Job search

In the week after dropping off Robin at the airport, I looked for jobs, but without success. On Sunday morning, there was a car meeting just outside of Christchurch that I checked out. There were some interesting sports cars to see, but my highlights were the Porsche GT3s and the 1972 Porsche 911. There were around 40 cars, all sports cars. However, after looking at all the cars three times, it became boring because the cars were just standing still and there weren't even any sound comparisons. So I drove back to the library where I followed the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there in person, but the live stream is a good way to still follow the race.

On Monday, one week had passed since Robin left the country and I still didn't have a job. I remembered a message that a friend had sent me saying that there should be more job opportunities in Blenheim. After a short research, I spontaneously made my way there.

From Tuesday to Wednesday, I was at a campground that helps you find work. I gave them my number and waited. The next day, I received a call asking if I wanted to work on Friday. Of course, I accepted. I didn't know exactly what I would be doing, but my main goal was to have a job. On Friday, it turned out that the job was only for one day. It involved removing labels from wine bottles because they were getting new ones. After talking to the woman who gave me the job about my plans, she offered to help me with the job search. After we finished our work on Monday (we didn't quite finish on Friday), we went to a job placement agency where she recommended me. I signed up there, provided all the necessary information, and went back to the library, my main place to be when I didn't have anything better to do.

The next day, I received a call, but from a different agency (AWF) where I had registered a few days earlier. They were able to offer me a job right away. So I provided all my information again at AWF. I had to provide much more information there and also take a drug test, which was negative, of course. My work was scheduled to start a week later, on the next Monday, May 28th. I was equipped with a whole set of work clothes, steel-toed boots, a high-visibility vest, gloves, and rain gear. Over the next two days, I had to come by again to provide further information and get more details.

On Friday, I received another call asking if I would be interested in helping out at a sawmill. I gladly accepted the offer. So I went to the office in my work clothes, where I received further information about the job and was taken directly to the job. The job consisted of simply shoveling sawdust into a pile. It was an easy, not very strenuous job, although I could feel that I hadn't done much exercise in the past 5 months except for a few runs. After the job, I returned to the office to get the remaining information for my actual job.

So starting on Monday, I will start work at 7:30 a.m. every day on a vineyard in order to prepare the plants for the next season. This includes pruning, digging up, replanting, and transporting. However, I will receive a detailed introduction on Monday.

I'm curious about the work, especially considering the temperatures. I woke up this morning at -2 degrees Celsius with a frozen windshield. Whereas in January, I had nice warm weather while everyone at home was freezing, the tables have turned now.