Back in the Loop

6 weeks on and finally some kind of routine has formed...granted it consists of bbq's, monday night tv sessions and work at the bear shop which is hardly crazzzzyyyy behaviour but it's nice to have some consistency for a few months before things get shaken up again in December.

We've come a fair way since that first week of work at the holiday company...actually it was only three days before we got as far away from that fraudulent group of people as possible. Only one good thing came of our brief stint there and that was meeting Jules and Martin, a cool couple from the Midlands who i've latched myself onto! We're totally on the same wavelength and have begun planning lots of exciting plans and things to look forward to so thats cool. They also have an awesome jacuzzi and grill area in their building which is great to chill in after a day stuffing bears.

At first I only had 3 shifts a week at Build-a-bear and it really wasn't enough but we've had some scandalous things going on recently and 2 people have just resigned so I was the first to stick my hand up for more work which is cool.

So what else has been going on here on the Gold Coast? Well Jules, Martin and I go out clubbing every couple of weeks just to mix it up, the majority of people and clubs here are 100% chav havens but i've done some digging and found a few hidden gold mines which are worth going to. I'm not sure how i do it but i've also managed to get friendly with the girls running the doors too and that means free entry for everyone which is always good :)

Last Tuesday Jules, Martin and I went to a classy establishment called Pearl for the cocktail deal they were doing and honestly, it was the best classic mojito I have EVER had. Really, really good. We're soooo going back next Tues to take full advantage of the tapas as well. I guess that's the good thing about earning some money while we're here, I don't feel too bad treating myself to a drink or ice-cream here or there....well, quite freqently actually lol.

The four of us have also taken to holding little dinner parties for each other... how middle aged of us haha! Loz and I have just got back from The Azzura (J+M's building) where they'd made homemade sangria and got some awesome dips on the go, they've really stepped up their game this week lol.

This Wednesday just gone J, M and I went whale watching which was an amazing experience, Martin works for the local tour company and managed to get a good discount for the three of us which was a benefit. We got to cruise round the canals looking at the Aussie homes of the rich and famous and then out into the open sea to look for the humpback whales making their migratory cruise south back to Antartica. We saw quite a few in the 2 hours we were out and one even jumped right out of the water which was a very 'Free Willy' moment.

My building is attatched to the local grass bowls club which is quite amusing and yesterday J, M and I had a quick game or two after work. It was funny to see Martin get so competitive over the sedate game but the true master won (me obviously) and now i'm really going to focus on that 'kneel and roll' technique, you never know when it'll come in use.

The other highlight of the week is our Monday tv night - 'Flash Forward' followed by 'The Apprentice' (Australian version) and then a pretty bad American reality tv show called 'Momma's Boys', all washed down with a bowl of ice-cream, chocolate sauce and sugar strands of course.

It's the Motor GP car racing event next week which completely takes over the Gold Coast and will no doubt bring in big crowds so we'll have to see how that goes. Other things in the pipeline are a trip to Wet n' Wild in November (a waterpark) which'll be so fun with Loz's underwater camera and the Stereosonic festival in Brisbane which i'm going to just before returning to Sydney.

The one thing that's really thrown me and I have to admit really don't like is how the sun is weak by 3pm and sets around 5pm....WAY too early! It makes the evenings feel so dark and long and the days too short...and after the 9pm sunsets of Maui it is not cool.

Aside from the above we're regulars in the jacuzzi, try to chill with beers on the beach and cook alot of meat on the bbq. I can't get enough of the avocado and helumi burgers we've been making, defo more of them to come. Delicious...xxx