Moving out to Brunswick

So that house that I was all set up, I decided to pull out of.. I had kind of rushed into it because I was concerned about not being able to find another place. Then the rent price was raised, they wanted me to buy a fridge, it was unfurnished, etc.. So it was going to be a lot more then I expected and I'm glad that it happened. Because the following week I looked at a bunch of other places that were better options and I wouldn't have a problem getting a room. Soo I am moving to the most "hipster" neighborhood with lots of students, cafes, restaurants, and bars. The room has an amazing location with public transport and in the middle of exactly where you want to be.. And is a newer apartment, and with another girl named Nicole. I haven't met the other two people yet but she said they are good people. Looking forward to that a lot. It was a tough choice from the places I looked at but this one seemed to be the best fit for me.

I completed my last training yesterday so am waiting now to be called for shifts, hopefully soon! The training was on my birthday and soooo boring and slow. It was a medication awareness training, that I thought was completely self explanatory! But I guess some people who have never worked in the sector might not be aware of some of these things. After the training... I went on an adventure to get a free printer from a lady on the opposite side of Melbourne to where the training was.. But not too far away from where I stay now. Because I will have to always print a new time sheet for every client (potentially every shift I work) I figured it would be much easier to have a printer then keep running to the copy store. Then for dinner I met a new Colombian friend for some yummy Malaysian food. Somehow... it's the 5th continuous birthday that I've been away from home for... One day i'll have a bday celebration at home again.

I've also bought a sweet little bicycle! It's a hybrid and runs quite smoothly and was all fixed up from a frisbee friend who worked in a bike shop years back. I need all the extras still but have been able to borrow them from Chris while I get going! It is illegal to ride a bike without a helmet in Melbs.. Good on ya Melbourne.

The Ultimate Frisbee tournament went really well. With no subs you can really get a chance to gel with your team immediately. We had two really close losses, one tie, and the rest wins. In the end we came 4th in the tournament after a close loss to the 3rd place team. I'm definitely looking forward to more ultimate tournaments and seeing what I end up getting into for the womens season.

Some other things I've noticed about Melbs... or I guess could be OZ in general which are different to home..

• Barefoot people... there seems to be no problem with people walking in the city, on trains, without shoes on.. I love it. 
• McDonald's = Mackers. 
• 4 Seasons in a Day... aint no lie.. Rain, sunshine, humidity, freezing cold winds, hot.. all in a days work in Melbs. 
• Bank Transfers= the way of living. Why are we still writing checks in the US? Just give out bank account numbers and transfer money directly to someone's account. 
• Home Ownership is pretty much impossible for a young person unless they had a big big gift from their family or something.. Which means the rental market is a huge business. 
• To Halloween or not to? Soo they don't really celebrate halloween.. .however I was babysitting on Halloween Eve and a few groups of kids came trick or treating and it was super awkward because we didn't have any candy to give them. But people dress up and go to parties too. 

Still trying to catch all of the ozzie slang and abbreviations but getting better and better. :P People from non english speaking languages always seem to really appreciate my slow and clear American accent. This video that popped up my feed is pretty hilarious. 

Thank you everyone for all the sweet birthday wishes from all around the world over two different days! :)