Nearlythere1

Hi All, Haven't been on for a while, but here's my initial report after arriving in Townsville on the 5th November. Long hideous flights, as expected lol.. Arrived to heavy rainfall which was a surprise, which made it quite humid and sticky. Sorted the bank and phone on day one, Drivers licence and Medicare on day two, TFN on day three. Had the weekend off and started looking for work on the Monday, day six, got a job on Tuesday, day seven ( took about 29 hours to find a job, which was great). Took the rest of the week off as started work on the following Monday.. Visited friends and had a bit of a tour around the area. Am staying with friends until after Xmas, so very little pressure at the minute. Got a casual job initially, until Xmas with a view to becoming permanent if both parties are happy with the initial 5 weeks work etc. review on the 17th. Won't commit to a house rental contract until I get a permanent contract for work. Been offered other jobs in the following weeks, but in different parts of Queensland, so will stick with this for now. Weird being the new guy again, after so long in the same dept, like starting over again. Work is very different here, people don't seem to be as polite as in the UK. Wages aren't what I'd hoped for and workload is far higher here.. Don't know if it's just the company I've chosen to work for or not as yet.. Loving the constant sunshine, and have learnt to park the car under a shady tree and find the shady spots to stand in when outside.. Been mostly 32 degs + upto about 35 degs one day, plenty of water needed and a dip in the pool at the end of a hot days work has been essential and very invigorating.. They all came to me quite quickly lol.. Our furniture arrived at my brother in laws in Brisbane about 10 days ago, mostly useless forwarding company at the Brisbane end, wanted to charge me $2500 to forward stuff to Townsville from Brisbane, if they kept the stuff in their warehouse, or $4500 after being stored at my brother in laws, still packed.. Declined both those services.. Drove down to Brisbane last weekend to fetch my tools, that was a long weekend.. 32 hrs driving, altogether.. I was amazed when I realised that I'd started from half way up Queensland, drove 16 1/2 hrs South and was still in Queensland.. Puts the size of the place in some perspective for me.. Won't do that again without a week off, really needs minimum of two days each way.. Going to look at a one way hire of an 8 ton self drive truck for the furniture removals, after Xmas, not sure whether I can hire one with my UK licence though.. Friends birthday party yesterday, had a bit of a storm to go with it, mostly "p*ss and wind" seems to be the saying around here.. Little bit delicate today, so nice relaxing day off, apart from joining super fund online.. Initial thoughts are quite positive, the streets aren't paved with gold and quite a task trying to get used to working for a living again after having such a cushy number in the UK.. All the people outside of my working environment have been lovely and welcoming, too early to tell whether I need to re-evaluate my career path to get something better paid and cushier though.. Thanks for listening all, and have a great Christmas.. :chatterbox: X

Hi Gbye grey sky, still no news on that front then? Have decided to go with Australian Super, as far as my contributions in Australia are concerned, seems to be the best performer of the Supers that I'm eligible to join in my line of work, and on QROPS list. Still waiting to find out about the UK civil service pensions transfer though.. Getting suspicious now lol..

Just in the final stages of packing the car up, ready for my move to Aus today, said goodbye to a teary 28 yr old child, the OH next, then off to drop my works car and laptop off, then to Heathrow.. Nerves are in bits, but will joining the Queenslanders for the Wet season in about 36 hrs.. Happy but strange day today.. :eek:

Only done that a couple of times, should really make it a regular thing TBH.. I like the little rituals of Xmas time etc.. :smile:

Depends on the circumstances really. If there's a celebration going on then any time is fair game. As I don't drink much these days, 12:00 hrs is a good rule for me (in the country that I'm in obviously). Holidays are very similar, when ever I feel like it, especially if it's All Inc bars. Got to get your monies worth there.. The days when I used to get up on a Sunday morning with a hangover and head down to the harbour for a steak roll and a pint to kill or cure, are long gone I'm afraid.. :chatterbox:

Hehe, don't forget the reference and dignity thing.. wouldn't surprise me about the AM, just rise above whatever comes your way.. Am off to the pub now, to say goodbye to some good friends, loaded with cider and Gaviscon lol.. Take it easy.. :wacko:

Sounds like delusions of grandeur to me.. Maybe he watches the apprentice lol.. :wink:

Everything will be ok as long as it is all clean, especially outside stuff like garden furniture, shoes, golf trolleys etc. No cane or wicker and only treated or varnished wood.. He's not exaggerating unfortunately.. You can leave it, but have heard some stories about the costs of cleaning or failing that, destruction of items etc.. Someone paid around $90 to have a wicker basket destroyed lol.. Apparently if everything smells of Jeyes fluid then they know that you've made the effort to clean stuff.. They are pretty keen on this kind of thing... Don't want any outside plant life or crawly things getting in.. :wacko:

Who's the manager, Alan Sugar or something.. Sounds a bit odd to me, best out of there.. Take the food, the lift and a good reference, if I were you.. :chatterbox:

I'd take the lift too lol.. But definitely the food.. Just pick the most expensive dish on the menu and drink heavily.. :biglaugh: Don't forget dessert... :wink:

Am sure you'll find something soon. Character building, leave with your head held high and dignity intact is always the best.. Their loss at the end of the day.. :yes:

The wonders of modern technology eh? Would've been better tying it to a pigeon and pointing it south lol.. At least you have your receipt. Some tech will hit the server with a hammer in a few hours and everything will be back to normal.. :wink:

As if you didn't feel rough enough today already Scottishstacey.. :sad: They obviously don't deserve you, probably better for you in the end.. Onwards and upwards, as they say.. Wrap yourself up with Netflix and a cup of Cocoa, tomorrow is another day and another exciting chapter.. Chin up.. :wink:

Sounds great GGS, good to plan ahead, gets you all excited about it.. We've driven from Sydney up to Cairns and back, over a few trips. Love it.. Will look forward to seeing the itinerary when completed.. :smile:

Maybe an Immi website problem, I'd give a day and see what happens, did it send you or give you a receipt for your payment ok? Haven't used the system myself, so can't help anymore than that I'm afraid.. Hopefully someone will be along soon to advise further, bit quiet here at the mo.. Best of luck, I'm sure it'll sort itself out sooner or later.. :wink:

Not off to bed, but off to the pub soon... :jiggy:

I always feel like like i'm being rude when I just disappear off the face of the earth, when going to bed drunk or otherwise incapacitated. So, I am going to Boing off to bed from now on... Boing!!!

I enjoyed it, it was a bit Scooby Doo or Scream esque, but easy to watch. Spent a lot of time shouting at the telly, as usual.. :shocked:

I don't do the knocking on doors thing, neither does OH. Our eldest daughter was in, so she answered the door and provided the lollies. Stayed in and watched "Purge" movie in the dark, as eldest is 28 and just about old enough now.. :eek:

What do you need proof of your $5000 for? Just wondering? :wink:

Oh, sorry to hear that, sounds fair now then. Hope you're feeling better soon Scottishstacey.. :sad:

I think PB has said that he is going to notify the locals of their intentions and offer refunds to those who don't agree, which is a good thing, I believe.. Charities need to be transparent after all.. He's not pocketing it, just doesn't bother me if it's going to a needy cause.. When I donate to charity shops, I don't specifically choose one over another, I mostly just go to the one that I can park outside easily..

OH loves M&S stuff, so that's good.. I like the Cheesy Puffs though and they don't do the food range.. Have sent a package of M&S Cheesy Puffs over for my Brother in law in the past.. Most expensive Cheesy Puffs ever TBH.. :wink:

3 O'clock, in the Lake District, surely not bedtime.. You been up all night or something? :wink:

Not disagreeing with you either Ali, just a different point of view or perspective.. You don't want the funds being diverted and I don't mind.. :wink: