A Singaporean In Australia

From Aquarius Girl [link], who got her Australia Permanent Resident Visa via Skilled Independent (Subclass 189). To cut the bullshit, here is the guide and expected time frame (using her as a case study)

How to Apply for Australian Permanent Resident Visa (Subclass 189) For new guidelines from 1 July 2013

Step 1: Submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) here [link]

Estimated response: [2 - 3 weeks]

Cost of submission: Free

Cost of IELTS: SGD $320 [link]

You should already have your IELTS results before you launch your EOI. If you are eligible for application after the officers assessed your EOI, you will be invited to submit a formal application. Go move on to Step 2. Else, stand up for Singapore.

Step 2: Submit a formal application here [link]

Estimated response: [1 - 1.5 month]

Cost of submission: A$3,060 as of 1 July 2013 [link]

If you are invited to apply for this visa, you will then have 60 days in which to lodge your online application.

If after receiving two invitations to apply for a visa you do not make a visa application your Expression of Interest will be removed from SkillSelect. So please don't be an idiot and only submit your EOI if you have already set your mind on doing this. This is not for you to test water.

You should be hearing from a case officer within the above time frame if you are successful in your application. Move on to step 3. Else, stand up for Singapore.

Step 3: Submit health check report and police clearance [link]

Estimated response for police clearance (Singapore): [2 weeks]

Estimated response for health check (Singapore) : [1 week]

Estimated response from immigration Australia: [3 days]

Cost of submission: N/A for submission (email/post), standard health check SGD$$150 (Thanks CK), SGD$50 for police clearance

What these meant is that you should get your police clearance done ASAP once you received the notification to submit these documents. You can do your health check con-currently but the two weeks' wait for the police clearance remains on the critical path. For this case study, the lady received her PR approval only 1 day after she submitted her police clearance to the Australia immigration. You will be advised which recommended clinics to go for your health checks. Pick any you prefer and do it.

Step 4: Make your initial entry to Australia

Estimated response: [up to you]

Cost: Air ticket and lodgings cost

Please note that your initial entry has to be done within the first year from the date of approval if not the Australia immigration has the right to cancel your visa.

Step 5: Have a meal of Fish 'N' Chips

Estimated response: [take your time 'mate]

Cost: A$15-20

Congratulations! You are now a Permanent Resident of Australia. Good luck.

asingaporeanson's notes:

We used to wait at least 1 full year for a standard PR visa application (subclass 175) under the old system. 1.5 - 2 years was a common thing back then too. We even heard of a case that dragged for 3 years. Comparatively, the new Skillselect system may not be a bad thing as far as eligible applicants are concerned. Under the new system, an applicant can get his/her visa approved as fast as 2.5 - 4 months if documents are submitted in proper.

Cost wise, there are almost no variation between the old and new system. In fact we used to run the risk of our application being rejected and all the fees non-refundable. With this new system, if you are rejected at the EOI stage, you do not lose that hefty sum. At the very least if you are invited to apply, you know your application is favoured and will most likely be approved if you did your EOI accurately.

Personally, I don't think it is 'harder' to get a PR under Skillselect. The misconception came by because some skills were removed from the list. We have to understand that new skills will be added and removed each year in accordance to the skill shortage reports. So it is more about grabbing the chance while your skills are still on the list.

Contrary to most opinions I read out there, I think Skillselect tilts the tide in our favour.

Do you have time for simplicity?

I took a snap shot of the ocean along the beach of Woodman Point walking along with little Albany in my arms. She refused to play on the beach, simply clung on and buried her face in between my legs each time I attempted to put her down on the fine cool sand. Tell me, who resist the urge to hug his 19 month away in such a situation? I never bother to listen to anyone telling me to hug my daughter less so that she would not be 'spoilt'. If I do not hug my daughter whilst possible, then when? During her graduation day, wedding or the last moments on my deathbed? In no time, Albany would grow up to be a girl, then quickly a teenager. By then, she might not even want to go anywhere near me, much less giving her old man a hug. Running on the beach could wait for the next time. Anything could be put aside for moments like these. For now, I would carry her whenever I want while my aging bones wouldn't buckle yet, for as long as she needed me to. Nobody tells me what to do.

Strictly speaking, I don't even spend more than 2 hours with Albany every week day. I had the privilege of a very forgiving wife, who allowed me to have a lot of personal time to research on my future projects, writing these things and catch up with my buddies playing our MMORPG. She has been a very good wife and is blossoming into a fine mother. I'm a very lucky man. If anyone tells me I achieved nothing in my life, I may agree.

These days it seemed, simplicity seemed to completely vanished from all aspects of life. It was no longer to easy eat simple with very few processed ingredients. Food operators were fully focused on taste, sales and profits. Your health was the last thing on their minds. Gone were the days where a simple walk in nature could fulfill the weary, unhurried soul and we had seen how fast new terms such as retail therapy was created. It was funny how they termed a sickness with a name that sounded like a cure. These days it seemed, simplicity became a very rare commodity that was worth nothing due to the lack of demand for it.

Jen later sent me a candid pic she took and I like it very much though it is only a simple picture of both of us at the Woodman Point beach. With this, I would remember how little Albany held tightly to her dad and seemingly told him, "Daddy, walk with me."

"Walking on"

How would most Singaporeans react when they hear about a solicitor with 10 years of practice in a prominent law firm in Singapore moving to Perth to pursue a second career in massage? The number of scoffs amassed could be enough to repel the Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae. Unfortunately for most, they would live to see the point. That was perhaps their biggest blessing of their lives. So it turned out well for all.

I played host to this ex-lawyer friend living in Como at the moment. She reminded me that we were the same star sign born on the same year but I had to call her "Jie jie" because she was exactly one week ago. If she was into horoscopes and tried explaining to me her decision to go into semi-retirement in Perth in her mid 30s was probably best explained as the "Aquarius thing", it connected with me instantly. I told her she didn't have to explain anymore. I fully understood. It also cleared the mist surrounding my mystified mind why she didn't want to pursue her law practice in Perth. Deep inside, I congratulated her. Perhaps she could feel it my envy.

It wasn't a surprise to hear her talk about moving to much further south to places like Margaret River to ply her trade after she graduated from massage school. I didn't tell her I planned to move out of the metropolitan region 4 years from now too. I didn't want to appear excited having to find another who shared my visions. Poor Jen may finally be relieved that she didn't marry a weirdo. My guest proved that I wasn't as crazy as I seemed. I would see it as her being as sane as me rather than me being as insane as her. I was really pleased.

We didn't communicate regularly prior to our meeting and we would not be doing so thereafter as well. It was just how the Aquarius mind worked. Our conversation revealed yet another very gutsy, very resourceful Singaporean who could think way outside the box that I could learn a lot from. Meeting these people, not my coming to Perth, were the keys to unlocking my minds to unlimited possibilities. All of them were much stronger people than myself and I could never do worse learning from them.

They said the Aquarius has a typically cold demoneor. Not this one as she invited me to help her do a parrellel park within the first minute we met. Perhaps she wanted to get a feel of how well her $4,100 Y2k Honda Civic drove, being tired of me suaning her of the 'bad buy'. Admittedly, the car was in good condition but I told her I wouldn't spend $4,100 on it. Not because it wasn't worth it. I just wouldn't spend that money on a transportation tool. That was a decent buy sister.

During the conversation, she filled me in with clear precise details how a typical Permanent Resident EOI process works. She wasn't a lawyer for 10 years by bumming around, I could see that. She could even be a licensed migration agent here if she wanted to do so but no, she had enough of living the old life. Her sharing was probably enough for me to write a proper guide on it in the near future.

From the internet you meet all kinds of people. It seem like the 'silent majority' of Singapore have started to talk. Oh wow, they sound dreadful. Why, am I surprised? They come in hordes and they echo the same sentiments. The government is untouchable because they bring Singapore economic success, the armor of invincibility. With economic success, every fault can be forgotten, every sin can be forgiven and every damage to the country and its people can be overlooked. For the greater good, for economic success.

Did the zerg know what they are talking about? What does economic success mean to every one of you? Never mind the economy, what does success alone mean to you? If you can truthfully list the first five criteria of your definition of success not monetarily related, I am interested to meet you personally over a cup of tea to hear you out. I will even write a book on you and publish 1000 copies out of my own pocket and distribute them in front of the Istana in your honour. 5Cs, 5Ds, 36C, whatever. To most, being successful is having a lot of money and/or having a lot of stuff bought with money. Success and money are synonyms for any true blue Singaporean. Let's not act holy and pretend otherwise. It is in our DNA. Blessing or curse, that's up for interpretation.

For an investor, the holy grail of personal economic success is financial freedom. In the unlikely scenario that a Singaporean like you do not understand what financial freedom means, it simply mean you will have enough income to maintain your current lifestyle, such as standing in the middle of Orchard Road digging your nose all day without having to report for whatsoever duties previously required of you to get the dough coming in. The concept of financial freedom is very simple. It must not be misunderstood with having a lot of material trophies to show the world that you have attain success. Someone who lives on $2000 a month can be as financially free as someone who lives on $10,000 a month. The crucial element is one living sustainably within his or her passive income year in, year out. Thus if you are checking out a guy's car, living quarters and the number of Hello Kitties on his display rack for financial success, you may be looking the wrong way.

The thing about financially savvy Singaporean is that the majority of the people are still lusting after trophies instead of building a your own income well which will provide you a source of wealth that will bail you out of the rat race and redeem you from the financial slavery that you have been sold into. It can be done even if you are a normal salaried worker. Our friend Dividend Warrior [link] started from nothing a few years back and is already half way through his financial freedom. Stock investment is only one of the many other ways to achieve the goal. There are other ways to do it but oddly enough, we see a huge percentage of us preferring to pay $70,000 for an COE or display Hello Kitties as a show of wealth instead of building a personal empire that feeds yourself for the rest of your lives.

So what does the economic success of a country mean to you? Highest GDP per capita? The ability of building a garden with 1 billion dollars? Establishing top rankings on global financial charts? Or the fact we have many more modern buildings clad in expensive finishing than our neighbours? We have to build more to attract more to gain more so that we can build more. Does this remind you of the guy who needs to drive a more expensive car as an image requirement for his new higher paying job? I am not suggesting we should forego progress as a nation but we should understand that if there is a diamond standard of economic success to a nation, it will still be financial freedom. Without being anywhere near that, what do we speak of having attained economic success?

Few days ago, I was introduced to a Singaporean girl who made me excited. She is a lady in her late 20s + 1, with a lovely face and smile like my wife. In case you have gotten it wrong, you have gotten it wrong. What roused me was her story or rather, what I imagined her story in my mind. I didn't verify my imagination though I had tens of questions to ask her. I stopped myself after shooting off a few too many in our first conversations. It wasn't nice to intrude the same way I wouldn't like it done to myself.

Meeting a proper true blogger has always been an honour. When I mean proper, it is someone who share information in a respectful manner in an online platform with great content which is artfully done up, non thrashy and brings lots of value to people. In blogs like this, you can even feel the dainty love oozed from the pores of the writer. Extra points are awarded lot if the blogger writes well and check his or her grammar. By my own definitions, this blog isn't one of them. But this is [link]. I guarantee you with my receding hairline that this is the best blog writing about Thailand by a Singaporean. If you find a better one, I'll give you a 10% discount your Hello Kitty purchase that I don't have in stock.

You can probably count the number of Singaporean girls who married a Thai and lives in Thailand with a hand. Ok, a few hands maybe. I know what most Singaporeans will be thinking. I don't agree. After my national service, I stopped reading Shitty Times and began relearning the way I think of the world. It is how funny how harmonious Singaporeans are when it comes their views about other countries in the world.

When our minds are set in a manner, we will go out looking for robberies in Malaysia. If we don't find any, we are lucky. If we witness one, it's the way it is. We will be looking out for dirty hawkers and bad traffic congestion in Thailand, rude, Hong Kongers who will shove you for walking too slowly in Hong Kong, stressed out perverty Japanese men in Japan, deranged white men hurling abuse at you in Australia. If this sounds very familiar to you, consider for a moment if these are facts or just little seeds planted in our mind since young. Perhaps we can think about it. When we are fed with right news, the guy who had never even set a foot in a specific country will have the same perspectives towards that other guy who visited and looked and the place through a specific shade of glasses.

The lady made a promise to show me the other side of the city she is living in. I will be looking forward to that. Not bringing any glasses along.

If my life was a movie, most cinema watchers would be sleeping by the first quarter of the hour. By the next, three quarters of those who were still awake would be queuing at the counter for refunds and made up their minds to spend the rest of their afternoon joining another queue for Hello Kitty. It would be better time spent, they'd reckon. That would be the ultimate insult, but it also meant my life had been average, conventional, smooth sailing. No lavish lifestyle sneek peeks, no fancy incredible trips to the Amazon forest. We weren't well off but there was no dramatic poverty tales. I would be one of the first who fell asleep during the first few minutes in the movie.

For any who made it through, sufferers of insomia or fellows with steely determination, they would have noted 2008 was possibly the lowest part of my life, at least in the conventional sense. Truthfully, I enjoyed unemployment, being a bum that I have always been. Not to everyone else though, according to the way they expressed their opinion over my unemployment for three-quarters of the year. The only thing that upset me was my ticket to Australia by skilled migration was permanently dashed. If you noticed, that actually showed how typical of a Singaporean I was. I went by the books, I couldn't think out of the box and I abided whatever rules that society thrown at me. I thought that was how the world worked.

If I did not make that eventual move to Perth, I would be still making my rounds in sunny Singapore like a miserable grit, pissing my friends off with my unacceptable level of negativity. All I hated was a demonic level of crowd and all I wanted was some space. Did I ask for too much? I was the classic case of good riddance and I am probably the first person who tells the world how socially fucked-up he is in a blog.

If I wanted to talk about how popular I am or how great is my blog and show meaningless statistics to keep my ailing self esteem on life support, I wouldn't be writing stuffs here. You wouldn't be reading this either. There are only two kinds of blog readers. The first group reads blogs of successful people to be inspired and hope that one day they will reach that pinnacle of life. The second group reads blogs of below average countrymen to feel better about themselves and their lives. Whichever the nature of blog, it fulfills different needs of different people. I didn't know that until I began writing things here. All along I thought people only wanted to read about beautiful people, successful people who have already achieved enough to be able to find time to troll their blog-goers or talented folks who could translate the languages and dialects of aliens.

I was sent this link by the beautiful SG Girl Next Door yesterday morning. I wondered if she was thinking about migrating to Australia too. Perhaps she should find someone else to work with if so. I wouldn't go with this company at all.

They say a picture says a thousand words. I didn't get a thousand but you don't need a thousand for your brain to say, "Stay away!" and avoid like plague.

Free Seminar My Ass

They printed in CAPS and bold. As far as I know, free means you do not have to pay anything. But no, you've got to pay $25 bucks for forever aloners and couples get their heads chopped with $40. I thought, "Ok, to be fair, running a seminar has its overheads alright," only to find out that the seminar is going to be held at their own office premises. No booking fees for auditorium. No food served, not stated anyway and even so, you wouldn't want to eat a $25 buffet that serves you for 15 minutes in someone else's office. If anyone screaming, "FREE" in your face and comes out with a, "but wait." You know what you should do. Not that I can't afford to pay. I rather deal with people who is upfront with their intents and upright with their morals rather than crooks doing cheap-flicks.

Lack of Sincerity

I know it is a bit too much to pick on something trivial like that. To most this may be nitpicking but a marketing campaign is not a rash, "Let's do this!" hard-on. A regular marketing scheme would had gone through careful discussion and strategic planning. It speaks volumes to me when a migration company was not even bothered to put in pictures of real Singaporeans, the carrot heads that they want to chop, in their promotional pictures.

There are 13 happy looking human beings cladded in their work attire smiling at you in the poster. Human number 1 is probably you, but not 2 to 14. No offence if you are a Eurasian or Caucasian Singaporean. That may be a perfect motivational poster to you but no... Only if you are

1) A sexy secretary (That gets you anywhere in the world, if you know what I mean. You don't need nTrust)

2) A construction tradie (Find me a Singaporean tradesman who is good in carpentry or welding whatever)

3) A banker (with loads of money, Singapore is heaven. Leave for fuck?)

4) The female tradie (Better chance finding a unicorn in Singapore)

5, 6, 7) Medical professionals

The immigration department of Australia categories Skill Select this way: 1) Doctors and Nurses 2) Others. They even put a special category just for professionals of this field. Lucky, lucky you doctors. Earn big bucks in Singapore and every country open up their doors, bow and welcome you in with a red carpet. Do you really need to attend a $25 talk to drink 3-in-1 coffee to get your migration papers done? Yes? Perhaps you shouldn't be a doctor. Study too much, brain fried.

8) Another financial worker.

9) If you are a pastry chef in BreadTalk, perhaps. How many of you work as a pastry chef?

10) Photobomber - That's probably you, if you attend the seminar only to realise they are only interested in taking up the easy cases and rejecting you outright if your case isn't a straightforward potential carrot header.

11) Chances that you are not a dishwasher earning $3,000 a month. Chances are you do not wear an apron or work in a Tze Char Stall as a Tao Chiu either. Why do you wanna hold a clipboard either? Working as a waitress. Wait - can ah?

12) A retiree. Your case is simple. No money no talk. [link]

13) What's with the love with Bank Tellers sitting behind the counter? Or are they security ninjas in disguise to throw you out once you finish your coffee?

Procedures . Q&A Sessions . Free assessment

In the nutshell,

1) Procedure: ~~Attention! Carrot heads~~ Ladies & Gentleman, this is what you will do. Sign up, pass me first installment. Do all the paperwork I tell you do to. (haha, you think I will do it for you?) I will submit your application after you pay me the balance. Application submitted, thank you. No refunds if reject.

2) Q&A sessions: Can. Can! Can. Caaaan. Can can can. Can lah. Ok one lah brother.

3) Free assessment: You left a happy man after your $25 buffet.

The Authentic Guide to Securing Rental Housing in Perth

GUEST BLOGGER

Thusara Dharmapala

1 July 2013, 11:13pm

...........................................................................................

Background

I am writing this in answer to my friend Nix's request that I document my recent adventures in rental-home hunting in Perth.

When I first came to Perth in mid-May 2012, my immediate priority was to find a job, AND THEN, look for rental housing, in that sequence, so that I could bring my family over and have a means of income to support them, with a roof over our heads. I was very lucky that for the initial stage that a distant relative had offered me a room and board at his home whilst I job and house hunted. Thus, the urgency of looking for my own home was not an urgent requirement at the beginning.

However, after a couple of months of job hunting, I began to realise that landing a job was not going to be as easy as I initially thought, even though I had the skills and experience required for the many jobs that I applied for. Interviews were not forthcoming, as employers were looking for the unstated "Aussie Experience" in a candidate. I began to think that it was about time I started looking for my own place, as it was not fair to impose on my relatives for so long. I had honestly expected to have found a job and moved out on my own within the first month of my arrival in Perth.

Thus, in mid-July 2012, I started looking through the real-estate websites and newspaper ads for likely houses to rent. I first based my search criteria on finding a house near to suitable primary school for my son. I had shortlisted a few likely primary schools based on their rankings. These schools were mainly North of the River, in suburbs like Dalkeith, Nedlands, Churchlands, Shenton Park and Claremont. These were very expensive suburbs to either buy or rent in. Whilst there were actual houses and villas available for rent for less than $350 per week South of the River, in the North only apartments and town houses were available.

Nevertheless, I shortlisted several by early August and started making visits to "house viewing" events arranged by estate agents. In the process, I found out a few things I previously had not known.

A realistic account of the situation on the ground

1. Properties for rent are mainly organised by real estate agents. Owners do directly rent out as well, but these are few and far between. Even if a owner advertises by themselves, usually the actual rental viewing and document process is handled by an agent.

In order to rent a property, one must have first viewed the property (or at least get a proxy to do the viewing.) Without an initial viewing, the agents will not let anyone rent the property.

2 The agents generally arrange viewings soon after the property is advertised for rent (eg. http://www.realestate.com.au/ or http://reiwa.com.au/), or Quokka (newspaper). The viewings are usually organised between 3 to 5pm on weekdays, and last for between 15mins to 1/2 hour for potential customers to come and view. If you miss this opportunity to view, the chances of renting the place is almost nil. And sometimes, some of the viewings for different properties may be held at about the same time on the same day, so that one has to choose a particular place to view, rather than be able to view all the properties, as there would be little or no time to travel from one suburb to another to attend another viewing.

3. Perth currently seems to be suffering a derth in rental properties. This will seem apparent when you attend a particular viewing, as about 10 to 20 other interested parties will turn up for any particular viewing, especially if the rental price is between $300 to $400 per week. When you do get to view, you have a window of about 15 to 30 mins to decided if you like the place and make an offer.

4. The agents will generally require you to complete a form with all your particulars, including some references, and require you to pay a deposit equivalent to the 1st couple of weeks rental. This amount and practice may vary slightly between different agents. Whilst there is a stated price, some agents give preference to those who offer a higher price than what is stated. So if the price is $350, and you offer a higher amount, perhaps, $400, you may stand a better chance of renting the property over the rest of the horde.

5. Most of he agents insist on references, and most of them will call these references to check if you have been a good and trustworthy tenant before letting you rent the property. Thus, if this is your first time, it may be difficult to rent a property, as you have no prior references to speak of. It is quite a chicken and egg situation. You can't rent because you don't have references, and you can't get references because you can't rent!

6. Then, you may need to provide some proof of income, so your employer may be required to provide a reference as well. And if you don't have a job yet, refer to the chicken and egg situation in the point above.

7. After you finally manage to secure your rental home, do note that there will be quarterly inspections by the agent, and you are expected to abide by a whole set of rules, which may include no pets, no permanent fixtures, no smoking, cleanliness, etc. And the rental price may be reviewed every 6 months, and increased!

All the points above make renting in Perth sound very dismal. Unfortunately, this is quite the reality, based on my own personal experience. Of course, your own mileage may vary - and you could be having an easy time finding a home. All the best, and if you do, I would be very happy to hear that.

Some tips to alleviate the rental difficulties

1. It would help to have some local friends, who may be able to provide you with some personal references, and guidance.

2. It would also help to have a bigger budget, as the main competition is for rental property below the $400 range, as this is the general price point for most immigrants who are trying to rent. If you can afford to pay more than $400 a week, you stand out from the rest of the rabble.

3. It would be helpful if you can show proof of income, or if you do not have a job yet, be able to show that you substantial savings in a bank account, that would give confidence to the landlord that you can pay for the period of rental.

4. Somehow, the landlords are reluctant to rent to families (perhaps they think kids may damage their property), so if you have no kids yet, it may be easier to rent.

Anyway, I managed to finally get my own rental home - it is a 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor with its own courtyard, in the suburb of Mosman Park. It costs $350 a week (which is horrendously expensive, in my opinion), but it is relative near my work (about a 15minute drive), and walking distrance to my son's school, as well as relatively near the city (1/2hr drive or 20minutes by train). I think the landlord is going to raise my rent in a couple of months time!

Nix has also listed a host of other tips on his blog, which may provide some more ideas on how to go about landing a rental home.

See also: 10 Ways to Secure Rental Place before Migration to Perth

Continuation from "Where Australia Isn't Greener Pasture" [link], an email received from a faraway friend offering her silky helping hands.

******

Hey bro,

Meant to write to you for quite some time, but I've been busy with my wedding, down with this god damn awful flu virus that everyone in office is having, and so, just no time lah.

While watching TV waiting for the ex, now no longer futre prime minister of Australia to make a speech, thought I will write u this long overdue email instead.

First things first, I am so glad that you got the cancer nipped in the butt before it gets bad, and that you don't have to go through the awful thing call chemo. From what I know, medical services in Australia are very good, and you made a very good decision to stick to your guns and stay here, instead of shifting home immediately.

I'm sure you realise by now, that this is a wake up call, blah blah blah, and maybe when things have settled down, it will be good to consider insurance, just to make sure things are covered. Anyways, health is wealth, and am glad that this incident as got you back into blogging, and that you should not consider stopping again anytime soon ;o)

The next thing is with regards to that Singaporean girl who is in Sydney. I don't mind meeting up with her and feel free to pass my email on to her if you can. What I really want to say to her, especially in that aspect about Asians being discriminated, is so not very true, even more so in Sydney. I was quite worked up when I read that post ( sigh, this opportunity is so wasted on her....) , and decided to step back and understand why did she say such things, when I feel so privileged to live here in Australia, that it's so full of opportunities, compared to me not being able to have that feeling at all in Singapore whatsoever when I was there.

And I think these are the possible reasons:

1. this is her first time living overseas. it is hard. no friends, no family. Working overseas is different from being a student studying overseas, or being on an exchange program, or on holiday. you get culture shock, you need to start getting comfortable with being by yourself, handle bills, blah blah blah. Is quite a shock to the system if one is constantly surrounded by family and friends and by many many people. One have to learn how to look after yourself, and learn from others without being spoonfed, or told what to do. One have to be proactive, if you are determined to make it work.

2. Instead of shifting the blame on others, maybe it will be good to first shift perspective, and question oneself what is it that I'm doing wrong or what do I need to do if I want to get promoted/climb the corporate ladder. Watch out what the managers/leaders in the company do, how do they handle people and manage situations, why do people respect them, and learn from them. Maybe she's right about the company, that it actually discriminates, but while she's got the opportunity, what can she learn from it, so that when she goes to another place, she can get a managerial role. Is it because the other aisans in the company are content with where they are? Or is it because they are not very vocal about their views, and are too humble about the things they have achieved, compared to others, who are comfortable and proud of the things they have done, and has no problems about talking about that with their team leads/ supervisors to get a review for promotion.

3. It takes me 3 years to actually have a nice group of friends, and most of them, I met them through work, and they are as passionate as I am about things in the digital space. She is lucky that she is in a digital age now where the internet has enabled overseas living so much more easier. There are websites such as ( http://www.meetup.com/find/ ) to help people who has similar interests to hang out with each other. Take up classes, explore sydney, do bush walking, Maybe I can meet up with her for coffee when my wedding is over, and maybe, can show her the real Sydney ;o)

4. I think you are right about personality. What is her key reason for wanting to live here. Generally, it's the people who makes the place. For me, I've been living overseas for too long, and having nothing else to talk about other than shopping, where to eat, and bitching makes me bored. I love nature, and love meeting international people. I have to admit though, I chose Sydney because I have a larger probability of getting a job here, and it was the first place that I got a job offer when I was in New Zealand before coming over. If it's for shopping, or just for a job, it's going to be harder to stay here longer....

Ok...enough of my rant. Btw, came to know about this site that helps sponsor visas if the person has the skill set that Australia needs. I know about it when I was at a Google event for startups, and the founder of the site was there. She seems genuine, that's why I think this site is trustworthy. I heard from fellow workmates from China that the new migration law is actually not extra hard. As long as you are in the bucket where there is a lack of people with those skills ( such as in IT), it should be ok. Only catch is that the IELTS score requirements is now higher. Anyways, here the site:

http://www.jobcapital.com.au/migration/

Here's my few cents. Hope you are enjoying winter here and your little girl is very cute!

take care ;o)

******

Helloooo sister,

恭喜恭喜咯！I can feel the joy all the way from Sydney. Thanks for dropping me words of encouraging during the recent dark times. I didn't expect any, definitely not from someone busy with her wedding plans. We had been through that and we knew. Let me extend my congrats to you once again and wish everything goes as planned on your wedding.

I too, took some time to reply this email. Funnily, the man that everyone thought had lost his balls had became the Prime Minister. Bet you never expected that ya?

I am one of those who buy into the concept of cancer cells living in everyone's body but getting eliminated daily by the immune system. So technically I am not cancer free, especially I had a record of losing battles which allowed cancer cells to set up base in my bladder. The war is never over, though I agree that it is a great thing to destroy their bastion before they are allowed to consolidate their positions. It was certainly a right decision to receive treatment here, on hindsight.

Thanks for offering your friendship to Y*. Just an update. My friend Sydney Librarian had met up with Y* once or twice ever since. She told me they had a great time chatting and eating Hokkien Mee in some street of Sydney. That doesn't sound too bad, eh? My friend actually works as a librarian and she stays in Sydney. Hmm. Having a fun time being Captain Obvious on a cold Winter morning here. I will definitely let Y* know about this and send her your contact details. With this, her number of friends will actually increased by 200% since she first contacted me. She will definitely be pleased with these figures, as a fellow engineer herself.

Your points on Sydney is useful for me. I definitely learnt something from that and I think Y* will benefit from the tips as well. Thanks for taking time to list them down. If anyone noticed, I know nuts about the place to be giving Y* any useful advice at all. What I could only do is to get her some lao jiao Sydney friends like yourself.

Thank you for your lovely compliments about my daughter. For being nice, here is Albany saying "Hi" to Auntie C. For one last time, best wishes for your wedding and marriage and wish you 早生貴子

Hi Auntie C!

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