1 Week Mark

No job, no income, stress level going up. I know it takes time but it's really hard to  take it easy when your money's going out but never coming in. This is made worse by the fact that the government has ordered a halt on advertising & recruitment for all public hospitals. The private hospital 30 mins away from where we're staying has only 2 places for the clinical enhancement program which will start in July. Whether I can get in or not is still a mystery. If I'm not chosen, I won't get the job. So I'm not holding out much hope.

The fast food restaurants won't take us becoz they only hire those below 18 which I heard is due to different pay rates. I was asked if I have police clearance & when I searched online, realised it cost $60+. Thankfully we still can drive with our SG license & have to worry about the conversion in another 2+ month's time. Some money you just have to spend. But where we can save, we do. So we ended up not getting a fridge (guess we'll have to survive on bread or fruits) or washing machine since we can still hand wash our clothes. I don't dare to explore so we can save on petrol.

It's like being trapped in a dark tunnel. I don't know when I'll see light at the end of it. I just hope the money will last till either of us get a job which I hope will be soon. Gotta hang in there.

5 Days In Perth

Upon possession of the car, I realised that the odometer reads 197 thousand km. Oops. I think the 181 thousand km car is the 1 where the owner was asking for $3850. I guess that's why the timing belt becomes an issue & a leverage for bargaining. Hubs will be learning how to change the engine oil from D over the weekend. It's way overdue for changing & it's black like hell. There's a squeaking sound when we're braking hence the brake pads require changing as well. ATF requires changing as well coz it's already orange in colour. It needs a thorough cleaning coz it's super filty inside. Lots of stuff to get done.

Let's see what we've accomplished so far. We've gotten our own rental place for $430 per week & will be moving in on Sat. I've dropped off my resume at 2 nearby medical centres. Will be calling the hospital again since I've not been able to get the person in charge. But better still if I get employed by eother of the medical centre since it's within walking distance. I've applied for gas supply, but have to call the electricity company tomorrow as they can't detect the address. I've also applied for broadband & home line under iinet.

We went down to Medicare centre in Midland only to be rejected as we went through the customs electronically & our passports were not stamped. The counter staff requested for our boarding passes as proof of entry which I left at home. So we got to make another trip tomorrow. We didn't bother going to Centrelink since I suspect we'll encounter the same problem. The driving licensing centre was just next to Medicare but they require an ATM card & Medicare card on top of our passport to proceed with the license conversion (kinda like the 100 points check). But we did get our transfer of car ownership form submitted & parted with 8% of the selling price. :(

I love the cooling weather (I try not to think of summer). I love how far I can see without tall buildings blocking my view. I love how you will not be judged based on what you wear or what car you're driving. I love searching for 2nd handed goods on gumtree though I have a big headache wondering how to transport the big items if I do buy. I believe things will fall into place once I get a job & we can truly enjoy life here in Perth.

1st Purchases

We spent yesterday looking at cars in the car yard before moving on to private sellers. D told us that it was necessary so that we could have a rough gauge of what the market is like. In the end, hubs decided on a Lancer which narrowed down our search. Looked at another 2 cars today & we'll be parting 2.5k tomorrow for a 2001 Lancer with 180+ km mileage. Seller was asking for $2850 & we offered him 2.4k (knowing that he'll surely haggle with us), citing the need for water gauge, timing belt & rear view mirror replacement. D certainly knew what he was doing. Engine & exterior condition was the best among so many cars that we've viewed. I've learnt some on life in Perth from D & J though this is just the beginning. We feel so paiseh having to rely on them so much, to drive us around, to pay for meals (they refused to let us pay) & to give us a room to stay. 

It's stressful having to part with money when we've got no income coming in. But necessities are unavoidable. I'm hoping that I'll get a favourable respond from a hospital 30 mins away. They've been frequently posting on Seek even till  now so I take that as they were unable to hire anyone since the phone interview they gave me in February. From the interview, I suspect that their staff from different disciplines are not on good terms. Hubs told me to quit that if they hire me & I hated it. I understand where he's coming from becoz I was really very unhappy in my previous workplace & he didn't want me to go through it again. I told him that if they do hire me, I'll stay on for at least 2 years for the working experience regardless of how bad the situation is. If I could put up with my previous workplace for almost 6 years, 2 years should be nothing to me. We definitely need the money so this is no time to be taking emotional well being into consideration. I've already prepared myself to slog it out when we made the decision to come here. 

The temperature is usually in the teens but I find that I can go without a jacket most of the time & that's wearing shorts & short sleeve t-shirt. I'm such a freak. J told us that we'll put on weight in this cold weather as we tend to feel hungry easily. But I find that on the opposite, I'm hardly hungry & even when I do, I get filled really fast. Hmm... if this carries on, maybe I'll really be able to ditch the extra 20 kg. I shall dream about it. LOL.

Taking Flight

Wrote this on the flight to Perth, 2nd May.

I cried for a while as the plane took off to the sky. The sunset was so beautiful, the sky so clear I could see all the way down to the ocean despite being at an altitude of 41 thousand feet. But all I could feel was the sorrow of having left home. Hubs felt the same way as I did. He told me to look forward to our life in Perth, to our 1st employment, 1st pay check, 1st home. I do. All the uncertainties could not overshadow how much I miss home. Even though I've only just left.

All I could think about was how to arrange for my parents to visit us in Perth. In the end, they still matter a lot to me. So I asked hubs if he will mind if my parents come over for a holiday. He said how can he say no knowing that I'm so affected by the move? With his acceptance, I feel so much better, knowing that some day soon I can have my parents visit us.

20 Minutes To Boarding

My parents asked us to have lunch together at the kopithiam downstairs. I saw my dad dabbing away tears. It wasn't so hard to leave the house. But a part of me was left behind. I'm sad but I don't want to cry in front of them. I just kept telling myself that I'll be back for a visit before I know it. I admire people who've left, for their strength. It really isn't easy leaving people behind. I wonder how long I will continue to cry until I start getting used to being homesick.

Received many texts biding me farewell & good luck. The closer I get to boarding time the more emo I feel. This will be my last entry till I can gain access to internet again. So this is how it feels to leave home.

12 More Hours

12 more hours till we leave for the airport. I spent my day having lunch with 3 of my friends & dinner at my MIL's. Then we did some final tidying & packing till 12+ mn. Hubs surprised me by asking me to go for a walk around the neighbourhood. We didn't walk much, just to the 7-11 for drinks. Beer for him & the new honey lemon drink from Pokka for me. We sat at the bench beside the playground downstairs, reminiscing.

We sat there for the 1st time 4.5 years ago on the night he asked me to be his girlfriend. Tonight, it was hub's turn to be emo. He felt very sad as we tidied our room. I repeated to him the words of comfort he told me last night. That to have such feelings is normal. That no matter what we will always have each other.

I've declined requests from friends to send me off at the airport. I hate goodbyes & I don't want to leave in tears. Emo feelings aside, I'm once again griped by fear of not being able to land a job. Seriously, if no hospitals want to hire me, I don't mind working at the fast food restaurant or supermarket. Give me midnight shifts, make me work all weekends, give me physically taxing jobs. I'm fine with that. But what if nobody wants to hire me at all?
This is my greatest fear. This is my bright idea. I must keep us afloat no matter what. Hubs gave up everything to support my dream of living in Australia. I can't fail him. To banish fear, 1 must have courage. I must keep in mind that NMHRGK is my lion's roar. Absolute victory & absolute happiness is my goal. I must not let fear take over.

心里的话

到最候还是舍不得, 偷偷的在黑暗中掉泪。建立的一切现在都要全部放弃。

舍不得留下来的 Puggy。心里知道没有了我他的健康肯定出现问题。老公说这张床睡多一晚就没的睡了。还记得当初两个人一起去买这张床垫。是我们一生以来买的最贵的床垫。花了两千多块。当时离婚的时候搞到一团糟才保留下来的组屋也得放弃。

即使希望我离开了, 父母就能学会独立, 到最候还是放心不下他们。担心即使我寄钱回来也会让他们败光。我还真是嘴硬心軟。

我是出去创一创, 组织自己的家庭, 找自己的幸福。 但就是舍不得。虽然我还是会回来, 但是就是不一样。心情很沉重。老公看到我哭, 他也跟着哭。结果两个人抱在一起哭。