Leaving Maidstone

To my surprise, my mates from work got together and threw me a surprise ‘Mexican’ themed party to say goodbye. It was really great, there was Tequila, Beers, Ponchos and even a Piñata!

I am having mixed emotions about leaving, I will miss the place so much, and in particular all my mates here, but at the same time, its been six months now since I have been home and I think that it’s a wise move to take the chance to go home and save some more money.

I have every intention of returning to Maidstone in a few months, once I have paid my debts and earned some more spending money. My boss has been kind enough to give me work when I do come back.

The up side about coming back to the UK down the track is that all the tricky things have already been organised, travel insurance will still be valid, my visa will also will be valid, I already have a bank account and a job lined up. All that there is for me to do is to save some serious spending money and get another flight back. Can’t wait!

Ice, Ice, Baby

The weather over here is starting to get the better of me already and it's only set to get worse. We had a couple of nights where the temperature dropped to zero, but has been mild by all accounts compared to usual.
I still haven't gotten around to buying myself a nice warm coat, as i don't have any money (or i find better things to go out and buy; like booze). But i will get around to that this week.
I have been following the forecast for the next couple of days, and according to the google weather site, over night temperatures for this evening and tomorrow are expected to be around -2 degrees celcius, which is awesome for little old me who gets to ride his bike home in it after work every night.
I will get there though, sooner hopefully rather than later and will be able to handle the cold a little better.
Shouldn't be too long now and we will have some snow, which will be a first for me. I will keep you posted.

Plans for 2012

Starting to form some ideas for my next international trip; at the moment i am leaning towards an ANZAC Day pilgrimage over to Gallipoli Bay, Turkey. I have found a tour with the Fanatics, which is a touring company who target Australian and New Zealand tourists abroad. They do tours for people to go to Australian national sports events like the Ashes and Soccer matches as well as tours of some of the world biggest festivals.

I think the tour, in all is around about 400-500 pounds, depending on how long i do decide on making my trip for, as well as flights and whether i want to make a stop over in Germany on the way home. At this stage, the plan is to fly from London, into Istanbul begin a 9-12 day tour of the country and fly back to the U.K. via Hamburg and Berlin in Germany to see some friends. I think that going to the dawn service there would be an amazing experience, especially if i can wrap it up by finding the ANZAC AFL match live on some seedy turkish television channel. oh yeah.

Work

Work is going really great, although the bar has been a little slow, every now and then we have a really busy night which is keeping everything interesting. A good example of this was Halloween night, It was so much fun over here as everyone really got into it (not like home). We carved pumpkins, arranged decorations and all wore costumes at work.... and it wasn't just for one night.... it was for the whole weekend! It was so much fun, and the best thing about it was that everyone in the town got stuck into it. I had a ball, and work was busy :). We had a few staff leave just after i begun working Bar, so immediately, i begun getting rostered brutal hours, which has been awesome, and i have been given a load of day shifts, which aren't so bad either. I am learning to make coffees and spending hours a day cleaning the bar. Another cool thing about working during the day is getting to know the regulars who visit most days of the week, we have some really good people who come in most days, and they keep me entertained with their stories and banter every time they come in, which is great! I am really enjoying working there, and all of the staff i work with are all really great people, which is a massive bonus. I have also got my hands on a bike the other day, which has been a really good way to get to and from work... much better then the 40 minute walk i was doing twice a day. plus, I'm getting nice and fit from doing it.

Chelsea's Arrival.

I Went and picked Chelsea up from Heathrow Airport, it was very exciting to see her. Thanks to the London Underground and the Railways, I only had to make two changes from Maidstone, all the way to the terminal where i was due to meet her. I still cant believe how amazing that system is. She arrived, exhausted and run down thanks to about 26 straight hours on a plane, although she did have a couple hour stop over in the Middle East, which would have been a pretty cool place to fly over! Upon greeting her, we set about heading back home to Maidstone, i tried to explain to her how simple the London Underground system is, although it looks daunting. We arrived back in Maidstone, and not being funny.... first thing that we did together was buy umbrellas and she bought herself a nice new coat, because unlike me when i arrived in the UK, and it was a freak 30 degree celcius day, i believe it was raining and around about 11 degrees when she got in. Took her back to our flat, introduced her to our landlord and housemate, Dan and pretty well settled in for the day. it took her a couple of days to get back into the swing of things after the jet lag, but she is doing really well.

Living in Maidstone & My New Job

So I have settled in really well in Maidstone, Kent. I have managed to find myself a really cool job, with some steady hours. I am finally starting to earn enough money that i have some left over at the end of the week, which is great!

I am working in a really neat lounge bar which specialises in cocktails, I have plenty to learn working there, but i'm getting there slowly. With every shift that i do i am learning more and more about bar tending, much more then i could have ever been able to learn while i was working at the Jetty Bar in Adelaide. It is a real challenge for me at the moment, as i am well out of my comfort zone, and i have about 60 new cocktails to learn in the next couple of weeks. But i will get there. Bar Chocolate's staff are really great and have done well to welcome me and make me feel really comfortable working with them, and now that i am working, i have been able to start making some new friends around the town, which is a huge bonus. As for the Flat, it's coming together really nicely, we now have Sky hooked up through the house, so we have an unlimited broadband set-up as well as Sky TV, meaning i can sit home all weekend and watch the football. I really do enjoy it here. The only downside is that it gets so cold outside at night when i'm walking home from work, it ducked under zero the other night, and the worst thing about all this..... its going to get much much worse. But, if the weather is the only thing that i have to complain about, there really isn't too much of a problem.

Finding a Job

Spent all of Monday walking the streets of Maidstone, visiting some of the busier bars and clubs, making phone calls and surfing the internet looking for some work. I had a little bit of an idea what kind of club or bar I wanted to work in, and the great thing about Maidstone is, there is something going on here almost every night, so there are plenty of clubs (and hopefully plenty of jobs). After spending some time here last month, I have learned a little bit about the nightlife around Maidstone, what clubs are busy, which ones are not. I have also looked into opening hours too as I want to take a job, which will not only offer me the most hours, but the more flexible shifts. Less then 24 hours after canvassing the clubs and bars with my resume, I have lined up a job interview at one of the busiest nightclubs in town for tomorrow (Friday 7th, Oct) afternoon and a trial shift at busy bar in the centre of town in the evening. Of the two jobs, I think that the one in the bar would be better suited to what I am looking for, as it is open seven days a week from 11am until late at night, whereas the night club is open four nights a week from 9pm until 3 or 4 in the morning. Hopefully I can take my skills from home and show them what I have got tomorrow and see what offers they put on the table. But of course I won’t be picky, ill take anything at the moment thanks to the dismal state of affairs that is my bank account.

The Flat

Moving into the new place was pretty cool, the house is quite new, so everything is clean, the rooms are big enough, there is a television, Xbox and Wii to keep me entertained. The kitchen appliances are all brand new and I have my own bathroom. I couldn’t be happier with the place to be honest; I was really lucky to find it. My housemate Mace is an absolute legend too, already after a couple of days, we have gotten along so well, we have common interests in almost everything, sports, movies and music. He has made me feel very welcome and comfortable and I am happy that he is my housemate. We have been out on the town a couple times already and I have really had a great time with him.

AFL Grand Final

The AFL Grand Final was an absolute cracker! Woke up at 4:00am to get to the pub to watch it all live. It would have to be the first time i have woken up before 9am and not been upset about it. Liam and Mandy had a friend with a live-in job at a bar in Wimbledon. He was kind enough to open the bar to us and about twenty other Aussies so we could watch the football live on the big screen. It would have to have been the first time in my life that i'd woken up and had a beer at 5am, but some things just have to be done. I can barely talk, not only have i picked up a bit of a cold while i was camping in Munich, but after spending two hours screaming at a television, my throat is wrecked. As you can probably guess, im thrilled with the result and seeing Geelong knock off Collingwood to win the 2011 Grand Final, its not the only bit of excitement to come with today. Today is the day ill be moving in my my new housemate in Maidstone. Can't wait.

Back in London

Back in London now, so good to just chill out for a little bit and not do anything. Only plan for me this week was to find somewhere to live, which is have, and to wake up in time to go and watch the Geelong vs Collingwood AFL Grand Final at the local pub, and thanks to the time difference, kick off is around about 5am. But thats fine by me, I'm so excited for it, i just can not wait. It is going to be such a great day tomorrow, especially if the boys win. Im expecting the atmosphere down at the pub to be pretty electric, thanks to the million or so Australians living in London. Shame i didn't end up bringing my Geelong guernsey over here with me, oh well. I can always have one sent over next year when we make the Grand Final again in 2012. Other news, i am moving into my room in a flat in Maidstone, which is also pretty exciting. Managed to find a great place in town, right on a bus stop, close to parks and not too far from the town centre for a pretty good price! We also have sky television, meaning i will not miss a piece of the Football action over here either! All i need now is a job, and my life will regain a little sense or normality.