I thought I had better write some of my blog as I haven't done it in a while but there isn't much to say as I have been mostly working. I want to work as much as I can at the moment so I don't have to do it for too long. I miss being an unemployed bum! In my first week at work I did 7 shifts in six days so I really was working hard. Most of the time I was just working at cocktail partys doing drinks and canapes and setting up, but I also worked in a restaurant and did a wedding. I prefer doing dinners as cocktail partys can be very boring. The wedding was lovely, and took place at Watson's Bay overlooking Sydney Harbour. I did have to miss Mardi Gras to work at it though and I was gutted to say the least, but Justin took loads of pictures for me so I almost felt like I was there. It has been too long since I have done this sort of work because I ached like crazy everyday at first. Most of the people I work with are really nice, and it's good being able to work with different people and at different places all the time. I am the only English person that works for the agency so I get to meet all different sorts of people. It can be hard actually having to work out where I'm supposed to be sometimes, but I feel like I know the city well now because of it. I have only worked in one place that I didn't like and that was because the man in charge was an idiot and just stood around while I was carrying chairs, tables and 12 foot umbrellas around all on my own! I worked all week and then I asked for Sunday off as I needed a day to recover!

During my second week at work I only worked two days as I had booked the weekend off. On the monday I worked at a dinner for 3,000 people at the Convention centre in Darling Harbour and it was competely mad. We had to go through security and metal detectors just to get into the hall. It was very organised though and 300 staff were working so it wasn't too stressful. I also worked at Sydney Uni at a dinner for the students, which was completely the opposite; small but really crazy and a bit of a disaster! After having a five-day weekend off I am back at work as of yesterday where I worked at the Uni again, and I will hopefully get quite a few shifts this week too. While I'm on the subject of work, Justin quit his job as a door-to-door salesman as it was hardwork for hardly any money. After the first week he would have been on commission only and wouldn't have been earning enough. Luckily he managed to get an interview for the next day for another sales job this time over the phone. However when he arrived at the interview it turned out they were also looking for a graphic designer, which is what he studied at uni. He got that job instead, with a bit of sales thrown in, and was very chuffed with himself. He is really enjoying the work now and is starting to relax more about money too.

On the 1st of March which was a Saturday we moved out of Wake Up and into an apartment - I was so excited! I love the fact that my first ever apartment is in Coogee and not even two minutes from the beach. We had started to look around for somewhere to rent as it works out so much cheaper than staying in hostels. We hadn't been having much luck, and then our friends who already lived in Coogee said we could move in with them. Now we are living with Claire, Fiona, Alex (who we met in Thailand) and Kirsty. All of us in two bedrooms of course! The flat isn't exaclty five-star but we only have to pay $90 a week, that's a 50% saving from Wake Up, and we get our own bathroom and kitchen and TV. Oh and our own pet cockroaches too! I think we are going to have a lot of fun living here, and we have had so far. Even though me and Justin aren't seeing much of each other there is always someone there to keep us company, mainly Claire. We have already had a couple of drunken late nights, and hopefully that will continue! It's a bit like living in students digs as everyone else in the block are travellers. Despite the landlord Neville putting up signs saying loud music is banned, there's always a rackett going on and he's usually involved!

The reason I had booked the last weekend off was because I went to a festival just outside Sydney. Unfortunatley Justin couldn't afford to come, so I went with Claire and Kirsty, and her friends Bob and Lisa. It was also Kirsty's birthday that weekend. We went out the night before to the CBH for a few drinks to celebrate, but had to get up early to pack all of our things. We had to make our way to central station for 1.30 ish to catch the coach to the festival. The name of the weekend was the Playground Weekender and it was at a place called Wiseman's Ferry about two hours outside of the city. Once we arrived on the coach we had to catch a ferry across to the island that it was held on. It was a really nice, pretty place and a good location to hold it I think. It was really laidback with a chilled out atmosphere. We had to set up the tent straight away while we were still functioning properly and then started drinking some Goon - or a box of wine in case you didn't know. Bringing in your own alcohol was banned but we managed to sneak some in to save some money. They searched all the bags though, and even had sniffer dogs to spot people with drugs. The festival didn't kick off properly until the next day so there weren't really any big acts on. We had a look around to explore and get our bearings and some food, then checked out the World Bar venue which was based on the bar of the same name as a bar in Sydney. We went to the dance tent after that where we had to stay for the rest of the night as it had started to hammer it down with rain. It was quite a task to find out way back to our tents in the dark, and then we had to try and get ready for bed in them while they were leaking from all angles. Kirsty, Claire and I were all sleeping in a 2 man tent so it was really crowded and uncomfortable to say the least.

The next day was either cloudy or too hot, especially in the tent. We woke up early as you do when you camping, and then spent the next few hours trying to get back to sleep as we were all so tired. None of us got much sleep as it was so cramped. After that wasn't working we gave up and went for a walk about and to get some food. We went to the World Bar where the unsigned acts were playing, and then went back to the tent to get changed as Saturday was all fancy dress. Us three dressed as bees, Bob was an old woman and Lisa was just dressed like a crazy person. It was good fun as most people really made an effort. Unfortunatley there were loads of bees though! We went to the main stage to watch some more bands and Crazy Penis, then we stayed to watch the headlining act Kruder and Dorfmeister. We went to the dance tent after that and watched Norman J and some more DJ's. Saturday was mainly dance acts really, but everyone had a good time. Fancy dress was a good idea I think as everyone got into the spirit, and there were some really good outfits!

Sunday was actually Kirsty's birthday so we got up fairly early and went for some food. We had all slept better the night before luckily. We went and sat in the pool area at first which was really good. It was a really nice hot day so that part was crammed. There were DJs playing and everyone was playing cricket or having a swim. There was definelty more of a party atmosphere that day than previously. After chilling out there for a bit we went back to the World Bar to watch some unsigned bands, then moved onto the main stage which was great. It seemed to be a bit dead at first though and was no way near as busy or as crazy as festivals at home. Ay least we managed to get to the front of the stage! We watched the main headlining acts there thought that night, which were the Wombats, Ian Brown and Maximo Park. There weren't many massive acts but it was only a small festival. Kirsty loves Maximo Park though and as it was her birthday she was very happy!

We had to get up much too early Monday morning in time to pack up the tents and get the ferry back to the bus stop. We were all so tired that we went straight to bed when we got home, after stopping for a McDonalds of course. I was also dying for a shower. I hadn't missed that bit out; I just hadn't washed for three days!