The Unnecessary Song.....

I have a confession to make......
To those of you who know me well this will come as no surprise but I LOVE Musicals. I love everything about them, the start when "they" (the beautiful people) set the scene in a tornado of music and lighting. I love the buzz of excitement during the interval, the big finish and the bow from the cast as they soak up the appreciation from the audience (while I cry).

My friends find it highly amusing that I cry at musical theatre, but I get so swept away with it all and if truth be told I wish it was me up there....

Recently I went to visit a friend in London who shares my love of (as another friend puts it) "The unnecessary song". I stayed in London for a few days and before I knew it we commenced a musical marathon...

First came "Wicked" The untold story of the Witches of Oz" A must see for all the family. An amazing cast who are both funny and talented, a story of true friendship...Well worth the £22 for a West End ticket!

Next came Les Miserables....A true Andrew Lloyd Webber classic.

A spontaneous choice as we were supposed to get facials that day but instead ended up in Leicester Square ticket booth flirting with the poor guy sat behind the counter. I have to tell you if you are planning a trip to the West End..shop around, we got tickets for £22 when our first price was £70 and our seats were great! When I say Les Mis is a classic. I do not lie! With its fantastic arrangement and its legendary songs like "I dreamed a dream" made famous by Susan Boyle. I was in musical haven. It is the tail of a man trying to keep a promise to a dying lady in the back drop of the French Revolution. A musical masterpiece!

Finally came "Love Never Dies" the latest offering from the Great Lloyd Webber. The sequel to the great "Phantom of the Opera" set 10 years on from the original in New York and if a dare to be controversial..a somewhat poor relation to the first. Despite the two title songs and the great voices of the cast. The story for me, doesn't hold much credence.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/mar/10/love-never-dies-reviews-reviewed

To be fair I'm pretty hard to please as Phantom holds a very special place in my heart being the first musical I ever watched. So when I try to write objectively about Love Never Dies, I fail miserably and here is why....

When I watched "The Phantom of the Opera" I was 10 years old. It was at the Manchester Opera House, my Mum and Nana had decided to take my older sister and I as a treat. I remember vividly being to small to see the stage and sitting on a booster seat. As the lights went down and the music boomed around the theatre, I was mesmerised and hooked for life!

Then came the final scene. I tried so hard not to cry, I felt the burn as the lump in my throat tried to flight its way out. Then suddenly I wailed like the child I was....The whole theatre seemed to turn to stare at me. I was so embarrassed and hid my red face on my mum's lap, but the women just smiled at me with understanding.....I was allowed to cry they were not. From that day on a became a "Musical Junkie" and yes I can still sing you all the words!.......

New Beginnings...

So I have been back home for three weeks now and today decided it is probably time I update my blog.....I have been very slack lately because a) I have been crazy busy travelling b) When I got home I was crazy busy catching up with friends and finding a job.

Well to update you (whoever you are) After two months in Africa, I went to Asia. I loved Vietnam the people there were unbelievable and our boat trip around Halong Bay was amazing. It was so atmospheric the way the mist hugged the rocks, but when it cleared the water was turquoise blue.

Even though we had a month in Asia I still want to go back, there is just so much I didn't see and now I really want to teach English somewhere so I can actually be useful instead of some stupid tourist!



After Asia, I took the world's biggest plane to Oz....I met a friend there and stayed in her sister's flat overlooking Manley Beach in Sydney. Its just a different life there....all the outdoorsy activities seemed so alien to me being a girl from Manchester who spent 98% of the year being rained on! It was amazing to see that in Oz people get there sail boats out at the weekend and sail around the bay or picnic on the beach!

After Sydney (after failing to find a job and getting very stressed about it) I went to Melbourne where I spent a week riding the trams to various places until I decided to give up in the job hunting and spend the last few weeks and last bit of money enjoying myself but come home earlier than I planned....

So I flew to New Zealand (The best decision I made throughout the whole trip!) I loved it! I joined the Flying Kiwi tour bus and made some amazing friends while enjoying the amazing picture postcard scenery.

I was so proud of myself when I completed my first 20k hike.....Me, being a self confessed creature comforts type and surprisingly unfit! We swam with Dolphin's, went Whitewater Rafting, sang Bohemian Rhapsody badly, lived in tents (again) after I had already lived in a tent in Africa for 2 months! (Did I mention I'm not usually the outdoorsy type?!) and watched the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen......


What have I learnt during my travels?....That the world is an amazing place! That I have to make the most of my time while I'm here and that my passport should always be full of stamps from amazing places. That African people are ingenious and resourceful, that they want to provide for their families through hard work..not hand outs. That nature is marvelous and I should make more effort to see it and appreciate it.

That the people of Asia are some of the kindness people in the world and take great pleasure in making others happy. That I am far to hard on myself and care to much about what people think of me, that I spend far to much of my time doing things for others when they don't do things for me. That my family are the most amazing people in the world. That I should make positive changes to my life and that I should do what I love...I should sing more, learn a language, dance, be creative, be independent and be proactive. That I should take every opportunity that is available to me and that you make your own destiny.......

When I was in Auckland Airport on my last day I wondered around the shops trying to spend my last New Zealand dollars....I found a card that said "He who knows his destination and heads directly to it will get there quickly. He who knows his destination but takes the odd wrong turn along the way will still get there, but be wiser for the experience" So I spent my last dollars on that card. A New Beginning.

The Butterfly Meadow

Africa 2010 858, originally uploaded by Noonie28.

One day I will get married here....

Africa 2010 859, originally uploaded by Noonie28.

The White Masai

So in an attempt to be lazy and not actually read the book....the other day I watched "The White Masai".....Hmm, maybe it was a mistake as a friend recommended the book and now I feel like I have cheated and should still read the book...

The thing is I'm not sure its worth it now, I know what happens at the end....I bet I would have loved the read though....

Do I stay or do I go??

As nice as it has been staying in my friend's flat, today I am moving into a hostel on Pitt St..... Even though this will cost me money I don't have (I am actually on Zero now) This is for two reasons really 1) to meet more travellers and 2) to get some advice on the job situation....

I wondered up to George St the other day and found this Traveller advice place...It would have been useful if you didn't have to pay for the privilege of applying for the jobs they advise on there website...I think I may do it though....the jobs seem very short term.....perfect if I want to see the rest of Oz...

I was thinking of doing this RSA course...the one about being responsible when serving alcohol...it costs money though...but what is it that say "You have to spend money to make money!" There is one for gambling too and a "pub skills" course which would be perfect as I have never worked in a bar before.... All the courses come to about 170 pounds though but most of the employers expect it. The thing is you have to repeat it if you move out of state....so do I do it in a bigger state like Queensland????

There are lots of au pair jobs in Sydney but they expect you to stay for at least 6 months.....so no travelling and no social circle......It could get very lonely....

Call centres were the next option....I think that is exactly what it says on the tin....and still a possibly.....

I have seen some "retail" jobs some full time, some part time......I am going to apply but would you employ a traveller???

I have been thinking about leaving Sydney all together and going to Melbourne or Brisbane.......Melbourne was highly recommenced by a friend and Brisbane seems to have a lot of jobs...according to that website anyway....

I don't want to go home yet, I feel like I have only left home last week and I really want to do all though silly travellers jobs...I think it makes a person more interesting and I'm sick of being boring... Hmm....I could always do the naked cleaners job that was advertised on the website! hehe!.....They may get more than they bargained for.. but its a story to tell!!

Oh and another option was to leave Aus all together and teach English somewhere crazy.....I saw an advert for someone to teach Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka the other day......That could have been amazing and I got all excited about it!!.....Not felt like that for a while!

Well I have lots to think about....will see what the hostel people say later......

Better get packing my backpack...

Oh, oh....On the plus side I have ticked most things off my "To do list" so thats good! hehe!

See ya x

Day one of job hunt = FAIL

So in an attempt to be proactive I decided to catch the bus from Ryde into the City and try and check some things off my "To Do" list....

When I arrived in the city I decided to make my way to Lee St to the Immigration Department to check if my visa is ok to work as a carer instead of a nurse (because you need a million other expensive things to work as a nurse here!)

The guy behind the counter wasn't all that helpful, I think he wasn't really sure of the answer to my question....so he just said "As long as you don't work in a Hospital" and "Just ask your employer" Hmm.......not so sure......

So after that I made my way to Pitt St in an attempt to find 477 Pitt St......easy you would think.....expect it isn't actually on Pitt St and left me looking all tourist like and scratching my head in the middle of the street until I eventually found it..

After putting on the pretense of confidence by brushing my hair down with my hands and quickly sniffing my sweaty armpits....and deciding they weren't to bad...... I eventually found the nursing agency I was after.....Only to find out that they weren't recruiting health care assistants due to a "lack of work"

Job Hunt + Sweaty Traveller = FAIL

Disappointed, but still trying to be positive I decided to make my way to the bank to try and open a bank account instead....Only to find that they close a 4pm here!....Another fail! :-(

Oh well there is always tomorrow.......