Only the Pinnacle Man Will Pass

So… Employment in Australia became top priority after my initial gut check with the PADI Instructor Development Course. But how do I even go about getting a job in a foreign country, with stipulations from the type of visa I have on how long I can work, and I am completely ignorant to how any hiring process works here in Aus… Well sit down, buckle in, and hop on them internets of course! I need a job as in yesterday folks! The website Indeed.com was recommended by a few Aussies. Time to figure out the difference between casual work, part-time, and full-time employment. Short version/translation… Casual is when you work part-time with no benefits, part-time and full-time you get benefits. The difference between part and full-time are the shifts/hours given. Over the next few months I sent out over 100 resumes for any of the three options on employment. Folks, I applied to every lead I got from the Aussie family I stayed with and anyone that was kind enough to give some advice. I do mean everything… From Security/Doorman for a strip club to sorting mail at the post office to even grocery shelf stock boy extraordinaire! If I got a response back, which was not often, it was usually “Yeah we got shifts for ya mate”. OH, HAPPY DAYS! Then, a few days later I would follow up on the hiring process and told, “Yeah-nah, we don’t need ya”. My back up to a Scuba Diving job/career launch was quickly and very evidently not working. My motivation – rapidly becoming non-existent. If this didn’t work, my last resort would be to find a way to get my massage license to transfer… Something I could not figure out while back State side. Finally, I got a contacted by a group called Pinnacle People located in downtown Brisbane

. Folks, all I could think about upon reading this email were two things. One, from Indiana Jones Last Crusade’s quote from Sean Connery’s character. He kept saying, after getting shot, “Only the penitent man will pass”. I changed one word from penitent to "Pinnacle". Anywho... I scheduled my interview and for the following morning and realized I don’t have Hospo (restaurant) working clothes. Cause… “Only the Pinnacle Man will pass.” So, in the AM, I awoke, caught a train, found a seat amongst the kids off to school,

to get me close to a shopping center, and off to a Kmart (yeah folks they still exist) for clothes and non-slick shoes.


Cause… “Only the Pinnacle Man will pass.”


Sometimes I am too American. I am so used to the convenience of a 24-hour store. In Aus, little to nothing is 24-hours. I got there too early, and nothing was open. So, I had to take the train back to Enoggera station, only to wait a bit, and take a train later back to the shopping center of Arana near the Keperra Station. No worries, its only about 10am and my interview is at noon downtown Brisbane. Heaps of time.


Cause… “Only the Pinnacle Man will pass.”


Got all that I need at the Kmart, got to the train station, rode it to Enoggera station, quick change at the home I was staying in, get my romp back to Enogerra station, scan mapquest to know which station downtown Brissy I need to get to (Central),

hop off the train at Central station, brisk walk to the Pinnacle People building, sit down, and hope to god I did not sweat through my new white-collar shirt.


Cause... “Only the Pinnacle Man will pass.”


So, am I the Pinnacle Man? Did I pass? This organization doesn’t line you up with a job per se. They just “hire” you out like an Uber driver. You sign yourself up for shifts at whichever hotel, bar,

pub, restaurant, etc… that needs help using an online app (If I remember right). No on-boarding process, no training, no real boss from what I could tell, and no real set schedule which I would need because I am still trying to re-learn all my diving theory and attend student dives for my training. I guess I am not the Pinnacle Man - I didn't passed. Knowing one’s limitations before you sign up is a keen idea. I learned that from my “hiking” experience from Mt. Beerwah. In all actuality I had not worked in a restaurant since I was about 16 years old. The lady conducting the interview did give me a lead on how to get my massage license to transfer to the State of Queensland. I tried this while back in the U.S.A. and got nowhere with the New South Wales government/TAFE school. But this is Queensland! Maybe getting a job will not be such a dead-end after all. Well folks, getting a job in Aus proved much more difficult. I did not become the Pinnacle Man. But maybe I can break into the massage market out there. So, back to Enoggera to try to begin the process of getting my massage license to transfer. Maybe between getting a dive job (after I finish my training and course) and a massage job I can survive out there in Aus. And prove that I don’t need to be a Pinnacle man to pass… But as with anything in life, sometimes you really do have to take in the romp, so others don’t have to.
~~~©Dustin J. Casey 2021~~~