The Final Stretch

The crazy heatwave here in Melbourne looks like it's coming to an end. What a relief... 40 degree heat is no fun. Especially at night. It's hard to sleep.

My business here in Oz is almost done. Hopefully, the business back home will work out just as well. I might be home as early as next week but since flights are hard to get right now I'll probably be home in 2 weeks. Maybe a bit more.

I'm looking forward to getting back to real life.

Heatwave

It's very hot this week. Very hot indeed.

I watched the Australia Day parade on Monday. It was ok. My mind was on other things so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

I'll probably be home in one or two weeks time, depending on the availability of flights.

I hope we'll be safe once we're home.

I hope against hope that local authorities do something against people who cheat, lie and intimidate. Will they?

Grand Slam

Oh my God, there are huge crowds of people in Melbourne to watch teh tennis this week. It's a bit hard to have a nice stroll in the city with so many people around.

There was a huge fight yesterday I think, between Bosnian and Croat fans. It's a good thing we decided not to go to the place. I was contemplating going to watch a game but I guess if it gets that hot it might not be a good idea. Besides, the rest of the guys aren't really huge tennis fans. I don't really want to go alone.

We did go to Chinatown which was great. Next week we might go to another part of the city. Last week we walked along Lonsdale street. Lots of Greek shops and restaurants.

So far I'm having a good time here. Much better than being out in the bush.

Also it's Australia Day on the 26th. I might go to town and see what's going on.

Hot Summer Day

Hello everyone.

It's a hot day today. Yesterday I took a tram for a lark. It was fun. We went to visit some friends here in downtown Melbourne. We took the tram home.

We're very comfortable at the moment. We have new friends here. Very nice people. They're helping us out a lot. We're very grateful for them.

I'm slightly bored again today. Maybe I'll hop on another tram and see where it goes...

Odyssey

To those of you who left comments about me making a good choice coming here...

..I'm afraid not.

Something's happened. A few things happened actually. The whole thing's gone completely wrong.

This has been an epic journey. Epic. Bar none, this has been the most insane adventure I've been on. The stuff movies and books are made of. One thing for sure, I'll have one hell of a story to tell once this is over.

No worries though. We are safe and sound and the whole thing will settle down soon enough.

I can't really blog about this now but we've initiated the ejection sequence. Those who know what this means will know what I mean.

... and some people are "going away" for a long, long time...

I'll post more later.

God Bless the Relatives

Apparently, my family has some contacts here in Oz. That's freaking brilliant.

So far the farm work is ok but I'm together with these bunch of Nepalese lads who work soooo fast they make me look bad.

Therefore, I'm going to have to use my ace card sooner rather than later. Hopefully my contacts here can set me up with less... manual work. I'm already thinking about May onwards. That's winter and there will be less available work in the countryside.

By the way, I'm not working today. I'm working tomorrow. It rained the last 2 days so I only managed to work half a day. That's the other thing I'm concerned about. If I can work indoors I don't have to worry about weather.

I'm ok so far but unfortunately I can't say the same for the other lads. Some of them have a lot of trouble adjusting and my roomie does nothing but whine about working conditions and the uncertainty of living out of hotel rooms.

To think they all thought I was the one who would be in trouble...

Anyway, I'm still in survival mode and the escape plan is still in effect. So no worries.

Oz is a beautiful country especially now in the summer.

We're not in Kansas anymore...

Finally.... a PC with internet connection. I don't have much time. 15 minutes for 2 bucks.

Sounds expensive right? Actually not really.

I have a ton of things to say actually. But for now a status update.

I'm in Tumba Rumba, a small (think Serian) town not far from Sydney. Yeah, we travel a long way. That's the life of the contract farm worker. We go where the work is. For now it's apples in Batlow, another small town in the highlands. Nice place.

Over the last few days, I've been to places not many people see. It's gorgeous out here in the countryside. Not unlike living in a postcard.

We stayed at Wood Wood for a few days, not far from the place where out train from Melbourne stopped at Swan Hill. Two days ago, our super scored a deal with Batlow apples to do thinning. 2 bucks per tree. I've done 100+ over the last 2 days.

The heat? What heat? Cold we got plenty of that. A ton of people have been telling me to watch out for the hear but seriously, it's got nothing on the heat we get back home.

Anyway, I've lots more to tell actually. It's ok so far but there are some things I'm not very happy about. Nothing to do with Oz or anything like that. The guy who fixed us up in Kuching left out a lot of details about working in Oz. A LOT of details. Made adjusting very hard.

Still, I'm here and I'm going to try and update as much as possible

Until then please take care and have a good summer.

Cheers.

Reject

The people from the oil rig called just now.

In my entire life, I have never had to reject a job offer. I feel bad. I feel especially bad for that mate of mine who no doubt really wanted me to join him there. We had some good times in Sibu. I really, really hope I can see him again when my Oz thing is done.

Anyway, my bro has a job waiting for him now. I gave his phone number to the rig people and there are probably thrashing out a deal as we speak. Those guys need GOC, TBOSIET and computer literacy. No probs for my bro.

The job's right there for the taking. It's all up to him now whether he takes it or not.

I hope he does.

When it Rains it Pours,,

The date is set. I'm going off on the 6th. Everything's taken cared off and now I just need to pack my stuff. I'm going to miss my PC a lot since it's powerful and has lots of cool stuff in it. Well, not so much now since my graphics card overheated and died a few days ago...

It's as if it knew no one is going to game on this PC for the next year and a half.

At least I still have a notebook. I wonder if I can get wifi where I'm going.

Anyway, here's a story.

You know sometimes I think fate loves to mess with people. This morning I got a phone call from a mate I was with when I took my GOC course. Guess what? Yet another job offer for me on a rig.

All that time I was lounging about the last few months, nothing happened. Now that I'm about to go off and work, job offers come pouring in. This is the second one I got in the last month.

Talk about selection headache. Sometimes, I feel like going outside and curse the sky. Better not because when I come back from Oz I might still want to go offshore. I have the certs after all. This is assuming that my grand master plan of looking for better work in Oz doesn't work out.

If that's the case, then I hope job offers will still be available then. It's always good to have a backup.

It's not all bad though. When these people call me tomorrow to ask whether I want to take up the offer, I'll going to pass them my youngest brother's contact number. The boy just completed his safety course two weeks ago, all his papers are in order and he's all set to go. I hope they take him. That way the household need not worry about money anymore.

I just hope I'll do well when I go.

Thoughtless

It's hard to blog when I'm finding it hard to think straight. Everything has ground to a halt as I wait. Wait for what will happen next.

It might be a great thing. It might be a huge mistake considering how I am and my natural affinity to things familiar. Even when those things hold nothing new for the future.

I guess that's all I have to say for now.

Meanwhile, here's a random Youtube video I stumbled on. I have no idea what the words mean but it was strangely soothing.

FM2009!!!!!

Sorry. I've been quite busy lately. Not that there's too much to write about anyway. Except for more computer games stuff.

I've been playing FM2009. Let me say that this is THE best PC game to come out this year. This game also has the distinction of being one of the very, very few games that I would buy original.

My FM DVD arrived on Monday evening and I've been playing it like crazy since then.

It's utterly brilliant. The new 3D match engine is fantastic and the new tactical system is both simple and complex at the same time.

I don't have enough words to describe it.

If you're a football fan, buy FM. Seriously.

In other news... There isn't any new news actually. I've been busy preparing for my trip. I had one pleasant surprise. I had planned to buy clothes and things for my trip but as it turns out I already have all those things here at home. Even cold weather gear.

Ok so they're hand-me-downs from my dads more adventurous days but considering how much they cost new these days...

So yeah, the waiting around isn't easy. A lot of crazy thoughts enter your head.

Thank goodness for FM.

Oz

Well, I guess it took more than 24 hours to follow up yesterday's post.

Anyway, I'm going off to work soon. But not offshore.

I'll be leaving for Perth, Australia very soon. Maybe in as little as ten days. I'm going to work on a farm for the next 18 months. Maybe longer if I end up liking it there.

The pay is... quite good. Provided I don't get carried away I could make a hell of a lot of money.

The last few days have been spent doing research and asking around for tips and advise about living in Western Australia.

This is a huuuge deal for me. I've never gone this far away before.

Well, let's just say things will be very different for me very soon. Very, very different.

Today I went to see the placement agency responsible for the trip to hand in my details and paperwork. Things are almost ready and after all the necessary paperwork we are ready to go. There are ten of us in this group. There is a bit of a delay because 7 out of 10 have no passports.

Another thing came up today which could be considered very bad timing. Just as I'm wrapping up the Oz trip, a Radio Operator opening appeared out of nowhere. A pretty good one too from a very reputable offshore services company.

So yeah, unfortunately this caused a bit of a tense moment at home just now. My dad isn't happy at all about me not going to sea. His reason apparently is that it's a waste of all my documents and the courses that I took. I know this. I have plans to pay this back with my Oz job.

Another thing was we got help from a relative for this RO opening. I guess the parental units didn't want to offend them by telling them immediately that I've decided to get another job.

But I have a nagging feeling there is something else behind that. I'm not going to speculate on what it is.

We asked the youngest bro to pick up this job. Hopefully he will move to get it.

That's just the thing isn't it? Such a great moment blemished by bad timing. There you go, me and the dysfunctional unit that is my family...

So why did I decide to go to Oz instead of offshore.

Why wouldn't I go?

Here I have a chance to work in a country I've never been to and earn 300% more than I could if I had stayed in Kuching. Yes, there is that question about cost of living in Perth. I have plans to deal with this. Provided I don't live large this should not be a problem. I'm a very cheap person. Go ask my friends.

The job offer includes accomodation and transport. I have to pay for this out of my pocket but it's not so high.

Minus everything including rent and other stuff I should be bringing home a good amount of cash. Even after all this plus other expenses I put in my calculations, the final number is still more than what I would be making on a rig or a barge.

Plus it's on land and it's not as dangerous. There is no risk of the strawberry/apple/tomato/pear farm going Piper Alpha on my ass.

At the end of the day, the bottom line counts. I'm doing all this for two main reasons. One is money. A lot of it.

Two, is adventure. I'm 35 going on 36 and I haven't really done anything radical or very different.

So after all this at least once in my life I can say that I stepped out and did something with my life...

I hope to God it works out.

Detour

Just as when you think you got everything figured out, life throws in something completely unexpected. You're all set to go down a certain path when suddenly a new one appears out of nowhere.

Usually this is a bad thing. Occasionally, it can be a very good thing. Very good.

I'm talking about work if you are wondering. Something very... interesting is available to me at the moment.

I'll say more when I make my final decision in the next few hours or so. It's not something to be taken lightly.

I've been busy these last few days. Busy gaming.

I've been playing Fallout 3 as I mentioned before. Recently I got my hands on Call of Duty World at War. Nice game but too short. And some parts of it are very infuriating.

I'm also trying out the Football Manager 2009 demo. I love it. I will be buying it for sure when it comes out.

There will be another post coming after this one in less than 24 hours. For sure.

Stay tuned.

Change?

Obama wins. As expected. By me at least.

Ok, this isn't local politics but this is the USA and whether people like it or not whatever happens to USA will affect the whole world.

So, change. What will this do to the rest of the world? Will it help shore up the slowing global economies? This is going to be interesting no?

And I wonder how long will it be before euphoria wears off and his approval ratings drop.

On the home front, nothing's changed yet. I've been spending time playing and finishing Fallout 3 and downloading music. I don't go out much to save on cash. I have enough to live comfortably for awhile but I'm stretching it as much as I can. Doing ok so far.

At the present time, I honestly don't feel like working yet. So I'm not so concerned about getting a new job. I plan to relax and enjoy my free time as much as I can. It's been a long, long time since I've been this free.

I've only applied to a handful of companies so far. I'm planning to widen my search next month.

There's still time before my projected cut off date.

I'm in the midst of change myself. Interesting times...

Very, Very Busy

...not that there's a lot to write about these days anyway. The seven posts in October would be an indication of that.

A lot of cool games coming out in the next few months.

Anyway in lieu of a proper post here is a song for your entertainment. A little ditty call I Don't Want to Set The World on Fire by The Ink Spots.



...as featured in Fallout 3.

Enjoy.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

..covered by Paramore.

Good shit.

Dogfighting

Playing old games is always a good way to spend free time. Especially when said old game used to be nearly unplayable on my old PC configuration when it first came out a few years ago.

I'm talking about Il-2 1946. It's a WW2 flight sim. Actually, it's THE best WW2 flight sim available up to this point.

If you are a flight sim fan and/or a military history buff Il2 will make your mouth water.

Among other things it has over 300 flyable aircraft each with it's own exhaustively researched flight model. Different planes fly differently. Feel the need for speed in your ME262, the world's first operational jet fighter. Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee in your Zero as you fight for the Emperor! Fly the concrete bomber and find out why German troops call you The Black Death. Watched Baa Baa Black Sheep when you were a kid? Fly a Corsair and be a part of the famous VMF-214 Black Sheep. Fight the Japanese air force over Singapore in your Hurricane.

You can fly many countries. USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Soviet Union, even smaller forces like Finland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia.

Obviously I enjoy the game quite a bit. Especially now that I can play it will full graphic detail. The game used to lag like a sonofabitch on my old PC. Therefore I didn't play it all that much. Now, it flows silky smooth and looks absolutely gorgeous.

Also worthy of mention is the fact that the war in the Eastern Front is covered. Not a lot of people know much about what happened there.

Another thing, the game has a active community and there are all sorts of mods to download from maps to missions to campaigns to markings for your planes.

So that's what I've been doing. Flying. It's fun. Sometimes I fire up the game, set up a quick mission with no enemies and fly around for fun to try out all the different planes from tiny biplanes to twin engined bombers.

If you like flight sims, you must get Il2. Really. Oh and make sure you have a good joystick.

In other news, my brother is back and after talking to him about work it seems that I'm going to have to wait for awhile before I get a call. It's ok though. I was prepared for this. I can survive for a few months the cash I saved up.

I have a cut off date though and if nothing happens by then I'll be looking for work on land again.

FM2009!!

...coming out November 14th! Oh yeah!

New features galore:-

-press conferences and expanded media interaction! Journalists remember what you say to them.
-3D match engine.
-new transfer system.
-improved financial modeling.
-350,000 players and staff.
-female players can now play as female managers.
-assistant manager now not useless! He will now give you feedback and suggestions about your tactics. Even during a match.
-advanced training! You can now order your players to learn special moves.
-tons more. Watch the videos.

FM2009. Seriously, there ain't no management sim that comes even remotely close in terms of depth and realism.

I'm ordering this as soon as it comes out. Oh yeah, there is also the PSP version too.

Goodbye social life...

Anxious

My damn GOC cert still hasn't arrived. I've tried calling the academy but I haven't managed to get through yet. I did talk to them last week and they said they should receive it in "the next few days".

I can't look for work without that cert! Damn.

Everything else is ready. Last week I went to Muara Tebas to do my seaman book at the Marine Department. All I need now is to get my GOC cert and fax that and the seaman book to this company I'm applying at.

Hopefully I won't have to wait much longer. This waiting is making me think bad thoughts about not cutting it at sea.

I've been talking to my friend who is on his break from offshore work. He's assured me that the job is easy and there is no reason why I shouldn't do well. Yet I'm still quite nervous. Maybe I'm worried about not being accepted onboard a vessel. Or maybe I'm worried about not fitting in.

I worry about breaking and failing.

This is just me being my usual irrational self. I don't do changes very well. Especially big changes. When I do think rationally about it, there is absolutely no good reason why I won't do well.

And yet, there it is. The nagging anxiety is still there.

This is all very stupid. I suppose I would know for sure once I actually get on board whatever barge I'm supposed to be on.

Whatever my feelings and whatever happens, I've commited myself to this. Hopefully a few months down the line I would be laughing at myself for being so worried.

To keep myself busy, I entertain myself in various ways. Like looking at pretty pictures..

Ice Bullets!

Ice cubes shaped like bullets! This is so awesome! I want!