Phillip Island

At the end of July one of the students at Conor's school too us to his familys farm - it was about an hour and a half outside of Melbourne and he lives really close to this Island called Phillip Island.


So we left in the morning for his place with some other students, had a bbq at his place, went for a Coastal walk and then went to Phillip Island. Now I'll tell you right now that I didn't really want to go! I wasn't feeling that greatest, it was a rainy day - but Conor kept saying that I would regret not going, because everynight at the one place on Phillip Island hundreds of Penquins come onto the shore into their little burrows - it's called the Penquin Parade...and I love penquins so I wanted to see them.


It was really cool - but I still would have prefered to have not gone at all that day, and just gone and seen the penquins and just done that! haha


As I said, I wasn't feeling that well, and it was raining during the hike and I wasn't dressed properly, and then the guy that took us wasn't really paying attention to the time so we didn't have a chance to get changed before we went to the Penquin Parade. So we got to the Penquins and pretty much you just stand outside in the dark for a hour watching the penquins do their thing, and it was cold, and still drissly and I was in wet clothes and NOT happy! I got a bad cold after that which stuck around for over a week...to which (if you read my last post about work) you know I wasn't able to take any sick days so I had to work through it all!
Not fun...but here are some pictures! haha

...more pics to come

Just when you thought it was all settled...

Well I've given my resignation at Sumo Salad!

I know - you are all shocked and appalled - thought I loved it...and I did...

But here are some of the reasons why I no longer want to work there:

1. I don't want to work in food anymore - always coming home dirty and smelly and hands are all dry from doing dishes and clothes are dirty all the time, etc.
2. The owners are selling - potentially the sale will be final this Monday, and I don't really care for the new owners and all the changes that that will entail (as you all know, I don't like change - at least not self-initiated change)
3. It's a pretty stressful job - we're always short staffed and then having to train new staff which means having to pick up the slack for everyone else
4. It's very monotonous - I do the same thing everyday, in the same order, blah blah blah. My favorite time of day is 12-2 because that's when all the customers come...before that we are just making wraps and long rolls and preparing the front deli for noon, and after that we are just cleaning up from the rush and prepping food for the next day to do it all over again...as a casual the job is actually really fun, sometimes doing mornings, sometimes just lunches, sometimes just close - but when you work my shift (9-530) you do it all, everyday, in the same order...as you can see, I'm just over it
5. I'm allowed 10 sick days a year but they have no one to cover me if I do get sick, and I was sick and was pretty much obligated to come in because no one else can do the ordering or anything etc...we don't have people to even cover when one of the other staff are sick, that's how short staffed we are.
6. It doesn't pay enough for the amount of stress
7. Lastly, when the current owners put me on contract (which none of the previous managers have been on ever - they were all casuals) - I think they knew at the time that they were selling and put me on contract so I couldn't just walk out (casual here don't have to give any notice, not even two weeks) - and I don't like that...I think they should have let me know before I signed a contract which made me have to give 4 weeks notice or forfeit my annual leave pay

Well there it is - plus there are a few more little reasons, but that's the gist of it, I just need a change.

So I decided on Thursday the 19th that I was going to give my notice - so I did that on Friday the 20th, letting them know that August the 10th would be my last day. But I gave my notice then because I knew that the Catholic Bookshop here would be looking for someone to fill another students position.

Anyways, I contacted them right away, had an interview on Tuesday and found out yesterday that I got the job! Yay! The only drawback is that I will be working Sundays, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make...so I'll work 4 days there and get roughly the same amount of money I'm getting now with way less stress, etc.

Also today I got another job to work on Thursdays at "Bite" a coffeeshop right next to Sumo, because they need someone, and the owners are really cool! It's a married couple in their 30s, and the wife is pregnant and due in a couple months...just really good people, and we know eachother really well from working next to eachother all this time...good stuff!

I have one dilemma though, which I hope will work out...if you did the calculations of the day that I resigned to when I said my last day was you will notice (as I just noticed last night) that it's three weeks, not four! So I'm hoping they will just let me go on the 10th because I'm already rostered to start at the coffee shop and bookshop that next week.

So no need for you all to pray that I get another job, cuz that's already taken care of - but please pray that the owners will let me go on the 10th without withholding pay or anything...I just wanna get out of there

PICTURES

I have added photos to the posts today, so if you've already read them, check out the added photos

I have to use a different computer to put pics up, so re-read these posts again because I will be adding pictures to them

(just blame aussie internet for this injustice!!)

Oh, I should try to find them, but there are these really ironic commercials playing here, one is of Dustin Hoffman in a car talking to his real estate agent who is going to bid on a house for him and he's trying to tell the agent to "don't forget the limit! I don't want it at any price" and it cuts out and the agent hears "forget the limit! I want it at any price!" And one of his staff say "this wouldn't happen in Australia" and he says "I'm moving there"

There's another one about internet being better here - it's just very ironic because it's not true!

Sumo Salad Bowling Night

Not much to say on this, hopefully I will be getting more pictures from it – but because of all the changes going on at work, and (this is kind of mean) but after getting rid of some of the less desirable staff, I decided it would be a good time to go and have a night out with the staff. Now, bowling in Abbotsford and bowling here are like night and day! There are two franchise 10-pin bowling alleys here, Strike and Kingpin. They are NOT shady like the ones in Abby; they’re quite nice, clean and hip! There is a strike alley right by our work so we went there and had a lot of fun. One of the girls that has been working there just recently moved back to Brisbane so it was also kind of a going away thing for her and it went really well – we had a lot of fun and I can feel that the atmosphere at work is a lot better now due to that and again, those staff leaving that were making work not so fun.

My Crew

Grace, Ivy, Tiahn (now in Brisbane) Tom, Uyen, Jen (superwoman) and Me

Bishop Elliot

At the John Paul II Institute (Conor’s school) the director of the school formerly Monsignor Peter Elliot has been ordained Bishop Elliot. It’s an interesting thing because the prior director Bishop Fischer (the first director) was also ordained Bishop while directing the institute.

I had never been to a regular ordination let along a Bishops ordination. There were around 200 priests I would say…which I found remarkable, but apparently some people were upset that there weren’t more priests from the Melbourne Archdiocese. It was a beautiful mass – great music, and great speeches by Bishop Elliot and the other bishop-elect. The Archbishop of Melbourne, Archbishop Hart, is a pretty remarkable guy. As I said before he did a great job at the Pontifical High Mass of Alex and Helens wedding, but Conor has also heard that the weekly 11am mass at the Cathedral, which has an all boys Cathedral Choir which sing some great stuff and Archbishop Hart sings most of the liturgy beautifully, is apparently one of the best liturgical masses around. So I think every mass I go to that he is celebrating is pretty special, and I will probably miss the caliber of these masses when we get back home.

Alex and Helen's Wedding

This was actually before the Noojee trip. It was a really beautiful wedding – and actually quite the Catholic event for Melbourne. It was a Pontifical High Mass in the Classical Roman Rite celebrated by the Archbishop. Neither Conor nor I had ever been to a Latin mass so it was the whole cake for us. There were 20 some priests there, over half actually helping with the mass. It was the first mass of that Nature for the Archbishop – but I hear he was quite excited at the opportunity. Afterwards there was a really nice reception, when we walked in we were greeted by staff with Champagne and/or Daiquiris. We though that would be one of the more exceptional dinners, which it was, but you will hear later about a ball that we went to in Canberra at the great hall at Parliament House.

Conor all smooth in his shades

Basicilla of our lady of Victories

(beautiful)

The happy newly-weds

We are now the old married couple

Silly Monica

...even sillier Clare

Anniversary and Noojee

Our one year anniversary went really well. We found this nice Greek restaurant downtown and had a very yummy dinner! The proportions were smaller and the bill much larger than our Greek Restaurants in Abby – but I didn’t mind because it was our anniversary!! After that we went to this place called the Sofitel Tower for drinks, we had both been there before but it just has a really nice atmosphere and a really beautiful view of the city being on the 35th floor. In the bathrooms there are ceiling to floor windows that you can stand right up to and there’s no ledge so it’s pretty cool. I think the same building has and observation deck even higher up with a 360 degree view, we’ll have to check it out sometime.

Now onto Noojee – unfortunately since it’s been a while I don’t really have a whole lot to say. There were about 20 of us who drove out about an hour and a half. Firstly we went to this bridge, and then we went on to Noojee where there was a really nice waterfall. I rained a bit which made me grumpy, hehe – then we went a little bit out of the way and had a fire and “boiled a billy” – after that we went to one of the professors house, Dr Nick (the same place we went for Christmas), and had pizza.

Conor and I

Clare

Me :)

Conor and I

One of the other students sons

Conor climbing around

Cardinal Pell Prize

Last night was the annual Academic Dinner at Conor's school. There are quite a few awards given out: awards for top of class, awards for putting into practise the things learned at the Institute, one award for the best excuse for needing a paper submission extension (hehe) and then the final award is called the Cardinal Pell Prize (the only monetary award of $300) for pretty much the top student, the student who achieved and most top of class awards - and this year the award went to CONOR SWEENEY!!!

Last weekend we were in Canberra for the ACSA Conference (Australian Catholic Students Association) - I will write more about that later, but we were there to man the JPII Institute booth. We were waiting for out flight back on Sunday with the dean and Conor got up to go look at something and she says to me "I see that you aren't signed up for the Academic Dinner, and I highly suggest you come". We weren't going to go because Conor thought the dinner was $120 each and didn't realize at the time that he was getting an award - we found out later that he was getting this dinner and another dinner mixed up...anyways, she told me that he was getting the award and that we had to come, but that I wasn't allowed to tell him about the award!

Well I eventually had to tell him that he was getting something but I wouldn't tell him which award and it bothered him all week long! It was great - every time there was any mention of Friday he would get this funny look on his face trying to figure out what kind of award he was going to get. So congratulations Conor - it's all thanks to me though, since he can work so hard on school since he doesn't have to get a job! hehe

Conor and a book he got with his award

Bernard, also won an award

Anne and Helen

Anna Krohn (lecturer) and Marcia (Respect Life Office)

Me and Monica :)

Conor, Bishop Elliot, and Myself

Updates Coming Soon!!

Hey everyone - I'm really sorry that I haven't been updating, but it has been a busy month and I promise updates are coming (I will space them out as well so that it isn't overkill!)

Look forward to updates about:
- Trip to Noojee
- Trip to Phillips Island (and the Penquin Parade)
- Canberra