Applying for Medicare - failed

During our visit to Perth, we were in and around Armadale so we decided to stop by the Medicare office there and apply for the Medicare card.

We found it easily enough and after queuing up for about half an hour, we found ourselves seated in front of an officer. Photocopies of our passports were made before we hit a snag.

Apparently in order to apply for a Medicare card, you'll need to have a residential address so that they can mail the card to you. Ah well. Would've been good to know before we headed down!

Anyway while we were there, there were plenty of informative pamphlets but I did not have time to peruse all of them. Gonna have a look see at the website.

Guess we'll have to settle this the next time round.

Address needed.

What kind of migrant would you be?

I've thought about this and I can't decide.

Does migration mean giving up what I've been for the past 40 years? No?

Then does it mean an obstinate clinging on to the past despite moving on to a new country? No?

Is there then a balance that exists for Singaporeans who have migrated to Australia?

With that thought in mind, over the past few weeks, I have joined several groups on Facebook. These groups all had a common starting point - they featured Singaporeans who are living abroad in Australia at the moment or at least planning to.

After a few weeks, I still can't tell. There is a healthy dose of Singaporean news, at times maybe a little too much though perhaps that is because the groups do hold many Singaporeans in the midst of making the move Down Under. Who knows? That frequent poster of Singapore related news might be me once I've made the move across.

I discovered something else though as I was wondering about this - Singaporeans have a strong sense of community than I've suspected. I was struck by the efforts made to get together for picnics or whatnots and offers of  help for newly-landed migrants. These were, I might add, what was on the surface for all to see, I'm pretty sure there are many more instances of Singaporeans helping one another that go unannounced. I applaud their efforts and look forward to joining them in playing it forward when the opportunity arises.
 So ... what kind of migrant would I be?

I don't know at the moment but I plan to enjoy the journey.

Time to shrug off the comforts of Singapore and embrace uncertainty.

Topsy turvy weather?

Based on what we read and researched, we were pretty sure what we were going to get from Melbourne and Perth weather.

It is winter after all, so we were expecting cool temperatures and I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm more than fine. I am in love with the cold weather that has put an end (albeit temporarily) to the incessant sweating (because pespiration is too gentle a word to describe what I go through daily in Singapore) in the little red dot.

In my quest to convince J that we should be looking at Perth, I often cited Melbourne's finicky weather as a prime determinant. She doesn't like it when it gets to cold. I never imagined though that during out 8 days in Melbourne, that it would only shower on one day. ONE. UNO. The rest of the days were chilly but nothing at all like the drastic changes that we read about online. Melbourne weather was, truth to tell, extremely accomodating.

Now when we got to Perth, I reminded her that the weather here would be even better. That she wouldn't even need her jacket on most days. I was right but not in the way I expected. In the 6 days that we have been here, it has rained for 4 of those days. J didn't need a jacket, we needed raincoats. Truly at a loss though. Has what we've been reading all along being wrong or did we happen to experience two weeks of aberrant weather behaviour in Australia? 

Despite the rain, we managed to sneak in a decent amount of activities of which cycling along the Swan River in Perth stands out as a highlight. In Melbourne, it was the visits to Gibson's Steps and Loch Ard Gorge which took the cake.

Perth in winter has also been warmer than I expected it to be. There have been occasions when I have perspired - cycling, having lunch in an extremely warm Viet eatery. Overall though, I believe it offers a better climate - one where you're not so cold that you need to be all swaddled up in layers even when you're in a building.

Now if I could just figure out this weather.

Connection is patchy down here, hopefully get to post some photos in the future.

Perth

Been in Perth for the last two days or so.

The weather is slightly warmer than Melbourne's, which is great as I can do away with the jacket - its just t-shirt and jeans and its good to go.

I am however a little worried. It is supposed to be winter but the afternoon sun was decidedly warm. How will I cope when Summer comes around? That though is another question for another time.

Anyway have been in Thornlie for the past two days and it's decidedly quieter than Melbourne. Perth drivers seem a tad more patient than the ones we encountered in Melbourne too.

There seems to be a lot of development going on at the moment on Perth's roads - expansion of existing roads everywhere.

We visited a few suburbs today but more on that another day as we will be going round to a few more in the next few days.

Schools here though do operate a little differently. All the students go around in hats and the Perth school bells are really awful sounding - the first few times we heard it, we looked around expecting to see an emergency vehicle speeding through. What does it sound like? I think the best description would be an air raid signal. Schools in Perth also seem to occupy a larger land area and they all invariably have larger, grassier school fields than their Melbourne counterparts.

Melbourne suburbs

Visited several Melbourne suburbs and primary schools but except for a few the rest are already starting to blur in the background. I really have a horrible memory so this post is for future reference before I forget everything.

Cranbourne. Roads were undergoing repairs. Cranbourne Park was being built or extended? In other words, I happened to visit when a lot of construction seemed to be going on or maybe I was still in Singapore. The primary school gave off a positive vibe and the neighbourhood around the school seemed decent. Houses looked well maintained generally. Quite a fair bit of traffic.

Hampton Park. Ranks quite highly on homely.com.au but I failed to take any positives from the visit. There was an overriding hum to the entire visit which we later worked out to be the noise from vehicles on the nearby freeway. Maybe we didn't see enough to do it justice.

Frankston. More crowded than I thought it would be. Lots of traffic. Kids, especially S, liked the primary school. I liked that it was near the beach. The neighbourhood around felt safe enough with plenty of amenties. Had a nice morning at the park feeding the seagulls and ducks. Houses are of the mature kind.

Mooroolbark. This was the one place that captured my heart. School was rather rustic but so peaceful. We happened to be there during recess? The children were playing and it was good to hear sounds of laughter. Neighbourhoods nearby gave off a very positive vibe. Honestly speaking, this was the first suburb that helped convince me that I might be able to settle in Melbourne.

Lilydale. Not for me. D liked the place though he wasn't able to tell us why. The rest of us felt that it was too industrial. There were plenty of amenities so no complaints there. Houses also tended towards unit housing, We really spent a fair bit of time driving around the area and getting out, walking around but it never felt right.

Epping. The main reason I am typing this post. We all liked it enough for it to rank highly on our respective lists but neither of us could recall enough about it to explain why. Kind of like the nice guy or girl you met at a function but you cannot, for the life of you, recall anything about them a few days later.

St Albans. Another surburb that did not really click with us. Wife and I liked the school. It looked newly built or well maintained but the kids begged to differ. Neighbourhood was decent but seemed penned in by highways.

Tarneit. We liked the neighbourhood. It is a still growing suburb with more amenities coming up. School is a combined primary and secondary which I think would be great for the kids. Generally appealed to all of us. We spent some time in the parks there just to get a feel of what it was like.

Werribee. Some rather unique attractions as in the Aquatic Center and Open Zoo. Plenty of traffic. Visited one beach (maybe it was the wrong beach) but we were left wanting for more. No lack of shopping in the area but that's not what I am looking out for. Werribee placed in the middle in most of our lists. I liked that the primary school had a garden patch in which the students helped out in. I did not like that while I was there I was worried that the car would be broken in to. No. It wasn't broken in to, it was just me being worried but I didn't get that feeling in any of the other suburbs we visited. I put that down to the guy who was cycling back and forth down the street while we were there.

Have to remember to do better when we go to Perth. Perhaps with the help of some photography.

That said we felt safe in all of the suburbs and they all have their own plus points.

Visiting Melbourne

I am seated in a secluded corner of Cowes on Phillips Island as I type this entry.

It has been a hectic school term right up to two days ago when we broke camp. This is probably the first quiet moment I've had to myself since.

It has been much needed.

It is amazing how quiet the nights are in Australia compared to Singapore.
Standing at the doorway of our rented cottage, there is none of the hustle and bustle so common in Singapore even in the late hours of the night.

What is missing?
The incessant beeping of the elevators and the voice announcing which floor it is on.
The bright glare from all the lighting.
The background hum of traffic and buses plying their routes.
A feeling that even though most of Singapore is alseep, it is still awake or winding up to wakefulness.

Over here right now all I am hearing is the rustling of the leaves because it is about to rain. It is so soothing. It is a moment that I am grateful for.

Ah ha .... it has just begun to rain as I am typing this.
I am not going to pass up such an invite.
Off to bed!

Updated (morning)
Waking up is pretty different too.
Woke up to a gentle drizzle (yes it rained through the night), birdsong and a distant lawnmower as compared to buses, horns and construction sounds.

A picture taken at the 1st beach we stopped at.

Reflection

We were heading back home after dinner with Dad.

J and S were walking a little ahead.
Leaving my son, D and I walking just a tad behind.
We were holding hands and I think we looked up at the same time and noticed our reflections in our neighbour's windows.

He commented, "Look Daddy, you are so much bigger than me".

I remembered replying offhandedly that one day he would be bigger than me.

That night though when they were tucked in and asleep, that's when the fears kicked in again.

What if the day that he would be taller than me never came about?

What if moving to Australia was the wrong choice?
What if one day, I'd look back and with hindsight identify this as the moment I should've stepped back?

I suppose the events at Mt. Kinabalu have emphasized the point and in no small part led my mind wandering down those paths.

We speak of so many things in our daily lives, talking about the future as if we'd definitely be there to see it.

It is so simple a thing - to want to watch your children grow.

I want to be there to see that happen.

I better be there to see it.
The moment bad better be there to be seen.

I have seldom been terrified for myself.
But.
It is terrifying sometimes to be a parent.