Mental Note: Yoghurt and Choc-Chip Cookies Taste Like Ice Cream

So I haven't quite finished my certification; but I came damn close. I knocked off both my exams on Tuesday while my examiner was passed out on the desk... hungover. Now just one and a half assignments stand between me and completion. With a bit of luck should be able to get it all sorted while I'm in Perth.

I set aside about 4 hours to pack everything up today when in reality I got everything done in about 45 minutes and had a nap for a couple of hours. Starting to get a hang of this packing thing... First thing in the morning I fly out to Perth before starting my travels once again. I could use a bit of sun and the beach awaits.

I've set up a day trip over to Rottnest to catch up with the few remaining while I am back in town. A friend of a friend has a tidy little 60ft. Sunseeker for the day and while the weather was looking a bit questionable earlier in the week, in true Perth style it's shaping to be fine and 24. Just how we like it. A perfect opportunity to get some colour before I return to the darkness of the north.

Having said that I got plenty of sun on Saturday at the AAMI Derby Day at Flemmington Raceway, a little too much in fact. I got a taste of spring racing and I must say I'm a big fan. There are few times where people really put in the effort and really go all out to look their best, even if it is for just one day. I was surrounded by a Perth army and a few people from work. It was only a taste of the races and in years to come I'd like to have another crack.

In world news; It's official, Barack Obama is now the 44th President of the United States. We should all expect the world to be a very different place in the next few years but I must say my curiosity lies in what will happen to the world's economy. When you stay in one place you don't feel the effect of economic crises so quickly. It takes time to set in; prices slowly creep up as the costs of transport, production and storage inflate. When you move around, it hits you like a tidal wave of poverty (yes I am being that dramatic).

Take the example of the Australian dollar compared to the currency of my next destination; the British Pound. Back in June, the British Pound bought 2.03 Australian Dollars; so let's say I'd saved about $10,000 I'd be able to buy 4,900 pounds. Not too bad eh? Fast forward to October 10 - not even 4 months later - that same amount will buy me 3,840 pounds. Think about it like this: even making use of the poor conversion rates of late, that means that a little under AUD$3,000 has vanished into thin air. Poof. Gone.

There is a lot you can do with $3,000 I assure you.

Thankfully things have improved a little in the past few weeks; the Australian dollar is back up to almost 88% of its June value compared to the 77% it was a little over two weeks ago. Using that $10,000 example; that's effectively an extra $500 back in my pocket - but I'm thinking it's going to be a while before things get back to a positive place. I'm even having to rethink the Singapore stop-over shopping I had planned: for a while there the Australian dollar was faring worse than the Singapore currency. Ouch.

I am going to do my best to be frugal in my first months of travel and hold out to spend the Swedish Kronor I am soon to earn while my Australian nest egg sits incubating at the whims of the world economy.

I finished up in Sales with my best month to date; securing myself a tidy little bonus to add to my worthless savings. Saying goodbye to everyone is a good chance to take stock of your time in a place. Everyone at the gym chucked in for... cash (they thought it'd be more practical than booze for a traveler - shows what they know!) and a card that was, for lack of a better word: touching. Made me rethink all the crappy messages I have left in people's going away cards. At least I'll know for next time. There are some good people at that place; I was sorry to see the backside of the gym even if the place is falling a part in one way or another.

Suddenly realising time was running out to make that visit she'd often spoken of; my sister cut it close and came down with Lee on Sunday night to take a look around Melbourne and get in a few meals out and a movie. Amy had talked it up a bit because Brad Pitt plays an over-the-top Personal Trainer named Chad who rides his bike everywhere. For the next two days my name was Chad. At least I don't have the bad blonde streak through my hair although I was considering highlights... I suppose it was an OK movie, but the Cohen Brother's grim view of the US doesn't really do it for me. Burn After Reading portrays America as an adulterous army of bumbling idiots out to screw each other over or just screw each other. I'd at least like to think this wasn't the case.

Packing up my things has included doing my best to get through the rest of my groceries in a day. As I have a tendency to buy in bulk I have a fair bit to get through and it's essentially an impossible task. In doing so however, I have discovered that When you crumble choc-chip cookies into your bowl of yogurt, muesli and milk there is a distinct ice-cream flavor in there. It's quite odd but pretty tasty but then again - and breakfast ceral is no exception - when aren't cookies appropriate?

Now Where Was I?

Now Where Was I? Oh yeah, Melbourne.

Starting to wrap things up in yet another city in yet another country. I can hardly stay in one place more than 6 months and call myself a wanderer can I!? Thankfully that is not something I have done in over two and half years, but I am cutting it close this time.

Melbourne is a funny little city. It certainly stands out against the rest of Australia. Football crazy hooligans one minute; Versace toting laté drinkers the next. It is a city of contrasts.

In many ways it is a little slice of Europe plonked in the corner of Australia that most reflects European weather. This leads me to conclude that European sensibilities are somewhat climate born while the same could be said of Australia? Is the country's general attitude governed by its agreeable weather?

Brendan gave me a call the other day to meet up for a few beers while he was in town. He had a hotel room opposite the crown casino which gave us front row seats to the Crown nightly flame show. It is a pretty spectacular sight to see balls of fire erupting in unison 20-30 metres high. Energy crisis? What energy crisis? The flames where so massive that we could hear the fireballs erupting from about 800 metres away through the hotel's double paned glass. Brendan thought he could feel the warmth of the flames but I just told him to ease off the wine for a while. A few beers turned into a bit of an all-weekend bender (something that I do not regularly partake in of late) that was no doubt a significant contributor to me catching a cold early the following week. Mental note: stop going mental.

Another month wraps up and as such we all attend another sales launch. I keep telling myself that I only have a few weeks left and I can get out of this .... of a job. Last month I did ok but felt as though I performed far from spectacularly- much of my success to be attributed to luck more than anything. Nonethless to my surprise I was presented with 2 sales awards and had to get up a give a little speech about how I went about reaching my targets. Ouch. A bottle of champagne and a vip ticket to the Caufield Guinneas later, I sat down a little bamboozled.

The other side of my job seems to be increasing in relevance in the world. The super-sized US has long been known as the world's fattest nation. But what is little known that the latest comprehensive study into the health of Australians has won us the world heavy-weight title. Australia is the fattest nation in the world with 26% of its citizens classifiable as obese; a full percentage point ahead of the soon-to-be Barack-led nation. Experts are now calling for extreme measures like gym discounting and denial of surgery based on body mass index (BMI) to rectify the situation. Can you say subsidised personal training anyone? This is of course bad news and should not be celebrated. Bad inappropriate James. Bad.

As the days count down I am realising I have little time left to complete my certification. I better pull my finger out and smash through these last few assignments. I wrap things up in Sales at the end of October and a week later I say goodbye to my clients and disappear to the west. I am excited to have that feeling once again; waking up from a (hopefully) good night's sleep and thinking... Now where was I again?

The Power of Veto

Finding out that my insurance won't cover my surgery put the wind up me a little; and that's an understatement. There aren't many I know that could take a $4000 blow on the chin and keep a smile on their face. I was feeling pretty shaken for the better part of the day until on my way home a thought occurred to me... I don't HAVE to get the surgery do I?

With that in mind I called up the surgeon and we had a bit of a chat: Turns out the odds of improvement were slim and the knee should really heal itself over time with the formation of scar tissue. With strengthening exercises and care I should be fine without it.

Oh.

So the decision to pull out was not a difficult one and so far so good. I have a lot of work to do to get into shape for the season. Lots of stretching, stability exercises and other stuff not nearly as satisfying as throwing around big weights but I think I can force myself to get into the hippie pilates/flexibility/balance side of things if it means I can avoid the knife and hopefully make this my last serious injury.

It's nice to be able to make some decisions about my own body for once. After all, it is mine and when it comes to what happens to it I do have the power of veto.

In other news flights are booked and I am outta here.
- 5th November -> Perth
- 13th November - > Montreal (via London)
- 27th November - > London
- 3rd December - > Stockholm
- 6th December - > Are

The Contender

Seems I have a doppelganger. Peter Thorpe has placed his flag in the cyber-sand with No, The Other Thorpedo. Like me, Peter is a traveler and has decided to document his antics. Hailing from Saskatoon he has set up shop in Sydney as a fire safety engineer. He uses abstract references like genuflection. I have to admit that one sent me to the dictionary. Apparently genuflection is the act of kneeling in passing the Blessed Sacrament as a sign of devotion. Using a term like that in everyday language? How abstract. Power to you Peter. Still, I am the orginal and... you guessed it, the best.

Back to the Drawing Board

Or thin this case? The operating table.

So turns out I don't have any significant cartilage damage but the bone fracture is causing me some issues and leaves me in a precarious position.
Of these three mine is the third case. It has left an angular edge on the joint which causes cartillage irritation and possible tearing/rupturing. My procedure is going to be focused on bone remodeling to ensure I have a smooth surface for the cartilage to sit on and reduce the friction. The good news is that the surgery is scheduled for next week; the 26th of September. A little better than the wait I had in Canada eh? Expected recovery time is 3-4 days off my feet. A week-10 days on crutches. 6 weeks before doing any impact.

In my position I can devote a lot of time to rehabilitation and muscle hypertrophy to I should be pretty strong by the time I start in Sweden.

My start date has been set quite a bit earlier than I expected. My birthday, the 8th of December, is the first day of the introduction week.

So it would seem that despite my best efforts, my body is far from perfect. Hopefully with a little help from my good friend scalpel we can take another step in the right direction so for now; back to the drawing board.

You Know What REALLY Grinds My Gears?

I now see the folly of my ways. Never again will I let my email address loose in cyberspace. I am now paying the price.

4-5 times a day... "Hey I would like to meet you ut I can not get msn to stay online. I am always online here ChirawanPisit-nazsyc.blogspot.com kelly :P"

What did I do to deserve a schizophrenic bot who can't spell harassing me constantly? What sins have I committed and what must I do to repent?

A look online shows I am not alone in my harassment hell but what is to be done about it?

Let us pray to the great internet god; Bless me Google for I have sinned. The sins of sinners are brought back upon me and yet they, who are not human (or rather computer programs designed to piss people off), know not what they do.

Wait, did I just resort to prayer? Now THAT really grinds my gears.

Still the King

The Up? It's been a long time in the making; but I finally got offered the job in Are. I had to pretty much harass poor Jonas; the director of the ski school in the north of Sweden, but I got there in the end. I got an email early last week saying that I made an excellent impression on the interviewers last time and now that I have my ski instructor's certification and a bit more Swedish under my belt? I am in. I am just waiting for a final email confirming my start date and then I am hitting up Singapore Airlines to sort out my ticket at the end of the year.

But what would good news be without a little dose of the bad to go along with it?

The Down. So I finally got an appointment with a highly coveted orthopedic surgeon here in Melbourne. It took me over 6 weeks to get in but I got to see him. About five minutes later, a quick look at my old MRI and a poke around and he could see that unlike my previous diagnosis of just a tibia fracture; I have some cartilage damage as well. Shit. I am booked in to have another MRI later this week to take a closer look at it and will most likely need surgery again in the next month or two.

The big questions are, will I make a full recovery in time? Will my insurance cover it? And will anybody ever insure me again? I did it before and I am going to do it again. I am fitter and healthier than I have ever been so I should be equipped to handle the recovery process with a vengeance.

Anyways, this is a travel blog and traveled I have. This weekend Mamma shot over to Sydney to pay my big sister a visit and nurse her through her hip surgery (what a grandma) So I decided last minute to jump on a plane and join them for the weekend. Coincidently Pappa was at Melbourne airport on his way to Sydney one hour before my flight... small world. I changed my flight over (resulting in a 4am wake up on Saturday morning for me) and met him at the airport for the first of 3 breakfasts. The weekend turned out to be a little family reunion of sorts; the first time we have all be in the same city for almost 4 years. I spent most of the weekend eating, but managed to squeeze in a quick personal training session with Amy and went out with Dad and his girlfriend of three years (who I have not had the pleasure of meeting until now) for lunch on Saturday. Mamma flew in Saturday night and we did a lot of eating and a little walking. The weather cleared up for a walk along Coogee beach before shooting back to the airport on Sunday for the flight back to Melbourne.

In the meantime. Sales sucks but it gets me money (hopefully hit my bonus and then some this month; so far so good!). Training is kick-ass but I am getting no sleep (5am wake ups and 13-14 hour days). Study is coming along very slowly, trying to squeeze in some progress but by the time I get home I am dead to the world. Ah well, I can take it. After all; I am the king of ups and downs.

Some Things Never Change

As much as I might change in some ways; the old James always comes out here and there. So I am well behaved, work a lot, eat healthy, study during the week and a lot of the weekend and generally lead a healthy, responsible life.

This doesn't mean that I am physically able to say no to going out for a 'quiet beer' and have it end up being a big night out where I inevitably run into Mr. Jagermeister. One of the other trainers at work asked me out for a few beers at the local and what started out as a few games of pool over a couple of jugs turned into a big pissy night with stupid dancing and pulling stupid faces in front of the camera. Sweet.

I got myself a new house-mate this week. After putting a couple of ads online I got about 50-60 calls/texts/emails about the room. Seems like the market is pretty tight right now. I narrowed it down to two girls and a guy and to help me make the final decision I got all three of them down to the Arcadia on Saturday night for a few drinks. Best idea I ever had. I was leaning more towards one of the girls but after a few drinks and a bit of normal conversation Ben stood out miles ahead of the rest. A 25 year old legal accountant from New Zealand and his two beautiful leather couches moved in on Thursday and so far so good. Seems like he keeps similar hours to me, has some study to do that'll keep me motivated to get mine done and is pretty keen on his training.


Last month I moved over to the role of a sales consultant with the temptation of commission being dangled under my nose. My first few weeks went really well and I hit my sales target and landed myself a tidy little bonus for the month. This month has been rough. It's one of those 'in between' months and with all the promotions we've been offering of late, it's been hard to find potential members. Looks like I have fallen shy of my target for this month. Not so sweet.

I have started taking on clients at work and I'm loving it. Still doing sales for the time being until I am fully qualified (still 6-8weeks away), the extra hours and experience certainly keep things interesting. Personal Training is a job you can have a bit of fun with provided you have the right clients. So far I have a couple of really cool people to train and because I am not relying on it as my source of income; I can be a bit picky about who I decide to train.

Practicing what I preach is a pretty important aspect of PT for me at this stage. Hopefully I won't fall behind like some trainers who eat crap and hardly work out at all. While so far I am taking my training seriously and being mindful of my diet, when I do go out I am still drinking a lot of beer and grabbing people and lifting them up when there is a camera around.

But hey, some things will never change.

Things sometime take a turn for the... unexpected?

I put it off for a while and realised the stupidity of the whole situation. I was going to be taking a risk with my knee that is still not 100% from my latest injury, the season was looking pretty average no matter how it turned out and I had a bit of debt racked up so I thought... the hell with the snow. I'm going to get a job.

And so that's what I did.

I landed myself a tidy little apartment with a super-sweet catch basically meaning I pay way less than I should for way more than I should be able to afford. Sweet. And as you can see; Melbourne in winter? Not as bad as everyone says.

I got myself a job so quickly I am sure I set some sort of record. I sent off an email; 30 mins later I had a phone call; 16hours later I had an interview and 24 hours later I started work. Wham. I am working in administration for Australia's second largest chain of fitness centres; Genesis. I am also studying for my certificate 4 in fitness part-time which will qualify me as a fitness instructor and personal trainer; I thought it would tie-in nicely with my snowsports qualifications in preparation for future non-shitty non-Australian seasons. Not that Hotham are going to be hiring me again any time soon. They weren't too pleased when they got my 'I'm not coming' phone call. But hey. That's what you get for telling me to sit tight and suck it up for two weeks.

I have slowly been getting myself settled in, catching up with the masses of Perth people who have made the exodus to the east coast: Oli, Monque, Simon, Miles, Miranda and I have recently heard from Mark Nevin as well. There are a lot of us here.

Genesis had their 11th birthday party on Friday night and things got surprisingly wild. Free drinks were flowing all over the place which made for an interesting cocktail of people. I even ran into one of my roommates from Whistler who was a friend of a boyfriend of someone at work. Small world eh?

Saturday was quite possibly the strangest, most surreal night of my life. If I am not open-minded I don't know who is. We'll leave it at that.

So as it comes up on one month in Melbourne things certainly didn't turn out quite the way I had expected. Welcome to James the Wanderer.

In Limbo

So there is still no snow. Awesome. I must say I didn't expect to be held up in a hostel in Melbourne.

So what does one do in this situation? Why go on a massive bender of course, what else? I have been partying it up with my dorm-mate Paul from Seattle. Actually it's probably now a good thing that he's gone: I'd venture a guess that we were a bad influence on each other in one way or another.

So as I wait around for the snow to come I am keeping other options open; I might even find myself staying in the city and getting a... wait for it... normal job? Pretty unlikely that I will actually do that as it feels a little dumb to walk away from snowboarding but cash is soon going to be an issue.



In the meantime I am closely watching the weather and it's finally getting colder. Not much snow falling just yet but as long as it gets cold then at least they can fire up the snowmakers