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.