Both
Alex and Ian are in Sydney for a bank balance-boosting
interlude. While Alex is planning to travel to the Top
End (north Oz) in a campervan that's been passed down
through groups of friends, Ian is saving to head off to
Mexico and a life as a diving instructor.
If Alex - with his floppy fringe and 'you really can
trust me' smile - seems to be the friend you could always
call in a crisis, Ian - with his Debbie does Dallas
t-shirt and wrap-around leg tattoo - seems like the friend
you would call when you're up for a evening out creating
a whole lot of work for glass washers in slightly dubious
nightspots.
Perhaps it's not surprising then that Ian has landed a
bar job at the Bourbon & Beefsteak (once a notorious 24-hour
opener in Kings Cross, Sydney's headquarters of vice,
but now more of a theme pub where both the lowlife and
high life mingle happily).
Ian has a meal at each end of the shift ('it helps
if you're friendly with the cook'), and saves even more
by sharing a house with nine – nine! – other
British and Irish travellers living and working in Oz.
And despite its reputation as Australia's priciest
city, right now Sydney is a little like a goldrush town
for jobseekers.
So if you're watching the Games on the little screen,
look out for Alex. He'll be the one up the back, directing
traffic and issuing orders, with a topographic map of
Kakadu and a campervan repair manual tucked under his
arms ready for any slow Olympic moments. 
— Kath Kenny 12.09.00
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