January 2004

Week 39: Thursday 1st to Sunday 4th January

New Year in Sydney, although excellent, can be a slightly confusing affair. There are a whole host of options and it can be hard to weigh up the pros and cons as people jostle for the best views of the harbour bridge and Opera House. A lot of the area around the harbour is national park and they all have different restrictions, charges and most importantly licensing laws. One area can be free to get in, but alcohol isn’t allowed, so you spend 10 times what you would at their bar, others are BYO but have a hefty charge to get in. On top of this rumours were flying that to get to a nice spot you’d have to be there at three in the afternoon and not move. We thought by this time we’d either be bored to death staying in one place for 10 hours, or more likely drunk ourselves sober. In the end we settled on going round to Martins flat at about 9 O’Clock with a bottle of Vodka a crate of beers, before getting to the fireworks for 12. A fantastic night was topped off dancing away in the Burdekin Night Club on Oxford Street.

Thursday and Friday were spent recovering watching films and making full use of the Goldsbourgh buildings facilities as we knew Saturday would be a big night as it was Matt’s Birthday. We had a whole host of options and after much consideration we decided to start the evening down at Wentworth Park Greyhound Track. A couple of hours (and a few dollars later) we moved on to the World Bar in Kings Cross to spend all our winnings on a variety of drinks including some of the rather strange cocktails which they serve in ceramic tea pots. Okay so it’s a gimmick but we liked it, and it did seem a little odd to see four on tour, Adam, John etc in a pub drinking out of tea pots. It must have done the trick though as none of us can seem to remember anything else to write about the evening.

Sunday was another lazy day as our couple of weeks of festivities had come to and end and tomorrow was Monday and most of us were either at work or going job hunting.

As things slowed down in Sydney due to staying in one place and working etc we have done a less comprehensive journal, as a result the next 3 months are in month chunks, hope you don't find it too boring.

Week 40 to 43: Monday 5th to Saturday 31st January

The period of time between early January and mid March was an unusual time for Four on Tour, Phil was hammock testing in the beautiful South Pacific islands of Samoa and Fiji whilst the other three were working their sorry butts off in sunny Sydney.

After months of hard travelling and a hectic Christmas and New Year it was now time for us (apart from lucky Phil!) to start work and resume what most people would describe as a ‘normal life’. The need for cash was becoming more and more obvious and the city life was enveloping us - work and stability were the aim of the day, and reality was calling us. But before you start feeling too sorry for us poor souls, let us make it quite clear that walking to work through one of the most spectacularly stunning harbours in the world for a midday start, beats waking up at 6am and squashing onto to a District Line tube in the pouring rain! In fact, life was good, life was very good and although routine now dominated our lives, it was a routine that we loved and will never forget.

Travelling strengthens you, you learn to see the good in everything and everyone, you soon come to realise that there are people much worse off than yourselves and become able to enjoy things that may once have seemed mundane. So no, our jobs were never going to be the forerunner to a long and fulfilling career, and yes, we shared a flat with 5 to 8 others but we were doing it with people like us, with the same aims and many of the same experiences. We drank in bars that were cheap and danced to music that was cheesy, but in the morning we had stories to tell and laughed until it was time to start over again.

Rich and Liam both had jobs before Matt and Phil arrived in Sydney, so once the festive season was over, it was back to work as usual. Matt however was jobless and spent the first couple of weeks partly looking for work and partly seeing the sites of the city.

On Monday 5th January we said our goodbyes to Adam, Dan and Simon who were off for a 10 day trip to Melbourne and Cairns. More goodbyes were said to Phil on the following Wednesday and we had a night out at ‘Jackson’s on George’ up by the Rocks before Phil left early the next morning.

In the second week of January, while Rich was back working at Customcall and Liam was at Synergy, Matt trudged the streets suited and booted, registering at the agencies for work. Ideally he wanted to find work in the IT Industry but was willing to accept pretty much anything that was offered (within reason). An interview with one agency led to a job offer for call centre work, on a campaign for Vodafone. He accepted the position, but the start date kept being put back until he begrudgingly accepted that it wasn’t going to turn to fruition. In between looking for work Matt spent time at the Eastern Beaches and did the beautiful Bondi to Coogee walk along the coast. He also spent time looking for a new place to live, as we had been asked to leave the Goldsborough Building by the end of January.

Another interview with an agency called PKL resulted in a job offer for Matt, selling Life Insurance over the phone for a telemarketing company. As it turned out, the job was with Customcall, the same company that Rich was working for, however Matt was selling ‘Funeral Cover’, whilst Rich was on the slightly less morbid ‘Future Cover’! The client was Westpac Bank, the oldest Bank in Australia, which also goes under the name of Challenge Bank in Western Australia and The Bank of Melbourne in Victoria.

By mid-January we were starting to seriously have to think about new places to live and we had a stroke of luck when Liam bumped into an old friend from Uni named Rhian who was living in a flat also in Pyrmont and was due to move out. Rhian suggested that we call her landlady, Diane and ask if we could maybe move in. Diane is a softly spoken Chinese lady who was very approachable and made the process of signing contracts and organising our move as hassle free as possible. We had to make an executive decision on behalf of Adam and Dan, but Jon assured us they would be quite happy to go along with our plans. After a couple of meetings we signed contracts, paid our bonds and got ready to make the short move from Pyrmont Street to Bulwara Road. When Adam and Dan, returned on 15th January, full of stories from their trip, they were happy that we had organised everything in their absence.

So, on the morning of Sunday 18th January, we packed our bags and cleaned and tidied up our flat. At about 10am, a guy of around 35 with a big back-pack let himself into the flat, much to our (and his) confusion. It was quite a while before it became apparent (when Rich who had met him before pointed it out) that the guy was Gary Shaw, the landlord of the flat. He had been told by the letting agency that we had already moved out and he was returning to reclaim his flat! We happened to be right in the middle of sorting everything out and to say that the flat looked like a bomb had hit it would be a gross understatement. Luckily, he didn’t seem too perturbed and we made him a cup of tea and tidied up around him whilst he recounted his bizarre travelling tales. To be completely honest, we all found Gary a bit odd, and this opinion was emphasized by some strange tales that Jo (who lived with Martin) had to tell us about his advances towards her when she had been considering renting an apartment from him a few weeks previous. In the afternoon we made a number of journeys backwards and forwards between the two flats. As well as our rucksacks, we seemed to have obtained all sorts of additional ‘flat things’ that needed to be transferred, including bags of frozen foods that we lumped around in bin-liners. It was a sad occasion when we finally said goodbye to the Goldsborough building. We knew we would miss our stunning view of the Sydney skyline, our DVD player and modern appliances, and the fantastic pool, gym, spa and sauna facilities. In the short time that we had spent there we had had some really good times, especially over Christmas and New Year. It was a place where travellers had come together to renew friendships and share the highs and lows of starting life in the city.

So started a new chapter in Bulwara Road. Whilst not being as nice or as modern as the flat in the Goldsborough Building, our new flat still had pretty much everything we required, including access to a the same pool and gym facilities. We had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large lounge area with a divided kitchen area. The lounge furniture was not the best – a fake leather 3 piece suite but we made do. We also had a balcony that was large enough to play football on (which we did on various occasions with differing amounts of success!) and looked out onto the Fish Market and busy dual carriageway. When we moved in, it was not as clean as one would have liked so we spent an hour or so getting it spic and span and after choosing our beds, unpacking our stuff and filling the cupboards with food, the new place started to feel like home.

Matt started his job on Monday 20th January and did a couple of days of training. There were about 12 or so people who started on the same day, many of whom ended up becoming good friends with Four on Tour. Firstly there was Sam, an English born girl who lives in Scotland and is travelling with her Scottish boyfriend, Dave. There was also Chris Rogers, who was born in Tranmere but also spent most of his life in Scotland, Aberdeen to be precise. He is famous for his many trademark hand-signals and catch phrases and is travelling with his Scottish (notice a trend here?!) girlfriend named Jen. We should also not forget, Connor Douglas, affectionately known as ‘Dougie’ or ‘Ja Ja Binks’ travelling with his mate, also called Connor, who worked with Richard up on Level 10 on Future Cover. Matt also became good friends with Dawn, a dreadlocked, pierced and tattooed Canadian girl who is always a good laugh and fun to be around. Then there were the Scousers Mike and Lee, a couple of Irish girls called Aisling and Yvonne and Luan, a Geordie. There are countless other people that we met through Customcall, in fact it seems that just about every backpacker we know has worked there at one time or another. New groups of people started on pretty much a daily basis and the turnaround was really high. The week after Matt started, Mark and Adam joined, who we also become good friends with.

Working for Funeral Cover, based on Level 6 of the Macquarie Bank building in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, essentially involves calling up Westpac customers between the ages of 55 and 70 and trying to sell them an Insurance policy that will pay out a few thousand dollars when they die, the idea being that it will pay for their Funeral and other expenses. Future Cover meanwhile is a more comprehensive Life Insurance Policy that pays out a much larger amount of money when you die, but is a much more complex policy with many caveats. If someone is interested you have to ask people all sorts of medical question to see whether they qualify. A smoker with asthma is a definite no-no and if someone is too heavy, the application is rejected right there and then, which can be quite embarrassing for both the caller and the customer. For both campaigns, the process is practically the same, you are taught techniques that will help you sell, you call hundreds of people a day and you get paid a basic wage plus commission for sales. The systems that you use at Customcall are sate-of –the-art, automatic diallers, a PC running the Westpac software, and a head set for every salesperson, (or Customer Relationship Managers as you are officially described). You are put in team of 8-12 people, headed by a team-leader whose job is to motivate, train and encourage sales. During Matt’s and Rich’s time there they had a number of Team-Leaders. Notably there was Laurie, an Italian Aussie who was a great motivator with a silver-tongue but lacked certain organisational skills. He would reward his team by taking them off the phones for a walk to the Harbour where he would buy them ice-cream – slightly Primary School-ish but a nice touch nonetheless. Then there is Solei, a leggy olive-skinned ex-model who Richard found to be a real inspiration. On one particular occasion after a big night out she came to work with a cut lip. Her version of events was that she slipped in the bathroom. The real story is much more juicy, however it would be unwise of us to recount it here!

Contrary to what you might expect, the Call-Centre was not run like a sweatshop. The atmosphere is relaxed, games and chat are encouraged, you are given regular breaks, you are encouraged, not bullied, and you are rewarded for success and helped if you are struggling. During lunch and breaks you can play pool or go on the internet for free and they often run competitions and incentives. There are kitchen facilities, snack machines and a regimented German lady called Anya comes round with a trolley selling sandwiches. Anya also runs ‘breakfast club’ where you can get a free drink and toast etc. before work. In short, they do everything they can to make what essentially is a boring and repetitive job as interesting as possible. The hours for Funeral Cover are 10-6, whilst on Future Cover they are 12-8, so your hangover has even more time to recover, although Rich still managed to be late at least two or three times a week! During January, Richard took part in the Fussball (Table-Football) Competition. Richard took on a defensive role, while Una was the attacking force. It was a fiercely competed contest, but Richard and Una battled hard and won the League in tremendous fashion without losing a game. Richard insists that his performances where Matthew Upson-esque which the other three find quite baffling considering that Rich was named ‘Player of the Tournament’!

Meanwhile, Liam and Jon where working at Synergy, another Call-Centre just a couple of blocks away from Customcall. The first campaign they worked on was for ‘Heart Kids’ which was raising money for kids with heart disease and heart defects. The hours are very flexible, you have to work a total of 20 hours a week and you can work anytime between 10 in the morning and 9 at night. During the day they were calling businesses and then the general public in the evenings. Once the list of businesses had been exhausted, they just started again from the top of the list! The aim was to try and convince people to buy raffle entries. First prize was a $24000 Holden Astra or a home cinema package and second prize was a $2000 shopping spree. The target is to raise $80 per hour, only 40% of which actually goes to charity and credit card sales are by far preferred. Although they were officially supposed to work from a script, they were very much left to their own devices and could pretty much say what they liked. People developed all sorts of slightly sneaky ways of encouraging people to buy the entries, such as suggesting that they were calling directly from the Children’s Hospital rather than from a charity. The place is run by Gav, who although is only 23 is an inspirational, if slightly over-eager leader. Next down is the supervisor Gus, a sound guy who has hair like goldilocks. He’ll let you have a laugh as long as you don’t forget that there’s work to be done. Tristan is second supervisor and, third in charge and often seems stoned, not sure if he’s coming or going. He was intent on getting his driving licence but was having difficulty getting his L Plates, due to unpaid skateboarding fines! Like Customcall, we all made many friends through Synergy, such as the cheeky Scouser Anthony. There were two Rebecca’s, one from London, one from Sydney itself. Rob, an archaeologist who is doing a PHD was making extra cash at Synergy between excavations and is a keen sports fan - well into his Aussie Rules. A mention should also go to Lebanese Marwyn who’d been working at Synergy for quite sometime to help him through Uni and is always game for a laugh.

Just after New Year, Matt and Richard bought tickets for ‘The Big Day Out’, a huge music festival that tours Australia’s Capital cities each summer. With all the comings and goings in January, time flew by and before we knew it, the big day had arrived. Rich and Matt woke early on Saturday 24th, got ready and went to meet Martin and Bec, who also had tickets, at their flat on Pitt Street. When they got there, Martin and Bec were surprised to see that the boys hadn’t come prepared, as in they were devoid of alcoholic beverages, and showed off there stash they had purchased in anticipation the night before. Both Rich and Matt had assumed that you couldn’t bring your own booze to the event, but as they didn’t want to feel left out they went and purchased a bottle of Vodka and a couple of bottles of Coke. The event was taking place at the Sydney Showground, a 30 minute train journey from Central Station and the train was packed with other festival goers, all excited at what the day had to offer and enjoying the blistering Summer sun. Matt and Rich had already noticed that no-one else seemed to taking any drink with them and sure enough, when they arrived at the Showground, the signs quite clearly stated that outside alcohol was not permitted inside the event. The bouncers looked particularly menacing and thorough so smuggling the grog in didn’t appear to be a valid option so their only choices were to chuck it away or drink it before they got in. As it was only just afternoon on a very hot summers day, and they had a full 12 hours of partying ahead of them, downing a litre of Vodka and Coke each did not seem like a great idea, but who likes to see good liquor go to waste?! The four of them sat on the grass outside and steadily got through the drink before entering the event feeling slightly tipsy. First stop was a twisting, spinning fairground ride which Rich and Martin rode. Martin, who had drank a fair bit more than the others came off looking slightly worse for wear. Due to tardiness and the hour or so spent outside, they had disappointingly missed one of the main attractions – The Darkness. Martin soon perked up when he heard the sound of The Black Eyed Peas playing his signature tune – ‘Where is the Love’ and the guys rushed over to join the crowds at one of the Showground’s rounds many stadiums. Halfway through the performance Martin wandered off to get a drink and that was the last to be seen of him. Rich and Matt spent the rest of the afternoon wandering from stage to stage, seeing the likes of Jet, the White Stripes and Flaming Lips. They met many people they knew such as Kelly and Dougie and Luan from work. Late in the afternoon they went to the main stage to see the headlining act, Metallica, and while it was not exactly their cup of tea, no-one could argue that it was a sensational show. As the evening drew on the fun moved to the ‘Boiler Room’ where Basement Jaxx rocked the decks until around midnight. After getting the train back into town, the action did not stop as everyone met up for a few drinks and a dance in ‘The Cross’ at the Empire and World Bar. If you are wondering what happened to Martin then the story goes something like this; after going to the bar to get a drink, he lost his sense of direction and could not find his way back. Repeated phone-calls to Bec did not bear fruit as the noise was too loud and all Bec could here him say was that he was ‘at the bar’(there were about 20 bars dotted around the event). After falling asleep for a few hours on the grass, he woke up in a daze and headed back on the train to Sydney, apparently under the impression that he had slept all night and it was morning. He was somewhat confused as to what was going on when he noticed the vast amount of people there seemed to be in the centre of Sydney so early in the morning (it was of course a normal Saturday afternoon). He got back to the flat and fell asleep, only for one of his flatmates to wake him up a couple of hours later and ask him what on earth he was doing back. She finally convinced him that it was 6 in the afternoon, not the morning, and when the realisation hit him he decided to go straight back out and get the train back to the showgrounds. He returned just in time to hear the Jaxx play their banging set. The moral of the story is quite simple – don’t drink a litre and a half of Vodka and Coke before a ‘Big Day Out’.


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