A job and a place to live...

Things seem to finally be panning out. I just got a job! Woot! Not a job that I would want long term, but it is a four to six week contract so that is enough time to figure out what my next move will be. The job is doing communications and administration for the Cancer Societies tissue Biobank. The people seem pretty nice and pay will be really appreciated. Now since I have a job I will finally take a little more time to check out the city in my free time.

In other awesome news I got to see Death Cab for Cutie the other night. The concert was amazing, they played songs from their last three albums and I loved every minute of it. I forgot how much I love going to live concerts; it is by far one of my favorite things.

I have a place to stay for the next month but it is less than ideal, however for the amount of time that I spend at home I am sure it will be fine. I have Frisbee four days a week so that keeps me pretty busy and finally I am getting back into shape. Feels like I am building a bit of a life. Now I just need to decide what to do in four to six weeks… but I am going to put that off for a bit. It is time to relax for a little bit.

Oh, and not sure I mentioned before but last place I lived had a pet duck, check Googy out :)

More concert tickets....

It has been about a week and a half in Melbourne, I feel like I am settling in. I may still be jobless and looking for a place to live but it will all come together… things always do.

I currently have Frisbee four days a week, so it is a nice way to be social without spending heaps of money. I have three teams, a social league, a somewhat competitive league and a very competitive women’s team. Tonight I have my first sprinting training… which hopefully won’t kill me after a couple of months of inactivity. So far this week I have been holding up pretty well… I don’t know if anyone but me notices how out of shape I am… but I doubt they would point it out either.

I am going to go on a bit of a photo scavenger hunt over the weekend if I have time. I have almost no pictures of Melbourne because it is a place with a nice culture as oppose to Sydney were there are things to see.

Today I got Jason Mraz tickets as a delayed valentines gift from my mom… very sweet! I am sure I could go poor in this city between shopping and shows. Luckily I have avoided shopping all together until I am employed… I am hoping my resolve will stick.

Starting again...

This is go number two at starting some kind of a life in Australia, while Brisbane was accidental and always temporary, I found myself oddly attached. I really think it is the people that make you chose to stay somewhere. On that note, I miss everyone at home a ridiculous amount.

Melbourne is beautiful; it reminds me of Montreal in some ways. There are all kinds of festivals, shows, sports, churches in the middle of sky rises and intriguing fashion. I could defiantly see myself settling in here for a while. I know Maria and Dean here but those are the only people I know really, so it is time to get out there and start talking with people. I have already found a women’s ultimate team to play with and I start practicing on Sunday… hopefully I’m not too out of shape. I also have tickets to see Death Cab for Cutie and Josh Pyke, so that is pretty exciting.

The big concern that I have right now is finding a job. It is difficult to find employment when a company know you can only work for them for six months … makes you a little less competitive against an Australian citizen. As well, with the current state of the economy employers are more likely to hire Australians. I think I will look for temporary work and just cross my figures about getting something I enjoy. While I love Australia, I love the work I do more. I think the next month or so will really determine how much longer this extended vacation will continue.

I miss a sense of normal. I think that was always my goal with this trip, to get the travel bug a little more out of me so I can settle down somewhere. The big question is still where…

What to do next...

Back in Brissie and being horribly indecisive about what to do next. Part of me wants to stay here because it is easy and feels like home, the other part of me thinks Melbourne would be a better fit. The big thing is at this point I am tried of starting over from scratch. I think for the first time in my life I am overwhelmed by the thought of meeting new people and having to find a new group of friends. At the same time I know this is silly because I meet new people all the time… maybe I am just lacking some kind of consistency and my friends in Brissie provide that.

Right now it looks like my decision is going to be to move to Melbourne on Monday. Have one last fun week with the people here, meet up with Fox from home and then carry on. Melbourne should be better for getting a job and they have all kinds of music and sporting events. I am so looking forward to settling in, getting a job that I like, finding an apartment and buying a guitar… the simple things…but sometimes it can be pretty hard to get your ducks in a row. Wish me luck I may die in the current heat wave in Melbourne…

In some ways it feels like I am starting my trip all over again after seeing Mom and Sherry and getting reminders of home. I already miss them very much as well as everyone else from home. I have been on a phoning home streak after three weeks of a lack of communication… so great to hear from everyone!

The trip is winding down and in two days I head back to Australia to desperately seek employment... probably about time for that. It is sad to think that in a couple of days Mom and Sherry will be headed back to Canada. It was so nice having family around.

Since Bungy jumping life has been a little bit more mellow but still very enjoyable. We took an all day trip to Milford Sound to do a boat cruise, while on the boat it was foggy and felt a little like the ride to Bell Island... the drive out there was scenic and stunning. Sometimes I feel like I am on sensory overload and can’t fully appreciate things.

To clue up our last couple of days we visited rock boulders on a beach, spent a night at Mount Cook and are now in Christchurch. Mount Cook was surprisingly warm considering how close we were to glaciers; I would say the views from the town were far more stunning at Mount Cook than Franz Joseph.

Here in Christchurch there is a busker’s festival that it really unique and fun. Everywhere you turn there are performers of ever sort. Today alone I have seen a saxophone player, a bagpipes player, a contortionist, a Russian pole group, a folk singing group, and a very large Scotsman with no shirt on...not really sure what his talent was but he had a sign. Aside from all of the performances Christchurch is a beautiful spot to spend a couple of days. I am not really a lover of botanical gardens, but this city has an amazing one. I think after this I will go to the park to read my book... I would highly recommend visiting New Zealand, such a stunning place.

The variety that you get in New Zealand still amazes me. I really have no idea what I am going to see from day to day or from minute to minute. One second I can be driving through a rain forest, the next I am on the beach, shortly after that I am next to glacier covered mountains. New Zealand is a truly amazing place, perfect for the outdoor lover.





This week I hiked up Franz Joseph Glacier and bungy jumped… totally different experiences but both totally amazing. With the bungy I have ticked off another to do item on my original list of things to do in this year… I don’t think there is much left on the list to be honest… I might have to come up with a new one. I have to say I am very proud of myself for doing the bungy jump… for someone that hates heights I did pretty good. The jump was off the original bungy site in Queenstown, NZ. Not the highest that I could have done, but with this one I got to touch the water on the bottom. I also thought that jumping over water gave me some security…even if that doesn’t make any sense.







The Glacier hike was also a really cool experience, Sherry and Mom decided not to join me as they had seen several glaciers in Alaska. I did a half day hike up an 80 year old glacier that gets approximately 254 meters of snow added to it every year. The views were spectacular.

There is only about a week left of my NZ trip and I am really looking forward to everything else that I have yet to see. Queenstown has been my favorite by far, but the trip isn’t over yet. I find it amazing that only 4.4 million people live in this amazing place…

Oh the vanity...picture time...

These are pictures from throughout the North Island of New Zealand…. From waterfalls to the Shire the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We are currently in the North Island seeing what kind of shenanigans we can get ourselves into…or well maybe it is mainly me with the shenanigans…