Pat the Porter

I've been lazy about the blog for the last couple of weeks, but with good reason. I finally found a job! I'm officially a night porter/security guard at a motel/hostel on the Esplanade in Cairns. From 10 pm to 6 am, I sit behind the reception desk, watching the drunks roll by and making sure that only guests are allowed into the motel. It's a lot like babysitting - I just have to make sure all the backpackers behave themselves. If not, three strikes and they're back on the street. Most nights, the motel is quiet - the hardest part of the job is keeping myself busy in the long stretch from midnight to three in the morning. Once the clubs and bars close at three, the drunken backpackers that fill Cairns swarm to a nearby, 24-hour kebab shop for...breakfast? At that time of night/morning, all the interesting characters crawl out of the woodwork. Aussies seem naturally inclined to fight at the slightest sign of provocation - as a result, the crowds outside the kebab shop often get a bit rowdy, which makes for an entertaining morning.

Kebab, by the way, has always meant, as far as I know, some sort of grilled meat on a stick. In Australia, however, kebab shops sell gyros and other pita wraps - nothing on a skewer. On a fairly consistent basis, the wraps taste good but make you sick. I suppose that by one or two in the morning, the food has been sitting around at a comfortable, microbe-building temperature for the better part of 12 hours. Oh well - beggers can't be choosers at 2 am.

The pictures don't have much to do with the post because my boss might frown upon me spending my working hours taking photos. The circus below almost convinced me that I was destined to become a lion tamer - it's never too late to run away with the circus.

Cheers!


P.S. Jen is only about 15 days from completing her initial SCUBA divemaster workoff! The hours are crazy, but she's almost through the first segment! Here is a photo of some strange, snouted fish she saw last week.