Movement: Consequences

This next post was taken from the last because it became too long. Additionally, I wanted to outline how the move affected me as a human rather than just describe my new situation. Also of note is that this post is much more introspective (and interesting), but more taxing on me personally. It is with effort that I continue with this post so closely on the heels of the last.

One thing that moving into a house means is that I've moved out of the hostels. There's a lot of reasons to get out of the hostel life, and rest assured, I'm quite thrilled. When one lives in the hostels, there's a definite sense of temporarity both in your living arrangement, and you in the people you know. There's a constant sense that everyone you know will be leaving and a new group of people will come through. It's a an odd situation with its own perks and pitfalls. You can change who you want to be within the span of a few weeks, but I have very few non-temporary friends from the hostels; I'd gone through about 4 solid groups of a friends while there. Its easy to get lonely. I want to point out that it's not that I couldn't have been better friends with them; it's just that lives are in motion. Beyond the human factor of not having a recurring group of people in your life, there's also the actual physical space that's in flux. The constant struggle of renewing a room, or changing hostels, or not knowing what to expect from the people who sleep literally less than 5ft away from your head. It's surprising how easily it is to adapt though, and to find comfort in the situation. Sure, I (and many people, if not most) complained about the situation, but there's a sense of freedom to it as well. Especially being on the older end of the spectrum there. I met a woman there (I have ambivalence toward how I want to title her: I find "girl" to be somewhat outmoded a term for a female beyond the age of about 22, but "woman" sounds particularly formal for someone it a situation such as this. Know that I use the term "woman" uncomfortably) who completely embraced the hostel's temporarity. In England she'd recently had landlord issues, and like the idea of being able to just pick up and go with no real barriers. When I moved down here, I didn't want that kind of lifestyle, but having experienced it by proxy, it's something that I am envious of. And while the move to a grounded environment is a symptom of the overall situation brought by a need to stay in the Melbourne comedy scene, it nonetheless feels limiting. I can't just up and leave for Sydney or Perth or Thailand. For better or worse, I live in Melbourne.

In that vein of thinking, this move has been a lot scarier than my move to Australia. It's a completely new stage in my "adventure" down here. I now have rent, bills. A more permanent life. This trip up to this point has felt very much life a vacation. This move changes that. I mean, I obviously realize that I'm still away from home (although sometimes I forget even that. It's a novel concept every time I think about it), but this is the semblance of a real life. It is my life and it is real. I went grocery shopping shortly after moving in. Know that the store I went to was a familiar store (ok, not the particular store, but the chain or stores- Coles), but being in there, I was close to having a panic attack. I want to point out that panic attacks are not a regular occurrence for me. The concept of leaving everyone I know finally caught up with me.

I've found that I miss weird things. I realized I missed Grumpy's a few weeks back. Grumpy's has never even really been a venue I particularly liked. I think it's more a symptom of loneliness here, and a longing for close friends. Those kinds of connections are developing here, and I'm grateful for that, but I still miss what I've left behind. Which in and of itself is a new experience down here. This loneliness has apparently been building, because up until the last few weeks I was happy on my cavalier little way. I have openly boasted about the fact that what I miss most of all is Taco Bell. I don't want to say that sentiment is gone; it isn't. What I'm alluding to is that the intangibles are developing into expressible feelings. Taco Bell is me missing small comforts of America. It's concrete and easy to pin down. This new feeling is more difficult to expound.

I want to point out that this post dives into nuances of my psyche. I am not in any worried state. The precedent feelings are being drawn out of an overall high spirited temperament, and are still only a glimpse of the entire picture. Additionally the word "consequences" is not used for the negative connotations that are often asserted with it.

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.

Life Update and Internet

4/28/13 Afternoonish?

Sometimes I have something to write about. This is not one of those times. But I feel obligated to update on my life (I almost just typo'd "lie" instead of "life". I swear, I'm actually in Melbourne, at least I think...).

It's autumn here. That doesn't mean it's cold, but it does mean that leaves are turning yellow (and will probably fall, but I don't know). I'm writing in a park by the Yarra River.
I don't actually know what I want to say. I started a job last Tuesday. It's door to door sales for comedy tickets to the Comic's Lounge, one of the big clubs in town. It's a 4 day a week job from about 10:30 to 5. Seems like I can make quite a bit of coin doing it, but that remains to be seen. But since it's only Tuesday-Friday, I'm going to get another job at bar or something. I don't know. I got the RSA License (and wrote a joke about it!).
I was going to see Iron Man 3, but haven't yet. I went to check prices. Yeah, gonna wait until I can get a good deal on tickets. It was a long weekend for Ansac Day. I think it's like a Memorial or Veteran's Day. They have signs that say "Lest we forget". This places is very American, but often peppered with very British-isms. Regardless, weekend tickets were $19 for a non 3D movie. Weekday matinee (is that the spelling? Daytime. Daytime tickets) are only $11 though, so I will wait until I can go for one of those. That's eight dollars mate! (sorry, that's one of the only phrases I can say with an Australian accent. It's a hard one and I'm still surrounded by internationals...)
Speaking of internationals, I'm very sick of hostel life. I'm still not 100% comfortable finding a more permanent living situation until I know that I will have enough cash coming in. The sales job is commission only, and I've only worked a single day (long weekend remember).

I know! I'll finally explain how terrible the internet situation is in this country: very bad. I came to this country assuming it would be a similar situation as the US. I was wrong. Internet in Australia is terrible. Coming from Minneapolis especially, it's extremely expensive and limited. There are certain places that have free wifi, but those places are few an far between. The Victoria State Library is one of those places, but it's typically quite slow. I also have a spot that I go to called the Australian Centre (ugh, spell it right, jerks) for Moving Images (I think?). It's a pretty secluded area that is very usually deserted at night when I do most of my online-ing. The hostel I'm currently staying has wifi, but guess what! It costs money! I will be switching back to the Discovery, which has free internet, next Friday. As far as businesses that have free wifi, it's mostly american fast food chains. Your McDonalds, Burger King (Hungry Jacks here...), Starbucks. Gloria Jeans is another coffee chain with wifi as well, and hooray it's local kind of!
As far as 3g, my current plan gives me 500mb per month. Which is not a lot. Today is my last day of the 30, and I need to check into other wireless plans. I currently use Amaysim on their $20 plan, but Woolworths (a local supermarket) offers a plan for about $30 which has 5gb. 500mb makes me sad. It's so limiting feeling. I didn't rip my cds before I came here because I figured I could just use spotify/pandora. Looking over this post it seems I'm just bitching. Fair enough. /rant

Also, I attached pictures of the park/river.

Post Festival Life Update, or I'm Tired and This Post is All I Can Manage

Hi readers of this blog (Mom and Dad only, as far as I can tell). The comedy festival just finished last night. I know I should talk about it, but for the life of me, I don't want to. It was an incredible experience. It was comedy every night, both seeing and performing. I met people, and I'm planning a show for next year already. It was one of the best months of my entire life. But it's ended, and I'm exhausted. I missed the Bollywood themed after-party that happened at the Hifi bar last night because for the first time in the entire festival, the bouncers were checking passes to make sure they matched the entrant. Since mine did not match, I did not go in. I'm conflicted about how I feel about it. On the one hand, I missed the last party of the season, which was supposed to be pretty epic, lasting up to 7am. But on the other hand, it was Bollywood themed, and that sucks. Also I'd been going out to the parties practically every night. Regardless, the month is done, and I get to live as human first and comic second now (which I'm very much looking forward to). I will talk about it in more detail (probably), so if you're interested stay tuned.

I start my job tomorrow. I'll be selling tickets for the Comic's Lounge door to door (you know, because I didn't feel like being done talking about comedy). Apparently I can make quite a bit of coin doing so, but my guess is that the work will be a bit grueling. I'm looking forward to income though. I'm getting closer to being desperate (which makes me feel desperate already, which is approximately the state I have felt for the past month and a half). I'm also completely sick of hostels. I thought I would have had an apartment long ago, but evidently the world does not always operate in the way that I would like. I've discovered (well, somebody told me about it) a new avenue to solve my own personal housing crisis. With luck, I'll find something for next week. The room I'm currently staying is not one which I will look back on fondly. It's a 6 bed dorm, and the other occupants are trying as best they can to turn it into a party room. Specifically, there are two Irishman who drink excessive amounts of goon every night (goon is a term used down here for very cheap wine. 4 liter boxed wine for <$10 type wine). I understand that at around 20ish years of age, I was probably not that different than they, but I'm not anymore. My only goal in life is not getting wasted and bangin' cooze. I'd known that my priorities had changed, but my current situation has focused my attention to it.

I've started trying to explore more of the city than just the CBD. I'm in Fitzroy North right now, at a cafe/restaurant called the Tin Pot. I got a salmon baguette sandwich. Delicious. Tasted a lot like a bagel with lox, which I'm totally fine with. Fitzroy reminds me a lot of Uptown. There are a lot of little shops around, and tons of small cafe type places. I'd rather not live too far away from the city, but we'll see what happens. I've walked all the way here, but I may take take the tram back.

When not comedy-ing, I've actually been reading a lot here. I remembered that I got a new Hennepin County Library account before I left, and that I can read any book on my tablet. I'd tried reading on my phone, which is why I signed up for the service a while back, but that sucks ass. Tablet reading is way better. Better to the point of being almost preferable to a physical book. If you haven't tried it, fucking do. It's a great way to read practically any book you want for free.

I think I'm gonna be done writing now. How are y'all doing?

P.S. I've started saying y'all. I'm an American living abroad; no one here thinks it's out of place!

Why Melbourne

I just realized I hadn't yet addressed this question. It struck me as odd. I've explained why many times to many people, and it seems like something I should have addressed here long ago. My stint in Melbourne is reaching the two month mark. It's time.

Two events led me onto the path that I'm on now. The first is the end of an era, and the second is the beginning of a new one.

On a Tuesday in late June of last year, my life changed abruptly. I had been dating Alissa for over 8 years, and we'd lived together for more than 3. There were definite signs that I should have seen that meant she was drifting away, but I didn't. I understand now why she left, but at the time I was thunderstruck. Though the week of extreme ju-wallowing filled with marathons Mad Men and True Blood (classy, I know) and a lot less ice cream as tv and movies led me to believe, ended shortly after and I'm still living in the shadow of that relationship, following me even here (I may touch on that topic at a later date, or I might just tell you to mind your own business, jerk). The most important reason I needed to remove myself from the situation was because Alissa wouldn't. Despite agreeing to my plea to leave for a while, she went to a party the following weekend, and started dating another comic immediately and generally kept coming out to comedy events (shows, the plethora of parties that happen when you live a rock and roll lifestyle yet somehow involves neither rock nor roll, etc). I don't want to come across as petty (despite being incredibly petty), so I won't address my feelings regarding her actions, but I since she wouldn't leave, I knew that I had to. As early as August I knew it I had to go. I also don't want to come across as simply running away from my problems (I probably am (Ok, I totally am), but I don't want you to think that's my sole factor). 8 years attached to another person, considering someone else before making life decisions, colors the way you think about making seismic changes. And at 27 years old, I knew my opportunities to make drastic moves were diminishing.

Immediately after that traumatic event in June, I applied and was hired for my first paid job at a political organization. It was a temporary position at America Votes working with voter data. I really loved that boring work. It both helped me determine a timeline and provided the financial means for me to make my move. The position came with an end date of November 30th. Along with the constraints listed in the last paragraph, the planned termination helped me determine my next actions. The two options real options I had been considering in August had been Austin, TX and Helsinki, Finland. The two had very different purposes: Austin is known as a fantastic stand up scene, and Finland is a far off land I've always wanted to see. Neither, though, fit both of my criteria for what I wanted. Austin felt too close to home, and Finland speaks Finnish, precluding stand up for all but ex-pats, which, totally no thanks. London came to mind when I thought of places that fit both of my needs, but it felt a bit obvious, and I knew it was expensive. The real breakthrough came when late at night I was watching stand up videos on youtube. I was watching Hannibal Burress videos, and one of the suggestion videos was of a set at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Obviously I'm not a headlining comic who could just do the festival, but there's no way a festival can happen if there's not a local appetite for comedy. Figuring that the festival had to be supported by some kind of scene, I instantly made my decision. While I didn't tell anyone for more than a month, the decision was firmly made, and I began planning for it. I researched my best options, including whether I could even move to Australia. After finding the Work-Holiday visa, I thanked my lucky stars that events had played out the way they had and not later in life, because the visa's requirements preclude anyone over the age of 30. 27 isn't skin of your teeth close, but it's not far off either. By mid December, I'd purchased and received my visa, and I would be living in Australia for a year.

I'm not sure it was the best decision of my life (Taco Bell, remember), but if it's not it's damn close.

This Post is Just for Me (or, I Took a Metaphorical Punch Last Night and Felt Like Punching Back)

I had the worst set of my life last night at a venue that's notorious for being rough. It's on every night of the festival, and I've only missed it twice, but last night it shook me harder than I've been shaken in a long time.
But let's be honest: I have nothing to complain about whatsoever. I'm half-way across the world and I barely even remember that most days. What a bizarre fucking realization that is for me every time I remember it. It's raining off and on here today, and people hate rain, but I don't. I love rain. Before it rained I was invited to go the beach, which I passively declined by not meeting up with people in the hostel lobby, instead opting to read free books from Hennepin County's online library system. This is really great. It looks like it's raining again, and goddamnit if I'm not utterly beaming. Fuck you Exford Hotel; you can't break me. I'll be back again tonight so buckle up motherfuckers.

(Don't read too much into this post. It was written for cathartic purposes. I felt like posting it because, realistically, I'm an egomaniac)

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.