Today was my first official day of work. I am contracted to write up an operation manual for a hydraulic staircase and platform system that is mounted on a truck, produced by a mining fabrication company. Pays well and it isn’t as boring as I thought it’d be… nor as daunting.

I mean it’s a hell of a lot of work to be done and I don’t know jack shit about this stuff but after today all the photos, drawings, and names of stuff (like stair pivot and hydraulic ram) cease to just be words in the English language and actually mean something to me now. I think I’m doing an okay job and the people there are very friendly. Yes, Australians are quite a friendly bunch. Helpful, smiley, accommodating. The foreman I’m dealing with is named Mal and he’s really nice and funny, too. I hope that when I ask him questions he doesn’t think I’m a total bimbo.

Going to work today was awesome because Jason gave me a lift. It only took like 15 or 20 minutes MAX from our place in Bentley! The trip home, on the other hand, was a totally different story.

There is heaps of public transport available… BUT. No bus goes directly from our area to the place I work which is in Maddington. I am still working out the most efficient combination of buses and trains to take. The journey recommended by the Transperth website required way too much changing between buses and trains as well as substantial amounts of walking – which I don’t mind except it’s blisteringly hot and DRY here in Perth right now.

The simplest route would be to take the 177 bus to the city, then take a train from Perth Train Station to the Kenwick station near the office where I work. (In case you didn’t know, this is DOUBLING BACK. It’s like going from Taman Tun to SS2 then to Damansara Perdana).

From Kenwick I could either walk about 2 kilometres or take a cab… sigh!! Luckily, for the trip home today the kind admin lady working at the office gave me a lift (took like 3 mins by car or less). I really appreciated it! However, once at the station I took a train bound for Perth and stopped at the Cannington Station. From there, I took a bus that stops at the Victoria Park Transfer Station (Vic Park is verrry near Bentley). From there I took another bus directly to Bentley, the 177, which I normally catch to get to the city / out of Bentley in general.

Total journey time: 2 hours!!!!! Goddamn! It takes 15 mins by car!!!

That’s it. I am buying a bicycle.

Shopping list:

1 x bicycle

1 x helmet (required here in aussie)

1 x backpack (Jason MIGHT have one for me)

And another random shopping list I have:

Shoes – ballet flats, etc.. anything cheap I can wear daily for work and stuff. I don’t have enough shoes here!!

Clothes – cheap shirts and plain tees and stuff I can wear to work

Chest of drawers – for my documents and to double up as a bedside table, and maybe another one for my clothes.

I also want to buy me some FINS for DIVING

everything costs money and I’m out of timtams