Looking Back and Looking Forward

During the lull period between Christmas and New Year’s, Steph and I have begun to enjoy our Christmas gifts. Steph got me a FitnessFirst membership, so I can stay big and strong. I got Steph a new leather purse, so she can carry around her things while looking fashionably savvy. I don’t know the first thing about purses, but Steph made it a little easier by providing me with a list of essential purse criteria. Even knowing exactly what she wanted, I stood in front of a wall of purses completely bewildered. Somewhat confidently, I was finally able to make a selection, and proceed to the check-out counter. I reassured myself that everything would be okay. I’d just hold onto the receipt, and if she didn’t approve, she could return it for the purse of her choice.

Christmas in Oz

Traditionally, Australians awake early Christmas morning and head to the beach donning their Santa hats. It is unofficially the first beach day of the year. When everyone has had enough of the sun, they make their way back home where they feast of seafood. Steph and I decided to start a Christmas tradition of our own. We slept in, exchanged gifts, and made a special Christmas brunch. For the sake of tradition, the breakfast must be a brie omelette with optional ingredients. This year we shared a bacon brie omelette, a blueberry and apple brie omelette, and an avocado and lobster brie omelette. Yummy!

Santa and Climate Change

It’s that time of year again. Santa straps on his red jump suit and sets out on his quest to deliver toys to kids around the world in a single night. His preferred mode of transportation: a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. It’s no wonder that, as children, we had some difficult questions for our parents to answer. Questions such as, how does Santa accomplish all of his deliveries in one night? Parents could put a child’s conscious to rest by explaining the concepts of time zones, the speed of his sleigh or by simply dismissing the phenomena as something magical. However, at some point, we forget about Santa, stop asking questions and become too preoccupied with what has been left in our stocking or under the tree. Well, I refuse to forget. I still have questions!

Steph gets a Job... Ryan gets a Library Card

There are many things that Steph and I did not do before jumping on a plane destined for the other side of the world. We didn’t want our experience to be limited by a too much pre-planning... and it was just too darn fun watching family get stressed out on our behalf. However, there were tasks that needed to be completed before we left. We required plane tickets, traveller’s insurance and working VISA’s. That was it. Needless to say, there was a lot to accomplish once we arrived. The VISA’s we went with were Working Holiday VISA’s which can be processed quickly and grants us unrestricted working rights with a single employer for up to 6 months. However, we would need a bank account and tax file number (TFN) before an employer would hire us. We set up our account with BankWest and lodged an online application with the Australian government for a TFN. We were now prepared to enter the Australian work force.

The Importance of Staying Hydrated

“Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need – a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.” – K. Jerome, Three Men in a Boat

The Apartment Search - Day 3

The morning came quickly and we continued on our mission of finding an apartment. None of the realtors had replied to any of our e-mails that were sent the night before. We only had a single viewing scheduled for the day. Our momentum was slowing, but we refused to let the possibility of failure creep into our thoughts.

The Apartment Search - Day 2

Our first viewing was at 9:30. The apartment was in Mosman Park (a suburb south of Perth – not within walking distance). We had decided the night before that we would rent a car, zip down to the viewing, rent the property, zip back to the hotel, check out and then move into our brand new apartment. Simple enough, right? Nope. It is rare that a plan, without accounting for error, can be executed as designed. This became evident very quickly.

The Apartment Search - Day 1

Ibis Hotel
334 Murray Street
Perth WA 6000, Australia
(08) 9322 2844

One of the biggest unknowns when arriving in Perth was where to live? After grabbing our baggage in the Perth airport, after roughly 30 hours of travel, Steph spotted a counter that made shuttle and hotel bookings. The lady at the counter was extremely friendly and helpful. We told her where we were coming from and our general reasons for visiting. She was able to book us a hotel room (Hotel Ibis) at a discounted rate (nearly 50%). However, before we set off on our way, she left us with a comment that would haunt us for the rest of the day: “It’s not that easy to find an apartment for rent. It takes time – there’s a process.”

Introduction

Hi everyone,

As most of you know, Steph and I have moved to Perth, Australia for the year. This blog was set up to give people the opportunity to stay up to date with our experiences. You can view the blogs at your leisure and post comments/questions. If you’d like to send us a personal message you can reach us at: hairsinekr@gmail.com or stephdimeski@gmail.com. Alternatively, you can reach us on Sykpe (Sykpe name: ryan.hairsine) in the mornings and evenings.

Hope you enjoy,

Ryan and Steph