Hey, peoples, Australia is calling ....

[Mary6906]

News Item: Australia offers "best job in the world"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090113/od_afp/lifestyleaustraliatourismoffbeat_20090113032028

[Sara]

Mary, I just sent your link to my sister who loves scuba diving and also fits the other qualifications. Wouldn't it be a hoot (although a total long shot) if she actually got this job! And we'd owe it all to you. ;)

[Mary6906]

I like your new avatar, Sara, it looks like your JIMBie award is floating in a sea of blue.

[Sara]

Thanks, Mary. I consider that high praise coming from our graphics master. If you want to know, it's not exactly a sea of blue but more like a stylized sea of Janis hair that I "blue-ified" and textured from one of her photos. (Playing with graphics is becoming more and more of a hobby of mine. I'm learning by littles, a bit at a time.)

So Janis is very subtly lurking in the background of my avatar. I like that. ;)

[DaveM]

I'm applying for this--it looks like a perfect site for Rudieland, and 9000+ miles would be a plenty safe distance from ex-girlfriends and housemate.

The only problem is....what do you do when they want you to go home? It looks as if there's enough jungle that one might have an even chance of hiding out.

[DaveM]

Lucille, would you be willing to act as a character reference? Never mind that we've never met--anyone who can set a hotel on fire is someone I want on my team!

[lucille]

Lucille, would you be willing to act as a character reference? Never mind that we've never met--anyone who can set a hotel on fire is someone I want on my team!

Absof**ckinlutely Dave. Anyone who pulls Kaths tail is okay with me. Also, when your time is up, I'll come up and help you escape to Geelong. Believe me, no-one will look for you in Geelong, not even ex-girlfriends or house-mates.

[hoops]

best of luck Dave and Wendy. i'd take the ejob, but i'm pretty sure they don't pay for psychiatrist visits, surgeons visits, meds and goodness knows all that goes with this body :)
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

Believe it or not, I once came within a hair's breadth of getting a job more or less like this--it involved tending a lighthouse on a Lake Superior Island for five months. I had the position sewed up until the Park Service Director's daughter applied....I wonder if either of them would give me a reference?

I strongly suspect that they will want someone with far more Southern Hemisphere knowledge than I will ever have--I don't believe I could find the Southern Cross with a chart! But I'd like to give this a shot, and if I can manage something in the expatriate department after....so much the better.

I've got plenty of meds and nature is a far better psychiatrist than any I have ever encountered in an office.

Do your islands have icky things, by any chance? Parasites, venomous creatures, and crawling slimy things? Any of those things that creep into bodily orifices and stay there? If so, I may reconsider.

Cap'n can I have a few barbecue recipes if I get the job? Will be sure to provide a fine warm port in exchange (and not the jug stuff from Gallo).

[hoops]

davem, which six months were you supposed to work lake superior...i hope it was summer cause winter, as i'm sure you know, sucks.
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

It was May to October. I would have loved to experience riding out a Lake Superior thunderstorm out there. And surely a 100 year old lighthouse must have a ghost.

Alas, the people in Australia want someone with knowledge of the Great Barrier Reed, strong swimming and diving prowess, and a good media presence since the stunt will involve appearing on television. In other words, they want a twentysomething blonde beach bum with a good tan and a workout body. The "competition" is going to end up as a beauty contest, so I am leaving it to others.

It's a pity, really, because the people with the most knowledge, the most ability, and the best writing and communications skills almost certainly won't be what they seem to truly want: someone who will look good on TV.

[hoops]

so color your hair and get a tan...you can always wear a nice shorts and short combo with the right sandals and get away with. any good tour company wants the class of someone who can tell a good story and look good in clothes. they used to give travel agents all kinds of fantastic deals to do similar things. my mom was a travel agent, she took my dad on a 23 day cruise on a scooner for less than $500.00 and it was a fancy schmancy scooner with all the extras. they also went all over the world for very little so mom could come back and tell her clients how great these spots were. maybe you need to find yourself a nice travel agent girlfriend
peace
hoops

[DaveM]

Perhaps I could tell them I'd be spending the six months making a movie with Werner Herzog. Of course, first, I'd have to ask Werner.