Dec 28 - Job Search and TV

I got up relatively early today, somewhere in the 10 AM range. Had a shower and a bowl of cereal, then browsed online for jobs. Not any promising new ones, so I took my binder of resumes, put on some nice clothes, and headed out to find some work. I went all around the CBD to different hostels and hotels asking if they were hiring. I handed out a couple resumes, but then I started to get the same answer everywhere: "No, we're not hiring, but you can leave a resume if you want." Well I don't have an unlimited supply of resumes and it's a big hassle to print more off (walk all the way to the YHA, buy internet time, download my resume files from my email, print them via the front desk, pay for them, borrow a stapler to put them together). So after a few places said no jobs were open, I went back to the apartment and called every hostel within a reasonable distance from here. None are hiring. I called all the travel places that have backpackers hassle people on the sidewalk and hand out flyers with travel deals. Nothing with them either, though I emailed my resume to one company. So, rejected and dejected, I took a break from the job hunt for a bit. I looked up locksmiths (as we have two keys to the apartment but only one key for the outside building door) and wrote down 3 addresses nearby. I walked to all three and found that one didn't exist, and two were closed. This was becoming a frustrating day in a hurry, and I returned to the apartment. I then called every locksmith and key-cutting place in the whole downtown region of Sydney and not a single one was open. Great, that will have to wait I suppose. I changed to shorts since it had gotten warm out and walked to the grocery store. Picked up a big pack of bottled water, and some other little things, then walked them back to the apartment. This had finally given me the correct change to do laundry, so I grabbed all the dirty stuff and the sheets and pillowcases for the bed and tossed them all in the laundry. There is only one garbage can in the place (presently in the kitchen) and I figured one for the bathroom was necessary, so I went to find one at a dollar store. However, this was a huge scam of a dollar store and the smallest trash can (that was like 2 litres capacity) was $8. So I bought some tupperware (was also on the shopping list) and went to Woolworth's to try and find one. The trash cans were bigger there, but still like $15, so I opted for a big 9 litre pail that was $1.15. Much more reasonably priced. I also picked up an Air Wick thing to add some nice ambiance to the apartment and prevent the funky smell of the hall from creeping in.

As I walked out of the store, B called and had just gotten off work. I was only a block from his office, so I went there and we went to an electronics store to find some tv accessories. But the store had closed 45 minutes early, so we tried and second (which didn't have what we needed) and a third that had the right stuff. We bought a digital cable box and an antenna and went back to the apartment and set them up. I am happy to report that we are now the happy viewers of several free Australian TV channels. A lot of the programming is Australian (like the news) but there are plenty of American shows as well. Tonight we watched How I Met Your Mother as we ate our dinner of burgers, then a game show, a movie called Tomcats and South Park to round out the night. Brennan reckons we will be reading significantly less now that we have tv to watch. I think he's right. Got the laundry out and put sheets on the bed (something it was lacking last night, therefore requiring the second use of sleeping sacks - the first being on Fraser Island). We've been replying to postings for futons and hideabeds, but no responses back yet. Before bed I applied for a sales job and an editorial intern position, both with a magazine here called BBM. So hopefully I can meet with them in the coming days. This whole unemployment thing has lost its charm.