Burn Baby Burn

Today I am alone again. Jill is gone to Broome in an hour and Melissa has left for camp. My train to Kalgoorlie leaves tomorrow. I have little hope left for the waitressing job, as when I sent off my references on Thursday, I mistyped the email address and only got the notification that it wasn't sent today. This means that not only do I look careless for not sending them promptly, they will also think I am lazy for not double-checking the email. To be honest, I probably wasn't cut out for it anyway. I have a lead on a job at a cattle feedlot, which seems a little more up my alley, and will also satisfy the requirements to renew my visa for a second year, should I so choose.

In other news I have managed to sunburn places I didn't know you could sunburn. Jill and I went down to Cottesloe beach yesterday and I once again THOUGHT that I had managed full sunscreen coverage. This was not the case. To be fair, I was ready to head out at 2:30, but Jill is a beach marathoner and we ended up staying from 10:30 until 4:30 with a BLT break in between. I went swimming once but mostly slept, for which I really should have worn sunglasses. I was trying to avoid the dreaded raccoon eyes one gets from wearing sunglasses all day. I managed that, but also figured out how to sunburn my eyelids, which are rather swollen today. I also burned the back of my knees and one armpit. I think I have a skill for this- perhaps I can start burning shapes and words into my skin to make things more interesting. At least that would make the pain a little more acceptable. See below for some "Before" shots

-A.

This ship flew a pirate flag- I figured I wouldn't start worrying until cannon fire erupted


Miss Jill, the Beach Queen

Me in the process of scorching my body, note that this is one of the brief moments I actually wore my sunglasses

Sunset in Perth

To the Desert

Since I have yet to hear back from the fish market, and am rather unsure of my potential as a waitress (I am not the most graceful of ladies), I have decided to broaden my job search. I have booked a train ticket to Kalgoorlie, where the dresses are skimpy and the goldmines are deep. I am hoping that by moving locations that I might be able to snag some manual field work or at least something a little rustic. I am so tired of the city right now.

My buddy Jill, who only arrived last week, has a job at a resort selling ice cream in Broome for $20/hr, full time. This may be due to the fact that Broome is 2200km north of Perth and remote as hell. I am still a little jealous. Melissa gave me a bit of a pep talk today about jobs as I was getting rather down. She was supposed to head out to the field today but I just found out that she missed the flight, so her, Jill and I are going out for supper. Drinks all around!

-A.

Something Fishy

I have been hanging out at my friend Melissa's place for the past few days, and I have to say that I have been having a lot of fun. It's nice when you are not worried about where you are sleeping. She leaves for the desert on Friday but her roommates have asked that Jill and I stay until Monday to house sit while they go on a trip. We don't want to overstay our welcome, so we will probably find some hostel accommodations after that. I dropped off my resume at the fish market I mentioned in my last post- the place actually looks kind of fun. Melissa keeps talking about how it's really hard to meet new friends in her office because they are all kind of old but I think the fish market will be a neat place to get to know some locals. Not to mention the guy who offered me the job- hot! We'll see how it goes, maybe I won't even be there that long and will get a job with Barrick Gold tomorrow. Gold is at $814/ounce US today so anything is possible.

-A.

Upswing

Things have been looking up in the past couple days. My friend Jill showed up on Thursday and I also found out that my other friend Melissa is living here in Perth so both Jill and I have been crashing at her house. It is VERY nice to not be in a hostel for once. I also didn't realize how much I missed talking to people I know. I made some friends in the hostel, but it's much less work talking to someone you've known for a few years.; you just feel more relaxed.

We went out to a party that Melissa's friend was at last night and met a couple of nice guys. I am 90% sure they offered me an instant job working at the fish market they run. I am not positive due to a very delicious bottle of wine. It sounds like a nasty job, but Jill told me that the minimum wage is $18 here so two hours work would cover food and lodging for a day and the rest would be gravy. I am not above doing shit jobs until I can find a good geology position. At the very least I can stop budgeting quite so tightly and eat more than one meal a day.

It is Melissa's 24th birthday today so we are going to celebrate tonight, which means I need to go for a run and burn of the remnants of last night before things get under way. I am sure that all of you reading this are thinking that I sound like an alcoholic, but red wine is good for the heart, so I am really just trying to be healthy. Cheers all.

-A.

Poker Face

Last night a bunch of us in the hostel decided to go sign up for the free poker tournament at the Brass Monkey bar. There was no monetary element, just beer and chips (the poker kind, not the salty kind). Having only played Texas hold 'em about twice, I had a very vague grasp of what was going on and was out on my 5th hand. This was fine because it freed me up to drink some well deserved libations. Later on in the night, we were all out and the game was down to the one fancy table in the middle. Names were being drawn all night from the registration computer for various prizes, including a bar tab or a hat or a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon. I was really hoping to win the bourbon, but my name was drawn for a spot at the final table and 10000 worth of chips. I would have much preferred the bourbon, but what the hell. The minimum bet was all the chips I had so I didn't last long and got out when an ace high card beat my king high card. All in good fun, and thank god there was no real money involved. After that we went to hang out in another hostel and I once again lost miserably, but this time at pool. We moved on to an Irish pub called Rosie O'Grady's and I ended the night eating ham and cheese sandwiches at 2 am with my German friend Andre.

Today I am slightly hung over and it is ungodly hot (29 degrees without a cloud to be seen). I think I am going to go hide in the movie theater... oops, I mean cinema, and watch the new James Bond flick. Other than the dehydration I am also rather bummed to day about my job prospects. Of the 14 or so applications I sent out, I have only had two somewhat neutral replies and I think one is from a coal mine, which sucks. My new plan is to take a bus to Kalgoorlie on Monday and see what I can see over their. It is a boom town out in the desert, about 6 hours from here but it is pretty much the working center of the mining industry out here in Western Australia. Perth has all the head offices, but maybe if I poke my head around in some of the regional sites, someone might take an interest. Andre has bet me a case of beer that I will find a job if I go out there- if it works out I think I'll buy him two.

-A.

Life Plans and Drinking Buddies

It’s been a few days since I last updated, frankly, because I haven’t been doing much. I am in a bit of a holding pattern until I can find a job. I am scared of spending any more money on sightseeing in case I don’t find some employment right away. The catch-22 there is that once I find a job I won’t be doing very much sightseeing anyway. I have already decided that if I can I would like to hang around this wonderful country for at least a year. And after talking to a few other backpackers in the hostel, I am more and more convinced that there are a few more journeys in me after that. I would love to spend some time in Ireland, and also Greece and perhaps south-east Asia. I figure if I can save up enough money to cover my student loan payments while I am away, I can just work wherever I am to support myself. This is sort of long term goal stuff, as I certainly haven’t even seen a quarter of this country. The weather here is so pleasant that it’s hard to imagine that it’s probably snowing back home. I am not trying to rub it in, but I am getting a bit of a tan, which for me is a significant achievement.

My good friend Jill is popping by on Thursday (though I don't know if "popping by is the right term for travelling thousands of kilometers to the other side of the planet). It will be nice to have some company, I think. I have gotten to know quite a few people in the hostel I am in right now, but everyone is so transient that it is hard to develop anything more than passing aquaintences. I will also maybe have a drinking buddy, which is more socially acceptable than drinking alone (unless you are a hobo or a musician).

Picture Time

As promised, here are some photos of the Australian variety:

This is George, who guided the Bushtucker tour I was on. Some food yummy, some food gross.

The bottom of "The Grandmother", a 400 year old tingle tree

Me on the Tree Top Walk, a pleasant stroll through the upper canopy of a tingle tree forest (did I mention it's 40m in the air?

The BEACH! (note how my skin tone matches the white sand)

A most delicious beer emporium in the Perth suburb of Fremantle (Freo). Little Creatures Brewery has taken a significant portion of my Aussie dollars (though their kangaroo kebabs are absolutely worth every penny!)

*NOTE: I just noticed that the dates and times for my posts are drastically out of whack. Whatever it says on the blog, add a day. I am 16 hours ahead of mountain daylight time. Maybe some day I will be able to change the time zone from this end but I am way too tired right now after having slept in my rental car again (this time because every single room in Perth had been rented and not because I am cheap).

Speed Demon

I am writing from Geraldton, WA, after having gotten a $150 speeding ticket for going 125 in a 110 zone. My excuse is that I very dearly had to go to the bathroom after drinking coffee and a litre of water and was trying to make it to town before I exploded. Of course things took much longer when I got pulled over. I was half-thinking that maybe the officers would just let me go if they saw that I had wet my pants, but then I thought of the deductible on the rental car and changed my mind. I am really annoyed though because I had been being really frugal, sleeping in either my tent or the car for the past couple days so I could splurge and get a cheap hotel room here in Geraldton, but with the $150 ticket, which is equivalent to a whole week of hostel fees, looks like it's the back seat of the Toyota again. Arrrrgggh!!!!

I haven't had a chance to upload photos since I got here so lets give it a go:

Famous Santa Monica Pier

Glorious sunshine!!! (pre-sunburn)

Just after I took this shot, an honest to god Ferrari drove by- very posh.

I can't figure out how to rotate this sucker, but you get the idea.

I will load some actual Australia pictures next time! Got to keep you wanting more, you know.

-A.

King of the Road

Having mastered this driving on the left thing, I have decided that the best way to see Australia is by car. This place is too damn big for anything else (unless you are a super cycling type, but I am waaaay to lazy for that).

I left Perth yesterday and stumbled upon an outdoor shop that was having a sale. $163 later I had a dodgy tent and a not so dodgy sleeping bag, so now I will never be homeless! Also the lack of privacy in the hostels and the 19 year olds stumbling home drunk every night were starting to annoy me. I slept on the bank of the Blackwater River near Bridgetown after a driving through Margeret River and tiny Nannup. I am currently in Albany and am making a big loop of the Southwest. I have to be back in Margeret River tomorrow for a bushtucker tour down river. It's raining right now so I will probably sleep in the car because I am cheap (it's a Corrolla so I think there should be room). Hopefully it doesn't rain tomorrow. Bushtucker, for those who don't know is traditional bush food consumed by aboriginees and bush men when on walkabout... I think. My vocabulary is expanding by leaps and bounds- ask me later what a "budgie smuggler" is (hint: think of tight skimpy clothing and water).

I dread returning the car on Thursday and once again being trapped in the city. I am quickly falling in love with the Australian countryside- and I have only seen one tiny corner so far. I think instead of looking for camper van to purchase when I get a job, I am just going to go for an old Toyota Landcruiser. There's tons of them around and I can go just about anywhere; I do have a tent after all. At my campsite last night I met a young couple named Kelly and Will. Will was a mechanic and gave me some good tips on purchase price and the like. Kelly lent me a mattress to sleep on for my tent (one of the things I overlooked). Aussies rule!

Further South

My friend Alyce has booked a car for me so I am going to take off down to the Margaret River area for a few days. It's wine country so I plan to try a few samples along the way and maybe check out a tour of some sort. How fancy shmansy am I? To balance out all that cultured activity, I also plan to check out some of the world-renown forests- there are gum trees that are hundreds of feet high! I may not be regularly updating for a while but I'll let you know how it turns out.

Yesterday I went to the beach all day. Then I had beer with Alyce and that is about it. I don't think I am ever leaving this country.

-A.

PS. If it makes you coldies feel better about winter, I did get some wicked sunburns in the places where I missed putting on sunscreen. The perils of the beach!

Beer and Blisters

Yesterday was moderately gorgeous, minus the wind, so I thought it would be a nice idea to walk to Fremantle. This, as it turned out wasn't the brightest of ideas. I am currently in Cottesloe, which is a beach suburb of Perth. Fremantle is this charming European style town further along the coast, but apparenlty, much further than I had first calculated.

Decked out in my ungodly expensive sandles that I had bought in an end of summer sale in Grande Prairie, I set off along the beach path with all enthusiasm. Three hours later, after navigating through an industrial area I reached Freo. Instead of checking out the markets like I planned, I instead bought some fish and chips and went straight to the Little Creatures brewery for a very large beer. By this time my feet were very blistered and all I could do was sit. Granted the ocean view was nice, but my strolling capabilities were severely limited.

I caught the bus and train back to Cottesloe and sat on my ass for the evening, walking around the hostel blissfully shoeless.

Today I am going back to Freo to get the full experience, but I think I will take the train...

-A.

The Big Blue

Didn't do a whole lot yesterday owing to my developing cold. I figured if I took it easy, it might not develop into full blown nastiness as it usually does.

It rained again, but I made it to my new hostel without too much dampness. I am staying at the Ocean Beach Backpackers, aptly named because of the conveniently located ocean across the street. After checking in and laying around in the courtyard for a while, the rain finally cleared up and let in some glorious sunshine. I went down to the beach and introduced myself to the Indian Ocean- I think we are going to get along swimmingly (come on, you know you love a good pun!).

I am in a ladies dorm this time, which is a nice change, what with the dramatic decrease in midnight farts and snores. Apparently flatulence is international. A couple dutch girls, a pair of british gals and one I haven't met.

Oh yeah, and I went to the grocery store so I could stop spending gobs of money at restaurants. It was an IGA of all things! There is something very surreal about that, considering that the same store exists in High Prairie. Very surreal to find it on the exact opposite side of the world.

-A.

Damp and Drunk

It has been raining pretty heavily on and off since I got here, with little windows of teasing sunshine in between. I am hoping that things will clear up for the weekend at least. The locals claim that this is the last hurrah of spring and I will be praying for rain when the temperature hits 40 degrees. Somehow, I doubt that.

Unaware of the impeding rain, I went downtown yesterday for some breakfast and internet. I found this cute little cafe called Tiger Tiger down a side street that had an outdoor patio with this huge gumtree growing in the center. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do that day and on a whim, I walked into a hair salon and got a shampoo and a cut. I think my main motivation was the shampoo as there was no hot water in the hostel for my shower the night before and my wash job was a bit rushed; the head massage was a nice touch too. The rest of the morning and the afternoon was spent at a pub since it was raining too hard to venture back to the hostel. Beer before noon is an wonderfully accepted practice around here, though I have to go back and try the emu- I have been told it tastes like duck.

My lovely friend Alyce picked me up for supper and we had pizza and a few beers at the Moon (bar or cafe, I am not sure) and ogled the South American singer as he played guitar and ukulele. His accent was wonderful.

I am currently trying to find a place to sleep tonight because I did not have the forethought to book ahead, so wish me luck!

-A.

Swimming Pools and Movie Stars

Hello All,

I was rather dreading the 12 hour layover I had in LA but it actually worked out wonderfully. I took a 45 minute bus to the Santa Monica Pier and enjoyed a platter from Bubba Gump Shrimp (fried shrimp of course) and then walked around on the beach and down Santa Monica Boulevard until it was nearing time to check in. Caught the bus back and boarded the plane for the 15 hour flight which I mostly slept through.

40 hours is a looooong time to be traveling. After four airports and three airplanes, I am finally in Perth. Things went smoothly overall, but I think I will never be able to take a North American plane again. On my LA to Melbourne flight I was supplied with a full meal, free blanket and pillow, on demand tv, movies and games, AND a goody bag which included snacks, toothpaste and a toothbrush, and, get this, SOCKS! I love it. My domestic flight to Perth included free alcohol and two helpings of ice cream. Air Canada they are not.

My friend Alyce picked me up at the airport and I stayed the night in the Witch's Hat hostel, so named for the Edwardian turret protruding from the roof. I have spontaneously made a hair appointment at the salon next door to this internet cafe, so we shall see how that turns out. I am, after all, on vacation!

Next goal, find a job!... maybe.

-A.