Travel Diary: Delilah, Colour Run and Future

The short month of February flew by.  Our final month of working and preparations began for our road trip. Things fell apart on the work front.  My work agreed to extend my contract until the date I leave Sydney, which is an extra 3 weeks, BUT only on a part time basis working 2 days a week.  Really not what we needed right now as it is so hard to find a job in Sydney anyway, let alone for 3 weeks working 3 days a week with only a weeks' notice.  AND to add to this Shaun walked into work on the next Monday to be made redundant on the spot!  Shaun has been working flat out, getting up at 4.45am every morning, doing 10 hour days to complete work for a new factory.  Once the work was complete they didn't even give him a days' notice.  He was out the door that very day.  This is the kind of treatment people on working holiday visas get. Shaun and I both tried to find other jobs but nothing materialised.  I signed up to an agency to do on-call reception but I knew this was a long shot as the agencies are pretty terrible here and with working 2 days a week it would only give me the odd day anyway.  Shaun was offered a couple of jobs but with all the car troubles he decided not to take them. Regardless, the road trip was still going ahead!  We continued our hunt for a vehicle and in the end went back to the dealers.  We bought a Mitsubishi Delica which is basically a 4WD people carrier.  It has a high roof so should have enough space for us to sleep inside.  Shaun went all Terry Tibbs and got it for $5000 (bringing it down from $6000).  It came as standard so we needed to kit it out as a campervan.  Considering the age (it is 1994) we had some issues with it.  Shaun noticed that there was a puddle underneath the van every time we stopped.  We took it to the mechanic and he confirmed it was a diesel leak.  After a lot of negotiation with the dealer we managed to get the leak fixed and the car serviced for an extra $300.  Plus new ( well second-hand) all terrain tyres costing another $250. And kitting it out with storage, mattress and kitchen, the cost of which we are still racking up.  It has been challenging to say the least.  With Shaun out of work we have no access to any tools.  We have literally done the whole thing with a saw, mallet and a borrowed drill (thanks Nathan!) on the side of the road.  Talk about testing! Sunday 8th February marked an event I have wanted to take part in for years ... the Swisse Color Run #happiest5k. Watch a video on You Tube it's amazing!  It is basically a 5k run around the huge Sydney Olympic Park where you all throw coloured powder everywhere.  It was sooooo much fun!!  We did the course in 45 minutes running and walking and getting loaded with coloured powder!  On several spots along the course they have colour blocks where they throw a certain coloured powder at you.  By the end you are a messy rainbow.  With free public transport for participants we got the train back home and got some very strange looks from the city folk as we walked through Westfield and Pyrmont Bridge techno coloured. Work gave me some free tickets to the Pylon Lookout.  One weekend we decided to put them to use and walked to Circular Quay, up the Pylon Tower of the Harbour Bridge, across the bridge and mooched around in Milsons Point.  The view from the top of the pylon is awesome looking over the Opera House and city high rises one side and town houses the other. The next weekend we took advantage of a Groupon offer and hit the Hoyts cinema one rainy afternoon and watched 50 Shades.  What a load of rubbish.  From the first scene we knew it was going to be terrible as the acting was just abysmal, and then it was so long.  Wouldn't recommend it (especially with a room full of giggling Asian girls).  After watching the Oscars on TV we were inspired to go and watch American Sniper as it had so many awards.  This was a great film and well worth a watch. Posters and tv ads have been teasing us for months but the day finally arrived ... Future Music Festival.  In the morning we went across the road to Sam and Sammis for a few drinks and 11am beer pong.  A couple of hours later we got the bus to Randwick Racecourse where the one day event was being held.  We missed a couple acts in the morning but still managed to pack in Robin Schulz, Gorgon City, Sigma, Hilltop Hoods, Example, 2 Chainz and Knife Party.  At the end of the evening everyone split up as we couldn't agree which headliner to watch.  The last three acts were The Prodigy, Avicci and Drake.  For Shaun and I this was a no brainer.  We obviously watch the legend, the Prodigy and I am so glad I did.  The stage was set in a massive tent with an insane laser display.  When they first started playing I cried, I was so overwhelmed (and drunk).  They were so good putting on a live show.  And we even spotted a Guern. The glowing light from the sign on the top of The Star has been shining through our window for months.  We thought it was about time to hit the casino inside.  But first off we went for a drink on the Sky Terrace.  The view from up there was amazing over the dimly lit city.  As well as a few bars they also have Blackjack practice tables where they teach you how to play before you go and blow all your money in the real thing.  We won a couple of rounds and I even won myself a free drink.  The casino itself wasn't that interesting to be honest as they have lots of slot machines instead of poker tables.  I can't understand these people that waste money and time on 'pokies' (Aussie slang for slot machines).  Shaun and I headed over to the Blackjack table and exchanged $50 for chips.  We did pretty well going up to $100 but of course we lost it all again! And that wraps up February. March will be an exciting month finishing work, completing the campervan conversion and my mum and dad arriving for our road trip through Melbourne, along the Great Ocean Road to Adelaide. A la perchoine, Jodie and Shaun x

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