Climbing and Interviews

Hello and welcome back.  In this installment we'll be discussing recent climbing trips and job interviews, things are 'moving up'...

Climbing:

I've been climbing the past two weekends and will be headed out in a few hours for a third weekend in a row.  The two trips below were to the Grampians ("the Gramps") and Mt. Arapiles ("Araps").  The majority of the climbing has been "trad" climbing. The first trip was with Andy (the 'fro), Evan (the mo'), and Genevieve (...clever handle is in the works, she took the pictures).  Second trip was minus The Mo' and plus Helene (pronounced LN, she's French/Irish).

A really cool photo to show how beautiful it was.  We had perfect weather both days; it was overcast and probably mid-70's.  Amazing.

Evan and I at the top of a climb.  Evan's doing the work (good on em') and I'm doing what a casting director has said I do very well...staring off.

The mo' in action.  He used one of the slings to tie the book to his harness so he could climb with it.  Clever chap.  There were a lot of good mo' quotes over the weekend, most can't be included here due to offensiveness and/or the need for plausible deniability.

Kangaroo and its Joey.  Yes, you do actually come across this.  It was CRAZY how many kangaroos there were and how close to the camp they got.  We saw this little gal on the way back from the second day of climbing.

We only saw one Koala...and it was the GIANT KOALA (Gen is next to it).  What!?  In case you were wondering, it is certainly random...but...less random than you'd think (yes, I absolutely want to go see all of these!):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia's_big_things

The next trip was to the Grampians, I have less photos but where the quantity is lacking...I hope the quality makes up for it.

I did a "night climb" (I love you mom) with Gen.  I do not recommend night trad climbing.  Night sport was fun, night trad is frustrating and slightly more dangerous than I'd like.  I thought I was smiling in the picture above but apparently my angst got the better of me.  Either way, got a trad rack pic in. 

My pasty self decided enough was enough and I needed to bronze my arms and upper thighs.  Result: I looked like an asshole the entire day and now have purple streaks on my legs where I got sunburned.  You may also notice my extreme aptitude for fashion by gandering at my footwear.  Are those house slippers?  Yes, yes they are dear friend.  At least I was comfortable while I was burning my outsides!

Interviewing:

I've had 3 interviews for jobs that I'd actually. like. to. have. in the past 3 weeks.  I'll talk about them a touch here.  No photos for this section, you'll be glad after you read it.  If you're curious just how neurotic I am, here's my google spreadsheet for how I've been keeping track of these things.

Interview 1: This was with a consulting company that does app design and back-end web design, I would've been a Project Manager for them.  Did I get all the way there and then realize my fly was undone?  Yes.  Did I possibly make it awkward for the receptionist when she likely heard an audible "ZIIIPPP"? Yes.  The interview went well but another candidate had more experience, on to the next!

Interview 2: This was for a FMCG company as a project coordinator for a software team.  Let's be honest, the company isn't the most exciting (they do expiration dates for foods).  The position still would've been cool and I would've been happy to work there, alas...I was "overqualified". Which, really begs the question: "If I'm so damn overqualified why did you interview me in the first place???"  Or perhaps the followup: "Were you hoping I had that amount of experience but was an idiot and you could therefore justify hiring me??"  It's cool, it's not like I'm bitter or anything...

Interview 3: This was yesterday, at a company that develops software for energy companies.  Heard back from the recruiter today, the company was "very impressed".  They also told me in the interview I was "overqualified" but that they were good with that.  Thank god.  I might've lost my shit (blew a gasket, gone helter skelter, freaked the fuck out) on them.  Apparently, according to the recruiter: "they went as far to say that they would've already made you an offer if it weren't for your visa".  Ah, and there's the rub.

If I get the job, you'll know via FaceBook.  Chat to all of you soon; as always, stay in touch and let me know how YOU'RE doing.  Some random photos are below, enjoy!

Cheers.

Kristin sent this to me.  This is how they do coffees here...and it would've been nice to have MONTHS AGO.  I can't be the only one who's completely lost at Starbucks and elsewhere.  Thanks for the send Kristin, very helpful!  Real quick though: a "long black" is an espresso with water added to it and a "short black" is just the espresso shot.  They RARELY do drip coffee here and when they do, it's boutique and not the 7-11 stuff we're used to.

Venus and Serena Williams playing doubles against two random girls who got their asses handed to them by the Williams sisters.  It was surreal to see them in person.  Btw...they're huge!  Not in a bad way, just in a physically imposing I'm-going-to-eat-your-children-if-you-beat-me sorta way.

We got free passes to the main stadium to see the last match of the day.  Helps to be lucky!  Thanks random people!

A picture that Richard took that I think came out really well.  Apparently he didn't have any pictures of himself being here either.  Anyway, city in the background over the Yarra river.

Visitors

Hello and welcome back.  This post is about a couple visitors and the travels we had.

Next post will be some trips I had recently that my mom will hate, some job news, and some notes on Australian culture that Kristin and Richard helped with.  Until then...

Visitors:

Kristin and Richard went Southwards.  Kristin booked her trip 3 months ahead of time and Richard booked his trip 4 days ahead of time.  It was great to have such different visitors, I again believe I'm lucky to have such good friends. Below is a list of things we did and whom with, this recap begins at the end of the last post (5 days in to K's trip):

- In Sydney we: walked the bridge, toured the opera house (I fought this...and was delightfully surprised to find it very worthwhile), went to Dawe's Point (awesome), road some ferries, toured an Aboriginal museum (price: free; quality: free...phew!), walked along Bondi and Bronte beach, rented bikes and toured Manly beach, and went through an arts market.  I took next to zero pictures throughout all of this except for what's below:

This was at a free art museum (so pictures are allowed).  I think what the artist was trying to say here is quite self evident...

A giant mirror outside of the museum: sometimes I have nostalgia over Optical engineering...

- Flew back into Melbourne and watched a Cricket match on Boxing Day (Kristin).  Ok, a couple things: One, cricket is more boring than baseball.  If you're a fan of baseball and golf and would like to see a game along the lines of baseball but at the speed of golf, well, here it is!  Most golf matches are played over four days...and so are Cricket Test Matches.  We saw day one, which we heard is the best one to see in the entire year.  After 3 hours...we decided to leave.  I can honestly say, neither of us knew the score and it was not for lack of trying.  Two, Boxing Day.  Every year on the 26th of December, the UK and Australia (and maybe other countries?) celebrate Boxing Day.  The point of it is the day when all of the rich would box up presents and give them to servants and less fortunate.  

As we sat there, a group of 5 guys behind us kept shouting/chanting: "what do we think of Kenny!?  He's alright.  What do we think of the ref!?  He fucked a bricklayer!  Twice last night and once in the morning."  After much searching online through cricket forums and urban dictionary...I still have no idea what the hell they were talking about...but I guess it's a bad thing?

- Yarra Valley winery tour (Kristin).  We went on a trip with the "Wines Guys" (it's a pun for "wise guys") which is Italian themed and they basically make jokes the whole time while driving you to 4 different wineries.  It was fun...and I got zero pictures again.  Luckily Kristin pulled the trigger...er...shutter.  Um...I'll be going again...it was beautiful...and slightly inebriated (it = me...but only in a classy and composed way of course).  We made friends and CV found it's way into more hands...I realize this makes me sound like I'm whoring myself...I don't care.  :)

- I MOVED!! (me)  I'm in a new place.  My roommates are amazing.  But I can honestly say I'm extremely happy with the roommates I have.  I now live in Richmond, if you need a new address, send me an email.  Next time I move I'll be by myself, count on it...I will not be able to find better roommates.  I'll be living here until mid-March because I'm sub-letting the room.

- Fireworks for New Year (Kristin).

In case you forgot what fireworks look like...they don't look different in the Southern Hemisphere.

- Richard and his mom (mum if you're English) joined us Jan 1st.  He brought light heartedness, new ideas for places to visit, lots of walking tours...and general good times.  I managed to take zero pictures of his/their visit...this is obviously a theme...  Hopefully he'll share some before we reconvene. 

- We all walked the botanical gardens, which I HIGHLY recommend you do if you're here.  Which reminds me, I need to write up some suggestions for touristy stuff here in Melbourne.  

- Kristin took off Jan 3rd.  How you should remember her:

And how I will remember her!

- Richard took off the next day and I still have zero pictures.  Refer to Kristin's FaceBook page and it'll sooth what ails you as far as pics.

We'll chat soon, friends.  Hope to have some good news by then...all I can tell you at this point is I've had 2 interviews in 2 weeks, multiple call backs, and a couple of very promising recruiter chats.  This guy (me) is jobward bound...dammit!

Ketchup and Blog Art

Hello, it's "Christmas time" here in Australia and I hope you're all feeling the holiday relaxation as well.  I must admit...it's even stranger hearing "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..." here than in Arizona.  Anyway, this post is devoted to you and I, catching up like old friends that we are or once were and a small snip-it of my intentions for this blog.

Ketchup (chronologically enumerated for your viewing pleasure/convenience)

1. I "quit" the door-to-door salesman job...even though they referred to me as a Business Development Manager.  I'll spare you the details, but I'll give you the good bit (which also happens to be self-indulging) that when I quit, the boss emailed me back and said "no need to apologise [sic] Nick, it's never a waste of time meeting quality people." I'm not sure if this was a legit compliment or if he's just a good manager of people...but I know how I'm going to take it because my ego balloon could stand some inflation.

2. I finished my write-up for the recycling company's financials.  It's good to have something to be proud of again.  It went over extremely well and I see a lot of future potential from it.  I look forward to future work with ReFab.  And yes, I realize this sounds like a PC thing to say, but really, it's good!  It ended up being 20+ pages of spreadsheets and writing.  I had my Excel fix quenched for the time being.

3. I went on a trip and got a disgraceful amount of hiking in.  The trip was to Mt. Beauty and Mt. Bogong with my Dutch friend, Babette.  She's headed back to (as I like to call) "Dutchland" soon; she'll be missed.  During our trip we saw areas that looked as though we were in Scotland and areas that were beautiful coast.  I included some pictures of the trip at the end of the post...apparently just to mess up my enumerated chronologicalness.

4a. I was offered to audition for a commercial (which would be a series of 92 commercials).  Alas, it was right during the time when I'd start my trip on the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne to Adelaide so I had to decline.  But!  Mark my words: this mug will be in your living room soon.  To not completely blow off the prospect, I wrote the casting director and said: "...please keep my blonde and pale self in mind should any sunscreen commercials come up..."  As an "actor", I feel it is important to show my depth of skills.  E.g. making light of what could've been a lot of money and demonstrating my willingness to be on a pink bottle with a little dog biting at my bikini bottom (I hope everyone caught that reference...otherwise that sounds very strange, *cough* Coppertone *cough*).

4b.  I was an extra on Winners and Losers.  The story is a loser...so it ends here.  Although my mom asked which one was I, the winner or loser.  Neither I suppose, which is why they pay me so shitty...so maybe I was the latter after all!

5. I'm on a trip (we're in the present)!  On Kangaroo Island I made sure to tell Kristin that the "Aussie Wave" was dubbed so because there are so many flies in Australia and they are JERKS and that when people are waving their hand in front of their face it is the "Aussie Wave" (true story, seriously).  It may also be noted that she had more flies on her than I did, I quietly said to myself it's because she's dead inside and they're attracted to that (I kid!  Although I should've told her the joke at the time because now it just sounds mean...).  But let's be honest, it was one less fly (15 compared to 16...seriously that many!) and truly I smelled quite bad after not showering for 2 days so the more likely answer is even the flies were repulsed by me.  Also, as I asked her to take a picture of all the flies on my back; she had 3 cameras on her.  She has her new DSLR (which is awesome), her pink point-and-shoot, and her phone (which technically has a camera)...which led me to recall a song:  "I think [she's] turning Japanese, I think [she's] turning Japanese, I really think so."

As I am writing this, we are currently in Sydney.  Today, we saw the opera house while on a ferry (I've never been on public transport on the water...picture the same people you'd see on a train...but you're on a boat).  We've eaten some excellent Thai food with Gaby (Ana's sister...Ana is my brother's girlfriend for those who don't know), Josh (Gaby's husband), and Adrian (Ana and Gaby's youngest brother) who all just took off today to head up the coast.  Which, coincidentally, means they've entrusted us to watch their truly quite beautiful flat, by ourselves.  I am continually impressed with how trusting people are here (we literally just met them yesterday).  We leave Sunday back to Melbourne and we need to work out what we'll be doing for the remainder of the days here...which begs the question: "Nick, why are you writing in your blog instead of helping/planning?"  I wish I had a better answer...I wish I had AN answer actually.  It would appear ADD is not a passing fad.  Below are a couple photos from the trip thus far:

Upon arrival: Tacos (not shown, but scrumptious) and beer.  How is she so chipper!?  I looked like hell for at least three days.

Great Ocean Road: 12 Apostles (two shown).  We caught the sunrise.  It. Was. Early.  ...and worth it?  You be the judge.

Sydney.  Iconic.  And also already posted on Facebook.  I plagiarized myself!

6. We're in the future now.  No, not "tomorrow-land" as I like to call Australia (we're a day ahead here); I mean that what follows are my plans once the New Year rolls 'round and the Mayans, as good as they were with calendars, were wrong.  Or rather, what we're interpreting of a culture thousands of years ago is wrong.  Below is a graph from a presentation Tracy Cobb (from Raytheon, NCS) very thoughtfully sent a couple months back that she got from "lululemon" (a perhaps yoga chain from Canada? Either way, good stuff).  It basically says you should be setting goals in all aspects of your life so that you can achieve more than you would have otherwise...and it's also in pretty colors and small words so people like myself can learn good [sic].  And below that: my plans for the immediate future and some down and dirty blog talk.

6a.  Get a job at a coffee shop.  Better hours than a bar and you can actually talk to people.  Oh, and I'd actually make money...weird concept nowadays.
6b.  Create list of companies I like the mission of and apply directly to them.
6c.  Literally start walking in the door of companies and selling myself to their HR department.  "I think you guys suck at this, but I bet I could help you suck less at it."  The pitch needs work...
6d.  Reinvest some time with the recruiters here.  It's painful, yes, but dammit...maybe, just maybe...
6e.  Politely hassle the "modeling agency" for some gigs that will make me a millionaire...or at least a C list celebrity who occasionally gets free coffee because someone recognized his "get tested for HIV" ad in the subway.  Seriously though, this is an ad in Melbourne.  It's a guy in his scivvies (sp?) with both thumbs in them, pulling them out and he's looking down.  In one, there's fire coming out.  In another, there's confetti.  If it were me...I'd have asked if the caption could be: "keep the party in your pants going, get tested today." Or perhaps: "Is there a party in your pants...or is it AIDS?"


The Art of Blogging...and My Take

As far as I can tell, the art of blogging is finding your own voice.  It would seem to me that a blog should also have a purpose and not stray too far from that.  This blog, has the foremost intention of travel, the second intention of life updates for family and friends, and lastly my pursuit of happiness.  I implore you, should I deviate from this, do let me know.  Because, I can get wordy and tangential at the drop of a hat...and that's just the adventure that you and I signed up for when reading/writing this...so keep me honest and on task.

I write this blog for so many reasons and I hope you appreciate that it's simultaneously therapeutic and  communicative (equal parts for me and for you).  So, if it gets boring, I apologize ahead of time, but those are just parts that are more for me or to let family know what's going on.  Otherwise, enjoy and as always: keep in touch!

Cheers.

Pictures from Mt. Bogong and Mt Beauty:

I believe it's a "wombat" or maybe a fat squirrel with a cute little button nose.  :)

Shutup Nick, this isn't Australia.  Oh, but that's where you're wrong my friend.  Truly, this does not even close to doing the area justice.  But it's one of the myriad cool memories from it.

Currently on Mt. Beauty and looking out over the valley towards Mt. Bogong.

Well, you have a lot of ways to die here.  Nevermind the wildlife, you need to beware of motorcyclists, turns in the road, and KANGAROOS!

Speaking of things that might kill you, never trust the elderly.  They'll walk in front of you while you're driving.  Is it bad eyesight?  Maybe.  Are they tempting death having gotten over the fear of it?  Perhaps.  Or do Australians just like putting up signs?  Definitely.