Hostel Life

06/20/2012

Yesterday I looked for work all day and today I watched movies with Stephen. We had some doughnuts from shopping earlier and at about 2a we made steaks, eggs and bacon.

06/22/2012

From yesterday on I continued my job search and today I applied for a sleep study. Later the Balcony Bar provided snags (hot dogs) so I ate and had a couple half price drinks ($5). At one point Stephen offered me another drink for doing the dishes and, as the night went on, the Irish lads began to sing and dance. During this time Dave clarified some of the finer points of getting a labouring job. Apparently it doesn't matter what you know as much as what you say. In the right light any experience can be used to make it look like you know what you're doing - you learn everything you need to while on the job anyways. The only thing that really matters is work ethic, everything else is re-explained whether you know it already or not.

06/23/2012

Today I went to Murray Bridge with the church to do some door-knocking... I wasn't particularly thrilled to continue doing the very thing that had been crushing my soul for the last three months but at least I wouldn't be alone this time. I had hoped that my experience at least would come in handy but unfortunately my group just couldn't find anyone willing to hear us out.

Back at the hostel I began my new job as a bouncer for the bar once a week. Throughout my first night we had people trying to piss in the showers and an Irish guy who got progressively more aggressive. First he got in an argument with an odd blond guy who I later realized was secretly talking trash. Later on I found another Irish lad hunched over in the toilet and had to climb over the stall to get him out. Over time a POME bloke started to annoy me but was just "taking the piss" and getting a laugh out of hearing my yank accent. He clearly wasn't trying to cause problems but that didn't make it any less irritating. Eventually my shift came to an end and I started getting ready for bed when I heard some yelling down the hall. I rushed down to find the Irish guy standing over Dave on the floor. He had taken Dave's phone and made a call to the police. Dave got reacted and the guy slammed Dave's head on the floor yelling, "nobody threatens me."

06/25/2012

Today I discussed the sleep study with a post grad named Stas. Stas explained that I would be testing the effect of electrolytes on dehydration common with miners working in the warmer regions of Australia. Back at the hostel a crazy, self important Indian dude freaked out. Having lost his job as a mechanical engineer he wanted to work for accommodation but, upon being told that I would "teach" him what to do, he threw a fit.  The ungrateful punk insulted Brian who responded in kind only to get a "do you know who I am?"

Brian wasn't about to put up with any of this and eventually had to kick the crazed lunatic out of the hostel. It wasn't long before the creep came back and had an argument with a POME guy named Chris. Chris is a big guy and is not afraid to say what is on his mind. He quickly put the little weirdo in his place telling him he was "cooked" and stared him down until the spas finally stormed off. It would have appeared that the guy had finally given up but unfortunately this would not be the last time that he would pay us a visit.

Later on a bunch of the Irish lads and I started a movie called the Fourth Kind during which I got a call from William. William had me go up to the room so he could tell me about an Asian guy who had followed him in from the dumpster. He said that this guy proceeded to dig in our food cubbies and then went into room two - a girls dorm. I told the guys in the lounge about this and everyone became deeply concerned, the girls - a bit creep-ed out. It would seem the movie had reached a dramatic point wherein everyone found themselves wearily analyzing the situation for serious ramifications. Jessica had me check her room for her and Stephen checked the security footage to see if they had video of the guy sneaking in. After a while no evidence could be found to support William's claim and everyone just attributed the misunderstanding to the foreign youth's excessive sensitivity to his situation.

06/26/2012

Today Chris made dinner and Dave gave everyone Popsicles. During this time Amit came out with some more information on the mental state of the strange Indian dude. Apparently he came back today with $350 sunnies (sunglasses) that he had purchased earlier and, since he hadn't paid for accommodation the last couple days, Amit asked for his card. The card was declined even when Amit attempted $40... the fruit loop had spent his last $350 on sunnies. This guy walked into the office (off limits) to grab a beer and, when asked what he was doing there, just said to put it on his tab... The guy has no money but he did find a homeless shelter so Amit, out of sheer pity, offered him a ride. Amit asked Chris to come along as backup in case the nutcase went mental again.