The Job Hunt

January 18, 2010

Well the job hunt has not been going very well. I had responded to around fifteen online job listings but only heard back from one. The ad said modeling and that woman and couple models were needed. I’ve always wanted to try modeling so I requested more information. I got a response the next day saying that it was nude modeling and that if I was still interested I should email back for details.

I had also applied for a job with Greenpeace that sounded promising. It was to raise awareness about Greenpeace and their projects throughout New Zealand. The training was done in Christchurch, which is only 50 km away, and I would then get to travel. They wanted a minimum commitment of three months, which meant I would have had to extend my trip by a few weeks but the pay was quite good. They were supposed to get back to me within 48 hours but I haven’t heard anything yet.

John has been calling around to the local businesses for me to see if anyone had any work. No luck there either. Usually there is a lot of work in the vineyards but the grapes are not ready to be picked and no one is hiring. I guess they are having financial troubles. John did find Stuart (John’s son) and I a day job cleaning out a shed for a local woman. She said that we were hard workers and that she had more work for us to do. We gave her our numbers but haven’t heard back from her.

On Friday I went around town and inquired about any employment opportunities. The local grocery store and the restaurant across the street gave me applications to fill out but it didn’t sound like they needed me anytime soon. I can still try the local preschools and there is one other vineyard employer but it just seems like no one is hiring around here.

This morning I went on the internet to check for jobs in Queenstown. I didn’t find much there but I went onto picknz to look for fruit picking jobs. When I went on the website earlier this week it said that no one was hiring in any of the fruit picking districts. I had also sent an email to one of them and was informed that they had enough workers at the moment. Today, however, the website said that there were jobs available in all of the districts. I sent emails to the south island districts asking about job availability and accommodation. Hopefully I will hear back from them tomorrow.

Besides the job search I have spent some time at the library since they have free wireless internet. John and Stuart have taken me into Christchurch a few times and I have an opportunity to get to know some of John’s family. On Saturday night I went to a BBQ hosted at his sister’s place where I met at least 15 of his family members. I ended up exploring the yard with John’s nieces and playing Life and darts with them. They had lots of animals including a dog, a cat, chickens and a peacock.

One of his nieces, Tiddles, has cancer in her knee. She was between chemo sessions when I met her and had a decorative green and red cast on her leg. She recently lost her hair, which prompted John to shave his off as well. She is generally a happy girl and gets around well on her crutches. I am supposed to have pizza with her at some point before I leave although she's not supposed to have take-out due to the higher chance of food poisoning.

On Sunday the family invited me to go on a train ride with them. It wasn’t the nicest day but it was cool to see the countryside. That night Tiddles went back to the hospital. She starts another round of chemo today.

Well the job hunt will continue and hopefully I will have news of my great new job soon. Miss you all!