Urban wildlife and two-wheeled now!

Quick stats this week:

• 24.4 mi / 39.3 km walked
• 3 books read
• 3 movies watched (sorry, At Eternity’s Gate… your use of shaky cam was so distracting)
• 1 rather large spider met
• 1 bat found (dead though I think)

Biggest new development is that I’ve now got wheels! Just got a used bike and I’m super excited to get even more miles covered across town with this new baby. It’s a bit stressful biking on any major roadways (turning right is rather hard) so I’ll think I’ll do that funky hook turn thing and I think that’ll be better. People definitely aren’t as pedestrian or bike friendly as in the Bay, so I’ve found a few more agro folks on the road than I expected. Also, I’m super afraid of getting door-ed and I’m never looking on the correct side for cars still. It’s a slow process. Thankfully, it’s a legal requirement for bikers to use helmets so it’s nice to feel safer with that rule.

There’s a lovely weekly food truck/stand situation on Saturdays at a park nearby. It’s been great to go to and it’s so relaxing! There’s usually live music too and chalkboards and hula hoops for the kids. I’ve been meeting my friends there and we mill about and enjoy great coffee (available everywhere) and superb toasties (toasted sandwiches). Today I went with momos (Nepalese dumplings). It’s called Hank Marvin, which is funny because it’s just a saying that rhymes with “starving”. Starving –> Hank Marvin. Aussies are funny.

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Here are a few more nicknames that I have learned and love:

• Paramedic = Ambo (short for Ambulance)
• Electrician = Sparky (my personal favorite. It’s just such a cute nickname!)
• Carpenter = chippie
• Tradesman = tradie
• Bricklayer = brickie

Okay a nickname that ticks me off is that a hotel = hotel, but sometimes a hotel = pub. WHAT. I guess 100 years ago or whatnot, they used to also have some boarding rooms in the back/upstairs where folks could stay but they mostly don’t anymore, but they’re still called hotels! How’s that not confusing. Guys. Let’s update those names!

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My place is starting to feel home-y. Once I get internet, that’ll be great so I don’t have to leave to mooch wifi from somewhere. It’s been a lot of am/fm radio (so glad I brought that with me) and reading oodles. It’s kind of been nice to disconnect but having internet will be lovely. The walls are more bare than I prefer but I’ll have to work on that shortly. It’s such an old building that it’s all brick so I can’t nail anything into the wall, so I’ll have to use those sticky 3M sorts. Here’s how it’s forming now:

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I love it so much. I’m in the Jewish part of town so there are a ton of bagel shops and delis. It’s a nice perk so at my local coffee spots, I can also get a decent reuben!

Now that the place is more liveable (hot water’s now fixed but my washer still is occasionally possessed), I think now is the experience I was hoping to get. Living solo, and just wandering around town whenever I feel like it. The real journey begins now!

I’ll look on the bright side of this, but I met a new neighbor (SO thankful he’s on the outside of my apartment, but it’s closer than I prefer). It’s a huntsman spider which doesn’t web and isn’t deadly but still… jarring to see when I come home each day. I’m gonna hope he’s good for the building by eating other pesky insects.

Also, bats! I guess at dusk you can see hundreds of them in the air and they live in the nearby botanical gardens. Just came across this one on my walk to the library.

Fun things I’ve seen about town:

• their neighborhood watch signs all make me want a Thin Mint

• these cute Kiss & Go signs near a school, for their drop offs

• there are actual penguins hanging around the pier, every day at sunset. I forget how south this continent is!

• Loved the work of this guy’s work around town: Awol. Such great pieces of Aboriginal kids!

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It’s almost been a full month since I’ve been here! Nuts. Still can’t fully believe it but it’s flying by! So many more cafes and restaurants to try out. Pies to eat! I’m falling far behind in my pie quota, so I best fix that soon.

Miss you all!