"Welcome To Sydney" - Said the police officer



What better way to end a perfect night, by getting mugged by 7 teenage punks.



I was walking home from the movies, I had walked down this street thousands of times by my self. I was swarmed by 7 people, they held me back and took my cell phone, $70, and the necklace Kristen gave me. They took a CD that I was borrowing from Shaun, he just gave it to me that night.



I don't really care about all that, what I am really pissed about is that they took the necklace. It has no value what so ever, it's not made of silver or gold or anything - it has more sentimental value then anything.



Other then that, nothing TOO exciting has happened to me lately. A bunch of us went out to dinner at this spanish restaurant. Had some tasty Sangria (SP) and we all got little dishes and shared them. Had some calamari, rice and potatoes, chicken, shrimp (well I didn't eat any). It was tasty, reminded me of christmas time at a friends house in Markham, back home. After that we headed to K-Mart to get some candy. The cool thing about this place was they charge you on the volume of candy, not the weight. So you can get a tub for $7 and put whatever you wanted in it. So I jammed gummy bears and other "compressable" items into the jar. It weighed about 1kg (which, by the way, the muggers stole that too!).



I really miss my necklace.



Andrew Foster comes back from the US tomorrow. I think this is the week in which I find out wheather I get more hours at First Link or not. If that is NOT the case, then I think I am going to head back to Canada. Right now (40 mins after getting mugged) I am just not in the best of moods. I havn't heard from my parents in about 2 weeks either. blah!

I just thought I would write this little entry before I went to bed.



I have the biggest urge to go back to Canada - it's not because I am home sick, it's not because I miss people back home, it's because of technology.



I am in Australia working my dream job, in an ISP doing technical support - what more can I ask for? Well I just found out today that I can get a cable modem at my house, that this cool thing called Mya from Motorola is coming out. Everything here is stuck in the past by at least a year. The internet is really expensive, slow, and it feels like this country is always trying to play catch up with the rest of the world. I feel like I have gone into the past, this is how Canada was 5 or 6 years ago - and it's driving me nuts.



I have always been the type of person to be the first on the block with every new toy that comes out. I can't really do that here, because by the time something finally arrives in Australia it has already been superceded twice in North America.



I guess the only thing for me to do, if I want to stay here for a long time is just to get used to it. I can also do the opposite of what I did in Canada. I can stay here for a few years and work my butt of to fly back to Canada and get my own place, new job, etc...



I just have to keep my mind off these thoughts, and hopefully this week will do just that. Something big is happening at work soon, and they havn't told me anything yet - which I understand. Let's just hope that the give me more hours because I need the money :)

I had a great time last night.

A bunch of people and I went out rock clibing to this place called
"Climb Fit". The last time I went indoor rock climbing was in grade
9 with the school. We were there for about 4 hours, doing a whole buch
of stuff. Shaun brought along his camera and took some pictures, which
you can see here. After
that I went back home to meet up with Andrew Snow.

Andrew and I decided to go see the movie U-571, which according to him
had too much . After the movie it was around
midnight, so we decided to head down to the city for something to eat.
After dinner at McDonalds we headed to Darling Harbour and Star City.
Retarded me didn't bring and ID, so we couldn't get very far in the
Casino (Star City), but he just showed me around the place. It's pretty
cool, except this place was known as the crappiest casino in NSW. I
still thought it was pretty cool, it was packed too. By the time Andre
when home, it was about 2 Am, so I decided to talk to a few people on
ICQ then head to bed.

What are my plans for today? Cleaning up, and doing laundry, and going
food shopping. I still havn't packed out of my suitcase yet, so I am
going to clean all my clothes and find a place to put everything. As
for food, I am going to get some frozen pizza's, cerial, some fruit
and veggies. If anyone out there has some easy meals that are cheap for
one person, e-mail me the recipe - I would love to know!I also have
to finish up my reading of various O'Relilly books, like TCP/IP and
Essential System Administration. So this Easter Monday is going to
be one spent in the house. If I have some time left over I am going
to work on some little projects that I have to do. Tomorrow, is also
a holiday too, but I might be called into work, so we will see what
happens. Tomorrow will be 100% devoted to work that has to be done.




I hope everyone at home had a GREAT time during easter. For me it was
just another day, no eggs, no bunnies, no family dinner. It was good
though, because I kept busy.

Things have been looking up for me, the past few days. I would like to thank everyone for their words of encouragement for helping me get through my little bit of depression. Getting through this easter weekend is going to be hard, I am pretty confident that I can do it.



I went to the Blue Mountains yesterday and had a great time. So much so that I want to go back there - this time for a weekend. I don't want to stay in a hostel, so I am going to get some camping equipment. I have already convinced Andrew to go with me, so even if it's only the two of us, we should still have a good time.



I have been busy working on some little projects here and there, so it's been occupying my time. I don't have any plans to tour the rest of the country yet. For some reason I am enjoying my time here in Sydney. I have made some good friends, and to tell you the truth, I really like my job.



By now, you all should have gotten your postcards. If not, PLEASE let me know - I will send you a new one.



I hope everyone at home is enjoying their spring. I started reading the Toronto Star online, as well as listening to Toronto Radio over the internet. I really miss the city, Toronto rocks hard. I think it's just a transition that I am going through, and the fact that I am expiencing a full year of winter doesn't help as well. Even though it's warm, it still gets dark here at 6pm, blah!.



If my plans work out, then there is a definate chance of me not leaving the coutnry for a few years. Don't worry, I will still come and visit Canada - I still havn't forgotten about everybody back home. :)



I almost forgot, Andrew and I went to have lunch one day a few weeks ago. In anycase, there was this 14 year old girl who tagged along with us. As soon as I opened my mouth, she was like in love with me. The whole time we were having lunch, she had like this crush on me.... must have been the accent, heeh too bad she was 14. She thinks i'm "cute in a little chipmunk sorta way".

I met my first ass hole australian today.



I was on the bus on my way back from the post office. It was one of the new busses, the one that the seats fold up to let people in wheelchairs to use the space. Well there was no wheelchairs there, so I decided to occupy one of the three seats. Now there is a different section of the bus devoted to the elderly. So I see this guy come on the bus with a cain, he was having a little difficulty, so instead of getting out of my seat, I pulled down the seat next to me so he could sit down. Well he took my offer, but then didn't say thank you or anything. A couple of stops have passed and all six of the seats reserved for the wheelchairs had been taken. Another guy with a cain came on the bus. Before I realize it, another guy sitting across from me actually got up out of his seat to let this new guy sit down. The new guy, declined and sat where it was marked "for disabled and elderly people". It was just then did the guy with the cane beside me started to bitch saying that I must get up to let "the infirmed" sit in my seat. Instead of telling him that he shouldn't be sitting there, I just told him that I knew - it just pissed me off thats all.



In anycase, my mom called me this morning, but I wasn't awake so I gave her a call when I got home from work. Things are cool at home, my parents wern't too cool about their trip - they still had a good time though. Right now I am listening to 104.5 ChumFM over the internet via Real Audio, so nice :)



This weekend is easter -whoooo! Since I have not only Friday and Monday off, but also Tuesday due to ANZAC (Australia/New Zeland Army Corps) day. It's the equivilant to our Remeberance day, but they actually have the day off - unlike us. I am probably going to head up to the blue mountains. I don't really want to go by my self, so maybe I can drag Andrew along. I am also going to call Lisa and see if she wants to do something as well.

Things have been, well, weird for me lately.



Let's start off with Paul again :) He is so worried that his girlfriend is going to cheat on him, that he vowed to come down here and deal with it personally - yeah right! Kristen has been ignoring me, I havn't talked to her in about 4 days. She hasn't returned my e-mails, nor does she call me anymore. Personally I have given up, if she doesn't want to talk to me, thats fine. The least she can do is tell me so, otherwise I sit here worrying that something is wrong. It's up to you Kristen! Let me know whats on your mind :)



A lot of you have gotten your postcards, thanks for letting me know. I am also glad you like them too! It was fun writing them, I just didn't like how long it took to get there. Guess thats what you get for sea mail.



I have settled into my new place nicely, you can see various pictures in the picture archive. Something interesting has come up. I was thinking of stopping the updating of the "Blake In Australia" website, and continue to use my old one. Since my plans have changed and I am no longer on Vacation. I think I will do that, because I am kinda sick of updating this page... my old system was much easier. The site will stay up, just not updated :) Anyways, back to my place. I havn't tried out the pool yet, but plan on to later this weekend. The noise is something to get used to, since I live on a busy street. Andrew was telling me how for the same amount of money I could get a two bedroom apartment with a garage and fully furnished in Oatley. Oatley is like 45 min from work, so the extra money a week I spend on getting here doesn't make it any more cost effective. I might move someplace outside the city, so I can get a place all to my self - not share it with five other people. It's not that I don't mind the people around here, they all work and are hardly ever home. It's just cool to be able to call a place yours and not have to worry about roommates and stuff.



I have also took some sunset pictures, at the request of Mark. Hope you like them, they arn't the best though.



For some reason I don't really know what to say - I miss Canada.



Work is going great, but I need more money. Just today I had to put about $200 on my credit card because my ATM card is fucked again. Stupid banks close at 4pm and arn't open during the weekend. I should get my new card on Monday. I am also going to look for another job, something I can do after work is done and on the weekends. I want tuesdays and Fridays off, since I can do stuff with Andrew then after work. Probably get a job serving in a restaurant or something. I need the extra cash flow to get be going in a positive direction, right now I am breaking even. First Link told me that I might be able to get some more hours, which would rock. Right now it doesn't look like thats happening. I have made so many friends here, and it would be a shame if I had to leave because I ran out of money.



The Easter Show is the big thing happening here right now. It's at the Olympic site, and they are using this event to simulate Olympic crowds and stuff. It's a good idea, but CityRail is still going to suck no matter what. It's not like the TTC where the trains and busses are the same entity. You have to pay twice, once to get onto a train, and one to get onto a bus - retarded if you ask me. I don't really have the urge to go, doesn't appeal to me.



It's friday night, I am tired and sorta depressed - I might update the journal in a few days...

Hey everyone! This is my first journal update since I moved into my new place. I took some pictures, but I havn't had the time to upload them yet. Things are good though, and I have a computer that I can use here. One of the guys who works for FL (Roger) put together a pretty nice machine, considering he had the parts jsut laying around at his house.



Everything is going great, I am meeting new people every day. I am going to a BBQ next week with Andrew Foster (a guy I work with). A short entry, I know, but I plan on having a nice long on tomorrow :)

Today was a pretty cool day. Jason, Fiona, and I went to Palm Beach. It is about 45 min north of the city, and a really interesting drive all the way up.



This is the beach where "Home and Away" was filmed at. So if you know the show, then you know the beach. Fiona didn't want to go swimming (typical girl), so it was Jason and I. The surf was pretty big, and the current was strong. The cool thing though, was that there were lifeguards on duty. I should have taken a picture of them, but I didn't feel right.



SO whats happeneing tonight? Nothing much, I just got back from eating a pizza. It was so good, had everything on it, including prawns, tuna, and anchovies. There is a birthday party on the roof, one of the British girls is turning 24 (I think) - so everyone is invited. I just think I will update the website and go to bed, pretty tired.



An interesting thing happened. I was talking to Gavin on ICQ and he told me that Paul Hinrichs girlfriend was here in Sydney. Gavin gave me her e-mail address and we started talking. Today when I was online, Paul sent me a message asking why I was talking to his girlfriend. He sounded mad - I really don't understand that boy. That was probably the most exciting thing to happen to me from Canada. My parents are off to mexico for a week or so. My brother has the house all to him self, I know what he's going to be doing.



The weather here, lately, has been on the cooler side. It was overcast today. I really hope it clears up and gets sunny again, I really need to work on my tan. Work has been good lately. There are some plans in the works and they are going to give me some more hours. That way I will get more money and can afford a place to live, where I don't have to share a room with anyone.



Some plans that I have for tomorrow include looking at this one apartment. I also want to do some shopping, which is one thing that I havn't done yet. My ATM card is is not working to well either, so when I go and deposit my cheque, I will see whats wrong with the card - I will have to do that on Monday.

Hidyho!



I have been pretty busy lately, with my job and looking for a place to stay and all. Nothing really too much to report. The weather is great, only rained yesterday for a little bit. I don't have any plans for today or for the rest of the week. I don't know if I am still going to the Blue Mountains anymore I don't really feel like going anyhow. I just want to find a place to live first and get all settled. I also looked into how much a working visa would cost me - $1500... ya! I don't know what I am going to do now. I think I am going to head over to the Immigration Office and ask one of the people there what I can do about my situation. If there is no way around payed the $1500 I will probably stay here for a year, then head back to Canada - but I don't think that will happen.



Things at work are great, finally getting my hands dirty. Today I had to change a terminal server. Which is like childs play, but still finally got off my butt and do something with the hardware. Actually, I am getting more comferatble with work and how they do things around there. I cleaned out my desk last week and I am customizing my computer with each passing day.



Kristen and I broke up - don't want to talk about it. She still might come for a few weeks when she is on summer holidays... I really hope she does.