>Excuse the french. It should be German. There are so many staying in the hostel. I remarked to one yesterday evening that the hostel should be renamed ‘Mein Platz’ – thankfully he found it funny. It’s been a quiet weekend. Finished another Lee Child book (god is Jack Reacher good) and read the whole of ’10 months in Laos’. It is written by an Australian journalist for The Age, an Australian Newspaper, and is more a piece of investigative journalism into the murder of an Australian lawyer in Cambodia and the incarceration of a couple in Laos. I had to do a little research online to ensure what I was reading was indeed fact as the book had a rather odd endorsement from Lord Archer. He said, and I quote: “What an unbelieveable story…it is even more fascinating than some of the stories I have come up with”. You can see now why I had my doubts of its factual nature.

Tried to phone my contact at Hay’s today and she is away until tomorrow. I have applied for a 6 month test contract which I will follow up this afternoon, but I hold little hope of that even with my cover not detailing my experience and understanding of need for quality testing and a structured process etc. I also registerd with workinsouthaustralia, though I fear the majorty of jobs available through this site are seasonal, and since we’re in the midst of Autumn it is coming to an end here.

Emma, whom you’ll remember, no doubt, I met in Melbourne is returning to Australia too, after having sadly to return to the UK. I had a text off her this weekend. She is going to let me know if/when she does the tour from Alice to Adelaide, and I may still be here to meet up with her again. Perhaps then I’ll give up on looking for work and just spend the rest of my savings and travel until it leaves only a enough for a return flight 😮 ;p

>Whilst at the state library (i’m here again!) I searched for a few jobs online out of boredom and curiosity as to the job market here and sent off my resume in application to a data entry position. I gave the agency a call (hays office support), and had a meeting with a pleasent woman who thinks she may be able to help me, even with my comments that if I don’t find work or have indication of work by thursday then I may leave.

Data entry takes so many forms. I put on my resume that I have a 60/70 wpm typing rate alpha/numeric (evidenced, or not as the case is, by my taking that test in Sydney for which you all remember the result, I’m sure :p). Alas, I will have to amend the resume to read 60/70wpm alpha only. I did another alpha/numeric test which was entering in data from a form, and well, I was averaging less than 50wpm I think. Also did a test for Excel and Word, but realising I was meant to, but I did it for ‘fun’. Bloody thing is sensitive though. If you click on the screen it reads that as an action. You get two chances per question. I don’t think I faired too well on the Excel one

So, we’ll see. If I find work then I said I will commit to a minimum of 3 months here in Adelaide. At a minimum of $18.85/hour and working on 37 hour week, I won’t complain of staying here. I am within reach of Alice springs for a weekend break, but also with the Borossa Valley (wine wine wine galore there) and kangaroo islands, i may finally get a chance to explore the outback too.

>Ok, not funny, I know, so don’t complain, please! Thinking of a blog title is too taxing right now :p

Technically my 3rd day in Adelaide and I like the place. The feel is good, and the city quite grand with its vicotrian lined suburbs and city streets. Shame there isn’t a lot to do here really. I guess like Alice Springs it is a staging post for tours via uluru and kings canyon. Nonetheless, having a friend here (Alex) helps.

Saturday evening Alex invited me to join his friends for a ‘pre-party’ at a friends place. I didn’t join them for the actual ‘party’ somewhere along east terrace, instead retiring early to my little shabby hostel, Sunny’s Adelaide Backpackers. Perhaps I am spoiled having stayed in some quite nice hostels over the last two months, but this hostel is not one I will be recommending. I found some kind of bug crawling over my backpack last night, and the matress is more a mat-dressed as a matress, covered with shabby (chic?) sheets and duvet. All part of the experience though, so I ought not to complain. It is only $20/night (though I think it should be less!).

Yesterday after walking around during the day, stopping for coffee here and there and having a cheap lunch at kwick stix on O’Connells St, North Sydney (they charged me $9.70 for a meal that the menu said was $9.90 and an orange juice – for once I didn’t speak up re: the possible mistake as it was in my favour and I should save every cent (not that im short of money yet mum!!)). Then in the evening Alex and I met at another of his friends house to watch a movie – Dumb & dumber. My first time watching the movie (given other times it has been on I’ve either left the room or switched over) and still it does nothing for me. I caught a taxi back towards the hostel after as I didn’t fancy roaming unknown streets at 23:00. That said I might have been better off! When i got in the taxi and said where I wanted to go the driver asked if I could help him find it!!! Of course, I said sure, take a right here then left, continue 1.5km then double back on yourself and take the next left et voir la. For cying out loud!! Anyway, told him another street near by and he had some idea where that was so we got going. Five mins in to the journey and after 3 cars flashing us he decides to put his lights on!!! When I saw a familiar street I just asked him to pull over and that I’d walk the rest of the way – it was safer I think. That eventful trip cost me $10.20.

One thing that has come from my stay at Sunny’s is a notice I saw for work on a horse farm. I think it may be working with polo horses, after speaking with the owner of the Sunny’s, which would be good, if long hours, for free accommodation and board. I tried to call them this afternoon but their phone seems to be switched off, so I sent a text (i was oddly enough not given an option to leave a voice mail). So I have extended my stay at another hostel not far away from where I am now for Wednesday and possibly Thursday nights ($3 more a night, but hopefully worth it). Thursday depends if I hear back re: this job on a horse farm, else I’ll look to take a train Thursday evening (otherwise I’ll have to wait until Sunday evening) to Perth, a 36 hours journey. It costs roughly the same as a flight (without the expense of getting to/from the airports) and effectively gives two nights accommodation (albeit in a day/night recliner seat) in the price. One way to see more of Australia, and not from the air (although it was great flying from Sydney and lookking down on the baron land below with dried out lakes and a landscape that resembled a circuit board with its yellowish-red earth intersected by boundries of farms and fields.

Spent this morning (Monday) at the National Art Gallery wandering the 17 galleries of Australian artists predominantly from the colonial days, some italain boroque and dutch works, as well as a display on asian artefacts/wares. Nothing much left to do here really. The museum doesn’t really draw me in, nor does the goal (mainly because they are not free admission). Tomorrow though, I shall take the tram from Victoria Sq. to Glenelg.

>There has been a lot of it lately. Last week I was informed of a theif in my dorm by a member of staff here at Big, and to ensure valuables were locked away. Apparently someone left their camera in the common room briefly while they went to check their email around the corner and a guy picked his camera up and bagged it. When confronted about it he denied it, but there was CCTV footage to identify him doing it. In the end, late Wednesday night if I recall, two lads confronted the guy from my dorm (I thought him odd when he didn’t acknowledge any of us in the room the previous day and that morning). When he denied it again they called the police. They had a bit of a wait on their hands as the guy decided to take a shower as if nothing had happened. Eventually he admitted it and I believe returned the camera. He wasn’t in the dorm when I returned there around midnight, and we were unsure if he had been taken away by police, but he returned and left at 3am.

Then lastnight, around 1:45am, having not long dropped off to sleep, the bloody fire alarm goes off! After 15mins we were allowed back in the building. Read a note in the lift this morning that the alarm was caused by a leak which tripped the alarm. It was difficult to get back to sleep after that as they were carrying roadworks out on the main road, which my dorm happens to overlook. All fun and games. At least it wasn’t raining, and was pleasently warm!!

>how much was it for the 6 day tour from Alice Springs to Adelaide? About $1700 I estimated? Well, its going to have to wait a while now, regardless. I spent $1500 on a laptop today. Not on a whim, believe you me. I had a phone call yesterday regarding a possible job. Thing is, it wasn’t just a straight forward interview. Oh no. That would be too easy. They wanted me to take a test – a programming test no less. So having visited most of the internet cafe’s I could think of to see if I could set up a small development environment I ended up buying a laptop.

It was no mean feat either. Most of the stores here don’t open until 9:30-10am and even then the shops around capitol square I mentioned in an earlier post were not open by 10. So after seeking out laptops in those shops which were open I settled on a sony viao VGN-C21GH/W. Has to be the most expensive prep I’ve done for a job interview.

Now I hear you ask what are the chances of securing this role? Good question. I honestly don’t know. The problem I had to solve was pretty straight forward. It was to write a small program that would translate a numberical number (up to 1 billion) in dollars and cents. I set out to do this but then recalling something in the brief about balancing time, cost and quality, I decided to abandon my reinvention of the wheel and sought a solution online. I found one on code projects which I had to tweak to get it to produce the desired results, but it’s the solution to the problem. I compiled the amended code, created an executable and sent it off with the code for examination by the software development manager and his team. I did highlight in the email that I had decided to not reinvent the wheel and my reasons for doing so. It is in his hands now as to whether he thinks my solution of seeking an answer from google to be acceptable within the brief of producing an elegant solution within time/cost. Time will tell if my upfront, and dare I say, a little lazy, approach to problem solving wins through. If it does the laptop will be paid for within a week. If not….then I have lots of coffee’s to serve; dishes to clean; roads to sweep…or get an early flight home :O

If I don’t get the job at least I have a[nother] laptop now :p

UPDATE:

I had a reply from the development manager (name of agent removed):

Thanks Lee, I’ll be liaising with xyz on the outcome of this

Hmm….doesn’t sound too promising. I guess my upfront, resourceful approach backfired, and I ought not to read too much between the lines of briefs lol