So it begins

Dwindling assets

Published Date : June 26, 2003

Today was a lazy day in Princes Street Gardens.  The weather is absolutely fabulous right now and I was keen to take advantage of it and soak in some sunshine.  Apart from lounging in the gardens, I did some more wandering around town and spent some time chatting with people at the hostel.

This evening I met up with my brother at Olorosso, the restaurant where he’s currently working.  We had some dinner and drinks, and his girlfriend came by too.  It was good to see them both again.

I’m thinking of signing up with the local temp agencies to keep the cash flowing just in case things don’t work out.  I’ve already spent over £200 (almost a third of my money!) and I’ve only been here for 3 ½ days.

What jobs?

Published Date : June 27, 2003

The fabulous sunshiny weather is gone – back to the Scottish rain.  I’ve been on the phone and shooting off emails scouring the job market here and in Glasgow, but things are looking grim.  There’s just nothing to be had in my field in Scotland right now.

I’ve been looking for some minimum wage or temp work as well, but pickings are slim.  We’re in high season for backpackers, so all the businesses have staff coming out their ears right now.  The only good thing is that we’re coming up to Fringe Festival and the Military Tattoo, so hiring might pick up.  If I can find work it would be nice to stick around for the festival while I’m here.

Canada Day Shenanigans

Published Date : July 12, 2003

I’m sick! Waaa!  Everyone in the hostel is sick right now – it’s not pretty!   The downside to shared accommodation is that colds spread like wildfire.  Once one person catches something, it’s guaranteed to hit everyone is fairly short order.

River Cam, Cambridge, England

Last week I made the trip down to Cambridge to speak with John and tour the worksite.  It was a long day, with a 5-hour train trip each way, but I couldn’t afford to spend the night there.  While it was interesting, I don’t know that it was worth the cost to go there.  I guess it does help knowing that the job is basically the same here as it is back home.  Plus I had some time to explore a bit of the city while I was there.

Apart from the trip to Cambridge, the last week has been a party week.  Canada Day (July 1) was absolute debauchery.  I started drinking at about three in the afternoon and didn’t get back to the hostel until four the next morning.

There were a handful of us from the hostel to start with – Dave, Ariel, Amanda, Tim and Ryan from Ontario.  At age 22, I was the oldest in the group.  We started out at the Filling Station on the Royal Mile, and got stuck paying way too much money for Labatts – yuck!. It was the only Canadian beer they had though. Then it was on to the Tron where we gave up on drinking Canadian booze and just got ourselves thoroughly liquored up.  There was a brief intermission while I was roped into helping my brother move house, but then it was back to the Tron for about half an hour before we moved on to the Globe.  The Globe was properly done up in the red and white (well one room anyway) and it was great fun.  There was much drinking, singing and a fair bit of pash and dash as well.  All I can say is: damn, I wish I had my camera!

I followed that up the next night with dinner at my bro’s place.  It was a good meal, but we were all sick so we called it in pretty early.  I was planning to go to bed when I got back to the hostel, but I was sitting in the dining room at the hostel when Anthony (Brisbane) came in looking for people to go out for a coffee.  Of course, it turned out to be a Scotch coffee.

Anthony’s a nice guy.  We spent the evening chatting about our travel plans and found we had a lot of common destinations in mind.  We’ll have to keep in touch when/if I leave Edinburgh.

Apart from a couple more inexpensive nights out (I do love Rush and their £1 drinks before 9pm), the last few days have been rather quiet.  The job hunt continues, but one of my headhunters has dropped off the planet.   The bank account balance is very quickly shrinking…

Decision time

Published Date : July 13, 2003

I called home last night and spoke to my parents.  My car finally sold for $1350.  Woohoo!  It was actually pulling out of my parent’s driveway when I called them.  Nice.

It’s taking longer to find work than I had expected.  I’m thinking of staying in Edinburgh and just giving up on finding a job in my field.  Also my roomies, Beck and Jules – two sweethearts from Canberra – are trying to convince me to stay and go in on a flat with them.  It’s very, very tempting to just say yes fall back into the backpacker scene.  I don’t want to see my last two years of hard work at school go to waste though.

In the short term I really should move in with my brother to save some money.  It’s going to be a blow to my pride, but it’s time to start making some smart decisions.

Derailments and a creepy Nigerian

Published Date : July 19, 2003

I moved out to my brother’s last weekend.  I decided to stay there for my last couple of days in Edinburgh then make the big move to London.  I didn’t want to head south, but I’ve got to follow the jobs!

The train ride was hell.  The first leg to Preston was great.  Brand new Virgin trains with lots of leg room, and most importantly air-conditioning!  But after that it all went downhill.  The train from Preston to London was old and the AC didn’t work.  With outside temperatures reaching the low 30’s and a full carriage you can imagine what the smell was like. To improve matters, there were emergency speed restrictions due to the heat, and we were re-routed because of a derailment.  The train staff did come through with free bottled water for everyone, but all they had was sparkling water – not exactly tasty or refreshing, but at least it was something.  What should have been a 4 or 5 hour trip ended up taking 12 hours.  Gah!

So now I’m in London staying at St Christopher’s Inn in Greenwich for £10/night including breakfast.  The rooms are great, the breakfast is just DIY toast and tea/coffee, but for £10/night I’m not complaining.  The only downer is a creepy Nigerian guy who keeps hitting on me.  He’s at least 40, likely older.  He’s on the hunt for a bride with a western passport, and he’s not taking no for an answer.  This could become a problem.

I’ve had two job interviews so far, but no luck at either.  I have one more next week, but I have a good feeling about that one.  Fingers crossed.

Money is growing slim.  Thankfully I bought a weekly travelcard (£23).  I would have spent almost £12 on the tube on my first day in London alone.  It also makes it very easy to do the tourist thing.  I’ve gone into town a couple of times and wandered a bit.  I’ve been taking lots of pictures of all the sights – not that I don’t already have them all at home, but it gives me something to do.