Finding a flat is proving to be very difficult. I called ten of the most
promising numbers in the classifieds, and there was no answer nine times. The
other was an answering machine. What's the deal?

I'd really like to find a job because my funds are depleting fast. But to
get a job I need to know what part of the city I am living in. I checked
out a house in Glebe a couple of days ago, which was very reasonably priced
and in a nice location. Free local phone calls, which would make using the
Internet a snap. When I got there, I met Greta, a very nice lady who was
renting out one of the bedrooms of her house. All seemed perfect until she
said that I'd be sharing the smallish bedroom with three other people. On the
way out the door I saw her kid, covered with mud, crawling into the
refrigerator.

My next bright idea is to contact the University of Sydney. It is summer
break for them, and they might rent out their dorms to travellers this time
of year. And being a university, they might even offer free Internet
access. If the university doesn't pan out, I don't know where to go next.
I don't think I can stay where I am much longer.

Being in Sydney alone is tough. Everyone else in the hostel seems to have
come with friends, and when I go out at night, it seems like everyone has
come in groups.

Some more Sydney oddities:

-You have to hail a bus like a cab. It doesn't just stop for you because
you're standing on the corner with a backpack. I was dumbstruck when a bus
flew by me at 60 mph yesterday afternoon.

-There doesn't seem to be any tax here. And there are no pennies. So
everything is priced to the nearest five cents. $1.75 for a plastic bowl.
$4.95 for a McChicken meal. Neato.

-Stores do not have scheduled hours. A cafe that was packed at lunchtime
yesterday was closed at 2pm this afternoon. It seems they are open whenever
they feel like it. I walked through the rain three times to the nearest
Apple Centre (on the other side of Sydney) and each time found it closed. By
the way, I called Apple about my computer problems and they said all I have
to do is take it to my nearest Apple Centre.

-Clubs and bars are open till 6am here, sometimes later, serving alcohol the
whole time.

-I can get smack for the price of a McChicken meal in King's Cross.

Tonight I am going to spoil myself and eat at Govinda's, a Thai restaurant
with a built-in movie theater here in King's Cross.

Until next time,

Jeff