The Wondering Jew

What the hell is this thing!? Actually, on second thoughts, I don’t want to know! Considering that this picture really belies the size of this thing (about the size of a stick of ginger, which is what I thought it was at first), and the fact that whatever it is, it lives in the garden, I think that under the circumstances, ignorance is bliss.

If you ask me, it’s probably some kind of advanced scout trooper from an insectile race of aliens, on their way to Earth to enslave all mankind. Either that, or it’s a hunter/killer supersoldier on a seek and destroy mission. Either way, the insectile race of impending alien overlords is clearly the most viable explanation for this hideous affront to my humanity. If you recognise it and want to let me and my curious readers know what it is, the ideal place to do so is in the comments. Don’t though. As I said, I don’t want to know! I’m sure there’s a more terrestrial explanation for this thing than my alien invader theory, but I fear the reality may be much, much worse. You can see a higher resolution image of this thing in the gallery by clicking on the image (but seriously, why would you want to!?). There’s also a couple of pictures of one of his pals, slightly smaller, but equally ugly. Probably some kind of insectile alien ninja, that’s only let me live this long to gain more insight into how to kill me more painfully.

In other news, I didn’t get the job I interviewed for. I don’t think I was convincing enough in my response when they told me they were worried I’d leave if something better came along. Still, it was my first interview and it’s slim pickings on the job market at the moment. So i’ll keep applying for jobs this week, but after that I might just give up looking for work and enjoy the summer. I’m thinking of taking a couple of two day trips over the next couple of weeks, one to the Blue Mountains this week, and then off to a surf school next week. Both look really fun, and are relatively cheap, with transport, accommodation and food included in the price. The surf school even has a pool party in the evening!

You know what? I’m not thinking about it anymore. I’m doing it. Stay posted for my report!

Matt x

So, today’s post was going to be all about the beautiful day I’ve had, and how I had this gorgeous walk down to Newport Beach, up through Bilgola Beach and Avalon, and then back. It was going to be about what a gorgeous day it’s been here, and how the views were breathtaking; the rugged cliffs and rock faces, the bush, the ocean, the crisp sandy beaches. It was even going to feature an amazing collection of photographs I took along the way. And then I realised something. And that’s that I don’t know jack about photography.

I discovered this while playing with a picture I took the other day. I was looking at it and thinking that although it had come out under exposed, and therefore quite dark, and not captured everything I had wanted the picture to be of, it was still quite atmospheric, and I was debating with myself whether I could pass it off as artistically creative rather than consigning it to the trashcan. And then something incredible happened, an epiphany of sorts. I moved a slider in the Levels dialog of the software I was using, and suddenly, the dark areas of the photograph, the bits that I thought light had not been captured from, the areas that I thought were forever lost, suddenly came into clear view. And I don’t mean the sort of grainy night vision you get with a camera that doesn’t really have night vision. These parts of my shot had actually been captured clearly on camera.

Anyway, to anyone who knows anything about photography, this will all seem quite basic, and there’s probably a few among you shouting “noob!” right now. I mean, I’ve read that this is what’s supposed to happen, I’ve just not experienced it first hand yet. Until now. What this means for you in practical terms, dear reader, is that I’ve discovered a newfound shame for all the pictures I’ve uploaded so far, and am reluctant to show you any more until I learn how to actually process them correctly. So, I have lots of stunning pictures of the Northern Beaches that I took today on my long walk (about 3 hours or so, by the way), but I’m not gonna let you see them. At least not yet.

In other news, I still haven’t heard anything back following the job interview. I called the recruiter, but they failed to call me back as promised, and then neglected to answer the phone again, so it’s been a weekend of no news on that front. The interview did go well though, and if I don’t get the job, it will be because they want someone at more of an entry level point in their career. That’s fine, whatever floats your boat. I did however have a great day on Friday doing the office setup and some training for Shared Conversations (I’ll change that to a link when their website’s up). And today, after the walk, I had a lovely beer (or three) called Fat Yak by Matilda Bay breweries. So still working my way through the local tipple, but still some way to go.

Pictures soon to follow, hope you’ve all had a great weekend.

Matt x

Well, it’s not quite like that, but it may be soon. I’ve been a little worried that the job market might have dried up for the next couple of months, what with Christmas and New Year, and it being the middle of summer here. That said, I’ve seen a lot of positions advertised, but I’m starting to sense a real reluctance among employers to give any consideration to people on the working holiday visa. That’s understandable, if it’s for long term or permanent positions, (you’re not allowed to stay in the same job or with the same employer for more than 6 months), but there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be considered for contract positions.

Still, since I’ve been here I’ve managed to do some freelance work; a few hours for my uncle’s company, and I’m booked on Friday to do some private Mac training, but it’s not enough to keep me going indefinitely, and my savings will only go so far. But today things picked up. I got a call this morning asking me if I was interested in a service desk position. I’d be joining an existing team of 20 people, supporting over 22,000 users for a large financial organisation. It’s exactly matched to my skills and experience as well as some of the other jobs I’ve applied for, but it’s definitely a challenging and interesting position, and it will give me exposure to a broad range of technologies and systems that I’ve not come into contact with before, and I’m quite excited about it.

The call came from a recruitment consultant, and she set up a telephone interview. That went rather well, at least well enough that they’ve invited me in for a formal interview tomorrow. So, tomorrow morning I’m heading into the City to meet a friend from Stroud for breakfast (believe it or not!), and then I’m heading off to this interview for 1pm.

Wish me luck, and who knows, maybe tomorrow I’ll have some exciting news!

Matt x