Having 5 Jobs

Alongside Biosolar, I still had my evening shifts as a glassie at Birdees, learning to dance while holding a tonne of glasses above my head or against my chest stacked up as high as my torso would support. I wish I had videos/photos of it. After a while working there I was offered a transfer shift at Family one night after the place got packed out and they didn’t have enough staff. It was part of the same katyrzyna company as Birdees so there was no drama adding a few extra shifts into the schedule at the weekend when Birdees was quiet. Family was huge, 3 floors of dancing and a roof terrace. I ended up helping Bunk’s resident receptionist Smiley on the top floor after finding him in trouble with glasses up there my first night. It was a gay night and he was there beaming with his top off making a killing on tips! I ended up clearing the area fast enough to help out behind the bar myself and when he went for a smoke, I followed suit ? I’m not homophobic and I like tips so it was good fun. Plus I wanted more behind the bar experience. The bar manager ended up being a bit of a bitch though! Nowhere near as cool as Melanie at Birdees. Anyways, the Family shifts added a few extra bucks..

I still had my work for accommodation gig at Base as well on the first three days of the week, before and after my Biosolar shifts. So I had a job at Birdees, Family, Biosolar and Base.. Job number 5 was still possible…

One afternoon on a shift with Biosolar around the suburbs of Brisbane, I approached a house toward the end of my day at the end of a small but beautiful little cul de sac and knocked on the door. A young woman came to answer, a little sick from a cold and holding back her dog from escape. She wasn’t interested in solar or in talking to me at first but I told her my immune system was on point and it’d only take a couple of minutes. I ran my pitch and booked her in for a lead but at the end of it she pitched me. Impressed by my approach she asked me if I was looking for extra work. I had a pretty full schedule as it was but did not refuse the offer and she explained her husband had been looking for someone to help with his real estate business in Algester. I was curious about the field and wasn’t against getting more experience in the housing industry so I agreed to give her my details. I arranged an interview and told him I could fit in a day shift on Mondays and that was perfect for his amount of workload required.

I’m really glad I accepted this position because the other guys there were great, Joel, my boss effectively let me write my own script and work the hours that I could because he knew of my other commitments. I ended up writing an online data collection tool for him to use while showing off open homes. I could be a software developer if I put my heart into it, but it wouldn't be my dream to work behind a desk all my life.

One of my colleagues there, Ryan, also hooked me up with a farm work contact out in the middle of Queensland, which was a massive help for me and secured me my time in the outback! I needed to do 3 months of regional work for my second year visa and that was how I eventually got to start my first chunk. Thanks Ryan!Read more