Brisbane 11.10.24-07.11.24

11.10.2024 – 13.10.2024:

I have extended my hostel stay by a week. My roommate moved out today, which is actually a shame because we got along well. He's going through a very tough time right now, as all of his accounts have been hacked. Both personal and professional. At first, he thought it was a hacking attack related to his job at a big bank, but as the week went on, it turned out to be all his wife. We talked often and at length about this issue, and it seems she has developed a strong personality disorder over the last few years. She secretly installed cameras and audio recording devices in their home, stole money from him, and accessed his accounts to change things. He says she is completely normal during the day, but as soon as evening comes, another personality emerges and she can’t remember anything. He has spent the whole week talking to therapists to find out if these issues can be treated. Anyway, he is going through a tough time but is going back to her today to try and regain control of his marriage.
The day before yesterday, I went billiards playing with July, Lee, and an Australian guy named Cooper. Yesterday I met a girl named Lina. She is from Colombia and we get along well. We went out for pizza and then took a walk by the river. So far, she is one of the coolest girls I’ve met here in Australia.
Tonight I’m meeting Ann (the Taiwanese girl).

14.10.2024 – 07.11.2024:

The time is passing very quickly. On 20.10.24, I moved out of the hostel and into a two-bedroom apartment. I’ve rented the apartment until 13.11.24. For a week, I shared the apartment with a Colombian named Santiago. He was 44 years old, very into sports, and worked for an American company from here. However, after a week, he moved out, and since then, I’ve had the apartment to myself. Ever since I moved in, it has been sooo relaxing, as I no longer have to constantly check my luggage to see if everything is still there or if something has been stolen, etc. I can do my laundry anytime and don’t have to pay for the washing machine. I can cook without having to wait in line for an hour. I don’t have to be quiet and can walk around the house naked. Ah, there are so many advantages to having an apartment to myself. The only downside is that I need an extra 20 minutes to get to work. In recent weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time with Lina; we’ve gone on many little trips, to botanical gardens, to Stradbroke Island, etc. When she wanted to take a trip to NSW with her friends, her car broke down right in the middle of the highway and wouldn’t start again. So, I drove with one of her friends' cars and picked up the four women. It was the first time I’ve driven a manual car here. However, I was probably caught on camera doing an illegal U-turn. Here in Australia, there are cameras that check speed, average speed from A to B, check if all occupants in the car are wearing seat belts, check if the driver has a phone on the driver’s side, and there are also cameras that go off when you make a U-turn in prohibited areas. I didn’t know such U-turn cameras existed before the drive… I hope the fine won’t be too high.
Work is going well. I told John (my boss) that I need safety equipment like ropes to hold me in case I slip or something, and I got everything, making it much more comfortable and easier for me.
My coworker Josh has quit and will start a new job, which makes me the “senior” employee (aside from John) :D
John and I continue to get along very well. His daughter is currently staying with him for a few weeks, and I was very happy when he told us because he hasn’t seen her for three years because her mother (his ex-wife) didn’t allow it. The girl’s name is Sienna, and she is 14 years old. She helps us with work sometimes and picks up some sticks.
Currently, there are very exciting storm thunderstorms every week in Brisbane that look amazing, with heavy lightning every 3-5 seconds. A few days ago, there was also a hailstorm that dropped cm-sized hailballs on my roof. That was also very nice to watch since the weather on that day was actually very good. So sunshine and hail at the same time.
Here in the apartment, I have what you could call a pet :D It’s a blue-tongue skink that lives in my garden. I named it “Brutus” and feed it daily with fruits and vegetables :D It’s interesting to watch Brutus eat, as his tongue is completely blue, and it looks quite cute when he sticks it out. Unfortunately, he is relatively shy and has only let me pet/touch him once.
On Tuesday, I ran into a girl from Darwin again; her name is Lea and she’s now here in Brisbane for a while. We planned to meet for just one beer, but it got wildly out of hand… In the end, it was about 15 beers, a huge party until 5:00 AM, and then a ruined next workday because my alarm went off at 6:00 AM. So just one hour of sleep and then off to work. When I got there, the first thing John said to me was, “Holy Fuck, what happened to you?” I told him, and he was fortunately in a good mood and said that the workday would be very relaxed and that I would stay on the ground today and not climb up.
In 6 days, I will fly to Bali and meet Mango again. I can hardly believe it because when we booked it, it felt so far away.