Dec 31 - Pizza Stress and Fireworks

It's been impossible to sleep in the past couple days, with construction happening across the street at like 7:30 in the morning. So today I rose early again, had some eggs and toast and flipped on the TV to catch my usual programs of Seinfeld and Charlie's Angels. I chatted online with some people on Facebook, read some of Catch 22, did some sit-ups and push-ups and just laid around. I went over to the mall with the locksmith to see about getting another key cut, but they were the only store in the whole mall that was closed. At 3 I had to go chat with the boss at the restaurant, but he wasn't there yet, so I went back at 3:30 and he gave me a speal about not being able to pay much and that he could give me $10/hour as a dishwasher or $12/hour when I helped in the pizza area (keeping in mind that minimum wage here is about $14/hour). I nodded along in agreement and he told me to come at 6 to learn in the pizza area. I put on my best smile and then walked out as my heart sunk. The plan for tonight was to go to the Rocks or Opera House area and watch the 9 and midnight fireworks shows. But I'm a working man now so fun comes at a sacrifice to the job I suppose.

I got an email back from a futon seller who said we could pick it up today, so when Brennan got back we went in search of the apartment to pick it up. We walked and walked and finally came to the right street, but there was no apartment with the number we were given and no phone number to get in touch with the seller. So we walked back home only to find out that there are two Cooper streets within a 1 km radius of each other. Frustration!!! Unfortunately it was too late to walk back again, as I had to go to work. Brennan packed up some drinks, the iPod and a book then headed out to find a spot for the show. I checked my email and saw I had been asked to interview for a job with a promotions company trying to sign people up to Woolworth's loyalty program inside the stores, so I said I'd show up for the interview (scheduled for the 4th) so perhaps I can supplement my minimal dishwashing wage with a real 9-5 job. I trudged into work and had to help the boss as he made pizzas. He is a short-tempered man and got angry with me several times for things like not knowing how to roll the dough with the proper amount of weight on the pin, or not lifting the pizza roller after each slice so the toppings weren't pushed, or not understanding his requests with words like capsicum (red peppers) or docket (bill). The words I wasn't familiar with plus his thick Italian accent made it a struggle. So I was relegated to pizza cutting and then to helping on dishes when it slowed down. Once the place closed up, I was taught how to clean the place, then had a beer with my kitchen coworkers, who are 3 guys from Nepal and one from India. I'm the token white guy. A Canadian girl who bartends said the boss yells at her a lot too because she can't understand him half the time. Alas, I need the money. The boss paid me cash for the first 2 shifts (under the table) and told me to come back Monday or Tuesday to talk about my next shift.

I left then ran full out up to the Kings Cross area and found a good viewing spot about 20 minutes before midnight. The Harbour Bridge had an LED screen that cycled through a check mark, an X, a peace sign and a Red Hot Chili Peppers logo. There was no countdown (that I could see, Brennan said he could see the countdown on the pillars of the bridge but he was waaaaay closer than me...like several kilometers) then fireworks went off at midnight. Oh, happy new year's I guess! The fireworks were pretty expansive, with a ton being launched off the Harbour Bridge, a launch site to the right across the water, and 6 buildings to the left that shot up multiple roman candle type fireworks. Lots of impressive bursts, but it ended after 10 minutes. A bit premature I thought, but not bad overall. I walked back home, and got a kebab and a powerade - great first meal of the new year! Waited in the building entrance for Brennan (who didn't have the building key tonight) and he showed up about 20 minutes after me. He had gone to the Rocks area, watched both fireworks shows, and enjoyed them much more than me. He was so close to the bridge that he felt the major power of the explosions and the dazzling lights of the fireworks. I was probably 2 or 3 KM further away and thus a lot of the sound disapated by the time it got to me (or was less intense at least). He said his walk home was like a mosh pit the whole way, and that he had never seen that many people in one place before in his life. Sounds like I missed out on a cooler experience, but oh well, I still saw the New Year's Eve fireworks in Sydney...check. And then I went to bed, because after all that running and stress at work, I was exhausted.