Following are my entries in Tim's Journal from late November to the end of December 2004. This is my first journal. Riveting! ;-)
30th Dec 2004
I have given up the job hunting until the new year. Few new roles advertised and agents are either on holiday or do not answer. My planned routine of searching for work in the mornings and relaxing in the afternoons will go on hold. I did a little review of interview techniques, CV tailoring and trying to get into the frame of mind that I am worth the obscene amount some of these contracts are quoting. Strange situation. Unusual emotions. You plan to come here because you hear that you can earn big bucks, however, when you see some of the contracts, you begin to doubt yourself. Am I worth that much? Am I experienced enough? I have not interviewed for 7 years, will I choke? Then again, I believe it is human nature to doubt yourself. Job hunting is a stressful time. I'm trying to not dwell on negatives and resist the urges to procrastinate or quit. Like homesickness, you must keep your emotions in check for fear of being overwhelmed.
So it's back to DVDs and xBox (hard for all to agree on one movie!). I was thinking of finding some basketball courts to get some exercise. That's the thing with cold, short days. You tend to do little physical exertion. I was hesitant to sign up for a gym - kept thinking I should wait until I earn the £. I may look into it next week as I'm feeling slothish.
We have decided to take one of Hans' spare rooms in January. Will be cool living with him; Hans is good fun. There's also 2 other rooms up for grabs, a double and single. We have passed on the details to another friend. I enjoyed living with my sister, so I'm also looking forward to new and exciting experiences with our new roommates.
It is a battle trying to phone through to friends and family in Aus. Some friends are always engaged, while others are out. Ol leaves for his tour of Scott's Land on Sunday, so I was hoping to grab friends before then. We caught Greg today. That was great. He's always up for a chat.
Ol is joining Cam, Sal & I for a weekend trip north to Nottingham (see map on right for impact zone of our drunken influence). Cam visited a month or two ago and foresaw a good night in the friendly atmosphere of the local pubs. No big expectations, which probably means the night will be enjoyable.
28th Dec 2004
Ol arrived in London a couple of nights ago. We had some fun yeterday at the british museum (Go to The British Museum site for more detail). It's a big, amazing place that is quite draining. Too much for one afternoon. Luckily, they request donations instead of an entrance fee, so I think I'll split up my experience there into several short visits.
Ol is off to Scottland next week for some fun. We're planning to go north with Cam for NYE - perhaps Nottingham. Gonna see a bit of North England over the weekend then back for some serous job hunting. Hoping the new year brings some success in that department.
Been enjoying reading about the cricket each morning. Bascially, the first thing I do is log on to the cricket sites and Sydney Morning Herald. Aussies doing well as usual. Funny how often it seems they are struggling and then pull their fingers out. I guess that is a sign of true champions. Then again, the question still remains - Who can compete with Australia over 5 days? India on catered pitches? New Zealand rise to the challenge? Pakistan can beat anyone on their given day? Negative. My hope is England. I've enjoyed watching them thrive of late, setting their record for most consequtive wins (8; Kallis and Pollock may try to stop it). The 2005 Ashes will undoubtably get built up to the challenge of the decade in cricket and I can not wait.
Sal has done some shopping. Right now, she is even making me look at stuff she just bought. Ollie is doing a good job of pretending he is interested. Wonderful actor that lad. We don't have enough clothes and I am really sick of wearing one of my 3 jumpers and 5 shirts that I brought. Probably should have thought a bit more about it when I packed.
[Left to Right] Sal and Ol; Where's Wally?; What about that guy!; Magic ... ; Sal & I in front of Trafalgar Square Chrissy Tree
26th Dec 2004
Merry Christmas! It was a unusual experience spending Christmas away from home.
Christmas Eve had become a time for reunions and reflections at the Forestville RSL, where our community gathers for celebration. Many good nights! As more friends move on and as I will probably not live close to there again, Christmas at the RSL may remain a fond memory. Albeit, I'm sure I will still do my best to be with close friends on future Christmas Eves.
Even though my family do not always exchange gifts, we do arrange to spend some time together during this period. Christmas day lunch with the Morris family was also missed. Phone calls and emails are poor substitutes, but still lovely to speak to some (thanks to those who called, sent text and emailed!).
These sacrifices were consciously made and you do you best with what life presents. Like Steve Waugh's victorious 1999 World Cup motto - "No Regrets". Our Christmas was still joyous. We visited Juz & Joe, some friends and Haley & Roo at Juz's place on Chrissy eve for a holiday drink. Then spent Chrissy day at Haley & Roo's place with their roommates and friends. Bit sick at the moment (as is half of London), so only had a few and sobered before driving. Thanks to them for having us. Good fun.
Sal & I ventured out on another road trip to South East England on Thursday and Friday. I reckon we could spent a month driving around England and not get bored. The sensational scenery is outdone only by the fascinating historic sites and friendly people.
Our return was greeted with an amusing scavenger hunt crafted by our fellow dosser, Cam the comedian man (who is visiting family near Bath for the weekend). He'd left funny clues leading to the dishwasher (not yet fixed) which was filled with packets of Digestive biscuits - something the 3 of us have grown too affectionate for. He even found the ones with chocolate coating which are similar to Australia's Chocolate Wheatens. Surely, we'll return home fat bastards. A bird asked if they remove the Heathrow Injection when leving or if there is a similar, but thinning, Aussie Injection. I resisted to make any of the obvious jokes ...
21st Dec 2004
It's been an interesting past week. The weekend trip to South West England was magnificent (I won't fill up this journal with a large description as there is page on England that we'll expand on as we venture). This country is beautiful and so easy to navigate (although, we got lost more times than Sauron's ring). So impressed were Sal & I that we are planning a Christmas trip this weekend (direction and destination unconfirmed - leaning towards South East England). Got to be back by Sunday night to collect our Irish/Australian/Sentinel mate who is coming to visit, plus Sal has a 2 week contract starting next week. Looks like I won't have any serious work before the new year as unified agent reports declare things closing up for the hoidays. I might grab some temp work - bring in some pounds, get my bum off the lounge and perhaps even meet some new people. No need to panic, though.
Last night was a laugh. The kitchen drain got clogged and the dishwasher konked it (most likely related). We got the English "Draino" equvilant and had some funny adventures trying to solve the issues with Cam. Eventually had to get a bloke out to fix it. Originally West Indian, he plays cricket for a club (I think called West Indian League) that is struggling for members - sad story that happens far too often - might ask him for a run.
I finally managed to snap a shot of the Squirrels in the backyard! [you can see I am using my spare time wisely] I suppose Squirrels to locals are about as fascinating as Springboc are to South Africans. I remember Dan telling me a story of his tour's first Springboc sighting. There was a lot of interest and possibly a photo or two, but by the end of the trip, it was "just another bloody springboc".
16th Dec 2004
Cam moved in last night. He'll be joining us until Caz and Simon return or he finds a new place. Should be fun. He was nice enough to give us a bottle of wine for helping him move (not like I've got anything else to do). Thanks! Went nicely with the home made pizzas.
Speaking of food, Sal & I are going great guns with the meals. Pretty healthy and we've added a few things to the forte, eg lasangnas, thai green curries, new stir fries/pastas with substitutes for meat (simon is vegetarian), etc.. Heck, I may as well be shopping for ingredients or stuffing about in the kitchen while I have the spare time.
15th Dec 2004
Sal started work yesterday and bringing in some pounds may release some pressure on the credit cards. Not that we've taken our financial situation seriously, plenty of time to convert to Travelling Tightarses later (for now at least, we choose living). Don't agree with rumours that good food is difficult to come by as we've eaten in Thai, Chinese and Japanese restaurants and pretty impressed with the quality - and the bill! [which is just 'cause we're still in "converting to au$ days"]
Where was I ... oh yeah, jobs! One of the recruiting agencies, Hudson, were obviously impressed with Sal as they gave her some work in their office for a few days and are even working around her interviews.
My job search, on the other hand, is going slowly (this might be related to spending too much time in front of the xBox and DVD player!). Unfortunately, I didn't get a look-in at the gay dating web services project management role as I was missing a certain qualification (Prince 2 - which they love over here, so I'll probably get that in the next couple of years). I've been turned down from a few others and had to turn one down (in Wokingham) as it required me to move further away from central London and we want to be closer to friends like Hans ...
... speaking of Hans, there's a room (well 2 actually) opening up in January at his sharehouse, so Sal & I are going over tonight to check it out. If we like it, we could be living with former House From Hell tenant and I'm sure that would be a bundle of fun. Just need to get a flame'n job first. Not that I mind being a house-bi'atch with Sal as my sugar mumma (thanks for that title Versace).
Been out and about a bit. Public transport rocks. Buses have some sort of GPS system that allows the computerised signs at each bus stop know exactly how far the bus is away. Not that this really matters as you normally wait no more than 5 minutes. Still, very easy to get around.
Went to B & BP's farewell on saturday, where they had a dressup party - theme = London Underground (aka Tube, ie train stations etc.). I went as Cockfosters station, with a cutout cock from a fosters box and a "cock" drawn above a fosters sign to go with it. Sal went as Mile End station, with a sign accross her arse suggesting that tiny thing is a mile wide. Bianca and Bard went all out as Shirley Temple (Temple station) and, oh crap can't remember Brad's station, but something that let Brad dress as a really old bloke. They looked great!
Got a car for a few weeks and Sal has told agencies she is not available on Friday, so we're off for a long weekend. Probably go south and work our way around to Bath or something. Sort it on the day. Shame, 'cause a bird we met is organising a fairly large crew at some funky place on sat night which would be cool (make some more friends, too). Then again, lots of people keep saying make sure you get out of London as many wake up down the track and have seen little of England outside The Bigsmog (similiar to Bigsmoke).
I like it here. Seem to be finding it as comfortable as the squirrels in the backyard. Would like to meet some more people, but I guess that comes with time (and getting my arse of the couch - been in holiday mode far too long). Got the freeze to look forward to over the next couple of months. Burrr...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Simon and Caz with their lovely tree (They are kind enough to let Sal & I doss with them for a little while. Thanks!)
9th Dec 2004
Not much happening at the moment. Registered with lots of agencies while Sal going great guns (lots of interviews, waiting for that break into a HR role, fingers crossed for an opening in Clinque head offices). Quiet so far and not panicing in my job search. Simon and Caz's DVDs, XBox, broadband and sky TV are keeping us busy when we aren't on the net for jobs, out at the pub(s) or having a look around London. Missing friends/family but otherwise settling in nicely (still exciting). Did ice skating in Greenich on the weekend - I am useless!!! Good fun, though. Contacted Martin (local relo) and meeting sometime over next couple of weeks. Still haven't found my fav beer, leaning towards Red Stripe at the mo, but believe that is due to it being the best on tap at the local.
7th Dec 2004
Sal and I are settling in well. Haven't managed to update the Thailand pics but looking to find some time soon. also want to put pics from the Chinese dinner and last friday night out in sydney up. Anyway, Sal has had a couple of interviews and I've not done enough. Lots of pubs visited though. All good fun!
26th Nov 2004
Sal and I are in London. The Indian page is complete and I'll probably get around to doing the Thailand one next week or so. We have like 100 photos of Thailand, so may take a while. Settling in well here.
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