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.

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.

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.

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.

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!