Day 1 Thur 04/12/2012
Poor SC Nomad (my bike)
"Bike box barely made the trip. In shambles. All good though. Made it to Leah's house approximately 4PM. Unloaded bags & went to the beach to surf. Then fish n chips for sunset."
The bike almost didn't make the trip in one piece. When i arrived in Melbourne from LA I had to leave the International Airport and move to the Domestic Flights Airport. This meant claiming my bags and then going back through customs again. So I had to wait for my hiking backpack, my duffle bag full of SCUBA gear, and lastly my bike box. I claimed my 2 large bags fairly quickly. However when I arrived at the oversized bag claim area I could see the black from of my bicycle sitting up against the wall with parts scattered everywhere. The boz was destroyed. One of the baggage workers came over and apologized for the condition of the box in his Kiwi accent. I would soon learn to understand this accent fully.
The New Zealander ran to find me some tape to attempt and fix the box to make one more flight across Australia to Perth. There was no chance on me making my flight. I think I had 30 minutes to go through the huge line again and get to my gate. Even with no delays with the bike box I don't think I would have made the flight. So this actually took some of the stress out of the equation. I had NO CHANCE of making the flight, so why even be in a hurry. I took my time and surrounded the box with multiple passes of packing and duct tape. When they weighed my bike for the last flight it was 15kgs heavier. All tape. This put me into the next catagory of weight and it would cost more money. The airline understood the extra weight was all the tape I had to use to fix the problem they caused with the rough treatment of the box so they let me slide on the weight. Thanks!
Leah was there to pick me up. She immediately gave me hell for the amount of gear I had. I still didn't think I had too much. I mean with SCUBA gear and a bike I was prepared. It would be a few months before I acknowledged the fact that I had DOUBLE the crap I needed, but I will not think "Leah is/was right" just yet.
My bike box wouldn't even fit into the car. After trying to smash it into the trunk and then the backseat I tore the box open and trashed it. The bike fit into the backseat with 1/4 hanging out the rolled down window perfectly.
It was so good to see Leah. She was very excited to have me and I was very excited to be here. We took my bags back to her house in Dianella just north of the city of Perth. Then we went to Scarborough Beach for a surf session. She pulled into her friend's house, Laurence (Laza). he had a pink surf board sitting outside on his back porch that was there for grabs anytime someone needed a board. I ate sand from the ocean floor a few times before accepting defeat calling it quits on surfing for the day. I was super drained anyways.
We walked over to a Fish N Chips place for sunset. I couldn't believe how expensive the meal was. I think Leah spent $30 plus on our meal. It was delicious though. Oh and you had to buy the tartar sauce too. I thought that was insane.
Day 2 Fri 04/13/2013
Jet Lagged
"Opened bank account. Kate at WestPac Banking. Bought tools, groceries, key... Went into Perth via train. Met Leah's friend Hisham & her roomie Jes. Got WIFI."
Day 3 Sat 04/14/2013
BBQ & Yard Bowling
"Yard Bowling with Laurence, Leah, Hisham, Mute, James, Robyn, Cameron. BBQ Party at Leah's. Bazz (Irish), Laurence, & I took a cab into the city. TN ID for Laurence at Universal Bar in downtown Perth. Drinks at Laurence's after."
Today Leah had reserved a court for us to go yard bowling. Lots of her friends turned out. Hisham (Egypt), Robyn (Australia) & her boyfriend Cameron (Canada), Laurence (New Zealand), Mute, James (Australia), and a few more all turned up.
Afterwards Leah ahd invited everyone back to her place for a BBQ. Laurence was ready soon after the BBQ to take me into the city to see the night scene. Bazz was game as well. Leah told us before we left "Do not go to Universal." Of course I had no idea what or where anything was. Turns out that is excactly where Laza took us. Hahaha, it was fun. We get downtown and Laza realizes he has forgotten his wallet. You absolutely cannot get into places in the city without proper ID. In most cases you needed your passport. Leah had told me to make sure and bring it so I was prepared. We decided to let Laza use my TN Drivers license. We got in with no issues. Laza even tried to put on his best TN accent and said "Hey ya'll buddy" to the bouncer at the door. It was hilarious!
As we were sitting people watching I saw to lovely Asian gals looking our way. Laza let me know they were checking out my snakeskin boots. I was just about to go talk to them when Laza pointed out that they were there "working". However he hadn't told me in time and they were already on their way over. Akward. Hahaha, thanks Laza. We soon ducked out of Universal and ended up back at Laza's house back in Scarborough Beach.
Day 4 Sun 04/15/2012
Indi Bar & Coppers
"Woke up at Laurence's for a swim in the ocean at Scarborough Beach. Sports bar & Indi Bar all day. Band at Indi Bar was Spoon Full of Sugar. Met Ash (Copper)."
I woke up on the couch at Laza's with a cheese plate sitting right by my face and a juice ready to start the day with. Honestly I have some pretty good friends back in the USA, but I can't think of any of them that would get up early to make me a cheese plate. :) I guess Laza knew we needed to get a head start on some food with the day he had planned for us.
We hit up a Sports Bar on the way to the Indi Hotel Bar. It's pretty fuzzy but I am thinking we went to the Sports Bar for a bite to eat and had a cider. Two ciders later we were feeling much better about ourselves even after having such a rowdy night before. On to Laza's favorite place, the Indi!
The Indi Hotel & Bar is within walking dostance of his place and is very convenient. Hotel bars are a very common place to go socialize in AU. There was a live band, Spoon Full of Sugar, playing there that evening so we were full on all over again. We met a group of friends who were all heading back to one of the girl's houses. We were informed she had a pool and the party would continue there. We were of course invited. Long story short, this girl was a copper (policewoman). Well when her boyfriend (or ex boyfriend) came by he was not happy to see strangers. Oh he was also a copper, and a super huge meat head of a guy. Typical steroided up ass clown. They went into the front yard to argue. Laza and I just stayed put. The mood was foul the whole time they were outside. We both look at each other thinking "Let's get the hell outta here." So we sneak out.
We find the copper's in the car down the street yelling at each other and homeboy is beating up on this gal. I open the door passenger door to let her out as Laza opens the driver door to try and help her out a little. She refuses to get out of the car, and I am not going to drag her out. Laza asked the copper if he knows what he is doing? She still refuses to get out of the car so we walk away. Some people cannot be helped. Laza was smart enough not to start beating up on the guy. I am 1005 sure Laza, who is 6ft something and spent years as a door man and security guard in the mines, could have handled this copper fairly easily. However neither one of us wanted to risk making the night complicated. We left the area shaking our heads.
Day 5 Mon 04/16/2013
Golfing in Denim
"The Vines with Laurence & Mark. Then lunch at The Mash Brewery."
Laza had tee times booked for us this morning up in the vinyards North of the city in wine country with one of his good mates, Mark. He insists I come along and we play a round of golf today. I am still wearing the same thing I wore out Saturday night remind you. "Can I play in jeans and cowboy boots?" He says it shouldn't be a problem and he finds me a polo to wear.
I can tell the second we pull into this golf club there is no way in hell they are going to allow me out there in jeans. This place is fancy. I would be embarrassed to be seen out there in jeans regardless. This wasn't Concord! Laza confirms I am not allowed to play in jeans, which I am happy about because I am feeling so worthless from the back to back rowdy days and nights I just want to sleep it off. I park Laza's Landcruiser in the shade in the lot and sleep while the boys play.
We head to have lunch nearby at The Mash Brewery. The guys order up beers. You gotta be kidding me. I am dying here and Laza acts like we didn't just pull off 2 straight days of boozing. I fold! I'm drinking water.
Day 6 Tue 04/17/2012
Visiting Sharareh
"Built bike early. Went to Uni with Leah. Drove for the first time today. Went into Perth SCUBA shops. Hospital to see Shara. Praying for her and her family tonight. Met Chris (Leah's Irish flatmate)."
I woke up early today to try and get back onto a normal person's schedule. I reassembled my bike and got it ride able. Leah asked me if I wanted to go to Uni (University) with her so I can start looking for work or figure out my travel plans. From what I can remember there were no large breakthroughs made. I did look up the local SCUBA diving shop nearby. We dropped in and I asked about becoming a Dive Master. I felt like I wasn't received very well at this first store. I had no intentions of going back to them for anything.
Leah let me drive for the first time on the incorrect side of the road. Driving was very easy. Just do what everyone else is doing. Follow suit. However, the blinker or turn signal versus the windscreen wipers is totally ass backwards if you ask me. Actually they are arranged the same as in the USA. Blinker on left of steering wheel, and the wipers are on the right. But when driving from the right side of the car it feels like the blinker should be on the right. Blinkers on the side closest to the center line. Every time I wanted to signal a turn I hit the wipers. Does anyone else think this is backwards?
After my driving lessons from Leah we went into the city to see Shara, one of Leah's best Uni friends, at the hospital. She is suffering from a heart illness and is waiting for a donor heart. We drew some fun pictures on her whiteboard in her room. Tonight we will be praying for her and her family. Did I mention we hit a parked car while parking near the hospital? I was driving. Just a love tap. LOL, sorry Leah :)
I met Leah's other flat mate, Chris from Ireland, tonight. He is a carpenter and has become a permanent resident by starting his own carpenter business and fully sponsoring himself. This is a very smart move and not uncommon over here.
Day 7 Wed 04/18/2012
Dianella Plaza
"Called all SCUBA shops in and around Perth. Worked on PC. Rode bike to grocery store for milk & Wheat Bix. Read my book. Bike is jacked up and I got rained on."
I started calling SCUBA shops located in and around Perth. I was asking questions about prices to become an Advanced Open Water Diver all the way up to how to become a Dive Master. I didn't like the answers I was getting. It was going to cost me a good bit of money to become a DM and there was zero guarantee on having a job as a DM. Would I even want to work as a DM once I became one? It really didn't matter just yet because I knew I was dying to get into the water.
I rode my bike down to the Woolworth's at Dianella Plaza to get milk and cereal, Wheat-Bix to be exact. Wheat-Bix is the most dry and bland cereal on the market. It is like taking the brown wheat bran flakes from Raisin Bran and pressing them together like making particle board. It has absolutely zero taste, but it is cheap and very good for you.
As I tried to get back up to Leah's house my bike started having problems. I had recently installed a new chain on the bike with Tom's help back in the US and this new chain was not meshing with the old sprockets at all. Everything was skipping and making awful sounds. I also go rained on before making it back to the house. Fixing the bike will have to wait for another day.
Day 8 Thur 04/19/2013
Fremantle, WA
"Leah took me to the train station in Mt Lawerly very early. Took train into Perth & down to Fremantle. Bon Scott AC/DC. Two SCUBA shops. Alan & Nick at Dolphin Dive Fremantle. Maritime Museum of Shipwrecks. Peter & Joyce at Dive, Ski, & Surf. Then Leah & I ate supper at Jaws! Awesome sushi bar. Then to Kings Park. Super good date night."
Today Leah dropped me off at the train stop in Mt Lawerly where I would catch the train down into Perth and then swap trains to get down to the ocean at Fremantle. I was wandering, taking pictures, sightseeing when I came across the Bon Scott Memorial Statue down by the docks in Frio (Fremantle). Bon Scott was the original from man for AC/DC and he was born and raised here in Frio. Awesome!
I wandered past the Little Creatures Brewery following Leah’s laptop directions that was leading me towards Dolphin Dive Fremantle. This was a pretty long walk for me. I should have taken my bike but it was having issues and I was afraid to get on the train with a bike. It was very inconvenient to do so with lots of other passengers around.
At Dolphin Dive I spoke with Alan & Nick about diving and prices. I had more than enough dives to move to Advanced Open Water Diver but I wasn't ready to drop the coin on doing so without any means of a job. I was heading back to the train station when I saw the Maritime Museum of Shipwrecks. It was a small donation to enter so I dropped in my $2 coin and spent a few hours inside taking pictures of artifacts recovered from the sinking of the Batavia.
The Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company built in Amsterdam in 1628. The ship had left Cape Town, South Africa & struck the reef on her maiden voyage just off the coast of Western Australia near Beacon Island. The ship had sailed off course with plans of mutiny.
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| Beardman Jugs in the museum |
After the Museum adventure I saw another dive shop not on my list on my way back to the train station, Dive Ski & Surf. The owners, Peter & Joyce, were both inside and were very happy to talk with me about my diving. They gave me lots of info and handouts with prices and I was pretty sure this would be the place I would come to when it was time to dive.
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| Leah & I in front of Jaws |
Leah was very excited tonight to take me to her favorite sushi restaurant, Jaws. Train style sushi restaurants are very popular here in Oz. The sushi chefs crank out roll after roll and it is put onto a conveyor belt that runs right by every seat. You are constantly staring at sushi and just pay by the plate at the end of you sitting. Delicious!
After out dinner we took a ride up to King's Park overlooking the city. This was a very good "date night". I think this is the night we took the pictures of the city that turned out so well.
Day 9 Fri 04/20/2013
Belgium Beer Cafe
"Job hunting at home on Leah's PC. Uni for Facebook & Jobs. To Perth with Robyn, Cameron, & his lady friend. Belgium Beer Cafe for oysters, clams, calamari, roo tail, & Huegaarden beers."
More job hunting today online. I was still nervous going into the city alone. My public transportation skills are lacking. I was always scared to miss a stop and get lost. I felt completely out of place everywhere I went. I was just not comfortable at all.
I went to Uni with Leah for more Facebooking time and job searching. I had signed up for some of the job agencies around the city, but really needed to go down there and show my face.
Tonight Leah and I were suppose to go out for dinner with her bestie Robyn & her boyfriend Cameron. Leah ended up picking up an extra shift that night as a caretaker for the company she worked for. Robyn & Cameron came to pick me up. Cameron also had a lady friend in town that was going with us, so after picking her up we all four went downtown to the Belgium Beer Cafe.
This place was packed. It was Friday night and there was a wait. We went to the bar and got some Huegaarden beers to tide us over while we waited. Dinner was great! I was watching my money though and ordered something on the cheap. Cameron was treating Robyn and his friend to dinner so he went big and they ordered all kinds of food. I was able to try kangaroo for the first time. Robyn had ordered Roo Tail! It was good. Cameron's friend had ordered some seafood medley with scallops, clams, & calamari. I had oysters. We all ate very well. Cameron refused to let me buy my own. I was very thankful for the food, drinks, and good times. We wished Leah could have joined us though.
Day 10 Sat 04/21/2013
USA vs NZ Tennis Match
"Preds are playing Game 4 vs the Wings this morning back home. Tennis with Laurence at Mt Lawley. I drove solo and picked up fish n chips. Worked on Star Wars puzzle all night."
The Nashville Predators are playing in Game 4 of the NHL Playoffs this morning back home against the Detroit Red Wings. Not a chance of watching this here on tv. I am going to play tennis with Laza this morning anyways.
Tennis report: I am terrible and Laza is pretty dang good. He really tones it down to make it fun for me and I could tell. Hahaha, sorry buddy. I thought I was good. I can cover the court great but I need some work on hitting the ball back. This is a pretty important part of tennis.
Leah let me drive down to the plaza for fish n chips without her direct supervision tonight. I hit ZERO cars this time. She bought me a puzzle at one of the thrift shops today that is Anakin Skywalker standing by his hut as a boy on Tatooine. We spend much of the evening working on the Star Wars puzzle.
Day 11 Sun 04/22/2013
Lake Monger & Leopard Lodge Steakhouse
“Went to Lake Monger with Leah for a nice walk around. Saw many birds, took fun pics, & saw good scenery. Then went home to change & get ready for the African Dinner at the Leopard Lodge Steakhouse in Carabooda, WA. 40 minutes drive & Leah let me get back behind the wheel. Interstate, I mean HIGHWAY, for alotta the trip. Many RSA staff at the restaurant. Then to pick up some juice for Sharareh & visit her at the hospital. Mom called me for the first time tonight.”
Looks like my journal entries are getting a little more detailed after just a week of being in Australia. Lake Monger has a 3.5 km paved walking/cycling path around it. I enjoyed seeing the Australasian birds living around the lake. Also called Snakedarters or darters this bird will dive into the water to chase fish. They will face the sun or into the breeze while holding their wings out in order to dry quicker. To me it felt like they were posing for a picture with a bad attitude. I was able to get some pretty good photos of them drying out with the skyscrapers of Perth in the background.
Tonight we had reservations for the Leopard Lodge Steakhouse in Carabooda with Robyn, Cameron, and two of their friends. The restaurant was South African owned and the entire menu was African dishes. I had the elephant rump (only called elephant due to its size of course) and it was very tasty. I even had a South African beer (I cannot think of the name of it).
Mom called me for the first time tonight. I guess I forgot to mention that Leah has given me her old SIM card and flip phone so I have some way of communication. It is a pay as you go phone and works great for me. I really was looking forward to being disconnected for a bit but this is almost impossible when you need to get work. Anyways it was great to hear Mom and she didn’t keep me on the phone too long because I really had no news as far as where I was going or how I was going to support myself. So it was a quick talk. Mom knows I am not too much of a phone talker. J
Day 12 Mon 04/23/2012
Chill Day
“Chill day. Leah & I went to the Op Shop (Goodwill) thrift store. Bought a book, stereo speakers, Leah got an “L” pillow cover. Tennis with Laurence at Mt Lawley Tennis Centre under the lights. Then a few beers back at Leah’s.”
The book I bought was about the Gum Ball Rally. The stereo speakers were to help fix Leah’s stereo at the house. Laza kicked my butt again at tennis but I was substantially better this time. I could at least get my serves in fairly consistently. If I don’t get better soon Laza will go looking for another tennis buddy.
Day 13 Tue 04/24/2012
My First Night Dive, Woodman Point
“First night dive with Dive Ski & Surf (DSS). Drank beers at the dive shop afterwards. Steve gave me a ride to the train station. Then took bus from Perth to Dianella Plaza. Beers with Leah & Hisham.”
So I’ve decided to join the DSS group for a night dive down near Rockingham Beach or Woodman Point. A night dive is required to become an advanced diver and according to Joyce if I decided to take the courses to get my Advance open Water Certification this dive would count towards that. Sounded good to me.
I caught the bus from Dianella to Perth then the train from Perth to Fremantle. From Frio I caught a ride with one of the instructors. There was a dude dive instructor and a cute chik instructor and I got stuck with the dude.
We were all gearing up in the parking lot by the ocean and would have to walk down to the water’s edge. During these few minutes a few of the divers were showing concern for doing a night dive. Since none of us were advanced theoretically none of us had been allowed on a night dive before. However I had become buddies with the dive instructor back in TN at Loch Low Minn, and he had taken me night diving a few times. I had reassured the divers with concern that usually we enter the water at dusk so you are under the surface while the sun is still out. As the sun sets you slowly adjust to the darkness and you don’t realize it got dark until you are back on the surface. We all had torches so you really never realized it got dark. This really made the rookie night divers feel better.
Britt, the other dive instructor, soon crushed the groups spirits by letting them know it will be 100% dark before we enter the water. They all looked at me looking for an answer. Haha, I tried. Who was I anyways? I was just some American who had been in Oz for less than two weeks.
As we walked across the parking lot and down to the ocean I saw the pier extending out into the water. There were many people fishing at this time of night too. Britt informed us during our dive briefing that we would have to stay under the pier in order to steer clear of any fishing lines. Sounds sketchy, but we entered the water in pairs.
My dive buddy was Steve, a younger guy from somewhere in Europe. I am pretty sure he was from England but cannot recall. We enter the water with torches on. I had just bought my own personal dive torch from DSS that day so I was excited to see how it held up. For $80au it better light up the ocean floor. Half way during the dive it took a dump. You have to be kidding me. Brand new flashlight and it quits on my first night dive. I am blind. I bump Steve trying not to scare him to death and show him that my light is not working. He acts like he understands my problem, but I swear he is now trying to shake me. I am not trying to end the dive by any means I just need him to slow up because I can only see where he shines his light.
We find a lionfish under the pier. About half way through the dive Britt realizes I have no light. Having no torch means when she goes to count the number of divers she comes up one short because she cannot see me. She hands me her torch and pulls out an extra. Way to go Britt. Cute and well prepared. I like it.
The other group of divers saw some Porter Jackson sharks, but our group was not so lucky. The dive was still a success. We all met back at the dive shop to have a few cold beers. I got to try Little Creatures beer for the first time tonight. I bought a 6-pack of them for some ridiculous price, $20 plus I think. Beer is so expensive over here!
Day 14 Wed 04/25/2012
Neistat Brothers on Anzac Day
“Cleaned SCUBA gear and room. Wrote my first long email. The past three days Leah & I have watched two episodes of the Neistat Brothers per day. Casey & Van Neistat. Also, it is Anzac Day.”
I had no idea what Anzac Day even meant but it stands for the Australian & New Zealand Army Corps. The day commemorates those who served and suffered during the World Wars. To celebrate Leah and I watched some of Casey Neistat’s short films. He has a huge YouTube following and HBO has picked up his movies. However there is no HBO in Australia so Leah wrote to Casey asking how she can get a copy of the shows. He immediately first class mailed her all of his DVDs straight from NYC. So we are enjoying watching a few of these funny shorts per day.
Day 15 Thur 04/26/2012
Friend from USA in Perth
“Uni with Leah job hunting and FB. I walked home from Uni. Talked with Emily today. She’s in Cottlesloe!”
I am about to give up on “job hunting” on the Internet. This is worthless. I feel worthless. I will run out of money in no time if I don’t lock down some semi-steady income. Stressful! I had a FaceBook message from Emily, one of People’s good friends from Notre Dame, saying she as in Perth. She has friends in Cottlesloe and is there for the weekend. I called her up and made plans to hang out with them all sometime over the weekend. My Advanced Open Water courses are planned for this weekend as well. It’s going to be a busy weekend. I walked home so I wouldn’t feel so useless. Actually I think I rode with Leah and she and to go to work so I was left at Uni. Either way I needed to exert some energy doing something.
Day 16 Fri 04/27/2012
Deville’s Pad
“Woke up & went to the city. Found the Job Hut & AU Jobs. Ate McDonald’s. Deville’s Pad in Perth (Northbridge) with Leah.”
It was time for me to be more proactive with this job business. Leah was momming me everyday asking me how the job hunt was going and I never had anything in the works it seemed. J
I went into the city to visit the Job Hut & AU Jobs. The Job Hut was pretty useless for me. I went to AU Jobs with hope. There was a TON of stinky backpackers in here. I mean lots! I was dressed like a pro compared to some of these rowdies, and this gave me confidence. I waited in line and the gals called out jobs and names. The system they used was a little confusing to me. Where do I sign up? Where are the jobs? Can I see the list of jobs?
Everyone there had already filled out forms mimicking a resume. I finally got into position to get this done online. They announce jobs at 10:30am and then again after lunch at 1 or something. If you hear a job you like you stay and talk with one of the girls. If you have not sat down one on one with anyone you also stay. The place was packed and they sent most of us out with advice to come back on Monday to talk with someone if you hadn’t already. I stayed and eventually spoke with Nina, a smoking hottie from Holland. Long story short there were many jobs for guys with White Cards & trade licenses. A White Card is basically your construction safety permit. It was a $200 course and allowed you onto a construction site. Fork lift drivers were needed as well. Nobody had these tickets (in Australia you don’t have certifications you have tickets). It was another few hundred AU dollars to get this.
Looking back a smart thing to do would have been to have the $500-$1000 and a week or two to GET TICKETS like forklift, front end loader, double articulation or whatever it is called. Basically with a White Card and any other ticket you can get work in construction. So unless you had some money in tickets or wanted to be a server/bar tender there were no jobs.
It was time for me to head back to Dianella to get ready for dinner with Leah. She had another Groupon or Living Social Deal for Deville’s Pad. This was a high end club in Northbridge and we had a super good deal on dinner and drinks for two. I dressed up with the best I had. Leah got me very worried about not being let into the club because my good jeans had some factory wear on the leg. As in I bought these jeans and they had some fake rough spots in them. With no other options I wore what I had and it was no issue. Let’s be honest I had the best getup in the place. Black dress shirt with black lizard cowboy boots and a Motley Crue Shout at the Devil belt buckle. The place is called Deville’s Pad. Leah told me I was a dumbass but I felt there was no way they could turn me down.
The jeans were no issue. The place was very fun. We got some silly drinks with spiders and bones layered on top. Food was good too, but the atmosphere was why people came here. Our coupon was very strict on the time we were allowed to eat because the place turns into a night club late night. They have live music and I am sure with it looking like you are standing in Hell while on the dance floor it must get rowdy as Hell after 9pm. The best part was some funky mirrors they had placed to really fake out all the blokes going to the toilets. Leah will have to tell you how many dudes we saw get very confused when trying to get to the restroom. Oh and if you ask someone where the bathroom or restroom is in Oz they look at you like you are stupid. Ask for the toilets. Since the toilet area and sink area are kept separate over there it can be very confusing sometimes
Day 17 Sat 04/28/2012
Emma Sue
“Early AM to head to DSS in Frio. Shore dives with Britt, Steve, Kelly… Two dives then train to Grant Street stop. Walked to Emily’s friend’s house in Cottlesloe. Had beers down near water. Then more beers at their house. Met Scottie, Charley, James… ex-footie.
EMU Beers! Snuck into a sold out show at Amplitude. Diving is going to suck tomorrow.”
I had to be at DSS very early this AM for my AOW Course (Advanced Open Water). We had a few hours of classroom work and then were off to diving over on near Rockingham Beach.
First dive was for our Navigation certification. The water was pretty cloudy so this was a good time to practice navigating by using a compass. Too easy still. Britt must be a good teacher. After a short underwater lesson we struck off to find the wreck boats and airplanes on the ocean floor near us.
The second dive was for the Deep Dive certification. As an Open Water Diver you are allowed to dive up to 18 meters/60 feet. As an Advanced OW Diver you can go to 40 meters/130 feet, which is the limit for all recreational diving. Britt would be taking us past the 18 meter depth and seeing how we handled ourselves. She had a dive slate and we each had to write our names backwards and solve a simple math problem to pass.
I won’t go into great detail but as you get below 20 meters the effects of breathing compressed air can start to kick in. It is called nitrogen narcosis. People hallucinate and can do strange things. Down at 20 meters or so most people won’t feel the effects of nitrogen narcosis. None of us had any issues and we all passed.
I was meeting Emily for dinner and planned on going out to see some live music with her group of friends from Cottlesloe. Her friends owned a house over near the water and I had my first EMU beer here. One of the guys had a broken arm and a black eye from a footie match. I don’t even know what footie is, but it sounded a lot like rugby. With the way he looked it must be a rough sport. They all had tickets to this show so I had to sneak in due to the venue being sold out. No worries because one of the guys created a huge display and distraction while I bounced on through. My street cred was rising fast.
Day 18 Sun 04/29/2012
Deep Dive Certification
“7AM came early. Walked to the train station. Trains not stopping at this stop. Neither were buses. Peter drove the yute & picked me up. Deep dive & Boat Dive Certs. All day. Then a beer at (some place in Frio) with Steve, Kelly, Britt, Jonathan.”
Oh man I felt bad after the show. Aussie’s can crush beer like no other. I woke up from the house in Cottlesloe to retrace the steps I took getting here from the dive shop yesterday. I found the train stop no problem. Here came the train. It just blew by. So did the next one. I moved to the bus stop. Every bus that came by said OUT OF SERVICE. Crap! It is Sunday morning and I have to go diving and there is no public transport. I call the dive shop and Peter offers to get me rather than cab it down. Besides, if I took a cab I would be late and the boat has to leave soon. Thank you so much Peter.
I show up to the docks and all the divers are just starting to board the dive boat. No harm done. I was wrong about the write up yesterday. Our second dive yesterday was just a fun dive I guess. Today is the day we go for the Deep Dive cert.
We board the boat and the crew gives there safety briefing and informs us on how things work on the boat. At one point the skipper, who is Aussie, lets us know “the kettle for boiling water for hot tea or coffee is located here. Are there any Americans on the boat, because the last Americans had never seen one of these before and didn’t know how to use it.” He didn’t give me a chance to own up to being American before moving on to the dis. “Also I’m sure you’ve all heard about the attack we had out here a few weeks ago.” I had. An American had been taken by a great white shark. “Don’t worry mates, the sharks only eat Americans out by Rottie,” he laughed. Rottie is Rottnest Island, this is where we are going diving. They never found any trace of the guy who got taken either, and my hangover just got worse.
Dive writeup…..
Day 19 Mon 04/30/2012
Sonnenburg’s B-Day
“Downtown to AU Jobs in the AM. Cheese & turkey crackers there while waiting. To DSS to get Britt to sign off on my dives that I filled out while sitting at AU Jobs. Then I went back to AU Jobs to interview with Kate. Leah made hot rice chicken & I made pizza.”
Other than getting all kinds of jealous looks at the AU Jobs when I pulled out snacks nothing too crazy happened today. I am confident that the girls at AU Jobs will find me work soon though. People come in there and look desperate. I am talking about kids who haven’t showered in weeks and stink. They look homeless and haven’t eaten. Then again there were also other travelers like me who hadn’t run out of money YET. Also, European girls. Enough said. There were always hotties in this place. I was still the only American I had seen in AU other than Emily this past weekend. Leah’s hot rice chicken was bomber status though. I think she froze a bunch so I could eat it the next couple of days. J
I hope I called Sonnenburg on his B-Day but I am terrible at remembering anyones birthdays unless FaceBook reminds me.
Day 20 Tue 05/01/2012
AU Jobs Taking Its Toll
“Had to be at AU Jobs at 10:30AM so went into Perth around 9AM to take some funny pictures. I had lunch at Taka. Then talked to Nina (Holland). Sounds like I might have a ROADHOUSE job. Walked down to the Bell Tower & took more pictures. Nice walk. Train to Midland was not running due to a wreck so took the train to Dianella (missed my stop due to talking with a hot lady friend. More walking. To hospital to see Sharareh. Drew a snake! Then Leah dropped me off at the grocery for milk & I walked home.”
When they read out the jobs today everyone acted like they didn’t really want a job. I heard kids in here saying “I will do anything. I don’t care what it is. I need work.” Then when Nina or Kate read the jobs and no one spoke up for interest I thought “Dang man you aren’t THAT desperate then.” I wasn’t either but I was tired of not working. I needed money too. I wasn’t about to start pulling out the credit card. When Nina read out “ROADHOUSE worker” I said out loud “Let’s do it.” Turned out they were looking for a female to work the bar though.
This put me on the radar though. I was probably the oldest person in the place by 5 years and from what Nina said all the Americans that she had placed in jobs worked their asses of and always had great feedback. Score one for the USA. She was waiting for a call back on something for me. At this point I didn’t need to come in anymore. She would call me when something that I could do came up. By telling them I had restaurant experience I opened the door for tons of work. I told her I had served once before and swore I would never do it again. I meant it.
One more visit to Sharare at the hospital. I drew a snake on the whiteboard for her and a jungle scene. 3rd Grade A+ art work for sure! She was always glad to have us come even though you could tell she was drained. Stay tough Shar!
Day 21 Wed 05/02/2012
Opportunity Rears its Ugly Head
“Woke up & worked on the pc all morning. Started to head to King’s Park with Leah when I got the call to be at Aussie Jobs at 4PM for a job op. Took the job. Nina got this one for me. Went to the train station with Leah and bought an $81 ticket to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Then Leah & I walked around _______ where we were meeting Cameron & Robyn at Ricco’s for dinner. Then to Wooly’s (Woolworth’s Grocery) and pakt up everything for the trip.”
I almost mist up a little thinking about this game changer here. Like the notes said, Nina called me and said she had something and I needed to come by and talk with her. This roadhouse style restaurant bar in Kalgoorlie needed another cook ASAP. They needed me on the train that night. Impossible. “How about tomorrow?” That’ll do. I would be cooking a basic menu with nothing too fancy. Mostly steaks, toasties, some pastas, and so on. I had no idea what I was in for.
I couldn’t really enjoy dinner with Cam & Robyn because I was so anxious to make the next step. I wasn’t scared (I don’t think), but I was super ready to just be there. We had to split from the group earlier than we wanted to so I could go get some train snacks for the journey the next morning. Let the good times roll.
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