Brisbane – another look

The city from the Gallery of Modern Art

Well I’ve been here a bit more than two weeks now and I’m starting to feel quite at home - I now know a bit more of my way around, I go out with friends, have work to go to, and take the time to just chill out at the house and watch tv shows or read, and I’m also somewhat sleep deprived.

Finding work

After a week of sending resumes, I got a bit annoyed at those template letters telling me that my qualifications didn’t match the position, so I emailed one back, asking what kind of qualifications I did need. Ends up that they felt that I was overqualified for temp work and they usually give it to people who are limited to these kinds of admin positions. I explained to her that since I’m travelling, I’m unable to commit to long term employment that would better match my qualifications and was ready to do roles such as working at a welcome desk, data entry and the like. So I had my interview and was immediately offered a five-day data entry stint on the week of the 20^th, and last Friday they also booked me a three-day posting as office manager at an audiologist clinic for earlier this week. The first day was challenging as I had to figure how things worked quite quickly, such as booking appointments, going into the system to enter the batteries sent to customers (those hearing aids take a lot of juice!) and reorienting callers to the appropriate clinic as they often call the Brisbane one while looking for one in the ‘burbs. Quite a challenge when you don’t know the names of the suburbs or other cities in the state, especially with aboriginal names such as Toowong, Tarragindi, or even Jindalee where I’m currently staying. And I now have a new admiration for all my suburban friends as it took me about an hour to get into work each morning. Oh and the other plus side of working with a worldwide agency is that I will have a bit more leverage when it will come to get my profile transferred to their Melbourne office.

Thumbs up to Valentino

Before the job thing panned out, I took in some other local tourist attractions. The Gallery of Modern Art is currently holding a Valentino retrospective. So I splurged the 20$ to discover the unique pieces of art from the well-known designer. It’s crazy the amount of intricate work that is put in all his creations, may it be the beading, the embroidered flowers and just those little details that bring it together and some pieces still look fashionable decades later. That evening, I went to catch Scott Pilgrim vs the World. As the storyline takes place in Toronto, it was a nice visit with the city, and the featured snow was a bonus. The next day I went to the Queensland museum which offered a nice recap of all my Queensland visits from the last month. I also visited the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders exhibit which focused on their beliefs and traditions. And hey mom, there were more baskets there too!

My host Drew & myself at the Gangsters Ball

The swing community keeps on being very welcoming. Last weekend, we went to see a live blues band in the West End, a cool Mile-End like neighbourhood and the next night was the Gangsters Ball, a night of burlesque, bizarre shows and swing dancing where everyone dressed up. I hesitated to go as the ticket price was quite high but one of the local dancers offered to get my ticket and in exchange, I covered her drinks. That was very generous! The Ball was held at the Trivoli, a pretty nifty hall. I was itching to dance when the dance competition came on, so I asked Tia, another local follow to jump in with me, and we made it to the 3^rd & final song before being tapped out. I was happy that we were the longest lasting girl couple! Unfortunately towards the end of the evening as I was doing some solo Charleston some lady stepped on my foot. I ran off to the bar to get some ice to try to limit the swelling. I still love high heels, but not when used in this fashion. Nonetheless, my spirits were still up so after the dance, we went to grab some well-needed food (kebabs here are similar to pita shish taouks but bigger and not rolled as nicely) and then headed to the after party. It may not be Montreal, but there is a busy nightlife here in the city, especially in Fortitude Valley where we were hanging out. I spent the following day recovering to be in shape for the new week.

François & I, a Guinness & a St. Arnou at a local irish pub

Another friend from home was also travelling through the country so we met up on Monday and Tuesday evening. I took him to the 5$ dinner options that I’ve found at the Queen street plaza where they sell off the food that wasn’t sold at lunchtime. The first night, we went to an Irish pub and discovered another good Australian brew called St. Arnou and danced a bit to music in the bar. (François hadn’t swung out in a while). And the following evening, we went to the local couchsurfing meeting. Even though I haven’t surfed yet in Australia, I still found it a good idea to meet the locals, and surprisingly, over here, the community of hosts seems to average in the 40s rather than the 20s like at home. On Wednesday night, I met up with Nigel, an English friend met in Cairns. I wanted to go back to the West End and we settled for the Archive, a beer boutique with wonderful stuff on tap and 241 meals on Wednesday. It was a winning combination! Since it was such a busy 3 days, yesterday, I just had a very well deserved relaxing day on Thursday before heading out to Cloud Land last night where I had more dances!

A Little Creatures Oatmeal stout at the
Archive in the West End

So yeah, my Brisbane life has been revolving on meeting new challenges and being lucky to have a community there to help me while I adjust to this temporary sedentary life.