Great news !!

In 28 days I will become an illegal immigrant in Australia. As of next week, I would have dropped out of university which cancels my student visa.

How is this good news you say ?

Well my employer is more than happy to sponsor my work visa here. If all things go well, I would be working full time with him as a temporary worker under the visa subclass 457. The only problem is, that the visa application process takes up to 12 weeks to complete.

Furthermore, I’ve dropped all my subjects at my university and I’m officially not enrolled. You see, my course enrolment has been giving me the shits since last semester. I’m filing an official complaint against my course conveyor because he’s been unhelpful and unprofessional over these months.

Furthermore, if I stayed on, I would have to travel between Gold Coast and Brisbane for different classes. That’s a 4 hour roundtrip ! Fucking bullshit in my opinion. The university says it offers the program in one location, but drops this bomb after enrolment ?

Anyways, that means that I have 28 days to pack my bags, otherwise I’d get deported.

So, what’s my plan now ? Why I though you’d never ask :

1. So I have 28 days left in this country.
2. Apply for the 457 visa, which would take 12 weeks
3. I’d apply for a tourist visa which would give me at least 3 months. (Although, I can’t work during this time)
4. If I really do have to leave the country, I’d just hop to New Zealand while waiting for the 457 application. Hi Karl, Su and Suyin!!

The absolutely worse scenario, is that the 457 application doesn’t get through and I have to go back to Malaysia. The best scenario , is that I work full time here and maybe study part time as well. No way I’d want to stay in that stupid program I had before. Wish me all the best guys !!

Well I’d say, life is fucking brilliant !!

*edit: I’d be granted a bridging visa when I apply for my 457. That means I don’t have to leave the country and I can still work. The bridging visa would be valid until a decision is given for the 457. I’d still get deported if they reject me though. Still need some luck !!

That’s me pointing to the left. Or my right.

Some Australians keep dinosaurs as pets. Careful, this one’s carnivorous.

Leon and Karl. Most asians can’t take a proper picture.

Macho axes or Hello Kitty ? Tough choice …

The Regent Theater. I wish all cinemas look like this.

The new Southbank artifical beach. Ah, summer …

A gig at the library. That’s right, these people get paid to make noise in the library. That’s Karra Frost on the right. You can melt if she sings and smiles at you

I nearly forgot it was the Chinese New Year, if Michelle didn’t mention it. I even wanted to blog about something totally different today! Perhaps it’s because I’m here in Brisbane, and I certainly don’t feel festive at all. It’s also the first time I’m away from home during this period.

Every Chinese New Year, me and my family would travel to my hometown in Negeri Sembilan, to celebrate with my extended family. My father has 14 brothers and sisters, so it’s quite a huge occasion. We’d eat all the best food, gamble and catch up with each other.

Yet, I’d always resent going back to my hometown.

You see, there’s really nothing to do there. There’s no Internet, and only recently there was mobile phone coverage. Furthermore, I can’t speak Cantonese, which kinda creates a gap between me and my cousins. Then there’s that problem I have with my dad (a whole different story).

Now that I’m away from home, I don’t know how to feel about it. On one hand, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with all that resentment, yet I still feel like something’s missing.

Well, tomorrow me and my friends are going for a chinese banquet, which includes a lion dance and maybe fireworks. Perhaps there’s a little festive cheer then.

Well, Happy Chinese New Year everyone !

On my travels, I’ve kept a little book about the people I meet. They’re what I call 5 minute friends. Here’s some of their stories:

1. A middle aged man on the way to Bangkok. He said he was going to a conference and he was M.B.A (Married But Available). He said I should go enjoy life in Bangkok, and made that hip thrusting movement. I wish I don’t have to do that when I’m middle aged.
2. An Austrian I met in the youth hostel in Bangkok. He looked like he has been backpacking a month too many. Like he has weed in his beard or something.
3. Two Brazilian chicks I met in the youth hostel in Bangkok. They taught me many naughty Portugese words. We even talked philosophy! (So happen I was reading Nietzsche at the time)
4. An off-duty air stewardess I met on a flight to Melbourne. She was also an ex-circus performer. Later on we met for a coffee in Melbourne. She’s probably my first Australian friend.
5. Some guy at the bank. Just came out of jail because his own brother ripped off his money. He even showed me the scars on his hands from when he tried to kill himself. Yes, they were vertical scars.
6. Some kid beside me on my flight back from Brisbane. He gave me chocolate cookies and let me read his Lao Fu Zhi comics. I showed him some of my comics as well. Perhaps he’s too young to be reading them, but he laughed anyways.
7. A cab driver who told me about how he lost his old job. His boss’s daughter was hitting on him, and the boss’s wife schemed a plan to get him fired.
8. A school teacher on the flight back to Brisbane. She was visiting her sister, who opened a restaurant in Brisbane. She said my hand-writing looked like cakar ayam (literally chicken scratches).

Maybe I have a kind face, and people just open up to me. Sometimes they tell their life stories. Sometimes they give me chocolates. Sometimes I even make a new friend.

Most times, I feel like I’ve learnt something new and that puts a smile on my face.

Hi guys, just to let you know I’m back in Brisbane. I arrived yesterday morning and it was such a long journey:

• An hours drive from my house to the LCCT
• Took the damned 8 hour flight to Gold Coast
• Took a shuttle bus from the aiport to the bus stop
• Took a 30 minute bus to the train station
• Took the train from the Gold Coast to Brisbane City (1 hour)
• Walked from the train station to Leon’s place (with luggage)

Hope you’re not counting, but that’s about 12+ hours of travelling. Well, I’d get back to resting now (more like playing computer games), blog later!

ps: Does flirting break the 2-week no women rule I imposed earlier ?