Cold

It's coooold! :) The temperature these days drops to about 8 degrees Celsius in the morning (around 6 o'clock).
The maximum daily temperature gets around 15 degrees. I'm starting to wear gloves, sweater, and a winter jacket in the morning when I ride to work.
I'm happy that I won't be here in August. :D

I love being here

Melbourne is a beautiful place. When you're sad, being here does not add more to the sadness. On the contrary, it helps a bit that there is no that additional, external, pressure. And when you're happy the feeling is magnified even more. Being in such a beautiful environment adds to your happiness.
I'm glad I've seen both. I love being here. There is more time ahead for Melbourne and me but I am glad I've seen such a place. This here is exactly how I imagined things should be, what life should look like. Now I wonder whether it is just because it is a wealthy society and there is enough for everyone or is it something else as well. As usually, it's a mixture of all the circumstances around it...

New Google Earth

Wow! Check out Google Earth 4.3. There are some great 3D models of buildings in and around Melbourne. It's amazing!

True Age Test

Oh, wow, I repeated the True Age Test and now my true age is 22. Well, again, that's exactly how I feel. :))

Facebook Quiz Results

Hah, according to the results of some quizzes on Facebook my true age is 27 and I will get married in 51 years!
Well, that's exactly how I feel. :)

Driving Instructor

I had my second practice hour on Monday. Amazingly, I got a Bosnian driving instructor. So that driving hour passes quickly, chatting in local language, getting used to traffic around Melbourne. The test is in two weeks.

Black Swans

Went to the Botanical Gardens today again. Then walked through the large park next to it, around the Shrine of Remembrance through St.Kilda. Walking around Albert Lake, watching all the birds in and around the lake, made me think about Black Swans.

Black Swan

There is the Black Swan theory (see Wikipedia) which says a lot on how we think.
I'm at the crossroads again and can't seem to find a proper way to make important decisions. Life's unpredictable. I wonder if anything we do matters at all.

Google Maps - Bicycle Rides

I just added the paths of my bicycle rides to Google Maps. I'm impressed by what web apps can do now.
I draw the path on map first. Then, when a map is not detailed enough, just turn on the satellite view and adjust it across the bike paths that are clearly visible on the satellite image. The path shows the distance. In miles, though, but still ok.
These paths are public. You can see them by clicking the following link:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=116858251428587181613.00044b1a7df6cc8f5ee64&ll=-37.89653,145.008545&spn=0.536431,1.326599&z=10

Bike Locker

Wow, forgot to mention that I finally got the key to the bike locker in Rialto garage. It was last Tuesday. Then I've been cycling to work for a couple of days. Sometimes I walk, when the forecast is rain or simply to have a change from cycling.
Sometimes I like to walk back home through the Southbank as nothing better comes to mind. Just relax, look around, put foot in front of the foot...
It's funny when things get accomplished. Nothing left to do, achieve, then. I'm trying to find some things to complete, hoping I'd get some higher feeling of satisfaction but it just doesn't work that way.
This is exactly how I imagine paradise. Everything is at hand, everything is achievable yet not much brings satisfaction, accomplishment.
Maybe it's just a matter of intensity. I guess I'm really relaxing here and I love it.

Holiday Feeling

I still, after almost three months, have this feeling I'm on a holiday somewhere. Going to work, traveling on a train, riding a bicycle, shopping, walking around the city, watching the ocean... all of these still feel too strange and beautiful that it's hard to get used to the fact that I'm actually living here. It's hard to make long term plans (and stick to them) and say whether I'll be living here and how long but I'm glad I'm becoming part of this. Wherever I go from now I'll know that, not "there somewhere" but at an exactly defined place, there are people living normal lives, system functioning in a normal and beautiful way, where the weather is great, something to amaze me every day, where people are friendly and smiling, wishing you a beautiful day and eager to help, where the nature is simply amazing... I'm tired even of listing these things over and over again. It's easier just to "roll" the film of thoughts in front of my eyes. I'm sure that, wherever I go I'll be remembering and comparing beautiful Melbourne to wherever I happen to be.
My housemates are calling for dinner. This is just like a fairy tale...

Photos: Baloons over Melbourne and Trip to Altona

Photos link.
Photos from the trip to Altona are posted to Flickr. Too bad my batteries were depleted so I missed some fantastic scenes. But even these few will be enough.
There are also photos of baloons I see almost every morning. :)

Vanguard

Finally I got to the point of actually applying for an account with Vanguard. I've been thinking about this for a long time so today I sent an application. At last I will buy some real investments. Index funds are an interesting concept. Hopefully the funds/indexes I picked perform at least moderately well over time. These are long-term investments so I'll probably forget about it after a couple of months. And the amounts are not significant ones so I won't become suddenly rich, either. Just fulfilling another one of my wishes, to see how it all works out.

Driving Instructions

Started with the driving lessons today. Actually, what I need to do is to get used to a car, then to slightly different rules and driving on the left and to get comfortable with the route used for the testing. And all that just to have a valid driving license as I won't be able to drive with the Bosnian one after three months after arrival. My driving instructor is from Sarajevo! How cool is that?! So it was quite fun talking about home in our local language while driving around Melbourne. :)
I'll go driving one hour each Monday to get used to the order in which certain things need to be done - look into the mirror, then turn on the pointer lights, then look across the shoulder, etc. I guess that will be OK and after this I might go and do the motorcycle license as well.
Prices for the driving instructions are $35 per hour + $150 for the testing day. This last cost was a bit of a surprise but, hey, there's a "free" lesson included in that price. :)

Altona

Yesterday, Sunday, I went with a friend on a cycle tour to Western suburbs, along the coast of the bay. The idea was to get near the end of the train line, in the vicinity of Weribee and then cycle back towards the city, explore the area, see the aircraft museum, former airforce base, RAAF lakes, and what not. Apparently, there is a new bicycle track, called Federation Trail, so we thought to have a look at it, as well.
The train stopped at Newport, there were works on the line, so we continued down to Williamstown and then followed the trail West. That trail was the best we've seen so far around Melbourne. So many coastal parks and wetlands areas, different birds, black rocks on the shore, yellow sand, lakes inland, beautiful houses, rivers and streams... My camera was having troubles with the batteries. I don't recharge them often enough so the number of photos is limited. The views were beautiful. Altona has that feel of a nice place to live, as opposed to areas next to it.
We went to the end of the trail, met an older German couple, then crossed fences into wetlands areas, investigating where the stream flows into the ocean. They have been looking for it for the past two years.
The way back was an adventure in itself, following the railroad tracks. Riding through endless rows of houses made me sick. Can't imagine living in a settlement like that. Those close to parks and reserves were perfect as the kids could go out and play in the open, but those houses packed next to each other are just disgusting.
We decided there were a few areas worth visiting again so we have a few targets for some of the Sundays to come.
Photos to follow.

Botanical Gardens

I just went for a ride and stumbled upon The Royal Botanical Gardens. Walking around made me wonder if there was anything more beautiful in the world. It was just the time for the sunset and the Sun was behind me, shining its rays onto the wonderful trees and the lake there. The grass was beautiful and soft that I wanted to lie down on it and fall asleep.
After that I just happened to get to the Fawkner Park. On the map I never realized how big it was.
Such a lovely evening.

Reserve

Did the initial test for the Reserves today. It went well. I need to submit some other documentation before the application can be processed further. It all seems that it could go quite quickly. The conditions are very good, especially for the full-time members. This reminds me of former Yugoslavian Army.
There is a Signals unit relatively close to my place, where I could serve/do the training. There are IT positions available and everything should be pretty straightforward.
I was quite amazed by what I saw at the presentation today. Will enlist and see how it goes.

Rain

It's been raining for the past several days. When I say "raining" I mean raining just like back home. From the office I could see clouds gathering, gray skies, moisture developing in the distance into a strong shower. Yesterday the wind blew at 110km/h and knocked some trees in the park. WestGate bridge was closed, trains were delayed and canceled because of power outages.

I'm enjoying my walks to work in the morning. Walking along the river in the heart of Melbourne, watching guys wash cruise boats on Yarra River. Not crossing a street until I get really close to Rialto. This is something I could easily get used to. Ummm, I already have.