The Voting Dilemma

I've mostly avoided political commentary on here.  As Rafiki would say, "it is time."  

I wrote the majority of this quite a while ago and wasn't going to post it but after the train wreck that was the Republican National Convention last week and the, let's just call it interesting, DNC this week, it felt relevant.

I'm a strong proponent of voting.  I absolutely love that voting is compulsory here in Australia.  One of my biggest pet peeves in the US is people complaining about a political issue and when asked if they voted, they say no. No vote?  No complaining.  Not voting is really just out of pure laziness which is incredibly sad when there's places around the world where people don't have the privilege of having a say.  Since I was 18, I have voted in every federal and state election and have continued to do so living abroad.

Then there's the US federal election of 2016.  Come November, whether people like it or not, the United States is going to elect a new president.  Unless something shockingly unpredictable happens, either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will become, arguably, the most powerful person in the world.

But what do you do when you don't support either candidate?

Now yes, I'm only one person.  I'm a registered voter in Oregon which has been a blue state since the 80's.  In all reality, my single vote really isn't going to do much.  If I were in a swing state, one vote can mean a lot more. Regardless, I reckon I'm not the only one who is feeling this way.  With what I imagine millions of others are thinking, do I/we vote for someone we don't want to win?  

Trump photo by Michael Vadon, Clinton photo by Gage Skidmor

Bernie Sanders had/has a massive following and people (understandably) became incredibly devoted to him. It was Bernie or Bust!  If Sanders didn't win the Democratic nomination, people were vowing not to vote for Hillary Clinton.  As I am not a fan of Hillary Clinton for a multitude of reasons, I have gone through the internal debate of whether or not to vote for her.  A vote for a candidate should mean you support the majority of their policies as well as believing in them as a person who can do the job honestly and with integrity. Unfortunately, my vote for Hillary Clinton would not be representing these things.

Is voting for Clinton the lesser of two evils?  I don't consider Hillary Clinton to be necessarily evil (although I might not be able to say the same about her second-coming-of-Hitler opponent) but I strongly disagree with a lot of her actions and the way she got the nomination.  A vote for Hillary is instead, primarily, a vote against Trump; I'd be voting for Trump to lose. Once again this brings up the question of is this right?  No, it is absolutely not.  

Yes, people can write in Bernie Sanders on their ballots.  There's no doubt in my mind he will get a lot of votes in November but realistically, it won't be anywhere near enough to win the election.  My fear is writing in Bernie will split the votes.  If the Democratic Party is dividing their votes whereas the Republicans are all polling for one, you do the math. Basically that equals inevitable World War III. So why not support Jill Stein? First off, I don't know much about her besides the few articles I've read and it would essentially have the same effect as writing in Bernie.  Unfortunately the US has a two party political system and Stein has pretty much a 0% chance of winning.

Taking that into account, I've seen a lot of comments/articles online of staunch Hillary fans and converted Bernie supporters saying if "Bernie Bros" don't vote for Hillary, they will be handing the White House to Trump.  No.  Just no.  No candidate is entitled to a vote. Let me repeat. No candidate is entitled to a vote. 

Like I said, a vote should be for someone you support and can agree with.  Hillary has catastrophically failed at appealing to a lot of people and that is no one's fault but her own (although isn't it convenient that all of a sudden she's coming up with Bernie-esk policies). The election is essentially a job interview and she failed to convince about half of the first-round hiring committee she should get the job.  If she loses the election, it's her own doing.  

So why not just forgo voting this year?  Like I said earlier, this isn't an option.  Not participating in the electoral process is almost criminal in my mind.

Come November, or whenever my ballot becomes available in Australia, I will be voting against Donald Trump.  Since this isn't Survivor and we can't vote people off the island (although with a Trump presidency many will be forced off the island), unfortunately the only way to effectively do this is to vote for someone else.  

Will I be voting for Hillary?  Yeah, probably.  That said, people need to stop belittling others and calling them "ridiculous" for not wanting to vote for someone purely to go against another.  Yet again, that is not why you should vote for a candidate.

That's all for now.  Bye.

The Best New Travel App?

Unless you live under a rock or didn't grow up in the 90's, you likely heard about/downloaded the Pokemon Go app this past week, officially fulfilling all of your childhood dreams.

As a massive Pokemon fan, I was quite excited when the game was released in Australia.  If you don't know, the app has you walk around in the real world collecting virtual items at certain locations and catching Pokemon that randomly appear, all via your smartphone.

The actual Pokemon part of the game is fun but one of the real highlights is collecting the items.  All items are in locations of interest around the city, many of which I wasn't even aware of existed until now.  I've seen so many new murals, sculptures, and historic buildings this week purely because of the app.  At some of the bigger locations, brief info is given about the landmark as well. 

This has also been great for me since the winter weather makes it very easy to stick around the house all day. I now have great motivation to walk around and discover more of the city and seeing how this game is strangely addicting, it's been happening a lot lately.  If you want to become a Pokemon master, you have to make sacrifices and trudge through the cold/rain.

Found this mural a few nights ago about 2 minutes from my house.  Had no idea it was there until now.

Entrance to the Himeji Gardens, also right by my house.

Himeji Gardens

Himeji Gardens

Himeji Gardens

Himeji Gardens

Granted I've only used Pokemon Go in Adelaide but once it's released worldwide, this will be a fantastic way to find hidden spots in cities around the world and a great way to satisfy those annoying travel hipsters who want to "avoid the tourist spots" and "do what the locals do."  The only potential issue would be if you don't have a wireless or data connection but in big cities, that shouldn't be too big of a problem.  That and the app drains phone battery like none other.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Guns

From a modern day context, the second amendment is one of the dumbest things that has ever happened in the US (and that's saying something). If you're a gun nut, stay with me for a minute because there's some videos I want you to watch.

Last Sunday I stayed up all night watching a live stream of some news station in Orlando, Florida covering the horrific and tragic shootings that happened on back to back days.  As it should, whenever these things happen (which is way too often), I get incredibly mad/angry/frustrated/depressed/disheartened. 

The actual event is awful but the thing that usually hits me even harder is when I make the terrible decision to read comments on articles covering the event.  On any article about a shooting, gun control will be brought up.  The ignorant, hateful, idiotic, non-logical, paranoid, responses so many people write are disgusting.  When the best answer someone opposed to gun control can give is "it just won't work" even when they are presented with real world cases and evidence, you have no argument.  

The case against gun control just makes absolutely no logical sense.  I was going to write a long piece about why I hate guns and why they should be banned but figured I wouldn't be putting out anything that hasn't already been said.  Instead I'm going to give you two clips of Australian comedian Jim Jefferies talking about guns in the US.  I remember watching these when they first came out.  Everything he says I 100% agree with and is what I would have written but he makes it hilarious whereas mine would have been a frustrated rant.  

A few warnings before watching: If you get offended by swearing, don't watch.  The guy is Australian and uses a word Americans tend to freak out over but it is said a lot here and really isn't a big deal.  Also, he is making jokes about shootings so if you're sensitive, maybe don't watch.  If you're someone who thinks people should be allowed to own guns, Mr. Jefferies will shoot down your arguments so I hope you do partake.

That said, enjoy:

I'll leave you with one last thought: If being able to own a gun is more important to you than potentially someone's life, you might want to rethink your views.

That's all for now.  Bye.

The End of an Era

Breakups are never easy.

You were my first smartphone and forever changed the way I look at mobiles but today, I must retire you for what hopefully will be the last time.

We met back in 2012 and although I left you for your much better and newer family member 2 years later, you came back to me in 2015 when the new version was imprisoned by the evil AT&T.  

You're painstakingly slow and because of your age can only run about 2 apps but you did what you could. You're also a little too stuck in the past with your 3G hipster ways and I'm ready to move on.

You accompanied me to Ireland and although I only used you for internet, you always managed to help me find my way when I was lost.  One night in Prague you were taken from me but I chased your kidnapper down and got you back.  

Goodbye, my ever faithful iPhone 3.

If none of that made sense, I no longer have to use my ancient iPhone.  My usual phone was locked to a US network until the 2 year contract expired which it did today.  That means I can now use it as my Australian phone.  Hooray!  First world problem solved.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Stupid Travel Questions?

Whoever came up with the saying "there's no such thing as a stupid question" probably asked a lot of dumb questions.  Over the past couple of months I've been collecting some of my favorite questions asked on the Travel portion of Reddit.  

In no particular order, here are my top 10:

Ireland and England, the new Middle East?

What is this person planning on doing?

At least they know it's a dumb question.

This isn't really that stupid but it made me laugh uncontrollably.

You have to be very aware of all the passport checks for domestic travel.

Thailand is one of the most popular backpacking destinations in the world.  Also his wife's parents are forbidding them to do something? 

There are no words.

Has this person seen any movie/TV show ever?

"Ah no passport? No worries! Come on in!" 

I wish I could time travel.  And $500 isn't going to happen.

And here's a bonus 11th one I found today:

This may have came across as a little mean but it's all in good fun.  Hope you had a laugh or two.  I sure did.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Half Way Done

As of Friday, I have been in Australia for 6 months now which means I am half way done with this crazy, wonderful experience.   Actually, I'm a little more than half way because I'll need to leave earlier than my visa expiry date since I'll be doing standby flights again (just in case I can't get on a flight right away).  How it's already been 6 months, I have no idea.  Time has gone so fast since being over here and I really hope it starts to slow down a bit because I am nowhere near wanting to leave. 

I realize I've taken hardly any pictures while I've been here.  A big reason is me still having my ancient phone with a horrible camera and it's not worth taking photos that end up looking like the vision of a person who wears bifocals.  The good news is I'll be able to use my actual US phone in less than a month which is incredibly exciting for multiple reasons, one of which being more pictures.  I was going to walk around today and take pictures but had to cover someone at work so instead I'm posting pictures of Hannah, Maggie, and Lexee from Portland because we chatted this week and I can.

Nose bleed in 3...2...1...

I've been doing more research into going to the Great Barrier Reef.  I think I've picked a company to go swimming with so now need to figure out flights/accommodation.  I was originally going to stay in Cairns but might be headed down to Port Douglas instead.  It's looking like I might make it over there at the end of July.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Tipping in the USA

This one's for the Aussies.

Being a foreigner in Australia, I get asked a fair few questions about how things work in the US. One of the most popular questions involves tipping.  There is no tipping in Australia.  Growing up with it, tipping is not something I think about whilst in the states; it's just something you do.  It wasn't until my last year of university when I went out with people from Australia and saw they really had no idea how much money to leave/when they should do so that I realized tipping really is a confusing thing.  

To start things off, yes, tipping is expected in a lot of situations in the United States.  There is no formal penalty for not leaving a tip but it's highly frowned upon and you will for sure be hated by the person who provided you the service.  You'll also appear really cheap.  If you're not going to tip, you should not be going to a place where tipping is customary. Being from a different country is not an excuse to forgo tipping.

Where/who are you supposed to tip
The general rule is anyone who provides you a direct service should be tipped. 

Who/common places where you tip:

• Servers at sit-down restaurants
• Bartenders
• Bellhops
• Taxi drivers
• Shuttle Drivers
• Guides (tour, outdoor, etc.)
• Tattoo artists
• Food delivery drivers
• Movers

Who/common places where you do not tip:

• Fast food/coffee/take away (there may be a jar that says "tips" which you can drop spare coins into but it's definitely not expected)
• Fuel pump attendants (only a New Jersey and Oregon thing)
• Grocery/retail stores
• Package deliveries

Who/common places where you could tip but don't "have to":

• Hairdressers
• Housekeeping at hotels
• Repairman
• Postman (during the holidays)

How much do are you supposed to tip?  

This really depends on the service provided to you.  Since restaurants are the most common, let's use them as an example.

What seem to be the most accepted guidelines for tip amounts are:

Incredibly exceptional service: 20% of the total bill 

Good service: 15% of the total bill

Not good service: 10% of the total bill

Terrible service: the only time it's sort of acceptable to not leave anything (some people will leave $0.01 as a bit of a slap in the face)

It's customary at bars to tip $1 per drink.  If it's a fancy cocktail, $2.

*Pro-tip: To figure out 20%, double the bill total and move the decimal over 1 place to the left.  Adjust from there.

How do you leave the tip?  

If you're paying with card, the receipt will have a line where you write in how much you want to give the server or there will be an option on the screen if no receipt is printed (e.g. iPad point of sale).  You then add the tip amount with the bill amount and write the total.  If paying in cash, there are 2 ways.  You can give the server an amount greater than the bill and tell them to "keep the change" or you can leave the tip on the table after the server has processed your payment.

What's the deal with tipping?  

Why has this become the norm in the states?  Well unfortunately the main reason is a lot of people don't get paid enough money to live and these employees rely on tips to buy food and pay rent for the month.  In some states, servers are paid roughly $2-3 per hour.  If they don't get tips, there is no chance they could make any sort of living wage. There's a law that says if these people don't make at least minimum wage in tips per hour, the employer must meet the federal minimum wage.  However, apparently if a boss has to do that, they often times will punish an employee by cutting their future shifts.  How this system is legal, I have no idea.

- - - - -

Game of Thrones season 6 starts tomorrow.  Get psyched.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Life in Australia

Alright, I'll be honest.  I was saving this post for a lot later but forgot to write something for this week and had already started on this so you're getting it now.

I've been living in Australia for almost 5 months now and throughout that time have noticed some interesting things about everyday life.  Seeing as I've lived roughly 23 years in the US, obviously my comparisons are mainly to life there.

The Interesting:

• Alcohol here is expensive.  Whereas in the States you will 100% be saving money if you drink at your house, going out for a drink in Australia can cost about the same as it would to drink at home. Alcohol is highly taxed here which means the prices are substantially higher.  It's slightly confusing but here is an article from a few years ago that sums up the taxes nicely.
• You know when you see those special price tags at the grocery store that say "2 for $10?"  In the States, if you only buy one of those items, it will be $5.  In Australia, you only get the discount if you buy both. Get only one and it will be $6-7.
• Most rent payments in Australia occur every week as opposed to once a month.
• Payday is not on a set day (i.e. the 15th and 30th).  It's up to the employer when/how often employees get paid.  At my first job I got paid weekly and at the current it's every fortnight.
• Granted I've only had 2 jobs but I have yet to do a job interview in Australia.  Job trials seem to be more the norm (at least in the service industry).  Trial shifts are used to assess if the person is capable enough to do the job. These can either be paid or unpaid (although most are supposed to be paid).
• As opposed to paying every month, most utilities here are paid every 3 months.
• At least at the jobs I've had, clocking in/out of work is done by recording on paper versus an electronic system (although I know people who do use an electronic system).
• Stores and restaurants tend to close pretty early (at least in Adelaide).  It is rare to see a place open past 9. That said, bars and clubs stay open until at least 3am if not much later.
• I remember this from when I was here in July and working at the club, the song "Wonderwall" by Oasis is played a lot late at night at clubs.
• The only place to get alcohol is a bottle-o.  Grocery stores/servos do not sell it.
• Hardly anyone uses a tumble dryer for clothes.  I've actually only seen one house that owns a dryer.  Most people line/hang dry their clothes.
• I've gotten more used to it but 18 year olds are legally allowed to drink.
• Traffic cameras are everywhere.  Many are permanent fixtures but there are also portable speed cameras all over the place and they all actually work. 
• Labor laws.  There's a bunch of workers rights laws but they don't seem to be monitored/enforced that well.  A former coworker of mine who had previously worked at a very well known company said she got paid about $10/hour which is about half of the national minimum wage.  

The Good:

• Voting in Australia is compulsory; citizens are required to vote or they face a fine.
• All part and full time jobs put money into what is known as a super fund.  From my understanding, this is essentially a retirement fund.  The employer pays percentage (in addition to normal wages) into an individuals super account.  At age 65, an individual can access their retirement fund.  This means people are saving for retirement starting with their first part time job.
• Cigarette packs here have horrifying images on them in an attempt to prevent smoking.  Not sure if this works very well because it seems like a fair amount of people smoke but it is a nice addition.
• Most things banking wise here are very simple.  Transferring money to someone's account can happen almost instantly.  Paying with a card is incredibly fast using features like PayWave.
• Gumtree is Australia's version of Craigslist and it works very well.  Although I've only used Craigslist a few times, it always seems to be full of scams/people who flake out. People on Gumtree actually respond quickly and are legit (for the most part).
• People are normally incredibly polite.  Even when upset, most still have manors.  It's actually a little hard for me to take angry people seriously because of this.
• This is not Australia wide but is practiced in Adelaide.  For transit tickets, they have peak and off peak times.  Peak times are standard commuting hours and Saturdays. Off peak is everything else. Travelling on public transit during off peak is incredibly cheap.  The regular adult fare is $1.91 off peak and that gets you unlimited rides for 2 hours.
• A fair few bars have events known as "Sunday Sessions" which are basically just another excuse to go out on a Sunday afternoon.
• Self service checkouts at supermarkets are fast.  In the US, every time you scan something that annoying woman says "please place the item in the bag" and then pauses for what feels like an eternity.  Australian's don't have time for that and self checkout is way smoother.
• Wages here are amazing.  I did a post related to this a few weeks ago.  

A wild emu from last week

The Not So Nice:

• This is probably a thing that happens everywhere but I've noticed it more here.  Bars and clubs over serve alcohol a lot.  Almost every time I go out I see someone who is noticeably intoxicated and yet they're still being served.  Once while I was working at the club I had to get a security guard to help a guy leave since he was pretty much passing out standing up.  The security guard had passed by the person about 20 seconds prior.
• At least in Adelaide, people are horrible at walking on sidewalks.  I absolutely love living here and most the people are great but I just want to scream every time I'm walking somewhere.  There will always be someone walking in the middle of the sidewalk who then goes from one side to the other just as you're trying to pass them. Then there's the groups of 2+ people who somehow manage to take up the entire sidewalk leaving no passing room and maintain the pace of a snail.
• Flies.  Oh dear God the flies.  Yes, there are the normal houseflies which are annoying but then there are the bush flies.  Bush flies could possibly be more annoying than mosquitoes.  These little flies go straight for your face and will not stop.  You swat them away, they come back 2 seconds later.  And they always go for the face. Apparently trying to swat them away is called the "Aussie Salute."

- - - - -

Not a whole lot new going on but some quick updates from the past week:

• I'm absolutely loving my new place.  The location is great, the house is nice, and my housemates are awesome.
• Had a work party on Monday which was both fun and hilarious.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Australian Vs. American English

Although we both speak the same language, American English versus Australian English is quite a bit different.  Since I've been interacting with Australians for over 2 years now, I've gotten pretty used to the colloquialisms and sayings that come up in everyday conversation.

So here's a list of translations from Australian to American English of common words and sayings, many of which I hear on a daily basis.  Of course not everyone uses these terms and many people will sometimes use the Australian version and sometimes use the American.  I believe many of the words can be spelled with an "ie" or a "y" at the end so sorry if these aren't all spelled correctly. 

A
     Air Con = Air conditioning (AC)     Ambo = Ambulance
     Arvo = Afternoon                               Avo = Avocado

B
     Bathers = Swimsuit                           Barbie = BBQ
     Bogan = Low class person                Bond= Security Deposit
     Bottle-O = Liquor Store                    Brekkie = Breakfast
     Busker = Street Performer

C
     Capsicum = Pepper (e.g red)            Chemist = Pharmacy
     Coriander = Cilantro

D
     Docket = Receipt

E
     EFTPOS = Card transaction              Entree = Appetizer

F
     Fairy Floss = Cotton Candy               Far Out = Crazy
     Flat White = Coffee with Cream       Footy = Australian Rules Football
     Fortnight = 2 weeks

G
     Glassie = Bar-back                               Gridiron = American Football

H
     Heaps = Very/Really                            Hey? = What?
     Hotel = Pub (sometimes)                    Hot Chips = French Fries
     How ya going? = How are you?
   
I
     Imperial Pint =  570 ml beer

J
     Jug = Pitcher

L
     Legend = Great person                          Lemonade = Sprite                
     Lolly = Candy

M
     Maccas = McDonald's                            Main = Entree

     Mate = Friend                                          Mozzie = Mosquito

N
     Nappies = Diapers                                  No Worries = That's alright/you're welcome

P
     Pint = 425 ml                                           Pokies = Slot machine

     Pommy = Someone from England      Prezzy = Present

R
     Reckon = Think/Guess                           Rock Up = Show up

S
     Schooner = 285 ml beer                                Scratchy = Scratch Off Lottery Ticket
     Serviette = Napkin                                          Servo = Service station (7/11 esque)
     Shout = Buying something for someone 
     Skull =  Chug                                                    Stubby holder = Beer coozy
     Sunnies = Sunglasses                                     Sweet as = Awesome

T
     TAFE = Sort of like community college       Thongs = Flip Flops
     Toilet = Restroom/bathroom                         Too easy = No problem
     Top Bloke = Good guy                                      Trackies = Sweatpants
     Tradie = Tradeperson                                       True Blue = Patriotic Australian

U
     Uni = University                                               Ute = Pick up truck

W
     Woolies = Woolworth's (major grocery store)       Work Roster = Work schedule

Let's pretend these are Dictionaries

Wow my spell check is clearly set to American English.  Lots and lots of red squiggles in this one.

There's probably hundreds more words and phrases used by Aussies but I would say these are the most common.  If I got any definitions wrong,  please let me know!  Oh and apparently the glass sizes vary from state to state so I believe the ones listed above are the South Australian measurements.

Quick update:

• Quit working at the nightclub last week (yay!)
• Started looking for a new place to stay but am not having much luck
• Briefly saw some of the Tour Down Under walking back from work
• Had a fun night out with Liam and others on Thursday
• Very successfully recreated a Fuzzy Thursday with Vlad on Friday
• Australia day is on Tuesday this coming week

That's all for now.  Bye.

The Waiting

Riding public transportation to work requires lots of down time.  It takes me about 40 minutes with ride and waiting time to get from point A to point B.  To fill the stretch, I listen to lots of podcasts.  I recently ran out of episodes on my go-tos and needed something new.  I heard multiple people rave over a series called Serial and decided to give it a try.

The waiting is the hardest part

I'm a little late to the party but I finally started listening to the podcast.  It's through NPR's This American Life and came out in October of 2014.

The synopsis on the website says:

"On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t."

"Sarah Koenig, who hosts Serial, first learned about this case more than a year ago. In the months since, she's been sorting through box after box (after box) of legal documents and investigators' notes, listening to trial testimony and police interrogations, and talking to everyone she can find who remembers what happened between Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee fifteen years ago. What she realized is that the trial covered up a far more complicated story, which neither the jury nor the public got to hear. The high school scene, the shifting statements to police, the prejudices, the sketchy alibis, the scant forensic evidence - all of it leads back to the most basic questions: How can you know a person’s character? How can you tell what they’re capable of? In Season One of Serial, she looks for answers."

Each of the 12 episodes explore a different aspect of the case.  I haven't finished the series yet but was hooked after the first few minutes of episode 1.  If you're looking for something fun and interesting to listen to, I highly recommend.

That's all for now.  Bye.

Outside

The first outdoor climbing session of 2015 has happened!  After getting up around 7 and catching a train into Portland on Wednesday, I met up with two friends/coworkers and headed to Washington for a bit of cragging.  We headed to the Ozone area in the Columbia River Gorge, a wall I hadn't been to before.  None of us knew the area very well but there was a nice couple that recommended some routes to hop on.  The weather was perfectly overcast and although our hands got cold during climbs, the temperature was pleasant.

The routes were interesting and fairly high quality.  There were some fun moves on each route and the views from the top were incredible.  As you climbed above the trees, you could look down into the gorge.  Although there were a few chossy sections of rock, overall it was solid.

View from the top.  Very cool in person.

We all had to work that evening so had to head back to Portland earlier than we would have liked but it was a really good time.

That's all for now.  Bye.