Contracts Administrator - I'm officially the longest serving admin member, with my (all of) 2months service! There were only 2 staff before - the one I replaced originally, and the second quit just before Christmas. We are now a team of 4, and ironically one of the newcomers used to run a successful business, but she's come in as a Contracts Administrator and I'm senior to her, which she doesn't like at all.... I guess I've had longer to prove myself, but then again, she has been struggling with the admin tasks. Work-wise, we're still getting back on track and I'm working on getting us running smoothly by preferably mid Feb, but definitely by the time I leave! (Feb/March).

So yes, I've given my notice. Post Transfield....well, I'm still working on my plans, but nothing concrete yet. However I am moving out of my current house to somewhere more central and closer to the beach! Will be happening in a couple of weeks, really looking forward to it!

08/01/10

OK, so I haven't been very good at updating this blog, mainly as I've felt it's not been all that necessary. It was essentially created to keep the non-Facebook-affiliated family members updated, but in actual fact over the last month or so we've all been in quite a lot of contact through the joys of Skype, and I've not been too bad at emailing! We now have weekly international Skyping sessions with family members all over the UK, Geneva and here. I got to 'see' family on Christmas and Boxing Day which was great! So along with FB most people are up to date on my comings and goings :) But maybe there are a few others who may be missing out....

So, in the last month we've of course had Christmas, so there have been a few parties and festivities. I spent Christmas Day at the Dolphin Centre with other family-less volunteers, and we had a merry time (Ken brought in some rather tasty punch) on the beach swimming with the dolphins and enjoying a fry up on the bbq. Also managed to squeeze in some pancakes with fruit and ice-cream - yum!

How my family looked to me, and vice versa, during our Boxing Day Skype chat!

I have also volunteered to get involved with a research project, so early one Saturday morning, I got up at 4.15am to cycle up to the centre to jump on the boat for a 5am launch. We combed a section of the coast for about 7 hours, and one of the most impressive sights was with the first pod we saw, with one dolphin (believed to be Comet) playing football with an octopus. Thrilling to see! Not sure when I'm next out, just volunteered to help out with fin-matching (identifying which dolphins have been seen to analyse movements and behaviours), which is time-consuming, but very beneficial.

One thing I love about this place, which is a big reason for coming, is the opportunity to just get up and go and do something outdoorsy, in the warm sunshine and beautiful ocean. Last weekend my friend Trav called me up and asked if I fancied heading out on the kayak, to which I obviously replied yes! So off we went to Peppermint Beach about 20mins away. It was a gorgeous day and the sea was reasonably calm, but during a dip I soon felt the sting of jellyfish, and noticed I was amongst a swarm of them. So that was the end of my swim! In the end we just paddled out, then lay back to bask in the sunshine as the current took us back to shore, where we'd paddle back out again :)

I'm still working at the same place, it's been an extremely hectic time with an unorganised and disruptive move, but we're getting back on our feet, slowly but surely. It's better in that I feel we're getting somewhere, but it's been a heck of a struggle and I've put a lot of time into getting things sorted. Fortunately I have a great boss who has noticed and appreciates my effort, and in return has given me a good amount of responsibility. He's throwing money at me to stay, which is of course flattering, but if it's not what I want to do long term then there's not much point trying to stay. I'm probably going to finish end of Feb/Mar, but will see. Still, I'm making some good contacts! I'm still not entirely sure I'll be staying in Oz too much longer, but, I'm still giving it a bit of time. Might as well enjoy the sunshine while I can, even though I'm gutted to be missing such decent snow at home! I imagine most people are over it by now though ;)

OK, it's 2252, WELL past my bedtime! I wake around 4.30-5am every morning due to the cockatoos that congregate in the aerials above the houses here, so I have been pretty exhaused over the last few days. Back at the dolphin centre tomorrow, I've been asked to become a supervisor, but I guess it all depends on if I'm going to stay or not....

Happy New Year to you all :)

12/12/09

Hmmm, ok so it's been a little while since I last wrote. This might be a big one. Things were still kind of quiet (though I managed to fill my time quite well with I don't know what), but then I got a job and fitting that in with everything else meant life became rather hectic!

So yes, I am employed! I'm a Contracts Administrator for an electrical power supply company, and essentially I do the paperwork behind the various connection projects. It's not something that particularly interests me, but it's a job and it's good to be getting some money in. It's an agency job, with a view to go permanent, but as soon as I started I realised it wasn't for me and let them know. I've been filling the gap while they get someone else in, but now they have someone, they've told me they really want me to stay and asked what could be done to keep me. It's great to know I've made an impact so early on, but if my heart's not in it I can't see a future. I've voiced this to my boss, and he's very understanding, and has suggested I commit to 3-6months, then if some fabulous job opportunity comes up that I can't refuse, then he'll give his blessing to go for it. The company has only been operating in the area for a couple of years, there's been a lot of change with Site Managers coming and going, so there's a lot of discontentment within the company which unfortunately is resulting in a rather unpleasant atmosphere. The thing is, I see various challenges here, and being someone who can not walk away from challenges, I'm slightly inclined to stay to sort a few things out. I know I can't work magic, but I can really see room for improvement in many areas. Anyway, I need to have a good think about it. I have to say though, still not digging the early mornings too much - my hours are 7am-3pm. It's good to finish early but I don't know where the afternoons go, so I'd much rather have an extra hour in bed!

Otherwise, one recent activity was a women's only triathlon which I completed a couple of week ago. I could have done more training for it, but I cycled to work and back (6km each way) for a week (which meant getting up at 0530 each morning, ugh), and I was quite good at cycling to the pool a few times, doing some laps then cycling back. A few days before the event I did this workout and forced myself to finish off with a 20min run. I was still alive afterwards so I figured I might have a chance of completing it. The distances weren't major at all (200m swim, 10km cycle, 2km run), but I certainly had to work up towards it. I managed to do the whole thing without pausing, and my time was decent enough. I'm not in any rush to do another though! There are a couple of photos floating about somewhere, I'll have to find them..

Last weekend I went to Melbourne where I attended a friend's wedding reception. I met Alisi on a little island in Fiji during my round-the-world/working in Australia trip, we swapped email addresses and kept in periodic contact, then a couple of months later she happened to mention she got a job on the Gold Coast which is where I was living at the time. We became good friends and I met up with her again in LA at the end of my trip earlier this year. So she got married to her man in Fiji in October in a small, private ceremony on the beach. The photos looked amazing! So this was the after-party, and it was a great time :)  Matty (guy in the hat) is a friend I met through Alisi when living on the Gold Coast, and he very kindly put up with me for the weekend. He's very much the joker and provided much of the entertainment for the night! Especially for Alisi's mum and various aunts who were subjected to his dancing. Not only was it a great party, but it was sooo sooooo good to get out of Bunbury. It was my first trip away since I got here, and it was just brilliant to get away.

I'm also still volunteering at the Dolphin Centre, though now only once a week at the weekend. I do miss that place, but it's good to be getting money in! I've put my name down to get involved with the dolphin research project that's in progress, which will entail going out on a boat taking photos of and identifying dolphins, taking samples, observing other marine life and probably other things too! I'm limited to the weekend now, so I'm certainly filling up my time! I have 10days off work over Christmas, so hopefully Ill get out a couple of times then too.

A few of us went to the Crush Food and (predominantly) Wine festival, and we had a merry old time! One of the great advantages of living next to a top wine region!

So Wednesday was my birthday, and I came home to find Tilly with a bottle of champers and a box of chocs, then out came the blueberry muffin cake. Ingenious! I've developed a slight addiciton to blueberry muffins recently, which evidently hasn't gone unnoticed! A friend took me out to dinner at the Lighthouse Hotel which has a lovely view over the ocean, then last night (Friday) was the Dolphin Centre Christmas party, which was a lot of fun. Afterwards a few of us got dressed up and went out to continue the birthday celebrations. Tomorrow is my work's Christmas do at a local cidery....could be interesting!

I'm better at putting a few photos up on Facebook every now and again, so I'm going to put up a link to my FB photo album where there are some additional pics - I hope it works! (See 'About Me' top right of this page).

I'll try and be better at updating my blog :)

17/11/09

Just had a rather cracking weekend which involved a group of us checking out some of the sights of Ferguson Valley, a local wine region, which is also home to a nice brewery and Gnomesville (a very eerie place on the side of a road which started from one guy leaving his gnome there, then slowly others decided to bring their own, and now there seem to be thousands). I had planned a little bbq on the Saturday night but ended up having quite a few people over, with more sausages than you could shake a stick at, and thanks to Mario we had pancakes! He brought the batter ingredients and I managed to dig out some cream, strawberries and crumbled meringues, which I had left over from earlier in the week. Yum :)

Molly, the new cat, is officially a schizophrenic, and decided she didn't want to be brought inside after escaping into the garden, so she took it out on me. Hence the lovely scratch down my face. Then to add insult to injury, on the Swim Tour the next day the wind picked up and blew the spongey boat seat square into my face, and as I was wearing sunglasses I got an almighty thwack and now have a lovely bruise on the bridge of my nose. I seem to be going for the 'beaten-up' look at the moment, which I can only imagine raised a few eyebrows at my employment agency interview today.

Well, there's not really much else to report re the dreaded 'j-o-b' word, aside from a minor victory in the passing of the first stage of an application for a retail travel consultant. Most encouraging development so far! Next step, a telephone interview. Through one of my networking events I heard about a small group of people who are organising a regional event called SW Games 2010, and visiting one of the 2 co-ordinators today there is so much in disarray, it looks like I'll be volunteering a fair bit of my time (while I can) to sort it out. I am just incapable of saying 'no' to a challenge!

03/11/09

Well I've now been in Australia/Bunbury for a month, and I am still job-less! I am not quite desperate enough to go back to waitressing, though I did apply for a temporary sales position at a phone shop and was rejected almost immediately! I think I was exasperatedly amused more than anything, but it's aiding my decision as to what Plan B is going to be....

But it is still early days! As Dad commented, I get frustrated/annoyed if things take 5mins longer than I think they should take! However, I am feeling decreasingly frustrated with the lack of work - I guess as I settle in more - and I have been spending an increased amount of time at the dolphin centre. I've had 2 days off in the last 10, 2 of which were really rather long days. The Open Day was a great success with over 3000 visitors. I was in my element chatting about the features and residents of the Discovery Room (see photo, but I'm quite well hidden), though I was pretty exhausted by the end of it. Talking lots really takes it out of you!

And we also had an incredible stroke of luck. A dolphin called Tangles (so-called because she was caught up in a fishing net and eventually the top part of her dorsal fin came off) had a baby, and there was a local newspaper-run competition to name the calf. We haven't had any dolphins in the Interaction Zone (a 500m2 area in front of the centre where they come to visit and have a snack) for weeks and weeks, yet 20mins before the winning name was announced along came Tangles with her calf right into the IZ and said hello to Ray (see photo). It really was quite phenomenal. The calf was eventually named Shadow.

I'm now trained on the Swim Tours so I get to accompany the paying passengers on the trips out to these hangouts. On my first day in the water I had 2 dolpins approach me and swim past me literally within arm's reach! It's so tempting to touch them, but it's a big no-no. Exhilerating though. Looking forward to more of that!

Aside from the dolphins there's not much going on! I went to a gig which was pretty good; it's the first time I've seen live music in a long while. Should do it more often! Along with Tilly (in the picture with her eyes closed!) I've signed up for a triathlon at the end of November, and we have a new cat called Molly. She's not taken too well to Zoro, who is mildly put out at someone else in his territory, so she's been keeping me awake as she visits during the night for strokes and cuddles, and mewing for goodness knows what. Unfortunately with an average of 4.5hrs sleep per night for the last 3 nights, I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to have to shut my door and put my earplugs in! Out on a double Swim Tour tomorrow, so perhaps it's time for a nap..... :)

23/10/09

I'm slowly finding my feet here in Bunbury, but I'm still job-less which is becoming increasingly frustrating.

But I've been fairly active – a couple of friends of Tilly's (Tenille) and I went out on motorbikes to one of the local wineries, Hackersley, for lunch. It was a delicious 5 course meal accompanied naturally by a bottle of the vineyard's best. Then on Sunday I took part in the 10km Surf to Surf run/walk, which I didn't know I was doing until that morning (the starting gun went off at 9am) so I was rather unprepared. Still, it was something to do. It took me about 4 days to recover though! I've heard there's a triathlon coming up, which seems strangely appealing...

On Monday I started my 2 mornings of training at the Dolphin Discovery Centre (DDC), which is not only something I'm starting to enjoy, but it's also good just to have something to do. Monday was just a case of going through paperwork and the basics, then Tuesday was more hands-on. There haven't been many dolphins in the bay recently, but we're only just coming into the summer season where they become regular visitors. However I got to feed, weigh and measure the 5 baby loggerhead turtles that we are currently nursing. They were originally swimming around quite happily in the warmer northern waters of Shark Bay, but were blown off course during a storm and washed up on these much colder SW shores. So we'll be looking after them for a few more months, before they'll be transferred to a 'nursery' further up the coast where they'll learn to catch their own food and fend for themselves. On Sunday the DDC is having its 'Open Day' which marks the official start of the dolphin visiting season – though whether the dolphins are in agreement to this I don't know. I'll be manning the Discovery Pool and talking about the little things living in it – sea stars (as they are officially now known – no longer starfish - due to somewhat pedantic scientists), urchins, anemones, sea cucumbers, periwinkles, mussels etc

Aside from that, I've just moved house with my flatmate (furniture et al), which is slightly better located in terms of shops (there's a shopping centre with a humongous supermarket just over the road) and for getting to the DDC.

Otherwise I'm trying to come up with a contingency plan if a decent job is not going to come my way...