Time is ticking away

This is such a great and simple idea that it deserves it's own entry.

From now on, I'm going to count the days that are left until my departure (1 December 2011).
It'll make the concept of leaving easier to grasp.

There are 627 days until Thursday, 1 December 2011.

Letting them know

It just struck me... the easiest way to tell the close ones about leaving is... (I'm gonna leave you some seconds to thing about it)... Yeah, you probably guessed it if yo already read this post.

Using baby steps is the way to do it... if you'll just wait until the final moment to bring it up, you could end up giving you old folks a heart attack. I didn't think about this at the beginning but as time passed it became more and more obvious. In fact the earlier your bring it up the better it is (you could even get their support).

So, it's quite simple, randomly start talking about Oz, about what you think it's cool about it. And keep on doing it until you encounter resistance, then just drop it. After some time start talking about it again. When you do this try to gradually get closer to the idea of moving there.

And people will eventually get accustomed to the idea that you're talking serious business.

And this behavior can be used almost everywhere and anywhere (as long as time permits it).

The only drawback that this particular situation has is that if you'll start talking to new people about this from the start some of them will be really careful about committing when it comes to you. Don't worry about it, it's only a few that react in this particular way.

Hooroo!

Metaphorically Surviving the Outback

Part of making such a big move is being truly able to survive all by yourself. Like no friends, no relatives, no acquaintances, if fact when you get there there's a big chance no one will give a rat's ass about you. And you must be prepared for that or else you'll crack.

And this is a big one: it's not only being able to find a place to live, and finding a job. These are trivial. It's important to be able to cope with the sudden change (and this is a very big lifestyle change).

So the main idea is to have as many things settled down before you leave (and I mean learn all the things that can be learned) so you can use most of the energy you have to adapt. That should make sense, it's only a reminder.

Here's a list (not comprehensive whatsoever) of things that i expect to change (to be extended): 

1. the climate
2. using english on a day to day basis
3. having no one to talk to
4. different culture/lifestyle

So I'll have to start adapting right now: 

1. The first thing I totally suck at is cooking my own food. I was spared until now, but my time has come. And I started doing this one month ago. What I found out is that I hate cooking. The simple fact that I have to pay attention to such a casual task is driving me nuts. The solution to save me came from here: Minimalist Eating. 3 ingredient recipes sound so cool I will try them as soon as I get more time to search for good quality ingredients.
2. Washing clothes. I wonder how many perfectly good clothes I will ruin in this process. :)
3. Getting more familiar with aussie slang. I've went on imdb and checked out the top 100 pure Australian films. I got to see some cool stuff and some crap, all in all that didn't serve my purpose entirely. So the next step is getting my hands on documentaries about Australia and probably getting some literature.
4. Getting more familiar with English. Today I decided that after I finish reading all my books in Romanian I'll switch to English (exclusively... probably buy some cool books from amazon). Remember? This is the same reason I'm writing this blog in English (only for this post I've looked 4 words in the dictionary)

No OZ embassy/consulate in Romania?

The answer is yes. Australia has no official representatives in Romania. The embassy that handles us is in Serbia.
And the consulate was closed at the end of 2009. That's a shame...

The silver lining is that I've procrastinating calling them for one month and a half and it turned out it wouldn't have mattered if I took the decision to call them then.

But Australia is so far away...

Almost every time I mention Australia to someone, his/her reaction is: So far way? My parents have mentioned that I should try to go somewhere closer (Europe preferably). I didn't argue with them, but I didn't agree. I told them that many things can change in 1 year and a half (that's when I plan to leave) and that we'll see.

I realise this is a big change for all my family. And I'm willing to let them get used to the idea first and then tell them that I did my best to make the idea to become real. No reason to upset them if I don't have anything settled.

But I digress... The answer to the above question is that I feel that I would be happy there. And I believe that happiness is a very important aspect of life.

Why would I be happy? This is such a more interesting question and I'll answer it in a future post.

Solving point 2 on the TODO list

With the current economical situation (this so called crisis) it got really hard a find a cool job (meaning a job that would bring material and profesional satisfaction; meaning a job that would make you happy).

The important this is (and I'm going to write it uppercase): DO NOT GIVE UP!
Yeah, I know it sounds silly and all that. But it sounds silly because everyone says it, but few do it effectively.
It's so much easier to let go.

I can't even begin to think how many people told me that there aren't any cool jobs available and that I should stay put yada...yada...yada... It was easy not to listen to them, I had viable sources that stated otherwise. And I was so confident about my competence and experience that I couldn't give up.

So, after some time, 3 months to be more specific, I landed in a small company, as an application developer (occupation present on the MODL list), with a hefty increase in salary and in a cool team by my side.

I guess the next period will be a little bit harder for me, but I'll handle it.

TO DO LIST

There are a couple of things that must be done before emigrating to Oz.
This is going to be a checklist that will help me keep track of my objectives (not necessarily in order).

1) Obtain a passport.
2) Make 1 year of experience in a MODL (Migration Occupations in Demand List) occupation.
I've chosen Computing Professional [specialising in Java]. CRITICAL
3) Take the General IELTS Exam. CRITICAL
4) Save 2050 euros for covering 2 months expenses once I get there.
5) Find out the best price for a one way airplane ticket. CRITICAL
6) Decide in what city I'll start my Australian adventure.

to be continued...