A Venezuelan wacky guy living his Australian dream

I think I have lost my muse for the last couple of days. There are so many things I would like to share but at the same time I don’t know how to write it or how to remove the depressing tone from my words.

I have tried to evoke Clio, Erato or Calypso to take my hands and use them to put down into words my mood and make me feel better... but nothing. So I had to force myself to express what’s on my head, draining some stress and getting calmed.

So, my dear blog, you might ask me, why am I so depressed? Why the blue mood dragging me into the limbo?

So many things, for starters as days goes by the situation in Venezuela is getting worse and being honest, I can’t see the tipping point where people will say “I can’t stand it anymore, this has to change”. My family (as certainly any others in Venezuela) is having serious economical issues thanks to the wrong policies and schemes the government has taken for the last 12 years, plus the water supply, electrical power, roads and health systems has become a mere joke... a bad and tasteless joke which keeps me worried.

On the other hand I am not getting many distractions at work; I do not like the code or the design I am producing, but I have to concentrate to deliver stuff and to be easy going, but my head and my heart are telling me to do something different, to act, to change the situation... but how?

Probably I am just in my blue era, just like Van Gogh, with the big difference  that I am not a genius, neither a great artist, nor an alcoholic, nor Dutch... definitely not going to cut my ear and not going to kill myself... and this blue phase eventually will go.

So... What to do? What to do?

In the meanwhile I keep taking pictures (which aren’t good either), studying new technologies (well... not really studying... more reading than anything else...), browsing for hours the Internet trying to find good deals and trying not to forget to watch the stars at the end of the days.

Do I have any news for you?

Well... I got officially older on July and so did my mom (kind of sad to sing the happy birthday on the phone because the freaking Venezuelan’s Internet is shit and I could not video call my mom)... I finished one book I have been reading for at least 6 months now... On September 9th it will be two years since I arrived to Australia.

And I have rewritten four times three posts of which I have published none... and I still don’t like‘em.

Anyway, I am going to go back to editing those posts. 

Hope to get it ready anytime soon.

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This post is part of a bigger compilation of thoughts and thus, it might have no sense or lead to miss information. If you want to fully read it, start from here, otherwise continue reading.

In the last post I was telling about issues I had with my passport and several things we needed to get done to get some winter clothes and flight planning to Australia. But in the meanwhile some farewell parties occur.

I must be honest from the beginning, after saying good bye and godspeed you to so many good mates, I deeply wanted my party because says you are almost there, hold on good things are coming. Even though many asked me when my farewell party was meant to, no one really offered himself as host for the party, so the time went by and I started losing hopes on this, till my dear mate frank from the Pineda’s five blog, told me to go to his house for my farewell. This party was meant to be one or two weeks before departing (original departure on August 7, 2009, party planned for July 25, 2009).

At the same time, my mom was planning for my birthday (11th of July) a farewell party as well, so my closest mates, family members and neighbours could say something to us and say bye bye. At my birthday many people came without even knowing I was leaving the country, bunch of people told me “wow, here are so many people leaving to Australia... Why?... mates of you?? Why???... you too leaving????????????”

Anyway, my mom had invited many people in order to be strong to avoid being crying every now and then, but could not help it when was time for the cake; my dad as well hugged me tight wishing me the very best. It is hard for anyone (especially parents) to see their offspring go, even harder when is faraway, so if you are planning to move down under and you have close family you got to be strong and hold it for the last few days; why? Remember that in first place you were the one choosing to move elsewhere to have a better and prosper life, hold tight to these ideas against the general comments such as “sadly, you are leaving your family behind…”; being down under is not just your opportunities, it will open as well opportunities for your family members whom decided to stay.

The next farewell was in frank’s place, we had some ‘choripanes’ with is a hot dog with Spanish sausage instead regular pork meat sausage used in the hot dogs. The choripanes are kind of common here in Venezuela although I have not ever tasted one, so it was cool. Plus many mates from Valencia in Venezuela and other places came by to meet us and say goodbye as well. The evening surprise was having Victor and Raul call (on Skype) and having some knowledge transferred to us of their experiences in Perth. At the end it was a good night with good food and good company.

…

Is that all? Nope, those parties were taken place before my passport issues, obviously in the meanwhile I didn’t had any intention of parting but with the plane ticket and passport ready to go I was in the mood again. Frank called me again but this time the party was exclusive, on one of the gorgeous beaches of Venezuela with crystalline water, little fishes swimming around you and fine food, all this for us and the Pineda’s five.

Back in Caracas my mates Santos and Rosely (both architects) told us to gather with them for a barbie; as regular dinner or lunch were frequent we didn’t even gave a thought this one was supposed to be our last with them in Venezuela (at least for a long time) so they also planned to wish us the best on this opportunity and say goodbye. And so, this was the last time Kathy and I meet our mates to have a meal or just chat in Venezuelan soil, next time will be down under.

With parties done, everything packed and little things to do we just had to travel to Bogota (this time meant to buy nice outfits instead just winter clothes as some friends in Sydney already told us the winter was fading away) and once back to Venezuela spend the last couple of days with our family.

Well, this post isn’t related to the TV series if that was what you wanted to look out.

The time goes by and we do not have any answer from the migration department. We do not know if our case is being on the scout or if is going to take a little longer… In any case, July isn’t over and we might get the visa to the end of this month.

Anyway, here is a sum up from the previous post up today. Since the last post I have been full day on work stuff (thankfully this helps to get a little bit distracted), my mom’s b’day happened and today is my b’day… Cool isn’t? hahaha, big sum up.

Anyway, the last couple of days (last two or three weeks really) I have realise my mom’s feelings about me moving away and this kind of anger which really is unmanaged frustrations. The problem is that for your parents, you are the little kiddo whom is trying to forget about them moving away, even if you are not... My mom took things pretty bad although she stays cool and quite, trying to avoid no matter what the moving issue. Sometimes it is easy to forget that they are trying to defend their point of view such as “why to move that far away?” or “Don’t you have everything somewhere closer?” because they just try to vanish the idea behind the illusion of “if I ignore the reality isn’t going to affect me”.

Since then I've tried to involved them more into the situation and trying to expose them how others have handled the distance and the fact that there is 14 hours of difference between Australia and Venezuela (or 10 hours the other way around) and I have notice a better reaction. since then. So, as the time goes by there is a bigger need from my family to ensure we will keep in touch and the distance isn’t going to matter that much.

As time goes by you also have to finish up the final arrangements (even though you do not have the visa granted) in order to avoid running from one spot to the another trying to solve last minute issues. This is a suggestion I haven’t followed. As for my wife and I, the world has just stopped spinning with the day to day activities and the hundred and one issue to solve with our family members before the departure day becomes our present day.

That’s the sum’ up to the present (July 11).

I hope you have found pleasant the Frank Sinatra song.

C’ya around cyber mates.