Job and stuff so far

It is Saturday afternoon here, and the week has been somewhat eventful - driving, job, church, and thoughts.

Driving - my cousin and her husband had recently bought a new car, and thus had offered to me the use of their old car.  This is a great gift since cars are needed to get around in the Perth area, and thus by having a set of wheels to go around it, it is a blessing.  However, before I can use it, there are three small minor problems - I need practice driving on the other side of the road in a car where the steering wheel is on the other side of the car AND all my cousins' cars are manual, not automatic AND I don't have the keys.  So, this week, my uncle took me driving around in order to get used the rules of the road.  We went through a wildlife sanctuary (sorry... can't take pictures while I'm driving) then to a chocolate factory (if only I could send chocolate through the internet.. mmm) and then back.  One hour of driving, all of which I did well because I kept on telling myself "Hug the right, hug the right".  It seems that when I sit on the right side of the car and drive on the left side of the road, by hugging the right side of the road, I can stay in my lane.  However, at the end, I lapsed in my montra for a minute, and ended up out of my lane, but there was no oncoming traffic.  As for the fact that it is manual, I have had 1 1/2 lessons so far.  I have had 1 lesson that was about 2 hours long, and it was by a friend of the family here, in which manual driving was explained very thoroughly.  The 1/2 part comes from one cousin who gave up after 10 minutes of teaching, saying that I need to take lessons.  I think I just need 1 more lesson in manual driving, and a tom-tom, and I should be ok to go exploring.  :)

Job - This week has been a good job lead.  I had met with Assistant Professor Ian Howard of Curtin University, who has a post-doc position dealing with the diagnostics and prognostics of pumps.  In simple terms, this means that I would be basically applying what I learned during my PhD to pumps.  Now, I know what you are thinking - "That's great?! umm.. pumps!", which is what I was thinking as well initially.  However, I learned that the project comes from 2 water companies and 1 submarine companies that want to be able to tell if their pumps are failing from a far distance, instead of constantly monitoring them.  In the bigger scheme of things, since Australia is running out of fresh water sites to meet the needs of the people, there is actually a push in order to pump water in from the Pacific ocean to sites, where they would be desalinated, and then used by people for everyday use.  So, working on the project actually has bigger applications.  Hence, I am excited.   The problem right now is the funding.  The funds for the project come from a university in Queensland, and was obtained by a grant by 4 professors in Curtin.  However, as of right now, the funds have not been released, as so the Assistant Professor can't take me on full time with the anticipated funds.  So, tihs week I signed on as a "casual researcher", which basically means that I have to have a time sheet (I don't punch a card for time) to keep track of my hours.  And then hand in the time sheet to get paid.  This would go on til the end of the month, and then hopefully I would get on as a full time post-doc, but we would find out then what happens.  In the meantime, I figure that it is a start.  The second day I went in (Tuesday), the Prof Howard showed me around and introduced me to 2 other people on team, who I also found out where christians from the introduction.  I found this very interesting.  I was also told that I should not exceed the 75 hours per fortnight (37.5 hours per week) of work.  I asked why, and I was just told that everyone only does that, and thus do no more.  So, I guess I was warned about my "work-alohism"  The rest of the week (Wed through Friday) I tried to start brushing up on some topics that I would need once I get started, such as dynamics and system modeling.  So, I'm in the process of that.

Church - I think finding a church to settle into is one of the hardest things to find.  I am considering settling down to a church called All Nations Presbyterian Church for a few reasons.  The church is composed of people from many different nations - korea, china, japan, chile, spain, etc.  I was told that there is less than a handful of Australians, and maybe one couple (rumor has it) is from America.  So, if rumors are false, I am the only American in the bunch.  Last Sunday I went, and felt that the sermon was very applicable - it was about how to make godly decisions.  After service, many people actually came and talked to me - they had the welcoming ministry in full swing, where I was greated by about 10 people.  I was impressed.  One person called me on Friday to invite me to the bible study Friday night, which I attended.  The bible study was really nice - they served dinner first (it looked like a burrito, but the couple that made it is from Chile and called it pancakes), then a bible study on Revelations 21 & 22, followed by a discussion and fellowship.  Afterwards, since it was late at night, someone took my home.  On a side note, the person who took me home was very sarcastic, and it reminded me of my younger brother Richard.  I just had to smile.  I was impressed by the church's hospitality.  Out of the three churches that I was suggested, I think I would settle into this one because I would rather choose hymns + "meaty" sermons over great worship + fluffy sermons.  I kept on going back to Matthew 6:31 - 34, which says:

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

when praying about the matter, which helped me put things into perspective.

Thoughts -  So overall, things are looking up.  I did venture out to a town called Joondalup this week to go shopping, sat in a coffee shop one day for 3 hours studying (here it is "Gloria Jean's Coffee" and not starbucks or dunkin donuts), and walked to the local library that was "just around the corner".  On a side note, if an Aussie says "its down the block", that's anywhere from 10 min to 30 min walk.  And "just around the corner" is an hour walk.  And most shops here have the "no return policy" which is annoying at times. 

I did go to another Engineers Australia meeting this week, where they talked what it means to be a "chartered professional".  This basically means that an engineer is recognized by the country to be so compentent in his area of expertise, that he can sign off on governmental papers dealing with projects.  I listened to the guy talk about it, and the long road ahead of an engineer who wants to apply for it, and I was thankful that I heard about it now in the beginning of my engineering career so I know that I should keep a journal of what I do for later on and what I should look out for, rather than later, when it would be hard to plan for it.

I was pondering over the statement that the Curtin professor made once in passing, that the project that I am going to do took 2 years to get the funds for.  And then after he introduced me to 2 of the other 3 professors on the team and said they were christian, I started pondering over whether I am an answer to a prayer that they had about finding someone to fill this role.  And maybe they started praying around the time that I first visited Australia.  That would be amazing.  And due to long bus rides, I had time to ponder over the "coincident" timing in my job and academic career - how funding ran out in PhD work and a teaching job just so happened was placed on my advisor's lap that he offered me to do; the available position at my first school in a math dept in which religion was freely talked about; asked to work in a school as a science and math teacher at the point when I was going to leave teaching to help start a new school... how trying to hear God and desiring to follow Him opens up doors that I would never had walked through otherwise, and I can see His provision for me each step of the way.  My PhD advisor, C James Li, once told me that he used to only take candidates that had years of industry experience and none that came straight from undergraduate work into the PhD program.  However, he said that God told him to take a risk on me, and the feeling didn't leave him regardless of how many times he prayed about it.  He sometimes said I was the exception to his rule.  I'm amazed.

My aunt and uncle are constant sources of advice daily.  We meet around the dinner table almost daily, where they dispense business, career, and life advice, which so far has been very helpful.  I take it from the point of view that they were pioneers once, moving their family from the Philippines to Australia, similar to what I am doing, and hence, they advise me through a migrant's perspective.  My aunt has the nickname "dragon lady" by some, but all it is really is that she is a straight shooter, and tells it as it is.  When she tells stories, it means to listen up because there is something she wants me to remember and usually not repeat.  I have not yet had "the talks" or "the look" that she says, as well as some cousins, she gives when she is upset.  My uncle is a dreamer and a visionary.  He works with people around the globe trying out latest technologies in the ultimate vision of locating resources underground without disturbing the ground, and creating a city that is sustainable at the site of the resource, even after the resources are depleted with energy sources that are natural and long lasting.  I can't really get into details, since it would take up a long long time to explain.  Late nights, we chat about stuff in general, such as the other night - the end of the world as seen through several civilizations and the Bible.  It is quite fascinating to talk to him at times.  I think their main push at times is to go explore, try new things... if you fail, be sure you have a back up plan of how to bounce back then figure out what you learned from the failure and try again.  And if you don't explore and don't try, then basically you're just not doing life.

I miss you guys.  If you know of any website to post huge amounts of pictures, I'll post the pictures I have with comments, if possible.  Otherwise, I'll send out an email again soon with new pictures of places.  Write back if you can...