April 30, 2006
A Day In My Aussie Life (Day 214)
Yesterday at 7am I awoke to the sound of cereal being poured into a porcelain bowl, followed by Uncle Eric tromping past my door through the dining room and back. I quickly climbed down from the bunk skipping the last few rungs and hopping to the floor, desperate to get to the toilet. A couple minutes later I climbed back into bed and looked at the clock on my cellphone. 7:15am. Too early I thought to myself and went back to sleep.
The next time I woke up it was 9:25 and when I finally forced myself to get out of bed it was almost 11:00. There really was no reason to get up. There was nothing I wanted to search on the internet, no gym class to attend, and Grandma was already comfortably planted in front of O'Reilly, his over-emphasized "come on"'s blasting from the livingroom.
I climbed out anyways, my body was starting to get that slept-too-much ache. I quickly got dressed for the gym, cleaned the kitchen and on the way out was informed by Grandma that I needed to strip all the beds, wash the sheets and remake them sometime today. I told her I'd do it when I got back and bolted out the door.
I spent the next 2+ hours at the gym, running, kickboxing and doing whatever else I could think of to amuse myself. It was an easy day. As a treat, I grabbed a "Boost" smoothie before leaving the shopping center. They are --of course-- not as good as "Blenders" but after being on the road for 7 months, any smoothie with more than ice and lemon juice is accepted with great enthusiasm.
On the walk back to the house I slowly shuffled along; kicking rocks and picking leaves. Half way there I stopped at a playground and made my way through the dry woodchips to a swing. I swang for about 20 minutes. I think the people who scurried by thought I was "special".
Once I got back to the house I sat in front of the computer until my eyes were beet red and watering, chatting on IM and searching random trivial topics on Google, while slowly consuming 1/2 a kilo of green grapes. Around 7pm I showered and headed with Uncle Eric to Jasmine's house for dinner. On the way we stopped at a BWS store to buy some wine and I had one of those moments when you realize the cashier thinks you're dating a family member. We spent the rest of the night debating life, love and politics while sipping Penefolds Bin 28. Yes, this is my Aussie life.
Being here in OZ has been great. Coming here after S.E. Asia was a good plan, giving me much needed recouperation time. But as most of you know I've decided not to stay.
While in Southeast Asia, bug bitten, sticky and covered with sand I decided I would come to OZ, find a film/tv job and work for the next 6-9 months. When I first arrived I started making connections, got my resume ready and was excited to start working, but those feelings quickly disolved.
My third week here, Sammy and I made the long drive down to Sydney. After spending the next week drinking too much, spending too much and couch hopping between Julia's, Antonia's brother's and Sammy's Uncle's, I realized it was time to make some decisions. If I was going to stay in OZ and work, I needed to hurry up and get a job. But where exactly I wanted to work had me stumped. Sydney was a beautiful city that had tons to do, and with Julia there I would quickly have a fun group of friends; but it was expensive and if I stayed, no matter how long I worked, I wasn't going to save a dime. Brisbane on the other hand afforded me cheap housing where I was close to the train and I'd have time to get to know Grandma. The only problems being it has less film work than Sydney, is dullville in comparison and has no friends for me to hangout with.
As I started tackling those decisions other issues began to raise their ugly heads. If I stayed here until December I wouldn't have Jared as a travel partner for Africa, my budget may not be any better than when I got here, and the more I thought about it the more I began to see that come month three, I was going to be bored out of my mind.
I'm not done traveling, not even close. I'm too excited to stuff the backpack into the back of the closet. I want to see Africa and Europe, not paychecks. And I'm not at all keen on struggling to find a job. After having a month to recoup, I've realized that I just needed a little recovery time. What I had wanted was to get to a gym and off the beaches of Thailand. I had gotten bored in Southeast Asia, and as a result, tired.
So, I've gone back to Plan A which means in July I will be meeting Jared in Africa; and as Brian Bort pointed out it's a bit odd seeing one normally goes to Plan B, not back to Plan A. But in this case it works out, and seems to be an example of clouded judgement. Plan A was always better than Plan B, my mind was just too fogged by humidity and smog to realize it.
So in the meantime I've gotten myself (well actually Uncle Eric got it for me, I'm learning to use connections) a job. It's a lame waitressing position at a tiny cafe down the street. I'm getting $12/hour but hardly any tips because Aussies don't tip, and to be honest I can understand why. The service here is crap. Empty glasses, uncleared plates. I mean people are actually used to getting up and asking for the bill. So at this point I have 2 choices: Stay the great American server that I am OR lower myself to the "I only work as hard as I get paid" Aussie server approach. I highly doubt I'll choose the second...but then again, it is only $12/hour.
Now that I'm back from Sydney and somewhat settled, I'll need to put a little more effort into the friends realm. It's interesting that it's easier to make friends in a "3rd world" country than in a country where you're surrounded by people who speak the same language. People are in their comfort zones and don't feel the need to make new friends everyday. Oddly enough I have spent more time on my own here than I did traveling by myself in China. I welcomed it at first since I was sick of chit chat by the time I left the southeastasian backpacker trail, but now that I'm bored it's back to being social, back to working and back to planning. Planning where I'm off to next, which hopefully includes some weekend trips in OZ and of course the upcoming months in Africa. It's funny how quickly you can want to get away when you realize you're stuck somewhere for a while. I'll try to make the best of it by saving a little money, meeting some Aussies and using the gym to the fullest, but of course, the countdown is still on...
The next time I woke up it was 9:25 and when I finally forced myself to get out of bed it was almost 11:00. There really was no reason to get up. There was nothing I wanted to search on the internet, no gym class to attend, and Grandma was already comfortably planted in front of O'Reilly, his over-emphasized "come on"'s blasting from the livingroom.
I climbed out anyways, my body was starting to get that slept-too-much ache. I quickly got dressed for the gym, cleaned the kitchen and on the way out was informed by Grandma that I needed to strip all the beds, wash the sheets and remake them sometime today. I told her I'd do it when I got back and bolted out the door.
I spent the next 2+ hours at the gym, running, kickboxing and doing whatever else I could think of to amuse myself. It was an easy day. As a treat, I grabbed a "Boost" smoothie before leaving the shopping center. They are --of course-- not as good as "Blenders" but after being on the road for 7 months, any smoothie with more than ice and lemon juice is accepted with great enthusiasm.
On the walk back to the house I slowly shuffled along; kicking rocks and picking leaves. Half way there I stopped at a playground and made my way through the dry woodchips to a swing. I swang for about 20 minutes. I think the people who scurried by thought I was "special".
Once I got back to the house I sat in front of the computer until my eyes were beet red and watering, chatting on IM and searching random trivial topics on Google, while slowly consuming 1/2 a kilo of green grapes. Around 7pm I showered and headed with Uncle Eric to Jasmine's house for dinner. On the way we stopped at a BWS store to buy some wine and I had one of those moments when you realize the cashier thinks you're dating a family member. We spent the rest of the night debating life, love and politics while sipping Penefolds Bin 28. Yes, this is my Aussie life.
Being here in OZ has been great. Coming here after S.E. Asia was a good plan, giving me much needed recouperation time. But as most of you know I've decided not to stay.
While in Southeast Asia, bug bitten, sticky and covered with sand I decided I would come to OZ, find a film/tv job and work for the next 6-9 months. When I first arrived I started making connections, got my resume ready and was excited to start working, but those feelings quickly disolved.
My third week here, Sammy and I made the long drive down to Sydney. After spending the next week drinking too much, spending too much and couch hopping between Julia's, Antonia's brother's and Sammy's Uncle's, I realized it was time to make some decisions. If I was going to stay in OZ and work, I needed to hurry up and get a job. But where exactly I wanted to work had me stumped. Sydney was a beautiful city that had tons to do, and with Julia there I would quickly have a fun group of friends; but it was expensive and if I stayed, no matter how long I worked, I wasn't going to save a dime. Brisbane on the other hand afforded me cheap housing where I was close to the train and I'd have time to get to know Grandma. The only problems being it has less film work than Sydney, is dullville in comparison and has no friends for me to hangout with.
As I started tackling those decisions other issues began to raise their ugly heads. If I stayed here until December I wouldn't have Jared as a travel partner for Africa, my budget may not be any better than when I got here, and the more I thought about it the more I began to see that come month three, I was going to be bored out of my mind.
I'm not done traveling, not even close. I'm too excited to stuff the backpack into the back of the closet. I want to see Africa and Europe, not paychecks. And I'm not at all keen on struggling to find a job. After having a month to recoup, I've realized that I just needed a little recovery time. What I had wanted was to get to a gym and off the beaches of Thailand. I had gotten bored in Southeast Asia, and as a result, tired.
So, I've gone back to Plan A which means in July I will be meeting Jared in Africa; and as Brian Bort pointed out it's a bit odd seeing one normally goes to Plan B, not back to Plan A. But in this case it works out, and seems to be an example of clouded judgement. Plan A was always better than Plan B, my mind was just too fogged by humidity and smog to realize it.
So in the meantime I've gotten myself (well actually Uncle Eric got it for me, I'm learning to use connections) a job. It's a lame waitressing position at a tiny cafe down the street. I'm getting $12/hour but hardly any tips because Aussies don't tip, and to be honest I can understand why. The service here is crap. Empty glasses, uncleared plates. I mean people are actually used to getting up and asking for the bill. So at this point I have 2 choices: Stay the great American server that I am OR lower myself to the "I only work as hard as I get paid" Aussie server approach. I highly doubt I'll choose the second...but then again, it is only $12/hour.
Now that I'm back from Sydney and somewhat settled, I'll need to put a little more effort into the friends realm. It's interesting that it's easier to make friends in a "3rd world" country than in a country where you're surrounded by people who speak the same language. People are in their comfort zones and don't feel the need to make new friends everyday. Oddly enough I have spent more time on my own here than I did traveling by myself in China. I welcomed it at first since I was sick of chit chat by the time I left the southeastasian backpacker trail, but now that I'm bored it's back to being social, back to working and back to planning. Planning where I'm off to next, which hopefully includes some weekend trips in OZ and of course the upcoming months in Africa. It's funny how quickly you can want to get away when you realize you're stuck somewhere for a while. I'll try to make the best of it by saving a little money, meeting some Aussies and using the gym to the fullest, but of course, the countdown is still on...
