A Comic! And then big news.

Just to get you all in a good mood first:


I hope that's big enough to read. I somehow doubt it, as technology tends to hate me.

It's a brilliant strip. http://www.jimburgessdesign.com/comics

On that topic, I got the PS2 to respond to my TV, but it involved hammering a nail into the back of the TV and taping an RCA plug to the nail. So no one is allowed to tell me that I'm not handy.

The job interviews bombed. The one place lied about everything, including hours (not a big deal), wage (less), and qualification necessary (which I don't have). So I was angry enough, and then the other job called me an hour before my interview to say that the position was filled. So that was a bad day. I mulled it around in my head for a while, considering my options.

Which is a brilliant segue into the promised big news story.

I am very, very seriously considering coming home.

STOP! I know you're all scrolling down to the bottom of the page to fire off your opinion, but hear me out first.

This is why I'm doing it:

There are three things that I am looking forward to. 1) Shannon coming down 2) My Dad coming down and 3) Thailand.

Now I can see, and do cool things with Thing 1 and Thing 2 (hehehe) in Canada. Shannon's leaving all of our lives for a while anyway, and I wouldn't want to miss that last karaoke. Thailand is still a go, for the three of you who are interested. So don't panic.

Now, beyond those three things, I would just be working a lot, for less money than I could make serving at home, with more hours. I want to do Thailand right, and if it involves doing Australia wrong, rather than doing them both half-assed, I'll do Australia wrong. Thailand is more of an adventure to me; Australia is very similar to Canada. So financially, coming home is the right choice.

I'm not done!

Today, at work, when I thought about what it would be like to come home and see everyone that I've missed so much, I was smiling and singing and doing all those things you're all used to me doing, but I realized that it was the first time I had done them in a few weeks. Weeks! Can you imagine me being without song for weeks? Now we all know that music is the way to my heart, so, before anyone tells me to follow my heart or anything like that, I know where my heart is right now, it's with all you guys at home.

The conversations I have been having about coming home mostly involved me trying to get the other person to say that I should come home. I think that's a sign, that I want support for this decision. I think it's what I want to do. This vacation is supposed to be fun, and, for a month and a half, it was. Now a two month trip is still a long trip. I feel like I've done a lot here and I think I've certainly learned something about myself and the world. I'm not having fun any more, though. Now, before you say 'hang on, it will get better!', let me tell you that I've considered that. It will get better, it has to. But will it ever be as good as the life I have in Edmonton? I doubt it.

How much longer will I have that life in Edmonton? Probably not long enough. Josh, Shannon, Angie, Ed, Toni, DVB, remember two summers ago, with us all working at the bird and having the summer of our lives? I still feel that love from all of you. I want to be around to enjoy all of it that I can. It's where I belong. I love it.

Now I know that this is 'making me stronger' and that I'm 'growing as a person', but, seriously, I kinda like who I am. I know this trip has already changed me for the better. If I stayed, it probably would continue to do so. But I feel like I'm growing up here. I'm still just a kid, and I don't want to grow up too fast. Yes, I'm giving up, copping out. I hope you're not too disappointed in me for wanting to come home. I just want to be happy. If you think I'm weak, or that I'm walking away from the chance of a lifetime, let me know.

Just don't judge me to harshly.

And don't worry, I'll think about it for a few days first.

Wouldn't want to be impulsive.

Alright. I'm done. Have at me.

Finally, a picture

It's TOO BAD! After we played the Colombians. The Colombians were cool. I'm in the top row to the right of the guy with his hand up. To my right is Carlos, who I became friends with here in Melbourne when ha came down for the hat also. The weather looks bad, but that was hands down the worst game of the tourney for weather.

Two job interviews today! Wish me luck!

Miss y'all


-P

Patrick is getting frustrated and homesick

Hey team.

No job yet, and it's beginning to become consuming. I've got a couple of call-back-when-____-is-ins and a couple of no-answer-yets, and a couple where I need to print off my resume, so as I wait for the only computer with printing capabilities to become available, I will update you on my life.

I saw happy feet last night, and it was decent. Not amazing. All the really funny parts were in the previews, which usually leads to a let-down. Robin Williams was fantastic as usual.

Otherwise, the apartment is in a bit of a trashy neighbourhood. It's a little depressing to walk through, especially at night. As if I needed more reason to be depressed. I've almost become resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to go pick fruit. I don't want to, as it will just add to the complications of when Shannon/my Dad come down here and I will have to leave the plantation. Ah well, I'll do what I can. Money goes fast when you travel. I think I'll hold out until when Leah comes on the 15th and maybe travel with them a bit up the coast to a better plantation. There is a decent one near Melbourne. I'll do some research. Shannon, as soon as you know your trip plans, I'd like to as well. It certainly affects my plans.

Got a PS2 and a couple games, though I need a converter or a VCR to connect it to my TV. I'll get one today. If I have to run off, I'll only get a few weeks of play out of it, but at least the resale value is pretty high (90%ish), so it's not money entirely wasted. I wonder if it's valuable on the black market in Thailand? Assuming they have a black market. I need to do some research on that as well.

I think I'm going to the cricket tomorrow. I hope the weather's nice. A friend of Josh and Carol has tickets.

I'm starting to remember my dreams, which is something that I have not been able to do since... probably grade 9 or 10. I don't know what it means, but if anyone is spiritually educated and would like to let me know, I'm certainly listening. It's kind of disconcerting. Most of them involve people from Edmonton. Some are happy, some are depressing.

I'm considering trying my luck at the poker tables again, but, because of my state of mind and employment, I think it would be a bad idea. I like to think I would make the right choices, but I get the sense that I would make a few mental mistakes.

It might be the residual effect from Christmas, but I really, really miss home right now. I keep telling myself that pushing up my return date until, say, now-ish and then working at home before I head to Thailand (the price difference is surprisingly minimal) is not a good idea, that I should stick it out here. That it is making me a better, more complete person, and that it will get better. All of that is probably true, but I gotta say, I could certainly deal with a week or two at home right now, just to collect myself. I'm not a walking disaster or anything, but I'm certainly more of a mess that I've been in a long time. I hope that, if I find a job, everything else will fall into place. It also blows me away that job-finding is this difficult, considering how easy is was in Edmonton. Maybe I'm just going about it the wrong way.

Don't worry. I'll keep it together. I always seem to.

-P

Christmas time, and the livin's easy

Well, it's Christmas here.
Not in Canada yet though. Just here.
It's kind of a shitty day. Rain, overcast. It certainly doesn't feel like Christmas.
No new job yet. Still managing to tolerate Anne simply for the money. Considering becoming professional poker player. And going to pick fruit.

Went out and celebrated Christmas Eve last night by hitting a few bars with live bands. Absolutely nowhere has decorations up. What a shitty Christmas. Oh well, I'm going over to Carol and Josh's for dinner and games and drinks. Should be a good time.

Otherwise, very little is new. Went to another market, went to the beach, moved permanently into new residence.

I don't feel comfortable here yet. I'm still homesick, though Josh (Toronto Josh) seems to think that homesickness is a strange reaction. This is my kindred spirit in Toronto, working on Christmas, miles from his family and friends.

You'll forgive us for being a little down at Christmas time.

Keep writing. I miss everyone lots, especially today.

-P

Patrick starts to have fun, is still concerned about money

The reference Josh made, for the record, was to
www.thesuperficial.com
If you like that one, check out
www.wwtdd.com
It's essentially the same thing.

OK. Updates.
Trivia on Tuesday (that day that was both terrible and good) night, the three of us (British couple) got slaughtered. It was ugly. But we went and had a couple drinks anyway and then hit the casino. The casino here is unbelievably huge. Its so many floors and it takes up city blocks and it has a cinema and a giant food court and restaurants and a hotel and all that. It kind of reminds me of what I think Vegas will be like when I eventually go there. Played some poker, won a couple hundred, so that covers rent for a while. It's nice. Anne didn't fire me and I didn't quit. She needs staff too badly and I still like the money. We agreed to significantly cut my hours until further notice (ie. I find a job or she finds another chef. I think and hope that I will win that race.) and I managed to avoid trying to kill/injure her. Although in my shift yesterday, we (me and Kieran, the other chef) plotted for a couple hours what would be the most clandestine, clean way to kill her. We decided on oven cleaner. The other methods involved blood.

After my shift, Josh and I went to the night markets, which is just a cool marketplace thing and sells all sorts of shit that I would buy if I had the space. So I settled for a crocodile burger. Then we played cards all night. Taught them asshole, hearts, 9-5-2, etc. Got good and drunk. Good night.

Job hunting begins after the lunch rush today ie. in two hours or so. Plan A is to walk down Ackland street (where I was working) and check out window postings. There are apparently lots. After that, if I don't find anything, it's Carlisle street, and then the internet, followed by the same process tomorrow. Sunday the job listings are in the paper, so that is a fallback. I am considering not going back to work on Saturday. She'll probably rope me into working Christmas.

Regarding Thailand, wow. I didn't expect this much feedback. My Mom wants to go, my Dad does, and so do Rob and Lauren. I really am unsure what to do. I think, with the time frame my Dad is going to be here for, we should just do some cool trip/tour/camp thing for a week/10 days or so. After that, I really have no idea. Everyone involved has played the 'choose who you want, I'll understand' card already. Gak.

I think I might finally get to see Casino Royale tonight. Josh and Carol both want to go too, but we've had trouble finding a night where all 3 of us were free. Josh and I are now both unemployed, Carol is the breadwinner, at a gelato place. It's sweet, she gave me a remarkably oversized gelato the other day.

The room is good, there's a lock on my bedroom door. I'll likely get a bike because it expands the walking distance significantly. Boxing day sale?

Also, the computer there is virused to hell. Anyone with knowledge, please let me know how to fix this. Is there like a master reset destroy all the hard drive files etc method? The Chicago circa 1871 method?

Miss y'all. Address will come when I figure out exactly what you have to post it to. Should be today or tomorrow.

Cheers,

-P

Patrick has a bad day or two, gets a bit better

I am pretty much at an all time low right now.

David emailed me last night. His application fell through.

At work today the fryer bubbled over slightly and spilled some grease on the floor. I kept going and just pushed the grease into a corner to clean it up later. Anne came by an hour later, while it was still busy and, despite it endangering no one but me, and I had been doing fine for an hour, freaked out. I had to stop cooking in the middle of the rush and she just let the tables in the cafe sit without food and didn't even tell them about it. I cleaned it up, but it took a while, and she just ran around madly and did nothing constuctive, and then realized that her tables were waiting forever for food and freaked out at me and sent me home. I doubt that I have a job any more. Not that it was particularly in my best interests to stay.

Dad, I'm going to have to know the details of what you sent to the cafe. It was a bad choice, and I could have had you send it to Josh and Carol's if you had asked. I want to punch Anne.

I'm in a bad mood, and I hope trivia tonight might pick up my mood, and, if not, the drinking afterwards. I work at 8 tomorrow. If she doesn't call and fire me, I will go in and see how I feel, assuming she still wants me to work. She's so hard up for staff. And her 50-yr-old Italian chef took one look at the kitchen and turned down the job. I laughed. At least today was payday.

Homeless and likely unemployed for Christmas.

Shit.

EDIT! Not homeless. Found a place less than an hour after I posted this and just went, saw it, and paid my first week's rent.
The place: It's not flashy. I didn't expect it to be. It's cheaper than pretty much anywhere else I've looked. It's five or six blocks further from the beach than I was, but that's a trek I can handle. The downside is that there's no living room etc. Kitchen, bathroom, washing machine, computer with internet (!) and a bed, closet and shelf. And a TV in my room. No cable, but, really, that's ok. 3 roommates. All male. Vietnamese, Australian, French. With no cable, I think I am going to have to start doing some more extracurricular activities, but, with a gap of about $90 per week between this and the one I turned down, I think that's manageable. I also applied for a job that starts downtown Melbourne in mid Jan, and he wants me to interview then ish also. Kitchen job again. But I'll walk down Ackland st. tomorrow and see if there are any posters in windows. Things are looking up. Need a DVD player. Probably will just get a PS2. So functional! Feel a little better. Will get good and drunk tonight. I think I'll quit even if she doesn't fire me. I'm employable, and I think I forgot that for a minute. I'll be ok.

Write me! Thailand!

-P

Thailand, anyone?

OK, I have a new plan.

Not that there really was an old plan, but this new one has me all excited and such, much in the same way that sitting on a new piece of furniture for the first time is exciting, or how opening a new board game and punching out all the little pieces is exciting. It's new!

The new plan is this: I'm going to Thailand. That is not up for debate. The issue is this:
I don't really want to be travelling in Thailand alone. I'm way too pretty. So here is the purpose of this post:
Is anyone willing to take some time off away from Canada at any point between now and, say, late July to head with me to the Valley of the Thai?

I'm not expecting clamorous response, so, in an effort to sway some of you who are on the how-much-do-I-love-Patrick fence, here is what sold me:
They have these three wheeled little vehicles that are like a cross between a cab and a rickshaw. Motorized. Called tuktuks. They never end up where you want them to end up, and they take you to all sorts of places like tailors or jewelry stores because these places essentially pay them to do so. How cool would it be to take an afternoon and just get mad at some Thai cabby?
Also, apparently for less than I am now paying for a dorm, you can get a double room, en suite, with the whole buffet breakfast, room service etc. Also, food is dirt cheap, as is all the stuff they sell at markets. Life is much cheaper there. So for those of you who don't think you have the money, or aren't sure, let me assure you, the flight will be, by far, the largest expense.
They have festivals and such all the time to worship their King. Apparently those are cool. And you can go rafting on little rivers and ride on elephants and come on.... who doesn't want to say they've been to Bangkok?

I feel that you all should be greatly considering this.

Shannon, I don't know the details of your trip, but if you do hit Thailand, please let me know when and for how long.

If no one wants to go with me I am going to have to go with my Dad :P.
Kidding. But I think he wants to see how I'm living in Australia and do some of that with me etc.
If I don't get responses, expect some Patrick-spam in your inboxes, you scared little can't-leave-my-Mommy-at-home chumps.

Come out here and live!

To drop the sales pitch, Anne left me alone yesterday, but that could be because I was working with Kieran, the other chef. He's a great chef, could make a delicious meal out of belly button lint and lemon juice, as long as he had parsley to garnish. But when there are five or six bills to make at once, he freezes up. He's been there for three weeks, and it was my third shift, but I was waiting for him the whole rush. So when it comes to being able to cook fast under pressure, thank you Red Robin, I still got it. Hopefully she notices when I'm on alone tonight. Sunday, which is apparently the busiest night. Scary? Yes. But, really, I think I should be fine. I hope she lets me be, but I'm not getting my hopes up. Although I am excited to see my pay envelope on Tuesday. I hope maybe it has hundreds in it. I haven't had more than a fifty here, damn bank machines.

Still waiting on David for the apartment. Will call him tomorrow for updates. Trying not to smother him with questions. Oh, and I have a hostel until Christmas Day. Which is, you know, five days more than I had, but also, I can just see myself wandering through St Kilda on Christmas with a huge backpack on, headed to a couch to crash on. I might have to work, which, I know, might depress some of you, but the spirit really isn't as strong here. Also, I am stressed and it is sunny, so it doesn't feel like Christmas. But it's ok, I will be fine. I just need to find someone to see Casino Royale with me.

But seriously. Thailand. Come on.

Don't leave me hanging.

-P

Patrick complains about his job, goes to bed angry

Hm. It might be because I am new but my manager is just completely insane. She is constantly over my shoulder. Nothing I do is the way it should be done, because she changes what she expects on a regular basis. Like, say, every 20 seconds. I made two nachos, very similar in size, and one was too small, because it came back with the bowl scraped, and one was FAR too large, because there were still nachos in the bottom of the bowl. I've also noticed that most of the other employees have worked there for an average of a week and a half. Whether this is due to an irrational need to fire people, or whether this constant irritant (her) is causing people to quit, I don't know. Nick, the head chef (four months, a cafe-high number), says that she doesn't understand that people need a couple of shifts to figure out how things are done, and, as a result, is always disappointed in the work of new employees. I'm partly glad it's not just me, but, also, I am concerned about job security. Since she has like four interviews a day, and there aren't many days in the week, I'm also concerned about hours. I'm looking around for something better. Oh, and I was quite concerned on my double shift, because she told me that I might have to 'whip up a batch of hollandaise' because we were almost out. Apparently the title of 'chef' makes me an expert, regardless of whether or not the want ad said 'experienced cook'. So I was stingy with the hollandaise, and spent an hour today online researching how to 'whip up' anything that I might have to. I'm more confident now. One final note: On my first shift on my own (15 hours) she brought in a new employee and had me 'show her the ropes'. I thought this was particularly funny. This new girl was a pastry chef at her old job, so Anne (manager) asked her to whip up a batch of pancakes, and was VERY disappointed when the panckaes weren't as fluffy as she wanted them to be. I thought they were great, but Anne has no concept that some other restaurant or cafe might exist that has different standards for food appearance than her own. Gak. Oh, apparently she has fired Nick from the head chef position because she found some 50-year-old Italian guy to do it. Nick is a great chef. That place was losing money every week before he came on and turned it around. Now it is, somehow, profitable. And she wants to fire him because some old Italian guy is apparently a better person for the job.

When she did leave me alone, the job was great. If she starts to trust me and lets me be, and doesn't fire me, and I get a decent number of hours, this place will be great for me to work at. But that's three 'ifs', which is a few too many, considering I ran a kitchen, washed dishes, prepped all the food and picked up the nuances of the kitchen by myself and never had any food sent back or run long in the fifteen hours that was my first real shift. I would think that she might be a little impressed, but she just seemed 'less disappointed in (me) than most" according to Nick.

Bitch.

On the house front, I have put my faith in David and cut rope on the room in the house. I'm nervous. I hope it works out. After Christmas, I can stay in hostels, but I don't want to impede on the generosity of Josh and Carol (English couple) for too long.

In other news, I found a better internet cafe, made myself a delicious lamb shank with spinach salad for dinner, and spent yesterday bitching with Josh and Carol about how terrible our jobs are. Josh is working for a guy who takes moving contracts, (like furniture moving) but is too tight-assed to hire anyone else, so Josh and him do way too much lifting and work way too many hours a day. Like me on Wednesday, but on a regular basis. Carol had a job going door-to-door trying to get people to give money to the Salvation Army. 100% of her pay is commission, and she was lied to about this (both the commission and the door-to-door) from square one. She worked three days for these people and made no money. She was unhappy. She just got a job at a Gelato place close to where I work. So wish us all luck. Oh, I won the trivia thing and got drunk that night. The night before my 15-hour shift. I don't think it affected my mood that day, though, so all my above comments are valid. At least I get free food. Which I would now be taking even if it was not given, because I hate Anne.

HATE! HATE! HATE!

Miss you all,

-P

Time Difference

Note: Now everyone can publish comments!

Melbourne is 18 hours ahead of Edmonton, 20 ahead of Toronto.
The easiest way, from Edmonton, is to subtract 6 hours and add a day. If it is noon in Edmonton then it is (12-6=)6am in Melbourne, the next day. I hope that's clear. The same goes for the number 8 in Toronto.

I do this conversion several times a day, it's pretty much second nature by now.
You'll pick it up.

Cheers,

-P

Random thoughts and updates

NEW LOOK! DON'T BE SHOCKED!!!!!!!

Regarding the soon-to-be place of residence:
I'm still kind of stuck. David (who is setting up to lease the apartment) says at-best-guess around Christmas. This is no problem, but I'm just not sure whether or not it's a sure thing that he will get it at all. I've recently emailed him with this concern and I hope he gets back to me soon. I really know fewer details than I would like to, and I am pressing him. He is slow in his responses. So I wait. The other place, I hate to leave them hanging like this, not knowing, so I'd like to cut rope ASAP. I feel like a bit of an ass, but, until I know David has it figured out for sure, I'd like to have that as a backup. Damn you David! Get back to me. Frustrated.

Regarding the Job:
WOW what a gong show. Kind of reminds me of Red Robin on a much smaller scale. Staff is chronically unreliable, which, at a big-chain place like Red Robin, is something that is tough to cover for, but possible. At this place, with one or MAX two in the kitchen and the same on the floor, it's a bit more of a bitch. The poor owner is nuts and doesn't know much about running a restaurant. It was a whim that she just kind of acted on. We're down a chef as of today. Leaves us with three. I get to work a double tomorrow. I don't mind doubles, they're better than splits. Good money too. Oh, and it's all under the table, so I set up a bank account that I likely won't use. Just rent out a locker for the same price a month and then not pay the withdrawl fees. Or buy a mini-safe. How cool would that be?

Random things:
It's trivia night at the hostel! Winner gets a $50 bar tab at Cushion Lounge ('the Cush') so we're setting up a dream team with me, the british couple, and Rafael from Calcutta who is here to study to reform the education system worldwide. He's smart.
Also, did you know that I was the only person in the hostel yesterday who knew how many innings there were in a game of baseball? I also had to explain what 'first and 10' meant to everyone I made watch the replay of the Jags/Colts game they played last night. Wow, hey? Good on your Jags, Shannon.
Did you know that the slogan of Perth (like Edmonton is 'City of Champions') is 'A City for People'? Wow.
Played Ultimate in the incredible wind last night. It was a tie because the wind pretty much forbade any forward passing in one direction. Like I scored one point that the other team threw forward, from about half, that got caught and floated all the way back and I intercepted it in THEIR endzone for a point. Ugly.
Leah is stopping by in mid-January, Shannon is coming out in mid-February and my dad is coming down in mid-March! It's awesome news. I'm excited.
Tickets for the Ashes (cricket between England and Australia) Boxing-day test in Melbourne are going for about the same rate as Oilers tickets in Edmonton for the cup final.
Still considering getting my hands on some Australian Open (tennis) tickets for mid-late January. Women's semis is going for $100 a pop.
Also, my phone card, after doing the math, is a little closer to 1.7 cents per minute. Perhaps it is time to consider that they just gave me that deal because I am awesome.

Write me, call me. Miss everyone.

-P

Cell Phone!

Ok, first of all, HI RENEE!
That was unexpected and awesome. And I'm a little blown away that you know who the Vikings are starting at QB, especially when he has never started a game before. And his name is Tavarais. So props for that.

Also, in other news, I have acquired a cell phone. Incoming calls are free, so if anyone misses me enough to foot the bill, the number is:
011-61-431-890-423
There is no need to dial "1" first, and if you don't have a long distance discount plan, it's about a buck a minute through Telus. However, if you use Looney Call (dial 10-15-565 first) it's a buck for five minutes, then 25 cents a minute afterwards. Or you could make a commitment to call me and get a phone card. In Australia, calling home, my rate is 1.4 cents per minute. I'm sure you could come up with something close to that. Call me!

Cheers,

-P

Note: Some of this post has been ripped off from my father who figured out the whole number fiasco. Thanks dad!

Day 33 - December 8

OK. I've been having a bit of an explosion lately. I've very rarely in my life ever been concerned for something as basic-need-y as a place to live. Which, really, makes me understand even more how good I have things. When the biggest thing on my mind is whether or not I want to be spending x% of my earnings on rent.
As a result of my emotional crisis, I really gave you all a situation that didn't really have all the details. So this is the complex version:
House A is indeed a house. It is a large, 3-bedroom house with lots of space and a big room that I have neither the desire nor the budget to fill up with things. Throw a futon in there, I'll be fine. Maybe a cheap dresser. It's close to where I need to be, it's conveniant. I know I shouldn't be concerned as I am about money, but, in this case, I'm just worried about being able to have a decent period of time after I leave Melbourne to go up to the Sydney/Brisbane area and have a good run before I head home. That's the plan as it stands now. It is, of course, written in soap, not stone. But I digress.
The second choice is an apartment that a gentleman who saw my ad online is setting up to lease. The location is just as good, if not better. The rent would be cheaper. Not mind-bogglingly cheaper, but enough that I would likely take it if things started to solidify soon. Within the next week, say. The issue is the fact that I've never even met the guy. I have no idea if everything is going to pan out. Also, it is looking like I will have more expenses outside of rent, as it is likely to be unfurnished. He has yet to let me know what it includes, but it is my thinking that, seeing as I am renting and he is leasing, that he should likely pick up the tab for most of the necessities. I really don't need a computer or internet access in the house, there's so many reasonably-priced cafes around. A couch would likely be something that would have to be bought. Of course, bed, dresser, etc. Basics. I don't think that it would be too too expensive, esp. if my thinking is right regarding the fact that most of these things are really his things. Is that an accurate train of thought?

Anyway, these are the two choices. David (apartment) has ballparked the time we could move in at Christmas-ish. I have accommodations until the 20th. There is also a British couple (another one. Wierd, no?) who has offered their couch to me over the holidays if it comes to that. I doubt I could stay at the hostel much longer than the 20th. They are also new here and finding jobs and found a nice apartment (it's so much easier with two) that they move into today. I'm jealous.

In other news, I have a job. I was a little concerned about getting one, but apparently all the warnings they give backpackers in all those little books about employment being a tough find doesn't occur when you have enough restaurant experience. I am officially a chef at a cool little Mediterranean (sp?) cafe. My first shift is Saturday. Most weekday shifts, I will be the only chef on (I like saying chef. I was always only a cook.) . It's so slack. Angie, you got it right. Cafes are the way to go. The pay is pretty much what I was looking for. It's reasonable, and I could make rent at either place without too much penny-pinching.

http://www.katbahloo.com.au/ is the website. Check out the large menu and picture me going it alone after only one training shift. Apparently this is how they do it with everyone, and they expect a learning curve. Most of it is easy enough.

Otherwise, I have been chilling (well, as much as I can) near the beach. St Kilda, which is just Southeast of downtown and a long but manageable walk to the ultimate fields. I have a bank account, and caught a replay of the Giants/Cowboys game yesterday.

I'm updating pretty much daily, mostly because of how slow everything is. My freak-out was in the most relaxed manner possible. Keep in touch.

Miss y'all.

-P

A plea for advice

OK, so let the advice flow begin.
I have one room available soon. It's big. I don't need big. It's expensive. I don't like expensive.
The other option is this: live in the hostel until they kick me out around Christmas, and then mooch off of the contacts I have made until this other gentleman finishes setting up an apartment that will be better location and cheaper.
Now, of course, this looks easy on paper, but I really have no idea how reliable this guy is, and a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, right?
I'm not sure if that saying has a clause that says that if the birds in the bush are better that it's advice is void, but I'm confused.
Then again, as Josh said, it's just money...
What should I do? I'm lost.

Day 30 - December 5

Stat of the day: I have officially been unemployed for a month. And, for most of that month, I have been travelling, which is even more of a strain on the finances. Now, I feel like I've done all right considering the circumstances, but my job-and-apartment hunt begin today and are already in full swing. I have been to a couple of classified sites and have attempted to make contact with some of them. The area that I am looking to live is called St. Kilda, which is a neighbourhood that is in the south of Melbourne, close to downtown. I currently have a hostel there, and have put the word out as much as I can, but nothing yet. But I suppose it's been less than 24 hours. So I'm nervous. And very much homesick.

Well, that's me nervous about the future, but I should probably tell you what I've been up to.
I flew out to Melbourne on friday morning, which means that I am officially 18 hours ahead of you all in Edmonton. Which, actually, means we are going to be awake for more similar hours, so phone calls will be easier.

I managed to find my way through this crazy city to my billet's apartment. Her name is Amanda Palmer, and she was a great billet all weekend. She even put me up for another night because of my situation with accomodations. The tournament I played in was the Melbourne Hat, this year known as the Hangover Hat, due to the World's hangover many of the players were suffering. That's an Ultimate hangover, not an alcohol hangover. The team I ended up on was really solid, with a lot of speed and great flow, but a lack of handlers. We won when the wind was low, but lost a soft one in a high crosswind the first day, going 4-1. 6-1 would have got us into the semis, and we were a universe point away from doing that, so that was heartbreaking. We got to lie around and watch ultimate in the sun with a beer for a few hours, so it wasn't all bad. Also, some of us 'senior' worlds players took on the Melbourne juniors (19 and under) team between the semis and the finals. They have a good junior program here in Melbourne, but the worlds squad had so much more experience (even with me :P) that we rolled them. The party on Saturday night was a lot of fun, and I got to know a handful of people here. I even played league with them last night. So it's been a fun weekend, and now it's like a slap in the face by reality.

I'll keep you updated on my search. Send me positive-thinking messages, and keep writing. I need it more than before.

Cheers.

-P

Day 25 - Nov 30

Wow, ok. Apparently if I wait a while between posts, everything starts to blend together.

I believe I left you after 2 of surfing, so I will start there.

The last two days of surfing were a lot choppier than the first two, so you didn't feel as if you had made much progress, when, in reality, you had.

The surfing was great, and you were hella sore afterwards, but I gotta say, if you're ever in Australia's West and need a place to chill out, hit the Lancelin Lodge. It is so laid back, and there's hardly anything to do there but surf and windsurf, so I tore through a couple books and played a lot of cards. You really don't spend money, except on food, because there is one pub, and no other entertainment, and the pub closes at 10 on weekdays. Such a cool little town. Write it down.

Anyway, we headed back to Perth, and, with no other major plans before heading to Melbourne, I stuck with the British couple (Pete and Rachel) and headed to Fremantle again.

Now the first time I was in Fremantle we were there for about 4 hours. That is not enough time to enjoy Fremantle. This time we were there for two nights, arriving late and leaving early, so essentially one full day and one night. This is too much time, but, really, too much time, when you're on vacation, just means more games of pool and catching Saw 3 (not really all that great)in the midafternoon. The coolest thing we did was check out the Fremantle Prison, which is now out of commission, and we did it on one of it's late-night torchlight tours. It was really cool, and a little creepy, hearing all the stories, seeing the gallows, solitary confinement etc. They threw in a couple of heart-jumping twists (dummy thrown from the roof to feign suicide, a couple of actors exploding through doors) and it was quite a good time. Oh, and for those 'Amazing Race' fans, if you caught one episode last year (I only saw a few, thank you Shannon, but this was one of them) where they had to run through the abandoned prison and then find a flashlight and batteries, before going into the tunnels underneath, this was where it was done, which was quite cool.

So we headed back to Perth the next day (Sunday) and booked into the YHA here (which is a great hostel) and then headed out to Cottesloe for a Sunday Session, which is a tradition where everyone drinks all Sunday afternoon. Now, I hadn't been properly drunk since the after-party for the Ultimate tournament, so this was a fun afternoon, and, I discovered, that Ultimate, the Championships, and, by association, myself, have quite a cult following, and there was some drunk Frisbee tossing going around. It was a good time. Um, this is where it sort of starts to blur. The next day....we.....

OH! We made sandwiches and headed down to Scarborough beach (where I stayed for the tournament) and spent the day on the beach. We hired surfboards and gave the waves a shot, the same waves that had been too brutal for us (well, just me, really) a couple of weeks before. The waves were tough, and got off to a good start, but I fought back and made the final score a little more respectable. It would be a lie to tell you that I won, or ever thought that I might, though. We crashed early at the hostel, and next we did a Southwest Australia 3-day tour. The first day was kind of bland. We saw some rocks that looked like they would collapse on you and climbed to the top of a big rocky hill, but that was really all that was worth mentioning. We crashed in Albany, and the next day did the whale museum, which had a cool 3D movie, but that was about it. We also did a treetop walk that was pretty and also quite scary. The trees were big. We stopped in a cabin outside a small town that I forget the name of and watched 'Wolf Creek' and all got a little scared. We made a fire! And by we I mean me and Pete and it was a great fire and we were most proud of it. I had to use a Tom Clancy novel for kindling, but it was a bad novel anyway. Today we went down into a cave, which was really cool, all the growths and stuff, it was a bit creepy. We also did Margaret River again, and drank some more wine and ate some more chocolate. It was cool.

Sorry this post is so short, even though I tried to cover eight days. My memory is getting poor, apparently, and I am also tired and have a very early flight to Melbourne tomorrow morning. The tournament starts on Saturday, and tomorrow night there is apparently a disc golf thing. I'm bad at disc golf, but will go for the BBQ.

Miss you all.

Cheers.

-P

Day 17 - November 22nd

If I recall correctly, I last left you on Saturday (local time). So my update shall begin with Sunday, where, after moving rooms (we were losing some people and consolidating for the last night) we set out to check out this Red Bull Air Race you've (we've) heard so much about. Now, if you think that Old Strathcona is busy during the Fringe, you're mistaken. If you think that Times Square is busy at midnight on New Years you are mistaken. There were (by unofficial count, a count not done by me, but by someone with more experience in counting) 600,000 people there watching. The entire lake/bay thing was surrounded. We managed to use our powers of pushing-forward-while-not-pissing-anyone-off to get decent seats, but, as we were on the far side of the lake/bay, all we got to see were the airplanes and not see the times. Which was cool, don't get me wrong, but lacked the pizzazz of a sporting event. So we watched a handful and left for Fremantle, which is on the outskirts of Perth, and is famous for their markets. We had pizza and checked out the markets. They were cool, but, as I am already packed to the point of bursting, I only bought frozen chocolate covered strawberries on a stick. The coolest thing was the food market, which, as we arrived at the end of the day, was full of Asian and Baltic people shouting 'ONE DOLLAR! ONLY ONE DOLLAR! HURRY! HURRY! HURRY!'. So that was cool. Afterward we headed home and crashed and watched Phone Booth and finished yet another book. I took one last shot at the laptop and failed and sent it home with Brandon to lighten the load. Internet prices aren't too insane here.

Monday morning I set out on my own in downtown Perth. At the backpacker's lodge I found the nearest hostel, the number of someone that was road-tripping to Melbourne at the end of the month, and the number for that surfing place. I got my accomodations, and, with my passport duct-taped to my chest (kidding) I set out for a phone. I called 3 people: Shannon, who was prepping for karaoke :'(, Silke, the older German woman who was driving to Melbourne, and, as it turns out, was also nuts and asked way too many questions about things like my marital status and passort number, so I hung up. Finally I called the surfing place, who I booked for the next morning (6 45 pickup) and then I went shopping in downtown Perth, which was cool. I picked up a mini alarm clock, which is great, because with no phone, no watch (never have worn one) and an iPod that thinks it's four a.m. in April of 2000, I have no sense of time. I also bought a pair of sunglasses, as I wrecked my old ones. Snapped them, actually, as I was stressing out over being all alone. So I headed back to the hostel and crashed, so I could wake up in time for the surf people. I woke up before my alarm, which, frustratingly, I always do unless I forget to set it. Two hours later, I was with a young British couple and an older Swiss man and pulling into the tiny, isolated hippie town of Lancelin (like sheep's wool?).

Ah, surfing. It's an amazing process, and, according to the video we watched on the car ride, was the main weapon the Greeks used to defeat the Italians in some war sometime. It sounded like someone was clutching to some driftwood a la Leo in Titanic and caught a wave. Cool. Surf cavalry.

It's a lot different once you're out there though. I was on a big blue surfboard, which I affectionately nicknamed 'Get the F&%# off me!!'. I was wearing a big wetsuit, and I was all saltwatery.

Now, the thing you have to understand about waves is that there are four stages of waves. There is the ocean stage where they wobble back and forth and sometimes get big, but die soon enough. If you try to surf on those you look foolish. There is the broken stage, where they get all rolly and white, and by then it's really too late to surf them. The other two stages are the difficult part. They occur within seconds of each other, and, if you misinterpret one for the other, the consequences are dire. They are called the swell and the break. You can catch either in terms of surfing, but you must catch them quite differently. If you catch it on the swell, you want to be forward on your board, so you have momentum when it does break. If you are too far back, the break will come and you will be going too slow, and your surfboard will shoot out from under you, like some sort of tablecloth trick. If you want to catch the wave at the break, you have to be back on your board so the steepness of the wave doesn't throw you forward, headfirst into the ocean, usually with the sharpest part of your surfboard following close behind. Now both of these terrible things have happened to me quite often, but the percentage, after two days, is getting smaller, and I have gotten up on the board at a higher rate. I'm at 60-70% ish so far, but I started at about 20%. Well, I started at 0% if you want to get technical, but, really, who does?

It's a hell of a lot of fun once that percentage is up there, so day 2 was loads better than day one. Afterwards, you get back to the hostel (where it's essentially the surfers, a couple reception people, and the surfer trainees) at like 2pm and have way too much time to kill with nothing in the town to do and no energy to do it. Last night we played a myriad of sports, none of which everyone was good at. This cocky Dutch guy had been telling us all what a great athlete he is, so I busted out a frisbee and fired laser forehands at his 'area'. It felt good, especially after he criticized my soccer header technique, and proceeded into a full-on workshop demonstration. He can't catch a frisbee, and I kept throwing them right at them and really hard, so he didn't have any excuse that wouldn't make him look weak. Ah, vengeance. Then we played cards. Tonight, we went to the market and made a feast, and then played table tennis and then, some of the newbies (incl. a Canadian! from Toronto) played a little poker. Not for money, so it got a little reckless at the end, with a lot of 'what the hell's.

In Perth I am going to scavenge for someone else heading to Adelaide/Melbourne for a few days, and, if not, I'm going to fly to Melbourne for an ultimate tournament (hat touranment, see last post) on the second and third. The money is going fast, so I might have enough for one more adventure after that, but I think I'll settle in Melbourne for a while. I need a cooler place to rest my burned skin. I zinc-ed up hard today and my arms still feel like they are on fire. I feel sorry for the pasty-skinned Brits.

You all should write me more. I get lonely from time to time.

Miss y'all.

-P

Day 13 - November 18th

Josh sent me an email telling me to update my blog more.
There are two things wrong with that. First, his comment on my previous entry encouraged me to spend more time away from computer screens. Secondly, Josh hardly ever updates his blog.
This email was out of line, Josh. It truly was. For shame.

I am, however, sorry that it's been so long. I had a tournament to play in and it took up most of my time. I ended up rooming with a couple girls from the women's team (Little Miss Bossy was the team name) and one guy (Brandon) from my team. We are beachfront with a view of the ocean right where the sun sets. It's out of a movie, it really is. The beach is great, and the waves are solid too. The day before the tournament a few of us went surfing. Steve-o (playing with Mephisto from Montreal) was the only one with any experience, and most of his experience was dictated to him half an hour before we set out by the guy he was staying with. Anyway, we let him go first to see what it was like, and the waves were so strong he couldn't get out to the break. So that was a waste of time, but an entertaining one at least. Brandon and I went boogie boarding later in the week, and it was pretty cool. We didn't last very long, because we were so sore. I still am sore. Probably will be for some time.

For anyone who doesn't know, I was competing in the World Ultimate Club Championships (as in Ultimate Frisbee, but it's not a frisbee, it's a disc, because Frisbee is a brand name. And we weren't playing with Frisbees, we were playing with Discrafts.), which is a week-long tournament that happens every 4 years. 4 years ago it was in Hawaii. Now, all the tournaments back home are 2 or three days... usually a Saturday/Sunday or a Friday/Saturday/Sunday, and those are tough enough. The whole week-long thing really is a draining experience. It also didn't help that our team (Too Bad) had only 10 or 11 guys, where most teams had at least 18. Some brought closer to 30. So I got a lot of playing time, which is good for experience, but I felt like hell every morning all week. The pool we got seeded into was the toughest one in the tournament, with the top-ranked Sub-Zero (USA), the eventual runner-up, Thong (AUS) and the second best (to the champion Buzz Bullets) Japanese team, the Bouhsears. Our team had never played together before and these guys have been together for years. So we dropped all three of those games in spectacular fashion, and were re-seeded into a more reasonable pool. We won our opener in that pool, but then drew a really deep Aussie team (Deathstar) that really pushed us and left us drained. We lost, and we didn't really ever recover. We played some beatable teams (EMO from the UK, the Columbian team and another Japanese team, Flippers) and were with them for the early going in all the games, but their depth took over and they all pulled away in the second half. So we didn't do so hot, but the experience of playing the best teams in the world, as well as teams from everywhere, was amazing. And the games were spread out enough that we got to watch some really solid ultimate between games. Mephisto, the Montreal team with a handful of Edmonton representation on it, came in with high hopes, and swept their opening pool (including a prime-time universe point win over the UK's Clapham, and another universe point win over the New Zealand team). Universe point essentially means it's a tie, and the next point wins. You win the universe, apparently. Just ask Shannon. Anyway, they then drew the aforementioned Thong, and lost on universe point in painful fashion, and they hit a bit of a slide from there, losing to both other Aussie teams in their pool before beating Fire of London to scrape a spot in the quarters against the Japanese Buzz Bullets. Now Buzz Bullets-sponsored by, and employed by, a Japanese window-making company. They get time off to train and get airfare free etc. So they are essentially semi-professional. They were easily the class of the tournament. So Mephisto ended up 8th, losing a lot of close ones. The ladies team won their opener and their closer but had some trouble in between.

But it was really an unreal experience. I didn't injure myself or re-aggravate my hamstring, and I'm certainly in running shape now, and I'd like to think I learned a thing or two.

Most of the week, it was go home and pass out reading on the couch and wake up very sore. Once, though, we had a team BBQ. Kangaroo meat!!I played cutter/striker the whole tournament, and got very little time off, which meant I was essentially the designated runner, as I was the youngest guy on my team by almost 6 years. So I am tired. And am walking like I have a stick up my ass.

The Japanese won the Open, Women's and Master's (old guys) titles, but Vancouver's Team Fisher Price pulled out the co-ed title.

The party last night, after everyone was finised except for the finalists, was great. We drank, we danced, we got kicked out, so we hit another bar and did some more of the same. The Edmonton contingent in the back of one of the late-night shuttle busses was quite vocal, with renditions of 'Summer of '69', 'Build me up Buttercup', and that song about a moose that likes juice. The song works because moose and juice rhyme. Oh, and there was a Hockey Night in Canada theme song appearance earlier in the night.

I taught everyone how to play Trapped and everyone loved it, more and more as the game went on (as is usually the case). We got lamb kebabs (donair, essentailly) and crashed poolside at the end of the night. We watched the finals today under a makeshift lean-to using tables and water jugs and milk crates. We are nothing if not resourceful.

There is a BBQ tonight at the condos Mephisto stayed at. I have lamb meat and chips and am quite excited.

Tomorrow, there is the Red Bull Air Race which involves some sort of strange flying mechanisms and large pylons in a harbour. So I hope to catch that.

After that, I really am not sure yet. I am considering going to a 4-day surf camp and learning to surf. Apparently the price is quite reasonable, and I think that another round of stress on my muscles is exactly what I need. I also want to end up in Melbourne in early December for a hat tournament (ultimate tournament where the players are split into teams at random).

The camera I have, but I can't turn it on. It may need batteries, so I will get it new ones and see. No progress on the laptop, but I have been busy.

I have a decent tan (farmer's) and a light burn on my face, but overall I think I handled the sun well. And it has been nothing but sun.

Also, I traded that Canada shirt you got me, Mom, the red one with 'Canada' down the back, for a really cool Shiok! jersey (Singapore co-ed team). Our Too Bad jerseys were ugly and plain, so I am stuck with both of those.

OH! Forgot. We went to the zoo! Saw cool animals. I like wombats. Like that story, Wombat Stew. Remember that? Ewey-gooey-yummy-chewy wombat stew!

I hope someone picks up on that reference.

The tournament is over, and the adventure starts tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted.

-P

Day 4 - November 9

Wow, where to start? It's been a heck of a first few days. Getting through the airport went pretty well; the only issue I had was with the passport number/visa fiasco. For those of you that don't know, I applied for my visa before renewing my passport, which meant that the passport number on my visa was incorrect. I was warned that this would be an issue in Edmonton, and that I should find someone in Vancouver, or else 'they' wouldn't let me in to Australia. No one in Vancouver seemed to know what I was talking about, so I decided that my only option was to get on the plane. My ticket was scanned, and I was flagged and sent to a little room next to the gate where two surly-looking women listened to my story, and then stared at each other, as if deciding whether or not to help me. They did, eventually, but made me feel like I was really putting them out of there way to do so.

But I got here.

One of the girls from the women's team (named Momoe) happened to be on my Sydney-Perth flight. Apparently there were five others that were supposed to be on the flight, but they were delayed for a day when their flight to L.A. was cancelled. They had a hostel booked, and, of course, no one was going to take those rooms, so I gallantly volunteered. The hostel was nicer then the one I'd booked, as well as closer to downtown Perth, so I swallowed the $3.72 AUD reservation fee and we set off for the hostel. It was a nice hostel, but it was filled with people who only spoke Chinese, so we set off looking for something to kill time with. We had a nice meal, with an Australian beer (note - I hammered back several Bailey's & coffee on the international flights. Made the trip faster, made the sleep easier. 23 plus hours in the air and I have yet to touch my iPod.) and threw a frisbee around a park for a while. Perth is beautiful. Parks everywhere, and the nicest sports fields I've seen for public use anywhere. This is why the Aussies win more medals at every summer Olympics than we do. At around 7 30 local time (4 30 am mountain) the jet lag started to hit us, so we walked to downtown Perth to try to stay awake. It was a long walk, but a nice one, and we went bowling and drank coke to keep our energy up. Walked back, fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The next day we went to the airport to pick up the rest of the crew. (Stacey, Sue and Tanya from the women't team, Blair, who is playing with a Calgary Master's [35+y.o.] team and Garvin, who is playing with the Montreal-based Mephisto) They had rented a car for five of them, but the addition of me and Garv made 7, so we surprised them by upgrading them to a van. We packed it up and headed south to Margaret River. The drive was a little less than three hours, which wasn't so bad for me and Momoe, but for everyone who was incredibly sick of travelling, it was hard. We got to Margaret River, had a pizza dinner, and crashed hard, but only after picking up some groceries for breakfast. That was a good call, as we feasted on cereal and melons, before heading out for a day of wine-tasting, cheese-sampling and chocolate-stealing from the many wineries, cheese factories, and chocolate makers in the area. But first, we went on a 20-minute run in the humidity that made everyone feel like cancelling the tournament. However, the wine was great, and by the third winery, everyone but Stacey (D.D.) was good and drunk. The cheese sampling proved to be the most effective, as we bought 7 or 8 blocks of cheese, compared with 3 or 4 bottles of wine and only a couple bags of chocolate. The chocolate was good, but they gave away way too many free samples, and it took off the chocolate-craving edge. Lunch was crackers and (guess?) cheese, and we did the same thing all afternoon before picking up the ingrediants for a feast-like dinner and heading back. We hit the beach and threw a frisbee in the heavy, heavy wind, and discovered that none of us were prepared for the ocean wind that promised to hit the tournament. Sunset was getting ready to be amazing, but clouds rolled in. Ah, well. There will be plenty more.

(side note: It's interesting how I feel so relaxed and able to move at whatever pace I want, but all the people I am with are in such a rush, because most of them are only here for two weeks and want to see all they can.)

Supper was a team effort and was amazing. I was in charge of the from-scratch garlic bread with melted smoked cheddar cheese. It came out looking a little charred (the grill was not well-kept) but delicious. We all went to bed early and full.

Today we woke up with hopes of seeing the dolphins, but the rain chased that dream away, so we hit a few more wineries and cheese factories before picniking with leftovers from last night and heading back up to Perth, where we arrived just under an hour ago. The accommodations that the women's team has is amazing, and I may stay there if my team continues to be this unorganized. Interestingly, the accomodation is on the gay strip of Perth. I was whistled an hollered at three times on the way to find this internet cafe, (well, two for sure) and, girls, I gotta say, it's not so bad. I mean, it's a little flattering, and really, what are they going to do? Just stay in a well lit area. Also, there are many man-hand-holding walks occuring, and I also just saw an older female couple sharing a bottle of wine and a kiss in a little cafe. It was really beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, I don't have a camera to capture such moments. This is unfortunate, I really thought it was in my bag. The laptop isn't working either, but I've only tried twice, and have yet to find anyone that knows what they're doing to help me. So if I get that to hook up to the internet, I will get myself a camera, but if I can't, you are just going to have to use your imagination.

I'm nervous about going it alone, but I know I will have to eventually. I don't know where I'm heading next, and I don't know how I want to get there. I think my choices are to stick with the big cities and take the bus or train, or to try to find smaller busses and work my way accross. That's not what makes me nervous, though, it's just the not-being-with-anyone-I-know factor and being completely out of my comfort zone.

I'll try to keep this thing updated, and I hope you all either a) keep the emails coming or b) start emailing me about your life! It's something I look forward to, and I'm only four days in. I miss you guys.

Until next time.

-P