Alex

…you wait for ages for one and then two turn up at once!

Last time I posted I said I was planning on applying for some jobs, only to get one the very next day by chance!

Me and Sooji decided to get some pizza on payday as a treat for earning loads of money (my first $1,000 week in Australia) and the guy behind the counter offered me a job! So I’m now working in McDonalds and a Pizzeria, about 40 hours in each this week, which has taken some getting used to. On some days I would finish in McDonalds at 00:30, and then get up at 6 to go and make pizza bases. I’ve been taking a fair few 2 hour naps during the day and things are settling down a bit now, but still working 80 hours a week is a bit tough.

The surprising thing is that not only has the guy from the pizza shop offered me a full time job (which I will take him up on when I finish my 3 months at McDonalds) but he’s also offered to sponsor me! That would mean I could potentially stay in Australia for another 4 years if I wanted to, and then that would probably lead to a successful citizenship application.

It was one conversation but it suddenly opened many doors, and made me re-think my options a bit! Suddenly, the end of my Australian stay doesn’t have to end on September 25^th… I could at the very least work another couple of months until Christmas and save a few more thousand dollars.

I haven’t made a decision yet, and I probably won’t make a definite one for months – but I have the chance now if I want to.

Work aside, life is good. Hot as always! I saw this one day on my Google homepage and thought I’d share it with you.

We haven’t really been up to much of blog-worthiness – the skydiving centre is closed now for the summer cyclone season (apparently Karratha gets some SUPER storms) so sadly I won’t be back-flipping out of a plane anytime soon.

We’ve been planning some more of our trip now and are going to do some scenic flying tours in Tasmania which I can’t wait to do! I’ll try to post some pictures etc every couple of days whilst we’re on our trip – I have a feeling the posts may get a bit dull after a while here in Karratha!

Finally then, I just had my best day yet in earning affiliate commissions today, so if I have anytime at all between work and sleep I’ll be pushing that ahead as much as I can.

All the best for now, I hope springs on its way for you!

Al x

and just so you dont think it was a fluke...

Hello!

Sorry for the long delay again – I seem to keep lapsing into the daily routine and never get around to blogging before a months gone by!

A Karratha Sunset - Click for full size (only 32kb)

Well, both me and Sooji have been working at McDonalds for exactly a month today – and we’re suprisingly happy. Although its extremely busy at times and overbearingly hot, the work is good. I’m certainly enjoying a steady payday and Sooji’s enjoying earning nearly double that of her last job.

Karratha is still as slow as ever, but as we have our own space now we can keep each other entertained and were both working so much we don’t really get bored now. I’m trying to squeeze site building into my week too, as my business earnings stand at a grand total of $150 for Feburary. Not a huge amount of cash I know, but its a start, and the best thing was that its automated. I will in all likelyhood earn that and more every month now for a good few years and not lift a finger!

Sooji has brought forward her departure date by a couple of months so she can get ready for Uni and take part in the graduation photo shoot etc, so we’re planning a holiday in early May. The idea is a two week trip to Sydney, Hobart (Tasmania), Melbourne, Perth and back to Karratha (for me at least). Sooji’ll then head off to Singapore and Hong Kong.

I’ll be coming back here to earn some more money until later this year before travelling a little in Oz and then fly to Thailand. After that Im not so sure… I should be able to at least stay in Thailand and the general surrounding area until Christmas just on the tax refund in July, but I’d like to live in SE Asia for 6 months to a year if I can.

Hopefully my business earnings will reach the $1,000 a month level by then and I can afford to live and travel around SE Asia almost indefinately – which is what I’m working towards!

I named this post after some stunning sunsets – none that came out very well on film sadly. Just to the south of here seems to be a storm factory, which creeps menacingly towards Karratha around dusk just when the sun hits it and the whole lot goes multicoloured. I was changing the bins inside McDonalds when I saw perhaps the most dramatic sky I’ve ever seen, complete with solid and distinct sunbeams spread out equally from behined a cloud like a primary school drawing. It was fantastic but I couldnt get a picture.

After umming and ahhing about whether or not to look for a second job I’ve decided that I’ll regret it if I dont and so have got a little pile of application forms next to me! I’ll be applying tommorow to work at KFC and Coles (a supermarket). The idea of working more isn’t that appealing, but I just did a 52 hour week ar McDonalds and should get around $800-$1,000 after tax – a pay cheque that I could probably get everyweek working a second job. I’m looking at it that every $20 is a day in SE Asia snorkelling and riding elephants!

Feels very tropical with the sun and palm trees, and when parrots or the occasional 747 flys overhead!

I’ve just seen an ad in the paper for a local skydiving centre about 20km from here too, so there may be some skydiving pics coming soon!

Take care for now, all the best, Alex x