Relationship Issues

I don't think I've mentioned this to too many people, but tomorrow is my last day of work. I have enjoyed my time at work, and the adventures that Meekatharra has to offer. However, my career has strained my current relationship: The Beach. When it's a beautiful sunny day, I'm in the air-conditioned office. When Perth finally gets a heat wave and temperatures reach 39 C, I'm in Meekatharra where everyday is always 39C. When I do make time for The Beach, she is very moody. On weekends, she is cold, and just last weekend started crying (raining). When I race towards her after work, she just blows me back with a constant sea breeze (Fremantle Doctor); my price for spending more time in the office than with her.

I feel that by quitting work, I can spend more time laying on her, and just enjoying the many things she has to bring: the warm white sand, the crystal clear waters, the occasional big waves, the snorkelling. It's going to be a challenge. But I'm up for the task.

Tomorrow is also the Xmas party .... there has been talk of people having "Big Nights"... we'll see.

Laura & JP update: I haven't heard from them for awhile, but that probably is a good thing. I would venture a guess and say that they are around Melbourne right now. I will meet up with them in 5 days in Sydney!

What Street Am I On Again???

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but finding your way around Perth can be a bit of a challenge. The issue: There are no street signs! One reason this may be so is that there are no overhanging traffic lights (the usual location in Canada), but even side streets can have no signs. You have to walk 3 or 4 blocks to actually discover what street you are on. Ironically, I have found a street that goes in two directions. How confusing must it be if you tell someone you live at the corner of Delhi and Delhi. "Deli and Dehli" .... "No, the corner of Dehli and Dehli" Just too confusing. I miss having JP around with his "JPS". "Turn Right in 200 m .... 100 m ... now"

Another pleasent evening down at the beach not much wind. Swimming, Frisbeeing, Volleyballing, Biking. Not much to complain. The days have almost reached there maximum in length, and the temperatures continue to get warmer. Sure doesn't feel like Xmas.

Jonnymoon SW - Day 2 AM - THE BEST BEACH IN THE WORLD

Well, Laura and JP have flown off to Alice Springs on their Australia tour. They are heading to the heat of Uluru (Ayer's Rock). Go figure, but it gets scorching in perth with 34 Celsius today, and kinda muggy. Anyhow, will continue to update the SW west trip over the next few days, and in two weeks will catch up on the Jonnymoon in Sydney.

Middleton Beach

After the thunder and Lightning of Wednesday night, we woke up to a beautiful morning at Emu Beach/Middleton Beach in Albany on Day 2. As there was nice warm shower back at the cabin, I took it upon myself to go for a swim in the Southern Ocean. Disaster struck before I even got to the beach as my swim trunks ripped while sitting down in a chair. Thus, it would be those shorts' final swim! The water was a little chillier than Perth water, but not horrible. The local we talked to said she never puts her feet in the water even in the middle of summer in February. What a wimp!

Ripped shorts ... booooo

Heading into the Southern Ocean

That same local gave us a tip. 40km to the east was "the best beach in the world". JP liked to say that line over and over again in his best attempt at the australian accent. Still not very good. I have a lot of trouble picking up the accent, as you just have to shorten words, and say them fast (ex. Water = Wata, How you going = owyegoin'). The beach was called "Little Beach", and it IS safe to say that it's the best beach in the world. It was packed. A total of 3 people were there (including us). The water was so extremely turqoisey, the sand so white. The beach was dominated by two large pegmatitic boulders in the centre. The weather was still a bit chilly, and the seas a bit rough, but in the middle of summer with 25 to 30 C weather, this is definately "the best beach in the world".

Heaven (aka Little Beach) below: more pics here

Enjoying the scenery

Coming up: The Gap ... and I'm not talking about clothes

SW Jonnymoon - Part 1 - The Road to Albany

We have made it back to Perth from our Five Day adventure. For anyone interested in following our path, we went Perth to Albany to Denmark to Walpole to Pemberton to Augusta to Yallingup to Dunsborough to Busselton to Perth (1800km). Wow, say that one in a sentence. Anyhoo. As I took "heaps" of photos, I'm going to just slowly upload them along with stories (you'll have to wait mom!). I gotta have time to get my life back in order! Stupid ironing. Does anyone know any secrets on ironing the sleeves, i hate those things. Back to the photos. Part 1 can be found click here.

We headed off for the great Southwest coast of Western Australia on Wednesday. We were all smiles. JP got his first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road. Even with the coaching, he still put on the windshield wipers for his first turn. It gets us all. We did a last minute change of plans to the route. Due to unfavourable weather forecasts for Albany for the next 5 days, we decided to head to Albany first and hope for the good weather at the end of the trip.

Well, we certainly got some heavy rains. It's funny driving through these areas that have no green vegetation. Everything looks dead, yet it's pouring rain! Did we pick bad day or what?
After making it to Albany, we found out that they still have dinosaurs. Not only do they have these prehistoric creatures, but they are known to cross the street in certain areas. Thanks for letting us know Albany!

It was a bit chilly in Albany, but that didn't stop me from heading into the water on the first night. In actual fact, the water was warmer than outside, and I wouldn't get out as it was too nice just standing. I'm flashing 3 fingers to mark my 3rd Ocean i've been in: Pacific, Indian, Southern. Next up: Atlantic.... I'm not so sure on the Arctic.

We decided to make a wise choice and spend a little extra the first night for a cabin 80 metres from the beach. It was more than camping, but the heavy rains turned into heavier rains with thunder and lightning. Money well spent. For more photos from day 1 click here.

Back to work tomorrow .... Boooooooooooooo

The Jonnymoon Continues

They came up with that one. I think it has a nice ring to it. Well the two of them did very well considering the JetLag of travelling half way around the world. Not to mention completely missing Saturday. That was JP's 1/4 Birthday as well. He'll have no memories of that special day. They both slept through til about 7am, and have stayed up to current time (9:30pm).

We have had a big day. We did some quick family webcam sessions before heading to the beaches. Monday morning and "cold" weather (only 25 Celsius) means no one is at the beach. We first went to the local City Beach, and then travelled north past Scarborough to a place called North Beach (creative name). It was a beautiful morning, but I've still been unable to get them to go into the Indian Ocean. They still have the shark paranoia. JP bought a towel and boardies (board shorts) at the mall today, so he has no excuse anymore. Oh yah, to get an idea on the crackdown on Drunk Driving in Perth, I almost got "breathalyzed" at 10am on Monday on a beach road (every driver that goes through a roadblock is breathalyzed on the spot). The two cars in front of me got pulled over, but fortunately I snuck through. I obviously hadn't been drinking, but mouthwash can cause you to blow over the limit. Zoinks!!!

We then headed shopping for shoes .... not quite ... but close. First to the Outlet Mall, then took the bus to the city. Not much exciting happened down there. I cooked up some dinner, then we headed to King's Park to enjoy the sunset. Very nice. Wish I had my bocca set for the grass there.

I'm tired... another busy day tomorrow I'm sure.

North Beach .... where are all the people?

It does not feel like Christmas, long days, warm weather .... it feels more like SUMMER!

Can you spot which are statues and which are JP and I

JP taking his token "bark" photos for the trip .... he's actually British Columbia's foremost expert on Bark Photography

Perth Reflections

Another one with the two.

Another Majestic Drive... I mean Sunset

Laura & JP's Australian Honeymoon Adventure ....

AND JON!!!!!!

Well the guests have officially arrived. My sister Laura and her husband JP flew in to Perth this afternoon to begin there 1 month Australian Honeymoon Adventure. They both looked very well considering the 22+ hours of flight time. My roommate was kind enough to lend his other car, so I met them at the Perth Airport. After a few accidental detours (to South Perth ... woops), we made it back to my place. First thing is first, we have to get to the beach. We ended up at City Beach as I had several friends down there. It was a bit windy and choppy, but not the worst I've seen it. Laura and JP were apprehensive about going in the water.... maybe tomorrow. Then back to my place where they napped for an hour, then dinner, then off to Cottesloe to catch the sunset, and have a peak at the Sunday Sessions.

They have now tucked into bed at 9pm, which isn't bad.... it'll take a couple days at least to get over the jet lag. I do find it quite hilarious that my sister is spending the first official night of her honeymoon sleeping in her little brother's bed. I bet she never would have imagined that one. As for me .... I'm left with the swag (thanks Mark and Holly!)

I think the plan for tomorrow is beaches, beaches and more beaches. Whether is still going to be quite cool. It will only be 25 Celsius tomorrow. Today was a chilly 22. Brrrrr...

JP and Laura, happy to see sunshine

First steps in the Indian Ocean


Alright, JP say "Cheese", and Laura, you scream!

JP already starting his job as a Christmas Card photographer ... he's planning to pay for the trip doing this!

Laura and JP ...... and Jon

Not a bad sunset .... a little cloudy though

You gotta love Australia .... they give out free parking!!!! They tried to make people pay for parking at the beaches, but that went against the Australian Way of Life.

Daylight Savings. You Fall Back, but I....

Spring Forward!!!!! Wahoo! I can't wait for Daylight Savings. I am aware of the fact that I already "sprang" forward in March in Canada, and now I'm springing forward again, thus losing 2 hours of my life. If I end up back home before March. Then I'll lose ANOTHER hour. However, the extra hour of sunlight in Perth is going to be life-altering. No longer will I come home from work, and have about 30-45 minutes of daylight left. It's going to be almost 2 hours of sunlight (for now). This means I will be able to bike down to the beach, and go for an evening swim. Or catch in a quick nine holes. Or take a leisurly strole to the grocery store to ..... wait, no, grocery stores close at 6pm.

Perth, and WA (Western Australia), is a little behind on the times. This is actually just the 2nd year they have ever tried Daylight Savings. It's the second year of a 3 year trial, at which point, Daylight Savings will go to a referendum. The previous 4 votes have all been unanimous in "NO".

I decided to read a few comments on a "Your Say" page on http://www.thewest.com.au/ . Here are some of the reasons Perthites give for being anti-daylight savings:

• The roads will get busier in the morning as people won't want to drive in the dark (remember that the sun will still rise at 6am).
• Kids will stay home and watch tv and eat junk food after school because it will be too hot (right, there is a big difference between the temperature at 3pm and 4pm)
• Kids won't know when to go to bed (never remember this being a problem back home)
• It will cause Perth to have 30 minutes longer daylight than the east coast (not sure who came up with that one)
• People will have to walk their dogs and exercise in the dark at 5am .... (what do these people do in the winter????? not only is it dark then, but it's cold)
• Criminals will prosper as everyone will be at the beach at night
• Too difficult to change all those damn clocks
• The curtains will fade due to the increased sunlight (my personal fav)

Perthites have come up with several suggestions. People might understand Daylight Savings better if its name changed:

• Clock Changing Day
• Daylight Transference .... because we aren't really saving daylight.
• Daylight Robbery ... since they have stolen our "cool" mornings

My absolute favourite though is one person suggested "why don't business just change their hours of work for 1 hour earlier. That way only the people working will be affected". Oh my, that wouldn't be confusing.

Well I can't wait for it to kick in. The only issue I have is that I'm flying to Meekatharra again on Monday for a 7am flight, which means it's technically at 6am, which means Jonny is going to be getting up very very early.

Night time in Perth

I headed to an Indian Restaurant tonight called Annalakshmi with Mark and Holly. It's an all you can eat vegetarian buffet that is located right on the river with some stunning views. It's very good food, and all the food is donated, and then cooked by volunteers. At the end of the meal, you pay what you think the bill should be. Why can't all restaurants do this? It was Very Good Food!!!

Then headed up to King's Park to take a few Night Time snaps of the city. It was a gorgeous night!

View from the Indian Restaurant

Perth City from King's Park

POETS Day

Piss Off Everyone Tomorrow's Saturday!!!

One of the many useful things I learned at the 4WD course today. It was 7 hours of driving fun! It was a bit intimidating when the instructor hands you the keys at 8am and tells you "let's get going". After the initial panic [I'd yet to drive in the city], I calmed down and hit the road. Everything goes fine .... until I enter the traffic circles of death .... especially the multiple lane
traffic circles... when do I signal? before, during, after? But no worries, spent the rest of the day driving through sand, rocks, hills etc etc. My one weakness was always drifting over to the left part of the lane.

Also got to practice the Anti Lock Brakes. By practice, I mean driving ~80km/hr on a gravel road, slamming the foot on the break [to the point where you actually come off the seat], and then also try to lightly turn the car.

I had two great cabbies today. Steve from Wales, and Abdul from Pakiston. Immigrants... Just like me. Overall, it was a great day to spend at work .... but now my back hurts.

Exhaust Jack - you lift up the car using air from the exhaust pipe

Freo & a Bike

Well I'm moving in to my new place tomorrow. I'm not sure what I'm going to do on the internet front, so we'll see what happens. Posts may become infrequent until I figure that out.....

Anyhow, I headed down to the port city of Fremantle yesterday. The locals call it Freo. It's a trendy cafe, shopping district built in an area that used to be just brick warehouse. It was some fun times. I walked around a bit and thought I saw the Sydney Opera House. I was very excited.

Unfortunately it was just the Maritime Museum..... Crikey! Major Disappointment. So I then headed off to meet up with my new girlfriend....

Ok. Well technically not. Replace "girl" with "television" .... and "friend" with "host". She still smiled at me. Mind you there might have been another camera directly in front of me. After that disappointment, I headed to the Bourne Supremacy. It premiered last week. I thought it already premiered when I was in Canada a month ago??? Anyway, good movie.

Today, I made the trek out to East Perth to look at a road bike for sale. Based on the RADAR i tried to time my trip so I could bike back in sunshine and not rain. On my way there it looked more like Vancouver, than what I thought Perth was going to be like.

I only got hit hard with wind and rain or about 1/4 of the trip, so not bad, and broke in the new "used" bike. I just hope it doesn't break :)

Made it to Perth ... It's Winter here

So I’ve made it to Perth ok. Survived the intense Immigration/Quarantine that you have to go through. During my flight I had a chicken sandwich in my backpack. Long story short, I was the only one the Sniffing Dog came after. Yikes!!! Fortunately I wasn’t sent back to Hong kong.

Everything here is backwards …. Cars driving on the left side of the road (have had a few close calls crossing the street …. Look Right first), to turn a light switch on you have to press down and vice versa. This is still blowing my mind. It’s also winter here, and kinda cold. I've actually had to wear pants.... although I'm still sticking with sandals. On my first day, I headed down to the beach and jumped (slowly tiptoed) into the Indian Ocean. The water was about as warm as it gets in BC during the summer.

Heading into the Indian Ocean at Cottesloe Beach

Brrrrr