I just noticed that it's been almost three weeks since my last entry into this thing so I suppose I better update those of you eager follower(s) (thanks Andy) as to the exciting happenings and goings on (or is it going ons? thanks Mr. Pinker, please let me know if you are reading this) in my new Victorian life.

The major issue at the moment is that I am still looking for work. This has a lot to do with why I haven't updated the blog as I'd imagined that the next entry would include good news in that respect. Unfortunately not. In fact, the job seen has been remarkably slow, with only two interviews in seven weeks. I did have an interview on Friday for a job that sounds quite interesting, mainly due to the fact that the project is based in the SE Asian city in which I once lived for almost a year (I think the project's a secret or summink so that's about as much as I can divulge). I also like the idea of working on a project that is based outside of Australia as it might give me more of a chance to ease into working as an architect here, particularly considering I am not fully up to speed on stuff like Planning law in Victoria/Melbourne. Although I guess having worked on projects in a number of countries by this stage, things like that shouldn't really worry me I spoze. Anyway, I find out about that job on Wednesday - when they will or won't call me for a second interview.

So in the mean time, I'll keep bugging recruitment agents, calling up architectural offices and sending out emails.

I have been spending a fair bit of time in the Victorian State Library in the city, which has a large reading/study area and free wifi internet access. Plus the cafe next door is not bad. Most days the library reading area is filled with international backpackers, a lot of whom seem to be applying for fruit picking or temp jobs, often talking very loudly on their mobile phones whilst sitting under the big sign with a crossed-out silhouette of a mobile phone on it. Noticeably significant numbers of French speaking people frequent this place and on a number of occasions, I've had a group of French people sitting next to me trying to work out the proper English for job application cover letters with varied success. Then half an hour later, they are replaced by a group of Victorian high school students trying to work out sentence structures for their French homework. I don't know if it's to do with the fact I've been reading Richard Branson's autobiography, but I can't help but thinking there's a business opportunity there somewhere. Surely high school students should be able to adequately proof read cover letters for job applications to work at Starbucks and most French backpackers should have a decent grasp of Grade 10 level French grammar? It reminds me of a presentation I once saw on new ideas in Education whereby French kids were learning English by talking to English speaking kids on Skype and vice versa.

Hanging out in the library was meant to help me focus on applying for work but it does have a tendency to distract as it's a great people watching place. For example, last week a group of four gansta chinese kids with piercings, tattoos, baseball caps, and lots of rap lingo who looked like they'd turned up to cause some kind of mini-triad-like trouble but as it turned out had arrived for their maths tutoring and were soon discussing trigonometry problems within some kind of discussion group lead by their tutor.

Also that day, I sat near another kid who was get getting tutored by someone who didn't seem much older than her. Both were apparently of Korean decent as they were talking about other Koreans they knew and bitching about them in a Californian 'valley girl' kind of parlance with lots of 'lol'ing and giggling. In between that conversation however, they were discussing the difference between gas and column type chromotography. Madness.

To get away from listening in on other people's conversations, I've been spending time out the back in the newspaper reading room. However I am finding that equally distracting as people turn up there to read newspapers from all over the planet including a guy who got upset as the library had three Vietnamese dailies but not the one he was looking for. Meanwhile, I sit in the corner reading the latest headline grabbing news in The Mercury or the delayed copies of the Guardian - I like to get my news from varied sources.

Another highlight of the past couple of weeks was my crucial role in the assembly of a shed at the backyard of my cousin Luke and his partner Caroline. Importantly, I purchased a $4 blue singlet from KMart and whilst I was missing the faded Blundstone boots and Stubby shorts, I felt that the navy blue vest (or 'wifebeater' as it is colloquially known) did help me with a task as Australian as erecting a shed. Luckily Luke had a white version of a similar garment and it has to be said that the quality of workmanship and efficiency of construction programme was significantly improved by our attire...

While I'm on the topic of happy snaps from the past week or so, here's a photo of an Australian-Irish citizen standing outside the Australian Irish Welfare Bureau in Northcote, taken during a bike ride that Alex and myself did on Saturday....



... I was surprised not to find a queue of Irish people out the door considering now must be a busy time for this organisation!

There is an ad that appears on trams all around Melbourne at the moment that says, "Attend a leading University without having to set foot in one".

Wowzers, I must have been ahead of my time when I went to uni if that's what they're doing these days!

Note to self - if it feels bluddy hot first thing in the morning in Melbourne, it's probably not going to cool down for a while and you should probably not cycle 10km into town without sunscreen on. Whilst a nice breeze and some cloud has somehow cooled the place down a bit, this morning was a stinkin warm one. Luckily my cousin Sarah's place (where I'm staying) stays relatively temperate but when you walk outside it's like someone is blowing a air dryer on you.

Anyway, enough about the weather, I better get used to it. One bonus is that during my cycle I called into a McDonald's attached to the children's hospital (how very evil that is) for some airconditioned bliss and a wee wee. Upon this visit, i\I was pleasantly surprised to find that Gerrit Rietveld and/or Piet Mondrian must have been commissioned to provide new designs for McDonalds waste bin receptacles. They've come up really nice...


I'm sure all those sick kids hanging around McDonald's digesting that well know elixir aka the Happy Meal appreciate that nice touch and reference to design classics. I think the column adjacent to the bin was by Mario Botta.

I continued my ride into town and ended up in the Docklands area that I'm pretty sure my old company did a scheme for - which looks very similar and feels as sparse as dockland regen projects the world over. Lots of fairly soulless architecture with plenty of curtain walling. Although it seems there's been a decent uptake of the commercial buildings there so there were more than your normal global docklands redevelopment punters walking around at lunch time. No doubt still fewer than would have been drawn in the architectural presentations and 'artist's impressions'. There was also a pretty weird Cost Co building down there that disturbed me. I think I will have more wonky Melbourne building nightmares after my ones the other night brought on by my tour of wonky Melbourne buidlings in the city. I think my new tag line for employers will be : I don't do wonky. Classic examples of what I am talking about can be found here and here. Madness. And pointless. I also always think of my friend BT's term for the DCM buildings every time I see one such as this and this and this as sieg heils due to their abrupt angular elements.

Needless to say, I caught the train back home. Although it's cooled down. Despite everyone saying that there is never any reprieve from hot weather, the breeze seems to have brought a cool change and indeed a reprieve from hot weather.

Also, today has so far marked a triumph for me in that I have not yet eaten a packet of Twisties. There are still 6.5 hours left in the day and the 24 hr. 7eleven is not far away, but I'm sure I can to it. One step at a time. Once I conquer twisties, I can hopefully concentrate on not buying Clinkers and BBQ Shapes. It's fair to say that I have been indulging on foods from my childhood since I got back which is not doing me any good at all.

Hope you all liked my hyperlinking madness. I make an effort for you people you see.