The 3 Saga Continues...

Fingers are crossed. I hope the '3' Internet issues are over. I decided to actually "CAT" it down to the city at lunch break and hand my bank statement over personally to the girl there. I was trying to get a pick of her, but she saw me as I was standing outside and screamed "YOU!". Busted! Here I am with a camera pointing at her, pretending like I do it all the time. I chickened out and didn't take any shots of her. Oh well. Then off on the CAT (Central Area Transit) back to west Perth. All buses inside the city limits are free! That means they are PACKED! and have a rather BO smell to them. It felt like there were 200 people on it.

Major issues with TransPerth are arrising. I have a "SmartRider" card that lets me swipe on, and then swipe off and then charges me for how far I've gone. Well if you forget to swipe off, it automatically charges you the max (~$5). For some reason, my card is acting up, and sometimes won't let me swipe on, or swipe off, it's very frustrating. I've actually had to seek out the Transit "Police", and they give me obscure reasons for it not working. "It's cause you are using it during Peak hours". I have a feeling I'm going to have a major issue in the next couple weeks.

Amy and I headed to Freo this evening to see "Hairspray". Actually, our intention was to see "Superbad"; however, we soon realized that we were watching the wrong movie!!! Amy was set to just stay and play it out, but I wanted the get the heck out of there. It would have been ok, if Amy hadn't gotten up while I was walking by her. She tripped me, then started running up the aisles. Embarrassed, I too had to run up the aisle. Fortunately, we found the correct theatre (the one with no one over the age of 30 .... originally we couldn't believe how many gray hairs there were to see Superbad). Despite now being 20 minutes late, the promos were still going on (they are about 30 minutes here), so nothing was lost. Good times.

Experiencing Sunset while waiting for the train

Incomp3t3nt with a capital "3"

Well, the staff at "3" called me again today. Refresher: 3 is the internet provider that made me jump through hoops to get access. Well, last week I had to fax in my bank info to them.... They never got my fax.... surprise surprise. So they need me to send it again!!! If I don't "It's going to be really bad". Exact words from the stupid clerk. I wouldn't be surprised if there is another "Jonathan Boyd" walking around Perth with all my money. They told me to fax again, but I think I'm going to go in myself tomorrow, maybe I'll get a picture or two of the store.

Junior!

Well I took the necessary, and lengthy/overly-annoying steps in getting set up for the internt. I decided to go for a company called 3 (Three). That may have been mistake #1 .... never pick a company that by name is already the 3rd best choice. What was advantageous about 3 was that it was A LOT cheaper ($55/month) for 2GB compared to other carriers ($100+/month). Plus the little modem was included. The other carriers (Telstra) made you pay another $300 for that. I'm hoping the 2GB will be enough. Hopefully downloading this 3 hour movie won't put too much of a dint into it.

Anyhow, the day started with me facing off with my new arch-nemesis. This crazy guy in his mid-40s or so. He wears an Australian Hat (like me), and mumbles very loudly (like me), however, he seems to be mumbling and pointing at me. We faced off on opposite sides of the train station. He just sat there laughing at me. He may have a mental disorder, or I may have had my underwear on outside my pants... It was the 2nd time I've seen him. Where will he be tomorrow? Will I ever get a picture of him? If I do, will I be able to out run him?

So I make it to 3, find a polite "Customer Service Cutie". She helps with the decision process but informs me that I can't do anything unless I have my passport with me. Also, I have to prove my address by showing an official letter sent to me. I of course don't have one with the new address as I just moved in on Saturday. Back home on the train.

I got the stuff, time to train back. I go to my bank, and ask about this whole "Address Issue". Can they print off something official for me with my address on it. That request seemed like the equivalent of asking them to give me the moon. 20 minutes of standing around and managers coming back and forth, they finally print off a sketchy internet address thing. "Oh geez".
So I get back to the 3 store, and this time I get "In-Your-Face Rude Girl" as my salesperson. Next thing I know I'm providing every piece of ID I have on me. Passport, Driver's Licence, Bank Card .... does she want a full body cavity search as well? When it comes to the sketchy address sheet I got from the bank. "Sorry, not official, you'll have to go back". Not wanting to spend 20 minutes doing nothing at the bank again, I ask if I can use the address I don't live at, but is on an old bank statement. "Sure!". But I can't use my REAL address??? "Nope, sorry". So now my bloody bills are going to my friend's place and not my own (Sorry Holly!).

Finally, they have to do the Credit Checks and Personal Reference Checks. "So your name's Junior right?"..... "Excuse Me"... "That's your name, Junior - Jr" .... "No, those are my initials [my bank statement was for JR Boyd], that's my name" as I point to the Passport she has open. I pass the credit check, now it's time to call my work to check if I'm employed. What? I thought I was just trying to get internet access. I remember in Canada getting a Credit Card when I was 18 and unemployed, so much easier back home. "We just have to make sure you're not some Dodgy Traveller".... "You mean I'm not? ... that's news to me". That process took about an hour (making me miss my train transfer), but I finally succeeded, and am back online blogging.....literally

The balls are starting to roll

So things are beginning to happen in Ol' Perth City. Through Mark & Holly, I met a guy with a spare room (actually 2) for rent. It's a really nice place in a really nice area. Not super close to the beach, but not too far away. Also close to the train line so it's an easy commute into the city. I'll move in on the weekend, and upload some pics of the place when I get a chance. The 2 rooms are little kiddie bedrooms, big enough to fit a bed and that's it. But I do have my own bathroom!

On the job front. I met up a couple times with one of the Directors of a junior mineral exploration company. They were interested in bringing me onboard. So right now, I've agreed to a 3 month contract, and we'll see how things go. But I'll get plenty of time in the Outback (oh my it's going to be hot), so I'm excited. They said I was going to be employee #7, so there is plenty of growing available for the company. I'm going to start work mid-next week.

With the job and a place to live, I also went for a phone. Vodafone! I got some cheap, basic phone and am on the pre-paid system. In Australia, there's no charge to any incoming calls, so if you want to give me a shout, I'll pass on my number!

My new place doesn't have internet, so I'm not really sure how I'll get that going. Hopefully figure something out. Anyhow, might not update as regularly after the weekend.