Jobs

Hello to everyone! 

It has been some time, but with good reason, we’ve been busy. We are no longer counting how many WEEKS that we’ve been in Australia, but how many MONTHS! With that, we are almost to 3 months in our new home, Sydney. One of the reasons that we’ve been so busy is that we’ve both actually been working. More on that below…

The whole reason why Ferg and I were able to get to Australia, was because of my job! The first 2 months were quiet however things have been picking up. I am starting to travel again but instead of flying to McAllen, TX every two weeks, I get to explore different Australian cities!

My first trip was to Canberra, the capital city of Australia. On a map, Canberra seems to be one of the few cities in Australia that is not right on the ocean. The location of the city was picked so that it would be between the two major Australian cities, Sydney and Melbourne. It's like trying to remain neutral when picking your favorite child.

The trip was less than 24 hours, where I took my first domestic Australian flights. I arrived at the Sydney airport a little over an hour before the flight. I was told by my co-workers that this would be more than enough time. I arrived at the Qantas terminal and my flight was one of two flights flying out that evening. The airport was empty. I walked through security, taking my laptop out of my bag, but keeping my shoes on, without a hitch. They didn't ask for my ID, passport, or boarding pass. I arrived at my gate, now an hour before departure and I was the first and only person there. I decided to pull out my laptop and get some prep work done. About 25 minutes before take-off, the gate attendant waltzes up to the podium to announce the boarding of all passengers. I finally scan my boarding pass, proving that I deserve to be in this empty airport. I head down the jet-bridge, and I am dumped out onto the tarmac, to walk to my propeller plane which takes me to Canberra. The flight attendants proceeded to pass out drinks and an entire snack box of pita chips, almonds, and a salted caramel bar, all in a 30-minute flight! The entire experience made me feel like I was chartering my own private jet.

Canberra, as I've been told, is a planned city. I was unsure what that meant, but once there, it felt like it. I took Ubers between the airport and my hotel and site and everything looked prim and proper. Looking at a map of the city, the downtown is practically just a giant traffic circle!

Overall, the visit went well, and I am looking forward to traveling to Canberra again! My job is one of the major consistencies in moving to Australia so it has been great getting back into a routine with it. Again, making life in Sydney feel more like real life!

Ok, now to Ferg's job.

Howdy y'all, now you get to hear about my exciting job. 

When we moved here, I didn't know what I wanted to do for a job. I knew I wanted to take a break from professional software engineering, but what else should I do? I looked into becoming a paramedic but didn't have the visa requirement to proceed. So, after a few weeks of settling in, I started pursuing a job I've always been curious about.

My new job title, Delivery Dude.

For the past few weeks, I have been delivering groceries with a company called MILKRUN. How it works is simple, someone orders groceries from an app, that order is then sent to a neighbourhood hub that is closest to their house/apartment. Someone at the hub packs up the food and then hands the bag to me. I then hop on an electric bike with the backpack full of groceries and ride it to their home. This process repeats until my shift is over. I usually stay within 2 miles of the hub, so I never end up too far away. Staying close to the hub helps keep MILKRUN's promise of delivering groceries within ten minutes. The hub is conveniently located across the street from our apartment so my commute is nearly nonexistent.

View from an evening delivery

View from a morning delivery

My official uniform

It has been interesting to leave work and not have to think about it after. For the past few years, work has always been on my mind, even if I wasn't in front of the computer. Now, I make deliveries and when the day is done, I clock out and stop thinking about it.

I am in the process of reworking my resume to find a software engineering job in the near future. For now, riding a bike along Bondi Beach has been an excellent break from engineering.

Fun fact of the blog.

People here generally don’t check weather.com, they use bom.gov.au.