1st - 4th September 1997

Monday 1st September
Mrs Jeung gave me the day off today which was cool so I didn't have to get up at 8am.  I was woken at 9:30 however by some German girls in the kitchen.  I called home and then had a bath and headed to the Coffee Pod to see Claire.  Brendan turned up, he's just in town for 2 hours then he's back to Port.  We still can't work out what he's up to. His plans change daily.  Apparently he's in Port until Wednesday then here for the afternoon and back to Port. Then back here again on Friday.  Who knows?!
I finished all my coffee and granola bars and went for for and went for food, and a battery for my clock at last! I called Heather which was good for a chat although it cost me a lot.

Tuesday 2nd September
When I got to work this morning Mrs Jeung told me that she would've called last night and told me not to come in!  They only had 3 rooms to clean so I cleaned the walls of the restaurant for 3 hours.  Very boring and tedious work.  They let me finish at midday though.  Claire came home from her trip to Kennedy Lake and told me about her run in with a black bear!
We walked up to the Post Office, I got a letter from little Andy which included a magazine article about David Beckham which was really cool.
My shift at the Beer + Wine turned out OK but I was $7 under on my till which had to come out of my tips, at least it wasn't my own money though.

Wednesday 3rd September
Started work at 9:30 this morning and did my usual rooms.  After work I picked up two letters at the Post Office, one from my Mum and one from Gran.  I then went to the Coffee Pod and attempted to hitch to Aaron's to get a shower as our bath was in a right state.  Unfortunately no-one wanted to pick me up so I walked the whole way. Aaron dropped me back at work later.

Thursday 4th September
Worked again at 9am.  I'm getting used to not sleeping much.  Claire came into the Beer and Wine after she'd finished and she was promptly invited to an acoustic jam session at Chesterman Beach by Nelson.  I get to work here until 11pm, fun!  Some woman just forgot her change and effectively I got an $11 tip, not bad eh?!
The Maquinna messed up my and Claire's cheque today.  They have only paid us £7.50 instead of $8 an hour and they've given me $0 an hour for working at the beer and wine.  It should be sorted by tomorrow though, hopefully.  The woman came back for her $11. Damn!  Kelly came in at 11pm and asked if I wanted to go to the bar after work and as Claire was away I thought I'd go.  I have 3 beers and a bit of a dance, then went home to bed.

<these are extracts from my diaries written whilst travelling and working in Canada and the US in '97-'98>