Funny Name of the Week

This week's funny city/town name is:

Warrawee

Black belt - 8

I am happy to report that I have received my black belt minus 8, which is 'resume-speak' for my first belt after the white belt.

The school where I practice ninjutsu awards green, brown and black belts.  There are four levels of green belts (one stripe, two stripes, three stripes, four stripes), four levels of brown belts, and nine levels of black belts.

I really enjoy learning and practising a martial art.  I researched several different martial arts and concluded that 'jutsu' family was the most appealing to me.  Ninjutsu tries to make you a well rounded person, as opposed to focusing on specific type of defense or offense.

Another aspect of learning a martial art is all the working out that I do while training.  The training session is about an hour to an hour and a half long and when I come home I feel really exhausted.  Ninjutsu training sessions twice a week reduce the number of workouts I have to do in a week.  I also find ninjutsu more fun than working out.  It sure feels good to simulate defending yourself and then finish off the other person with a nice throw.  :-)

Funny Name of the Week

I don't think I'll ever run out of funny names, as long as I keep looking at the map of Australia!

Brewarrina

Immigration

We have just taken the preliminary steps in our bid to immigrate to Australia (other than selling all our possessions in Canada and moving here).  Just yesterday, we took action on two areas crucial to getting a permanent residency (PR) in Australia.

First, I submitted an applications to Engineers Australia (EA) to recognize my Canadian Engineering degree.  I need EA to provide me with a written assessment recognizing my qualifications to be equivalent to an Australian Electronics Engineering degree.

Second, I registered for an IELTS test, which is a test of English language proficiency.  I need to write this test in order to get additional points towards my application.

In order to be considered for a PR visa in Australia, you need to get 120 points on their points test.  With one year of Australian working experience, Engineering degree, high scores on the IELTS test and some points for being under 45 years of age, I have just enough points to apply for permanent residency.

I have to submit our application before I turn 35, because when I turn 35 I lose 5 points for age, and then I don't have enough points to apply for the PR visa.  We have a small window of about one month where I have one year of working experience in Australia (which gives me additional points) and where I am under 35.  All our efforts are now focused on getting everything ready for applying for the PR visa in November!

First Australian business trip

I am writing this post as I wait to return from my first Australian business trip.  You know your trip is going to be short when at the same time you get to web-check in for the departing AND returning trip (you can only web-check in 24 hours before the flight).

Another interesting aspect of my trip was my destination.  The name of the town that I visited today is Billinudgel.  I am not joking!   I am sure there is a good story behind that name.

Billinudgel is very close to Gold Coast, which has some amazing beaches and views.  The location definitely makes up for the 'interesting' name.

Funny Name of the Week

This week's pick for a funny town/city name is:

Lilli Pilli