Channel 1: LIVE! from the Gabba

DONE!! And alive! Enjoying my day off after the 5-day roster at the Gabba. Knackered but feeling good, a long sleep and a swim in the pool come in handy. Great days, heaps of fun, new mates, more than ten extra pineapples (read: A$50 notes) on my bank account. And Aussies beated Pommies (the English)! Hooray! ;)

But let's start from the beginning..

Day 1 started early. We got up at 10 past 3 in the morning (or should I say night) when my cruel alarm clock reminded me of the yellow cab we had ordered the night before to pick us up at 4. My shift didn't start before 7 am but Ann's was due to 5:30 (with a 4:30 check-in), so we decided to make the effort together on this very first working day at the Gabba. We had different shifts and different work.. hard times, our first 'break-up' in the past 3 weeks. 'Ännn, bii breiv, ju'll meik it gööl!!' :) When she left, I felt lost. Don't laugh, I'm serious. I had arrived 2 hours too early, there was nobody from my shift, it was still dark outside, and the Gabba looked like a huge strange monster to me. I guess my fears were written on my face, 'cause at a certain point I heard somebody saying 'You'll be alright, girl!'. It was one of the Pinnacle staff trying to encourage their empoyees about to jump into the unknown, 'cause that was exactly what I felt I was doing. I was supposed to be at a public retail bar the first day and work in the corporate area the next 4 days, but somebody had chucked a sickie and they asked me to replace her in the Eastern Suites. See, that was faith, being in the right place at the right time. 'Yey, no drunken cricket hooligans, let's hope the suites are better!'

Bow tie on, red vest on, name badge on, ready to go girl! And then suddenly they said 'As there's just one steward in every suite, you need to read through the corporate staff manual and be aware of..' And a list of million things followed. What?? Alone?? Oh no!! 'No worries, it's just a table of 12, you'll be alright.' 12 people, 3 courses, different drinks, the whole day. Great, K! Keep smiling! Up we go, it's 7 am and we are waiting for the briefing. I meet Joel, a talkative young Aussie. He tells me it's easy, he has done that several times before, of course it's easy. 'Greet the guests, tell them what's happening during the day, what they have on the menu, what can be ordered extra, etc, etc. No worries.' 'How should I know what's happening?' I mumble to myself. The briefing is brief as usual, everything else comes with experience. The experience that I didn't have. I go to my suite (SE51), and I see 10s of other suites on my way. I look at the paper that says who the host is, what's on their menu, what's in the standard beverage package. I find the manual and do what's asked: check the fridge and get acquainted with the drinks, turn on the TV, turn on the AC, check the coffee station, check the table setting. Hmm, BBQ setting, not too difficult: big plates, side plates, some cutlery, wine glasses. More glasses on the shelf, ice bucket, napkins - I know them! Guests start to arrive around 9:30. National Foods is the host. It's one of Australia's largest food companies, with core activities in milk, fresh dairy foods, juice and specialty cheese. Their managed brands also include Yoplait yogurts - French Cheesecake flavour is my absolute favourite here! Yummie :P The first day passes by quickly and I learn something new on each step I make towards the end of the day. Yes, I forgot to put tongs on the BBQ platter, and yes, some of the beer tops flew 3 m away when I tried to open them fast, but that's alright, most of them are twist off anyway, including red and white wine bottles offered at lunch ;) Guests were satisfied, food tasted good, and the loads of alchohol consumed probably made my little mistakes unnoticeable. By the way, Heineken was the most beloved beer! No XXXX Bitter or Gold, just heaps of Heineken. C'mon Aussie! How's that possible? :) The first day of the 5-day cricket marathon finished around 5:30 pm and the home team had done a great job. And it looks like I did pretty well as well, 'cause Pinnacle called to confirm my shift in the Eastern Suites for the rest of the event. And aww.. Ash was such a sweetheart. He sent me a text and offered to pick me up. Thanks, Ash, you saved my little exhausted feet! So when the table was reset (yey, I did it all by myself!), I could finally call it a day and head home..

Day 2. Ann started early again, whereas I could sleep a bit longer and start my day at 7:30. So I decided to save the money for a cab and take a bus down to Woolloongabba. We were all given a 5-day bus pass to use for going to the Gabba, so I could take advantage of the early morning bus ride through the Brisbane's CBD. Arrived there on time, checked in and met some familiar faces from the first day. That's a good feeling when you know where you're going, what you are doing, and who you're working with, so the 2nd day started a whole lot better. I came to know David and his sister Sarah, Emma and Amanda from the suite next door. Really cool people and a great team. Thanks, David, for the lunch 'date' :) Things in Suite SE51 were heating up as well. Got some rather young gentlemen and an important host person Mr A. B. to look after them. Their menu was pretty much the same as the day before, and things were nice and smooth till some of them discovered they could actually order some spirits on top of the beer loads. 'Gosh, how do you mix those drinks! Rum and Coke - that's fine. But what's Cougar Bourbon?' 'No worries, Sir, I'll just go get them for you!' Off to the dispense where Josh aka Bambang masters the alcohol tons. I learn that Bourbon is a sweet whiskey to be drunk with Coke as well. So I get these too bottles (700 ml!), Cokes and ice, and prepare to become a professional bar maid. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.. 25 glasses, I'm doing good.. Till one of the gentlemen, a funky tattood kiwi (read: New-Zealander) starts to get a bit too rowdy. 'Uhh, no more, please!' I think and hope he would stop bugging me, but he wouldn't. One sip and his glass is empty again. Great, it looks like I gotta bring some of the RSA techniques into effect. I ask him politely to slow down and take it easy, have a break. 'You know, the night is still young.' I lay some water on the table which becomes a great joke, with the other guys making fun of the kiwi for getting served a water bottle. I can't think of anything to slow down this continous drinking, but I must not allow things to get out of control during the big sports event, so I just try some chatting with each of them. And that actually works! It keeps them away from drinking and you from preparing the drinks. So I go 'You are from New Zealand, aren't you?' 'Oh yes!' 'I've heard it's beautiful. I'm actually going there myself as part of my trip.' 'Oh, will you?' 'Yeah, what do you think I should definitely see when I go there?' And that was it! A 15-minute monologue about NZ followed. Well done, K! Alright, I need a break, I call Jason to come and cover me. The table is still up, the glasses are still in one piece and the guys are still on feet, when I get back. Thanks, Jason! The 2nd day is becoming to an end. And the funky kiwi as well as the other dudes have become mates and not enemies. All's well that ends well! The leave and give me five.. and the kiwi takes and kisses my hand!! The story of the day in Eastern Suites. No comments..

Day 3. No big news. It's Saturday and some of the guys from the first day are back again. Suite SE51 feels like home. Some more spirits fill out my bar. Gin Tonic is the #1 of the day. Good practise, K! The host Mr D. goes around with his glass and keeps saying 'Could I have one more of those girlie drinks, please?' He means Gin Tonic. Life at the back stage is cool as well, the Eastern Suite people work as a great team.. especially when it comes to staff lunch breaks. I get to know Marc, an English born South African that works as a personal trainer, and Felipe from Columbia that loves the music I love (reggeton!!). Oh, I still know nothing about cricket :) But I'll leave that for the guys out there, Ricky Ponting & Co. Matt, a Canadian guy, gives me good advice on how to keep the guests out on the balcony and out of your way in the suite: 'Turn the air con as low as possible, so they rather stay out in the heat.' Haha, well done, Matt! I choose to save the Aussie and keep a moderate ˚C in the suite :) We are all done by 7pm, except for Ann who is 'slaving' in the huge function room with tens of tables. I wait for her to catch a bus home and do some shopping for food, but to our surprise the lovely Woolworths closed at 6:30pm. It's not Estonia, guys, where Prisma works from 8am to 11pm, 7 days a week! But we found rye bread from Night Owl on Brunswick St that's open 24/7. Almost like Estonian bread. Yummie! Although it caused an avalanche of questions like 'What's Kairi having for lunch?' when I had my sanger the next day at work. 'Do you have digestive problems?' I'm surprised. 'Why should I?' 'You are eating rye bread. People eat it when they have problems with digestion.' 'No way, mate, it's just healthy!' C'mon Aussie, no more white bread! :)

Day 4. Lazy Sunday. A time for families. So I have the host, his son, daughter and her boyfriend, plus other couples in Suite SE51. Easy, just get enough Coke and Ice-Cream for the kids and they live happily ever after. 'No worries' day. As for the cricket is going well and Poms have no chance whatsoever. It's all quiet on the Eastern Front. Bambang is still mastering the dispense, which is just next door to me. Convenient, no long walks with the bottles, and my fridge is always stocked. Chris and Dmitri are taking turns in giving Bambang a hand. Dmitri is the one with a significant career: Day 1 - runner, Day 2 - suite steward, Day 3 - dispenser.. We finish before expected and, as Ann's still 'running' the Legend's Room, Marc decides to keep me company on the way back home. Hmm..

Day 5. Finito! Aussie win! We finish at lunch. Exhausted.. and full. Had enough of the food and the Gabba! A lazy afternoon at South Bank with Marc chatting about life and stuff needs no further comments :) Sweet! As long as it's not cricket..

Here's K, here's Brisbane, Australia. Hoo roo!! (Goobye)