My First Day At Work (I)

I knew today was going to be a good day when Germany got knocked out of the World Cup. It got even better when I met Carl, my neighbour, after a couple of hours post-game kip, and he was carrying a sledgehammer. You see, today was my first day at work here in Australia. I'd agreed to meet him at 11ish and he drove us down the road to the flat he has bought, which needs gutting.

I really wish I had my camera with me as it would have made good blog material. Let's just say I could see why he wanted to rip everything out. So after a brief tour of the place (it's big and I can see why he has taken on this project) and an even briefer demonstration of a power tool that I've never used before (let alone seen so close up), he left me to it. I was to start smashing the kitchen up. Oh what fun. It really is class being left alone with a sledgehammer with clear instructions to smash everything up. I'd even bought myself some protective golves and glasses in advance. I had a ball. It was quite hard, and dirty work, but very satisfying. I even used the power tool for a bit (but I preferred the hammer).

I didn't get to use the power tool much because I managed to short-circuit the flat within the first hour or so. This happened when I sent the sledgehammer through a cupboard. The previous designers had placed at electrical socket under the cupboard, so I didn't see it (nor did I think to look there before I hit the thing). Luckily Carl didn't seem too fussed when he came back to take the rubble to the tip. On our way there I got a call from a recruitment agency advising me of a position I may be interested in. I told the guy that I was already coming in to see them tomorrow and suggested that we could discuss it then.

Anyway, back to the building work. On the way back from the tip Carl told me that he was going to pay me more than we'd originally agreed. What a winner. He clearly didn't mind me shorting the flat at all. He was also keen to go for a surf but when we stopped off at home to look at the ocean we decided not to because it was closing out so much. So I decided to go back to the flat and continue smashing the place up for a couple more hours. It was during this little session that managed to rip another electical socket clean out the wall. I also thought I'd burst a water pipe but luckily I hadn't. Some falling debris had managed to turn the tap on!

So all in all it was a good day. I'm no good at DIY (I avoid it at all costs) but I sure like smashing things up. I'm not sure how long I will do this labouring job for, especially as I am looking around for a permanent job using the experience I gained at LTSB, but it will do in the meantime.