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My Ride to Melbourne
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So there I was…..dignity gone, morale ebbing, an arm aching from thrusting my grossly inadequate sign in front of the fast moving traffic, earnestly hoping that some kind soul will take pity upon me and pick me up. After numerous toots of horn and even more bewildered looks, someone stops…..
My first lift is a truck. Quickly I learn that my driver, Matt, is going all the way to Melbourne, via Canberra, on a one off removals job which has already taken him to Brisbane and other stops along the Gold Coast. I’m in luck!
Matt’s previous “off-sider” was informed his services were no longer required after an argument just the previous day. It appears I have been recruited to help load and unload the truck at various stops as we trundle toward Canberra then Melbourne. Our first stop is in the outer suburbs of Sydney, where we load all the furniture from a house into the half-full truck. After a small unload in Canberra, a brief repair stop and a break at around midnight, we headed for Melbourne, hoping to arrive in the small hours. During our lengthy conversations Matt offered me 100 dollars if I helped him on a couple of unloading jobs the following day. I eagerly agreed, knowing I had to earn money whilst in Australia in order to support my stay. We decided that upon our arrival at his house in the Melbourne suburbs, he would head inside in order to sleep, while I rested in the cab. We arrived at around 0430hrs.
I slept surprisingly well, being woken by Matt at 0900hrs, ready for the day’s work ahead. Our first stop was in northern Melbourne. It was only as we started this, our first large unload, that I realised how little experience Matt had in the removals business. As we extracted the contents of the truck, piece by piece, it was immediately apparent that a considerable (and ever increasing) number of items was damaged, some beyond repair. Trying to keep a straight face as my colleague drops a DVD player, VCR and numerous garden ornaments in front of the despairing faces of their owners was hard at first, but as the day progressed I became remarkably adept.
Matt and I clattered, smashed and dropped our way through the two final deliveries, finishing at around 1600hrs, at which point we went to the removal company’s office in order to return the truck. Following several less-than-subtle hints I bought Matt a 6 pack of VB (Victoria Bitter), which he consumed with surprising rapidity as he drove me, now in his car (an ageing Toyota), to Ben’s house. On the way Matt explains to me how his driving skills improved with alcohol and how the Toyota in which I sit is better than any new car currently available. Matt dropped me just a 10 minute walk from my intended residence, and paid me for my work.
As I pushed the doorbell at Ben’s house I pondered whether, having neither showered nor removed myself from my attire for around 50 hours I was in a suitable condition to meet my host’s family…..
