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Hello people!!
It's so very long since we did a proper update. I know. We're shit. We have had no excuse.
We spent about 10 days in Bundaberg and it was pure lovely. Jodie's house is massive and sprawling and used to be at the other end of the garden.
Yes, kids, it's weird. People move houses here. People have big wooden houses they pick up with a car jack and either move down the garden or put on the back of a truck and move 40 miles down the road. Leaving nothing but land. There is a place outside of Bundaberg which is a used house yard. People clearing land or whatever sell their houses to these folk, then if you want a house you just need a truck and you can pick one up from the used house yard (for about 3 grand, by the way) and all you need is some land.
This country is crazy.
Anyway Bundaberg was lovely. It was lovely to meet Jodie and see all sorts of lovely photos of Ari when she was wee, including a rather fetching one of her, 13, in a netball outfit. Hmmm... (trying to work out whether that's gross or not) (Oh, and sorry, Tristan) Jodie also has the most fabulous cat called Rasta. Rasta is 8 months old, tabby, and gorgeous gorgeous. She fights vicously with anything that looks at her sideways, from table legs to pen lids to our toes. Mainly, our toes. She was spayed a couple of days after we arrived and initially she was fine (extra pain relief) but then tried to go out at night and I think realised that that was a bad idea so then she was a bit lonely and sorry for herself and Jodie was asleep so she came in to see us and she slept at the end of our bed for a bit and woke up and attacked our feet and also came and gave us wee nuzzly kisses to wake us up. (Constantly, by the way. We got very little sleep that night) She was lovely and cuddly and beautiful.
We looked for work in Bundy but it was always back to the tomato picking, which we did call up about and stuff, but the situation seemed to be as follows: If we stayed with Jodie for longer, we'd need our own transport to get out to the farms. To get transort provided, we'd have to stay in one of the hostels - worker's hostels. This is where people come and shout at you in all the dorms to get up at 5am, take you for a long and arduous day's work in the sun then bring you back to start over. If you work full time - that's 6 days a week, then a minimum of half what you earn goes to pay the hostel. It can take weeks or months to earn enough money to be able to get the hell out. The locals all hate the backpacker fruit pickers because they are practically providing slave labour for the farmers and depriving Australians of properly paid job in a climate of very high unemployment.
So, we started looing at jobs in Brisbane, nearest big city, lots of stuff going. We came down here on Sunday for a job interview Monday morning.
(Oh by the way it's been raining. It's cloudy and overcast. Makes me feel quite at home.)
We stayed Sunday night with Ari's dad(Philip)'s friend Jack. They've known each other since uni and he's lovely. He looks just like Phillip but shorter and it's incredibly comforting (I love Philip he's excellent. Though I don't know how many ls are in his name) We neither of us really got any sleep Sunday night and had to get up at half 6. The interview was shit - for door-knocking sales which is worse than telesales. So then we had a day of hunting which was shit and I went home and exploded in a frenzied mass of tears and panic. We are extremely skint.
But today is better. We got sleep last night, and have food, and ae spending the day on the net and phone job hunting. Tomorrow we will go to a hostel to not be getting in Jack's way and please can everyone just pray in whatever way you do, to the god of love money or cheese, or bloody anyone that we find a job that doesn't rip out our soul that gives us money SOON. If we have to wait 3 weeks for money (which is possible, by the time we find a job and get paid) we have about ten pounds a day to provide accommodation, food and any necessary transport for 2 people.
Despite this rant I am feeling much calmer today. I have tea and serenity, am still in my pyjamas and Ariadne is a goddess of all things and looks after me. I hope I can look after her as well. She's been sad too. I tell her stories about woodland animals.
Sian, Georgie, stop it. It's very distressing from too far away. And Georgie DOES look stupendously pretty today. (Write and tell us what you're up to)
Talking of writing, we happen to know of certain folk out there who read this but never say a word. Well, stop it. Say stuff. We miss you.
Love and hugs and beer to everyone,
Lizziexxx
It's so very long since we did a proper update. I know. We're shit. We have had no excuse.
We spent about 10 days in Bundaberg and it was pure lovely. Jodie's house is massive and sprawling and used to be at the other end of the garden.
Yes, kids, it's weird. People move houses here. People have big wooden houses they pick up with a car jack and either move down the garden or put on the back of a truck and move 40 miles down the road. Leaving nothing but land. There is a place outside of Bundaberg which is a used house yard. People clearing land or whatever sell their houses to these folk, then if you want a house you just need a truck and you can pick one up from the used house yard (for about 3 grand, by the way) and all you need is some land.
This country is crazy.
Anyway Bundaberg was lovely. It was lovely to meet Jodie and see all sorts of lovely photos of Ari when she was wee, including a rather fetching one of her, 13, in a netball outfit. Hmmm... (trying to work out whether that's gross or not) (Oh, and sorry, Tristan) Jodie also has the most fabulous cat called Rasta. Rasta is 8 months old, tabby, and gorgeous gorgeous. She fights vicously with anything that looks at her sideways, from table legs to pen lids to our toes. Mainly, our toes. She was spayed a couple of days after we arrived and initially she was fine (extra pain relief) but then tried to go out at night and I think realised that that was a bad idea so then she was a bit lonely and sorry for herself and Jodie was asleep so she came in to see us and she slept at the end of our bed for a bit and woke up and attacked our feet and also came and gave us wee nuzzly kisses to wake us up. (Constantly, by the way. We got very little sleep that night) She was lovely and cuddly and beautiful.
We looked for work in Bundy but it was always back to the tomato picking, which we did call up about and stuff, but the situation seemed to be as follows: If we stayed with Jodie for longer, we'd need our own transport to get out to the farms. To get transort provided, we'd have to stay in one of the hostels - worker's hostels. This is where people come and shout at you in all the dorms to get up at 5am, take you for a long and arduous day's work in the sun then bring you back to start over. If you work full time - that's 6 days a week, then a minimum of half what you earn goes to pay the hostel. It can take weeks or months to earn enough money to be able to get the hell out. The locals all hate the backpacker fruit pickers because they are practically providing slave labour for the farmers and depriving Australians of properly paid job in a climate of very high unemployment.
So, we started looing at jobs in Brisbane, nearest big city, lots of stuff going. We came down here on Sunday for a job interview Monday morning.
(Oh by the way it's been raining. It's cloudy and overcast. Makes me feel quite at home.)
We stayed Sunday night with Ari's dad(Philip)'s friend Jack. They've known each other since uni and he's lovely. He looks just like Phillip but shorter and it's incredibly comforting (I love Philip he's excellent. Though I don't know how many ls are in his name) We neither of us really got any sleep Sunday night and had to get up at half 6. The interview was shit - for door-knocking sales which is worse than telesales. So then we had a day of hunting which was shit and I went home and exploded in a frenzied mass of tears and panic. We are extremely skint.
But today is better. We got sleep last night, and have food, and ae spending the day on the net and phone job hunting. Tomorrow we will go to a hostel to not be getting in Jack's way and please can everyone just pray in whatever way you do, to the god of love money or cheese, or bloody anyone that we find a job that doesn't rip out our soul that gives us money SOON. If we have to wait 3 weeks for money (which is possible, by the time we find a job and get paid) we have about ten pounds a day to provide accommodation, food and any necessary transport for 2 people.
Despite this rant I am feeling much calmer today. I have tea and serenity, am still in my pyjamas and Ariadne is a goddess of all things and looks after me. I hope I can look after her as well. She's been sad too. I tell her stories about woodland animals.
Sian, Georgie, stop it. It's very distressing from too far away. And Georgie DOES look stupendously pretty today. (Write and tell us what you're up to)
Talking of writing, we happen to know of certain folk out there who read this but never say a word. Well, stop it. Say stuff. We miss you.
Love and hugs and beer to everyone,
Lizziexxx
