A BUSY WEEK

IT HAS BEEN A LONG WEEK, AND NO POST TO SPEAK OF...

A few funny things happened this week, and a LOT of STRESS was endured by me.

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THE WEATHER HAS CHANGED (The story of leaving my job)

I quit my job last week. I was miserable and it was bad. I have a big saga to tell, but maybe stick to some sort of chronological order.

MONDAY: Yelled at by my boss. Given a hard time. Miserable. Counting the seconds till I coulod go home.

TUESDAY: Final day at Cº. It was a bad one. They really made sure I knew they weren't happy. They kept asking if I had a job lined up, and kept telling me not to go to particular companies (which have a reputation for being really good, but they didn't know I knew that). They also made me really nervous about getting the work done....

We went for a beer after the day ended. I didn't want to, and I don't think they wanted to either, but we did anyway. It was uncomfortable, awkward and the beer wasn't very good.

I met UNG after that and she told me something interesting, and shocking... I had an interview at Source (where UNG works)! TOMORROW!

WEDNESDAY: On tuesday morning I had been planning on going to the beach to go swimming with Dermo. And no interview was gonna stop me from doing that! So Dermo came with me into the city and I went off to go to Source for the interview. I was totally nervous, and running late, and hot and sweaty... The interview went great though, the boss asked me questions, I answered, we joked a bit, and it was good. He asked when I wanted to start; "Um, Monday?", I said. "Tomorrow?", he asked.

I ended up going swimming with Dermo in Killiney in the afternoon. It's a really nice area. The beach is pretty long and curves in an arc around the ocean. Surrounding the beach are cliffs with mansions on them. And lots of trees. We went to Bono's house. Sorry I don't have any photo's. UNG are going back next weekend.

The water was COLD! I can't tell you how cold it was. Instant pain. Ringing in your eyes. COLD. But that was fun.

THURSDAY + FRIDAY: Worked at Source. I can't beleive how much BETTER it is. I feel like a totally different person. They people who work there aren't a**holes. They don't yell at you when you ask a question. I haven't heard the sentence: "You're the f**king designer, you f**king work it out!" like I would everyday at Cºmate. An environment I could start to feel comfortable in.

Although I am still a bit shell shocked, everytime people start talking to me a get really nervous and just assume they're going to yell at me.

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HEH, HEH, HEH, SUCKER (The story of being ripped off by Cº)

Yes, that's right, they ripped me off* The accounts manager at Source asked for my PPS number (a personal ID number) so she could register me with the taxation department. I gave it to her, and she told me that there was no record of me working, let alonf paying any tax. That was weird; obviously I had been working, and paying tax! We came to the conclusion that if I wasn't in the system, and no tax had been payed by me, the tax I had been paying hadn't been going to the government, but to my BOSS! He took a chunk of 500 euros each month, and kept it!

Also even if the money had been going to the government, that still wasn't right. We are entitled to a tax exemption for the first 3000 euro's of tax you're supposed to pay. Which explains why UNG was getting more money than me each month, while actually being on a lower salary. And because things were all screwed up (or me screwed over) I am doubly screwed now because I won't qualify for the tax exemption, even at the new place.

They totally screwed me over. And they still didn't pay me. Good huh? I am supposed to be getting paid tomorrow, but I doubt it entirely.

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¿CQUÉ SUCESO DE S?

So apparently I am Spanish. I was looking for something for UNG's birthday. I couldn't find it so I asked someone who worked there. He was Spanish by the way. He gave me some directions, go down this road, take a left at, etc. I kept shaking my head because i didn't know where he meant. "Are you not from around here?", he asked me, "Where are you from? Spain? You're Spanish too?". Then he spoke to me in Spanish, maybe giving me directions. "Uh, no, I'm not Spanish. Not at all... ". He looked confused. And I left.

Ten minutes after that I was walking down the street with UNG. Someone gave me a flyer. "You'll need this", he said. It was a course in bloody Spanish again, on How to Learn English! What is going on? I'm not bloody Spanish! Am I a trendy arrogant loug-mouth who shouts a lot and wears expensive sunglasses? NO! Leave me alone.

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HOW THE BLOODY 'ELL ARE YA? (Revisiting the land downunder)

Dermo and me went to an 'Australia themed bar'. It was surreal. The place was really weird; in Australia, and probably the rest of the world too, there are plenty of Irish pubs, normal pubs with a thin-coast of tacky ornaments, and crude design. This was just like that, but in reverse! Instead of fake Irish-ness covering an Aussie pub, this was a thin-crust of Aussie on top of what could have been a nice, authentic Irish pub. Funny.

Also, drinking Australian beer was really weird! And expensive! €7 for a VB! That taste, it was so strong, so different from the subtle, elegant beers of Europe. I hate to admit it but the second Toohey's New I had was almost good! and I actually liked the taste.

Lastly; they had lame names on the menu:
- Soup of G'Day
- Evonne Goolagong Goujons
- BLT (Bloody Lovely Tucker)
- Chook Burger
- Roo Stew
- A Bloody Good Steak
- Vegemite On Toast (when available) €2.50





Note the 'authentic' Aborignal dot paintings on the wall behind me. I think they're made out of elbow macaroni and glitter paint. Just like the tribe from the area where Sydney is now, used to do.


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Superman wasn't as bad as Linus said.

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Hopefully it won't be so long between posts! But if not...
I'm Elliott Scott, signing off (IESSO)