Zach Pilgrim vs. The World

¡Holo!

Welcome back to the blog. This post is long and I hope it keeps your interest even though your Christmas time is a lot different from my mine. Mine isn't perfect and I reserve the right not to feel perfect. I feel this way more because there's a lot of people who really have a reason to complain and don't even have a lot to celebrate, let alone the means to air out their grievances on the Internet. And partly I feel this way because there's a lot of uncertainty in my life. What I need the most now is patience... But anyways, enjoy the show!

Thanks to having stayed up until 3 AM on Sunday updating my blog, I haven't been able to get up early. Staying in bed has felt just a little bit too good. I have some kind of case of the "morning blues" and getting out of bed hasn't felt like some wonderful must have experience. Fortunately, I have been able to get going despite being a little sluggish in the morning.

On Monday I wanted to visit two places. First I made a trek towards the Queen Victoria markets at the end of Elizabeth Street, my stomping grounds from late September. My hike up the street didn't bare the fruit I thought it would because the markets were closed on Mondays. A fact which I found out when I arrived at the end of Elizabeth street. Whatever, I would just come back the next day. Next on my agenda was The Melbourne Museum.

Before going there though I took a detour and went to the old Melbourne Gaol, an old prison turned award winning tourist attraction. My main reason for going there was to use their men's room. Unfortunately, their poop-making facilities had no locks on the doors so I had to skip that part. I headed into the museum shop where I decided that the price of a ticket was way too high. I wasn't that interested in some damp prison sells. But I did check out the shop for anything unique and affordable. What I found was both; A replica of a hand-drawn Ned Kelly poster for $3.50. A good homecoming gift or something to put on my wall, when I have my own place again, someday.

At my next stop, the Melbourne Museum, I checked out the IMAX theatre first. It was 2 PM, the first showing of TRON: Legacy started at 4:30, and the museum closed at five, so I bought a ticket to go see the movie on the 3rd biggest IMAX screen in the world -- Sydney has the biggest -- and got free admission to the museum thanks to my ISIC (International Student ID) card, which has proved itself very valuable in Melbourne. Then I checked out the museum.

It wasn't too special and to tell you the truth, I'm getting a little burned out on museums; Walking from a stand to another reading plaques is getting very tiresome. My brain still has capacity for visuals but I'm tired of facts. The best parts were the dinosaur and megafauna bones. I also learned of an interesting human condition, the name of which I can't remember. The condition's best described as "seeing words and music" in colors. And here I thought Bill Walton was the only person who could see sounds and smell colors.

After the museum I headed down to the IMAX theatre to see TR2N. I had done some reading on the movie so I knew what to expect and didn't have too high expectations. My thoughts: The young Jeff Bridges was the best looking CGI human I've seen. But it still was noticeably CGI. 1) It seemed to be reacting to the actor's performance, not duplicating it. 2) The slightest emotions seemed exaggerated. Now, I know Klu was a computer program made to look like Jeff's character but the same CGI was used for young human Jeff and, well, it wasn't perfect.

The 3D was immersive, but subtle. Sometimes I wasn't sure if it was a 2D scene or if the 3D was just too subtle. It never looked as good as it did in the IMAX Hubble 3D trailer, that we saw before the main feature. The biggest problem with 3D in movies is the fact that a lot of the 3D images don't fit the screen and are cut of by the edges of the screen. Since it's just a 3D image it throws the brain off. The middle of the screen is telling our brain that the image is closer while the edge of the screen tells us that the image is flat. The image ends at the edge of the screen instead of reaching over it. So most of the 3D looked a little broken. But there were still a lot of beautiful 3D images on screen. Crowds and landscapes were very well represented. A 3D Olivia Wilde was also a sight for sore eyes.

Which brings me to my last point. Ms Wilde is a beautiful woman and I ogled her as much as I could. This and the immersive nature of the film's highly imaginary world made me feel alone. Olivia Wilde might be out of my league but I long to have a beautiful woman in my life again. I'm sure the feeling will lessen when I get a job and a social network along with it in Tasmania, but at the moment movies and TV shows seem to showcase a lot of the things I miss: Friendship, family, companionship. Let's just say I'm very thankful that I won't be alone on Christmas Eve.

Enough with the sappy stuff. I guess the rest of Monday night didn't offer anything exciting because I don't remember anything about it. I did see the Parliament houses and took some pictures.

Tuesday afternoon I headed out to the Victoria Markets again. I didn't get up too early, but I did arrive almost three hours before closing time, which was more than enough. I walked up and down every corridor and checked out every stand. There were a lots of different kinds of stands; Stands selling shoes, or souvenirs, or toys, or Bill Cosby sweaters and many, many more. I know there are some souvenirs I want to buy for myself to remind me of my year abroad. One of them is a Didgeridoo, a long one. So I looked at all the long didgeridoos and checked them out for authenticity and price. I also looked at all the towels and most of the t-shirts. None of these are things I need before I leave Australia (well I don't necessarily need them anyway, but I do want them) so I merely "window shopped" for them. I did have one thing in mind that I wanted to buy though. So I bought myself a little bottle of tea tree extract. Tea tree is a wonderful plant and it can do wonders for a backpacker. I'll advertise it more once I've used it for something.

With some tourism out of the way, I returned to the hostel and... drumroll please. I did my laundry! I also showered. And ate dinner. Now please proceed to pick up your jaw which you just dropped on the floor.

Because it was Tuesday I had decided to go to the movies. The only movie I was interested in was Megamind. It was in 3D so the fact the day was Tuesday, didn't make it any cheaper. Thanks to my ISIC I got a discount and went to see it anyway.

Dreamworks delivered another good looking 3D film, but even the leading lady of an animated movie made me hope for female company. Get me out of here!

Today, a sunny day for a change, my places-to-visit list consisted of two museums, the maritime and the immigration. The Maritime Museum was a disappointment; concession price for basically one boat was $15. I said no thanks and briefly visited the South Wharf mall.

The following paragraphs are not about what I did today, but a more personal rant about my juvenile existence so feel free to skip the part separated from the rest of the text by rows of dashes if you prefer to know what I did and not what I thought today.

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I hung around JB Hi-Fi for a while, looking at DVDs, TVs and video games. Back in August, when I got to Australia I made a list of things I wish to get once I return. I had this list in my head before I even moved my stuff into storage back in May. I thought that writing down the things I wish for would take them out of my mind. I've had no such luck. This list of mine consists mostly of electronics; A LED TV, a PlayStation 3, a MacBook and some games, DVDs and Blu-Rays. All of these things I can find in, surprise, surprise, JB Hi-Fi.

It's definitely been more than four months since the last time I got to play with my PlayStation 2 before borrowing it to my cousin 'Tu 'Omo -- who's in the army and has a girlfriend, so he probably hasn't had a chance to play much -- and it'll be five more before I get it back. I know I did get to play some Super Mario on Wii at Sascha's but that doesn't help me now. Hey, I know what some of you must be thinking. "You miss video games? You gotta be kidding me! Go find a girlfriend! You're too old to play video games anyway." Video games might not be the way to spend 24 hours a day just as fast food shouldn't be the only thing you eat. But going to McDonald's once in a while won't kill you and neither will playing some video games now and then. Of course, people should socialize and be around other people, but how much, that varies from person to person. I probably have a lesser need to be around others than most people -- Ironic considering my current state -- and I am often happy being just by myself. And when I'm at home by myself there are three or four things I like doing. Watching movies, reading, surfing the net and playing video games. Now out of all these activities one is a lot more active than others. If you guessed reading, you're wrong. No, it's video games. 

Since I left Finland four months ago I've read around twenty books, watched season after season of different TV shows and been to the cinema about a dozen times to pass the time and to get a sense of accomplishment. But the only active things I've done in my free time is walking -- lots of walking -- and writing this blog. I should probably come out of my shell an introduce myself to some fellow backpackers, but I don't want to. I miss being around people who know me. I miss playing board games. And I miss playing video games.

I'm sorry I keep getting off track but this internal conversation needed to get out.

---

After lunch I went to the Immigration Museum. Thanks to my ISIC, admission was $0.00 as my receipt read. Some night this week I finished the Mick Foley book I bought and in the book he wrote extensively about the charity work that he's done in Africa among other places. The Immigration Museum displayed some of the problems that have led to immigration into Australia from different places, even Africa. Australia is 99% populated by immigrants and their descendants. Many of the numerous reasons that people have had to leave their homes for during the two centuries of immigration make me feel angry. It is unfathomable to me how some of these conditions have manifested. Genocide, persecution, war. Sometimes museums cast an unfavorable light on past generations, especially white, rich people of generations past. It might seem like we are smarter than the people of the 19th century. But the truth is that the wealthiest, most powerful people on average don't care about those less fortunate. It's only because of the prevalence of democracy that the majority, the middle classes, have been able to stand up to the rich, and for the poor. Now the rich don't wield the same amount of power they used to until women and minorities were given the right to vote.

What I wanted to say was that I feel awful that the human race has done so many irreversible things, mostly out of fear or greed. Even Australia was a haven for racism and it lasted way too long. The Brits who populated the New World in the 1500's weren't much dumber than the ones who settled in Australia 300 years later. Mankind seems doomed to repeat its own mistakes.

So... That was the Immigration Museum! This is not blogging, this is venting. I apologize again. My arguments on video games are intellectual while my musings on women and white guilt are merely emotional gibberish. Let's get on with the show.

My plans for tomorrow include a river cruise so I visited the cruise company's office near the museum. The nice lady behind the desk told me that I didn't need to book in advance and to just come to the pier at Southgate tomorrow. Good enough! I had no more plans for today, so I decided I would enjoy the weather and find a nice place to sit and read, or write my blog. I ended up doing a lot of walking -- which led to a lot of pictures motivated by the blog -- to Federation Square, to MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground, not to be confused with McG), to the Olympic stadium and a pilgrimage to Yarra Green Belt and specifically the place where I had had lunch -- accompanied by my mom, her protégé and my then-girlfriend -- for the first time in Australia five years ago. I found the place, captured it as best as I could and surfed the under the same tree where I ate Chinese food more than five years ago.

I had some dinner in the city, found the correct pier for my cruise tomorrow and headed back to the hostel.

What have I forgotten? Oh yeah, I've been a little stressed lately. My main cause of stress, as usual, is money. Or the lack off. The lack of prospective money, which is due to a lack of a job. I have been preparing for the possibility that I can't find a job in Tasmania and trying to budget my life around that possibility. I still have the monetary means to do it. I could afford five weeks of accommodation and a flight to Sydney with a daily food and beverage budget between $20 and $30 if I don't have any further income in that time. But this thinking led me to not even look for jobs. 

Yesterday evening I spoke on the phone with my long time nemesis, Gay-Pooh, to congratulate him on his birthday and I mentioned the possibility of not finding a job. He asked me if they were hard to find and I replied that I hadn't even looked for them. Then I realized how stupid and pathetic I must have sounded. How could I get a job without looking for one? So this morning I did some job hunting. It wasn't fruitful in practice, but mentally it was. Now, instead of feeling pessimistic, I feel optimistic, and motivated to find a job. I'm also motivated to find the cheapest passable accommodation in Hobart before, after and around New Years.

Tomorrow is my last full day in the city and I plan to start it on the Eureka SkyDeck. Then I will take the river cruise after which I'll check some free-to-see art, write some postcards from Melbourne and pack my stuff. I'll cap of the day and my building-crush with a second visit to the Eureka SkyDeck just before sunset so I can see the city in all its glory during the night and the day. On Friday I'll check out of the hostel and spend the day in St. Kilda and Albert Park before catching a train to Bonbeach for Christmas dinner at Maria's where I will also spend the night. I shall bring some IKEA "God Helg" peparkakor and a bottle of wine to the dinner. I'll also get to open my one Christmas present that I've waited one and a half months to open. On Christmas Day I will be whisked to the airport by Maria and I'll arrive in Hobart at 3:15 PM. Sunlight wise that will be the longest day of my trip.

A lot can happen and if something special does you can read about it hear with a stomach full of ham or your preferred choice Christmas cuisine.

Merry Christmas to one and to all! I miss you!

A Penguin Classic

I'm back!

Well, it's not like I've gone away. This is the Internet you know, you're always present whether you like it or not. (Way to bum people out in the first paragraph, Zach.)

Cook's cottage was nothing special. They actually had an entry fee for a house that was built in 18th century England before the settlement of Australia. Um, if I want to learn about 18th century England, I'll go to England, OK?

I walked out of Fitzroy Gardens in to the CBD and found a Flight Centre on Exhibition Street and bought my ticket to Hobart. And before I jumped on to a tram back to the hostel I ventured into an independent book store where I'd spent some time before September ended. As I usually do I checked out the humor and sports sections in search of non-fiction titles. What I found from the humor shelf was a complete surprise. "Whiter Shades of Pale" by "Things White People Like" writer and website creator Christian Lander. I hadn't even heard he had a second book. (It only came out in November and was announced on his website in September so that's not really a surprise. I wonder what else is happening in the world that I have no knowledge of...) In the sport section there was another surprise; "Countdown to Lockdown" by Mick Foley, a book that was published in October. It was the first copy I had seen of the book and it was a paperback. I picked it up and turned it around to see the pricetag. $35.00. The last time I had read a book that cost more than $30 was at Borders on Brisbane reading a Klosterman book without actually paying for it. I decided I'd try the same thing with good old Mick Foley. I had around an hour before I was going to leave for dinner at Maria's. So I started reading.

After 10 pages Mick had pulled out a limp white object out of his pants and was aiming it my metaphorical mouth. I tapped out knowing fully well that $35 was a lot to pay for a mere book. So I used $60 dollars and came away with both books. I also bought the season 3 DVD of Six Feet Under on the same shopping trip at JB-HiFi.

I took a train from Southern Cross towards Frankston to go have dinner at Maria's house. I brought with me my small backpack and some books and magazines. I quickly finished reading The Bro Code and I just couldn't resist the calling of the HCL -- Hardcore Legend -- Mick Foley. I wished the train trip could have lasted a little longer, that's how much I liked reading Foley's fourth memoir.

At Maria's I met her two daughters, Elouise and Wanda, and Wanda's husband Gavin. We had seafood for dinner and we just talked and had a good time over the dinner table. Maria's family reminded me a little of my own, the way that everything silly she said was always picked on by her children. Elouise baked some cookies and her mom was seemingly very proud of her little daughter. The cookies were very tasty and sweet. I and Wanda both received our own goodie bags to go home with. Wanda is pregnant and with her and Gavin I talked about my road trip plans for April. Gavin told me I was going to be too tired from all the driving to do anything else and Wanda wondered how much all the petrol would end up costing me. It put a little fear in my head if I was trying to bite a little too piece of the cake called Australia in one sitting.

The food was delicious as were the cookies. Wanda and Elouise agreed to join Maria and me on Saturday for the trip to the Dandenongs. Maria gave me a lift home and I headed straight to bed to have some ret before my big day at Phillip Island.

I overslept the free breakfast and had to sneak into the closed breakfast to have some of my own bread and yoghurt. After my lean breakfast I headed to the closest supermarket for some snacks for the trip. Then I was picked up at the hostel at 11:50 AM. I was the last passenger and we were off.

Our driver was Chris and gave us a run through of our schedule for the day. He estimated that we'd be back in Melbourne at around 11:30 PM.

After an hour on the highway we made our first stop in Koo Wee Rup where we had lunch. I had some delicious, if salty, Fish & Chips. Our second stop before the actual island was a winery with a very nice scenery. We had a tasting and I tasted some of the whites and actually learned something about the different kinds of wines I had been pouring all those weekends.

Once on the island we stopped at a Chocolate Factory/Store. They had an interactive walk through portion -- a great place for a class trip I think -- and a chocolate store. There were other groups in there too, a lot of Asians among them, and they were a noisy bunch. I don't think I'm a racist and Asians probably have the same ratio of annoying and not annoying people as any other race but there's a lot more Asians and they move in big groups. So there's possibly more annoying Asians than people of other colors and races. I'm sure anyone who's been barraged with an endless stream of suit salesmen or massage parlors ("helloo massaage!") can attest to that.

Anyway, I used the chocolate bar making machine to make myself a white chocolate bar with strawberry filling (I disregarded the cola, vegetate and wasabi options) and bought a $5 milk chocolate from the store. Both of which were very delicious.

After the chocolates we were treated to some koalas. This part of the trip was a little disappointing. It was a little rainy and most of the Koalas were sleeping. I did get to see some wild wallabies though. I also tried to learn more about the koalas and I'm definitely adding the male koala mating call to my own repertoire. Can't wait to try it on the chicks back in Finland. *groh groh*

Then we checked some sights, the racetrack and Pyramid Rock before heading for dinner in one of the townships. I had a Subway to balance out the salty lunch. I last visit before Penguin Parade was the knobbies a marine central concentrated on the seals living nearby. We found some penguins who weren't out swimming under the boardwalk before we had some tea. Then I checked out the information about sealife and the island plus the gift shop where I saw some of the cutest little penguin toys in the world. The facts about Great White Sharks made me feel sorry for them. You know, one of the most dangerous animals in the world. Well, the "man-eating" shark has averaged around 1 or 2 lethal attacks per year in the world since 1990. Basically every shark and croc attack makes the news while more people are killed by cars, bees, snakes and even vending machines every year.

We took the back road towards Penguin Parade and while the others were mesmerized by the wallabies jumping around I actually saw a rare penguin jump onto the road I'm front of our bus. I pointed it out Chris who instantly realized something was wrong with the poor fellow. He enclosed the penguin in his jacket and gave it to a lady sitting behind her so we could take it to the rangers at Penguin Parade.

The penguin was instantly hurried into a back room and we heard later that he/she was gong to be alright, thanks to us. I felt proud to have helped. Without me he might have been run over by a car. Plus I think I could have held that bird more safely than the silly Asian lady!

There was more than hour before the "big showcase" and I spent it by gaining more knowledge of penguins and checking out yet another souvenir shop. I kind of wish we could erase some of mankind's mistakes from the 19th and 20th centuries. I am not saying we're going to perish because of global warming, but the world could be a more magical and beautiful place had we humans not chopped down so many forests, hunted and fished so many animals and introduced foreign species of flora and fauna into new areas. Even on puny Phillip Island there used to be seven different places where penguins used to land from their fishing trips, while there now is only one. Some twenty years ago on one winter day only eight penguins made the fishing trip, a dark time that's fortunately behind us.

Things aren't as gloomy as they used to be but for some animals there's no going back to the glory days. Just think about how the populations of whales, sharks, crocodiles, tigers and lions have waned since man introduced such ingenious inventions as gunpowder and harpoons to the world.

Okay, back to the penguins. Basically the world's smallest penguins, the Small Penguins, live in the warmest areas of all the penguins. They can be found in South Africa, Chile, New Zealand and Australia. During the day the grownups are fishing one third of their body weight to consume and to regurgitate for their young ones back on shore in their little holes in the ground. In the water their disguised perfectly with their white tummies looking like the clouds or sun rays and their backs blending in with the blue seawater. But on the shore they're open to attacks by predators. So they wait until it's dusk before coming ashore in big groups. We weren't allowed to take photos of the little birds but we got to see the daily migration from up close.

I have to admit that it was a spectacular "show" and a wonder of nature. But I also wish I was good enough at drawing to illustrate what it would like if the roles were reversed. You know, a bunch of penguins sitting in raincoats watching a bunch of naked people come from a days work gathering the courage to walk back home to their families. On one had we're paying big money to see these animals in their natural environment and helping ensure their survival. But on the other hand we're infringing on their natural environment, exploiting them for entertainment and trying to reverse what we've done before, butting our noses in their business. I don't know if two wrongs make a right.

All in all it was a spectacular day and on the way back to Melbourne I thought a little about this blog post and a lot about improving a penguin themed game back at summer camp. But what I most thought about was how I realized that I love Australia. I know I just professed my love to Finland a few posts ago and this blog is becoming very deep but bear with me. Or don't, I'm not forcing you to read on.

I like to use a relationship or girlfriend analogy with countries (works with cities too). See, you can only be with one girlfriend at a time. Just as you can only be in one place at a time be it a country, a city or a bar. You can love several at the same time but you can really only be with(in) one at a time.

(When I moved to Turku I used the ex-girlfriend metaphor when talking about Helsinki and the girl who I was dating thought I was literally meeting an ex-girlfriend in Helsinki. That relationship lasted less than a month. Not the metaphorical one with Turku but the actual one with the girl.)

Normal vacations are like dates with women who you'd like to imagine yourself with but wouldn't actually want a relationship with. But a year abroad is more than that. It's a short term marriage. So when I left Finland back in August I felt I'd made a mistake in leaving behind good old safe Finland. But what I didn't realize in Hong Kong or Queensland was that it wasn't them that I didn't like. I wasn't the person I thought I was and the only way to see that was to get away from Finland for an extended non-vacation period of time. I remember a conversation with my cousin 'Tu 'Omo where I speculated that I wasn't the kind of person to really get homesick anymore. That I really wouldn't miss most people back home except for maybe my niece and gf. Boy was I wrong and my fling with Hong Kong showed me that much.

But now I'm starting to feel good about myself and optimistic about the rest of my time in Australia. Pictures of Hong Kong or Brisbane make me feel glad that I've actually been there. I'm starting to appreciate the moment and even though I still will be glad when I get home, I won't leave Australia before making as many memories and bringing back as many of them and as much of Australia as I can. Sweden might be the girl next door, America is Pamela Anderson and Australia is the freewheeling, fun-loving, wild, exotic, tattooed, funny and beautiful women you like to imagine yourself ending up with. But it can't happen. There's just too much in common with good old Finland. No one knows you like she does and nobody respects you the way shed does. And by you I mean me.

(If a country was my soulmate it would be a combination of Sweden, Finland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. So I'm very happy with growing "up" and old in Finland. As a city I've heard that Seattle would be the place for me. I have to go there some day...)

I was the first one dropped off and I headed straight to bed. I barely made it to breakfast on time. I took it easy before heading to Maria's for a trip to the mountains. She and her family used to live for seven years in the mountains before moving to the beach. The beach is a beautiful place to live, I believe, but the mountains are breathtaking. Filled with rainforesty green the mountains represent one of the most beautiful parts of all of Australia. And to think that I had been living less than 20 K's away for over two months.

First we drove up to Wanda's house where Elouise was too. The girls jumped in the back seat and we headed out for lunch on the other side of the mountains first. The place was filled with retro stuff and they even sold old phones, the kind with the round dial before digital buttons. The menus were in old kid's books. I had some delicious poached eggs but I could've probably eaten four instead of just two.

Next we stopped at a nice lookout at the edge of one of the townships where Maria insisted I have my picture taken with my camera.

Our third destination was Sky High, the observatory on top of the ridge of the mountain. The city was visible but my pictures don't show it. I also posed in the giant's chair (no, actually I just lost a lot of weight. And height) for another picture.

We had one lookout left hidden in some very thick forest. This one was more secluded and overlooking Yarra Valley. This was actually the area where the balloons that end up at Rochford fly every morning. It was also the place where Gavin proposed to Wanda.

As we headed out we decided to go for coffee before calling it a day and parting ways. The coffee place was a very nice little shop with fair trade coffee and delicious cheesecake. I had a very chocolatey hot chocolate and a bog piece of blueberry cheesecake.

Then we returned Wanda to her house and Elouise to her car. Maria invited me for dinner and even though I was tired I knew that free dinner was hard to say no to. So we drove back to Bonbeach stopping at Woolworth's on the way to buy some ingredients.

While Maria did the cooking I did the manly thing and watched Back To The Future Part II on TV. I was just too tired to do anything else. Besides, when's the next time I get to whatever I want on actual broadcast TV?  I don't know either.

Dinner wasn't as great as the fish had been two days earlier but I easily filled myself up. I met Maria's son, Ben, too as he joined us for dinner. The conversation turned into Facebook and Ben told us that he's friends status had been updated automatically, and correctly, to "is currently in [suburb]". Scary, huh? I'm going to close my account when I get back to Finland.

Maria gave me a ride home -- sorry, home is where my suitcase is -- and we talked about my job prospects in Tasmania on the way. All in all Saturday was a nice day and I felt like a welcomed guest in the family. My favorite part of the day was when Wanda and Elouise tried to guess my age. They both landed on 22 even. If I didn't have a beard they'd have gone even lower. Flattering.

Today was Sunday and I took it fairly easily. I lay in bed for a couple of hours before taking advantage of the cheaper tram ticket prices and heading to IKEA in Richmond. My goal was to buy a gingerbread house for Christmas to have something Finnish. I read the Foley book on the tram and yet again wished the trip could've lasted longer. Before going to IKEA I was sidetracked by the mall. I had some Macca's (McDonald's), I checked out the bookstore, the DVD store, the electronics store and the cinema before going into IKEA.

Now the mall was pretty busy but IKEA was truly busy. I thought I'd spend some time going around and trying how the couches felt. But I could barely move in there. So I headed straight to the Swedish food market. I took a long way to get there and once I did there were no gingerbread houses. I did get some smaller gingerbread cookies though. The clerk asked me if I was Swedish. The cookies had a decorative "God Helg!" on them and she just wanted to know what it meant. I told her it was close to Happy Holidays. The Internet told me it was closer to Season's Greetings.

I took the tram back and got of at the casino so I could go to Borders at South Wharf for the first time after being fired. I didn't find any of the books I'm looking for so I got out. It was raining and I felt a head ache comings I decided to find a coke and stay at the mall for a while. I must've spent more than half an hour at JB-HiFi but I wasn't close to buying anything. The newest season of HIMYM had dropped to $25 dollars but I'm watching a season plus of Futurama, HIMYM and Arrested Development, each, before I'm "scheduled" to start watching that one. Maybe I can find it for $20 by then...

I finally retreated back to the hostel and spent the rest if the night reading, watching DVDs and blogging. It was raining so I had my second Big Mac meal of the day for dinner since getting to McDonald's across the street didn't make me wet.

Now it's late as heck and I'm skipping the eyes into the near future part. I'll update you at least once before Christmas Eve.

Have a nice Sunday and thanks for reading!

Walking In Melbourne

Hey Finland!

I'm sure you're dying to find out how I'm doing now that I'm out of a job and vacationing in Melbourne. Well, let's start from the beginning as usual.

Monday is nothing to write home about. I slept well but I was still pretty exhausted from the last week of work. So, on my agenda I had only one thing. Find a hostel to stay in. Oh, and I had to start packing.

I took a long walk down to the restaurant and talked to Greg. He had offered me a ride into the city but I didn't want to go on Monday. I wanted to take it easy. I stepped into the winery and used their office computer with Andrew's permission. I eventually found the cheapest passable and available hostel in the city for $28/day. What I also found out that the prices shot up to at least $50 in every Hostel on the 25th day. But it wasn't for Christmas, no. The prices stayed up well into the next week and the reason for that is the fourth "test" of The Ashes, the cricket match between Australia and England. (The Ashes name comes from a million years ago when England first lost to Australia on their home ground and a journalist joked that it was "the death of English cricket". Apparently "English Cricket" was cremated because a year later they went to "reclaim The Ashes" in Australia. The name stuck and they've been doing it ever since.) 

Needless to say, I didn't feel like staying in cricket-crazy Melbourne or $50 hostels any longer than I had to. But in Melbourne I had agreed to see my mom's co-worker, Maria, who had invited me for Christmas dinner.

After I'd picked a hostel I retreated to Alex's place. Then I packed, ate a couple of lasagnas and watched DVDs. That was my Monday.

On Tuesday I packed the rest of my stuff and read "Non-Fiction" by favorite author, Chuck Palahniuk, until Sascha came to pick me up and took me to the train station. Before leaving we hung out with Alex and Elizabeth for the last time.

It felt good to be going but piece of mind couldn't be attained before checking in to a hostel. I easily got my stuff, my suitcase, my backpack, my cool-bag and my box of wine, on the train. I read my book all the way and finished it just before arriving at Southern Cross.

When I was getting out of the train it seemed like I'd lost half my strength on the way as my box of wine suddenly seemed twice as heavy and very cumbersome (ie. hard to move). I got out of the train but had to put the box down on the very first bench I found. I felt very unsure about getting my stuff to the hostel. I knew I could take the tram, so there wouldn't be too much walking but going up the first escalators was enough of a struggle. Fortunately I found an elevator to take me down to the street level.

At the corner of the station I just had to catch my breath and think through my strategy. Every time the pedestrian lights turned green there was a flood of people crossing the street.

I must've waited food three or four floods to pass before I got the courage to navigate through the mass of people and on to my tram stop. Once there, every tram produced a flood of people non-proportionate to the size of the tram. It was like that gag with too many people comic out of a car, but instead of being funny it was depressing. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of people that I even got annoyed at a guy who was standing too close to my stuff.

I was hoping for a tram with a street-level floor because I didn't want to carry my stuff up a bunch of stairs on to a crowded tram. I skipped the first one with chairs but I just had to get on the second one. People on the tram were unbelievably rude and ignorant of my situation. Fortunately the ride wasn't too long and only one person seemed really upset jumping over my stuff. What I don't understand is why do people get upset that the stuff is not moving while there are dozens of people with working feet able to make way if they could just be bothered to move.

A nice German backpacker helped me get my stuff across the street and into the hostel. By now I had a new problem. I didn't have enough cash to pay for a week's stay (a week for $28/night not $31/night like usually). So I walked back a couple of tram stops to the Village Cinemas at the Crown Casino to find a working ATM. I went back and paid for a week's stay before heading up to my room.

It was 6 PM when I finally put my stuff down and picked up the phone to call my mom's co-worker Maria. She officially invited me for Christmas dinner on the 24th and told me to come by to the office after 10 AM the next day to talk some more.

Finally at ease I headed out of the Hostel to check out the city. I bought the new "Slam" and ate at Hungry Jack's at Southern Cross before walking across the CBD in search of for open bookstores. I found a couple and also visited JB-HiFi but I didn't buy anything.

I spent a couple of hours on the town and took some pictures when the sun went down before heading back to the hostel. There I spoke to my roommates, three very nice blokes from England. We shared traveling stories and I went to bed.

On Wednesday morning I had FREE BREAKFAST ie. free toast (which is pretty cheap anyway) at the hostel. Some people ate at least six pieces of free bread while I was satisfied with two and a yoghurt I had in my cool bag in the fridge.

To help me make my Christmas plans I googled for ferry and airfare prices into Tasmania. My preferred traveling date was the 25th but the only ferries that had vacancies were on the 23rd and the 30th. The 30th was definitely too late and a 23rd day ferry was $175 and into northern Tasmania while a flight to Hobart, my probable destination, on the same day was $139. A flight on 25th or later was $229. I couldn't make a decision before meeting Maria but I was leaning towards leaving on the 25th.

I took the tram closer to St. Kilda to go meet Maria and bring my box of wine to the office. I didn't have to walk too long but the box was pretty heavy to carry even with two hands so I stopped from time to time.

At the office I met a couple of Maria's co-workers and we sat down for tea in the break room. We talked about traveling, the weather, the teaching profession and school holidays. We made some plans and I agreed to go over for dinner, not only on Christmas Eve but also tonight, Thursday. On Saturday we will go to the Dandenongs, the one place I should've visited and didn't during my stay in Lilydale.

It was a cool, cloudy and a little rainy so I decided not to take a river cruise as I had previously planned. Instead I headed towards the Botanic Gardens stopping at Hall of Remembrance on the way. The Gardens were huge, not as big as Central Park in NYC but way bigger than the Gardens in Sydney or Brisbane, and I spent a couple of hours walking around. Once in a while it rained a little but I didn't get wet. I was able to take some nice pictures in the gardens and then I headed into the CDB for lunch.

Even though I had given myself a low budget, in case I have trouble finding work in Tasmania or something, my healthy burger lunch cost me $17. It wasn't even that good so I decided to eat cheap fast-food and microwave dinners from now on. It was probably healthy though.

After lunch I decided to visit the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). They had a Disney exhibit showcasing background art, sketches and finished scenes of landmark films. I really enjoyed the exhibit and really got my $11 worth by taking two hours to see everything. I was especially blown away by the standalone versions of some of the animation backgrounds. I would put some of those on my wall and among the best pieces of art of the 20th century.

After the Disney exhibit I checked out the general complimentary Australian moving image exhibit, where I got introduced to some Australian cinema and I got to play some videogames like Civilization (nerd boner!). I enjoyed the exhibit more than I had anticipated and had to leave before I was finished because it was closing time.

When I got out it was cold. The whole day had been pretty cloudy and it was around 18 degrees outside and I was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts. I walked back to the hostel with dinner on my mind. I couldn't find a passable dinner in the nearby IGA's freezer so I decided to walk to Hungry Jack's at Southern Cross. There were too many people though with lines reaching outside so I walked across the CBD, again to find a roomier one. On the way I picked up "The Bro Code" at Angus & Robertson and finally joined the Borders/A&R v.i.p. club. After eating I visited JB-HiFi yet again and came out with season 3 of "Six Feet Under" and two movies, "Going Overboard" and "Mad Max 2". And again I walked back to the hostel.

I must have walked more than 15 K's during the day and I'd been on my feet for most of 11 hours so my feet and calves were really killing me when I got back. I put "Mad Max 2" in the DVD player and fell asleep after less than 20 minutes in.

This morning I finished the movie after breakfast, showered and headed into a sports bar to watch some NBA while writing this update. It was an exciting game and the Boston Celtics proved victorious in the last tenths of seconds. Since that I've eaten at Hungry Jack's -- again -- and walked in to Fitzroy Gardens on the east side of the CBD. The city is so big and has so many gardens that I feel like I'm not even in the same city anymore. From here I'll check out Cook's cottage after which I'll try to secure a flight to Tasmania on the 25th before heading back to the hostel and seafood dinner at Maria's house later tonight.

See you again real soon!

Bittersweet Symphony

G'day readers!

My days at Rochford are now pretty much over. I worked five days this week and I'm heading to Melbourne as soon as I've recuperated from this week and packed my stuff.

My week was pretty colorful. On Thursday I did some wine moving but through most of the day I sealed bottles of sparkling with a special piece of tape. I did around 500 bottles. At the end of the day Helmut told me I'd be substituting for Rami as a kitchen hand on Friday. I didn't like the sound of that.

Thursday night was the company Christmas party. It was on the other side of the Yarra Valley in a secluded Italian restaurants called Zonzo. I went with Sascha, Eva and Ana. We stopped at their place first where I got a letter from mom and dad with a Christmas card and two CDs of pictures.

For some reason I didn't leave the card or the CD in Sascha's car when we got to the party. Maybe I thought I'd be leaving with someone else. We were the last ones to arrive but dinner hadn't started yet and everyone sat outside enjoying drinks before dinner inside. I spent most of the night breaking the news of my leaving to a lot of the people. I think Richard was the one most stunned by my departure. He told me at the party that I'm the person he knows best in all of the company because he either worked with me or alone.

At times, I felt a little out of place at the party. As to why, there's probably many reasons and one of them was the fact that I was suddenly leaving. Besides the prospect of being a kitchen hand for a day didn't make me very festive. The night was fun and some people drank too much and made fools of themselves to the delight of others. Before we headed back home we took an unnecessary detour to Healesville where there were no open bars. In bed I realized I had left my Christmas card and CD at the Italian restaurant.

Thursday was the worst day of my life. I stood in the kitchen washing dishes without breaks for ten straight hours. I didn't eat and I didn't sit down. The previous night I didn't sleep very well because I felt so anxious about the whole thing. I had no idea where to put most of the stuff I took out of the machine and the work was emotionally overwhelming as the dishes kept on pouring in and piling up. The head chef tried to help me but I was alone in the kitchen at the end. I left with a lot of stuff unfinished but Rami had told me to leave rest to him. I just had to get out of there.

The experience was so awful that I threw my blue Rochford t-shirt in the trash. After the saddest most therapeutic shower of my life I walked back and threw my ripped jeans in the trash too. It felt pretty cathartic. To make myself feel even better I drove to Zonzo and retrieved my lost possessions. Driving felt good and the views very nice on the opposite side of the valley.

I didn't sleep very well, feeling guilty for the dishes I'd left behind. I saw Rami in the parking lot before work and told him I'd left him a lot of work. He was okay with it, but the head chef wasn't. He scolded me for not finishing "the job". I didn't feel it was fair. Why should I spend countless hours doing something that a professional guy can do in half the time? Rami had a friend helping him on Saturday and they easily handled the kitchen hand duties correcting my misdeeds.

My mind was totally switched off. I just worked and now the only thing I can remember is that it was the last day I'd see Kelly or Tim. Tim and I exchanged a hug and some nice words and he told me that he'd see me again, somehow. During the day I also chatted a lot with Kesley from South Africa who had started a week earlier.

At around five I was called out to work by Helmut. I drove the forklift and we set up a couple of marquees for today's function. David, Rami, his friend and Alex were there too. It was almost eight when I got to leave.

Back at the house I made myself some pasta and Bolognese. Also pictured with my dinner is my second most prized possession, my portable DVD player. In high spirits I watched episodes of Futurama before going to sleep.

I slept like a baby and felt really good going to work today. Before the customers came I helped set up for the function outside. But then I returned inside for one more day. David was cooking in the marquees so it was me and Goldie in the bar. I told him not to leave me alone in the bar and he assured he'd look after me on my last day. He was surprisingly nice to me, I guess I misjudged him earlier on. Or maybe he just knows me and accepts me now. I didn't even get offended when he used the word bitch today. I told him not to say it though.

The restaurant was busier than I'd ever seen it before but I and Goldie worked very well together and we actually had fun in a hellishly busy bar. As per usual the time just flew by and I feared my day would be prolonged by the function outside. But all the people working outside headed home before the restaurant was even empty. Darcy came in and told me he and Tim would come to see me in the city someday before I leave. He also told me that me being let go was "bullshit". I'm gonna miss him and I hope they, Darcy and Tim, do come see me in Melbourne. Louise also offered to come see me in the city and I might take her up on her offer. Natillie from Cellar Door didn't come and say goodbye like Darcy or Tim but she is my first Australian Facebook friend so it's okay.

So that was my last and possibly best day at the restaurant and my last working day for for the company. It feels sad that I have to leave all these nice (and some not as nice) people. But it also feels sweet and exciting to be moving on. Just like the thought of going to Australia felt exciting last summer, the possibility of going to Tasmania feels exhilarating. I know almost nothing about Tasmania but it's still my preferred exotic destination. Tomorrow I'll start packing and looking for jobs and I'll continue to look for jobs as I take in the sights and sounds of Melbourne before moving on.

As one chapter comes to a close, a new one begins. And it begins with an empty page maybe accompanied by some pictures of Melbourne and Tasmania.

On to bigger and better things!

Goodbye and good night Rochford.

Hey, Universe, It's Me, Zachary

Here's Brucie!

As you can see from the pictures I went to the Melbourne Aquarium on Monday. It was very cool and I took some nice pictures. No platypuses, plushy or real though.

After the Aquarium I headed across the river to check out if "Rare Exports" was playing there. No such luck, but using google I was able to find a theater on Lygon Street with a showing in an hour. The theater was a 51 minute walk away.

On my way I got a call from Boaz. He asked me if I'd want to go to the movies with him to see "Due Date". I thought it was a good idea, but I didn't want to go back to Lilydale before doing something else in Melbourne. I went shopping but as I was standing in line at JB Hi-Fi I realized I didn't have enough cash. As I walked out I saw I'd gotten an SMS from Boaz who wanted to reschedule. I looked at the time and realized that I could make the showing of "Rare Exports" if I'd take a tram.

I didn't look at my map and went a block in the wrong direction before realizing I was going away from the tram route. Pissed off and hungry I almost ran in the heat with time running out. Without a second to spare I arrived at the theater. Fortunately there were enough previews so I was able to relax before the movie started.

I thought there might be other Finnish people in the theater bit I ended being the only person to laugh at someone saying "paska". The movie was good, it looked very good and it was very funny. It was weird seeing a Finnish language movie in Australia though. The local audience was pretty smart and surprisingly "old". But they liked it and some people kept chuckling well into the credits. 

After the movie I took the tram back to Central Station where I arrived just minutes after a possible train to Lilydale. The next one would leave an hour later but fortunately I could use another line into Ringwood every fifteen minutes.

Before I did though, I grabbed some cash, bought a footlong sub, visited a still open Borders for something to read on the train -- I got "Non-Fiction" by Chuck Palahniuk -- and headed for the platform. I decided to use my tram ticket to get on the train even though it was only a zone 1 ticket. I'd never seen a ticket inspector on the train and I thought that I could get away without paying a penalty fee anyway.

Wouldn't you know it, just as we went from zone 1 to zone 2, three ticket inspectors entered the train. I showed my zone 1 ticket and the gentleman asked for my other ticket. I told him I only have this one. He took a look at me and realized I wasn't a local. He asked me how long had I been here. I told him it was only a couple of weeks. Then he asked me to get up and showed me the map and the zones 1 + 2. I looked at the map and then I looked at the legend like I'd never seen it before and let out a good old Finnish "a-haa". He told me to buy the right ticket next time or I'd probably get a big fine.

When I sat back down, the guy behind me asked where I was from and told me I was very lucky that the inspector had been such a nice fellow. I'm just glad I looked touristy enough not to get a fine. I decided I would buy the proper tickets from now on because I felt a little guilty.

Tuesday was a lazy day at home. I did my laundry as soon as I woke up. I watched Coraline on Blu-Ray and then I played Super Mario Galaxy for a while since it was a possible I wouldn't be able to do that later. Sascha called Alex and told him that I would be switching apartments with Eva. Sascha told about Eva's attack and that she didn't feel safe.

I was home alone when it started to rain and I had to rush to get my clothes, which were getting dry outside, back in. The rain let down a little so I headed to McDonald's for lunch.

Without a warning the rain started pouring and once I got to McDonald's I was soaked. I ate my food and decided I was so wet that I could walk back without getting any wetter.

I was folding my laundry when Sascha and Eva came and Sascha told me they were going to go pick up Ana from the station and after that he would take me to Alex's. I hadn't even started packing. I felt pretty sad that I had to leave but it had to be done. As I got my stuff together I felt a little better about moving on.

We drove to Alex's and Eva packed up her stuff while I, Sascha and Ana waited outside. Alex and Eva were away working. When they left I knew I wouldn't want to stay in the house all alone so I called Boaz and we went to the movies to see Due Date. I got back "home" and went to sleep almost right away.

I felt pretty good about going to work today. Right away Helmut told me that I would be helping John pack and mail the wine for the three days this week. It sounded good. I never got that far though. First John wanted me to take down the big Blondie sign next to Maroondah highway and to move around a couple of the other ones before it started to rain. It took me ages and did rain before I was finished. For the rest of the day I pretty much moved wine boxes from one place to another and again and again. I did do a little forklift driving too...

I felt pretty tired and there were only restaurant people around at around four p.m. so I decided to ask Gwen about my staff wines. She recommended I take it right away. So I got seven wines for my mother. As I was carrying the wines to the Ute I ran into Helmut. Just the person I wanted to talk to.

"Maybe the Universe can give me a signal...?"

He asked about my mom and I explained the current situation as well as I could. Then he asked me about my plans for Christmas and New Years. I said I'd thought about working until January. Then he told me that, well, I didn't need to work that long. I could work one more week. He explained to me that he really had no work left for me. The vineyards only need spraying by the regular workers and he got a new kitchen hand and a new person for Cellar Door too.

So, The Universe, disguised as Helmut, showed me a building-sized neon sign with the letters Q - U - I - T blinking like crazy. My last day at Rochford Wines is actually this Sunday. It is kind of ironic that only two days after I had considered quitting and one day after looking for jobs I was let go and in need of a new job. Had this come up before I and Eva changed apartments I would've been closer to the train station when I leave. Plus Eva could've moved in anyway, just a week later. Well, I'm pretty sure Sascha can give me a lift next Monday or Tuesday.

I plan to enjoy some of my wages doing touristy stuff in Melbourne before I find a new job. I will go see some wild penguins, I will see Melbourne from a river cruise ship, I will go back up to Eureka SkyDeck at sunset and I will check out the famous buildings and parks. For my next job I'd love to go to Tasmania. Melbourne, Sydney or even Adelaide are other possible destinations. But if I found a job in Tasmania I could explore it well before moving on to Sydney. If I have enough money and my mom's arrival gets postponed I'd love to take a trip to Singapore where my friend Wall-Terr-E will be an exchange student for the first four months of 2011.

Whatever the future brings I know one thing for sure. I will not buy anyone any Christmas gifts. Where I will be spending Christmas, or New Years, is a lot more uncertain. But I do remember dreaming about Christmas in Tasmania and New Years in Sydney way back in Finland before I had even bought my plain tickets. So I hope Tasmania it is.

Now I have four more working days and a company Christmas party tomorrow evening before I pack up and move on to bigger and better things. In a way it's pretty cool and I should be able to better get jobs from three, or four states now that I was in Queensland back in September.

Now all I have to do is just go and do it.

Till infinity and beyond!

ID6 - One Way Or Another

Wow, what a weekend. On Friday I worked from 9 am until 10 pm, on Saturday from 8 am to 1 am and on Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm.

On Friday the concert arrangements were in full force. Darcy had brought some of his friends to help and we put up a big marquee in the cafe with Richard, winemaker-Andrew, Alex and Graham. We also put up some fences, but a lot of work was left until Saturday so I, again, was out of work from 3 to 5:30. Then I helped Krystal and Aimee put up some cheap furniture in the backstage area. At 7:30 Helmut called me up and me and Richard moved nine pieces five meter pipes on the green in front of the stage. The pipes were really heavy and very hard to lift. I felt I was close to pulling an abdominal muscle on the last one.

Then the diggers arrived and I mostly stood around and made and brought the real workers some coffee. Helmut wanted me to stay until Sascha and Ana were done setting up the restaurant. It took them forever even though they had the returning bar man Goldie helping them. Goldie is a tall Indian man and everyone seems to like him. Everybody but me that is. He keeps calling his co-workers his bitches and he has this general arrogance about him. Of course he's friends with Sascha and he exploits that friendship to his fullest. I haven't seen Sascha talk that much during workman he did with Goldie on Friday. Because Goldie is a casual he gets payed by the hour and he doesn't seem to be in a rush to get some things done and to get home like some people. Ana also takes her sweet time when she's setting up the restaurant. But finally we were able to get home. Sascha and Ana went out for a drink with Goldie while I saw LeBron James blow out his former team in the first quarter.

I woke up at six the next morning because I thought we'd be going back at seven but Sascha slept in. At work I first helped Darcy's friends set up the chairs in the VIP areas near the stage. Then I moved in goths restaurant where I was supposed to work the bar with Goldie. Instead I barely saw him and ended up working for him. I was so overwhelmed at the bar by myself that my emotions boiled to point that I ended up shouting at Ana and Sascha, kicking a barrel and Sascha threatening to throw me out if I ever did that again. We both brewed for awhile but he was very nice to me from then on. He hadn't seen me pushed that far and was probably thinking something must have really been wrong for me to get that steamed.

I fortunately got to take some time of from the bar as I went to help Rami move the trash and recycling bins down to the shed. On the first trip we were helped by Rory and Rami asked me if he could go back to the restaurant quickly. I told him I had to go back too and that we should just do this together quickly. Once we got back up, Rami said thank you and headed back inside leaving me in charge of five more bins!

It was hot but it gave me time to cool off mentally. I actually wasn't feeling very enthusiastic about working in the bar. To be honest, I think I'd rather work outside five days a week than try to keep up in there. Fortunately we were ready and the customers arrived soon after I got back in. Goldie actually worked pretty fast at that point. At that point the time just flew. We did get a lot of glasses to wash and polish...

I was feeling pretty good and especially good when Blondie performed. I actually ventured outside a couple of times and circled around during Atomic, probably my favorite Blondie song. I was too self conscious of my Rochford attire to full enjoy the moment. But it was still great. This day was a big factor in making me want to come down and do this job. The way it sounded back then was a little cooler and than what it has felt like. But I think I can truly say that seeing Deborah Harrie perform on that stage is the most incredible thing that has happened to me at the job and something I will try to cherish as long as I can for the rest of my life. Still doesn't make all the other stuff worth it. Fortunately the money helps and can generate more unforgettable memories for me after I leave this place.

The main act was The Pretenders and during their performance I was sent outside to sell drinks in the parking lot marquees. I generally liked it, but boy, half of those people shouldn't have been drinking anymore alcohol and many more would have been better off with light beer. Plus these thirty to forty year old Australians who barely can afford to come a concur like this are the worst kind of consumers in the world. Some people tried to get their drinks without paying the full price.

---

While I was writing the last paragraph Sascha got a call from a hysterical Eva. Alex had hit on her at home earlier and last night she was attacked by a stranger in the city. She can't live with Alex anymore and she's moving in with Sascha and Ana and I'm moving in with Alex or maybe Boaz. It's not fair but we have to help her. Wow... Let's just get back to the story.

---

The evening wound down and we polished "so many glasses" as the hysterical waitresses said it. I also got to guard the wines so drunk people wouldn't steal them and met my old friend, the guy from the Farnham concert with the Finnish girlfriend. She had been there too but she'd already left. Earlier in the day I met Rebecca, Richard's daughter, who lives in Sydney and who I'll be meeting down there to check out her project of teaching school kids leadership skills. The last things we did was tear down all the marquees and carry all the trash bags from the VIP areas near the stage over the fences.

Six hours of sleep later it was back to work for me and Sascha. I started outside with Helmut, Richard an others. We cleared the winery area of all the extra crap and had some lunch. Then everybody else left and I had to go work inside.

David was in the bar and he was worse than ever. I guess he was tired too. He didn't talk loud enough for people to hear, he kept running into me and was just a general pain to be around. Then Goldie stepped in to "help" us. He's more relaxed than anyone and sometimes he's just talking while I'm constantly working non-stop and he has the nerve to say that I'm too slow...

All of a sudden the day was almost over and the chefs went home. Sascha told most of the waitresses to "knock off" and go home. One of them was Goldie who stayed for two more hours, but fortunately he cleaned the bar pretty well while he was there. I, once again, became Rami's bitch. First I took all of the kitchen's dirty rubbish bins out and then I cleaned the floors. When that shit was done it was still only five o'clock and some of the customers were still there. One of them bought two ugly paintings for $395 a piece. After me and Eva had polished the last glasses I spent an hour reading my magazine before we left giving Eva a lift to the Lilydale train station.

I almost fell asleep in the car. My legs were killing me and I don't remember feeling so exhausted since working 18 hours in a day as a moving man. Still I was able to get some KFC and enjoy a couple of excellent episodes of Six Feet Under in the living room while S&A were away at the movies.

Today's my touristy day in Melbourne and currently I'm in the car with Sascha and Ana who are meeting Goldie for lunch in the city. I'm trying to gather my thoughts about all this Eva-Alex business. I could stay with Alex and work at Rochford until the end of January like I planned to. Then again it might be the opportunity to make a change earlier. One idea I came up with is to look for a job in Tasmania and staying there for a month before going to Sydney if I found one. The restaurant work is so hard and unnatural for me at the moment that quitting doesn't sound too bad. Besides I don't think it'll be easy to stay civil with Alex who's basically responsible for the situation and who I'd be staying with. I smell a vicious circle. Boaz is great but he has to go to work at 7 am so often that it would be counterproductive staying with him. Less time to sleep and relax a little better? But the number one person I want to talk to is Helmut.

He might be grumpy very often but I like the man and he's given me a pretty good job considering the circumstances. I don't want to disappoint him especially during their busiest time of the year and he might be able to lessen my workload in the bar. Or I could be taught how to use the till and make some coffees. But I will always be slow on Sundays. No matter how hard I try that's what it'll look like to the people who judge my work performance. It's just so stressful. Maybe the universe can give me a signal...?

I wanted to end this post with a salute to Finland on her 93rd birthday. I have never been a very patriotic person cause I think blind patriotism isn't very smart. Just because some things have been the way they are since World War II doesn't mean they couldn't be changed. While I reserve my right to criticize the country and some of it policies I have fallen in love with it while being away. Not only does Finland offer at least a passable quality of living to rich or poor and the world's best education for everyone, it's "all free" and people are happy to pay their taxes and vote for the people who don't neglect the less fortunate. I'm not saying I'm looking forward to waking up before 7 am through out my career as a teacher, but I will het used to it and I will get to enjoy the world's best winter. Not too cold, but still snowy for quite some time. Besides, spring and summer are awesome in Finland followed by a beautiful September-October with leaves in all colors and beautiful sunsets. The months I'd pass on are the dark-but-not-always-snowy November and hayfever-May. Finland is a beautiful country and there are a lot of smart people who want the best for not only themselves but others and the whole world too. I love my family and my friends. I love Helsinki and Turku and I want to spend more time in Naantali. Next summer I want to go to the Midnight Summer film festival in Sodankylä and maybe go up to Kilpisjärvi on the same trip. I'm looking forward to coming back next summer and making and keeping on making our summer house in Vihti enjoyable for myself and my family for many, many summers to come.

Wether you're going to the party, protesting it, watching it at home or you couldn't care less Stay independent and congratulations!

Happy Independence Day F!

December Rain

(Do you think this snail understood me when I asked him -- or her -- "Etana, etana näytä sarves, tuleeko huomenna pouta?" I believe him, but that doesn't mean it can't rain too...)

Hey guys,

So, yesterday I returned to work and my first day back wasn't much different than my first day two months earlier. Though this time I had even less to do. From nine to five I actually accomplished one thing -- emptying the trash bins with Rami. On top of that I watched some TV with Alex, read my magazines in different hiding places and offered my help to anyone I could find with no results. It was a rainy-ish day with some sunlight. When I got home I went to McDonald's for dinner and just enjoyed the melancholic weather and "snail boulevard". Back at the house I read When The Game Was Ours all night because it was just that unputdownable. I almost finished it during the commercials of the New York Knicks vs. New Jersey Nets game on One.

I finally finished the book at breakfast, while Sascha slept in until a little over nine. I got to work and it was raining. I had the proper gear and got to -- or had to -- drive the forklift until lunch and an hour after lunch. I moved the port-a-potties or mobile outhouses from their usual hangout into the great wall of dunnys surrounding the restaurant. I didn't count them but we got two shipments of 10 extra dunnys during the day and in the end our wall extended close to two hundred meters. I should've taken a picture. During my task it got really warm so I had to get rid of my rain wear and then it got cloudy again.

After that I helped Richard move some haystacks -- we didn't look for any needles but we did get dirty -- and we finished just before the dark clouds settled in above us. And that's when December Rain started. It wasn't the craziest storm I'd ever seen but it had to be pretty close. It was a hail storm and little pieces of ice rained down on the metal roof above us making an almost unbearable sound. It was as loud as a music concert or an airplane.

The rain was so hard that at Cellar Door floor drains turned into fountains and the restaurant roof generated indoor waterfalls. Had it been someone's wedding day the bride would definitely have perished in the commotion, the groom's best friend would have had to play electric guitar at her funeral outside the church in the desert, unplugged and without an amplifier and still rocked the shit out of that solo while the groom wouldn't have been able to stop crying until he'd swum with dolphins. It was that crazy.

And after five minutes the rain returned to normal and people dried stuff up vigorously. And I had nothing to do, again. Fortunately the customers had disappeared (or drowned?) and we got home fairly early in, surprise surprise, nice weather.

When I headed out to fetch some dinner it got cloudy and then rainy again before I got back so I gladly sat down and watched some Six Feet Under and felt surprisingly good about myself. The boredom has had me thinking about the 61 days -- 59 now -- left at Rochford. I've also grown a bit too dependent on Facebook because checking my feed is practically the first thing I do when I wake up and it always makes me feel a little more homesick than I already do. I kinda wish it was winter and I'm definite that when the next one comes I won't be complaining about snow. But I'm not complaining about the sunshine nor the rain. I welcome both and I really like the variety even though it makes preparing for the day a little bit difficult. Currently I have a pair of shorts, a hat, sunscreen, a pair of shoes and a rain jacket waiting for me at work plus I can always borrow a pair of gumboots when it's raining. Wow, long paragraph... Well, I just felt like venting.

Finally I have to say that I was a little skeptical of how good my blog would be for the next two months after vacationing and being with family; I thought it would be "more of the same" and not as good. But then I realized that no two days at Rochford are alike (unless you're pulling down wires at Helmut's farm for seven hours a day) and that there's a lot of Melbourne and many movies and DVDs to be seen, many books to be read. Besides it's a little easier to write when the other people in my stories aren't reading them five minutes later. Not that I'd lie or anything...

So until next time, Don't Cry, Sweet Child O' Mine, all we need is just a little Patience and then You Could Be Mine in Paradise City. Until then stay out of the rain.

Z