Life update

It's been a while since I last posted, mainly because I was recovering from COVID and getting used to the new job. So slightly before getting COVID, I had been on the lookout for farm jobs here in Melbourne. The difference between Melbourne and Perth is that while both are major Australian cities, Perth is a lot smaller than Melbourne. Farms (near cities) are generally located at the outer suburbs. Since Melbourne is a lot larger than Perth, the outer suburbs of Melbourne thus tend to be more... outer, further away - which meant that travelling time from near the city centre is quite significant. So while I did eventually find a farm job that did not require me to relocate, it was near Yarra Valley which is about a 1h15min/ 50km drive away from where I am based (St Kilda).

While looking for a job, I was quite adamant that I would not want to go back to strawberry picking, unless I really did not get a farm job in a month. Strawberry picking had been brutal to my back and knees. And so with cherry season approaching, I managed to find a job at at cherry farm around Wandin (an outer suburb). The best thing about it though is that instead of picking, I am doing full-time packing and sorting of cherries - which meant indoor work. With the brutal summer months coming along, this was great. This farm however, was a lot larger and more corporate/ professional compared to the strawberry farm I was at. They had proper working contracts, SOPs and all the whatnots. And unfortunately one of the SOPs is that we weren't allowed to bring our phones/ devices/ gadgets/ watches/ jewelry into the packing/ sorting facility.

The temperature within the facility is cold. I assume that was due to preserving the freshness of the cherries. One of the more interesting aspects of this farm is that the fruits did not just come from the locality itself, it also came from all over Victoria as well as Tasmania. All the fruits would then be sent to the facility to be processed, sorted and packed into 1,2 and 5 kg boxes to be exported. The job itself wasn't difficult, the main issue for me generally was the lack of hours. I start at 8am. That means I wake up at 6am to get ready so that I can leave homoe around 6.30am - 6.40am. This gives me plenty of time to take a nice relaxing drive up the mountains of the Yarra Valley getting there by 7.50am, in time to clock in before the start time. Barring any major incident, we break for 15 min at 10.15am. And then work from 10.30am all the way till all the cherries are done. Since cherry season only start mid Nov, we are currently not getting too many fruits and thus will end by 1pm. Which I guess is good since I get to go home and enjoy the rest of my afternoon. However, due to the distance (fuel used) and the travelling time, I essentially drive 2.5 to 3h to make 4h pay (1h is deducted for fuel used - petrol is so goddamn expensive). And just as I was getting used to this lifestyle, the farm decided to take a break from Friday until next Tuesday. The rain and the floods have ensured that there were not enough fruits for us to work meaningfully. However, all is not lost. With the season picking up, more farms are going to start work soon up in the North which means that more cherries will be available to be sorted through the Xmas period.