Well I'm here again and I'm so damn bored. Dave and Jodie are nice enough people, there just isn't enough for a bloke like me to do around here! One of Dave's friends is offering to take me out one night to a club but that isn't just my scene at all. I will try to avoid it. I have mostly been sitting at home while Dave's at work, surfing the internet. Unfortunately I sucked all his bandwidth dry by downloading an hd version of Tropic Thunder. The movie's not so great and I fell asleep while watching it, so it wasn't really worth the download. Argh! Shoulda done my research a bit before I got it. Hopefully Dave won't be upset that he can only download at 64kbps now. Good thing it's near the end of the month now, and he should be up to his 1.2Mbps in January.
I am trying not to take advantage of the situation and just freeload here, but I keep getting offered candy and coffee and all sorts of snacks so who am I to refuse it? And when we go out Dave always pays for me, so I say hey why not. Today though i'm going to my other cousin's. My aunt & uncle will pick me up around 7pm tonight and then I will stay there for the remaining time. It shouldn't be too bad. They're nice people I'm told. It will be nice to have a change of environment. This hills of Adelaide are pretty nice, they remind me of the hills in Germany a bit. Twisty roads galore!
Christmas was ok here as well. The kids got a trambopoline and inspired me to download the trampoline episode of Simpsons. Back when it was a good show. His son got a Simpsons game too, and we played it and I knew none of the answers to the trivia questions because they were being pulled from mostly newer episodes. I haven't really been following Simpsons for the 20th century at all. When will someone finally pull the plug on it??? Seriously!
I was almost tempted to buy some $100 headphones. The current ones I have are pretty tinny and i want to hear the bass when I'm listening to my chunes. It's just the only way! My sister may be coming here soon, as she is running out of money in Sydney. It's too bad we weren't together here at once.
On Sunday we went to the River Murray about an hour from Adelaide. There I tried some kneeboarding and it was epic fail!! I fell so many times and I've been sore the past two days after. This is the river where Adelaide gets all its drinking water from. The whole road leading up to it has a big pipeline going along it. We had to get to the other side of the river and there is a free ferry that does that for you. Apparently it's cheaper for them to do that than to build a bridge.
Anyway that's my boring life so far. I spent the entire day importing my 2003 and 2007 blogs into blogspot. It was heaps fun! I just want to have a centralized place where I can find everything. I just hope I don't have another EMO moment and erase it all again, because I don't have anymore backups and I enjoy reading through old posts sometimes to see home much I have or haven't learned over the years.
Well that's it.
_Joram
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Australia isn't for me
I know I've established this in previous blog posts, but this place just isn't for me. Namely, because I am a mass-downloader and a videogamer. Australia just doesn't cater to these demographics. Games are outrageously expensive and so is bandwidth. I read a great article on the bandwidth issue:
http://forums.mactalk.com.au/20/32769-reason-australia-lacks-unlimited-internet-plans.html
Very interesting read if you have 10-15 minutes to spare. Basically the long and short of it is that I'm screwed if I want to find some place with unlimited downloading. I will basically just have to pay for bandwidth from now on, there is no way around it. So I will either have to curb my habits or start buying things legit if I want to stay in this country. Sad thing is that other countries may follow suit sooner or later. Imagine paying for bandwidth like paying for gas or hydro... a travesty!
So don't worry all those who care: I will be back. Of course, my beloved eggplant probably won't be there to meet me, but I had a feeling I would be seeing her for the last time. May she rest in pieces.
Just trying to count down the days until I go to Adelaide again. 'Twill be soon. I have to eat all the perishables in my fridge before I go, that will be a laugh and a half.
_St. Joram
http://forums.mactalk.com.au/20/32769-reason-australia-lacks-unlimited-internet-plans.html
Very interesting read if you have 10-15 minutes to spare. Basically the long and short of it is that I'm screwed if I want to find some place with unlimited downloading. I will basically just have to pay for bandwidth from now on, there is no way around it. So I will either have to curb my habits or start buying things legit if I want to stay in this country. Sad thing is that other countries may follow suit sooner or later. Imagine paying for bandwidth like paying for gas or hydro... a travesty!
So don't worry all those who care: I will be back. Of course, my beloved eggplant probably won't be there to meet me, but I had a feeling I would be seeing her for the last time. May she rest in pieces.
Just trying to count down the days until I go to Adelaide again. 'Twill be soon. I have to eat all the perishables in my fridge before I go, that will be a laugh and a half.
_St. Joram
Monday, December 15, 2008
All alone
I was thinking today... why am I so alone. Why do I not to invite anyone into my life, yet I blog so open and free inviting complete strangers (sometimes) into my life. The people I should let into my life I keep away, and the ones that should have no business with my life I let in. It makes absolutely no sense. That is why I have come to the conclusion that I am an anomaly. I am enjoying watching the show "Big Bang Theory". It somehow hits close to home.
The stores in Australia usually close at around 5pm. It's ridiculous! I can't go and buy things at the huge mall at the Parramatta train station because people want to go home by 5. It's only on Thursdays that stores are open 'late', till around 8. So funny! When will the Aussies learn and have retail stores open until late every day. Only now, during Chrissy, they will have the stores open to reasonable hours when us working stiffs can actually take advantage.
Well this is the last week I am working in 2008. Good times! Fair Dinkum! Good on ya matey! Tomorrow is Tuesday and hopefully my noisy neighbour/flatmate will move out. He drinks like no tomorrow and then complains to me that he has health problems! I have to wear headphones so that I don't hear his noisy rants into the wee hours of the morning. Him and his brother sit outside and drink drink drink as many Australians do. But this is too much for me. I need my beauty sleep.
I am slowly starting to recover my missing collection of goodies. Of course my connection is only 256kbps so it will take a while, but I already managed to grab all the Office episodes I missed, some H264 movies, and lots and lots of mp3s. Life is starting to go back to normal. Friends? I have none here. They have all left already. And going to church well... that has almost died completely within me. I just don't want to hear about it anymore. I have become cold to the whole thing. Even though I live closer to Hillsong I don't want anything to do with it. I really have no idea what's wrong with me. Why can't I be like everyone else and be a normal social functioning adult human being?
Next week I am going to Adelaide again. It will hopefully be fun times again. Dave is a cool guy and very hospitable. I hope I can return the favour when he comes to visit me in Canada someday. I will also hopefully spend time with his siblings, my other cousins, up in the hills of Adelaide. There is a bakery there where I just have to try the German Pretzels. Oh yes I went there and CAPITALIZED that word, lulz.
Well sorry to all those that were following the blog, I promise to keep it up now. I will just have to avoid being so personal and be more general. That way I can avoid being outed by my next potential employer as a loser whom they would never want to hire.
Later all, thanks for listening to my rants.
Joramininee
The stores in Australia usually close at around 5pm. It's ridiculous! I can't go and buy things at the huge mall at the Parramatta train station because people want to go home by 5. It's only on Thursdays that stores are open 'late', till around 8. So funny! When will the Aussies learn and have retail stores open until late every day. Only now, during Chrissy, they will have the stores open to reasonable hours when us working stiffs can actually take advantage.
Well this is the last week I am working in 2008. Good times! Fair Dinkum! Good on ya matey! Tomorrow is Tuesday and hopefully my noisy neighbour/flatmate will move out. He drinks like no tomorrow and then complains to me that he has health problems! I have to wear headphones so that I don't hear his noisy rants into the wee hours of the morning. Him and his brother sit outside and drink drink drink as many Australians do. But this is too much for me. I need my beauty sleep.
I am slowly starting to recover my missing collection of goodies. Of course my connection is only 256kbps so it will take a while, but I already managed to grab all the Office episodes I missed, some H264 movies, and lots and lots of mp3s. Life is starting to go back to normal. Friends? I have none here. They have all left already. And going to church well... that has almost died completely within me. I just don't want to hear about it anymore. I have become cold to the whole thing. Even though I live closer to Hillsong I don't want anything to do with it. I really have no idea what's wrong with me. Why can't I be like everyone else and be a normal social functioning adult human being?
Next week I am going to Adelaide again. It will hopefully be fun times again. Dave is a cool guy and very hospitable. I hope I can return the favour when he comes to visit me in Canada someday. I will also hopefully spend time with his siblings, my other cousins, up in the hills of Adelaide. There is a bakery there where I just have to try the German Pretzels. Oh yes I went there and CAPITALIZED that word, lulz.
Well sorry to all those that were following the blog, I promise to keep it up now. I will just have to avoid being so personal and be more general. That way I can avoid being outed by my next potential employer as a loser whom they would never want to hire.
Later all, thanks for listening to my rants.
Joramininee
Blog is gooooooooooonzo
Well in an EMO-moment I erased my blog. What can I say. It was silly. Hopefully things will be back to normal from now on.
-j
-j
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Last days in Adelaide
On Saturday we went down south a bit to some beach. There's an area nearby where all the 'schoolies' go, that is, high school teenagers, to party. There was a bandstand there and an open area and a lot of cabins too. Some teens were up but most were probably partied out from the night before. I saw some guy giving motorists the thumbs up and holding a beer, while his buddies behind him drank out of a funnel. It was really windy that day so when we got to the beach we didn't stay too long. The waves were humongous and I couldn't help but think how it would be like to surf on them, but they were just too broken to really get a good ride anyway. Either way though they probably could have killed me if I had tried because my skill level is just way too low. Dave's little baby 2-year-old boy didn't like not being in his baby seat so he made a big fuss pretty much the entire time we were in the car, for an hour or so. I don't know how parents get through this stage it's just so hard on the ears. We also went to Mackies and Pizza Hut that day, so some great nutritious meals were had not. Turns out Pizza Hut is on the outs here in Aussie, there are only a handful left running. Overall it was a pretty good day and in the evening I tried out the Vespa finally and we went to Blockbuster to rent a movie. Here they have to type in their phone number and then a 6-digit pass code before you can rent a movie, and they call it 'hiring', not 'renting'. So Dave gave me the pin # and I rented Get Smart and watched that later on. I also had a chance to listen to the Killers CD which I had bought the day before and I must say I haven't really warmed up to it yet. Just not as many catchy songs. But I may like it more if I listen to it with some decent headphones.
The next day we went to 'big generic box church' in the morning and it wasn't a lot of fun. The message was about God's presence, but I didn't feel it at all. Almost all the talk was laced with business overtones, buy our album, apply to this club, put money in our baskets. I don't think I've ever felt that a church was a business more than I had that moment. Almost a bit sickening. Nobody knows anyone, and it's just such a big show that it doesn't feel real to me. Later on that day we went to see my Aunt & Uncle and the rest of my cousins.
But before that he took his youngest son on a mini-motocross bike, and me on the Vespa, and we did some offroading. It was fun times! I fell once though because we were going up a slippery hay-filled hill and the Vespa just isn't designed for that terrain. We also checked out the women's prison from behind a fence and waved hello to some ladies who didn't seem all too amused. I'm just surprised he is so fearless, riding that little thing with his young son holding on to the handlebars, and without a helmet too. Pretty frightening to think what could happen in a wipe out situation.
Lobethal where the rest of my cousins live is up in the hills, so we took a lot of winding roads to get there. In about 45 minutes we got there, and there they were. I don't have any memories of my uncle, so it was like we were meeting for the first time. We were led to the back where we had the table all set up in a sort of gazebo attached to the house. The food was delicious and reminded me of my mom's cooking, good old-fashioned Czech dumplings with roast beef, vegetables and red cabbage. The Real Stuff™! Dessert was good too, some chocolate lava cakes and ice cream. And boy were there kids there! I met my three cousins' husbands and their kids, and amongst themselves they have about 10 kids. It's quite insane. They are all pretty young too, so lots of babies everywhere and I had to be careful not to step on one while moving throughout the house.
Later on my uncle took me aside and told me the story of how they came to Australia, and he gave me some advices. He was upset that we thought of them as weird people, because they are just really loving and live life to the fullest. It's just their church has some strange customs when it comes to marriage and how boys and girls are allowed to interact. Just some old-fashioned rules that don't work in today's world anymore. Then my one cousin's husband took us out to the bakery and he proudly showed me all his bakery toys and machines, and even a new gelato machine that he recently got. Too bad we didn't' get to eat any though, it looked quite good.
So that was an interesting time for sure. Me and my sister are invited again for Christmas to celebrate it with them. Today though I head back to Sydney and into the real world. I'm just hoping I have my job still, since I took 3 days off and I am easily replaceable to be quite honest.
_J
The next day we went to 'big generic box church' in the morning and it wasn't a lot of fun. The message was about God's presence, but I didn't feel it at all. Almost all the talk was laced with business overtones, buy our album, apply to this club, put money in our baskets. I don't think I've ever felt that a church was a business more than I had that moment. Almost a bit sickening. Nobody knows anyone, and it's just such a big show that it doesn't feel real to me. Later on that day we went to see my Aunt & Uncle and the rest of my cousins.
But before that he took his youngest son on a mini-motocross bike, and me on the Vespa, and we did some offroading. It was fun times! I fell once though because we were going up a slippery hay-filled hill and the Vespa just isn't designed for that terrain. We also checked out the women's prison from behind a fence and waved hello to some ladies who didn't seem all too amused. I'm just surprised he is so fearless, riding that little thing with his young son holding on to the handlebars, and without a helmet too. Pretty frightening to think what could happen in a wipe out situation.
Lobethal where the rest of my cousins live is up in the hills, so we took a lot of winding roads to get there. In about 45 minutes we got there, and there they were. I don't have any memories of my uncle, so it was like we were meeting for the first time. We were led to the back where we had the table all set up in a sort of gazebo attached to the house. The food was delicious and reminded me of my mom's cooking, good old-fashioned Czech dumplings with roast beef, vegetables and red cabbage. The Real Stuff™! Dessert was good too, some chocolate lava cakes and ice cream. And boy were there kids there! I met my three cousins' husbands and their kids, and amongst themselves they have about 10 kids. It's quite insane. They are all pretty young too, so lots of babies everywhere and I had to be careful not to step on one while moving throughout the house.
Later on my uncle took me aside and told me the story of how they came to Australia, and he gave me some advices. He was upset that we thought of them as weird people, because they are just really loving and live life to the fullest. It's just their church has some strange customs when it comes to marriage and how boys and girls are allowed to interact. Just some old-fashioned rules that don't work in today's world anymore. Then my one cousin's husband took us out to the bakery and he proudly showed me all his bakery toys and machines, and even a new gelato machine that he recently got. Too bad we didn't' get to eat any though, it looked quite good.
So that was an interesting time for sure. Me and my sister are invited again for Christmas to celebrate it with them. Today though I head back to Sydney and into the real world. I'm just hoping I have my job still, since I took 3 days off and I am easily replaceable to be quite honest.
_J
Sunday, November 23, 2008
First couple days in Adelaide
I woke up on Thursday morning at 4:00AM ready to go. I had all my clothing set up so I could just put them on without looking for them, and I had taken a shower the day before. As I was getting dressed I got a text message that the taxi I had ordered was approaching its destination. So when I had my two bags ready I exited out of my place and the taxi was ready to pick me up. We drove silently to the airport and the total cost was about $25 AUD, just about $10 more than if I had taken the train. But my colleagues at work had advised me not to take the train, for it was too unreliable. I don't know if that's completely true as it has never let me down so far in these 2 months in Sydney. The one guy told me that the extra fee for the airport station was too much and that taking a taxi was a better choice. But as I waited in the airport for nearly 2 hours I noticed a whole throng of people came in at the same time; obviously the train had not let them down, and they were all in time to check their baggage in as well. So next time I may do that so I can sleep in a little longer.
The JetStar plane I took was brand new, so it had that 'new airplane smell', you know what I'm talking about. Flying was smooth and I played my new Trackmania DS game trying to beat the fastest times. As we landed I turned my cellphone on again and there was a message from my cousin that he was coming to pick me up in his shiny black Mercedes Benz. He did get stuck in some traffic was he was a bit late but I told him 'no worries mate'. And when he got there he looked just as I remembered him from 5 years ago.
We first went to his office, and I met his attractive PA who had set up my flight. I couldn't believe how good-looking this girl was, just unreal. Someone who should be modeling or on TV. I can't believe my cousin works with her and doesn't get distracted. But his wife is also good-looking so anyway... he had some business deals to take care of but before that we went for a coffee and he shared some things about his life, how he had pretty much been disowned by his father for marrying a girl from a different church. His wife met up with us later and we had lunch. She wasn't supposed to know about Friday night, which was a surprise 10th Anniversary gift to her. The story was that it was to be a function for clients.
Their home is pretty nice too. Just one level because they don't have basements in Australia, but still very spacious. He has a hot tub from a Canadian company too, because he likes how they manufacture them. I feel so at home here, I can do whatever I want within reason. I almost feel like I should be paying to stay here. I asked my boss that day to extend my stay here and he said it was fine, so I am coming back Monday evening instead of Sunday morning. It's great to be a contractor and not be locked into working all the time. His kids are all pretty fun too, his oldest son and I played Zelda VS mode on our DSs. In the evening Dave and I went to the pier and marina area and he talked more about his life. It's very interesting and it would take too long too regurgitate it all here, but I think it would make a good book someday. It's a story of the human spirit breaking free from oppression, very inspiring. We then went and had some delicious greek yiros, but it proved to be too much for us and we both left half our plates full of food. That night I slept pretty well except my pillow had a funny smell to it and their cat was trapped in my room, so I woke up at 2am to let it out of my room.
Friday was hectic because we had to prepare for the party still. His wife was onto him though towards the end and he couldn't hide it anymore. I went into the city a bit and bought all The Killers CDs. One shop had the new one out a day early so I was happy to grab it. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to it, except in his Suzuki offroader which he built a dvd player into (touchscreen operated, pretty sweet). I'm sure I'll have the opportunity in the near future though. I also went into a collectibles shop and was tempted to buy a $300 Balrog figure from LOTR, but I decided against it, even though it looks sweet as.
That evening two of Dave's friends came over, one guy a Russion from Gold Coast who really likes to party. Dave's wife wasn't too surprised at the event but we had a fun time anyway. I even went alone into the dance floor and did my bad dancing moves. The DJ was pretty decent and the beats were grooving, so I had a good time. A lot of nice girls but of course being me and not having that much to drink I was too afraid to approach any of them. Free drinks too, so I had plenty of rum&cokes, and even an Adelaide drink called the swampy, which I had tried a little of in Sydney, but this was the real deal. A full glass, not just a shot glass. When we went home I was a bit afraid that Dave had had too much to drink, but he told us that he was fine. His Mercedes has proximity detectors anyway so they beep if he's too close to anything. Alex the Russian spoke a lot of Russian to us and a lot of dirty talk on the way home. He even went out afterwards with the other guy, after we went home, to a casino, and won himself 1000 on Roulette. Good on him!
Well today is another day and hopefully it will be fun times.
That's it for now.
JAN
The JetStar plane I took was brand new, so it had that 'new airplane smell', you know what I'm talking about. Flying was smooth and I played my new Trackmania DS game trying to beat the fastest times. As we landed I turned my cellphone on again and there was a message from my cousin that he was coming to pick me up in his shiny black Mercedes Benz. He did get stuck in some traffic was he was a bit late but I told him 'no worries mate'. And when he got there he looked just as I remembered him from 5 years ago.
We first went to his office, and I met his attractive PA who had set up my flight. I couldn't believe how good-looking this girl was, just unreal. Someone who should be modeling or on TV. I can't believe my cousin works with her and doesn't get distracted. But his wife is also good-looking so anyway... he had some business deals to take care of but before that we went for a coffee and he shared some things about his life, how he had pretty much been disowned by his father for marrying a girl from a different church. His wife met up with us later and we had lunch. She wasn't supposed to know about Friday night, which was a surprise 10th Anniversary gift to her. The story was that it was to be a function for clients.
Their home is pretty nice too. Just one level because they don't have basements in Australia, but still very spacious. He has a hot tub from a Canadian company too, because he likes how they manufacture them. I feel so at home here, I can do whatever I want within reason. I almost feel like I should be paying to stay here. I asked my boss that day to extend my stay here and he said it was fine, so I am coming back Monday evening instead of Sunday morning. It's great to be a contractor and not be locked into working all the time. His kids are all pretty fun too, his oldest son and I played Zelda VS mode on our DSs. In the evening Dave and I went to the pier and marina area and he talked more about his life. It's very interesting and it would take too long too regurgitate it all here, but I think it would make a good book someday. It's a story of the human spirit breaking free from oppression, very inspiring. We then went and had some delicious greek yiros, but it proved to be too much for us and we both left half our plates full of food. That night I slept pretty well except my pillow had a funny smell to it and their cat was trapped in my room, so I woke up at 2am to let it out of my room.
Friday was hectic because we had to prepare for the party still. His wife was onto him though towards the end and he couldn't hide it anymore. I went into the city a bit and bought all The Killers CDs. One shop had the new one out a day early so I was happy to grab it. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to it, except in his Suzuki offroader which he built a dvd player into (touchscreen operated, pretty sweet). I'm sure I'll have the opportunity in the near future though. I also went into a collectibles shop and was tempted to buy a $300 Balrog figure from LOTR, but I decided against it, even though it looks sweet as.
That evening two of Dave's friends came over, one guy a Russion from Gold Coast who really likes to party. Dave's wife wasn't too surprised at the event but we had a fun time anyway. I even went alone into the dance floor and did my bad dancing moves. The DJ was pretty decent and the beats were grooving, so I had a good time. A lot of nice girls but of course being me and not having that much to drink I was too afraid to approach any of them. Free drinks too, so I had plenty of rum&cokes, and even an Adelaide drink called the swampy, which I had tried a little of in Sydney, but this was the real deal. A full glass, not just a shot glass. When we went home I was a bit afraid that Dave had had too much to drink, but he told us that he was fine. His Mercedes has proximity detectors anyway so they beep if he's too close to anything. Alex the Russian spoke a lot of Russian to us and a lot of dirty talk on the way home. He even went out afterwards with the other guy, after we went home, to a casino, and won himself 1000 on Roulette. Good on him!
Well today is another day and hopefully it will be fun times.
That's it for now.
JAN
Thursday, November 20, 2008
New place & trip
So I moved into a new place on Monday. The guy told me I needed to move in right away because there was a queue of people waiting to get it and he chose me over all of them! Well that's a good feeling... i guess. It is about 30-40 minutes closer to work than my previous place so I am glad for that, even though the cost is a bit higher. I also don't have TV here but I may remedy that. Only thing is, if I'm going to buy a TV, I will buy an HDTV, not some crummy analog piece of crap. That's just how I am, I either go big or nothing! In fact as I was leaving the apartment with my stuff I lent my movies to another housemate, and she offered me some divx episodes of Dexter. I had to decline because they just weren't up to my quality standards. I have really become a big eh-hole snob with my HD requirements, haven't I? It's quite sick really.
They are a lovely Chinese couple who have lived in Australia for about 20 years now. When I agreed to take the place on Sunday he invited me to bring my suitcase with me on the train and drive me the rest of the way to the house to sign the lease agreement and all that. Also to have lunch with him and his wife. So I did, and we had chinese food at a restaurant/club. I came in my thongs and they are strict about dress code there, so I had to rummage through my suitcase and put on my dress shoes. I looked pretty silly with dress shoes and shorts on. The food was pretty good but I am generally not a fan of chinese food. Not sure why, just not my thing. But it was nice of him to buy my lunch, most landlords don't do that. We talked a lot about the differences between Australia and Canada and things of that nature. After that we went and I signed a 3-Month lease, so I guess I made my decision and am STAYING HERE for a little bit longer. A lot of my friends predicted this already so it shouldn't come as a big surprise. I emailed Canada Customs and they told me I can extend my Permanent Resident with some paperwork so I should be fine in that area. I can even send them the paperwork in the mail and don't have to take a day off to do any of it, which is nice. I figured a job like this doesn't come around often and I can really save up some money here to invest in the future.
Anyway this new place is about 3 minutes walk from a fresh produce place, the train station, and a regular grocery store. How sweet is that? It is SUPER SWEET, that's how it is. I am living with about 3-4 people, the guy actually made up little sheds in his backyard for people to rent from him. He must make a ton of cash! Just set up a few shacks and you're golden. Me and a Chilean dude are closer to the house though, on a higher level. I had to buy all my own utensils too and I forgot to buy a glass. As I went to the kitchen at night and turned the light on there were two cockroaches sipping up the leftover Pepsi I had poured into the sink. So I gotta be careful and clean up after myself really well in this place. Those bugs just give me the CREEPS big time!
So on Thursday morning I am heading over to Adelaide to visit my cousin and his family. As far as I know his siblings and parents live in a town about 45mins east from there called Lobethal, but I will probably not go visit them unless something is arranged. I might later on in late 2008 or 2009. The plane ticket cost me $314 AUD return from Jetstar, which I think is decent enough. It turns out though I had thought my flight was at 6:15pm, because they weren't clear on the itinerary. But when I checked this morning on Sydney's Departure Schedule (pronounced SH not SK), I discovered it was in the morning! So I will have to head back to my old place in Ultimo so I can make my flight in time, since trains don't leave early enough where I live now to make it.
So basically I am in Adelaide until Sunday morning, and then I will go back to Sydney. I know it's only 3 days but I figured WHY NOT. My sister was originally going to come but she backed out because of work commitments. It will be very interesting living in my new place with my own room (finally). My snoring was keeping my sister up and the mosquitos were keeping me up, so in the end nobody got any sleep. I just have to buy a quilt or some kind of blanket because it is pretty cold at nights and I fear my month-long cold will return if I'm not too careful.
Anyway I think that's about it for now. I'm still wondering if I should buy a camera so I can document my journey visually, but if I'm going to buy one I want it to be really good quality. Same issues as with the TV/Movies. If I'm going to entertain myself it should be to the high possible standard I can have.
So long ya'll and thanks for reading!
They are a lovely Chinese couple who have lived in Australia for about 20 years now. When I agreed to take the place on Sunday he invited me to bring my suitcase with me on the train and drive me the rest of the way to the house to sign the lease agreement and all that. Also to have lunch with him and his wife. So I did, and we had chinese food at a restaurant/club. I came in my thongs and they are strict about dress code there, so I had to rummage through my suitcase and put on my dress shoes. I looked pretty silly with dress shoes and shorts on. The food was pretty good but I am generally not a fan of chinese food. Not sure why, just not my thing. But it was nice of him to buy my lunch, most landlords don't do that. We talked a lot about the differences between Australia and Canada and things of that nature. After that we went and I signed a 3-Month lease, so I guess I made my decision and am STAYING HERE for a little bit longer. A lot of my friends predicted this already so it shouldn't come as a big surprise. I emailed Canada Customs and they told me I can extend my Permanent Resident with some paperwork so I should be fine in that area. I can even send them the paperwork in the mail and don't have to take a day off to do any of it, which is nice. I figured a job like this doesn't come around often and I can really save up some money here to invest in the future.
Anyway this new place is about 3 minutes walk from a fresh produce place, the train station, and a regular grocery store. How sweet is that? It is SUPER SWEET, that's how it is. I am living with about 3-4 people, the guy actually made up little sheds in his backyard for people to rent from him. He must make a ton of cash! Just set up a few shacks and you're golden. Me and a Chilean dude are closer to the house though, on a higher level. I had to buy all my own utensils too and I forgot to buy a glass. As I went to the kitchen at night and turned the light on there were two cockroaches sipping up the leftover Pepsi I had poured into the sink. So I gotta be careful and clean up after myself really well in this place. Those bugs just give me the CREEPS big time!
So on Thursday morning I am heading over to Adelaide to visit my cousin and his family. As far as I know his siblings and parents live in a town about 45mins east from there called Lobethal, but I will probably not go visit them unless something is arranged. I might later on in late 2008 or 2009. The plane ticket cost me $314 AUD return from Jetstar, which I think is decent enough. It turns out though I had thought my flight was at 6:15pm, because they weren't clear on the itinerary. But when I checked this morning on Sydney's Departure Schedule (pronounced SH not SK), I discovered it was in the morning! So I will have to head back to my old place in Ultimo so I can make my flight in time, since trains don't leave early enough where I live now to make it.
So basically I am in Adelaide until Sunday morning, and then I will go back to Sydney. I know it's only 3 days but I figured WHY NOT. My sister was originally going to come but she backed out because of work commitments. It will be very interesting living in my new place with my own room (finally). My snoring was keeping my sister up and the mosquitos were keeping me up, so in the end nobody got any sleep. I just have to buy a quilt or some kind of blanket because it is pretty cold at nights and I fear my month-long cold will return if I'm not too careful.
Anyway I think that's about it for now. I'm still wondering if I should buy a camera so I can document my journey visually, but if I'm going to buy one I want it to be really good quality. Same issues as with the TV/Movies. If I'm going to entertain myself it should be to the high possible standard I can have.
So long ya'll and thanks for reading!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Are we Human or are we Dancer?
That is the question. I would say I'm more human than dancer, as I feel rather awkward and weird when I'm dancing. It's a good feeling to acknowledge that. I'm a little upset that The Killers will release this song on Guitar Hero World Tour and not on Rock Band (yet?), but that's fine... I plan to enjoy it regardless. These guys never cease to amaze me with their talent.
So last week I got my mail and discovered a huge amount of bills.... what else is new? $1800 CAD on the credit card and rising! Woohoo! I also got my contract I signed (apparently), that says I will be working at this company until April. Now here is the dilemma: my return ticket to Canada is for February 7th. Here is the other dilemma: my Permanent Resident status expires on February 5th. So I will have some fun with the Canadian Embassy, Bon Voyage Insurance, United Airlines, and others in the next little while sorting all these little details out.
I figure these are my choices:
1) Stay here until the end of May.
This gives me the option of traveling around in May after my job ends in April using some of the money I saved up during said job. The problem lies in the fact that I will still have to pay car insurance, Rogers phone, and my storage space where I have all my stuff for 4 extra months, which wasn't in the original plan. Of course I will have money to cover these things but they are expenses I don't necessarily want to be paying. Also my beloved USENET account is being used by my brother and I'm sure he doesn't even use it for half of the things I used it for
2) Change my ticket to the end of January.
This would be my easiest option. It's around $150 CAD to do this thru United Airlines. It will also be the most hassle-free option, because I won't need to get my permanent resident card extended and will avoid all the necessary paperwork. I will also get to see my friends and family back home much sooner, and use all the aforementioned expenses appropriately. The disadvantage is of course I will come home to piles of snow and with less money in pocket. I will probably quit the job at the end of December for the holidays, travel to my cousins and aunt/uncle's place in Adelaide for a couple weeks, and then high-tail it back out of here in time for LOST to begin, which I'm eagerly anticipating.
So both options have good and bad sides to them, and I'm really stuck in the middle. If anyone could give me suggestions that would be appreciated.
Also my 'cousin' back home just had her first baby, Lydia! Congrats Esther & Chris! I have to admit I didn't even see her while she was pregnant because I had moved out of Toronto by then, and missed all the dramas with her and her sister-in-law and such, who's house I was living in the basement of.... which is now Esther's house... I think? I'm so confused since I'm so out of touch. Well that is cool when friends have kids, repopulating our empty planet.
So I also have been looking at new places to live, and did on Wednesday. The place is too far though, it's the same distance as this one (1 1/2 hours to work), but from the other direction. So I think I'll pass on it even though the girl is super nice and the place looks really good. She was concerned as well that I'd be too isolated and away from all the city fun. She may be right.
Well that's it for me for this entry... see you all next time!
Joram "Not Jerome" Nowak
So last week I got my mail and discovered a huge amount of bills.... what else is new? $1800 CAD on the credit card and rising! Woohoo! I also got my contract I signed (apparently), that says I will be working at this company until April. Now here is the dilemma: my return ticket to Canada is for February 7th. Here is the other dilemma: my Permanent Resident status expires on February 5th. So I will have some fun with the Canadian Embassy, Bon Voyage Insurance, United Airlines, and others in the next little while sorting all these little details out.
I figure these are my choices:
1) Stay here until the end of May.
This gives me the option of traveling around in May after my job ends in April using some of the money I saved up during said job. The problem lies in the fact that I will still have to pay car insurance, Rogers phone, and my storage space where I have all my stuff for 4 extra months, which wasn't in the original plan. Of course I will have money to cover these things but they are expenses I don't necessarily want to be paying. Also my beloved USENET account is being used by my brother and I'm sure he doesn't even use it for half of the things I used it for
2) Change my ticket to the end of January.
This would be my easiest option. It's around $150 CAD to do this thru United Airlines. It will also be the most hassle-free option, because I won't need to get my permanent resident card extended and will avoid all the necessary paperwork. I will also get to see my friends and family back home much sooner, and use all the aforementioned expenses appropriately. The disadvantage is of course I will come home to piles of snow and with less money in pocket. I will probably quit the job at the end of December for the holidays, travel to my cousins and aunt/uncle's place in Adelaide for a couple weeks, and then high-tail it back out of here in time for LOST to begin, which I'm eagerly anticipating.
So both options have good and bad sides to them, and I'm really stuck in the middle. If anyone could give me suggestions that would be appreciated.
Also my 'cousin' back home just had her first baby, Lydia! Congrats Esther & Chris! I have to admit I didn't even see her while she was pregnant because I had moved out of Toronto by then, and missed all the dramas with her and her sister-in-law and such, who's house I was living in the basement of.... which is now Esther's house... I think? I'm so confused since I'm so out of touch. Well that is cool when friends have kids, repopulating our empty planet.
So I also have been looking at new places to live, and did on Wednesday. The place is too far though, it's the same distance as this one (1 1/2 hours to work), but from the other direction. So I think I'll pass on it even though the girl is super nice and the place looks really good. She was concerned as well that I'd be too isolated and away from all the city fun. She may be right.
Well that's it for me for this entry... see you all next time!
Joram "Not Jerome" Nowak
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Jeff Martin in Concert
Well yesterday was the day I had been waiting for. My idol, Jeff Martin, formerly of The Tea Party, was up on stage doing his thang. It was awesome to see his versatility with his instruments. He played a lot of Tea Party, some solo stuff, and a lot from his new album with his new band, The Armada. The place was rockin and people were getting into it. There was a bar in the back so people were drinking it up and having a blast. I was completely sober though, maybe to my disadvantage. Ha no I'm just kidding, he was amazing! Almost always on pitch and just a really great voice, belting out the tunes straight to the end with no sign of degradation. He looked in good form too, maybe a little older but definitely not fat, as some say he was a few years ago (chunky was what they were saying on the blogs). One of his songs he pulled out the cello bow and played his guitar Jimmy Page style, pretty awesome. In another song he doubled his voice in lower registered so he sounded like he was singing possessed!
I have missed out on The Tea Party while they were still in their heyday, so this was sort of like making up for it. Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows weren't there, but it was almost like being at a concert of the former band. He really loves to dig into his back catalog and the audience was singing along to all the old favourites. He even somehow mixed John Lennon's Imagine, The Doors Five to One, and Paint it Black in there. I'm sure there were some other references as well but I think I forgot them.
The opening act would JUST NOT GO AWAY and people were getting restless. He kept repeating his name to us, but I've forgotten it by now. He was a guy from Melbourne and his style was a strange morbid country rock. Unique, I'll give him that, but after 3 songs I had had enough. Unfortunately he went on way over his welcome. He doesn't have a bad voice or anything it's just not my style, and neither was it anyone else's. The mid-act was a belly dancer girl dancing to some flute music, she was pretty good, but by that time everyone already wanted to see Jeff Martin and we couldn't really wait much longer. The doors opened at 8pm but Jeff Martin and The Armada didn't start until around 10. And I had to be up the next day at 6!
So My ears were ringing on the way home but I did manage to buy his cd and listened to it. Surprisingly most of the songs sounded better on stage than on the cd. It feels a bit rushed and in one song he even misses his lyrics only to try again in the next bar (or stanza, whatever I didn't study music). It's a solid album but I do miss The Tea Party. Even though they were getting stale towards the end the eastern-twinged sounds melded with rock&roll were just something that really spoke to me and was the soundtrack of my life for a good couple years.
I will always remember that night and I look forward to what The Aramada has in store next. Hope all ya'll had a good weekend as well! Oh yeah my cousin didn't show up but... there'll be another time, he must have been busy.
Later!
_joe RAM inator
I have missed out on The Tea Party while they were still in their heyday, so this was sort of like making up for it. Stuart Chatwood and Jeff Burrows weren't there, but it was almost like being at a concert of the former band. He really loves to dig into his back catalog and the audience was singing along to all the old favourites. He even somehow mixed John Lennon's Imagine, The Doors Five to One, and Paint it Black in there. I'm sure there were some other references as well but I think I forgot them.
The opening act would JUST NOT GO AWAY and people were getting restless. He kept repeating his name to us, but I've forgotten it by now. He was a guy from Melbourne and his style was a strange morbid country rock. Unique, I'll give him that, but after 3 songs I had had enough. Unfortunately he went on way over his welcome. He doesn't have a bad voice or anything it's just not my style, and neither was it anyone else's. The mid-act was a belly dancer girl dancing to some flute music, she was pretty good, but by that time everyone already wanted to see Jeff Martin and we couldn't really wait much longer. The doors opened at 8pm but Jeff Martin and The Armada didn't start until around 10. And I had to be up the next day at 6!
So My ears were ringing on the way home but I did manage to buy his cd and listened to it. Surprisingly most of the songs sounded better on stage than on the cd. It feels a bit rushed and in one song he even misses his lyrics only to try again in the next bar (or stanza, whatever I didn't study music). It's a solid album but I do miss The Tea Party. Even though they were getting stale towards the end the eastern-twinged sounds melded with rock&roll were just something that really spoke to me and was the soundtrack of my life for a good couple years.
I will always remember that night and I look forward to what The Aramada has in store next. Hope all ya'll had a good weekend as well! Oh yeah my cousin didn't show up but... there'll be another time, he must have been busy.
Later!
_joe RAM inator
Saturday, November 8, 2008
I don't have a good title
Well the last few days have been interesting. I finally got together with the friend I promised to meet a few weeks back, and we had a good time seeing Burn After Reading and then had some coffee afterwards. The only thing is we sat outside beside some garbage bins and people were walking around us a lot. This had been the only time I've gone out in like 2 or 3 weeks, so it was refreshing. I still have something in my throat leftover from the sickness I've had for a month, but hopefully it is the last remnant of it. I don't ever remember being so sick for so long. This weekend my cousin Dave and his family are coming to Sydney, so we will get together and catch up and maybe discuss when I can come visit him in Adelaide. I'm thinking sometime in December or January, but that will be arranged I'm sure. It will definitely require me buying plane tickets because I don't want to take the bus or train there... I take those every day! I will also go to a Jeff Martin concert on Sunday, that should be interesting. I'm hoping it's more of a Tea Party sound than the bluesy, experimental thing I've heard him doing recently. I like those eastern instruments that he plays it's amazing to hear them synthesized with rock music so well.
Yesterday instead of going home the regular way I decided to venture out and explore the neighbourhood a bit. Little did I know I would end up getting lost in suburbia! There is a long path that leads out of the industrial section to a nice park where the nieghbourhood kids can play some cricket. It wasn't very inviting, this path. I think people do drugs here at night. There were some magpies too in a tree nearby making lots of fuss. I hear they dive down at people during the mating season; good thing to look forward to in the future. So I kept walking deeper and deeper into the neighbourhood, and I soon lost track of which streets I had been on. After about an hour I realized I would never find the bus stop so I turn back and just kept turning left the whole time. That is apparently a good way to get out of a maze. And it worked! I found my way back and got home around 7:30 that night instead of at 6:30. So not a bad difference, I thought I'd be a lot later than that. When I got home and checked the internet, I realized that if I had walked just a bit further, I could have got to the next bus stop!
And it made me think... I go through life trying to get towards a particular goal and sort of have a vague idea of where it is, but I always end up treading the path up to a particular point and then get scared and turn back to where I started. If only I could muster up just a bit more courage I could reach my goal because it could likely end up being just around the corner! So this getting lost sort of mirrored how my life is going now. Aimlessly walking towards a goal but when there is any sign of doubt I go back on what I know best, my downloading and videogames and movies and entertainment. How appropriate.
Anyway hopefully I'll have some fun this weekend and you should too! Go Adama! Obama! Osama!
_Jornow
Yesterday instead of going home the regular way I decided to venture out and explore the neighbourhood a bit. Little did I know I would end up getting lost in suburbia! There is a long path that leads out of the industrial section to a nice park where the nieghbourhood kids can play some cricket. It wasn't very inviting, this path. I think people do drugs here at night. There were some magpies too in a tree nearby making lots of fuss. I hear they dive down at people during the mating season; good thing to look forward to in the future. So I kept walking deeper and deeper into the neighbourhood, and I soon lost track of which streets I had been on. After about an hour I realized I would never find the bus stop so I turn back and just kept turning left the whole time. That is apparently a good way to get out of a maze. And it worked! I found my way back and got home around 7:30 that night instead of at 6:30. So not a bad difference, I thought I'd be a lot later than that. When I got home and checked the internet, I realized that if I had walked just a bit further, I could have got to the next bus stop!
And it made me think... I go through life trying to get towards a particular goal and sort of have a vague idea of where it is, but I always end up treading the path up to a particular point and then get scared and turn back to where I started. If only I could muster up just a bit more courage I could reach my goal because it could likely end up being just around the corner! So this getting lost sort of mirrored how my life is going now. Aimlessly walking towards a goal but when there is any sign of doubt I go back on what I know best, my downloading and videogames and movies and entertainment. How appropriate.
Anyway hopefully I'll have some fun this weekend and you should too! Go Adama! Obama! Osama!
_Jornow
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What has been happening lately
Well I have to say life has just become more of the same lately. I am in almost the same kind of job as I was back home. It's just that everything else is different. The fact that I have no car is really bad, taking the bus and train back and forth is not as fun as it used to be back in the old days. I had to do that for my summer 2001, 2002, 2003 jobs, and it was not fun at all. At work I have a pile of stuff to do so at least I'm not tempted to check what's new on the internet all the time.
Yesterday I went whale watching for $70. I think it was worth the money. We saw some humpbacks up close and got some good pictures, of which I still have to upload. I'm not sleeping a lot lately because there are always mosquitos that come up close to my ear and swatting at the empty sky yields no results. I may have to move soon if they want me to stay at this job for longer, which it seems like but I haven't really spoken up letting them know that is what I desire.
I am making my lunch now every day too because I don't have a car to drive to McDonalds or similar fine establishments. I really miss the daily dose of fast food, but my body doesn't, because I have to wear a belt now to keep my pants up. Australia is nice with weather and stuff but I really miss home a lot these days. I don't know why I said I want to stay forever, that is probably a bad idea.
So next weekend I'm seeing my cousin who lives in Adelaide. He is coming to Sydney for some reason that hasn't been disclosed. I doubt it's only because it's to see me. He is a business entrepreneur and probably has some sort of prospect here, that is my guess. But it will be good to see him I haven't seen him since 2003 in Germany. I will also see Jeff Martin next weekend at the Metro Theatre in Sydney. He has a new band and I hope I can forgive him for disbanding the Tea Party. Well I have already paid for the tickets so I think I already have.
Other than that there is not really much to report. I don't really go out a lot, my month-long sickness is finally coming to an end, some house mates moved out and new ones moved in, and I haven't gone back to Hillsong even though I should. I am playing a lot of games on my sister's laptop as well, my gaming habit will never die I guess.
Later, all
_JackaRomi
Yesterday I went whale watching for $70. I think it was worth the money. We saw some humpbacks up close and got some good pictures, of which I still have to upload. I'm not sleeping a lot lately because there are always mosquitos that come up close to my ear and swatting at the empty sky yields no results. I may have to move soon if they want me to stay at this job for longer, which it seems like but I haven't really spoken up letting them know that is what I desire.
I am making my lunch now every day too because I don't have a car to drive to McDonalds or similar fine establishments. I really miss the daily dose of fast food, but my body doesn't, because I have to wear a belt now to keep my pants up. Australia is nice with weather and stuff but I really miss home a lot these days. I don't know why I said I want to stay forever, that is probably a bad idea.
So next weekend I'm seeing my cousin who lives in Adelaide. He is coming to Sydney for some reason that hasn't been disclosed. I doubt it's only because it's to see me. He is a business entrepreneur and probably has some sort of prospect here, that is my guess. But it will be good to see him I haven't seen him since 2003 in Germany. I will also see Jeff Martin next weekend at the Metro Theatre in Sydney. He has a new band and I hope I can forgive him for disbanding the Tea Party. Well I have already paid for the tickets so I think I already have.
Other than that there is not really much to report. I don't really go out a lot, my month-long sickness is finally coming to an end, some house mates moved out and new ones moved in, and I haven't gone back to Hillsong even though I should. I am playing a lot of games on my sister's laptop as well, my gaming habit will never die I guess.
Later, all
_JackaRomi
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Kangaroo tastes good
Well today was my third day at work and it went by rather quickly, because I had a lot to do. I am settling in now and it would suck to be fired. When I got home, I made up a little kangaroo steak stir fry, with mushrooms, capsicum, green beans, and onion. Everything was perfect, except I put a little bit too much oil in the pan. I've never tasted kangaroo before so it was quite interesting. It has a very strong smell to it, and the taste is similar to a deer. That is the closest approximation I could think of. It's a very dark meat. I also bought tickets for the train and bus I will take every day, and it turns out it's nearly $70 AUD per week. I think that's a bit ridiculous, so I will try to find another way to get to work. I don't ever remember paying so much for transportation in the past. I might be doing something wrong if I have to pay so much. I have been watching cooking-related shows and it looks quite interesting what they're doing. I always get a huge appetite too, but that should be expected. I really am tired of microwave meals and fastfood all the time, and I really enjoy cooking. It's strange working now because I have so little free time. I am out of the house from 6:30am to 6:30pm, and have to go to sleep around 10 so that I can wake up at 6 the next day. I wonder if I'll ever get out of Sydney. This company says that if I perform well enough they will keep me on for longer... longer than I had planned on staying in Australia. That should be interesting once it plays out. My sister is gone this week doing fund raising in Canberra. She says she can't even do any sightseeing because she has to work so much. But I'm sure she will eke out some fun from her trip.
Well I hope you enjoyed the run-on paragraph.
_Joram
Well I hope you enjoyed the run-on paragraph.
_Joram
Monday, October 20, 2008
I am still a failure but a little less of one
So Friday was my first day of working in Australia. It was just as I had imagined it, so no complaints there. The drawings system at this company is not really organized, so I will have to talk to my supervisor on Monday to sort things out. I just hate waking up at 5:30 in the morning to get to this place... it's not fun at all, especially when the walls are so thin in my room and I have no earplugs. But I will keep at it and try my best, I am on a 2 week trial period so we shall see what happens.
Today I actually managed to get to Hillsong Church, like I had tried last week. The bus was pretty packed and there were even some Canadian backpackers on the bus. Of course I didn't talk to them cause again I was too scared. The bus ride took half an hour and I looked outside at the upscale houses... this was just suburbia like nobody's business. When we got to the church I was a bit disappointed; it was much smaller than I had imagined. I'm sure it seats a lot of people but it was just so compact. It had some nice digital equipment though, and 3 big screens at the front of the podium. They had some pretty cool effects happening during the worship service, and yes they had HD cameras. Nice to see a church so up to speed in technology. They even have their service linked via satellite to other ones in the vicinity. It reminded me a bit of Meeting House, except the witty & charming Bruxy Cavey was nowhere to be seen! Anyway, I went out of there talking to nobody, cause that is my style, and went back home on the train.
I don't know about church anymore if I'm going to go regularly or not. There is one closer to me in the city, I will try it out next week. Because this particular one is way out in the suburbs and takes me forever to get there. The main purpose is because I want to meet some people... the whole God/Jesus thing will sort itself out afterwards. I'm still struggling to understand how religion fits into my life, if it should at all. I often stand in church wondering why everyone is raising their hands and getting all into it when I just stand there feeling all empty, lonely, and depressed. Anyway, I will probably write another blog once something else interesting happens.
_J
Today I actually managed to get to Hillsong Church, like I had tried last week. The bus was pretty packed and there were even some Canadian backpackers on the bus. Of course I didn't talk to them cause again I was too scared. The bus ride took half an hour and I looked outside at the upscale houses... this was just suburbia like nobody's business. When we got to the church I was a bit disappointed; it was much smaller than I had imagined. I'm sure it seats a lot of people but it was just so compact. It had some nice digital equipment though, and 3 big screens at the front of the podium. They had some pretty cool effects happening during the worship service, and yes they had HD cameras. Nice to see a church so up to speed in technology. They even have their service linked via satellite to other ones in the vicinity. It reminded me a bit of Meeting House, except the witty & charming Bruxy Cavey was nowhere to be seen! Anyway, I went out of there talking to nobody, cause that is my style, and went back home on the train.
I don't know about church anymore if I'm going to go regularly or not. There is one closer to me in the city, I will try it out next week. Because this particular one is way out in the suburbs and takes me forever to get there. The main purpose is because I want to meet some people... the whole God/Jesus thing will sort itself out afterwards. I'm still struggling to understand how religion fits into my life, if it should at all. I often stand in church wondering why everyone is raising their hands and getting all into it when I just stand there feeling all empty, lonely, and depressed. Anyway, I will probably write another blog once something else interesting happens.
_J
Friday, October 17, 2008
Two jobs
Yes, today I got up really early and went out to two job interviews. Long story short, I was a little too technically deficient for one job so they passed on me, and the second one they told me I could start tomorrow.
So I put on my fancy suit in the morning, and put on my dress shoes... which immediately began to bite into open-wound blisters I received from the very same shoes a week before. No matter, I had to endure it for the day, smile through the pain! I had my map routed out (even though the route mapping system of Sydney is in major need of an overhaul), I had everything planned in my head what I was going to say, and I had just a few dabs of hair gel left. As I got on the train I realized I was really going to cut it close to make it to this interview on time, and boy was I right about that! But more on that later.
My recruiter called me up a while later while I was still waiting for the train to leave (It was 8:45 and I had to be there by 10:00). We went over some things we had talked about the day before, and she wish me good luck and I was on my way. I arrived at the station and got on a bus, but it turned out I had to PRE PAY for this one. AH! So I quickly went to the ticket station across the street to pick up a ticket, but by the time I got back to the stop it had left. No worries, the next bus would come soon. But when it did come it said 'Macquarie University' on it, not 'Macquarie Centre' as I was hoping. Still, I thought better this bus than none, and got on anyway. That was a bit of an error. I figured the bus would go on to the centre after the univirsity, but I that was not the case. The university was the last stop... all the students got off and I was there alone, so I felt stupid and followed the last student out. Here I was, lost in a foreign university campus, with 10 minutes to spare until 10:00am. Sweat was rolling down my forehead and down from under my armpits. In a panic I ran towards where I thought the shopping centre was (where I originally wanted to go). Luckily, it was where I thought it was. Saved!
But I still had to quicken my pace because I was pretty late. As I got closer to my destination I remembered that these guys are pretty secretive (it's a research lab), and that it would be hard to find the entrance. Luckily, I found the right entrance right on the dot 10:00am. A guy opened the door and looked at my quizzically, when I said my name is Joram and I'm here for an interview with John... D'OH I had forgotten his last name. We got that sorted out pretty quick though and before I knew it I was in a room with 3 guys asking me all kinds of questions... that had to be answered immediately! The interview went well and I had to sign an NDA, so can't really talk about what the company does. All I can say is, what they do will REVOLUTIONIZE the industry they are targeting... just you wait. The main guy interviewing me turned out to look like my old boss Joe from my Niscon days, so it was very peculiar hearing a Joe-copy talking Australian. The interview went well, I answered all questions quickly without hesitation, remembered to laugh and smile at the right times and not slouch or put my hand over my face. They even showed me their testing rigs at the end and the main guy drove me to the bus station after; my first time in an Australian car!
After the interview I called the recruiter and we talked about how the interview went, and she even asked me some tough questions during the call, as if I was still in the interview! Crazy! In fact what she had prepped me for was something much harder than what it actually was, so it was good she did that because it prepared me for the worst. She kind of laughed how I took a big bow around Sydney to get to where I was going, since there were much more direct paths.
So I took the bus back to the main CBD (central business district) Sydney, and got another lovely look at the Sydney Opera House from the Harbour Bridge. I really gotta do the Harbour Bridge Climb one day, that will be amazing. I always see tourists on there. Anyway, I got to the train station and trained to West Sydney area, which took a bit of time. Good thing the 2nd interview was more of an open time frame that I was allowed to be at the interview, so no pressures if I got lost. When I got to the final train station and was about to get on a bus, I was stopped by a girl wanting donations for a charity. She immediately realized I wasn't an Aussie and we had a pleasant conversation instead of her begging me for money! Turns out she is from the UK and also working abroad just like me, and she told me I MUST go to the Max Brenner Chocolate Cafe when in Australia, or else my trip was for nothing! I should have got her number now that I think about it... she said if I get my job please think of the charity, and wished me good luck and I was on my way.
Now this bus I was on was amazing: it actually had a recorded voice say the name of the next station! You didn't have to look at a map and out the window frantically hoping you're matching up the stops. Very clear and non-complicated. Also, this particular bus line had a road specially designed for it; it wasnt' just the very far lane, there was an actual TRANSITWAY built for the purpose of a bus! To top that off there were even special 'B' lights inserted into the traffic lights so that only a bus could be in the intersection. Very impressive. So when my stop came I heard the voice say it and I pressed the button: no worries! 15 minute walk later and I was at the company.
I didn't sign an NDA with these guys so I can say the company is called Liquip, and Steve the guy who interviewed me was sooooooooooo laid back! In fact after explaining everything to me he was already setting up a computer for me and an account and told me be here by 8AM tomorrow! I was pretty amazed. Of course, now I will have to show these guys I can actually do mechanical drafting without my daddy helping me out all the time... should be interesting! Tolerances on dimensions isn't a walk in the park let me tell you! Lots of experience and you just have to 'get it', which I haven't completely. That's why I'm a bit worried. So I got that job, and as i walked back to the bus stop I treated myself to a 15-Dollar lunch, nice tuna sandwich with a fruit salad on the side and a nice cold bottle of Pepsi. While I was eating the recruiter for THIS job (another girl), called me and told me if I wanted to work tomorrow I had to kick it into high gear over to her office (again the other side of Sydney, North Sydney). I said NO PROBS and finished my lunch (it was 3:50, late lunch), and took the same way back.
I arrived at the recruitment office at about 5:30pm, and realized the 2 recruiters who had 'found' me were staying overtime just to set me up with the paperwork! I felt a bit bad I made them wait too long, but they were all like 'no worries' and really cool about it. So I got a nice pen and mug out of the deal, and some time sheets, I am ready for this thing! 8 to 5pm! Yikes! I will have to wake up SUPER EARLY to get there, it takes about 1 1/2 hours at least. But it's ok since I'm not too into night life, as you all already probably know, so turning in at 10, 10:30ish won't be such a big deal for me. I just have to buy earplugs because sometimes the neighbours can be really noisy at night.
On the way back the FIRST RECRUITER called me and said I didn't get the job because another candidate they had interviewed had more experience + skills than me. Oh well. The silver lining of the cloud is that they liked me, I am a 'good bloke' as it were, and they will try to find another position for me within the company. So that will be pretty sweet if it happens, I really want to be part of their operation, like I said earlier they will revolutionize their industry once the prototype becomes a product and goes into mass-production to be sold to vendors. Cool stuff.
So now I'm here waiting around writing the longest blog ever and hopefully not boring you, the reader. I will appreciate TL;DR comments. Those ones are the best. And I know they mean that you love me but I am too long-winded and should get to the point already. Oh btw crows and seagulls have really strange calls here in Australia. They sound like they are poor imitations of their much superior North-American cousins. But they make up for it for having way more exotic birds here.
Thanks for reading all, hope to hear from you soon.
_Joram
So I put on my fancy suit in the morning, and put on my dress shoes... which immediately began to bite into open-wound blisters I received from the very same shoes a week before. No matter, I had to endure it for the day, smile through the pain! I had my map routed out (even though the route mapping system of Sydney is in major need of an overhaul), I had everything planned in my head what I was going to say, and I had just a few dabs of hair gel left. As I got on the train I realized I was really going to cut it close to make it to this interview on time, and boy was I right about that! But more on that later.
My recruiter called me up a while later while I was still waiting for the train to leave (It was 8:45 and I had to be there by 10:00). We went over some things we had talked about the day before, and she wish me good luck and I was on my way. I arrived at the station and got on a bus, but it turned out I had to PRE PAY for this one. AH! So I quickly went to the ticket station across the street to pick up a ticket, but by the time I got back to the stop it had left. No worries, the next bus would come soon. But when it did come it said 'Macquarie University' on it, not 'Macquarie Centre' as I was hoping. Still, I thought better this bus than none, and got on anyway. That was a bit of an error. I figured the bus would go on to the centre after the univirsity, but I that was not the case. The university was the last stop... all the students got off and I was there alone, so I felt stupid and followed the last student out. Here I was, lost in a foreign university campus, with 10 minutes to spare until 10:00am. Sweat was rolling down my forehead and down from under my armpits. In a panic I ran towards where I thought the shopping centre was (where I originally wanted to go). Luckily, it was where I thought it was. Saved!
But I still had to quicken my pace because I was pretty late. As I got closer to my destination I remembered that these guys are pretty secretive (it's a research lab), and that it would be hard to find the entrance. Luckily, I found the right entrance right on the dot 10:00am. A guy opened the door and looked at my quizzically, when I said my name is Joram and I'm here for an interview with John... D'OH I had forgotten his last name. We got that sorted out pretty quick though and before I knew it I was in a room with 3 guys asking me all kinds of questions... that had to be answered immediately! The interview went well and I had to sign an NDA, so can't really talk about what the company does. All I can say is, what they do will REVOLUTIONIZE the industry they are targeting... just you wait. The main guy interviewing me turned out to look like my old boss Joe from my Niscon days, so it was very peculiar hearing a Joe-copy talking Australian. The interview went well, I answered all questions quickly without hesitation, remembered to laugh and smile at the right times and not slouch or put my hand over my face. They even showed me their testing rigs at the end and the main guy drove me to the bus station after; my first time in an Australian car!
After the interview I called the recruiter and we talked about how the interview went, and she even asked me some tough questions during the call, as if I was still in the interview! Crazy! In fact what she had prepped me for was something much harder than what it actually was, so it was good she did that because it prepared me for the worst. She kind of laughed how I took a big bow around Sydney to get to where I was going, since there were much more direct paths.
So I took the bus back to the main CBD (central business district) Sydney, and got another lovely look at the Sydney Opera House from the Harbour Bridge. I really gotta do the Harbour Bridge Climb one day, that will be amazing. I always see tourists on there. Anyway, I got to the train station and trained to West Sydney area, which took a bit of time. Good thing the 2nd interview was more of an open time frame that I was allowed to be at the interview, so no pressures if I got lost. When I got to the final train station and was about to get on a bus, I was stopped by a girl wanting donations for a charity. She immediately realized I wasn't an Aussie and we had a pleasant conversation instead of her begging me for money! Turns out she is from the UK and also working abroad just like me, and she told me I MUST go to the Max Brenner Chocolate Cafe when in Australia, or else my trip was for nothing! I should have got her number now that I think about it... she said if I get my job please think of the charity, and wished me good luck and I was on my way.
Now this bus I was on was amazing: it actually had a recorded voice say the name of the next station! You didn't have to look at a map and out the window frantically hoping you're matching up the stops. Very clear and non-complicated. Also, this particular bus line had a road specially designed for it; it wasnt' just the very far lane, there was an actual TRANSITWAY built for the purpose of a bus! To top that off there were even special 'B' lights inserted into the traffic lights so that only a bus could be in the intersection. Very impressive. So when my stop came I heard the voice say it and I pressed the button: no worries! 15 minute walk later and I was at the company.
I didn't sign an NDA with these guys so I can say the company is called Liquip, and Steve the guy who interviewed me was sooooooooooo laid back! In fact after explaining everything to me he was already setting up a computer for me and an account and told me be here by 8AM tomorrow! I was pretty amazed. Of course, now I will have to show these guys I can actually do mechanical drafting without my daddy helping me out all the time... should be interesting! Tolerances on dimensions isn't a walk in the park let me tell you! Lots of experience and you just have to 'get it', which I haven't completely. That's why I'm a bit worried. So I got that job, and as i walked back to the bus stop I treated myself to a 15-Dollar lunch, nice tuna sandwich with a fruit salad on the side and a nice cold bottle of Pepsi. While I was eating the recruiter for THIS job (another girl), called me and told me if I wanted to work tomorrow I had to kick it into high gear over to her office (again the other side of Sydney, North Sydney). I said NO PROBS and finished my lunch (it was 3:50, late lunch), and took the same way back.
I arrived at the recruitment office at about 5:30pm, and realized the 2 recruiters who had 'found' me were staying overtime just to set me up with the paperwork! I felt a bit bad I made them wait too long, but they were all like 'no worries' and really cool about it. So I got a nice pen and mug out of the deal, and some time sheets, I am ready for this thing! 8 to 5pm! Yikes! I will have to wake up SUPER EARLY to get there, it takes about 1 1/2 hours at least. But it's ok since I'm not too into night life, as you all already probably know, so turning in at 10, 10:30ish won't be such a big deal for me. I just have to buy earplugs because sometimes the neighbours can be really noisy at night.
On the way back the FIRST RECRUITER called me and said I didn't get the job because another candidate they had interviewed had more experience + skills than me. Oh well. The silver lining of the cloud is that they liked me, I am a 'good bloke' as it were, and they will try to find another position for me within the company. So that will be pretty sweet if it happens, I really want to be part of their operation, like I said earlier they will revolutionize their industry once the prototype becomes a product and goes into mass-production to be sold to vendors. Cool stuff.
So now I'm here waiting around writing the longest blog ever and hopefully not boring you, the reader. I will appreciate TL;DR comments. Those ones are the best. And I know they mean that you love me but I am too long-winded and should get to the point already. Oh btw crows and seagulls have really strange calls here in Australia. They sound like they are poor imitations of their much superior North-American cousins. But they make up for it for having way more exotic birds here.
Thanks for reading all, hope to hear from you soon.
_Joram
Monday, October 13, 2008
I am a complete failure
Well today I wanted to go to Hillsong Church. I got up at about 8am, sat in bed until 8:45, then got ready in the bathroom. I left the house at 9:00am exactly. As I walked to Central Station I was worried I wouldn't make it in time for my 9:21 departure time. Luckily I got there by 9:15 and bought my ticket for $6.80 (round trip). They offer free bus trips from two different stations. Unfortunately, the ticket i bought didn't say which platform it took off from, so I was searching around frantically for 10 minutes trying to find the right train. I missed my train by 5 minutes, and the next one left at 9:35. So I took that one anyway. When I got to Parrammeta station, I debated getting out because one of the buses leaves from there. But I didn't get out. To my dismay I saw the bus was still waiting there (I knew it was the bus because it had some slogan written on the side, something about God wanting to get to know you). So I stayed in the train until Black Town Station, where the other bus had left already at 10:00am. When I got there I realized there were buses and taxis there that could potentially take me to Hillsong, but I was too scared to talk to people and ask them, and instead wandered into the mall and bought me some Hungry Jacks (Burger King).
After that I just went back home.
So that is my story of how I failed to go to church.
I will try again next week, this time I know where the train takes off and maybe I'll go earlier as well.
_J
After that I just went back home.
So that is my story of how I failed to go to church.
I will try again next week, this time I know where the train takes off and maybe I'll go earlier as well.
_J
Saturday, October 11, 2008
So THAT'S what salt water tastes like!
So I woke up on Monday October 6 really early to walk to the hostel for the bus to pick us up. Everytime a nice Greyhound bus passed us by I was wondering what sort of a bus would take us there... eventually I found out, it was a small Toyota bus that seats about 25 people. It was obvious that it was our bus because it had 'Surf Camp Australia' written on it.
We drove through some hilly countryside for about 2 hours south of Sydney to get to the beach. Pretty nice scenery all around. There were a lot of Germans at the camp, some Swedes, some Danes, some Dutchies as well. Canadians, Americans, and UK folk were in a small minority. And there was one French and one Italian guy. So a pretty good mix of people, but pretty much all white people. One hour after we arrived we got into our wetsuits and went to the beach to start our first lesson! The first thing we learned was where we need to position ourselves on the board, and how to push up on it. The standing didn't come until the second lesson.
I though it would be similar to snowboafding but the only thing that's similar is the stance. Front foot at 45 degrees, back foot at 90 degrees. Keep your body straight. Of course since I'm a weak-sauce computer nerd I stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the more built peers, but I got over it after I saw them wipe out as much as me.
Over the days I got better and better and my coach even told me he was happy to see me get better. I could probably do this if I could somehow live close enough to a beach and fit it into my schedule. It really is a good feeling when you 'get it', and get a good ride out to the beach. Of course we didn't do anything near to what they have in their posters, riding through tunnel/barrel waves. That is for the professionals. But the important thing is I had fun and met a bunch of people.
Now reality will set in and I'll have to find a job! Or else I will not have as much fun. There are still a bunch of things I want to do like some cruises, skydiving, and some outback adventures. I have an interview 4 hours from now and I'm pretty stoked for it.
If you want to see pictures, go to www.nowak-designs.com/foto
Thanks again for reading, hope to hear from you soon!
_Jori
Friday, October 3, 2008
Settling in... or not?
Well a couple days have gone by and I am still sending my resume and cover letter to companies all over the place. I am still too proud to take a restaurant job or something like that but as I said in the past, I may have to put that pride aside (hey that rhymes), and start making some dough soon or else things will be bad!
Last night I went to the Sidebar, which is another backpacker bar. There are a lot of them around here, so you meet all kinds of internationals in them. Of course, I just grabbed a Toohey's beer and sat around not talking to anyone, which is my typical style. I did meet up with a girl I had met last week, and we talked for a while about our lives. That was interesting because we had to talk over the loud music (which was live and pretty darn good, I must say). When it came to around 12am I had to say my goodbyes as I was looking for my sister.
I found her with her friends playing pool, and she told me our cousin Dave had messaged her. I thought it was strange this time of night for a family man of 3 kids to be messaging people, but he's a different bloke he is. SOoooo I messaged him too and we soon got into an interesting conversation. He told me to stay away from 'fat Kiwi chicks', and to try a swampie. So I went up to the bar and asked for one, but the bartender didn't know what it was. So I had to explain to him what it was. Kinda funny.
So again after like 5 bears, a rum&coke, and this swampie thing, I went home with my sister this time, not alone. I hope I didn't say anything stupid. I'm not really the type of person that goes to bars a lot, so i'm a bit out of my element. I don't know how to aproach girls and start making out with them or anything like that, so I will never fit in in that sense. Maybe I'm just too old.
Either way, I'm still stressed about not having a job but I gotta say it's my own fault for not trying hard enough and limiting my options like I am. Tomorrow I have a meeting at a recruitment agency so hopefully something will come of that.
I also went shopping already, and discovered a huge mall. It's pretty much the same as our malls but it is taller than it is wider, with about 5 or 6 floors. And instead of escalators to go up they have slanted walkways, like the kinds they have at airports. So less chances of your shoelaces getting stuck. I also noticed ATM machines here are WAY FASTER than ours back home. Instant access to my ever-shrinking bank account: great success!
I'm not sure what I'll do for the rest of the day, as it's only about 5PM here, but I may just chillax, even though I can't afford to sit idly by as my money is being used up. I just hope things will get better soon, because it's hard to enjoy this city without a solid income to back you up. It's an expensive tourist town, so I shouldn't have expected any less.
Well see ya'll later, and thanks for reading.
Out and About
_joRAM
Last night I went to the Sidebar, which is another backpacker bar. There are a lot of them around here, so you meet all kinds of internationals in them. Of course, I just grabbed a Toohey's beer and sat around not talking to anyone, which is my typical style. I did meet up with a girl I had met last week, and we talked for a while about our lives. That was interesting because we had to talk over the loud music (which was live and pretty darn good, I must say). When it came to around 12am I had to say my goodbyes as I was looking for my sister.
I found her with her friends playing pool, and she told me our cousin Dave had messaged her. I thought it was strange this time of night for a family man of 3 kids to be messaging people, but he's a different bloke he is. SOoooo I messaged him too and we soon got into an interesting conversation. He told me to stay away from 'fat Kiwi chicks', and to try a swampie. So I went up to the bar and asked for one, but the bartender didn't know what it was. So I had to explain to him what it was. Kinda funny.
So again after like 5 bears, a rum&coke, and this swampie thing, I went home with my sister this time, not alone. I hope I didn't say anything stupid. I'm not really the type of person that goes to bars a lot, so i'm a bit out of my element. I don't know how to aproach girls and start making out with them or anything like that, so I will never fit in in that sense. Maybe I'm just too old.
Either way, I'm still stressed about not having a job but I gotta say it's my own fault for not trying hard enough and limiting my options like I am. Tomorrow I have a meeting at a recruitment agency so hopefully something will come of that.
I also went shopping already, and discovered a huge mall. It's pretty much the same as our malls but it is taller than it is wider, with about 5 or 6 floors. And instead of escalators to go up they have slanted walkways, like the kinds they have at airports. So less chances of your shoelaces getting stuck. I also noticed ATM machines here are WAY FASTER than ours back home. Instant access to my ever-shrinking bank account: great success!
I'm not sure what I'll do for the rest of the day, as it's only about 5PM here, but I may just chillax, even though I can't afford to sit idly by as my money is being used up. I just hope things will get better soon, because it's hard to enjoy this city without a solid income to back you up. It's an expensive tourist town, so I shouldn't have expected any less.
Well see ya'll later, and thanks for reading.
Out and About
_joRAM
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Pictures?
Well I guess I spazzed out yesterday. I haven't really started looking for jobs in full force yet, as i am going to surf camp next week I don't want jobs to get in the way. I will just have to learn to relax a bit. I just moved into a flat with my sister and we are starting to get settled in here. I have also uploaded all the pictures to the PC. I think I will put some on my facebook page. Most of these are from Darling Harbour and some from the Sydney Aquarium and Wildlife World. Wow i hate the blogger.com uploading thing it's not very friendly for pictures, so I'll avoid using it.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Weekend stuff
Nothing much happened on the weekend. I went to Bondi again and got majorly sunburned cause my sunscreen sucks. It's sort of a gel instead of a cream and all the blowing stand stuck to me. I still have sand on me from that day. And because of the wind, everyone left the beach and I had to stand at the very front of a packed bus. This working holiday is seriously starting to get me down. I'm almost tempting to just stop it now and go back home to mommy and daddy.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday Adventures
Well it seems my sister is collecting a bunch of friends. I feel silly now with no friends of my own and tagging along with her. I feel vibes of being an unwanted party member. Friday I went to Manly Beach with my sister and her friends. We took a city train to Circular Quay and then bought tickets for the Ferry. The big one wasn't in service, so we took a smaller boat over there. The Sydney Opera House is really beautiful. I've only obviously ever seen it on pictures, but it seems a lot more symmetrical in real life. The white tiles that make up the large triangular sections are actually more apparent up close.
When we got to Manly we had to walk a bit to the beach. Everyone who was young was wearing swimmers and thongs, that's just how it is here! Turns out the high school kids' last day before a 2-week break was that day, so they were out in full force. The young kids hair styles are very interesting around here, they're big on the rat tails and spiky hair dos. Kids were playing rugby on the beach and a lot of them were a couple hundred feet out in the water letting huge waves hit them. The sky was blue as blue gets and so was the water. Just a really beautiful day and a nice breeze as well. Some lifeguards whistled a bit because they were afraid some people were getting too far out. You're only supposed to swim between red and yellow striped flags.
We went back to Sydney around 2pm. While my sister and her friend were getting some groceries, I waited outside on a bench. Two guys sitting next to me started to talk to me, asking me if you think they're going to win. I was confused and then they mentioned my shirt. It turns out my American Eagle shirt was very similar to the Manly-Warrinagh Sea Eagles shirt. So it was a bit of a funny convo because I know nothing about sports. Turns out they are from 'all over the place', and not Australia at all. They warned me of Australian women. Three will approach you on a night out; one will wrap herself around you and start to flirt, another one will embrace and kiss you and make you feel special, while the third one will take your wallet. Very interesting advice.
So we got on a bigger boat on the way back, and we sat on the top deck outside. Lots of tourists obviously, and once we got around the bend and saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, they all crowded up on the deck and started taking photographs, blocking my spectacular view. Oh well, I figure I'm here long enough so I can experience this all again, potentially.
Today I also realized my Canadian Permanent Resident card runs out BEFORE I am scheduled to leave the country. Very very interesting. I'm not sure what I will do about that.
See ya'll later and thanks for reading.
When we got to Manly we had to walk a bit to the beach. Everyone who was young was wearing swimmers and thongs, that's just how it is here! Turns out the high school kids' last day before a 2-week break was that day, so they were out in full force. The young kids hair styles are very interesting around here, they're big on the rat tails and spiky hair dos. Kids were playing rugby on the beach and a lot of them were a couple hundred feet out in the water letting huge waves hit them. The sky was blue as blue gets and so was the water. Just a really beautiful day and a nice breeze as well. Some lifeguards whistled a bit because they were afraid some people were getting too far out. You're only supposed to swim between red and yellow striped flags.
We went back to Sydney around 2pm. While my sister and her friend were getting some groceries, I waited outside on a bench. Two guys sitting next to me started to talk to me, asking me if you think they're going to win. I was confused and then they mentioned my shirt. It turns out my American Eagle shirt was very similar to the Manly-Warrinagh Sea Eagles shirt. So it was a bit of a funny convo because I know nothing about sports. Turns out they are from 'all over the place', and not Australia at all. They warned me of Australian women. Three will approach you on a night out; one will wrap herself around you and start to flirt, another one will embrace and kiss you and make you feel special, while the third one will take your wallet. Very interesting advice.
So we got on a bigger boat on the way back, and we sat on the top deck outside. Lots of tourists obviously, and once we got around the bend and saw the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, they all crowded up on the deck and started taking photographs, blocking my spectacular view. Oh well, I figure I'm here long enough so I can experience this all again, potentially.
Today I also realized my Canadian Permanent Resident card runs out BEFORE I am scheduled to leave the country. Very very interesting. I'm not sure what I will do about that.
See ya'll later and thanks for reading.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Thursday Night
Well that was fun. The event held by IEP actually ended up being in a different bar than I though, about a 35 minute walk away from the hostel. So I googled up the walking instructions and wrote them down in a message on my mobile. As I was leaving the hostel I thought to myself, maybe I should have gone with some people. But since I don't really know anyone yet, I ventured out alone. As I got closer and closer to the bar I realized that walking instructions generally give the shortest routes, not the safest ones. I should have stayed on the main streets. Once I saw a past-her-prime prostitute and an old man with a big black dog, I started to feel a bit scared. Thankfully by then I was already pretty close to the bar, and just quickened my step a bit.
The bar is called The World Bar. Some IEP coordinators were there already, at 8pm. I was actually the only one that came there early. I now realize it's not cool to leave so early. Next time I'll remember to show up late like everyone else! The beer I tried was not Fosters, like many people outside Australia think Australians drink. It's actually made largely for export. The beer I drank was Coopers and Carlton Draught. Pretty good stuff. After a while I started to lose count of how many I had had! I had some good conversations with other international students/travelers, but had to shout really loud over the music. They also passed around 'tea pots', with I don't know what was inside, but you basically pour them into shot glasses. At 12 I left and stumbled on home. It had been a pretty great night.
So today I guess I'm going to Manly. I'm not sure how we're getting there but we should figure it out. Again I don't have the camera with me so I don't have any pictures to post yet, but I will as soon as I can.
_J
The bar is called The World Bar. Some IEP coordinators were there already, at 8pm. I was actually the only one that came there early. I now realize it's not cool to leave so early. Next time I'll remember to show up late like everyone else! The beer I tried was not Fosters, like many people outside Australia think Australians drink. It's actually made largely for export. The beer I drank was Coopers and Carlton Draught. Pretty good stuff. After a while I started to lose count of how many I had had! I had some good conversations with other international students/travelers, but had to shout really loud over the music. They also passed around 'tea pots', with I don't know what was inside, but you basically pour them into shot glasses. At 12 I left and stumbled on home. It had been a pretty great night.
So today I guess I'm going to Manly. I'm not sure how we're getting there but we should figure it out. Again I don't have the camera with me so I don't have any pictures to post yet, but I will as soon as I can.
_J
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday so far
Well today was interesting. My sister's two friends and I went to Bondi Beach. This beach is quite amazing. The sand is this crazy yellow colour, and so soft and smooth. Pretty much all I did was watch the surfers and sift my hands through the sand over and over. I also listened to some of the girls' stories and it was interesting. We had to take a half-hour bus ride there, and I still can't get over how everything drives on the other side of the road. I hope I don't accidentally look the wrong way some day and get hit by someone. I didn't go in the water because my sister said it was cold, but I figure there will be plenty of time to go again. Also I didn't have any sunscreen so I pretty much curled up into a ball the whole time avoiding the sun as best as possible.
The next half of the day was also pretty cool. We met up with a Scottish guy Ian, and he showed us two possible apartments we could live in. One was $160/week and the other was $120/week. Of course the more expensive one was much nicer, sort of like a dorm room in university. The other one was a bit more quaint, in fact some rooms are separated by the open sky, the whole apartment doesn't even have a roof over the whole of it! But apparently Aussies don't care about this sort of details. In fact I might just want to live there, since it's available. I might do the 4-day surf camp next week, but not 100% sure about it.
After this, around 4:30pm I finally went down to the 'GoodGames' store, take a few steps and you miss it. It is wedged between some Asian store and a McDonalds. I took the long steps up and lo-and-behold, it was a typical gaming store. Kids were playing MAGIC and other card games and just being nerdy, cool stuff. The arcade machines there were Japanese style, so you sit down to play and your opponent is on the other side. I asked the clerk for change for $5 and started to play Street Fighter IV for the first time! I was so excited. But my excitement dulled over time as I realized it didn't really have the same feel of the classic 2D games. It's an OK game but nowhere near as good as I imagined it would be. Graphics are fantastic but that's about it. I miss the 3rd Strike characters and the good feel of the game, it's just missing now.
After that I went to McDonalds for supper. They have a pretty good selection, in fact there are two different panels, one for beef-based burgers and the other one for chicken-based burgers. The important thing is that they had an equivalent of the long-lost Big Xtra burger from back home, called the McFeast Deluxe! I was in heaven! Unfortunately, they have this strange option for ordering: namely, you have to select if you want the regular, medium, or large size menu. Their large is our medium! I guess it's no wonder people are getting fat in North America when they have different concepts of what is medium and what is large. Also, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks here, but I haven't tried any yet. Oh yeah, and Coca Cola tastes terrrrrrrrrrrrrrribbbbbbbbbbbble here! It's the worst stuff ever! Tastes fake or something. My favourite drink of Coke on the Rocks™ has been desecrated. Oh well, it'll be something to look forward to when I get home.
So now I am headed to a bar for the first time to try some Aussie-beer. Should be heaps interesting.
Outtie.
_Joram
The next half of the day was also pretty cool. We met up with a Scottish guy Ian, and he showed us two possible apartments we could live in. One was $160/week and the other was $120/week. Of course the more expensive one was much nicer, sort of like a dorm room in university. The other one was a bit more quaint, in fact some rooms are separated by the open sky, the whole apartment doesn't even have a roof over the whole of it! But apparently Aussies don't care about this sort of details. In fact I might just want to live there, since it's available. I might do the 4-day surf camp next week, but not 100% sure about it.
After this, around 4:30pm I finally went down to the 'GoodGames' store, take a few steps and you miss it. It is wedged between some Asian store and a McDonalds. I took the long steps up and lo-and-behold, it was a typical gaming store. Kids were playing MAGIC and other card games and just being nerdy, cool stuff. The arcade machines there were Japanese style, so you sit down to play and your opponent is on the other side. I asked the clerk for change for $5 and started to play Street Fighter IV for the first time! I was so excited. But my excitement dulled over time as I realized it didn't really have the same feel of the classic 2D games. It's an OK game but nowhere near as good as I imagined it would be. Graphics are fantastic but that's about it. I miss the 3rd Strike characters and the good feel of the game, it's just missing now.
After that I went to McDonalds for supper. They have a pretty good selection, in fact there are two different panels, one for beef-based burgers and the other one for chicken-based burgers. The important thing is that they had an equivalent of the long-lost Big Xtra burger from back home, called the McFeast Deluxe! I was in heaven! Unfortunately, they have this strange option for ordering: namely, you have to select if you want the regular, medium, or large size menu. Their large is our medium! I guess it's no wonder people are getting fat in North America when they have different concepts of what is medium and what is large. Also, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks here, but I haven't tried any yet. Oh yeah, and Coca Cola tastes terrrrrrrrrrrrrrribbbbbbbb
So now I am headed to a bar for the first time to try some Aussie-beer. Should be heaps interesting.
Outtie.
_Joram
Wednesday in Sydney
Well Wednesday was a bit of an overwhelming day for me so I basically went to sleep afterwards. Basically we had an orientation session that lasted for about 3 hours. We learned about Australia and what kind of things there are to do here. We learned about housing, jobs, social events, not to touch box jellyfish, and about a surf camp. The surf camp is what I really remember from it, because I really want to do it! It sounds like a lot of fun. I have to pay around $500 for a week of lessons, but that's the fixed rate. Everything along with housing and food is provided for. So I am definitely considering it. Some people back home told me that I should learn to surf, so I might as well use that opportunity!
So afterwards I spent nearly 2 hours on the fancy iMacs they have at the IEP office, just browsing around and looking for a job and fixing my resume up. During this time my sister left to get her bank card, but when I went back to the hostel to meet her she wasn't there yet. So I waited for a long time (until about 8pm) and she finally showed up and said she met some friends and had dinner with them. It's amazing how fast this girl can make friends... so far I haven't made any yet. My withdrawn and introverted nature prevents me from reaching out. Hopefully that will change once I am forced to meet people, because tonight is the SCUBAR event with IEP so I may have to force myself to talk to people.
So I had another 12-hour sleep, I think I have no excuses about jetlag anymore. And oh yeah I missed out on my chance to see Street Fighter IV, but I'm hoping that will come up soon enough.
So long then, I'll keep reporting as long as internet is available to me.
So afterwards I spent nearly 2 hours on the fancy iMacs they have at the IEP office, just browsing around and looking for a job and fixing my resume up. During this time my sister left to get her bank card, but when I went back to the hostel to meet her she wasn't there yet. So I waited for a long time (until about 8pm) and she finally showed up and said she met some friends and had dinner with them. It's amazing how fast this girl can make friends... so far I haven't made any yet. My withdrawn and introverted nature prevents me from reaching out. Hopefully that will change once I am forced to meet people, because tonight is the SCUBAR event with IEP so I may have to force myself to talk to people.
So I had another 12-hour sleep, I think I have no excuses about jetlag anymore. And oh yeah I missed out on my chance to see Street Fighter IV, but I'm hoping that will come up soon enough.
So long then, I'll keep reporting as long as internet is available to me.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
2nd Day is done
Well today was an interesting day of walking around Sydney. We walked to the harbor called Darling and went to the Aquarium and the Wildlife World. It was like a typical zoo, but more open. The sharks were pretty immense and it was cool to see them from underneath in the glass tunnels. It was pretty sweet seeing all the marsupials and animals only known to live in Australia as well. The Koalas like to sleep, so they just pretty much sit in trees and take it easy, sleeping and eating. That is the life I would like to have. We weren't allowed to touch them though because somehow there is some protection on them. Lots of interesting spiders too and some animals I have never heard about, like the Bilby, for instance.
Still haven't been to the Bondi Beach yet though, but maybe today. If I won't go there I'll probably go to the Taronga Zoo. More animals than the other place. And I may even upload photos if I remember to bring my USB cable.
As for place to stay and job, I don't have that settled yet, so I have extended the stay at the hostel. I am also excited because there is a Street Fighter IV machine near my place, I may go check it out soon. I have to make my pilgrimage to it. I just wish I had some more security and an idea of what will come next, instead of this drifting about, it's not a good feeling.
Well, later all.
Still haven't been to the Bondi Beach yet though, but maybe today. If I won't go there I'll probably go to the Taronga Zoo. More animals than the other place. And I may even upload photos if I remember to bring my USB cable.
As for place to stay and job, I don't have that settled yet, so I have extended the stay at the hostel. I am also excited because there is a Street Fighter IV machine near my place, I may go check it out soon. I have to make my pilgrimage to it. I just wish I had some more security and an idea of what will come next, instead of this drifting about, it's not a good feeling.
Well, later all.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Here I Am!
So after about 20 hours in the air, I am finally in Sydney, Australia. So far I've just got a room and walked around the city a bit. It's awesome hearing all the crazy accents. I only have a small amount of computer time so I try to make the best of it. It's on a mac too, so I have to learn some new commands.
The worst part of the trip was the 14 hours from LA to Sydney. It was just dark outside the whole time, with the sun behind us. It finally caught up to us when we were about to land, so we got to see the Sydney Opera House and some of the other famous landmarks from the sky. It's too bad I didn't take any pictures, but I promise I will make some as soon as possible.
I met some Norwegians in my hostel room. They are backpacking for real across Eastern Australia, and were headed to Brisbane to try out surfing. The Norwegian language is very interesting, sort of sing-songy German or something, very hard to describe. I didn't understand anything so it's safe to say the language is pretty far from German. I was talking to the guy and drifting in and out of consciousness the whole time, so it was sort of interesting. I fell asleep for real about 3pm and woke up at 5am, so 14 hours of quality sleep time!
Now I have to start getting into high gear and looking for a spot to stay. Hostel will only last me so long before I get tired of sharing a room with others. Job might be fun if I'm looking for something substantial, so I might end up just taking a typical backpacker job like harvesting or something.
Basically everything looks like a big city here, nothing too interesting to report on that front. It's a combination of European and American styles, and of course the cars drive on the wrong side of the street. It's unfortunate I didn't get an international driving license, cause then I'd be able to drive around with more freedom than taking a train or bus or plane somewhere.
Next update I'll try to put some pics up hopefully.
Until then, goodbye.
The worst part of the trip was the 14 hours from LA to Sydney. It was just dark outside the whole time, with the sun behind us. It finally caught up to us when we were about to land, so we got to see the Sydney Opera House and some of the other famous landmarks from the sky. It's too bad I didn't take any pictures, but I promise I will make some as soon as possible.
I met some Norwegians in my hostel room. They are backpacking for real across Eastern Australia, and were headed to Brisbane to try out surfing. The Norwegian language is very interesting, sort of sing-songy German or something, very hard to describe. I didn't understand anything so it's safe to say the language is pretty far from German. I was talking to the guy and drifting in and out of consciousness the whole time, so it was sort of interesting. I fell asleep for real about 3pm and woke up at 5am, so 14 hours of quality sleep time!
Now I have to start getting into high gear and looking for a spot to stay. Hostel will only last me so long before I get tired of sharing a room with others. Job might be fun if I'm looking for something substantial, so I might end up just taking a typical backpacker job like harvesting or something.
Basically everything looks like a big city here, nothing too interesting to report on that front. It's a combination of European and American styles, and of course the cars drive on the wrong side of the street. It's unfortunate I didn't get an international driving license, cause then I'd be able to drive around with more freedom than taking a train or bus or plane somewhere.
Next update I'll try to put some pics up hopefully.
Until then, goodbye.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
1 and a bit weeks to go!!!
Well I guess everything has culminated down to this. Something that was just an idea of my sister's has become a reality. I am heading to Australia for a 4-month(+?) stay and things are starting to happen. I've opened up a bank account, filed for a tax number, and I'm starting to see what kind of jobs and apartments there are to look at. This blogger format was the easiest option, so I chose it. Hopefully it'll last too.
My plans are to have fun, and to worry less. I also plan to play less games and seek out new interests, but there are no guarantees with that. I've always said in the past, and my friends and siblings can attest to this, that I wanted to give up videogames and find a new hobby, but to this day it hasn't happened yet. So I suppose I am bound to them for life. But I do appreciate nature and beautiful sites and sounds, so I'm hoping to have my eyes and ears opened to what's out there in the land down under.
I will try to update as much as I can, so that I don't fill up 4 pages with text. And I will try to put pictures in as well, even though I don't own a camera.
_Joram
My plans are to have fun, and to worry less. I also plan to play less games and seek out new interests, but there are no guarantees with that. I've always said in the past, and my friends and siblings can attest to this, that I wanted to give up videogames and find a new hobby, but to this day it hasn't happened yet. So I suppose I am bound to them for life. But I do appreciate nature and beautiful sites and sounds, so I'm hoping to have my eyes and ears opened to what's out there in the land down under.
I will try to update as much as I can, so that I don't fill up 4 pages with text. And I will try to put pictures in as well, even though I don't own a camera.
_Joram
Sunday, January 6, 2008
New dream for 2008
Last night I had a strange dream.
The dream begins in a familiar classroom. It reminds me of high school, but the people I am with don't have distinct enough faces for them to be recognizable. But we aren't facing the front of the classroom sitting in desks, instead we are all sitting facing each other, because the tables are arranged in a rectangular pattern. There are about 30 of us, and we are divided into groups of 4 by the teacher. Each group is given a large jar, a diamond-shaped die, and a stencil plate of different sized circles. Although I can't remember what the assignment is, we only have half an hour to complete it.
As we exit the classroom to begin our assignment, I realize that the classroom isn't inside a school. It is actually in the middle of a bustling town in the winter time. The classroom is basically a large box building without a roof, with windows looking inside of it. Yet we manage to find another classroom to do our assignment in close by. It turns out the jar is full of little play figures, and we have to find pairs of them to match together. All I remember is one of the pairs looks like a bee man, with a spear. So one bee-man is dressed up with lots of colours and accessories, while the other one is really plain. As we are doing our work another student walks by our table and holds up a huge list that he flashes to us quickly then hides again as he laughs. He says he has all the answers but won't give us the list. So we are frustrated at this but keep on with the assignment, trying to find matching figures. The figures have now become drawings instead of actual 3d tangible figures for some reason. I now hear commotion coming from our original classroom, and I realize we have gone over our time limit to complete the assignment.
We run towards the classroom but the doors are locked, and the windows are closed. But there is one window that is slightly open, and we pear inside to a strange spectacle. Students are running around the table in circles. They are so fast that objects situated around the classroom are being flung into the air, and a sound like a roaring wind is heard. They are all happy and laughing, playing some kind of game. I want what they have, and bang on the window but nobody hears me. It is cold outside and there is snow everywhere, I want to be in the warm classroom. Finally the teacher opens the door and asks me if I have the stencil and the diamond-shaped die with me. I do and she reluctantly lets me in.
When I enter the classroom it has become something completely different. The whole area is filled to the brim with water, and it has become a large labyrinth. I swim about frantically looking for my friends, but there is nobody around. The area is really well lit with neon greens and pinks, and I am somehow able to breathe in the water. I finally do find one of my fellow students, but he is engrossed in some kind of game that no amount of yelling or gesturing works to get his attention. After some more swimming around, I find a girl that is about to be eaten by a large pink beast with one eye and a lot of tentacles. But she is stuck in one place, spinning her diamond-shaped die over and over again thinking it will somehow save her from the creature. I try to rescue her and pull her away but a large stone door crashes down in front of me, separating us.
I wake up at this moment and realize it is 8:30, and I am late for work.
The dream begins in a familiar classroom. It reminds me of high school, but the people I am with don't have distinct enough faces for them to be recognizable. But we aren't facing the front of the classroom sitting in desks, instead we are all sitting facing each other, because the tables are arranged in a rectangular pattern. There are about 30 of us, and we are divided into groups of 4 by the teacher. Each group is given a large jar, a diamond-shaped die, and a stencil plate of different sized circles. Although I can't remember what the assignment is, we only have half an hour to complete it.
As we exit the classroom to begin our assignment, I realize that the classroom isn't inside a school. It is actually in the middle of a bustling town in the winter time. The classroom is basically a large box building without a roof, with windows looking inside of it. Yet we manage to find another classroom to do our assignment in close by. It turns out the jar is full of little play figures, and we have to find pairs of them to match together. All I remember is one of the pairs looks like a bee man, with a spear. So one bee-man is dressed up with lots of colours and accessories, while the other one is really plain. As we are doing our work another student walks by our table and holds up a huge list that he flashes to us quickly then hides again as he laughs. He says he has all the answers but won't give us the list. So we are frustrated at this but keep on with the assignment, trying to find matching figures. The figures have now become drawings instead of actual 3d tangible figures for some reason. I now hear commotion coming from our original classroom, and I realize we have gone over our time limit to complete the assignment.
We run towards the classroom but the doors are locked, and the windows are closed. But there is one window that is slightly open, and we pear inside to a strange spectacle. Students are running around the table in circles. They are so fast that objects situated around the classroom are being flung into the air, and a sound like a roaring wind is heard. They are all happy and laughing, playing some kind of game. I want what they have, and bang on the window but nobody hears me. It is cold outside and there is snow everywhere, I want to be in the warm classroom. Finally the teacher opens the door and asks me if I have the stencil and the diamond-shaped die with me. I do and she reluctantly lets me in.
When I enter the classroom it has become something completely different. The whole area is filled to the brim with water, and it has become a large labyrinth. I swim about frantically looking for my friends, but there is nobody around. The area is really well lit with neon greens and pinks, and I am somehow able to breathe in the water. I finally do find one of my fellow students, but he is engrossed in some kind of game that no amount of yelling or gesturing works to get his attention. After some more swimming around, I find a girl that is about to be eaten by a large pink beast with one eye and a lot of tentacles. But she is stuck in one place, spinning her diamond-shaped die over and over again thinking it will somehow save her from the creature. I try to rescue her and pull her away but a large stone door crashes down in front of me, separating us.
I wake up at this moment and realize it is 8:30, and I am late for work.
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