Category Archives: jobs

Hairstylist turned chef. Ok, maybe not quite.

Posted on by
Reply

Words have not been flowing so easily this week. Not sure why, but it’s time to give this a go again.

Food, walking and reading have been taking up the better part of my days recently. I finished Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential a few days ago – a very good read. I found myself relating to him a few times and learning a lot about the food industry.

First, I had to laugh when he wrote about his jobless days: “A few hours earlier, I’d been lying dazed and hopeless in my unmade bed, wondering whether to take another nap or call out for pizza.” Ah, yes. Just before beginning that chapter, I was myself wondering whether to take another nap, start another chapter, or go stuff my face.

Then, about not having the same days off as the rest of the world: “…Never having a Friday or Saturday night off, always working holidays, being busiest when the rest of the world is just getting out of work, makes for a sometimes peculiar world view…” Well, this seems an awful lot like life in a salon.

And, once more, when he was explaining the types of people that work in the food industry: “The business, as respected three-star chef Scott Bryan explains it, attracts ‘fringe elements’…They’re comfortable with the rather relaxed and informal code of conduct in the kitchen, the elevated level of tolerance for eccentricity…” Now, depending on what salon you work in, the vibe may not be informal or relaxed. But there is definitely an excess of ‘fringe elements’ and eccentric people in the hair industry.

I came to Australia to have an adventure. To live overseas for a while. And to try something different. As I have said before, as much as I love the hair industry and appreciate all of the opportunities it has given me, I am restless. Ready for a change. However, I still need to have movement in my day. Sitting at a desk does not suit me. I need to be on my feet, occupied, doing something with my hands. That’s why I thought I would try working in a cafe in Melbourne!

No such luck. Nobody wants to hire and train somebody, from the ground up, that can only hold the same job for a six month period because of their visa restrictions. Maybe it is just this city – Melbournians are ridiculously serious about their coffee.

Anyway, suffice it to say, I have had a lot of time on my hands since I arrived in Australia. And when I have a lot of time on my hands, my imagination runs wild. (Okay, maybe that’s all day, every day.) One of the crazy ideas that I have come up with recently was maybe I could be a chef. Maybe I will own a bistro with my man-friend one day! Okay, okay, let’s bring it back a bit…maybe…maybe…A FOOD TRUCK!

Thus began my search to find a food truck willing to take me under their wing. And you know what? I found one! I have only helped out two days so far, but it has been fun. I have been on register and also in the kitchen. IN THE KITCHEN! I even got my first chef’s cut! And by chef’s cut, I mean food-prep cut. I spent that day preparing basil, parsley and all sorts of herbs as well as shredding cabbage for coleslaw. (The coleslaw shredder is where I sliced my finger.) Kind of proud of it, though – kind of like cutting yourself on your shears for the first time as a hair stylist. A scar to wear proudly!

So, we will see how this goes. Perhaps one day I will attend culinary school. That is, if I don’t get distracted by all of the other things I want to study…photography…literature…journalism…Spanish/Italian/Portuguese/German/Sign Language and all of the other languages that I want to learn…oh, the things we’ve got to cram into our short lives!

(No photos this time – although there are more uploaded to my facebook page!!!)

Homesickness. Joblessness. And all of the other reasons that I’ve had poop in my pants recently.

Posted on by
Reply

Well. I was just about to head to the CBD to do some research. On what, would you like to know? Well, I was going to see if the State Library had any books on museum conservation procedures. Then head over to the Immigration Museum to have a look around. All of this because, first of all, I honestly do find those subjects interesting. But mostly because I had applied for an Assistant Conservationist position with Museum Victoria. It would have been the perfect job for me – finally! A foot in the door with the museum world (my degree is in art history.) The position was a 6 month contract – awesome! Because, on an Australian Work & Holiday visa, that is exactly how long you are allowed to work at one place.

I had even called the woman in charge of hiring. We had a wonderful conversation. And then the HR panel did not pass my resume and cover letter on. C’est la vie.

So, here I am typing up the blog I have been meaning to post instead. I will venture out later.

My sister came to visit me last week and that was amazing.

DSC09800

There she is, being all cute with her coffee at the NGV cafe. We hung around Melbourne for a few days, going to museums, walking and, of course, cooking and eating.

DSC09730 DSC09789 DSC09887 DSC09893 DSC09908

There was also a lot of silliness involved. Because we are sisters.

DSC09732 DSC09735 DSC09752 DSC09753

We then traveled on to Sydney where we stayed at the Bondi YHA. Bondi, and the surrounding beaches, really are beautiful. The weather worked out perfectly for us, as well. 100-104F on Thursday and Friday. Those days were spent at the beach and in the water, as that is the only way to cool off around here. Saturday and Sunday were cloudy and about 75F, so we did our sightseeing on those days.

DSC09953 DSC09990 DSC00001 DSC00005 DSC00035

Oh! And we went to see Alestorm on the last night she was in town. If “Pirate Metal” sounds  like an interesting musical genre to you, I suggest you check them out.

DSC00047

I also ate some chicken. You read that right, any of you who know me personally. I tried some chicken. That will have to be another post altogether, though.

My sister headed back home on Sunday and I have had a pretty tough case of homesickness since. I miss my friends and family! And I also miss the security of…you know, having an income. It’s safe to say that I am basically flat broke at the moment. I would go back into the salon world, but something between my power converters and salon tools is not working. My tools literally start smoking. And I am not looking to invest in new ones. Excuses, excuses, I know, I know.

And, while you’re sitting there reading this, wishing you didn’t have to go to work tomorrow, I am here to tell you that you would go stir crazy eventually. I was you a few short months ago. And now, I am losing my mind. But I suppose this is all part of the experience for me. I have had a job and been able to do basically whatever I wanted since I was 15. I guess not having that security and freedom is something that everyone should experience at some point in their lives. Gives you a different perspective on life. Hopefully one day, when I’m settled…somewhere…and I wake up thinking, “God DAMN, I don’t want to go to work today…” I will be able to look back on this experience and roll out of bed with a smile.

Anyway. The universe is trying to steer me somewhere, I’m just not sure where yet. And the sun is shining and I need to get some exercise. And I went to the library today and now have a stack of books on Frida Kahlo, Anthony Bourdain and digital photography that I need to pick through. I guess what I’m saying is that this post has ended.

I will note here, at the end, that, even though nothing has gone as planned and I have experienced some bad luck on the job front, I would not change anything about this. These are all lessons that need to be learned and experiences that need to be had. “It will all come out in the wash.”

Big, messy brain dump

Posted on by
1

Not really sure where I am going with this post…so, bear with me. I am not exactly in the writing mood, but the only way to get any better at it is to practice, practice, practice.

The next few weeks should really be fantastic. My sister arrives in Melbourne this Friday. She will be here for about 9 days. Half will be spent here in Melbourne, the other half in Sydney. I can’t wait to see my sissy-bear!

She leaves on the 20th, and on the 22nd I have tickets to see Against Me! That shall add to the fabulousness of January.

Then…and then! Evan arrives. I think he is trying to surprise me, so I do not know the exact date. “Somewhere in the middle of February” is all I know.

Things are looking up.

I am still only working once a week assisting in a salon. Who knew it would be so difficult to get a job as a barista? A little over a week ago I had two VERY promising trials at a cafe. I was supposed to sit down with the woman who would train me at the end of my shift to discuss my schedule and other paperwork. She then got a call and needed to go help out at another location. Said she would call me at the end of the day. When I had heard nothing by the next day, I called her. She answered, “sorry mate, I know I was supposed to  call you yesterday! I actually just got off of a plane, can I call you in about an hour?” That never happened, either. And then the holidays happened in Australia.

They really take their free time here seriously. Which I think is absolutely fantastic. Exactly how I think the whole world should work. You put in your 8 hours, then you have your damn free time. You get your damn vacation time.

But holy shit. I could use a job. I am holding on to the hope that, although the cafe was open for the second half of this week, since nobody had seen my would-be barista trainer since before the holidays, she is still…on holiday. Tomorrow is Monday. Fingers crossed that I will get an affirmative phone call. If not, back to the drawing board.

Again, I could easily get a salon job. But I came here to learn something new. Maybe I have learned something new – what it’s like to be turned down from a job. Not to boast here or anything, but this truly is a new experience for me. I have never been turned down from a job before. Ever. This is a bit frustrating (…a BIG bit frustrating…) and a bit humbling, I suppose.

Anyway, the new housing situation is still going well. The landlords are great. We hang out just enough and I have just enough alone time. Balanced.

Hm.

Other new things I have done/seen/learned:

-Beers on the beach

-I have learned that you can order different types of fish from a fish and chips shop

-Because of above, I have ordered, eaten and learned what the most common type of fish in “fish ‘n’ chips” in Australia is: “flake” aka “gummy shark”…I have eaten shark.

-Apparently, there is no law against females bathing topless in Victoria. I will be getting rid of these tan lines, thank you.

-I have never in my life taken a cold shower. I do not like being cold. However, the other day it was 104F and I sure as shit took a cold ass shower.

-Made one of the ice creams from my previous post – the avocado coconut lime raw ice cream. It tasted like lime. Just lime. So, I added agave, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Still not my favorite, but much better. (Speaking of raw food, this raw pot luck must happen.)

-Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. Try as you might to steer the universe in the direction you want it to go, sometimes it is YOU who has to change direction. And you’ve just got to give in and open up. I used to watch a certainly unhealthy amount of the Travel Channel. Mostly just Samantha Brown and Anthony Bourdain. Once, Samantha Brown said something along the lines of, “You’ve always got to have a plan B and C. Because sometimes plan A goes wrong. And then sometimes plans B and C go wrong and you’ve got to be okay with going along with plans D, E and/or F.” Well, I thought that I would immediately have a job in a cafe. 2 and a half months later, no dice. WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?! Something. Nothing, maybe. But, nothing has gone as planned and I’ve got to be okay with that and keep on truckin’.

I’m sure that I have had other thoughts over the past few days. If I keep typing, this will turn into an even more jumbled, messy brain dump. So, here, I will bid you adieu. With a few views from my window.

DSC09637 DSC09639 DSC09640

Pick it up

Posted on by
Reply

Haven’t written in a while (obviously.)

It’s been a lot more difficult to adjust out here than I thought it would be. Perhaps because I have a lot of time on my hands. Who knows. My first holiday season away from home. I miss everyone!

I have also never had so much difficulty getting a job. I could still get a salon job, easy. But I came out here to learn new things. To try something different. I thought being a barista in a coffee shop would be fun, but it seems “on the job training” no longer exists. Everyone wants a barista with AT LEAST one year’s worth of experience. Now, how is a person supposed to get this experience if nobody will give them a break in the beginning?! Today was good, though, I’ve got three promising coffee shop leads. And a few more that said to check again when they reopen in January. (Almost everything in Australia and, I suspect, many countries, closes for 2-4 weeks during the holiday season. Rock on. Except I need a job.)

With all of this time on my hands, I have been reading through an old journal of mine that I started when I was about 17 and stopped writing in a few years ago. My goodness, what a turbulent time I made for myself during my young adult years. (Am I still a young adult? I’m 27…sure!) But, in the midst of all of those teenage and earlier twenty-something years, I ran across two quotes that I wanted to remember that two old, and still very dear, friends of mine said to me.

One was, ”You can be whatever you wanna be. When I was little, I wanted to be a dinosaur and I know if I stick with it one day I’ll get there.”

And the other was, ”I think you can do whatever you want to do, you have something about you that makes people believe that about you…most people aren’t like that.”

The first was thanks to Benjamin Teplitzky, the second, William McDonald. What silly, beautiful things to say to someone. Thanks, dudes. Who knew I would need to read that this many years later.