Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions!

Oh god, this concert though... Caused me so much problems!

I originally wanted to go to Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions concert when they came to Boston, but I didn't go because I was busy packing and planning my trip to Australia. When I was in Adelaide, I saw a poster advertising this concert, so I looked online and they were going to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney! I thought this might be a good chance to finally meet Anita, so I booked two tickets to the one in Sydney. The one in Melbourne was going to be held in the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Center building vs. the one in Sydney was going to be held in the Sydney Opera House. Which one do you think was cooler? Of course Sydney! I told Anita about it and she was like, she'll try to get that day off. But eventually, her manager put her in for that day for work so she couldn't go.

What now? I'm stuck with two tickets and no one to go with. I didn't want the ticket to go to waste, so I started seeing if anyone wanted to go. Chris and San didn't want to be spending that AU$140 just to take the train to go see something that they weren't interested. So I started going online to find people on Reddit. I even made an account on OkCupid just to ask people! LOLOL... I think people thought I was a creep trying to fish them into going to an orchestra with me but people still replied me thanking my generosity but they were either busy or not interested.

I took Friday and Saturday night off from cleaning the hostel lounge. I booked train tickets to leave Melbourne on Friday night and reach Sydney on Saturday morning. The whole time up until 2 hours before the orchestra, I was just trying to find someone. I finally picked up the tickets at the Sydney Opera House. I can't believe I'm going to a concert at the Opera House! I was excited as well as disappointed that I might be watching this orchestra alone... I asked about the refund policy and the guy at the reception said Sydney Opera House is pretty strict about refunding and there's no refund. But often times, people are willing to buy tickets near the front door if they didn't get a chance to get some. I didn't know how to approach people... People started going in for merchandise and I tried to ask people that were standing around if they needed an extra ticket. I thought maybe if I go in a get a t-shirt, people will be more aware that I am going to this concert and try to ask if I have an extra ticket for sale. I wanted a t-shirt anyways, but it didn't help haha... I tried selling the ticket until 7:50 PM when most people has already went inside the concert hall. I went back to the reception and told him that I couldn't find anyone to buy the ticket. I gave him the ticket and told him that if anyone comes and needed a ticket, just give it to them. I had a feeling that SOMEONE might come and wanted a ticket. I didn't care for it anymore and just wanted to try to enjoy the orchestra as much as possible with just myself QQ...

The concert started and I didn't regret a single thing spending so much money just to go to Sydney and watch this concert. The orchestra was sooo good and every time they played a song that I knew from the video game, it sent chills down my whole body... They played only the video game music plus the first season extended version them song at the very end. But I'll get to that later. I was so immersed into the orchestra that I forgot I was there alone... But then about 7 minutes into the concert, this Asian girl walks in and sits next to me. We made eye contact and waved at each other. After the song ended, she asked if I was the guy that left his ticket at the reception to give away! Turns out she knows nothing about Pokemon other than Pikachu and she was just there to experience being a concert hall at the Sydney Opera House. She ended up enjoying the orchestra! Or so I think because she didn't fall asleep to it haha... We ended up connecting and decided to go grab dinner after the concert ended at 10:30 PM. By that time, majority of the restaurants were closed already. I Yelped and found this Japanese restaurant and bar place with two dollar signs so I was like okay, lets go there! The food was good, but it was definitely not two dollar signs! Our bill came out to be $165.... T_T;; We ended up splitting, but that's one hell of an expensive meal! Even my first anniversary dinner with my ex was not that expensive... We spent the rest of the night exploring Sydney harbour area and taking night photos until like 1 AM when I said I need to head back because I need to get up by 6 AM to catch my train back to Melbourne.

The whole way walking back to my hostel, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I've spent on this one weekend! Lol... That and this girl seems pretty cool. Her name's Serena and we got each other on WeChat. She's from Beijing and only here for two weeks on a vacation before going back home for her job.  I just took it as another great opportunity to practice my Mandarin because her English wasn't that great either! She said she wanted to study in America when she was younger, but her parents didn't allow it and she just kind of gave up on that idea. I wish our Asian culture wasn't THAT into respecting our elderly's sayings. We need to be more independent and do what we want to do. It might not always be the best decision, but we learn from mistakes, right? Originally, my mom didn't really like the idea of me leaving everything behind to go to a country where I don't know anything about, but I would have still be living a sad and boring life at home if I were to listen to her and stayed. I'm so happy I made this decision for myself and do what I want to do for myself. Everyone should do what they want to do. Parents' advice is good, but the ultimate decision is yours to make on your own. No regrets!

Back to Melbourne and back to looking for jobs again lol... Such is life. I had a call with Lucy today. I'm so glad that she's feeling a lot better now. I felt so hopeless when she's so upset about her life and I can't do a thing for her but encourage her to once again get out of the Asian mentality that we don't always have to listen and respect our parent's decisions. She needs to do what she wants to do because it's her life; not her parents. She asked me if I was stressed about the job situation. To be honest, I don't really feel as stressed as when I was college and wanting to get a job before getting out of college so I don't look like a failure. One thing that have changed me for sure by coming to Australia is that I'm more laid back and not stress about things that I cannot control. If employers don't want me, then I'll just have to keep trying. I can't go around complaining about how I really need a job. Although it's so depressing to look at my bank account ahahah... I think I've spent around $8000 by now in three months time. I'm so glad that Tran hooked me up with the work for accommodation job so I can at least save some money on living expenses. I don't feel like I'm trying hard enough to find a job, but that's okay... I'll just treat it as a vacation. If I don't get anything by mid December, I'll probably head to Sydney and spend Christmas and New Years there. We'll see...

Anyways, sleep time! Nightz0r~