Catching Up

Prepare yourself: this post may be a little lengthy.  No would would blame you if you now navigated to Facebook, Youtube or your screen saver.  Your "favorites" shortcut is right there.

There's been a lot going on as I've been busy, uh, washing my hair...

Actually, since Nadia started working we've had a lot less free time.  Everything that she would do during the week now has to be crammed into the evenings and weekends. So, this will be a bit of a purge of the last 3-4 weeks of some stuff that I think is interesting or fun but may or may not interest you...just like Facebook. 

 We've been trying to explore some of the local area during our free time.  In the photo above you can see Nadia about to break out into a rendition of "The hills are alive, with the sound of music..."  Fortunately, no animals eardrums were harmed in the production of this photo taken in the hills just east of the city. 

 

 

 On the same trip we discovered a local monument.  Some places have Stonehenge, others have Niagara Falls.  Perth has "Buttock Boulder" as seen on the right.  Apparantly, the guy that discovered it was a real @$$hole.

 

 Reading Comprehension:  not Perth's best subject in school.

 

 We also went to a local park called Bell's Rapids.  It was lovely although there were really no rapids to speak of yet.  Apparently, it's gushing in October.  Above, the kids are sitting by what's left of the rapids just above what will soon be waterfalls.  The city is in the background.

 

 Between Perth CBD and where the southern suburbs begin is a little island called Hennison Island.  It's about 2 km long and 1/2 km wide.  It's right across the estuary from the CBD so it offers very nice views of the city.  But the main attraction are the handful of kangaroos that live on the island.  These animals have been rescued from one calamity or another.  I believe in some cases they are released back in the wild if they are well enough.  However, the ones we saw have obviously been on the island for some time as they are practically tame.  Above Keva is showing the Kangaroo her tumblr blog on her iPhone.

 

We've had a couple more birthdays in the last month.  Zaren and Cyrus turned 17 years old.  As painful as it is to write that, it's even more painful to feed them the copious amounts of food that is required to enable them to lounge around for hours during the day and sleep for 12 hours at night.  We've also discovered that they are completely legal to drive on their Canadian licences as long as we're not permanent residents.  There is a rumour that Nadia also had a birthday however there is no photographic evidence.  That means it never actually happened.

 

 Just this weekend we gifted ourselves a brand new pair of kayaks.  Well, technically one is used and purchased over the internet and the other is new, but you can barely tell the difference betweem them.  Above are the "SS Drowning Rat" and the "SS Angry-Cat-in-a-Tub".  They are lower range kayaks intended for casual travelling on rivers, lakes and the oceans.  Some people use them to surf-kayak on the ocean too.  Perth is a city that is literally surrounded on all sides by water.  From the northeast the Stirling River runs into Perth.  From the southeast the Canning river goes to the city.  They meet up in the estuary in the city center.  And of course, on the west is the ocean.  Not having some sort of water craft in Perth is like not having skis or a snowboard in Banff.  There are just so many recreational activities you can participate in when you have a kayak.

 

 This weekend we took out the "Rat" and "Cat" for their maiden voyage in one of the local rivers that helps to form the Canning River.  Above you can see Nadia checking out some King Pelicans.

 

And here we are near the end of our voyage happy that we've managed to stay afloat and upright.  Today we are going to test them out on the ocean.

...And on the 7th day He shopped!

Dear friends and family (and spyware), today is a momentus day in the history of Perth and Perthites/Perthians/Perthers/Perthans/Perthies.  Today (Sunday) is the official beginning of Sunday shopping in W.A.!  This means that all stores that were legally obliged to be closed on Sunday now are legally obligated to stay open.  So, now instead of complaining that the government is forcing businesses to lose revenue on a potential busy weekend shopping day, businesses are now complaining that they are being forced to stay open rather than spend time with their families. 

What this means from a practical perspective (i.e. my point of view) is that there are slightly fewer time constraints on consumers.  This will likely alleviate the pressure somewhat.  As it stands now, most stores are open:

- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 9am-5:30pm
- Thursday 9am to 9pm
- Saturday 9am to 6pm

The results of this is that any household where all the adults work for a living have only Thursday and Saturday to shop.  This includes most groceries, hardware stores and other relatively important shops.  One of the notable exeptions to this is liquor stores.  They are open 7 days a week with extended hours.  If you know anything about Aussies this won't come as a surprise.  So, for any shop that sells stuff besides booze, it forces one to spend at least Thursday or Saturday shopping.  This also means that malls, supermarkets and everything else (besides the drive-through beer store) are packed to the rafters with shoppers on those two "shopping days".  The new Sunday shopping will likely alleviate the pressure a little bit.

Let me be the first to congratulate W.A. on finally arriving to the year 1987.  If this rate of innovation continues, before we know it they'll be insulating their homes and adopting daylight savings.

The Road

We spend a significant amount of time of our lives in our cars.  Since we arrived in Australia I'd say we don't generally drive as much as we did in Calgary.  Now that Nadia is working and she has a parking spot, albeit probably only on a temporary basis, we are driving to work together.  As a result, we are spending a lot more time in the car and some of the unique characteristics of driving in Perth are becoming more evident to us.  The following are the top ten primary differences between driving here in Perth and in Calgary.

1) "You're going the wrong way"

The obvious difference is that people drive on the left/wrong side of the road here.  It's actually quite remarkable how quickly we've adjusted to it.  It's to the point where when we watch TV and an American show is on it looks odd to see people drive on the right side. 

2) "I've got the need, the need for obeying the posted speed limit"

For the most part Perthonians don't speed.  Yes, there is the occasional testosterone fueled young man with a more powerful car and less sense than what's required.  But for the most part, people either drive at the speed limit or even below.  The reason for this is easy to explain.  According to (my) empirical evidence the entire Perth police force has no other duties other than to prevent and/or catch people speeding.  Almost every weekend in the Northbridge bar district, where we first lived, there is a violent incident with a knife, bottle or other weapon.  You would think the area would be crawling with police but they are all too busy ensuring that drivers aren't speeding.  Also, there are speed cameras (along with red light cameras) set up throughout the city in addition to the mobile speed traps.  I think I prefer the 'slower' driving culture here but sometimes it feels a little too big-brotherish when it comes to the road and not enough when it comes to violent crime.

3) "You call that a truck?"
 
The car culture in Perth is significantly different than in Calgary.  They sell basically the same brands of vehicles with the notable exception of a bargain brand Chinese car company called "Great Wall".  Fords are popular here.  So are Holdens (GM).  So are Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Nissan, etc.  However, the types of vehicles are a little different.  First the good: it's rare to see pick-up trucks or minivans in Perth.  The bad: a very popular vehicle here is the Ute which is like an old El Camino (two seater pickup truck built low to the ground with an engine that is disproportionally powerful for the size of the vehicle).  The Ute is short for Utility implying that it serves a useful purpose.  Originally the Ute was a useful vehicle that was used by farmers and ranchers.  Now it's primary purpose is to demonstrate the verility of young males.  SUVs are also very popular.


^ A Holden Ute.  It also comes in "Manly Mauve", "Pugnacious Pink" and "Baby Blue Bully".


4) "Get on your bike and ride"
Motorcycles are also popular in Perth.  Not surprising considering that you can drive them year-round.  Motorbikes have their own little sub-culture.  They have parking spots designated for them in the CBD and other popular places.  Also, when traffic is slow on the freeway they are encouraged to drive between lanes.  It's completely legal here.  Also, the typical motorcycle rider here tends not to be an idiot with a death wish.

5) "I can barely fit my Hummer"

The lanes here are a little more narrow.  It's not narrow like a cobblestone lane in Europe but it's also not the vast lanes like in North America.  It's enough space but not what we're used to.  As a result, occasionally we drift close to the line. 

6) "The blinker is used to indicate"

A funny thing happened to us the other day.  We were in bumper to bumper traffic and needed to move over a lane.  I turned on my turning signal and the person in the lane beside me made room for me.  Later in the drive, I had to move over again.  I indicated with my blinker and yet again the person beside me made room.  It doesn't happen all the time but we've noticed that, in general, people are a little more courteous on the road here.

7) "Horn not working, watch for finger"

Once in a while, everyone drives like a jerk.  We do this either because we're jerks on the road or because we made a mistake and then need to recover by, for instance, abruptly changing lanes or cutting in front of someone.  When this happens in Calgary usually you get one of two responses:  "the look" or "the bird".  I haven't seen either of those here yet.  I'd say that, in general, people are not quite as uptight on the road here and a little more forgiving.

8) "Pedestrians beware"

In Calgary, whether it's a marked crosswalk or not, motorists are generally encouraged to stop for pedestrians.  In Perth, pedestrians are fair game.  If you are jaywalking, which is common, you need to be very aware because a car is not going to stop for you, unless they need to peel you out from the undercarriage after they've run you over.  We've had to change our mentality about pedestrians but occasionally we still stop for them when we shouldn't.  When that happens the pedestrians are surprised and the vehicles behind us are irritated.  The real problems occur when there is a marked cross-walk where pedestrians do have the right of way.  We've come close a couple of times to mowing down a pedestrian in a marked cross-walk because our mind-set has largely changed to that of the locals.

9) "No left turn on a red?"

In Calgary, at a red light you are able to legally turn right after coming to a full stop.  In Perth, at a red light you can not turn left until you get a green light.  There is the occasional intersection where you yeild prior to turning left but for the most part you stop and wait at the light.  I've personally run a couple of red lights because of this.  Fortunately, there were no police in the area as it was not a good place for a speed trap.

10) "What's antifreeze?"

The temperature in Perth this winter has gone below freezing (zero) exactly once.  It was for about 5 minutes and it was overnight in an area of the city that is below sea level and far from the ocean.  Otherwise, it doesn't get that cold here, except in our house.  So, cars don't have block heaters.  They also don't have anti-freeze.  And they also don't use windsheild washer fluid.  Instead, they use water.  It's a little different in that the water doesn't clean as well but it's good enough to scrape the pedestrians off.

Inmates Running the Asylum (Bureaucracy Run Amock)

Back in December I shared a few minor frustrations that we experienced while trying to get our Australian drivers licences.  You can re-live the magic by clicking here.

On 8 August Zaren and Cyrus will be turning 17 years old!  This has a couple of implications:

1) Holy $h!&*^ they're turning 17!
2) They are able to legally drive in Australia

Before you get too excited about it though, consider this: they aren't able to legally drive in Australia.  I know, you're thinking "but didn't he just say that they're able to legally drive in Australia"?  Yes and no.  No because I wrote it, I didn't say it. Yes, because that's what I meant.

Zaren and Cyrus, henceforth known as "the boys" for the sake of brevity, hold valid Canadian drivers licences.  Based on Australian law that means that they're able to drive in Australia.  But not so fast.  In Western Australia, henceforth known as "WA", you need to be 17 years old before you can drive.  You are able to get your Learners Permit as a 16 year old.  So, "the boys" were able to only legally drive in "WA" for the first 3 months after arrival.  That's how long anyone is allowed to drive on their foreign licence presuming it comes from a recognized country such as Canada.  After those 3 months expire you are not allowed to drive without a WA licence, which means waiting until your 17 years old.  But getting a WA licence is no big deal.  If you recall the link above, to the post entitled "The Land That Time Forgot", you'll remember that it was, in fact, kinda a big deal.  For Nadia and I to get a licence we needed to get what's called a "Proof of Age"(POA) card.  It wasn't difficult but it certainly was illogical and largely ridiculous.  We can look back at it now and laugh about it between the shots of whiskey and tears.  One of the criteria to get a POA is that you must be 18 years old.  Here are the other criteria that is required to get an WA licence:

A. One of the following:
-Australian or New Zealand birth certificate
-Australian or New Zealand Citizenship or Naturalization documenation
-Evidence of Resident status
-Evidence of Immigration status, ie. visa

B. One of the following:
-Current Australian drivers licence or learners permit
-Australian passport
-Current overseas passport
-Parent idenfication and statutory declartion

C. Two of the following:
-Current Australian EFTPOS (ATM) or Credit Card
-Medicare Card
-Electoral Enrolment card
-Veteran affairs pension card
-Security guard licence
-Marriage certificate
-Photographic student ID
-Photographic Police or Military ID
-WA Proof of Age card
-WA firearms licence
-WA Working with Children Card

D. One of the following:
-Australian bank statement
-Utilities account
-Letter from current employer
-Letter from education institution
-Residential tenancy agreement
-Official document from government agency

I've bolded the documents that we hold and are able to use towards the certification for getting the boys drivers licences.  The same rules applied for Nadia and I but since we are over 18 we were able to get the Proof of Age card.  The boys are not.  That leaves them one criteria short from category C.  Therefore, in order for them to be able to get a drivers licence in WA they need to do one or more of the following to satisfy category C above:

-turn 18 years old
-join the military and then retire from the military with a pension
-become a security guard
-get married
-join the police
-become licenced to own and operate a gun
-become a social worker

When Nadia was discussing the difficulty of these option with the supervisor at the WA Department of Transport Driver and Vehicle Services office, he suggested one of three options that may allow the boys to legally drive in WA:

1) wait until they're 18 years old
2) write a letter to the government and hope that they receive enough similar letters that the government will revise their policy that is less than a year old
3) get a student ID from their school

Unfortunately, the schools here do not give photo IDs.  You may be asking yourself "then why would they bother to list it as a criteria if it's not even available"?  The answer, of course, is to remain consistent with all of their other ludicrous policies.  So, now we need to go to the kids school and ask if they will be willing to doctor-up some sort of photo identification for the boys.  Otherwise, Zaren and Cyrus will not be able to legally drive in WA for another year.  Ugh.

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You probably thought (or hoped) I was finished with the "Bureaucracy Run Amock!" post.  But alas, there is more to tell.

Here's another "interesting" law in Australia: they have a two-tiered healthcare system.  There is the public health system (medicare) and the private health system.  Every Australian is covered under the public system which is paid for via taxes.  If you have the means you can also get private coverage which offers some benefits like reduced waiting times, private rooms, private hospitals, etc.  However, if you do not have some level of private coverage you are forced to pay a levy.  The cost of the levy depends on age, income and other factors.  Fortunately, as non-residents we are not subject to the levy.  We just need to prove to the government that we are non-residents.  In order to do so, we need to provide to the government a certified copy of our used passport pages and Australian visas. 

Allow me to summarize:  we need to give the Australian government proof of the documents that they issued to us.
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Australia is a funny country at the moment.  They are desperate for foreign workers as they have a huge shortage here.  They are going around the world to recruit people.  That's how they found me.  But when you arrive here they seem to do everything they can to make sure you know that you're not entirely welcome.  The two anecdotes above are small examples of this.  Additionally, there is a lot of political bickering about "foreign workers" and immigrants in general.  Undoubtably, some of this is because of the illegal refuges, known as "boat people" that try to sneak into Australia, on a daily basis, from countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and others.  WA in particular, has seen a huge influx of foreigners, particularly British, in the last 5 years.  So, the locals are somewhat sensitive at the moment to non-Australians.  I don't dare remind them how Australia wasn't "discovered" and settled by the British just a couple hundred years ago and that the convicts that came over here were immigrants that treated the locals quite poorly (and still do). 

The current administration has put policies in place so that foreign workers, like us, no longer are eligible for the living away from home tax allowance.  So they're removing a tax break that we currently receive.  It was in place originally as a way to encourage people to work not only in Australia, but also in remote parts of Australia.  On the one hand they're encouraging people to come and work and live in Australia.  On the other hand, once you're here they like to remind you that you're not one of them.  And that is okay by me.