My Giant Man Hands are scarred for life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Okay maybe not for life but just for now. This cooking business takes it’s toll on them. Sliced my thumb goodo and then burnt it along with all my fingers on a tray that someone said was cold (can’t trust anyone can you??) Also got some really horribly disgusting burns from the deep fat fryer – always hated those bloody things!! I think my hands will never be the same again after this cooking lark!!

Anyway I am now relieved of full time cooking obligations as the promised chef has finally arrived, which means I now get to do cleaner work at the front of the restaurant. Not really sure which is better really, I do love the buzz of cooking and the time flies by – probably because I’m enjoying it I guess. I won’t miss the coating of grease I have to scrub off myself every day after doing the fry-up in the mornings. Gross……… Still though I’ll get to cook a few days a week with the new chef from the Philippines and he seems nice and chillaxed. Last week, we also said farewell to our restaurant manager, Heath, who was good fun and dramatic and he joined us on a couple of nights out which will be remembered for a while.

All is going well really, just about coping with getting up at 4.30 in the morning – it’s a bit depressing though because there are still people going home from clubs at that stage. Not getting a whole lot of sleep as I just can’t bring myself to go to bed at 9 or 10 in the evening. The first week I averaged about 3 hours sleep a night but I’m getting more used to it now and I’m really determined to get more sleep now.

Myself and Kate also both have night jobs and we rarely get an evening off together so when we get our chance, we usually head out with Alex and Shane from our apartment…..

…………and boy, on this night, were we rotten!! I picked this photo because we look the least tired and soberish(!) in it

 

We had a great night though, myself and Kate were hyper and full of energy which was amazing after all the hours we’ve been doing. Anyhoo all was good but there was a load of water on the floor so it was really slidey (difficult when there is water on the floor and in your flip flops) and I turned around mid-boogie and Kate had slipped, hit her ribs on a counter and then hit the floor ending up completely winded. I was dreading that she had broken a couple but it transpired that they were badly bruised. It’s taken a bit out of her though but she’s on the mend and despite my protests went back to work the following week. Still though she was climbing the walls staying at home so maybe her mental health needs to take priority 🙂

I got a job at night in an Italian restaurant called Chiantis, it’s all good. Tends to be very quiet or really busy. The owner is a guy called Tony (naturally even though he is Portuguese) and we get on pretty well. I probably don’t go in there with boundless energy after working 8 hours in the morning but he seems to be happy with me so we’ll see how it goes. He’s also keen for me to cook so that could be good too. The staff are quite fiery there though and have this kinda complicated shorthand system for ordering which my brain just won’t take in. Haven’t made mistakes yet but I’ve been told there’ll be hell to pay when it happens…… They are also pretty fussy about coffee as a lot of people tend to go there for coffee and cake. Boy if you don’t brew that espresso properly, it’s like you’ve murdered a family member 🙂

Anyway that’s basically the scoop. Working a lot of hours, aiming for 60 a week and the legs and feet really feel it. It will all be worth it when we pack our bags in November and head on the trail again. I promise there will be a more interesting blog next week.

More photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindybear/sets/72157607054232357/

 

 

 

 

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