ola earthlings

Hello everyone!

No, I'm am not dead, in a coma or forgotten how to use the internet. In all honesty, not too much exciting has happened in about 2 weeks+. Now I know that sounds crazy being around the other side of the world, and you make your own adventure blah blah blah but here's a quick cap of my last week in Bali.

After returning from the Gili Islands, a night where I proceeded to stay up all night for the sunrise (among other things), I was absolutely knackered out. No worries, says I, as I can nap on the boat ride back. False. There were literally times when I thought the bottom of the hull was going to crack in half off some of these waves. Other than not being able to nap, I found the 4 feet of air pretty exciting. Unfortunately there were a few passengers that didn't share these sentiments, and ended up puking in complimentary paper bags. It was pretty hideous, people retching like they were on the verge of death while everyone around him or her pretends nothing is happening. After getting off the boat, I made my way back to Kuta beach where I rented a surfboard and DVD player and did absolutely NOTHING for one whole week. It was by the far the loneliest, cheapest, soberest, cozy time I have had during this vacation, although I started to forget how to talk to humans and socialize.

The reason for this hermit-esque behaviour was the dwindling funds and overall fatigue from being a deadly party animal for 3 months straight. In a way, it was really nice just to hang out by myself, go over some things in my brain and watch 25 DVDs (i counted at the end). Also I went from a F- surfer to about D+. So there's that.

The last week in Bali was also a bit of a waiting game, as I put in the application for my Australian work visa on a friday, and didn't hear a peep from this certain company until wednesday. (do YOU want to go to Australia!?? Only 2 days processing, call us NOW!!!) So, near the end of my stint on this lovely, touristed island I prepared my flights into Australia, where I have made one of the biggest blunders of the vacation, which is saying a lot read: cracked head, crashed motorbike, smashed toe, budgeting etc

Follow me on this. There is the island Bali, which is in the country of Indonesia. Bali has an airport, a fairly prominent and busy one called Denpasar (code:DPS). Indonesia, the previosuly mentioned country, also has an island called Borneo, and on this island there is a town called Balikpapan, which also has an airport, albeit a much smaller and less used one (code:BPN). In all my wisdom I typed in 'Bali' for the departing flight, quickly selected the first airport that popped up and proceeded with the booking. Of course, when you book from a small, no name airport compared to a fairly moderate sized one, the price jumps astronomically. Picture flying to LA from Fredericton, instead of flying out of Montreal. Same same. So a flight that could have cost 350$ ending up being 730$ from one, tiny, idiotic, mentally challenged, ridiculous typo. Lesson learned? I hope so.

After sorting that out there was a 4 hour wait in the Bali airport, whereupon I received a delicious flight and movie on the way to Singapore. Now, the connecting flight was with Emirates and WOW! These guys know how to fly, I got baked perch in a black olive sauce, mashed potatoes, some excellent wine, a hot towel and 5 hours later, breakfast! Tons of media to get through as well! Worth the 400$ difference made by my booking mistake? Not at all! But it was tasty.

I touched down in Melbourne about three days ago, to a frigid 10 degrees as I can feel my tan running for the hills. It's quite a big city and I don't have my bearings whatsoever, but I know where the McDick's and 7-11 are from the hostel, so enough to survive. Job hunting is one of my least favorite things in the world, because when I apply to a place I know I would be good doing that task, but THEY don't know that. Perhaps a scented cover letter, or a fruitcake sent to the employer? Ughhhhhh.

To be honest, just for one second, lately I've been feeling a little disconnected from this whole 'see the world, be a nomad, get any old job' attitude, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's because I don't have any money and Australia costs about 3 x 10^8 more money than even the priciest places in SE Asia. As soon as a job gets under way, my attitude will be back to the appropriate cloud (#9), and I will meet some friends, get an aussie wife/green card, and figure out how to ride the trams. I know if I was sitting at home resuming my academic pursuits I would say, why the hell aren't I in Australia right now?

Life is a peach, meant to be picked by broke backpackers on Australian farms.

Cheers, mate.