I Love Discounts

Part of being a surf bum, or a person who is afraid of the real world and has stayed in school until 30, is learning to survive or thrive with little to no income (Having parents who will co-sign with you or help you out when the Bank (ATB) Screws you, a Friends who hook you up with free concerts and Ski Tickets also helps ;) )

Luckily for me I love Deals and Discounts and thus can partake in the 'good life'.

For example Ann and I went to Las Vegas to 'train' for the Goofy race, in Disney World, because it was too damn cold to run outside in Calgary.
Thanks to calgarydealsblog and yycDeals we went to Vegas for $30 each for Flight Hotel and Taxes!
I also obtained Discounted tickets to Phantom of the Opera and Zumanity (+18 Cirque du Soleil, highly recommend ;))
So we got some Entertainment in with our +15 degree Red Rock Training run all for less the the Price of Gas to Lake Louise and back.

Now Sydney is, or can be, a very expensive City (Housing is out of Control).
However if you are patient deals can be had.
For example a Bottle of Coke that would be $1-1.50 in Calgary is $3.50 to $4 here, but if you are paying attention Cases of Coke can be had for $11 for 24. Bulk savings are the Norm, it seems, as Beer is around $25 for a 6 pack ($4 each), but Cases are $40 to 50 for 24 ($1.50-2 each).

Restaurants here are more expensive, with a typical cheap meal being $25 per main dish.
However thanks to Sydney Deals we can go out like we are Dr's (almost), like today I got us 50% off tickets to the Opera (Finally!)
I also got a Deal that includes 2 Appraisers, 2 Entrées, Dessert, 4 Beers/cocktails and 2 Full Bottles of Wine at a restaurant for $40!

Those are my Survival techniques for Living large on the Surf bum/Student budget. Between these and Ebay /Gumtree (Kijiji) you can live the Champagne and Caviar lifestyle for the Deluxe Kraft dinner budget.

First Impressions

<3 and H8 About Oz


Step one to becoming a Surf Bum is moving to a location that has said Surfing, preferably without getting hypothermia well doing so.

Luckily for me, Ann got into Medical school at the University of Sydney (no big deal), Australia thus enabling the start of the Surf Bum journey.

Firstly, I have to say, I don't understand why you Canadians who do not participate in winter sports, live in Canada. Seriously. Why would you deal with frozen cars, high heating bills, and winter tires when there are places like Australia? Our apartment doesn't even have a heater never mind insulation.
You Canadians that do participate in winter sports, particularly downhill skiing...I hate you (you know who you are and why ;) ).


So far the things I love about Australia are:

#1 No Pennies! Man oh man do I hate change and the loss of the stupid ass penny is like a dream come true. If they get rid of the nickel and dime I'm never leaving (also no quarters, but I do dislike the huge 50 cent coins).


#2 Bacon! Australian bacon which I believe is called rasher bacon is the beautiful love child of Canadian and American bacon. Its is delicious. However, I don't like Australian eggs..I find the yolks too yolky. Thus I'm slowly going back to scrambled and omelette's. I hope to its an acquired tasty or that its just the free run eggs that Ann buys (in which case cage up those chickens ;) ) as I miss eggs Benedict and over-easy. (Edit: Due to missing bacon picture I have added new withCanadian bacon on left American on top and Aussie (UK/Irish) on bottom right). Also Eggs are great, must have been a bad Omega 3 Batch)


#3 Great Transit and Car shares. I joined the GoGet car share and love it. They have small cars and station wagons and vans all within a few blocks of any location. So if your buying a surf board or moving house it is cheap and easy to grab a car/Van and go, without having to pay for insurance, gas (which is expensive) or maintenance.

#4 Great Coffee..and almost no Starbucks.

#5 Tipping is not expected...nice to only have to tip on good service rather then feeling forced into it.

#6 Weather and Beaches. OMG everyday feels like a vacation when you can just go the the beach (well I guess with no job technically everyday is a vacation :) )




Dislikes.

#1 Why the hell does everybody in Sydney Smoke. What is this Jr high?


































#2 Bugs. Huge Spider webs are fricken cool, huge spiders are not. Also Cockroaches..ewh. But its good incentive to keep the house clean, and if surfing gets in the way of that I can get a sweet Pet lizard to run around and take care of them

#3 Hanging clothes to dry...Personally prefer the dryer as clothes are fluffier after. Speaking of dryers Australian hand dryers in bathrooms suck...except the few places that have the Dyson one..that thing rocks.

#4 Also It is too hilly/sudden dead ends and too much traffic for me to use my Longoard to get around. But trying to Longboard with a surf board would be impossible anyway..Thus got a single speed to get around/to the beach on and am in the process of attaching surfboard to said single speed.