Movement: Superficial Update

It's 8:10 on Monday the 13th of May

Wait, it's Friday, 17th at 10am
Ok, Take 3: It's Sunday, May 19th.

It's been a really long time since I last posted, and I'm sorry about that. A lot has happened in the last two three weeks and I've been a bit busy, so lemme give you the update.

--Having finished writing this post, it's too long. This post has been renamed to recognize that it is a surface level update. An additional post will reflect on the underlying effects my move has wrought.

I've finally moved into a house. It isn't exactly what I wanted, but it's going to work out pretty well. My intent was to live as close the CBD as possible, but I ended up moving to Northcote, about 5km from the city itself, but there are several trams to the city in walking distance, as well as a train stop. It reminds me of the house I had in south Minneapolis on the Hiawatha line. In fact, I looked it up and it's almost exactly the same distance from downtown. But unlike the house in south Mpls, this house is saddled between two hip streets, each about a half km away. It's a very nice place. We have a bit of a front yard with a little porch, and a backyard with a grill and laundry lines (laundry lines? is that a thing?). I want to make this note right here and now- laundry in this household is a completely new experience for me in a couple ways. For one, I've never had free laundry anywhere I've lived but with my parents. Sure, there has been a laundry room, but it's all cost money (except, ironically, the house most similar to this one, where there was no laundry equipment). It's quite nice actually. Also, there is no dryer. Not having a dryer was completely backwards to me. That doesn't happen in Minnesota. It's kind of out of the question if it's January and you have wet clothes; they'll freeze outside.

I also want y'all to know that I can now make espresso and all the drinks therein. My flatmate (that's a more accurate term here. There are people who actually share rooms (ew), thus making them roommates) Pete has an espresso machine, and I've decided I'm going to master it. In fact, I'm drinking a latte that I made myself right now. I'm not a big coffee drinker back home, but here, when I can make espresso myself, I really enjoy it. Beyond the laundry and coffee perks, this place is pretty great for me. I have my own room with an adjacent bathroom that I have practically to myself. Realistically, the only instance wherein my bathroom gets used beyond me is if I have a guest (ladies ;) hello!) or if we're having a party. While my flatmates are a bit older than I am (not significantly so (uh, I don't think...)), they're young at heart, and I expect parties to be infrequent, but not unheard of.

I'm still in need a bed, but expect to get one this weekend. I've gone to Ikea several times scoping out things I need. I've decided on a "sofa-bed" that is relatively cheap, and I think will be easier to unload when I leave. While a bed is only wanted by someone who needs a bed, a sofa-bed will draw interest from people who want either a bed or a sofa (or so my oft faulty logic goes). Depending how my financial situation pans out, I may get a TV as well. I'd like to be able to have my computer and/or tablet hooked up to watch movies (or shit maybe I can even read from it if I set up my tablet right. Weird). The problem is that my financial situation may not pan out like I'd originally hoped. It is difficult work, if not particularly time consuming. And coming entirely from the commission, it stresses me out quite a bit. I have a meeting tomorrow with the office of the MP from Batman (yes, it's a place, and there's a park of the same name near here! Check the pics!). We'll see how it pans out.

Totally a real place. By my house.

I had been holding onto this box of macaroni and cheese since Los Angeles. I was waiting until I moved into a house with a proper kitchen. Serious, I declared this at the airport... the customs guy looked at me like I was an idiot. Because I was. Also, I made it with shredded cheese, salsa, and Spam: Danzorz America Style. 

My house, from the outside.

Yeah, no furniture yet. Also messy.

The view of the city not far from my house.

Coffee and More Melbourne Insights

April 7th, 2013
I have another continuation of my last comedy post in the works, but I'm not in the mood to write about at the moment. This post will probably be just another life post.

Melbourne touts itself as coffee town, and any time a town toots their own horn that much I get pretty skeptical. I've been of that mindset here for a while, but I just had a pretty damn good latte from a 24hr coffee and donut place called "Walker's" off Flinders Street. Flinders is one of the large streets in downtown Melbourne, and the farthest south before you hit the Yarra River (the city doesn't end past the river though. Just south is actually the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere). They do a peculiar thing in this town that I haven't encountered before, which is that they main artery roads downtown, and between they have small one-ways named after the main roads with "Lt" in front of them (for example, they have Bourke Street and Lt Bourke Street). The Lt is an abbreviation for "Little", but if you know me at all you should know that I take quite a bit of delight in loudly, and in false confusion, calling them "Lieutenant" Streets ("Yeah, we're just crossing Lieutenant Collins Street!").

Anyway, back to the coffee. I also got a Simpsons'eque pink-frosted donut. The frosting was definitely flavored pink as well (I don't know what the pink was; I thought raspberry, but I'm not 100%, could have been strawberry too. Look, just let it be pink flavored). I've been mostly getting 7 Eleven lattes. They're $1, which is exactly in my price range. Before I started drinking them, I just assumed they were like shitty gas-station lattes back home (which I love). To my surprise, they're actually fairly sophisticated machines that make sophisticated coffees and I'm beginning to think this place actually does take their coffee seriously.

I frequently call people back home on account of the ludicrously cheap price it costs to call. But I've been finding it's a really weird experience. I'm generally not one to prattle on about what I'm doing, and I feel odd doing it. When I find myself asking how things are going back home, all I hear is that the world just keeps on spinning. I don't know what I'm expecting from people. Maybe it's not fair to do that. I've noticed in the past that when I get back together with friends I haven't seen in a while it takes a bit of time to get past the what's new in your life phase, and before things return to a normal conversational pace, there's an awkward stage. I mean, how interesting is the minutia of my day really? Is it worth explaining the entire background information of my Australian experience just to get to where I can talk about eating at Pie Face?

As usual, I have a lot to say, but I don't feel up to task of writing it all down and editing it. I've found that if I don't immediately start editing my work I generally don't post it and while the thoughts often find their ways into future posts, their form changes and I end up losing some of the original feeling. It also exhausts me. There's so much to write about. I'm not sure if my purpose for writing has changed either. Originally I thought this was just going to be mostly my musings about the differences between my life back home and my life here. I have some intensely personal things to say that may or may not end up in here. It feels cowardly not to include them, but it's also difficult to put them out publicly. I've decided that these writings will end up in what will essentially a one man show (you know, because I don't have delusions of grandeur...) maybe for the Melbourne Fringe, but likely for next year's festival. And perhaps Minneapolis' Fringe. The festival has me thinking a lot. Ugh, this last paragraph was supposed to be a soft closing paragraph for this post, but I'm leaving many more open questions than closed.

I love donuts! (that's a better close, right?)

P.S. I'm writing in my favorite spot to write in all of Melbourne, and I felt like attaching a picture of my view. Also a picture of Pie Face; it's a fast food restaurant that sells meat pies. Additionally, my post about everything that's been happening in the Festival is coming. It will be a very expansive post and you'll get more context for what's happening and where my thoughts here are coming from.