I'm working in the Outback!

I have been waiting a very long time to finally be able to say this:  I officially have a real job!  Today I finally got a start date (Wednesday November 16) for my new job as a Field Technician.  It's been in a bit of limbo for awhile, so it's quite a relief that I actually have a start date and a plan of action.

As I think I've mentioned before, I've been trying to get this job as a fieldy for awhile but it was sort of dependant on Ryan's current job.  Ryan recently switched job sites so we were waiting for him to make a name for himself there before Euro attempted to call in a favour to get me a job as well.  Of course since Ryan is amazing they absolutely love him, so it wasn't too hard to get me signed up.  Temporarily I will be working at the Prominent Hill site for Oz Minerals (not Carrapateena where Ryan currently works) with the eventual intention of me moving over to the Carrapateena site once I have proven myself as a competent employee.  That plan is of course just a hopeful plan at the moment, so we'll see how it goes.

In the meantime, Prominent Hill is supposedly a really awesome mine site.  They have hundreds of people there at any given time so the facilities are top notch.  There is an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor cricket pitch, full gym, bar, and I get my own room with an ensuite bathroom and cable TV.  I've also been told that they're fantastic employers, so I really shouldn't have any trouble with the job or my coworkers.  It's a far better site than Ryan's at now, so I'm sure it will be fun to tease him a little when he's eating a self-cooked meal and I have a full spread to choose from!  Also I get to fly directly to the mine, where as Ryan has to fly and then drive 2 hours to his.

The job itself is apparently unskilled and quite repetitive.  I'll be sorting, bagging, measuring and cutting rock samples and documenting results from what I understand.  Luckily it will be outdoors but in the shade, so I won't be under direct sun all day.  Unfortunately I'm going up there just when the weather is getting hot, so in addition to learning how to work 12 hour shifts I'll also be learning how to deal with the Outback. 

So that's about all I know for now.  I will have cell phone reception but limited internet at the site, so hopefully I will be able to post at least once while I'm at work.  I'm very excited to finally be going to the Outback after almost 6 months of living here, so I'll definitely have some things to share.

In other news, we have officially booked our trip to New Zealand!  We're leaving Christmas Day for 2 weeks and touring only the south half of the South Island.  We will be camping and hopefully doing some hiking as well.  Also our friend Kevin is coming to visit in a few weeks, so we have lots to look forward to!  Sorry I haven't had much to post about recently, but it looks like I'll have lots to tell you in the upcoming weeks.