Sunday 31st May

Only one more week to go in Sydney!! I love it here but am quite looking forward to leaving now, the last few days have been raaaaiiiinnyyyy. The rain makes me feel a bit homesick, like if it's as rainy and grey as this I might as well be at home! It is different, because it's warmer and the rain is proper rain, like it will be torrential for 10minutes then stop, none of that annoying all-day drizzle that you get back home. Also, it's nowhere near as grey or rainy constantly as England, I think I've just got used to it here! If I came straight out from the UK would probably be saying how nice the weather is in comparison!

It's ok though, Sydney is awesome and I am really glad to have had the chance to spend so long here.. I know it so well! I know which way to walk to get to most places without looking at a map, I have been to nearly every area and done nearly everything I want to do. Haven't really been doing much sightseeing atall the last couple of weeks, just getting on with day-to-day life.

Had a 6am start shift in a printing factory last week, which was an experience, particularly when they asked us to come back the following day also, but when we turned up at the door, at 6am, were told they didn't need us after all and sent back home again, SO annoying, I had got up at 4.30am in order to be there!!

Work at the pub is fine.. entertaining as usual. On Friday night when I was working, was a nice quiet hour and next minute the pub was FULL of policemen, literally 20 of them, with sniffer dogs doing a random search for drugs... one of the regulars had has in his pocket, which he drew straight out and gave to the cops, another got taken off and talked to aswell. It was a bit scary.. apparently it is a regular occurance of a friday or saturday night, particularly on Oxford Street, and a couple of other areas because they know there are drugs around. Makes me wonder what the hell people that want to take drugs DO with them while they are out, if they can't carry them on them for risk of sniffer dogs at any moment hunting them down.

The police started at our pub then worked down the street, so I'm pretty sure most people in most of the clubs and pubs would know the dogs were out within a few minutes of the first pub being raided, give them a chance to get out of there/take their drugs whatever, but still. Ironically, last night, there were so many people blatently taking drugs in the loos, all evening!! Groups of girls coming in to 'use the toilets' stay down there for 5mins then come back and leave straight away, sniffing and wiping their noses, so funny! They didn't even try to be secretive about it, maybe because the police dogs were out the previous night, they knew it was safe this evening, no risk of another raid??

Police here seem to be so much stricter with stuff like that, I have NEVER seen cops and sniffer dogs come into a pub back home to find drugs. I know it does happen (the ONE legendary raid in Sidmouth about 3years ago, but probably more often in big cities) but I don't know. On one hand, it's all a bit big-brother (can't take drugs out on you for fear of sniffer dogs, can't be drunk in a pub, uniformed police officers strolling around the pub, checking it out, every couple of hours etc etc) but on the other hand, there are less completely hammered people around! People just generally seem less drunk than back home, and are less of a pain in the arse that drunk people can be!

I booked my seat on the bus out of Sydney!! Am leaving on Monday 8th Jun, on the OzExperience bus. I only booked to go as far as Byron Bay, because I figured I'll stay there for a couple of days, suss it out, who knows, maybe I'll be able to get some work there, stay for a bit longer. It's still NSW (just) so my RSA and RCG will still apply there.. any further north and I will be into QLD and have to do two whole new courses. It might be interesting to do some other type of work (maybe shop or office) that doesn't need RSA/RCG, just for a change, but obviously my experience is hospitality, don't think I'd WANT to be sat in an office, and pub work is so nice and sociable.. and working evenings is the BEST! I'm such a morning person, it means I get the best bit of my day (the daytimes) to myself, to enjoy, then work in the eves when I'd just be feeling tired and going to bed anyway. I really enjoy meeting all the random people, too, that I would never otherwise cross paths with, that come into a pub.

Like this one guy, Lance, that calls himself the "one-armed bandit", a homeless guy with one arm who comes in and buys bottles of tawny port with his money from begging, then sits in the street and gets ratarsed on them. Or a greek guy, complete eccentric, who jumped-ship 30years ago when he was in the Navy and has been in Australia ever since, but he feels it lacks soul, wants to get back to the culture and vibrance of Europe, but spends all his money in the pokies, all day every day so never has the cash for the ticket home. Bit sad. Or Darren (by day) who has the darkest, longest eyelashes ever, and goes by Doreen on a Friday and saturday night.

And the aussie slang, which I have still not succommed to picking up. I think the easiest to do would be "g'day" or "how're you going?", and the most annoying HAS to be "eh?", said after literally everything, by aussies and kiwis alike.

Am off to Newcastle tomorrow, to go see Kat and Gemma, am looking forward to seeing another aussie city (can't belive I've been here nearly two months and have still only seen Sydney!) and to seeing them... whoo!