ACT NOW...A couple of days in melbournia

I was lucky enough to be able to attend the launch of ACT NOW a project that I’ve been involved in for the past 3-4 months. Earlier this year I was accepted into the Act Now Incubator which was basically a youth advisory board and involved a trip to Sydney (scroll down to read that one).

Anyway I applied for funding from various places in the hope of being able to go to Melbourne, meet Catherine Freeman and catch up with some of ppl I met in Sydney.
I managed to score funding from my local council and also from my local MP. Which I found rather surprising although it made me feel glad that my persistence paid off.

So Melbourne. This was my third time to Melbourne and there are a couple of things that I like about the place.

Firstly, I get a kick out of the trams (that’s tr-am not tr-yam). In Perth all we have is this sad little tram that goes to tourist attractions and is more like a minibus. The bad thing about the trams is that you could quite easily get run down by a car if you don’t look before you jump off one.

Secondly, I think Melbourne people have a unique sense of fashion. Here people that are fashionable usually look the same. In Melbourne everyone wears boots (alas I left my new Sachi boots at home) with skirts or jeans and pull off haphazard combinations of clothing with ease. I’d like to think though that people would think I’m fashionable enough to be a Melbournian although that remains to be seen.

Thirdly, there’s a better variety of shops. But any city has a better variety of shops than Perth. I should say VINTAGE shops. I went into one called Retrostar which was floor to ceiling with vintage clothes. It was crazy. Kinda smelt weird too. If I was game I would’ve tried on cowboy boots for the hell of it.

What I don’t like about Melbournia is that it was however extremely cold which I’m not very used to. I wore my mum’s big white Esprit jacket for most of the time, although the double zip kept pissing me off. And also for some reason when I’m in Melbourne I feel like I’m landlocked. Of course if you’re in St Kilda or nearabouts you wouldn’t feel like that but I’m used to being in a CBD and seeing a major waterway, like the Swan or a harbour not the little Yarra.

The launch…was a lot of fun although it felt like it was over before it had begun. It involved mingling, champagne, posing for a lot of pictures and meeting lots of people. It was great explaining what Act Now is and how it works and inspiring other young people.
Another thing was that before the launch I got to partake in an intimate Q & A session with Olympian Catherine Freeman. She talked about her private inspiration like her stepfather and late sister who suffered from cerebal palsy and how she’s passionate about people. I liked that she was frank and real, she wasn’t like: I’ve-made-it-and-you-can-too motivational speaker. She talked more earnestly about how you really have to love something to be passionate enough to take action and how it’s all about your mind, body, heart and spirit. I liked how she brought up the idea of spirit perhaps without specific religious connotations as a powerful source of inspiration.
At the end I got to give her a gift on behalf of everyone and I got a kiss from her! The other thing about Catherine is that she was a WICKED sense of fashion. Her boots! Gah!

It was fun though just seeing my Act Now friends, getting lost on the tr-yams with the boys, going to Brunswick and Smith Streets, catching up with Bali, buying these gold earrings and polka dot hairclips that I am in love with and just being away from uni for awhile.

I was sick for about 3 days when I got home though and then only today did I finish my literature review which is 4000 words long.

The only bad thing is that after going interstate or going on any trip it takes me awhile to readjust mentally. Or maybe its because with Act Now stuff so much happens in a relative short period of time that for days afterwards I have all these random moments and conversations that keep reappearing in my mind. Or perhaps I'm just weird.



T

The End of Retail?

I quit my job on the weekend since the store I worked at closed down but I might actually miss it. Out of all the part-time jobs I’ve had, and yes I’ve had a lot, it’s probably been the best. I got a good discount on clothes, I became good friends with my work mates and I got to work in the city. I enjoyed working in the city, it’s more fun than at a shopping centre. There’s a lot more interesting characters around, less customers asking if they can have a discount on sale items and a lot more places to visit on a lunch break. It was actually fun to work on a Friday night, seeing people roam the malls and hanging out at the nearby pubs. Things I won’t miss? Working unpaid overtime, cleaning, doing the rack and being asked the same questions by customers twenty times a shift.

Murphy’s Law also states that if a customer wants something off a mannequin it’s highly unlikely that they’ll actually purchase it. I don’t think I’ll ever buy anything that’s been on a mannequin. Anyway this job may be the last retail job I’ll have had before getting a full-time job. Maybe. It depends on how desperate for money I get, if it takes me forever to get a full-time job and if I really want to go on that contiki tour.

But some highlights from the job:

Getting some super nice customers who genuinely thank you for helping them. I spent five minutes on the phone once with a customer who asked me to search for a matching jacket and pants suit and she actually asked my name at the end to thank me.

Sunday afternoons, double-pay and little work to be done.

The super cute boys who worked next door.

Eating the $6 salad combo that my mum would buy for me on Fridays. It’s lame I know but when will I ever get to eat those gourmet salads again?

2IC Jen playing her anti-RnB music, John Butler, Sarah Blasko and a CD called She Will Have Her Way Songs of Tim and Neil Finn, covers sung by various female artists which I am now addicted to.

Getting called O.C. girl every time my mobile went off and getting teased about my phone sock. Actually everyone teases me about my phone sock. What’s with that?

Dressing mannequins. Apparently I have a knack for it.

Getting visits by my friends at work. That always shortens the work day.

Having a random joke stuck in my head all day, sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps you going. “Oi! I think I woke my cat up…” LOL, you only wish you knew what that one meant.

Next job – editing! Ooooh.

T