Convoluted paths

This is what makes me feel senile, and, "What the hell am I doing here?!" It has been nine months. I decided to make a map of places/routes I've traveled frequently enough to not get lost without looking at the map (red lines). Part of the problem is I have done relatively little driving on my own - I've mostly been walking, bicycling, or taking the train. So I know the train lines pretty well, but otherwise, I know a fairly small area. Even Australians, even people who live in Sydney agree that Sydney roads are convoluted. If you miss a turn and try to turn around, you may end up on a street shooting off at some odd angle, and not be able to get back to where you were. Most streets are at an odd angle, and even if you think you know which direction you're going, soon enough you'll be spun around on a round-about and shoot off at some new angle. There is no "what direction am I going". The train lines are good (and fairly straight-line) - but that means you can't go from point A to point B without crossing a train line - and they have limited underpasses, overpasses - so you have to run along them or find the underpasses.

Job search basics

I'm slowly (perhaps too slowly!) learning some of the nuances of job hunting in Australia. One of the frustrations is that many smaller corporations don't have HR departments in-house. They outsource recruitment to agencies. What this means is you can't actually see the company name (agencies don't want to reveal who their clients are) - you can only see a job description. There are some companies I'd consider mopping floors for, but other companies I'd hesitate, even if it was a dream position. I guess the strategy would be to apply, then decide depending on the interview (if you're chosen).

On the plus side, I've recently discovered that for many positions, it can be quite easy to just call the hiring person. Although an HR department might be swamped with resumes, they still post the hiring manager's telephone number. This seems very odd, but I've actually been told by an HR person (who has the pile of resumes) that it's perfectly ok to call the hiring manager and have them watch for my resume.

Daggy

I've gone from San Francisco,  which has pockets of fashion consciousness,  but overall is anything goes;  to Sydney,  which is much more traditionalist and trend-conscious (in San Francisco,  there can be trends for a day). So I'm considered a bit of a dag.  Which apparently is a term used affectionately,  though the original meaning is unknown to most Australians (and Kiwis)  "The literal meaning is a dung-caked lock of wool around the hindquarters of a sheep - an abbreviation of 'daglock'".
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dag_(subculture)