Oops, My New Apartment is in Another Dimension

Sorry if anyone missed me updating my blog for the last few weeks, it's been hectic.  See my previous post for details.

However, after recovering from moving and getting a new job, it turns out I have moved into a really, really weird place.  Maybe there are weirder in the world - a lot of why I think this place is weird has to do with an almost-inexplicable feel to things.  And I have found a little of the "Sordid History of Chippendale."  But there are some weird things I've been able to document more directly.  Such as:

(note: skip to the bottom for my regular "Australian culture" section)

The crazy building with the floating platform at the...30th floor?

Not to mention it's crazy neighbor...

I had a look in UTS and you can see what it's supposed to look like after completion, which is still weird if you ask me:

(the one with the crazy ledge in the middle)

This building is also nearly next to the crazy looking bus station/train terminal entrance:

And the weird old hotel which has trance/electronica on Sunday nights with pulsing purple light coming out of its windows:

And is across the street from internationaly renown weirdos:

As well as UTS (University of Technology Sydney) which had its own share of weird inside:

Just down the block from here I had a freakish experience when I went to look at an apartment which was advertised as "wanting to start an artists collective."  I didn't have my camera when I was there, so no pictures from the inside, but I went back to take photos of the obvious signs of crazy outside.

The ally-way that led to the apartment:

sign reads, "Evacuation Route"

The side of the apartment which I passed on the way there, not knowing it was the apartment:

And the apartment itself:

If it looks crazy outside, you should see the inside. Lots of random plywood piecing together the ceiling, floors, walls, painted with acrylics (not wall house paint) in black, dark brown and dark purple on the walls and floor.  Random pieces of old dirty carpet nailed here or there, pieces of wood haphazardly nailed around, a crumbling hole of a shower which may or may not work and drain, seems like there's no heating, the furniture is amazingly old and torn up, and the place is almost maze-like in its rooms that go on forever and contain the most random crap.  There are few windows, almost no light inside, and it has the musty smell of a garage.

The guy showing this to me is little and weird, and "can't figure out why no one wants to help him fix the place up."

And then there are all the Alice in Wonderland cues:

These are the two doors that lead to bedrooms in my apartment.

Passed this on my way to the freaky house.

Another photo at UTS entitled...

..."Drink Me."

Yeah.  Anyway, onto...

The Good Stuff

More fun with Australian Culture

Lots of good info from my new work colleagues :)

1.) Australians, unlike virtually any other English speakers, make a distinction between "enquiry"  and "inquiry".  And "enquiry" is a question, an "inquiry" is an investigation.

2.) I'm told that many, perhaps even most, Australians don't like the "salty and sweet" combination.  It's weird, they say.  I was putting nutella on some crackers at work and both my coworkers just looked at me like I was sitting over there dipping cookies in horseradish sauce or something (and of course, over here a "cookie" is a "bikie", but you know what I mean).

3.) The letter "Z" is pronounced "Zed" - as in Canada.  However, just as in Britain (as I've discovered), the letter "H" is pronounced "Hey."  I work for "Heytch Ah" services.  :)

4.) The word "ghetto" isn't really used here.  In Sydney, if you look down on anyone, it's most likely the "Westies," or people who live in the suburbs far to the west of Sydney.  If they live just slightly to the west, they will be quick to correct you - "It's not IN the west.  Not, THE WEST."

"Westies" are, from what I can gather, people from the most crime ridden, low-income, high immigrant areas, far out from the city where real estate prices are more realistic.  There are biker ("bikie") gangs out there who will occasionally cause trouble with one another, but as far as I can tell, it ain't South Central.  No bloods or crips here - at least not yet.



Vocab

"It's done and dusted"  I think you get the idea.  Fun phrase.

"Blokey bloke" = Manly man.  Beer, football, ooga.



Videos

The Best:     "When a Wog gets an Aussie girl" by SuperWog and Mychonny.

Dirty but hilarious.  A "Wog," so I'm told, comes from "Worker of Government," referring to the original waves of immigrants in the 70's and 80's who usually came to take the lower level government jobs.  I'm also told that this is sometimes used as derogatory, though these days "FOB" (Fresh off the Boat) is usually considered more offensive.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA-soxP4l9k

The Worst:  "The Last Templar "

2 part TV series which you can watch on SMH (Sydney Morning Herald) TV.  Right from the very start, lines so horrible you'll want to shoot yourself in the face.  And it gets worse from there.

 http://www.smh.com.au/tv/Mini-Series/show/The-Last-Templar/The-Last-Templar--Part-1-4340504.html

A Job! An Apartment!

Summer has officially ended in Sydney.  It's a little cooler, it rains more regularly, and more importantly, I was finally able to find a job.  Previously having jumped through the hoops to get listed with 3 different temp agencies, it was the second agency who had never previously found me work that  saved the day.  After the first day of work (had to make sure it was a job I could keep) I jumped on the first cheap "flatshare" listing that seemed reasonable and moved in the following weekend.

I now work fielding e-mails and phone calls from 10:30pm to 6:30am in the top-floor office of a large, international company that handles large building construction, real estate investment and development. They're very environmentally focused, and have free snacks and a slew of beverages.  I work with two other cool women, and although it can be a little tough to focus after about 4am, the work isn't too stressful.  I share a room with two very young (18 and 21) Asian-Canadian sisters, and an apartment with 6 other people on top of that.

Another way of looking at this: I'm currently working for $32/hr to field phone calls from the US and UK and I live in a place called "Chippendale" (for $135/week, if you were interested - nearly as cheap you can get in the city).  I'm sure someone sees the irony of me moving over seas to answer calls from the US for probably twice as much as I would be paid there (and an apartment of the same or cheaper price per the living situation).

Fun.  The only concern is that the apartment has 9 people, right?  Well, right.  There are people living in the living room (linguistically appropriate, but ghetto).  I work all night, sleep all day, so most of the time I don't have to deal with the people living here very much.  But as a friend pointed out: it's a recipe for disaster.  And the psychic connection is strong with her - last night fellow flatmates were talking about how they couldn't get one guy residing in the living room to leave.  Evidently he threatened to kill the small, somewhat meek Thai woman in charge of renters.  In short, sounds like a number of people may leave, or the apartment might get cleared out all together.

I'm keeping my eye out for other places.

Although I have to give some credit - if there weren't 9 people living here, it would actually be a pretty nice little apartment (though the "modern" design of the sinks and the bathtubs leaves water all over the floor...).

 Bathroom above:

     No shower door here!

     No sir, this is futuristic.

    And everyone knows there's water allover the floor in the future.

And just incase you wanted to see what a literal "living room" looks like: