Out of Australia and into the world

The mystery of the Saba jeans

rage — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:16:00 GMT

I am very stressed.

Tonight I spent about five hours searching my house high and low for a pair of jeans that I had ALREADY PACKED into my shiny new suitcase.

I was like a crazy woman. I knew that they were in my wardrobe. They had been hanging there for months. Now all of a sudden they were gone. I rifled through all of the clothes on the hangers about 5 times, threw onto my bed all of the neatly folded clothes that were sitting happily on the shelf, emptied the washing basket just in case they were hidden somewhere down at the bottom, upended a big bag of old clothes and then had to sit there refolding them so they'd all fit back into the bag I tore them out of (this was especially frustrating because the time I spent folding was valuable searching time) and I even dragged out old suitcases that hadn't been touched for well over a year.

In the mean time I had sent a frantic group text message to any of my girlfriends who I thought I may have had even the slightest chance of lending the jeans to or whose place I could have left them at (even though I knew I hadn't worn them for over a year so it was pretty much impossible) as well as a message to my old Finish housemate who is currently lounging in the sun in Turkey with her fiance at his parents' expense, called my mum just to tell her of my hopeless story and sent her a few pathetic 'it's all over, they're gone, they can't be anywhere else' SMSs.

On the up side, I did multi task a little and pack up quite a lot of my apartment into neat little boxes in the process rather than just ripping the place to pieces.

I really need a holiday.

Waiting nervously for a response

rage — Tue, 1 Jul 2008 07:20:00 GMT

Visa is applied for. I have an appointment next week to get fingerprinted! I am also required to print out my online visa application (not sure the point in that but from what I have heard about immigration departments, it doesn't surprise me) and send that in along with my supporting documents. So very exciting!

Hopes and dreams shattered in one lunchtime

rage — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:54:00 GMT

Today I met with Hannah from Elizabeth Norman International www.elizabethnorman.com who I was put in touch with by Andy from AML Resources www.amlresources.com.au. During this meeting Hannah was going to tell me a little about the Market Research industry in the UK and give me advice on where to look for work and what kind of expectations to have and perhaps even line up a few interviews for me. It was to be a very important meeting. So important in fact, that I even dared to ask to leave for lunch 10 minutes early so that I would arrive on time (that's a big deal if you work in my team at Roy Morgan where no extra time is rewarded - or even acknowledges - but any small amount of time has to be made up).

So today I put a bit of effort in to getting ready for work. I paid more attention to my makeup and straightened my hair and wore some nice clothes. Hannah was lovely and things were going really well. Until she looked at my resume and figured out that despite having worked at Roy Morgan Research as a Data Analyst for the last 18 months, I have NO research skills. Things spiralled very quickly from this moment. It was interesting to watch Hannah's brain working over time to try to make things sound positive even though it was obvious she didn't think she could help. What it comes down to is that without any real research skills, companies just won't be prepared to invest in someone that is only allowed to work for 12 months. And that is perfectly fair I suppose. Except that I'd be more than happy to stay for longer in the right position.

Hannah suggested staying in Melbourne for another 2 years and get some more (better) experience, broadening my skillset. That is very sound advice and worthwhile considering but I had my heart set on packing up and leaving to get a wonderful nine to five job somewhere in the UK where I could spend my weekend jet setting around Europe. I've had enough of everything here. Totally ready to go. And I feel as though I will be faced with the same problems finding a job in Melbourne as I would be in the UK (aside from the visa thing of course).

I already had a sneaking suspicion that I had wasted the last 18 months of my life at Roy Morgan and that it wouldn't help my career at all and Hannah, unintentionally, confirmed that for me today.

A cocktail would be lovely right now.

68 more sleeps

rage — Sat, 7 Jun 2008 11:12:00 GMT

Time is running out and there is still so much to try to organise! I have tickets (booked and paid for) and work knows that I am leaving but that's as far as I have got. This morning I started my application for a Working Holidaymaker Visa but got stuck on the question about my mother's family name (is it her maiden name or her married name?) so I'm taking a break and will come back to that later. I still have to buy insurance. I have to cancel everything that's in my name - electricity, telephone, internet - and change my address on everything else. I also need to decide what I can take with me and what I need to pack up to store and what I might be able to sell. Aaaagggghhhh!!!