Flying from Perth to Bali

This has been kicking around for some time now. I wrote it in Melbourne, a few weeks after going to Bali, though the numbers should be correct based on the records we kept.

Keep in mind that this information is about Bali during their low season. Not only was it low because of the season, but also because there has been an ash cloud from a volcano screwing up both the inbound and outbound flights. This had left a lot of people stranded for over an additional week, and delayed whoever was planning on going. I went this time because it fit my timeline, I figured it would be cheaper, and insurance would help carry the burden of my extended vacation if it came to that. My experience may be different than the norm because prices and bartering leverage will be different due to the scarcity of visitors. Chances are that a lot of the companies, cabbies, and tour guides were thirstier than usual for customers at this time.

An alternative, wordier title is learning how indicate when a verb took place. I would say conjugate, but the verb itself hardly changes. I find using ridiculous examples as more useful for learning, and holding things in memory. For example: wǒ yǒu hó (which all rhymes) means "I have monkey." Now you know those three words. Congrats.*

More O' These

Learning to Kick Through TIME

Let's start with the basics here, shall we? Tī is the verb "to kick." It's short, it sounds like the hot beverage that Chinese people drink a lot of, and they can collectively kick you to the ground. When talking about time, and general modification of the verb, I'm going to show both time and a little bit of desire/necessity. Let's begin!

Hello and Welcome to my introductory lesson in learning to speak mandarin. I can't read mandarin whatsoever, but they do have a handy translation for those of us who use the Latin Alphabet - Pinyin. They will write things like 谢谢 as "xiè xie," meaning "Thank you."

These have nothing to do with Mandarin

Let's crack into it!

Pinyin
The pronunciation of each vowel is fairly consistent. Though they use all the same vowels, they are not pronounced the same as in english. Combinations can be especially difficult at times. The best way to learn it is to watch this childrens video on the pronunciation. Ok, maybe it's not the best way, but it will drill it in. Over, and over, and over.

The cat my parents nursed back to health

September 7th, 2015

It’s 10 o’f***ing clock in the morning and I’m already awake. Just to be clear, I slept around 3am last night and had been up since 4:30am, save for a 1 hour nap. I’ve done night shifts for years. I'm naturally a nighthawk, so I thought this wouldn’t be so bad. In reality, it’s not that bad since I don’t have to be at work or anything, and I’m used to being tired all the time by now. I'm just playing it up, though it is annoying.

I play around on my phone for a bit before realizing that it may be a while until someone else gets up. Leftovers for breakfast! I’m not sure why people have contempt for tepid or cold coffee. Still pretty good, and at least it doesn't scorch your mouth. Tea and coffee are annoying like that.

While waiting for Steve to get up, I edit posts as best I can on their rural internet. The rest of the family wakes up and goes about their day while Steve continues to slumber. His parents ask me to come out on their boat. The Mythical Boat.

September 5th, 2015


Initiate day

Initiating day…

Success.

Initiating Sushi…

Success.

Yes, today I am getting all-you-can eat sushi with my sister, Lauren, Friend Rochelle, and Ex-Housemate Reuben. Sushi is great, and nowhere is it a better deal than Canada, it seems. I’ve talked to people about all-you-can-eat sushi, and most places don’t seem to have adopted these wonderfully gluttonous fishnets.

Reuben’s orders took priority because he had to be at work about an hour after we began. An hour is not nearly enough to give this task the respect it deserves. We got hand rolls, maki, nigiri, sashimi, teriyaki meats, udon, soups, rice bowls, dessert - too much to try all in one go. If in Canada, do try. Lunch is better because it’s usually around $10 cheaper than the dinner prices.*

Our Goodbye Coffee

September 1st, 2015

It’s 5am and we’re rolling! I had packed everything the night before, set my clothes aside, and slept in underwear to make the morning as easy as possible. While waiting for the car, I grabbed a random assortment of leftover food from the night before. Like I said, Chinese people don’t seem to like leftovers to the point that they don’t bother putting them in the fridge. I grab some chopsticks and fish out pieces of fish from the soupy leftovers. We’re sharing a coffee when the car arrives.

Apparently you can get a Chinese car to come and pick you up. It’s cheaper than a taxi, and is often just students being impromptu taxis. I guess the Gov doesn’t pay much attention to things written in Chinese, as I don’t think it’s an actual, bonafide business. In this case, it’s only 10 dollars cheaper than a taxi, landing us at an $80 ride with two other random Chinese people.

Flowers along the Sidewalk

August 31st, 2015

Sleeping in is difficult with sunlight in your face. 11am, and I’m up, knowing I won’t be able to sleep much tonight. Lame.

I highly recommend cooking or doing chores while listening to an audiobook you find interesting. Lately I’ve been working through What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars. I make pancakes, coffee, and clean up some dishes from the day before. There's still lots of ice cream taking up space in his freezer - it goes with Belgian waffles, why not pancakes? Can’t be much worse than maple-flavoured high fructose corn syrup. Top it off with some green onion chinese pancake thing that Luke made, and we’re ready to go!

I need to stop at the bank because I realize I haven’t looked into getting my money out of the country. Wire transfer require specific numbers, branches, and all those annoying details. Not sure what route I'm going to take.

Flinders St Station

August 29th, 2015

The plan today is for me and Shimou (no Luke) to make it back to Queen Victoria Market during the day before it closes, as we had missed the window yesterday. I’m relatively familiar with the transport and how to get to select places, which gets us there with about an hour and a half to shop around.

August 28th, 2015

Look at that fine Charcuterie

Note the top right sign. Now I dare you to find the Cafe itself.
Yes, it is contained within this picture.***

Last night, Luke said that Roommate Leo would be having people over tonight, and had asked us to clean the living room. I wake up before Shimou (as usual), shower, clean the room, make coffee, and settle in before having to wake her up. It’s my fault she’s still not awake - I tucked her in when I got out of bed. Apparently they don’t do that in China. I had to show her what they were missing.

My arm is a selfie-stick

August 27th, 2015

Today the plan is to check out “the nicest brunch restaurant in Melbourne.” This requires us to get up around 11 or so. Really, it requires Shimou to get up then, but if I don’t get up, she won’t get up. Get Vertical!*

We get off at Yarra Station, a rather affluent feeling area of town. It’s a rainy, cold day, but we have umbrellas and it’s only as bad as Canadian fall. The stoic in me reminds myself that any cold is simply uncomfortable, or even beneficial, and not actually causing any lasting damage. Plus, think about how nice it feels to enter a warm location after a little suffering!

The View from Up Here

August 26th, 2015

Apparently Shimou’s house has problems without her there to mediate. Maybe it’s low EQ or just a clash of personalities. A fight has broken out between two of the housemates that resulted in one of them breaking every single plate in the house, and repeatedly stabbing a table with a knife. Shimou is the mom/mediator for the group - the one that seems to tie the group together. She’s been gone for a couple weeks and shit has hit the fan.

I found this old book. Too bad it's too big/heavy for me to keep.

August 19th, 2015

Bang bang bang “Wake up!”

Ripped from sleep, into the cold, sunlit room, I wonder what the urgency is. Oh right, they're delivering a couch today at 10:30.. are they early? No, they're not. Shimou had turned off the alarm in her sleep, again. I hadn't heard it this time. Close to 11, I jump out of bed to help quickly reorganize the room, and move the futon we had just been sleeping on. That’s one way to kickstart the day.

Puff Away, Billy!

August 18th, 2015

If you can't keep yourself awake, just check your phone and browse messages or updates on your favourite social app. You'll be hard pressed to fall back asleep. I use this technique this morning when Shimou quickly killed the alarm. I shove her out of bed so that we're ready when Elvis arrives to pick us up. He’s supposed to be there at 10:30, but we're lucky that he's 20 minutes late.

Melbourne University

August 14th, 2015

Most of the day is taken up by waiting to get someone from the Australian bureaucracy on the line to find out how to get a copy of my working-holiday visa. Why am I doing this? Because China has decided that it’s essential for them to know that I am able to work in Australia before they will allow me to do so in China. I have no idea what relevance it has to them. “Why don't you just hand over a copy of your work permit?” Therein lies the rub.

Strike a Pose

Aug 13th, 2015

After last night’s late-night writing session ending at 4am, I had a hard time dragging myself to coherent consciousness at 1pm. Again, I let Shimou sleep a little later, eventually rousing her when 2pm rolled around.

I can tell that I'm not as sharp, motivated, or contemplative as I was when eating a lot of veg, and lifting regularly. You may notice a lot less random tangents or ideas being presented in my writings. It’s like night and day. Time to attempt a shift for the upward: yogurt, a pear, and frozen vegetables for breakfast. Nutrition and exercise are the best ways I've kicked it into gear. Well, that, and listless anger.

Melbourne from the Bridge next to Flinders St Station

Aug 12th, 2015

1am local time, we wake up tired. I'm awake enough that I don't want to go back to sleep. Shimou keeps sleeping until I force her to get up at 2. The shower is.. interesting. I has 2 sliding doors, one of which is not very firmly set in its track.

Since being sick, my digestive tract is a mess. Gas in excess. Probably TMI, but follow me here. Due to this excess gas, Shimou has dubbed me pì wáng [pee wong], which translates to “fart king.” I've since accepted it and use it against her. Whenever I feel one coming, I chant “wáng, wáng, wáng,” to assert my kinghood. “Wǒ shì nǐ de wáng. Wǒ shì pì wáng!” which means “I am your king! I am The Fart King!” After some time of whispering “wáng,” I say it the wrong way, which is wàng (downward intonation instead of upward). This is, apparently, the sound that dogs make in Chinese - instead of “bark” or “woof” they say “wàng” (again, it’s pronounced “wong”). She also calls me a dog in chinese, which I'm willing to equally run with. I will be the Dog Fart King! Cháng shòu Gǒu Pì Wáng! Long live The Dog Fart King! To complicate this title further, “Dog Fart” is the Chinese equivalent of the English phrase “Bullshit.” Dog Fart King = Bullshit King. I'll take them both.

Goodbye, Dogs Prohibited.
You're just too heavy for me.

August 10th, 2015

Shimou still holds that she isn’t going to come. She thinks it’ll be too difficult to say goodbye to me there, and then have to fly back by herself. I think that’s silly because that will force her to say goodbye sooner - tomorrow at the latest. She tells me to buy my ticket.

We eat breakfast, and the stress of the ticket still hanging is bothering me. If I’m flying out today or tomorrow - I’d like to know which. I clear the table after Shimou and Ella are finished eating, and set down to work. I’m about to buy my ticket when Shimou stops me from clicking the confirmation. She agrees to come, gives me the information I need to book both ticket, and awaAAAay we gooOOOoooo! Phew, bullet dodged. On the upside, by delaying that extra day, we got a cheap ticket with Virgin. That is the way to fly, man. They don't charge extra for luggage, have more space, and you each have your own video screen and USB charger at each seat. In the end, it cost $10 more than the dirt cheap ones, which would have still charged for luggage.

A friend from home messaged me to ask about getting the Working holiday (417) visa. I realize that I haven't actually talked about this at any length and anyone paying attention to this blog may have some questions.

What does the working holiday visa get you? It allows you to work for a maximum of six months in one position, meaning you have to work at least two jobs in your one-year stint. You'll be able to pick up most jobs, which usually lands foreigners in the service industry (~$20/h min wage; little-to-no tipping), Mining industry (mid-to-high 20's/h, less common), or construction (mid-to-low 20's/h) are the most common. They all pay pretty well, with the Mining Industry, particularly Fly-In; Fly-Out (FIFO), paying the best. This means you live at a work site that they fly you to, work there for a couple weeks straight, then fly back home for a couple weeks to do nothing. Not the best way to live, but it pays in the 100k+/year neighborhood, I think. Don't quote me on that one, but I do know it also comes with higher rates of depression and lower life satisfaction. You can probably work a job in the same industry you did back home, such as banking or accounting, though you may want to look into the Skilled Independent Visa (subclass 189).