Let's call today: 'Tuesday, 30 March 2010'
pirategirl 
wrote in the notebook:
i am lord of the flame!
Well, self-proclaimed after yet another triumph lighting a fireplace no one else can manage to operate.
Week three.
I am presently at The Getaway At Rosebud, in (unsurprisingly) Rosebud, Victoria.
I arrived here late sunday night from my week in Knox, and now we're sitting around waiting to hear back from our manager to find out the fate of our set.
I was sent here with another newish girl in the hope that we'd improve numbers here, but alas they've stayed low so we had the plug pulled this afternoon.
So we packed up early, had a run of bad luck (ie broke a wheel off, locked keys in the trailer, etc etc) and finally grumbled off home where we now all sit in the loungeroom dividing our collective attention betweek a girly chickflick dvd, laptops or phones, and comforted by milo and donuts and various other endorphin-releasing foodstuffs.
All proceeding as pre-planned, I'm supposed to be flying to Perth on easter sunday, and an estimated return by around the start of may. But we may be starting a roadie tomorrow to take our set into nsw, and until we get the phonecall tonight, we're a bit aimless. Hence the random unstructured blog.
My week in Knox was interesting.
If nothing else it taught me to push aside some of my arrogance and snobbery, and to not make flashsnap judgements of people.
My teammates weren't not the kind of people I would normally hang out with... Yet they accepted me without the same judgement i wielded and called me awesome... Don't worry, I was quickly aware it was my shoulder on which the chip rested... And i thus quickly fried and ate that sucker. In short, i sucked it up.
The working week itself showed just how much I need to work on my promoting skills, but also how much progress I'd made in approaching people since my first week.
This week - today - i've danced in a sandwich-board style sign for an hour handing out flyers and directing traffic, dressed as a fairy... Yes me... And practised my bubbleology and street performance skills to try and attract/entertain kids.
My numbers are still low. Too low to solidly keep my foot in the door, and I wait daily for the call saying 'Vix, lift your game or we have no other option...' but if that happens I won't be too heartbroken. I will have had a break from dealing cards, met new people and done most of it at no expense to me, so hey if i go back, then i go back.
I'll just return to hardcore saving to get back on my travel-goal.
I still have a job at home, and have wonderful friends and a loving supportive family and a beautiful girl waiting for me... Not to mention my adorable kitty whom I miss everyday.
So in short, i won't be heartbroken if things go south. At least I tried and took the chance, and was given the opportunity.
'Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.'
7:18 pm | Post A Comment... >
Let's call today: 'Sunday, 21 March 2010'
pirategirl
wrote in the notebook:
a review of (amongst other things) week one working with the new company
Location: port macquarie
Departure Day - Ok so i probably should have padded my schedule more. And going straight out of a nightshift weekend (admittedly i felt unwell and didnt attend my saturday shift, but my sleep pattern was out nonetheless).
I still had banking to do to finish off my brief employment as Area Manager for a homewares catalogue, and rushed out to do that first thing after a handful of hours' sleep.
Whilst going over the gentle grade of a pedestrian crossing, a heard a bang and did wonder what had happened, but, since nothing was jumping out at me, thought no more of it until the return drive seemed heavier and more lopsided than usual.
Somehow, i'd blown a tire.
I eased the car home the short way and reflected in a relieved flood of thoughts that thank the gods i wasn't depending too much on my car to get me out and away today. Amongst these thoughts also came 'meh i'll deal with it in 6weeks'.
These truths aside, i was now behind schedule.
I caught the next train into Adelaide and onboard calculated my arrival, travel to the airport, and departure times, and realised that if i caught the airport bus i'd never make it.
Off the train and like a flash up to the taxi rank, where i threw my bags into the backseat and hustled the driver inside telling him 'i need to get to the airport NOW!'
Caught in the morning traffic i watched my check-in deadline tick by and train in vain to find an alternative online via my phone.
When we arrived at the airport i hurried nonetheless and forced the attention of a staff member who had all the time in the world to do everything but notice the desperate bag-laden girl trying to be patient in waiting for her to finish a casual staff goss chat and fiddle with papers.
Until the second she said 'ok i JUST made it, they're boarding now' she was the most rude insipid bane of my existence inconsiderate blight of the customer service field i had ever encountered... but then somehow, i'd even dare to say 'as if by magic!', she became my ultimate hero and butterflies began to explode from her head, and rainbows spilled from her ears, and invisible birds began to sing, and the sun broke through the ceiling and shone a golden halo on her perfect angelic face....
But i noticed none of this. I took my boarding pass, asked 'ummmmm, can i have my ID back now? Yeah thanks' and ran.
The rest of that day, and indeed that week, is not nearly as interesting. Well, not in the witty narrative deserving way anyway.
Basically i made my connecting flight and arrived in Port Macquarie in time. My team picked me up and we went back to our holiday apartment (The Sandcastle, do stay there if you've a chance...and the budget! :z).
After dinner (we took turns cooking for everyone), given my sleep deprived adrenalin filled travel day, I conked out like a nanna at about 8:30pm.
Working Week - The problem with starting a new job which is so similar to an old job is that in a way you have to concentrate harder than if you were starting from scratch.
This past week my buzzphrase has been: must learn, relearn and unlearn.
Learn things I never did as a photographer before: promoting, approaching/stopping customers to try to bring them in to the set, reciting a spiel
Relearn things I've forgotten in the 3 years since being a portrait photographer: what sells, composition/posing, making kids laugh, what different kids like and are capable of at varying ages.
Unlearn all the things that I recall that are different here: terminology, methods that are either better or not as good as what i've been trained to do (it must be said that more often than not i've found it to be the former), the rigid Top Ten Rules of Composition that was drilled into me for months and months and months that are not enforced here to allow creativity, depending on props and colours to make each shot differ from the other.
And a plethora of other examples.
For most if this past week I questioned whether I had made the right choice. I wondered whether my memory had done what memories do best and only showed me the good parts of this work, and buried any bad parts for me to rediscover now.
On reflection, some of this doubt was self induced, being too impatient with myself to get everything right straight away. Also we had some quiet days where there was nothing to do but stand and try to coax customers in... And thats not much fun at all.
Saturday went alot better. We were steadily busy all day and even went over schedule to fit extra sittings in. I found myself having a more pleasant time when I didn't notice its passing, and felt better that there were good days like the ones I remember after all.
Takeoff Time - right now I'm sitting at the airport waiting for my journey to Melbourne to start.
I was informed when I was dropped off that I won't be getting a day off this week, so no doubt there will be a small delay before another update whilst I use most of my free time soothing my sore feet.
Payday on Wednesday, i think new shoes are in order.
7:54 am | Post A Comment... >
Let's call today: 'Thursday, 11 March 2010'
pirategirl
wrote in the notebook:
Does anyone else think it's odd that the pro-life political party Abort SA's electoral candidate Trevor Grace thinks that people tearing down his campaign's controversial pre-election posters shows a disregard for democracy and freedom?
He said this on the news when they covered the vandalism caught on camera and asked for his comments (Nine News 10/03/2010).
So basically... he thinks that people should have the freedom to do/say what they want or otherwise respect the opinion and actions of others... whilst trying to make it illegal for a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy, thus going against women's rights and the pro-choice 'we don't judge you' ethos...
I need an old priest and a young priest: this boy has his lines crossed.
6:17 am | Post A Comment... >
Let's call today: 'Monday, 8 March 2010'
pirategirl
wrote in the notebook:
so as if the gods heard me having a small frustrated headshake moment, i was contacted this week by a very interested manager of another mobile portrait studio company.
She seems nice and easy to discuss things with and was very interested in getting me started with them.
My previous experience with photo corp meant that i'm apparently a sought after commodity.
Well, guess it saves them training me in full.
I leave for NSW in a few days to get retrained and then thrown in the deep end for a 6 week safari.
This company has 4 people working in each team. I'll have to get used to that, having been a one person studio for so long, then in the last months having 2 of us, the most was 3. Will be an interesting change to learn/observe.
Hourly rate wise i'm taking a paycut, but will be working full time hours in a job i enjoy anyway, so will actually be earning more.
Expenses are basically the same as photo corp cept actually a little better- rather than giving me an allowance to utilise as i wish for car/travel/accomodation, they'll arrange and pay for that for me. So the organisation side of things is done also, which is good cos i fluked many a lastminute cabin or motel room.
And i don't have to rebuy a van again! I use their vehicles.
Only real downside is the short notice of this week, but all said and down tis shuffleable (no casino pun intended). Oh that and i think my uniform is a pink shirt. But hey if thats the worst of it, i'm fine with that!
No more drunk gamblers after this weekend, and on my metro weeks... Weekends free to socialise like a human again!
All going well anyways, so wish me luck, and pray all these chickens hatch so i can start counting them finally.
7:30 pm | Post A Comment... >
Let's call today: 'Thursday, 4 March 2010'
pirategirl
wrote in the notebook:
remember to sponsor me in this year's World's Greatest Shave...
The countdown has begun!
7:33 pm | Post A Comment... >
pirategirl
wrote in the notebook:
After working lastnight I have reached the conclusion that career gamblers are only such because they lack the people and technical skills to do anything else.
I've also been reminded why I don't work regular weeknights... cos of the regulars.
P.s telling me you've been playing blackjack for twenty years, when you're obviously not a millionaire, isn't going to make me regard you as a gambling mogul
7:00 pm | Post A Comment... >
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