September 1st 2005 – Sugar Mamma

We spent most of Tuesday trying to fit into the Sydney fashion world. We scoured the city for nice attire on a travelers budget and finally, just when we had given up hope, came across a fantastic womens clothing store just outside of China Town and hooked Laure up with some nice jackets. We also managed to evade some dodgy company that claimed to provide better tax breaks to travelers. After half an hour of lecturing a boardroom full of travellers, most of which was based around salary benefits, I still wasn’t quite sure why these people deserved 12.5% of my salary. They collected our passports and expected us to sign. Neither Laure nor I had a good feeling about it and after some discussion and mild embarrassment got up and left the boardroom. That night we hit the town, a small pub in the Rocks called the Lord Nelson Brewery with our flat-mates – Sharon, Jo and Cathy and two previous residents Viv and Stew. Not that we don’t appreciate each others company, but having some extra stories and Stew’s outrageous jokes in his heavy Scottish accent, made the evening that much more enjoyable. Wednesday, Laure got called in for her first day of work as a receptionist. It caught both of us a little off guard a call at 8:30 in the morning, but she finally headed out on public transit and I was left for the first day since our arrival to scour the city on my own. Although lonely, I survived. I made the horrific mistake of wearing beige for my interview with another placement agency. I have never felt so self conscious in my life. Sitting in a park in the city center waiting for the time to pass before my interview, noticing unrelentlessly hoards of business people all in either black or grey pants/skirts with pastel shirts - very professional, but very boring. Needless to say, the following day I purchased a second pare of black trousers. Thursday, was moving day and after exchanging numbers with our new friends, we lugged our over packed bags to the curb and hailed a cab for Ultimo – our new home. Most of the day was spent cleaning, unpacking and buying some essentials for the new place all of which were exciting since we are going to be settled here for the next three months.