This is my daily life here in Australia. I live by myself in one granny flat apartment paying A$250 every week. I don't have a car and I don't know how to drive that is why I am using an electric Bike. I use an electric bike because going home coming from work is uphill and it is much easy, no sweat to drive up.
My place is beautiful, it has everything that people need to live the good life. Heaps of park and bush, children's playground and exercise area and the beach is amazing.
There is one shopping mall here with all the grocery and department stores. Heaps of restaurants with different cuisine but I rarely eat outside because I still prefer my Filipino kind of taste of food, so I cook my own food.
I am usually working 8 hours a day, 5 days in a week. Here in Australia full time workers usually have two days off (38 hours work a week). Compared to some countries only people working in the offices have two days off and the rest like waiter, customer services, are usually have one day off in a week.
When I am day off I usually just bike around the area, or sometimes meeting friends driving around or eat somewhere. There are so much to enjoy around here. Beaches are just everywhere and you can swim anytime you want or do your water activities.
Nature is amazing, there are birds everywhere, they are actually the one that is going to wake you up, the birds are noisy but they are beautiful. Lorikeet is my favourite they are usually in group and they look beautiful colourful together. There are also some swan at the beaches and Pelican that is not afraid to human. Pelicans usually stays near the fish cleaning area because they are eating the fish trimmings.
Spring is my favourite time of the year here in Australia, actually both the autumn and spring. They are perfect no sweating on my daily bike ride. Also the place is so beautiful during these days beacuse there ae many flowers and birds just everywhere around. During spring wearing jacket is okay and wearing tshirt is okay too. Swimming in the beach is okay too compare to winter that literraly no one is swimming.
IELTS is one of the most used English tests as a requirement if you are planning to work in an English speaking country like the US, Australia, Canada, The United Kingdom. IELTS is also one of the requirements if you are planning to study abroad, not necessarily speaking English country.
I came to Australia without the need of taking any IELTS with my Training and Research Visa last 2016. it was not required before. But in 2017 I needed to apply for a working Visa which is why I needed to take the IELTS General.
That time IELTS was A$330 and you need to book it in advance in different IELTS test centre around Australia, I booked mine at IELTS University of Technology Sydney. When you book IELTS it comes with the free reviewer that you can access online to study and be prepared on the actual test. To be honest I did not know that reviewer before and didn't do any kinds of review aside from watching some IELTS sample tests in youtube. I am not really good at English, you can see my videos and will notice my English problem...but I passed and got and an overall score of 6, but got 5.5 with my listening and the rest are 6.
IELTS is valid only for three years that is why again I took IELTS in preparation for my future plan, possibilities, and opportunities. I booked it at IELTS University of Newcastle in New South Wales. I did not take any review and again I passed and got a little higher score than my previous one...but it is the same "competent" level.
Speaking test is similar to an interview. The interviewer is going to ask you some question and will also give you some topic that you need to discuss. It has a timer and the conversation between you and the interviewer is recorded.
In my case, the interviewer just asked me the basic about my self like what is my job and what are some of my duties in the kitchen. Then he asked me things about "making a list" and its importance. I remember my friend was asked about a flower and he needed to discuss things about it.
I did my listening, writing, and reading test on the computer.
Listening Test.
The listening test is similar to the usual school test where you really need to listen to the narration and pick the correct answer. Narration only read once.
Reading Test.
The reading test for me is easier because there is a chance to have a look at the article while answering the question.
Writing Test.
The writing test has to parts, the first one is you need to write kind of letter to someone, it can be a request letter, a complaint letter etc. The second one is you need to write an article about the given topic.
I remember that when I was in Dubai my friend took the IELTS at the Wollongong University at Dubai Knowlege Village and it costs 990 Dirhams.
Some IELTS establishment does offering free IELTS computer trial test. and free IELTS review.
I rarely eat KFC when I was in the Philippines, I usually eat in McDonalds, Jollibee, Chowking and at any food court outlet in the shopping mall.
When I was in Dubai, we usually eat in KFC as a group and we order a bucket meal. In Dubai, we prefer KFC menu than Mc Donalds menu which mostly are just burgers. And when Jollibee opens in Dubai I eat mostly at Jollibee.
I prefer McDonalds and KFC in the Philippines because their menu has a lot of Filipino things on it, it has rice and popular Filipino breakfast meal.
When I was in Sydney I prefer to eat the rice meal available mostly in the foodcourts and are usually on sale after 2pm at very low prices. But in the night the cheapest option to eat in the restaurant is the McDonalds, KFC and Hungry Jacks, some of them are open 24 hours. Other regular restaurant are slightly pricier than these fast food chains.
Restaurant here in Port Stephens usually have lunch special, Lunch special is usually cheaper, almost same price of KFC or Mc Donalds. But it is available on limited time. Because of that the cheaper option is the KFC or McDonald for the rest of the day. I prefer KFC over McDonald.
I did my month-long bikepacking last year, and I consider it to be one of the highlight of my life. It was an amazing experience that is why I did this bike camping Australia 2020.
Coming from Nelson Bay I ride my bike for around four hours to reach Newcastle. It was a safe, relax, and easy ride because roads here in Australia do have bike lanes even in the highways. There are some harmless animals along the way but be careful with the magpies and some aggressive birds.
Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle and is separated by the hunter river. To get to Newcastle CBD by car you need to take the Stockton bridge which is about 30 minutes drive and that is the only way to get there. There is a ferry that crosses the river and the good thing is you can load the bike in the ferry for free and will cost only the regular fare for less than 5 minutes ride.
If you never been to Newcastle or been here a long time ago then you'll be surprised with the many changes within the city centre, especially in the coastal area. The tram is probably the highlight of the changes. The tram starts at the Newcastle Interchange and ends at the Newcastle Beach. Skyscrapers are on the rise at the Honeysuckle and from there you can walk along the beach walk all the way to Merewether Beach, you can ride the bike as well as I did.
I went back to Stockton because that is the nearest place where there is a camping ground. I choose to stay in a camping ground because of the COVID 19, air circulation is safer outdoor. Because I am on an electric bike and needed to charges the battery I paid 44 dollars for a powered site. I have my tent easily build and was all good in the cold. Tent condensation is a normal thing, it can be reduced with some tricks and tactics but with 8 degrees centigrade I prefer. not to worry about it
It was all good until I feel the cold on my feet, that's when I realized that my socks are thin and can't really protect me in the cold. That pair of socks made me sleepless that night.
I was able to see the beautiful sunrise at the Stockton breakwater, It was amazing. I noticed that there are many stray cats within the breakwater and they are all fat. I leave the camping ground and head to the coffee shop and had a good cup of coffee while driving. I got home safe and sound in this bike camping and will do it again sometimes in the future.
I don't know why I don't buy new underwear. I actually have two new sets of underwear and until now they are still new because I don't like wearing them because I am not comfortable wearing them probably because of the kind of materials they use.
That broken underwear that I have was the very first underwear that I bought here in Australia. I don't have money at that time as I am new in Australia and I needed underwear that is why I bought that being the cheapest, the biggest in the children's sections. ha ha.
I believed that I am not the only one keeping and still wearing broken underwear. I believed many men are doing the same.
Inigo was the first to arrive in this place, He was initially looking for Filipino friend but there was no one until he realized that the best thing to do is to befriend the locals and now he got many friends around here.
I came after a year of Inigo and we become friends, then through my youtube channel, I introduced Inigo to Rap. Then another Rafael comes to work with us, and last but not the least, through my channel, Erickson is the latest Filipino in our circle of friend.
Nelson Bay is so beautiful on regular sunny days, there are many activities you can do under the sun. Whenever I go biking around I see many people who are just relaxing, walking around, fishing, and doing some good stuff outdoor. But when it is raining, there is really nothing we can't do outside. Showering in the rain is not a good idea because it is winter these days.
In a city like Sydney, shopping malls are one of the places to go as activities and spending leisure is so much to enjoy.
There was news of COVID 19 case, A Sydney person that visited the Salamander Shopping centre on the 15th of July, and it infected local people. They are now on isolation but people are advised to take extra care and do the testing if feeling any symptoms.
The community and my workplace are following the restrictions and of social distancing and getting used to it already and feeling it as the new normal. But because of the news and second wave that is happenning in Melbourne, people are starting to worry again. These days I am seeing more people wearing mask compared before.
I don't really like Filmora 9 Video Editor until I tried it and realized that it is the cheapest complete full features video editor in the market. I initially thought that Filmora 9 is just a copycat video editor that can't do good full video.
I made some research, did some video editor comparison, and finally realized that Filmora 9 is actually one of the best video editors when it comes to its features and possibilities of creating unlimited video ideas. Filmora 9 has heaps of transition, titles, and other elements that will surely help to make beautiful videos.
This vlog is the very first video that was edited using Filmora 9 Video Editor and it was easy because the basic ways of editing are similar to what I am used to, I was an iMovie video editor user. iMovie is very easy to use but it is very basic that only does the basic. That is the reason why I got the Filmora 9 Video Editor, because it can do anything and because it is cheap with a complete and has full features video editor.
Australia has amazing nature, heaps of parks, beaches, and bushes to explore and they are properly taking care of by the authorities for the enjoyment and safety of the people. If you are not in Australia and you want to see how the outdoors really look like, then here is the list of outdoor vloggers in Australia. I included myself and will keep on updating the list.
Most of Scotty's videos are solo camping adventures, his video doesn't have much talking or narration and you'll see him walking, cooking, and doing things that will make you understand the situation. So good.
Abroadero Robbie is a Filipino expatriate in Australia, most of his videos are outside with his bike going to work, doing groceries, exploring the bush, and cooking. He traveled around Australia using his bike.
YBS Young Blood Brodie is a resigned electrician who is now vlogging full-time mostly fishing in the coastal area of Queensland.
Nick Fry Nick is one of the kids of the duo TarraDarraBros, his videos are all about adventurous fishing in different methods.
FTG's Video Ethan's videos are mostly the train travel around Sydney and surrounding suburbs. You'll see him walking around showing beautiful spots around the greater Sydney.
Merrett Contracting Mark's videos are mostly about his family farm. They have a huge farm with heaps of sheep.
AdVANture ST His adventure is mostly bike packing around in mountainous areas of New South Wales, particularly Blue Mountains as he lives just around Sydney.
There are many world-popular vloggers living in Australia like Chloe Thing, Lachlan, HowToBasic, and so much more. Most of them are fashion, gaming music, random videos that are mostly indoors. Australia is a beautiful country, nature is just beautiful to see at least in the video that is why this list of outdoor vloggers in Australia are some of the interesting youtube vloggers or youtube channels to check out.
Cloudy or not, sunset is always beautiful here in Australia. It is very relaxing to see it. During winter season sunset occurs as early as 5 o'clock in the afternoon and rises again at around 6 o'clock in the morning. Summer has long days here as sunset occurs at around 8 o'clock in the afternoon and rises again around 5 o'clock in the morning.
They always have new items in Woolworths, the grocery here and this time I bought this kind of sponge roll, If you want fresh seafood there are independent seafood shop around the area and not just the grocery.
My Cube Acid Hybrid One 400 eBike is now on its first year anniversary. I bought it last year and been my daily transportation to get to work, bike around and when I went to Brisbane from Nelson Bay here in Australia.
Rainy winter biking to work is always expected to come from time to time here in Australia particularly in New South Wales during the winter season.
I ride my bike to work and it doesn't matter if it is raining or no. I always have my rain jacket and rain trouser packed in my daily backpack. I intentionally buy the large cheap waterproof jacket so that I can fit in with my backpack. My waterproof trouser is also a little longer so that it will totally cover my boots and water will not get inside my feet. Getting to work is a 10 to 15 minutes bike ride and is just right to get me there safe and dry.
Today I noticed that my bike has this squeaking sound coming from the disk brake. I suspect that the front brake pads are worn out already as I always use it more than the back one. I have this bike for more than a year now and never had any adjustments to the brakes and actually never cleaned it.
I am still using my bike despite the squeaking. I am thinking of fixing it myself or bringing it into the bike shop.
I always wonder why my clothes always have these dirt things after washing, I have in mind that maybe I need to change the filter or something but I am not sure where I am going to see it and I am not really eager to find it. This time I decided I need to see it by moving the washing a little bit but I did not see any on the back of the washing machine or on the side. I looked inside the washing machine and found out that it is the one in the middle. I took it off and there we go it is very dirty.
My family never had a washing machine because we can't afford it. My mother is the one who does the washing and I myself do it and it is really hard and very tiring.
When I moved to Dubai that is the very first time I experience doing my laundry in the washing machine. That washing machine that we have is very good because it is all in and all I need to do is put the dirty clothes and when it is done it is already dry and all I need to do is fold my clothes. Washing machine is amazing invention, big help to human daily life.
My shyness is because I don't wanna disturb people, I sometimes prefer to suffer than to disturb others... situation like an old couple peacefully walking, a family enjoying the walk, lovers having a sweet walk, etc.. are kind of not need a buzzer when they are on my way.
I do sing out loud when I am riding my bike and I hope that no one can hear it and no one is being disturbed.
I bought this Thai green curry sauce and cooked it with chicken and some frozen mix vegetables. It was not the best tasting curry but could be improved by adding proper ingredients and seasoning.
It is more than I year now that I do cut my own hair. It is not because I am trying to save money but because cutting my own hair is an interesting experience. I am not too conscious anymore of how do I look, I am now more of exploring the experience when it comes to my hair even if my hair is balding already.
This time I did not able to film my haircutting because it was unplanned and I did it last minutes before going to work. What I want to do is cut it undercut so that I can make it long and do some hairstyle experiments in the coming days. I just realized that it is not good when I was editing this video. :0
There are many hair cutting devices available in the market and they are really affordable, they usually come full set for grooming.
I met my colleague from Dubai who is also now working here in Australia. We both work in Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa. Burj Khaliga is the tallest building in the world in Dubai, UAE.
The next day I went to the bike shop to buy a bike lock and i accidentally get to this place. This place looks newly developed and it looks beautiful. Trees are not grown up yet and you'll be able to see the hilly part of the area.
Modern beautiful regional Australia is how I am going to describe this place.
I always sing. I sing when I am on my bike, and I am singing out loud when no one is around. I am sometimes surprised there are actually people behind me saying good singing huh, happy huh, and I just smile and say thank you. Never encountered annoyed one yet.
One thing I noticed that I can't actually sing very well when I am walking but can sing pretty easily when I am on my bike.
I remember that there is no so much tourist during the winter season for my three years of living here in Nelson Bay. But this fast few days noticeably many people are walking around and exploring the places. Many travellers, many caravans, many families walking and biking around.
Most of these people are a local tourist because Australia is still closed for the international traveller.
Cube Acid Hybrid One 400 is the eBike that I am using for the moment. I have this eBike for a year now and never had any problem whatsoever.
I used this eBike for a super long bike ride during my bikepacking tour from Nelson Bay in NSW to Brisbane in Queensland which is about a thousand kilometers.
I used this ebike every day to get to work, running an errand, and when roaming around the area. My place has many hills and sure needs to go through it on a daily basis.
Australia was once of those countries with a high number of CoVid cases at the beginning of the pandemic. I remember that in the Philippines was just hundreds and Australia already had thousands. Australia was able to control it and flatten the CoVid curve with the help of the majority of the people. Cases have been contained, done testing everywhere, sets lockdowns, and restrictions.
It is almost normal here now as CoVid cases are contained, there are still restrictions, limitation, and social distancing is still imposed. My place now have many tourists just like before the CoVid. It is now busy again and people now are feeling back the freedom of travelling around particularly here in New South Wales.
Coming from Nelson Bay we drive for more than one hour to get to this place called Glenrock Reserve in Newcastle area. This place is hidden and you'll not notice that it has this beautiful setting area with the view of the ocean and the bush. The setting area is covered with fake bermudagrass that is good to set and just relax. There is a pathway to get down to the beach but make sure to bring some water because you'll get tired easily and be thirsty once coming back coming.
Make sure to bring your camera because the scenery is breathtaking. You'll see the ships from far away waiting for there stuff, you'll see giant waves that is good for surfing, you'll see people just walking around.
Going back home we went to pick up a boxing bag from an ad in the Facebook marketplace, it's free. We then eat in an Indian restaurant called Raj near Hamilton Train station in Newcastle.
I am not really a big fan of KFC when I was in the Philippines. I was always at Jollibee, Mc Donald's, and Chowking. I usually have breakfast in Chowking, lunch in Jollibee, or dinner in Mc Donald. I was living in a bed spacer apartment and never cooking my own food. All of my meals are bought from the restaurant, fast-food chain, or the local food shop.
When I moved to Dubai that is when I start to appreciate the taste of KFC chicken and I maybe have KFC 1 time in 2 months. And now, here in Australia KFC and McDonald's are the options I have. McDonalds here doesn't have rice that is why I like the KFC more because I am not a fan of the burger. In the Philippines, McDonald's has rice, chicken, and spaghetti meal.
Australia was closed for around two months during this still existing CoVid 19 pandemic. Shops, restaurant, and other non-essential establishment was closed and is illegal to open. June 1 2020, when the travel ban was lifted and the establishment was allowed to open.
Here in Australia, businesses are getting financial support from the government to pay their employees and it is called Jobkeeper payment. Because of that, businesses only give a job to their employees who are on job keeper payment in order for them to save, maximize the income, and to survive and revive the business. I am not on a jobkeeper payment because I am not Australian and not a permanent resident, my company, my employer is just fair and good to employ us equally...but with fewer hours of work and less salary.
eBike is my only means of transportation here in Australia, my daily means of transportation going to work, running errands, or when roaming around the area. Nelson bay is a beautiful beachy place with many hills and ascending roads. An ordinary bike will make you push hard to get to your next stop.
These days there are many local tourists, they are basically coming from the city probably from Newcastle or Sydney because the international traveller is not yet allowed to get into Australia. Some of these travellers do travel with their van or caravans or motorhomes as they call it in the US. There are also many bikepacker, bikepacker are the people who is travelling with their bike. I did the same before and I always wanna do it again. I actually envy those bikepacker. Travelling with bike is cool way of just enjoying the nature.
Some of my colleagues in Dubai regularly go to the pub to drink after work, I don't go because I don't like the feeling after drinking. I only go when it is a team outing where we go to the house of our colleague, or go to the pub or sometimes on the yacht. I drink occasionally, I got drunk before and the feeling is not good having headaches, dizzy, and vomiting.
Last night I join with some of my colleague and their friends on a bbq night. I drink one and a half bottles of beer and all was good. I got home well and sleep. I wake up roughly 11pm and I was feeling dizzy, with blurry images of things and my mind was randomly thinking of things quick, unable to focus, and uneasy. No headaches or body pain, it was like a bad dream.
I was not able to come to work because the feeling was still there until 6 o'clock in the morning when I am supposed to start my duty. I can't even focus and unable to dial the number at work, that's when I notice my phone ringing and I got a call from work. I sleep again and feeling better when I woke up.
Australia has four seasons and it is exactly the opposite of the season in America, Asia, and Europe. Small parts of Australia do have snow but most parts are just having cold temperatures.
I am day off this time and we help Erickson, the new guy who just moved here in the bay. The apartment he got is not fully furnished that is why he is buying stuff from the neighborhood through Facebook. I am very lucky living in a fully furnished granny flat with very kind landlord. The only thing that I bought in my apartment is the TV because the one that the apartment has is not working very good.
Also in this video, I meet a family who is watching my videos even before they are in the Philipines. We tour Erickson around the bay area.
It really looks like normal here now. Shops and restaurants and all other establishments are now open but still with social distancing and some restrictions applied for the safety of everyone. Streets and parks has many people having their picnic and usual family gatherings.
As you can tell we are now back to work but we are actually working with fewer hours than the normal 38 hours a week. This is good because reducing hours gives the opportunity to all employees to have hours of work instead of giving work only to the qualified job keeper.
When I arrived in Australia I stayed in a backpacker guesthouse for three days until I found a shared room and live there for a couple of months. That apartment was then visited by the authority and we were informed to find a better place.
I am now living alone in a granny flat, I love it here because I have the total freedom of not being cautious of everything being in the shared room/apartment.
I travel to work with my eBike and I have been doing this for almost four years now and it is amazing. Ebike is so good that it can go anywhere that an ordinary person can go. No petrol, no license and it good for your health.
I always do my own food quick and egg is one of the quickest food to make. Tuna in a can, noddles, frozen vegetables, frozen meat, fish, fishball, bread are some of the ready to cook the meal I have in my refrigerator. Soy sauce is also a big part of my usual meal preparation. As a kid, I was just eating just rice with a little oil and soy sauce. We have a new friend, he just moved here. Since he is new here we tour him around some of the tourist spots in the area and then we eat in McDonald and it was my treat.
It is raining from time to time here Port Stephen and that is normal during the winter season here in NSW, Australia. When it is raining it is difficult to dry clothes and that is exactly what is happening to me these days. I needed to have my chef jacket and apron to be placed near the heater for me to have a uniform for work.
You know that I travel just on my bike, I always have my rain jacket and rain trousers in my backpack, I am always ready for the rain. I still prefer to ride on my bike wearing my rain suit than waiting for the taxi and pay at least 15 dollars for a 7 minutes ride to work and back home.
Because of this rain, I decided to have my grocery order online. It is not same-day delivery here. I attempted to have online grocery during my self-isolation but it was available only to old aged people and those with CoVid case isolation.
I received messages from the previous days from the viewers of the vlog, they say they will come to see the place and to see me too.
It was a long weekend in NSW that is why many people got the opportunity to travel to a regional place like Port Stephen. Our hotel was actually busy considering that is was just a few days after the NSW lifted the travel ban.
This day after work I run to meet first Kuya Ruel and ate Au, and they give me a pair of working shoes. Then I meet the "BisdaOZ family vlog" and they gave me heaps of Filipino products, we had a long chat and good to know their story. Then later on the group of Rigil arrives. It was so good to have a conversation with them and they gave me ube pandesal. They don't know that it is my birthday.
No one knows my birthday except my family and close friends. Some of them don't know my real age because I keep on telling them I am forever 29.
I am the kind of person that you will always see around without knowing who I am. I am always outside, I am always on my bike biking easy and relax while singing along with the music on my ear.
I usually stop in a different spot around the bay just looking and enjoying the beautiful view. I sometimes meeting some of my colleague and they're usually just walking around, doing some grocery, and sometimes fishing.
This time I notice a fishing couple who accidentally caught an albatross. They let it go, I was amazed. later on, they called me and I realized that the guy is my colleague, a fellow chef in the restaurant where I am working. Chef Alessandro is a good, responsible fisherman.
I remember that my parents wake up really early during my childhood. Our house was just near the rice field and I usually wake up without my parent in the house because they are already planting the rice or harvesting the rice, or doing the usual farming stuff. They do wake up and work early to avoid the heat of the sun in the midday.
This time I wake up really to see how the hardworking Aussie spends their early morning. Many of them are doing physical activities that is going to benefit their health. I've seen some fisherman, people heading to work and people that are just walking around. Life is beautiful here in Australia.
It is so good to come back to work. There are few changes having new kitchen staff, newly painted interior walls, new setup, and new system of breakfast service. Yes, I am doing breakfast service and we are not doing buffet this time instead we are doing a plated breakfast service. This system requires more staff compared to the buffet service that you just need to make things ready, filled up, and let the customer take their own food. This time there must be waiters to serve the food and the kitchen staff needs to be more than two especially when we are doing a hundred pax.
It was a good breakfast service, and as usual we are going home passing through this beautiful view.
I love singing competition performances especially the auditions and this one of Jamie Archer really made my day.
This video was uploaded in 2009 but I have never seen it before, I see this face for the first time. The video called "auditions turns to a concert" was suggested in youtube. I opened it and seen Jamie Archer. I searched for the whole audition footages and this video comes out. This guy is confident with the pure talent of a musician even before the audition.
He gets through the audition and got four yeses and based on the youtube recommendations he has more performance videos.
But before watching this video I was already captured by a sad hopeful facebook video of a man whose been in jail since his teenage years and is now trying his best to live a normal life. You'll see the regrets and the hardship he is getting through because of the wrong decision he made before.
This video made me cry because teenage years are really crucial on how is the person gonna be in the future, their decision making is highly influenced by the environment they're living with.
Australia particularly New South Wales now lifted the travel ban. It is good news because hotels, restaurants, and other establishments are now open. People are back to work including me soon.
It was a long vacation for me. March 5th when I had my annual leave. I went to Dubai and come back to Australia after 4 days. I was just at home during my annual leave. My plan for bike travel in Tasmania was cancelled because of the travel ban and lockdown due to CoVid 19.
Middle of March 2020 when lockdown, travel restrictions and other cautionary was announced. It was not very strict compared to other country, people here in Australia do follow the rules and responsible enough.
And now we are almost back to the normal life, except that social distancing is strictly being implemented. I am back to life in my daily bike.
Today is June 1, 2020. The travel ban is lifted today, hotels around New South Wales arte now allowed to open after 2 months of being closed due to CoVid 19.
This vlog is a few days late.
I will be back to work in a few days and will be back to daily bike ride going to work. Will be less cooking vlog in the coming days.
I went to the grocery and I haven't seen the cheap toilet paper that I usually take before the lockdown. The cheapest toilet paper this time is 8 dollars.
This is my first time to buy shumai here, I was not aware that this shumai is very much approved to my Filipino taste. This shumai is half price of 5 dollars with 9-11 pcs of shumai.
But there is one soup that reminds me of my childhood and that is the Pasta Soup or Noodle soup or Macaroni soup. It is not instant but i usually just chuck everything in the pot let it boil, adjust the taste, and it's ready.
Ingredients:
water
macaroni or any pasta chicken cubes, or real chicken or both grated carrots, cabbage salt pepper fish sauce milk
Like what I said I just chuck everything inside the pot, adjust the taste and is good to eat after boiled. Adding the milk at the end is better though.
I grew up with other kids around me, I have a group of friends in high school and in the neighborhood. I was always on the street with the other kids and just go home when I am hungry and or when my parents needed me in the house. Most of our parents know where to find us.
Things changed when I moved to Metro Manila to study in college. I became a shy, feeling to be a minority. I was heavily influenced by the television program that people in Manila are superior to people in the provinces. I became really really shy to the point that raising my hand on attendance roll call is a big deal to me having in my mind that all my classmates will look at me. I became a loner.
I just became shy but I never lost interest in singing, dancing, etc., and I am always doing that whenever I am alone and when I think I don't disturb other people.
Coming from Dubai, I came to Australia with Training and Research Visa or Subclass 402 Visa. Training Visa is workplace-based training, and base on my experience it is just like a normal job. How I Got the Training Visa.
Working in the restaurant.
During my training Visa, I was working in a busy restaurant chain in the Sydney CBD. Normally we start our duty at 10am and we finished at 10pm. I was actually not expecting that we are gonna be working long hours because the Australian laws said the regular working hour is 38 hours a week (7.5 hours a day in 5 days) but we are obviously working almost double that. Those extra hours are not paid just like in Dubai.
I have no problem with the long hours of work because I am used to it, I think it is the nature of being a cook. The good thing is we have two days off every week. In Australia, two days off a week is for all employees who are working full time, not just for office workers and high ranking staff which is the common practice in most countries in Asia and the middle east.
Workers in Australia.
Working in the Hospitality Industry in Australia is similar to working in the middle east hospitality industry, the majority of the staff are coming from different parts of the world. Chefs are usually skilled immigrants or on a skilled visa, food servers, kitchen hands (dishwasher) are usually those on working holiday visa, students visa, spouse, family member visa and there are some locals. There are many establishments or restaurants without any local workers, particularly in the busy city.
Skilled Visa worker- you can come here in one of the skilled visas if your occupation is in the "skilled occupation list".
Working Holiday Visa- This is only for eligible nationality, these people usually come here to work base on the rules of working and holiday visa, there are some sort of farm works requirements.
Student Visa- People on a student visa are only allowed to work 40 hours a fortnight.
Locals - Locals are the Australian where they can work anywhere they are qualified.
Spouse and dependent visas - they are usually the wife, husband, boyfriend, a girlfriend of the main visa holder.
Transition to Work (Skilled) Visa
My Training Visa is valid only for 1 year during that time, and because I like the living situation in Australia I decided to search and collaborate with my fellow training visa holder on how we can stay longer in Australia. There are different options for each qualification. Each visa has its own detailed sets of requirements and if you don't fit any then you'll need to go home before the visa expires. There is a 457 visa, 189 Visa, and 190 Visa. Most of us are partially qualified for a different skilled visa because most of us had enough previous related work experiences.
We already have the usual requirements like passport and work experience certificates, what we don't have is the English test (IELTS, Pte, etc.) and Australian Qualification /Australian Certificate.
Basic Requirements
I took the IELTS test and I scored 6, but because I want I little higher. I took PTE as well and I got score of 60 which is similar to IELTS equivalent to just "Competent in Australian immigration English standard.
Then I took the skills assessment at William Angliss where I got the Trade Recognition Australia's Commercial Cookery Certificate 3.
With the score that I got from IELTS combined with my other credential did not reach to qualify for the Australian Immigration Point System for Permanent Resident Visa 189,190 Visa and the only option I have left is the company or employer-sponsored visa which is the Subclass 457 Visa.
Job Searching
It was in the last quarter of the year when I completed the requirements. I started to send my job application resume to different companies here in Australia, I also did some walk-in in some of the hotels and restaurant. The result was good as the majority replies to my emails and got good results, the problem is many of the companies are not yet approved or not qualified to sponsor foreign workers.
Popular jobseeker sites in Australia
seek.com.au
indeed.com.au
gumtree.com.au
There are also establishments that post their job vacancy in the wall of their restaurant or within their property.
A referral is also a good practice here, some company is giving reward to staff who can refer a friend to work.
I did some kitchen trials in different kitchens in Sydney. Most of the chefs, kitchen hand does kitchen trials when applying for the job. It is a three hour or less unpaid kitchen work.
Working Visa Approved.
I was hired and sponsored by a company from one of my online job application. I basically submitted my CV stating my qualification and very important I mentioned that I am needing sponsorship. They set me for an interview and then offered the job. They then referred me to a migration agency that processes my 457 visa application. I got my 457 Visa approved after a month from the day of my visa application. I resign from my Training Visa Job and then moved to my new 457 Visa Job.
Real Australian Work Experience.
My working in the hospitality industry is good, I have a good life here. My workplace is considered to be regional as it is around 3 to 5 hours away from Sydney. Here people working in the hospitality industry are mostly local. Fastfood kitchen crews are young local students, the restaurant staff is both young and old. Here, there is the feeling of being in a real Australia. And we are actually working just the regular working hours in here, 7.5 hours a day in a week.
They have a beautiful environment, friendly people that are going to smile, greet, and maybe talk to you. I am loving it here but the same as everyone we sometimes want something more or something less.
Canned corned beef is one of the usual food I had when I was young living with my parents in the Philippines. We always eat it with rice.
Corned beef is ready to eat straight from the tin can and be stuffing on a sandwich or simply eat it with rice. But for me, we usually re-cook it to enhance the flavor and be more satisfying to eat with rice.
Another reason why people recooking it is to expand the quantity, to make it more, to make it enough for a big family. Most people are cooking it in two ways, and this time I made it in three different variants. This is my best Corned beef preparation.
Corned beef and potato.
Corned beef and potato soup.
Corned beef and potato fritter.
Ingredients:
Tin can corned beef
Diced Potato
Onion
Garlic
Oil
Water
Salt
Pepper.
I have seen other recipe that are really new to my sight and has never tasted just like this one from All Recipe website.
I initially thought that I am not going to be affected by the Australian CoVid 19 lockdown because I was chosen to stay and work while the other staff is gone stand down already. We don't have many guests as I was actually serving less than 10 rooms of room service breakfast during my last week of working. Restriction announcement has gone really strict day by day until they announced the lockdown and the travel ban.
The travel ban made my hotel shut down and because of that I also need to be standing down. My company is good as they are always sending as information to stay on the positivity, they even gave us some job opportunities in another company.
The majority of my colleague are Australians and Permanent residents who are the priority of the Government to have access to Government financial support. They actually have three options:
Jobseeker Payment. Is the government financial help (Centrelink) for people who are looking for work. As many people are losing their job, the jobseeker payment is their financial help option.
Jobkeeper Payment. This is government financial help to the employee through the employers. The government is encouraging the essential establishment to keep on going and keep the employees working, to help the economy going.
Superannuation. Superannuation is design to be a retirement plan but because of the pandemic, the government allows the worker to access it.
There are millions of temporary visa holders in Australia, they are international students, working holidaymakers, skilled workers, etc. I am also on a temporary visa, and the government of Australia allowed us to access our Superannuation in case we need it.
In the beginning, The Australian Government advises the Temporary Visa Holders to go home if they are are not capable of supporting themselves for the next six months. The government created a visa arrangement for temporary visa holders that are working in critical sectors like health care, agriculture, and other essentials. More info for temporary visa holders.
Government, organizations, and families are doing their initiative to help people who are in need. Being a Filipino, the Philippine government through the Philippine embassy gave us one-time financial support amounting to around 200 US dollars to both qualified Overseas Filipino Workers.
House rent is probably the biggest burden if you do not have income in Australia, the cheapest shared room in Sydney is A$125 a week. Food is affordable, I can comfortably survive with A$25 food allowance a week.
Today I opened blogger.com to post a new blog and I was surprised to see some changes. It looks good but obviously, I needed to figure out how some of the things work.
This is how it looks upon logging in. This is the dashboard.
Clicking the "view your blog" will open your website or blog site.
The rest of the menus are the usual components of the website dashboard where you can create a new blog, see the comments, view statistics, etc.
Clicking the Posts will show your Posted Blogs Titles.
Clicking the Posted Blog Title will bring you to the editing page of that particular blog.
Clicking the "Eye" will preview your post blog.
Clicking the "Three Dots" will give you the option to Discard, Apply Label, or Publish.
Australia is easing lockdown restrictions in the coming days according to the nightly news on the local television program.
First Quarter of March 2020 I was in Dubai for a seven days holiday. During this time China, Italy and Iran already got the worst Covid 19 situation. Because of that, I decided to go back to Australia three days earlier than my booked flight because I am feeling the possibility of closing international airports.
I was already in Australia planning my bikepacking trip to Tasmania when they announced the self-isolation requirement for everyone that is coming from the overseas starting on the 15th of March. This made me analyzed the situation and I decided not to go to Tasmania. I just stayed at home and never gone out for 14 days. I have enough food for fourteen days.
I never get bored during the fourteen days as I was busy with my videos, social media, and learning new pieces of knowledge from the internet. In case you don't know I do live by myself.
I was able to get back to work and did some breakfast service all by myself as most of the staff are already stand down and we don't have many guests in the hotel. After the breakfast service, I cleaned all the walls of the kitchen, the hood of the pizza oven, and the floor. I planned to clean the ceiling but then the management decided to shut down the hotel because of the travel ban as the COVID 19 cases are soaring high. There have been many restrictions updates during these days in order to lessen or flatten the COVID 19 cases curve.
During this world health crisis, lucky are the people who are working online, most of them are not really affected by the lockdown.
These are some of the websites and ways I am sure people can possibly make good money if they start to do it.
Affiliate Marketing.
Affiliate marketing is simply sharing an affiliate link to your audiences, friends, or to whoever to come across your affiliate link via your social media account like Facebook, Instagram, your blog site, etc. Once the people buy the product through your affiliate link, you'll get commissions. You don't need to be a degree holder to do this, all you need to do is be able to be creative to make the people click and buy through your link. Some affiliate partner is able to earn more than 50 percent of the product or service they are linking.
For you to become an Affiliate Marketer, you will need to apply to any website that you see with an "Affiliate, or Affiliate Program" on the bottom or menu of their website like Tube Buddy . Approval is very easy. Once you are approved, you'll be able to see your affiliate partner dashboard showing how many clicks, how much you earned in a day, week, months, year.
You'll be paid through your bank account, PayPal, or any way your affiliate program mentioned. Amazon, commission junction, eBay, are some of the most popular websites with affiliate marketing programs. These websites created banners, short links, images, and even videos that you can use for your affiliate marketing technics.
Youtube.
Heaps of YouTubers are making youtube as their main source of income, Most of them earn thousands of dollars every month just through YouTube advertising.
Youtube channel membership, your member will make a recurring monthly payment in exchange for the perks you offer.
YouTube/Teespring Merchandise, You design the t-shirt, mug, etc, set the price and ready for sale and Teespring will do the shipping.
Advertising, You earn money for every youtube ad.
Super Chat, your fans pay you to get their messages highlighted in the chat stream.
If you are not yet qualified for YouTube Monetization, you could possibly do these:
You can ask a company to sponsor your video by promoting their product or services. negotiate the price.
You can put product affiliate links from Lazada, Amazon, eBay, ClickBank, etc. Earn from 1% to 75% of the price of the product.
I just bought my third iPhone 6S last week and I am actually regretting having this one again because this is my third iPhone 6S.
Yes, it is my third iPhone 6S, I had no idea that this Cheap iPhone SE Second Generation is coming out this coming week.
I had my first iPhone 6S three years ago, the second one just less than a year ago, both of them got the glass broken because I was not using a protective case because it feels unnatural having a protective case. I learned my lesson and I am now using a protective case to my third one.
eBike will save you money in the long run. Petrol, car registration is usually costly.
I am living where public transportation is not conveniently available to someone like me who doesn't know how to drive a car. eBike or Electric Bike is the best option I have in this hilly part of New South Wales here in Australia.
My First Bike is not an eBike
I have no knowledge about the bike and just bought this one because of its price and looks. I bought this one from Kmart for just 109 dollars. This bike is really tiring, I always need to push it while walking every night that I am going home. Always sweating even in the winter.
Apollo Big Boy eBike
My first eBike is an Apollo Big Boy EBike. This one has a big tire which is really good because I can drive it in the sand, along the beach. I choose this eBike primarily because of its looks. It is beautiful.
This eBike has a rear hub motor, 7 gear speed shifter, three-speed mode, and a light button. This eBike is powered by Hailong 36V Battery. I charge the battery for around 6 hours and it lasts for
I used two windows laptops before switching to apple computer. It was the HP and Toshiba. The HP screen had a screen problem then I bought the 15' Toshiba which last for a long time then I sold it to a friend.
I always wanted to have an apple computer because it is looking good, it looks elegant, it looks like a luxury, it looks like it is giving you pleasure when you are using it. but it is very expensive costing around two months of my salary when I was working in Dubai.
I got my first MacBook Pro from Giant's Supermarket. 4000AED it was a big sale. It doesn't disappoint me, the pleasure and luxurious feeling having it is real, and the most important thing is what MacBook Pro can do. It is amazing it can do many things that don't require you to buy or spend more money separately.
I needed to Go To Dubai
I have been waiting for the opportunity to go to Dubai but the cost of flying from Sydney is really costly. The regular fare cost around A$2000 return ticket on an Economy.
But recently Emirates Airlines had this promotion which is just around A$1160 economy return ticket at emirates.com. I was about to booked but decided to dig more hoping to really get the bargain. I succeed I found the cheapest one at auntbetty.com.au for just A$974.58 Return Flight Dubai, Sydney.
Tricks.
When looking for the cheapest flight, I am using momondo.com because it is going to show you the price from the cheapest to the most expensive one. Once you found the cheapest one, go to that website and hang on in there. Then look for the possible more cheap option using another web browser, it can be a safari, google chrome, firefox, a safari in private window mode, google chrome in the incognito mode, etc. then book the cheapest one. I learned these tricks during my five months of travel in 2015. Choose your Seat.
Right after the confirmation I immediately choose the seat on the website of emirates airline, I need to pay 30 dollars for my chosen set. You don't need to choose you don't need to pay. Business Class Offer.
The day before my flight I checked in online and there is an offer to me of A$1500 business class flight to Dubai. I didn't take it because I believed A$1500 is still expensive. Fourteen Hours Flight
It was fourteen hours of flight and I was on my chosen windows side seat and I hate it, the seat was comfortable but being on the side needed me to always worry and disturbed the couple next to me. It was not a good 14 hours flight.
Rebooking Fee.
I decided to rebook my flight making it 3 days earlier than my original schedule of coming back to Sydney. I paid A$250 rebooking fee. Upgrading to Business Class.
I was trying to upgrade on the website but I think it was late already that the feature is not available anymore. Then when I got to the airport I asked the ticket seller and told me to just tell it to the cabin crew. On the boarding, I asked the lady if there is an available upgrade and she asked me if it is a free upgrade. I said yes if there is but then there is none.
On the plane, I asked the crew for an upgrade and she told me it will be 7346.00 Dirhams, then I paid 7346.00 Dirhams. The Business Class Experience.
It was amazing. Comfortable reclining seat/bed. unlimited food and drinks, freedom to move, hang in the bar and socialize with people, I didn't do that as I am shy. I probably do it again.
That was a last-minute upgrade, the last-minute upgrade is not advisable as most of the time it is coming very costly. I believe there are tricks/ways to get business class or even a first class upgrade. Just Google it.
The first iPad Experienced
I have the very first model of iPad mini that I bought in Dubai a long time ago. It is still working but noticeably slower than it was before. Is it time to buy a new one? My Second iPad
Last year I bought this iPad Pro 10"5 because of the pencil feature. I was really convinced by the advertisement, IPad Pro reviews about the limitless thing you can do with the iPad.
I have seen people not using paper anymore for drawing, dictation, noting, drawing, editing video etc...everything that you can do in the computer is now possible in the very portable iPad. Purpose of my iPad
I am using an iPad to edit videos, watch YouTube, write a blog, and continuing what I am doing on the computer to the iPad.
What I like about my current Ipad Pro 10"5 is that it is compatible with my Macbook Pro 2019, The Sidecar feature is amazing, the iPad can be used as a second screen of my MacBook and continue working with it.
Do You Want To Upgrade?
Now there is this new iPad Pro 2020 that I am actually tempted to have one additionally because of its new keyboard. This, of course, comes with the more advance features of the previous version.
