More Moreton Island Fun!

As I write, the rain outside is deafening. I can hear the water gushing down the street of our hill. A cyclone is coming our way. While the Gold Coast has been prepping sandbags, closing beaches and emptying supermarkets, we’ve just been getting wet. No gusty winds yet, no wild waves. Just lots and lots of rain. Since yesterday morning, it has varied between light and constant and heavy and constant. In the short breaks between one rain cloud and the next, people rush to and from work or wherever else they need/want to be.

This morning I put my new rain jacket to the test, walking down our waterfall to the staff room. My upper half stayed toasty dry, while my lower half was completely drenched. The streets have turned into rivers, the hills into cascades of water and some areas into lakes.

But right now, I am dry and comfy, sitting in my bed, doing what rainy days were made for – getting cozy and writing.

Wet. But still beautiful. 

Stating the obvious. Especially after your feet are submerged up to our ankles. 

Another week or two have passed and we have grown even more accustomed to our island habitat.

Work has become more diverse and we are now put to use in functions and events as well as our F&B areas of choice.

I’ve accompanied the meals of groups from a high school in Japan, for example, and have grown to appreciate their incredible politeness and tidiness. I also witnessed a phenomenon I’ve only read about – young girls that had their eyelids done to make their eyes look more round. Also, just the other day, I’ve begun to train in handling events and my first one is an ongoing conference of the Livestock and Rural Transportation Association Queensland. Lunches, afternoon tea, dinner galas and cocktail parties for up to 110 people!

Mo has - and how else would it be - turned into a favorite of one of our managers - she lovingly calls him “Machine” - and has been put to work in setting up for various events, as well as working them. He’s also finally had his wish fulfilled and was granted a spot on the roster for the main bar. Ever since he’s arrived, everyone who learns his name says: “Mo? Mo has to work at the bar!” (a reference to The Simpsons, duh!). After his first shift, he had mixed feelings about it though. On one hand, being behind a bar and mixing drinks is fun. On the other hand, some of the customers turned out to be downright rude and slowly but surely the complete lack of a “Trinkkultur” (guessing you can imagine what that is in English) started showing. To make use of a well known cliché – Aussies like to drink. To make an observation – When Aussies drink, that is the main purpose or activity of the evening. To express a personal opinion - Aussies lack class in drinking and just don’t know what is “good”. I was once asked if the sparkling wine we were serving during a dolphin presentation was dry or sweet. Having no clue and no one around to ask, I just said “dry”, because that’s what I thought most wine drinkers would like to hear. She wrinkled her nose and asked if we might not have something sweet around. Ick. Last night, Mo pulled a perfect draft beer with just the right amount of foam – a beauty. And when proudly setting it down in front of the guest he got:” What’s this pussy beer? Way too much foam. Shouldn’t have to pay for that shit.” Because here, the glass has to be full to the brim with beer and only a slight film of foam on top – the more the better, I guess. Also, premixed long drinks in cans seem to be quite popular – Jack or Jim and Coke, even gin tonics or those deadly sweet vodka cruiser mixes. Ick.

On a funnier note, Mo has also caught the eye of many an Asian family and has already twice had to pose in photos with their children, because he’s just “sooo handsome”;)

And lady luck has also been kind to me, as I was finally trained to join the Coffee Shop team. Who knew that making a good cappuccino is like riding a bike – it just comes back naturally.

The more we work, the better we get to know our colleagues and fellow island dwellers. Most spend their time off lying under the white shade-giving marquee in front of the big white tent in which we hold functions and larger buffets (aka The Marquee). Bottles of wine are emptied, tans are maintained and conversation made. Since I’m not much of a daytime (or anytime) drinker, we sometimes chose to wander off into the direction of the wrecks, to find a spot away from the guests, quads and Segway tours. The water here is perfect for swimming and lying around in ( - imagine large marine creatures beached, rolling to and fro in the gentle waves– that’s us). The sand is soft and, on windy days (pretty much anytime we’ve been to the beach), you get sand-blasted from one side. At some point you develop a protective instinct of covering the ear on the windy side at just the right moments.

And here a few random stories…

Ironing Irony – never in my life have I had to iron anything. Because, why would I? I haven’t had the pleasure of having a job for which I have to wear business shirts and get all proper for. I’ve worked in offices and cafes, but now that I am cleaning tables and taking care of dirty dishes… Now I have to iron everyday? Isn’t it ironic…, don’t ya think?

Of the two shirts that I bought at Kmart, none is completely white anymore. Both have been subjected to many a sauce, soup and condiment stain and some have come to stay. There’s the one with a barely visible hint of chocolate smack in the middle of my cleavage – leaning in to replace chocolate cake in a messy buffet. And the one with pale yellow curry-remnants on my shoulder – how that happened, I don’t know. I guess it’s time to pay another visit to Kmart!

Monty the Python – One night, Mo was out working and I was lying around in our room, I hear this commotion from outside, right below our balcony. “Snake, snake! There’s a huge python!”. I saw it from my balcony, but headed downstairs in my pajamas to take a closer look. What a beauty! At least as long as I am tall, though I would reckon more like Mo’s height and quite active. Then again, I would be too if there were over 10 giants surrounding me squeaking and gawking and taking pictures. She was slithering around in a patch of green right in front of the rooms facing our building. Coiling up trees and trying to find a way out of the crowd. After a while, one of the two men who take care of such snakey business came along and after a short battle, had her crawling into his snake-catching device on her own. Highlight of the evening for many here – island entertainment at it’s best! PS: No worries, she was brought somewhere on the island where snakes are allowed to run free. Thank god this is a national park and no wildlife is to be harmed.

More fun moments…

Getting caught in the rain on the way back from dinner/the beach or having just left the house to go down to the beach. A mix between warm tropical showers and autumn rain, that’s just that tiny bit too cold to be comfy. The temperature drops a few degrees and everything is clean and fresh.

Winning a free Magnum! Eating a Magnum was already quite the highlight of that day. Have you ever tried Ego Caramel? If not, you better. It’s got dark chocolate, then a layer of liquid-ish caramel and a layer of milk chocolate on the outside (and vanilla ice cream)! Then realizing I had a winning stick – jackpot! Then finding out the convenience store actually honors the promo – bingo! That stick is now worth it’s weight in gold to me…also because that’s probably the equivalent of how much a Magnum costs here on the island ;)

Random, but isn't this the coolest ambulance ever?

Soon to come… Sunday Monday funday days off! We shall finally make our way to the mainland for a sanity check and shopping spree :)