Day 101 - Bobo vs Slug

Yes, you!

July 17th, 2015

Out of desperation for some easy food that wasn’t super dry (the tuna I bought wasn’t flavoured, so it was desert meat), I scavenged my nearly-bare cupboard. Ah, a can of lentils, tuna, and pasta sauce. Sodium? Don't mind if I do! Seriously though, it was a pretty good mix. I feel like lentils can be used in place of rice if you’re desperate enough.

Day 100 - Salsa Makes a Comeback

Addison and Steele, So Nice.

July 16th, 2015

As I mentioned, I haven’t been going out doing anything overly social since that side of me was spent during the door-to-door "joy" walks. Ricardo wanted to go out tonight. I both said “yes” immediately, and didn’t want to do it. Like I’ve said, I am actually intimidated by clubs (in concept), but am usually fairly comfortable when I get there. Again, the idea of something is more daunting than the thing itself. We rock up to the line to see our French housemate, Assia, walking in before us. She’s nowhere to be found when we roll over to the salsa section of the night. It’s been at least 2 weeks of staying in, I’m surprised at how comfortable I feel in the scene. I strike up conversation with a girl who is standing pretty much on her own. To the side of her is another girl and two guys chatting her up, one getting the number. I figure these guys are idiots (why would they double team the one?) and decide to a) help them, and b) practice talking to strangers. It goes alright, but the conversation fizzled out.

Market of Ideas

I'm throwing up some pictures from Bali.
Too many to only use on the days I was there.
These statues are everywhere, btw.

I've noticed that some of my post get derailed by meandering ideas, derailing the flow of them. Beign that as it is, I've decided to dedicate some posts exclusively to ideas that don't fit by making them into their own standalone posts. This particular post will focus on a collection of ideas that have been bouncing around in my head but I’ve not put down yet. Some of you may wonder what ideas I could possibly be holding back, given that I don't say more of them than is sometimes relevant. They’ve been building up for a while, so feel free to scroll through the titles. Modular! 

Day 99 - Sensei Bobo

Plastic Bag Triforce (mine: bottom left)

July 15th, 2015

I am a deep sleeper. What amazes me is what I can ignore and what will wake me up. Two or three houses ago, we had a drum kit that shared a wall with my room. I slept through one of my roommates drumming away for a half hour, yet.. my phone vibrating will wake me up. I suppose we train ourselves to pay attention to these things. This is my roundabout way of saying that I was woken up by my phone going off, again.

It was Nadja, asking me to work at 5 today and tomorrow. It’s 10:30, which is as good a time to get up as any. I find getting up “earlier” fine when I’m not hitting it hard at night. Naturally, I swing back and forth between focused learning/work, and intense social interaction to counterbalance. As I’ve said, I’m just slightly on the extroverted side of the Intro-Extro scale.

My extroverted side was totally buggered - fried - from doing the door to door thing. That’s more social than I wish to be, especially since most of the interactions were negative. As my Aunt told me, you need to keep a schism between ego and persona (the role you’re playing). She’s right, but I think that the constant negativity wears you down, eating away at you. In either case, I am now free and neutral feels like heaven after that bloody hell. Yin and Yang, brothers and sisters.

Day 98 - Princess Yuzu Departs

The best photo I could sneak

July 14th, 2015

BRRRRRRT, BRRRRRRRT goes my phone as unexpected alarm clock. It’s Yuzu; the landlord was here and woke her up. She's looking for a place to hide herself and her stuff while the landlord shows the potential renter around. We hide together in darkness.

Fun fact about Yuzu: she’s a heavy sleeper. Yuzu mentioned that she was afraid that she didn’t hear the landlord for the first bit, but Landlord Jenny later told me that she had to try several times before literally shaking her back to life. Hilarious, though I apologize and offer to pay for Yuzu's night. No charge, luckily. There are so many empty beds, and Yuzu is super clean. I figured it wouldn’t be a problem.

Day 96 - Yuzu's Last Full Day

Dat House...

July 13th, 2015

Chocoholic

I wake up to find Yuzu making “pumpkin” soup on the stove. I’m trying this new nutrition approach that was suggested in the 4h body consisting of low Glycemic index foods and meat primarily. I can’t really follow it exactly right now, but it’s encouraging me to get more vegetables and meat, and less white carbs. That’s generally what we’ve been told for years anyway, so.. no time like the present. Breakfast: pumpkin soup and a can of beans.

We both leave my place for similar destinations: she’s going to her share house, and I’m going to the gym, which is a stones throw away. Apparently, she had a deposit given at the beginning, which is normal. The catch for this place is that when you move out, they review your room and subtract fees depending on the state of the place. 

Day 95 - Spider Vomit

I actually thought to take a picture this time.

July 12th, 2015

Game Day - possibly the last one! I know, I know, you’re totally crying because of it. Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened.

Since my sleep schedule is more normalized, I have time to fit the gym in before the pickup time, and stop at Tran’s on my way home. I read “The Go Giver” this week, which is definitely a worthwhile read. For some it may be intrinsically obvious, but for others it may be eye opening. It’s also a great compliment to the 4 hour work week, which can make you start thinking more about scammier approaches to business. Bad dog! Bad!

Day 94 - I Need a Medic!

Next to Paella Republica is a posterboard
with a lot of cool-looking ones.

July 11th, 2015

Kicking off today, I’m heading to the doctor. It’s convenient enough, I just googled “walk-in clinic Perth” and there was a clinic that allowed me to book an appointment online. The price isn’t really listed, but I figure I’m going to have to go anyway. I'd would rather make sure things are all working as they should before I go to Bali or Beijing. The place is also in a central location, and it’s relatively expedient. I throw the word “relatively” in there because my tolerance for boredom/passing time is olympic level right now, and a half hour wait can feel fairly short.

Just to see the doc, it’s $95 flat. I get in to see him, he orders a urine test and gives me antibiotics. $18 for the antibiotics, and an unseen bill for however much the lab will charge me. Next challenge: figuring out how the health care works. As much as people complain about the Canadian healthcare, I’m missing it right now. 

Day 92-93 - Viva La Republica!

Stop.
You had me at "Green Penguin"

July 9th-10th, 2015

These days were basically identical, so I’m simply going to group them together. Wake up, eat, gym, and obsess over “4 hour work week.” It’s been a long time since an idea has embedded itself so deeply in my mind that I can’t stop thinking about it. I’m constantly listening to Tim Ferriss stuff, brainstorming business ideas, and playing with whatever ways I think they could be done. I need to figure out the nuts and bolts, then go from there. Honestly, though, I doubt I could come up with anything actionable before I get slightly more settled.* 

Day 90 - Paella Powered Prayers

Camera Crows on the Prowl

July 7th, 2015

AHhhhhhh... today is a good day. I start the new job at 6pm for a 2 hour training period. All I can think is "I don’t ever have to look at a house and think 'where’s the front door? are they home? the car’s still hot, so they probably just arrived.. but there are no lights on.. What’s the deal with this gate?' ever again." Hopefully. It’s downpouring, but hey, who cares? Not like I’m wandering around in it.

Day 91 - Coffee with Yuzu

What a Cutie

July 8th, 2015

Thanks to the job I just quit, I now have a morning schedule. This is actually not what I particularly want, as most things I like to do tend to happen at night. Though, this new job is supposed to be mainly evenings, which is perfect. Sleep in, gym, personal work, Paella work, and nights free. Huzzah!

I wake up at 9:30 and revel in the fact that I can fall back asleep for as long as I want. I revel in that fact, yet I don’t actually do it. Instead, I play around on my phone while talking to people from back home. Lucas, and Steve primarily; we’re planning possible businesses, while Steve and I banter like usual. I suggest to Steve that he should outsource his job, though he feels he could learn more from it before making any moves toward that. Good point.

Day 89 - ...Like a Bat Outta Hell

The bridge where today's work began

July 6th, 2015

I want to vomit. I thought I could do another day of this, and I'm doing everything I can to just will myself out of bed. Baby steps. Shimou makes me breakfast as I get ready (superstar), and I go to the wrong bus stop for the time I wanted to get there for. It doesn’t really matter. Despite all the deliberation, I’ve decided to quit this hell and besides, they never seem to notice the time when we show up. I also have found every morning in the office to be a waste of time wearing “business smart” and giving off the image of professionalism to the new people who were constantly being washed toward the rocks.

Day 88 - Pounding Pavement with Pride

Beaufort Street, Mofo

July 5th, 2015

Originally, I had planned to get up at 10, but the night witch got the better of me. I got up around 11:45 instead and it feels good. I help them fix their internet, as it’s been down since the night before and no one in the house is a native english speaker, and I don’t think any of them are particularly good with tech. 30 minutes later, I have them up and running again with a 50% boost in download speeds. Feels good x2.

Day 87 - Saturday Attacks!

Rawr

July 4th, 2015

Stuff this.

I have to make a pros-and-cons list. What I thought was fuel in my tank was actually just fumes. Here’s the thing, I’m not sure if I’m rationalizing or if this is a logical choice. I legitimately don’t know. After work today, I went to the gym and realized that I was feeling surprised every time I had a positive interaction with someone for something small. Just them saying yes to something that no one would say ‘no’ to was enough. “Hey, can I use that weight you’re not using?” yeah, of course. Relief.

This is the second day in a row that I worked for fun because I have not gotten any sign-ups. I counted the days I have till I’d quit anyway, the deadline, which is another 12 work days. Though, a phrase from the 4 hour workweek keeps playing in my head about playing up your strength instead of wasting time becoming mediocre at your weaknesses. Door-to-door sales: do I need it?

Day 86 - Funday Friday

Nice Neighborhood

July 3rd, 2015

It’s Friday Funday at the office, which means casual clothes! This is great for me because I don’t actually own any formal clothes besides the one pair of dress pants I have already worn a couple times. In either case, I don’t feel dressing up is required for this job and could actually hurt us. Nevertheless, all the guys are in smart-wear and I’m in casual button-ups and jeans.

Day 85 - Active Rest Day

Lemon Heart

July 2nd, 2015

It’s the first Thursday of the month, which means… PRETENTIOUS COFFEE TASTING!!! HHHHHHUZZAAH!! This is also a perfect reason to take the day off and switch it to Saturday instead. At this point, I desperately need a mental break from this job before I snap. Ugh, being a 40-hour a week wage slave seems bad enough, but a 50-60 hour commission slave is so much worse.

Eat, Gym, blog - it’s slipping due to the lack of time, energy, and laptop. I’m really looking forward to this coffee tasting, especially since it’s been given another month to fester and infect me further with the noxious, psychic coffee fumes that I think they’ll be providing. It’s free, and I’ve never heard of something to do with coffee as pretentious as this. I mean, it’s like wine tastings, which are kind of absurd to me already, but with something as mundane as coffee. I want to capitalize on it, which is the main reason this is so important to me. Replicating is the sincerest form of flattery, after all. Love, from me to you, Aus.

Day 84 - Not-So-Canada Day!

See that fence? I literally jumped it to speak to them.

July 1st, 2015 - Canada Day?

Unlike yesterday, today begins at 8am, as we’re driving 1.5 hours away to a town called “Eaton.” It’s my first day where they’re cutting me entirely loose, self-managed to do my work. The ride there was largely uneventful, but I snapped some pictures, including Matt sleeping with an energy drink in his lap while Andrew, his cousin (also South African) drove. Perk of the day so far: the bus to work was free because their system was down. Score.

Day 83 - Second Day in the Trenches

Friendly, Stray-looking Cat

June 30th, 2015

Today is a later start (thank dog), though the mornings still feel a bit excessive at times. We show up at 9:45am to have a meeting with the office manager/boss/person, Jen. She brings me and another new person, who is, to my knowledge, the only other new hire from my cohort to actually stick around. This isn’t entirely true, she’s just the only other residential person; the business-to-business (b2b) people start/finish earlier, which means I’ll almost never see them.

Highlights of today: 

Day 82 - First Day on the Job

What the hell is this thing?

June 29th, 2015

Up at 8. For whatever reason, Shimou wakes up with me and makes me coffee, fried eggs, and toast while I get ready. She’s a real champ and definitely doesn’t need to be doing this, but I appreciate it. I’m really glad that I downloaded the audiobook for “4 hour work week,” as it’s right up my alley. Entertaining stories, good tips, what’s not to love? 

The train and bus get me to work on time, where I have to role-play closing with a couple of the other staff. They walk us through some basic tips on what to do at what stages. It’s more awkward than doing it at the door because the trainer actually knows when you screw up, while someone at the door will have no idea.

We drive to the location, Matt (my trainer), Andrew (his cousin, his former trainer), and Matt (another Canadian). I change to jeans, and put on my walking shoes to find out that they forgot my badge at the office, 20 minutes away. Andrew bites the bullet and goes to get it while Matt takes me around to refresh me until I’m shoved out on my own.

Day 81 - Pancakes and Awkwardness

We stopped for some shaved ice

June 28th, 2015

In the morning, I wake up before Shimou and do some work on the computer. She has plans to meet a friend from her studies in Japan, and brought one of those easy pancake mixes. I make it while she and Mahnie speak in Mandarin. I’m not sure, but I think they’re probably talking about me and the fight from the previous night. She is still annoyed by it. C'est la vie.

I’ve become more comfortable with people disliking or being angry toward me. Even if the girls are talking about me, I just ignore it and continue to make the pancakes, pretending to be blissfully unaware. I suppose I am actually unaware; I can only pick up random words like “like” “he,” and occasionally my name.

Food’s done, Shimou invites Mahnie and Alex to sit at the table, which would be fairly awkward if I were at all bothered by it. I find it funny more than anything. After cleaning up, Alex and Mahnie start packing Alex’s things, I walk Shimou to the free bus stop, and hit the gym. I return home to find something is missing...

Day 80 - French Alex's Last Night

Would be pretty cool if there was... I dunno.. Water?

June 27th, 2015

Housemate Alex is moving out tomorrow; party tonight! I don’t have any plans and Thomas had just told me about it briefly last night. Sure, should be fun!

Gym, Write, Edit, etc etc until Shimou finished shopping in town and arrived at my place. It’s about time I cooked for her. She’s convinced that I can’t actually cook, and I have given her little evidence otherwise. I will continue to show no evidence tonight. It’s 10 minutes before Tran’s Emporium closes, so we hustle on down there to buy a couple ingredients I was missing, namely rice. Back to my place: I make us noodles, left over curry, and boiled, store-bought dumplings. Master Chef, Aussie Edition.

Day 79 - Training Day

June 26th, 2015

I’m on the bus, about to get off the first one and walk to the second. My phone rings; it's Greg, the firm owner. Ah, I’m late. Second day of training, and I’m late because I misread the time. Whoops. No negative repercussions, luckily. We meet in the same office, talk a little bit more, then are released into the rest of the office with a horde of other employees. I meet South African/Aussie Matthew, who will be my trainer. He’s pretty cool, and we’re immediately pushed into a team-building exercise of building the tallest structure out of dry spaghetti and marshmallows. I immediately suggest a pyramid, and we get to work. The pyramid might have been influenced partially by the fact that I know triangles are very strong, but also because the most recent/last story by Lovecraft is about a Magician exploring Egypt. We got second place, as it had largely collapsed after we had lost time due to a little greed.

The Fountain!

Day 78 - Sales, Minions, and The Game

Window Art

June 25th, 2015

I'm lucky; the Blue and Red CATs are the only busses I have to take to get to the job, which means it’s all free and running quite frequently when I need it! Glad I’ve got the transit down because this place is a 40 minute walk away.

I arrive at 10 with an assortment of other people (11 in total), and a coffee order. Yes… free coffee. 10am is a late start for most people, but I’m very tired. I don’t remember the last time I got up before 11. Roll your eyes and judge me, Baby Boomers. I can take it.

Day 77 - Mustang & Tea

Thor, Relaxing at their sharehouse

June 24th, 2015

I am in Shimou’s house, dreading tomorrow. It will be the beginning of SALES. A concept that’s been introduced to me recently is the idea that we fear the emotions and feelings toward an event - more than the event itself. That holds especially true for now. Same for the club or anywhere that I will have to be very social. The more I do it, however, the more I trust that I’ll be able to handle it and things will be fine. Tomorrow will be no different, and no matter the embarrassments that might potentially happen, it’ll all probably be funny and temporary.

Shimou made a big lunch while Lee taught me a card game from China. He had mentioned it the night before, and he seemed to be proud that he had the English version of the game. It's a fun game! Shimou says it's stupid. She just sucks at it haha. We played, and I did well enough for my first time playing. I have earned more cred with their house as being “clever.”

Day 76 - Perth Zoo!

My would-be murderer
(Thank you, Glass)

June 23rd, 2015

I prepared a pancake brunch for Shimou and Ella from the store bought bottle of mix. Super easy, but seems like a waste of materials for just one batch. Afterward, we quickly cleaned up and headed out for the zoo. Take two!

We arrive at 3, going through the Esplanade once more. There were a lot of interesting facts posted about, and quite a few animals I’d never even heard of. We had been following behind a group of four friendly 20-something bogans who kept making a ruckus everywhere they went. This would scare away some of the animals. Most notable things: a tiger took a swipe at me; the painted dogs played like normal dogs through the glass; dingos look and act just like dogs who want to be let out; red pandas are as awesome.

Day 75 - Adventure to the Lookout

Man Over Board
(I'm face palming at that pun)

June 22nd, 2015

The extra vegetables I’ve been eating, as opposed to the usual next-to-none, feel like they’re starting to kick in. Now when I’m procrastinating, I’m finding it easier to notice when my emotions are making me do stupid things and, once recognized, kicking them in the face. I refocused on mandarin now, realizing that the grammar is actually relatively simple. Very simple when compared to French. I thought this was going to be an insurmountable language that I would barely get the grasp on even after the full year in China, but now I’m getting a little cocky. It might be manageable to aim for conversational-level skill by the time I am finished the year - with enough effort.

Day 74 - Revenge of the Witch

Pixelart Inspiration

June 21st, 2015

I wake up early because Sunday Gameday was moved ahead a week due to some nerdcon the following weekend. On the way to the train, I call my sister to catch up (remember that the bracket to talk is relatively small), discovering the train is cancelled due to rail construction. The call ends when the rail replacement bus arrives to transport precious little me to the desired location.

I’m running out of time, as I have to stop at home, gather my shit, level up my character, and make it to the arrange extraction point that Aussie Andrew had established. I’m currently reading Black Widow comics, which are much more interesting than expecte. Her and Hawkeye both don’t have super powers, which lead me to believe they’d be... boring. Exactly the opposite; the writing is better, possibly because they don’t have powers.

All the aforementioned tasks are completed, and I arrive on time at the meet point. For several years, I have been thinking about the difference between men and women, and trying to nail it down. Something that seems to elude so many, but I think I’ve had a breakthrough recently, which I discuss with Andy. I also tell him about the ridiculousness of last night, and inquire about how he got into his current profession of personal training.

Day 73 - Wear Something White

I'm Recycling this one

June 20th, 2015

Today I get up at the time I set, and reply to my messages. Procrastinate the gym for a couple hours, watching informational videos until I'm disappointed with myself and start moving. I really don’t like leg day....

My breakfast for most of the time I’ve been in the share house has involved this large bag of oriental noodles, wrapped in small, coiled portions. It’s been enough to eat that and drink a coffee before the gym, but I recently bought frozen vegetables to mix in. I wanted something with broccoli, but there weren’t any good options. But they all included string beans! I’ve always hated string beans... down there with asparagus and most mushrooms. But hey, nutrition, amirite?!

Day 72 - Tiger Lil's, Take One

Absolute Downpour in one of the Sunniest Cities

June 19th, 2015


I wake up at 12 or so and find Shimou is still in the house, obviously having missed her flight. Apparently it’s $150 to move it, but $300 to cancel it, though she doesn’t know when she will move it to. Up until today, she kept telling people she had cancelled it. I’m not sure why. Possibly to see if she should stay or not. Maybe?

I go home. After procrastinating, I run out of time to go to the gym. Punishment: forcing myself to have a cold shower despite the option of a warm one next door. I’m not sure which is worse: choosing a cold shower, or having no other option.

Day 71 - Shimou's Big Hurrah

This is Shimou with her Housemates Eating in the Background
(probably her cooking, I'd bet)

June 18th, 2015

Update: You'll notice that the formatting of each post has changed where they're slightly cut off. I'm playing around with it to see what works best. To read the rest of the article, simply click the aptly named "Read More" link.

Went to Shimou’s for lunch where I continue to annoy her with the random swearwords or obscure sentences I’ve learned / taught myself in mandarin. “Tsao” or however you spell it is the equivalent of the F-bomb, so they told me. I learned “Go” with the down-up intonation is dog, and that something that sounds like “Sure,” also down-up, is “shit.” “Dog Shit” is now something I can say. Funny that I can say “good morning,” but can’t seem to remember “yes” and “no.” Well, I can remember “no” because it sounds like “*bullshit.”

Day 70 - How About Those Ads...

Rudolph Truck

June 17th, 2015

Today is the last day I have without employment! I neglected to mention the fact that I was offered the job. I’m uneasy about the whole “commission only” thing, but if I can improve my ability to talk, then I could make a lot of money in the short period of time. Sorely needed, at that. As I’ve said before, it'd be nice to be able to see some of the country before I depart.

If my visa goes through (as I hope it does), that gives me roughly one more month in Perth, and one month to travel around. I’m thinking maybe a week up north, two weeks on the east coast, and a week in Bali. I’ll have to see how that works out for flights and costs, but might as well dream big!

Gym, Laundry, Store, and Cooking enough food for a couple days. Then... Mustang? I had plans with Shimou, Natty, and Gaspar, but those have fallen through and leave me floating in the ether of free time. The “product training” is tomorrow at 10am, so it’s not impossibly early, and only lasts 3 hours. Hopefully I get a charity, and one that is easy to pitch.

Day 69 - Quiet Day

Calvin would be Happy

June 16th, 2015


Opening Note: Whenever you see a link somewhere (including picture captions), those are little easter eggs I've thrown in to add value in some way. They range from explanations of slang or concepts I mention, to random jokes, to a song that I'm quoting. A number of people have said they notice, but never click. Check them out, most of them are worth while, others are just for a laugh (if only my own).

Shimou’s house invited me for lunch, which was fantastic as always. She has an obsession with feeding people, which I am perfectly happy to oblige. This time, however, it was much too spicy for me, and I had to dip the vegetables into a bowl of water before I could actually handle them. Sad.

Day 68 - The Interview

Don't dance so fast

June15th, 2015

Today’s the day! Time to get back in the gym, as it’s been two days off and that’s the longest stretch in over a month (I think)! HIIT the gym, get all prettied up, straighten that tie, and bus across town for the interview.

From the research I could figure out, they’re a marketing firm and sales. I’ve chronically avoided sales, particularly if there is no base rate of pay. The entire ‘interview’ was 2 hours, though it was supposed to be an hour. A group interview, and two of the people there weren’t entirely fluent in English. This means that they probably aren’t as picky as they made themselves out to be, but hey, what other options do I have at the moment?

Day 67 - Rolling on the floor, Cackling

Several of these dot the horizon

June 14th, 2015


The day begins with becoming stronger, more reflexive, and resistant to poison. I level up my character, which I had put off for two weeks. That’s right! Today is Game Day! For the interview, I research the company a little more and try to find the job posting, but neither is very helpful. Probably not the most promising of results.

I take the train to suburbia, and we begin the games with Ben, Ryan, Andrew, Joel, and the new addition: Bryan (Elf Gunslinger). The game day, as before, runs from about 3pm to about 9:30pm.

Day 66 - Day at the Museum

Roar

June 13th, 2015

Despite sleeping around 5, I wake up just before noon to meet a Indonesian girl named Edwin for lunch at Taka (very cheap Japanese place). Yes, Edwig, which she spells ‘Hedwig’ on FaceBook. She’s 5’10”, studying at bible college, and is looking for friends. Cool. We sit down and wait for our food alarm to go off (they hand out these pads that will ring when it’s ready).

I pull out my chair, settle in and look up to see Shimou staring at me from the next able over. A little surprised, I get up and go give her a hug hello, and introduce myself to her friends. Our alarm goes off, I grab the food and settle back in to tease my Indonesian friend. She had told me she studied theology, so I asked how religious she was. I ask because the people I know who studied religions tend to become less religious the more they study the various religions of the world, but then found out it was a bible college. Ah. Well, let’s stay away from that.

Day 65 - Kolsch Concert

June 12th, 2015

Today is a brief one. I slept until 5:30pm, with a brief break of wakefulness in the middle for a couple hours. Get up, Shower, eat, then walk to the grocery store to get some ingredients. Little bonus they have here in Aus: Most* of the main grocery chains appear to have an associated liquor store. This means that pretty near every receipt has some sort of promotion on it for their liquor. I use two receipts to get two 6-packs of heineken for $10 each. Not the best deal, but I’ll probably drink one pack tonight, and tomorrow is French Alexandre’s birthday.

Day 64 - Barometric Pressure and Freyo

That guy from ACDC

June 11th, 2015

Back at Shimou’s, she wants to use the ingredients bought the day before to make this chicken dish she hasn’t done before. After helping chop the vegetables, I leave her to the cooking while I check my e-mails. Apparently I had made it through the first round of interviews, and they wanted me to come in for a group interview tomorrow at 8:30am. Yeah. Let’s see if I can get a more preferable time. 

Remember: it’s 40 minutes away, I’d be dressed in formal attire, and very tired/sweaty. Let’s try for the afternoon. I call them up and say that I would love to meet for a second interview, but the problem is that I’m quite busy that day. Is there a way I could get there for the afternoon? I learn they have no other interviews that day. I say I could potentially move my schedule around, but ask what my options are. Ah, Monday at 4? Very good, see you then.

Day 63 - It's the Fuzz!

Perth Federal Police Station

June 10th, 2015

I skip the gym today to catch up on sleep. I arrive at Federal Police Station on time, documents in hand. Flustered and stressed, I wasn’t sure how to properly fill out the documents. Did I do it right? Was this going to get there in time? It remains a mystery.

Apparently, I needed a witness from a Canadian Passport holder who has known me for at least two years. Well, there’s some lost time, as this means I’ll have to mail it to my parents, then have them mail it the RCMP, adding another delay to the already limited time. Here’s hoping my luck holds.

Day 62 - Thor's Cheeky Tuesday

June 9th, 2015

Gym. Work. Library. Skip to Library: My fingerprinting appointment is tomorrow. I need to have a whack of documents filled out, ready to be coupled with the prints in a nice manilla envelope, and shipped, express. I had put off leaving for the library longer than I should have, and realized that time was running out. Tonight is Thor’s birthday, round two: Beef Cheeks at 6. I quickly fill out the forms that can be done digitally, and make sure I have enough coins to load up the printing card. Bonus: I can keep the printing card as a keepsake because they're changing systems.

I fly from the library to The Queens Tavern, a bit of a trek down Beaufort street. I arrive 15 minutes late to find a few of Thor’s working colleagues (and one housemate) drinking beer, waiting to order the meal of the night. What is the meal of the night, you might ask? It’s BEEF CHEEKS! Hilarious.

Day 61 - Thor's Birthday

Monkey Girl!

June 8th, 2015

I am woken up by a message from Laurens about the plan for tonight. Technically, his birthday starts at midnight tonight, which means he will want to celebrate both tonight and tomorrow. That means tonight is “The Game," hospitality industry night. Technically, I work in hospitality because I was never fired, but I was also never paid. This leads to a slight problem in admission.

Shimou messaged me throughout the day to quiz me on my Chinese pronunciations, getting me to send recordings of the four vowel pronunciations, and doing it with the various common combinations of vowels. I’m getting better, but the difference between them is still thin. Another one is Father: ba ba is father, downward intonation; ba ba, upward intonation, is akin to saying “poo poo,” so they told me.

Day 60 - H. P. Love Crafter

Five Dollas, Fools

June 7th, 2015

Sunday! The cupboard is getting bare, and I need cheap vegetables! Time to hit up Subiaco market. I’m on the train there and realize I only have $5 in my pocket that I can spare. Well, time to either barter or shop until I find something cheap, cheap, cheap. I’m in luck: one stand has bags of various vegetables and a sign that says “all bags $1.” Sweet!

I return to the station promptly and catch the next train home, still using Alex’s SmartRider. I have H. P. Lovecraft’s collection of works on my phone in audiobook form to keep me company on my travels. For anyone that has to commute a lot, no matter the form, I highly recommend using audiobooks to keep you entertained. It’s like having an entertaining travel companion who is likely smart, and put years of effort into assembling this information in an easily digestible, engaging form. Shout out to Shae-lyn, audiobook buddies!