It really doesn't feel like Christmas.

I cannot believe it's Christmas this week. It doesn't feel like it, but maybe that's because I don't have plans and am more looking forward to the New Year's celebrations we have organised, which will be a combined Christmas/New Year thing.

But I must backtrack a week. Last weekend I went to San Francisco to see my Aunty Gail and family friend Lee. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw them, it's probably been a good 4-5 months!! At first I wasn't so sure on the decision to go down, with this new job, but then thought, "screw it!". They're so close and I couldn't really pass up the opportunity to visit while they were on this side of the world.

So after a late night flight on the Friday I was back in San Fran. The last time I was there was in 2007 (!!!) and prior to that it would have been about 1995 or 1996. It seems to be a visit of every 10 years!! It is such a cool city and the people are so friendly. They rented an apartment near the Palace of Fine Arts and it was so nice being in a residential area, rather than the downtown or touristy area. The first day was a really nice day, we went to their local bakery for a decent coffee then walked to get a cable car. We stopped off at the Fairmont then looked at a church nearby. Following that we headed to downtown San Fran and watched the ice skaters, a very cool acapella group and tried to see how many people were dressed up in crazy Santa costumes because it happened to be Santacon that day. (where people just bar hop dressed as Santa.) We then headed back to their favourite French cafe that had the most delicious food and chai lattes. We ate there both days.

As the weather on the Sunday was predicted to be raining (great, I left Vancouver to go to SUNNY California) we decided to go for a walk down towards the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a lovely arvo and a beautiful sunset. Also there were surfers under the bridge!! Crazy! The following day was Gail's birthday so we went to our usual places and did a bit of shopping on another local street. Unfortunately it was a short day for me as I had to leave for the airport around 2.45pm. But stupid me, did not check the flights as my flight was delayed for 2 hours (!!) so I hung out at the airport when I could have had more time with them. Oh well. It was so good to see them and have that little piece of home over here. I guess it's hard at this time of year when you can't be with your family for the holidays.

Oh and in other news Miley Cyrus was on my flight to Vancouver!!! I tried to take a sneaky photo but it was so blurry. I could not make a living as a papparazzi!

Not a lot else happening, just going out really and hanging out with friends. Like I said, I think I won't be doing a lot for Christmas. I have 10 days off (yippee!) so will be chilling out. There is a plan to learn to ski, so hoping that'll happen next week. Might hit the Boxing Day sales and then before we know it 2016 will be here! Crazy!

I've only just realised that I haven't been home for Christmas for a few years so really missing the hot Aussie Christmas this year.

No doubt there'll be another update before the end of the year, so until then, Merry Christmas!

Homesickness and hockey.

The last couple of days I've really missed home. It’s such a strange feeling. It started a bit on the weekend when I didn’t feel like going out and doing anything.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being here but right now I’m really missing the familiarity of home and my friends and family. I guess perhaps it’s because I’ve been away for 2 months already and it’s been go, go, go since I left and I haven’t really had a chance to slow down. I don’t know it’s hard to explain! But in saying that it was about 2 months in when I was away previously that I felt homesick.

This visit to San Francisco this weekend couldn’t come at a better time. Right now I need to see someone from home and I’m glad I’m catching up with my family. Just need a bit of a recharge I think. Maybe it’s also because it’s so close to Christmas too.

In other news, my friend Jess and I went to the ice hockey and saw the Vancouver Canucks play the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. Jess scored free tickets through work! Apparently there’s a fierce rivalry that dates back to 2011 when there were riots after the hockey final and Boston beat Vancouver. Anyway, all I can say is thank goodness we didn’t pay for tickets, as the Bruins defeated the Canucks in a pretty big way…. 4-0. We ended up leaving before it finished to beat the crowds. We had no idea about the rules…just that they needed to get the puck into the net.

We were excited though as within the first minute there was a fight which led to a penalty for each team. Also later in the game one of the Canucks hit a Bruins player in the balls with his stick! (and it was his hockey stick for all you dirty minded people.) Unfortunately, we missed seeing this as I think this happened after we left. I read that the player was fined $5000 but he said he would do it again! Haha!

Sorry Jess, I’m throwing you under the bus (again!). As we have no idea about rules etc when the Bruins scored their first goal, Jess said “That was a good try”. Hahahaha! We both cracked it! It’s hockey Jess, not rugby league!! We’re really not sports watching people!!

I think if the Canucks played better it might have been more enjoyable. They’re good anyway, Jess and I don’t skate (I don’t know about Jess but I’ve never ice skated before!) so we were impressed with their skating skills and the way they control the puck. But because they had no chance of a comeback there was no point in seeing the rest of the game. It was a good night!

December...where is the year going?

The weeks are just flying by!

I’m going to try and write about my weekends/weeks regularly as the weekends have been so much fun lately and I feel it’s important to record them. :)

Anyway, as of last Friday night/Saturday morning I had absolutely no plans on the weekend. Except to go out on Saturday night. So I thought I would be good and go to the gym. A couple of the girls that I see regularly at the gym said they go on Saturday mornings because one of the really good instructors, Mariette, takes both the Pump and Attack classes. (I never miss Mariette’s Tuesday night Attack classes if I can’t help it).

I get to the class and just before it starts, the same 2 girls invite me to go to brunch afterwards. Sweet! That is just what I need, especially after 2 hours of exercise! (1 hour weights and 1 hour cardio and 845 calories burned!). We went to this awesome little café on Hemlock and 7^th called Slickity Jim’s. If you’re in Vancouver, go now! The brunch is amazing!

By the time we left there I had got a text from my friend Olivier to say that he and some others were going to Granville Island and would I like to meet up! Couldn’t say no. After a quick shower and change I was out the door again. I love my area as I’m within walking distance of Granville Island…but on the way I walked down the shopping precinct of Granville St (only 10 min walk from my place) and did a spot of “Black Friday” shopping. Bought a couple of awesome jumpers from Roots. Thank you Canada for adopting the Black Friday sales.

Anyway, new clothes in hand, I met up with the guys at Granville. We wandered around a bit and looked at the shops and bought some food for dinner – tuna steaks and salad. Olivier had this awesome recipe from his hometown – Montreal. It was delicious. Oh I can’t forget the oysters we had for an entrée (or as they call it here an appetizer) . Fancy!

Side note for the Aussies if you haven’t been to the States/Canada before: entrée = appetizer, main = entrée and dessert = dessert. The entrée thing still confuses me. I don’t understand why the main meal is called an entrée…anyway!!

We had a great night, awesome dinner and thanks to Adam and Ali, I learned how to play Cribbage. It took a while but got the hang of it in the end! Dinner was amazing and the company was good too. After getting home, it was 10pm and I was still planning on going out to meet some other friends! Although Nanna Nicole was starting to rear her ugly head, I sucked it up and went out. Had an awesome night just catching up and hanging out. Next minute it’s 3am and the bar is turning on the lights, a signal to kick us out. We had some sustenance (ie kebabs) and all headed home around 4am. Thank goodness there are night busses that go near my place although I still had to walk 10 minutes to get home and the temperatures would have easily been below 0!

After a nice sleep in till about 11am, it took a while to get up and get going. It’s not the hangover that affects me it’s the lack of sleep! (Actually I didn’t really have a hangover! Woot!) I had made plans to meet up with my previous landlords, Sue and Jeff for coffee. I lived in their basement for pretty much the whole time I was in Vancouver last time so it was great to catch up again. They still had a bag of my old clothes that were supposed to go to charity that they gave back to me. It was like an early Christmas! (although some clothes will still be going to charity!!).

I then met up with my friend Jess to go to the movies, we saw “Secret in their Eyes”. It was ok. It had Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and the actor from “12 years a slave”. I wouldn’t rush out to see it.

Nek minute. Weekend is over. How does that happen???

But…that’s not the only excitement that happened this week. A group of 12 of us booked to see the Cirque du Soleil show that’s currently in town, called Kooza. It was fantastic. Some of the acts had us all on the edge of our seat. It was a brilliant night. I’ve been lucky enough to see 5 Cirque shows now and each one is so different. You can’t compare them!

Phew. What a week. Who knows what this weekend will bring? Wait, plans have already started to be made! Catching up for sushi with friends tomorrow night and Jess scored free tickets from her work to the Canucks game on Saturday night. Should be a ball as we have no idea what the rules are!!

Next weekend I’m off to San Fran to catch up with my Aunty Gail and family friend Rosalie. They got an awesome flight deal from Aus and are there for 3 weeks! Too bad I can’t take any more time off work but I can’t wait to see them as I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye before I left.  Then it’s one weekend then Christmas. CRAZY!!!

Settling in.

Far out. 3 weeks since the last blog post. Sorry! Been busy working and socialising.

Still have remnants of my cold. This cough is sticking around but that hasn’t stopped me from going to the gym, hiking and catching up with friends. I have only had one quiet weekend at home so far, so that was nice. Although in saying that, I did do the Grouse Grind that weekend and I’m so glad I did as it has since closed. The weather has been quite nice, very cold and it’s supposed to get colder this weekend!

The weekend that just went I did 2 hikes, one to Crystal Falls in Coquitlam and the other to Norvan Falls in North Vancouver. Both were fun!

The hike to Crystal Falls wasn’t that hard (it was only about a 6km return trip), however we made it hard by climbing up the hills near the waterfall. Almost reminded me of the Grouse Grind! It was a great day, we even saw deer! Excitement plus. We finished the day by chilling out in the pool and hot tub. To me it’s so weird swimming in winter but I guess that’s because our pool back home is outside and we only go in when it’s hot.

The next day, the same group of us (minus one who had to work) went to Norvan Falls in North Vancouver. We did this one in such good time considering the signs said it would take 6 hours as it was a 14km return hike. We did it in about 3.5 hours including having time to stop at the waterfall. We were taking advantage while it’s sunny. It’s pretty cold though!

Both these hikes were very beautiful and different from each other.  I love that you can just drive half an hour and go for a hike with such beautiful scenery. I think I would hike every weekend if I could!

On Saturday night I caught up with my friends Rangolie and Rolie. I have known them for about 14 years now. It’s absolutely crazy that we have managed to stay in touch and see each other, despite the distances. May as well tell you the story of how we met.

Way back when, in 2001, Mum and I were heading to Vietnam for a holiday and we had a stopover in Bangkok. We chose these rows of seats to sit and wait and this Indian family, Mum, Dad and twin girls sat opposite us. We started chatting to them and it turned out the girls were around my age!  They were heading to India for the first time since they moved to Canada. I don’t know how long our stopover was but talking to them made it go so quickly. We even have a photo of our first meeting (it’s somewhere back at home and it’s never seeing the light of day!) and we kept in touch ever since. We’ve written letters, emails, had MSN chats etc etc. When I came to Vancouver in 2007 for a week we caught up and then when I moved here in 2013 we caught up off and on during the time I lived here. It’s so lovely having friends that no matter the distance or how long it has been since you’ve seen them that nothing changes. I’m so lucky to count both Rolie and Rangolie as these types of friends. I really hope we can catch up more this time around.  

After a very full on weekend, I caught up with my other friend Alice who wanted to see the new James Bond movie. Why not? So I went along. It was great! Very action packed and enjoyable.

Last night (Tuesday) I was invited to go see the final instalment of The Hunger Games. Not one to miss out on an opportunity to catch up with friends I accepted…even though I had never seen any of the movies before! Honestly, I really didn’t think they would be that good, however with the knowledge that I would probably go to the movies, my task on Monday was to completely catch up! Luckily I live really close to work and I usually go home at lunch, so in my lunch break I started the first movie. Then I also happened to finish work early so went straight home and finished the marathon. More than 6 hours of Hunger Games later I was caught up! I’m so glad I saw them before seeing the final movie as I would not have had a clue. I do recommend the series. I should probably read the books now!

Oh, speaking of wildlife (not really) on my way downtown last night I saw 2 raccoons! I was really worried they were going to get hit by a car as they kept going on to the road, but I didn’t know how to approach them to get them away from the road or even if you should? Apparently they have rabies? Snakes, spiders, lizard, toads, I know how to deal with but raccoons? No. I walked past them and they darted into the bushes. Thank god. I really hope when I walk back down the same street tonight that I don’t see dead raccoons on the road. They’re pretty cute with their little eye masks.

Animal count so far this trip: squirrels – tick, skunk – tick, deer – tick, raccoons – tick. Need to see a few more scarier ones…like moose and bears. Maybe in the summer.

Not a lot else to update, who knows what this weekend will bring, but I know that it’ll be bloody cold!

(almost) 3 weeks in.

Cannot believe I've been here for 3 weeks already. So much has happened!

I have survived my first week of work (yay!) but I have also had a cold for the whole week too (boo!).

Basically my job is a program assistant for the second year medical students. So this involves program coordination including generating the student timetables, obtaining learning materials from the lecturers, posting it online, organising the print of materials and more. It's a bit hard to explain. It doesn't sound like much but it's a lot of planning ahead and being organised! I can tell you I have been busy every day!!

Hopefully the next week will be better as I start to settle in more. I'm so glad I moved after I found the job because (no joke) it is literally a 3-4 minute walk to work. If I get another job down the track I won't know what to do with myself in terms of commuting! It's brilliant as I've been able to come home during my break some days and I'm able to get chores done! Like today I totally got all my washing done so I don't have to do it on the weekend!! (Really exciting adult stuff!)

In between, I've been going out some nights - to the gym and out with friends - but then realised if I want to get better that I should stay home. So last night and tonight are quiet nights at home...although in saying that I have now fixed my room to a state where it's liveable!

I did a lot of cleaning and sorting tonight, but now things have a place! I just need to buy a couple more things (like a set of drawers) and I'm set. Feels so good and smells good too. (It was a bit musty before.)

Anyway, now I can sleep in tomorrow, try and get my voice back (it's nice and husky) get these drawers and get ready to party with my friends tomorrow night! Life is pretty good right now!

I have a home!

Well, things seemed to have happened pretty quickly!

After finding out that I had got the job last night, my aim for the rest of this week was to find a place. As rentals here go by the first of the month and it was already the 26th I was determined to try and find a place pretty quickly. It only left me 5 days to find a place!

Honestly, I was freaking out a bit. I think I was a bit too chilled about it last week, only sending a couple of emails per day, but then realised after talking to the aussie couple whose place I checked out last week where they said they received hundreds of emails, I realised it was time to step up the game!

Knowing that I have a job though really helps, especially in terms of my budget and where to live. So I concentrated on the area around the hospital which is the area I'm staying in right now and the area that I'm familiar with as I lived not to far from here previously.

Today, was a beautiful day but I stayed in, determined to send as many emails as possible!  I have no idea how many I sent - maybe 10-15? It doesn't sound like much, but when you have to read through every ad that peaks your interest and then decide whether or not to email them it's very time consuming. I also got a bit desperate and put my own ad up on Craigslist!!

However, I heard back from 2 girls who I contacted after seeing their ad, both of whom had a 2 bed apartment and both were a 5 minute walk from where I'm going to work!

The first one, would be sharing with an Irish girl. She initially said she had someone but then later emailed to say it had fallen through and could I go and see the place. Of course I agreed!

The second one would be sharing with a girl from Vancouver Island. She sounded really cool but the thing that kinda put me off was that it cost a little bit more and you have to pay to use the washer and dryer. One of my personal checklists is to have an in suite washer/dryer. Kinda important when you sweat it out regularly at the gym.

Anyway, I had agreed to meet with both.

The first one was the Irish girl. It's a decent size, 2 bed apartment. "My" room was already partly furnished and has a queen size bed. She is so chilled and seems like she'll be really easy to get along with. What can I say though? Irish in general are very cool people. :)  She mentioned she had a younger girl who was also interested but she wasn't so keen on renting it to her. So right then and there I decided this was the place for me! It works for both of us! We're around the same age and I think it'll work out well.

I then emailed the other chick and said I have taken a room. I think sometimes you have to go with your gut and I think this will be a good place to live. Not only is it a 5 minute walk to work, it's a 10 minute walk to the gym and Zoe and Matthew (who I'm currently staying with) have already advised of many good places to check out around there.

I feel good about it and move in on Friday. It is such a relief to have found somewhere. I honestly wasn't expecting to find a place today but I'm glad I did!

Now I can enjoy the rest of the week and buy a few necessities before I move in. Looking forward to making the room my own!

Oh and if you happen to visit Vancouver there is a sofa bed (apparently it's a bit uncomfortable) or there'll be enough room in my room for a blow up bed! So come visit!!

By the way, my ad on Craigslist? I received about 10 or more emails responding to it! Honestly, I didn't think I would get any response, but Craigslist is a bit of a strange place. I can happily say, that I've now deleted that ad so I don't get any more emails!

I got the job!!

YIPPEE!!

It's time to celebrate! After the interview I went to this morning, I found out tonight that I got the job! It's a program assistant for the students who are in second year at the faculty of medicine at the University of British Columbia.

I start next week and can't wait to be busy again and earning a wage!

Now all I need is a place to live and I'm set. That will be my main aim for the rest of the week. Although I should enjoy my freedom while I can.

Week 1.

It's unbelievable. I've already been here a week today and so much has happened already!

After arriving last Monday afternoon, waiting for 40 minutes and being issued a visa in less than 5 minutes I was back! It really did feel like I came home.  But I guess it was home for almost 18 months. It's a weird feeling though when you don't have a place to live or a job or any real security except for the people you know.

I arrived safely at my friend's Zoe and Matthew's place who have kindly allowed me to spend a couple of weeks on their sofa bed while I get settled.

Day 1 - Tuesday

I did all the boring stuff, like re-opening my bank account, getting a social insurance number (SIN - like a tax file number) and telephone number were all sorted out. They all seem to take hours though. Waited an hour at Service Canada for my SIN, must have been at the bank for about an hour, and then went downtown to get my phone number. Went with a different company and I forgot how crap the phone plans are compared to ours. But I am now contactable. :)

Tuesday night I had organised with one of the ladies I know who works at the gym I used to go to get a free pass...but I thought stuff it and joined instead!! It's nice to have some sort of stability and I know a lot of people that go there. It was really lovely as some people had no idea that I was coming back and they were really happy to see me. Following that I was supposed to catch up with some other people at the movies but as I hadn't really committed by the time I got to the theatre it had sold out! (apparently the movie was crap - it was called Crimson Peak). Anyway, I went to my favourite sushi place on Granville St and texted another friend who said they were home...and apparently lived just the next block over! It was awesome to catch up with Helena, Sam and Adam again. :)

Day 2 - Wednesday

Before I arrived, while I was in LA, I had emailed one of the temp companies I got regular work for and they got back to me pretty quickly. I had a meeting with them on Wednesday.  It all seemed pretty positive and they already had a suggestion for a job at a marketing company. But they needed some time to talk to them first.

I also caught up with another mate Ahmed for a great lunch eating delicious pizza and then that night caught up with my friend Jess to see the movie The Martian. Awesome movie except for the fact we were in the front row for 2.5 hours looking at a massive Matt Damon. I do recommend it though. One of the most exciting things happened when we were walking home and we saw a skunk!! Neither Jess nor I have seen one before. Us 2 aussies were super excited!!

SKUNK!!! Right by the courts in downtown Vancouver.

Day 3 - Thursday

It was supposed to be more of a chilled day, I was going to spend some time at home house hunting, go to the gym and go for a walk.  Some of this happened, I house hunted and sent a few emails and heard back from some of them, then after I came home from the gym I thought I'd go for a walk. But while out I received a call from the temp agency to say the marketing company wanted to meet with me. So I had less than an hour to get myself downtown to see them. They seem nice enough but honestly I'm not too sure about the position.

In the meantime I had received an email from one of the places to meet up with them that night so after another gym session (omg who am I, I never go to the gym twice in a day!!!) I got some take away and headed home. However, while waiting for the take out I noticed I had received an email for an interview for a position at the UBC Faculty of Health as a program assistant. It really is all happening!

After a quick bite, I met with the Aussie couple who were renting out their room. They were nice enough but unfortunately it wasn't suitable.  That's ok, I wasn't too worried!

Day 4 - Friday

Not too much happened on Friday either but I did go and have a look at a place in East Vancouver. It was really nice and the girl was lovely but it was just a bit too far out!

I also received a message from one of my friends Olga, to ask if I wanted to go hiking on Saturday...um hell yes!!

Day 5 - Saturday

It was an early start as we were to meet downtown at 8am. We went hiking at Joffre Lakes which is north of Whistler and about a 2.5 hour drive from Vancouver. It was so good as I caught up with people that I hadn't seen since January and also met some new people.

It was such a good day and the lakes are gorgeous. There are 3 of them and it wasn't till we got there I had realised I had been to the first lake when I did a tour a couple of years ago.  It only took an hour to get to the second lake and then we hiked up to the third one.

It was absolutely freezing (about 3 degrees) so was all layered up...except the problem is you get super hot and sweaty from hiking up the hill! The views were absolutely worth it though!

The whole group. Don't let the pic deceive you. It was really cold!

(Photo courtesy of Tzveta)

The lakes in Canada are truly breathtaking!!

I was supposed to be back in Vancouver for my welcome back dinner/party at 7pm. But traffic is always terrible driving back to Vancouver. We made it downtown at about 6.50pm! I had no time to change, so changed my shirt and pants in the Fairmont Hotel bathroom and tried to freshen up a bit! Classy!! After a delicious Thai dinner I rushed home, had a shower and met everyone back at a bar where we stayed till all hours! It was a good night. :)

Day 6 - Sunday

What can I say. It was a pretty nothing day. Very much a recovery day from the day/night before so I vegged out. As I had an interview today, I did some prep and had an early night.

Day 7 - Monday

It's only part way through the day and I had a job interview this morning. Not counting my chickens but I think it's looking good! Just have to get responses from my references I think and hopefully I'll start soon. But more on that when it's 100% confirmed. :) Not bad for being in the country for a week. Honestly it feels like I've been here for a really long time already!

The rest of today has been more house hunting which is not that exciting. Catching up with a former work colleague for dinner tonight which should be great!

I'll try and not write too many long blogs but sometimes it's just easier to do it all in one and also when there's lots of news!

Until next time! :)

Vancouver Bound.

I’m currently at LAX airport. Cannot believe it. The time is finally here to go back to Vancouver. The last few months have lead up to this point. No big deal! I do admit that sometimes I question whether this is the right decision and right now I’m having one of those moments. But I think it’s right. For now anyway.

The last few days in LA were good. It was lovely to see and catch up with April again. Jet lag was really tough though. It took a good 4 days to feel normal and actually sleep through the night without lying awake for 2-3 hours at a time! Yesterday was the first time I felt myself. You forget how much travelling that far really takes a toll and the fact that not only is it the time difference (only 17 hours), but also the climate and food have an effect too - because everything is new and different again! Even simple things like crossing the street is strange. Without a doubt I look the wrong way every time.

Anyway, catching up with April again was great. We went to the LA Ultimate Women’s Expo yesterday which was interesting. It had a lot of products geared towards women, notably lots of wine tasting and those belts that supposedly help you lose weight! We scored a lot of freebies. Bonus! It was in downtown LA which is nothing to write home about. We then had a lovely 10km walk around the Santa Monica/Venice Beach area. Both of us were trying to take advantage of the warm weather and the beach as we both realised that it would be a long time before either of us experienced both of these again! April is heading back to Banff where it has been snowing (!!) and Vancouver has been raining…surprise, surprise!!

Thanks April, it was great to see you and I look forward to catching up with you soon - either in Banff or Vancouver! x

So now the holiday is officially over. It’s time to find a place and job. A place to live is high on my priorities as Canada rentals work by month. Everyone moves in to their new places on the 1st (or sometimes 15th) of the month. As November 1 is next weekend, I really need to find something!

I have a few leads and have made a few contacts which I will meet up with this week once I get a phone number. Need to look at a few places though before I decide.

Really looking forward to catching up with my friends too, so that’s also in the mix in the next couple of weeks.

That’s all for now, will update again soon. Let the new chapter begin!

First stop. LA.

I made it! After so much planning and saving I'm finally here! It's still so surreal, but that could also be the jet lag speaking.

After an awesome week in Cairns, I had 2 days to pack all my stuff that I wanted to take. Let me tell you, packing your life up is a little difficult! Had a bit of difficulty fitting stuff in, but by Tuesday night it was all well and truly done!

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well on Tuesday night. Not good for the upcoming flight. Think I ended up with about 4 hours sleep. We were up early and at the airport by 7.30am. I was still worried about the weight of my bags. Max. allowed was 23kg per bag. We weighed them and they were a little over. So had to get rid of some more tim tams and lollies. Oops! May have been a bit enthusiastic in buying them!!

Anyway, there was nothing to worry about. Check in was easy. After a lovely coffee with Mum and a phone call to Dad, it was time to go. Many tears were shed by both Mum and I. It's always hard to say goodbye.

I won't go into the boring details of the flight. There's not alot you can do on a 12 hour flight except watch 4 movies, have 2 hours of broken sleep and eat. However, I did watch Wild with Reese Witherspoon which was very good and also quite enjoyed Jurassic World. Except I couldn't get over how the lead actress could run around for the whole movie (through the jungle) in heels!

We landed in LA at about 6am. Gee the airport is nice now! So much better than before. After a quick freshen up it was time to face the customs guard. Far out. Have never been asked so many questions by border security before. It was all basically because of the address I was staying at. As I'm not staying at a hotel and staying in a house I had to go into every single detail of how I knew the people who own it, what they do, how'd they get their green card, what I do, what I'll be doing in Canada, my job back home, when my flight to Canada is, what I'll be doing in LA, do you plan on working in the US, why did you go to Blaine so many times etc etc. FAR OUT!! I may as well have just told him my life story. Just let me in the country, I only want to stay 5 days!! Next time I'm staying in a hotel or at least putting down the name of a hotel!! Didn't need that with the little amount of sleep. It's a little stressful.

Anyway, I'm here and got to finally see April! Have not seen her since she waved me off in front of my place when I left Vancouver in January. It feels like no time has passed. After a quick hello and brief catch up, she left me so I could have a nap and a shower which was fab. Later in the afternoon we caught an uber to Whole Foods then went for a walk on the path between Santa Monica and Venice.

April signed me up for Grit Cardio and Bodypump. I was keen to give them a go but by this stage was feeling pretty tired. I could barely get through the 30 minute Grit Cardio session. Being tired and not having much energy really takes its toll! So I left April and caught an uber home. (Gee uber is so good and so cheap!) I was still awake by the time April got home and we ended up catching up until about midnight! Oops! So much for going to bed early.

After a decent 9.5 hours sleep, I've pretty much chilled out for the majority of the day. April has been out all day so I've done really exciting stuff, like updated my resume, looked for places to live in Vancouver, taken the dogs for a couple of walks and basically just chilled out. Still pretty tired so thinking it'll be an early one.

Not sure how regularly these blogs will be written, but thought I'd better do one while I have the time!

It's almost time.

Time is a crazy thing. Cannot believe that I'm leaving in less than 2 days. Packing is under a reasonable amount of control and so much has happened since the last post.

Since the last blog, I have now finished work and become a certified open water diver. That was seriously one of the best experiences I've ever had. It was hard, and sometimes mentally challenging but got through it. You have to when it ultimately is a life and death situation.  You have air or you don't. Pretty simple!

We had 2 days of classroom and pool training and 3 days on a liveaboard where we did 4 training dives and 5 optional dives. Of course I did every dive, including the night dive. That was a bit scary!

A moment of truth came to me (I guess you could call it that) when we were in the ocean and one of the skills we had to do was to flood our mask with water and then clear it. Now, clearing my mask is not one of my strong points (getting there!) so when I flooded it, I panicked. A thousand thoughts go through your head in a matter of seconds...I have to get out of here, I can't get out of here I'm 10m underwater, breathe, remember how to clear your mask, breathe, clear your mask, breathe, ok that didn't work, breathe etc etc. It's amazing what the mind can do. I eventually calmed myself down and what seemed like 5 minutes later finally cleared my mask. Success!!

Scuba diving opens up a whole new world (literally) of places to go. It has now been ticked off the bucket list but has added a whole heap more to it!

I can highly recommend it. It really is amazing.

Then we had 5 lovely days up at Port Douglas where we just relaxed. We were going to go out on a day trip to the reef but the weather was terrible. (And I suffered from land sickness and blocked ears. The land sickness just stopped today but still have a blocked ear!!) The 3 days I was out on the reef it was really windy (20-25 knots) and it just continued for the rest of the time. Instead we went up to the Daintree rainforest and Cape Tribulation. It was gorgeous up there!

We arrived home last night and today has been a day of packing. My best friend from high school, Marnie came over for lunch and helped me pack. It was so nice to have her here and keep me motivated. Going to miss her so much.

Tonight it's off to Dad's for dinner and then tomorrow it really is the final countdown. Packing will need to be completed! It's so surreal!

Far out.

Um...so there's 2 weeks till I finish work, just over 3 weeks till my b'day and in exactly 4 weeks I'll be on the plane. WTF. So much to do!!!

September.

Bloody hell. How did it get to September already?

All of a sudden there's only 18 work days left and just over 5 weeks till I leave. Un-freaking-believable.

It's funny, was chatting to Dad today (it was father's day here so good opportunity to see him) and was saying to him how quickly the time is approaching.

But I guess one of the reasons it now feels like it's coming quickly is because I was really looking forward to my weekend in Sydney last week. I had been counting down to that weekend for about 2 months and couldn't wait to catch up with my friend Di again. Now that it's over the next major things happening are only a few weeks away and are all going to happen in quick succession.

The weekend with Di and her partner Bill didn't disappoint.

As usual, we had an absolute blast. On Friday, I was picked up at the train station and taken straight to the pub. Seeing all the regulars who I've gotten to know over the years is so nice, it's almost like going home.

Then Saturday, Di and I caught up with her best friend Lucy, who I haven't seen for years. She has, since the last time I saw her, (in addition to her 2 older boys) had a gorgeous baby girl. It was so nice to hang out and catch up. Following a well deserved nap, it was back to the pub for one of the best nights I've had in a long time! We stayed until closing then stumbled back to Bill and Di's friends place for a house party which went on way into the wee hours. I don't remember what time we went to bed that night, but boy it was a good night!

After a bit of a sleep in (sleeping on and off till 12!!) we all met up again for a delicious feed at a German restaurant. This included delicious pork knuckle where we all fought over the crackling.  There were a few sore heads but everyone pushed on with a few more drinks. :)

It was time to say goodbye to the guys at lunch :(  and Di & Bill were kind enough to drop me off at the airport. In the car on the way there it was quickly dawning on me that this would be my first of many goodbyes. Thank goodness it was a quick goodbye because the tears were starting to well up. It never gets any easier and not knowing when I'm going to see them again makes things a little difficult. However, I also know that Di and Bill are always going to be there for me, no matter the distance. It's so good to have them as some of my closest friends.

Now that last weekend is gone, the next 5 weeks are going to fly by. Even though this moving to Canada business been in the works for months (at least 6!!), it's hard to believe the time to leave is almost here. Gotta keep positive though. There's still so much to look forward to before I go and it's reassuring to know that I'll always have a home base.

Melbourne

Wow, so it’s been a little while since the last blog post but have been pretty busy!

 

The weeks are starting to blend together and I can’t keep up. Time is just going super fast now.  Apparently it’s only 58 days until I leave.

 

WTF.

 

Last night, I arrived home from 5 awesome days in Melbourne. I could definitely see myself living there. It has been continually voted one of the world’s most liveable being the most liveable in 2014. Vancouver is also ranked up there (number 3 I believe). It’s so comparable to Vancouver and think I would move there if (when) I move back home after Canada.

 

Anyway, Melbourne was great! I’m sure if you’re friends with me on Facebook you would see that I post way too much and was constantly updating the photos. Mum and I had a ball. We went to a taping of the show The Project, Strictly Ballroom the Musical, a full day trip to the Great Ocean Road, a bit of shopping and I also caught up with one of my oldest school friends Emily.

 

The Great Ocean Road was fab. It’s such a beautiful coastline. The photos don’t do it justice at all. The highlight was seeing the 12 Apostles however, there were so many tourists! It’s unbelievable. It seemed like everyone was just interested in taking selfies. So many selfie sticks. Although I must admit we took a selfie but we also took the time to enjoy it.  It truly is amazing how fierce the ocean is and how it can carve up the rock like it has. To think that the coast won’t look like it does in another 10, let alone 100 years is crazy. Anyway, I think if I went back, I would hire a car and take the time to enjoy the coast. Go check out Bells Beach and some of the other beaches along the way. Stay down there and go see the apostles in the morning when there aren’t so many tourists. It would really be a peaceful spot without the hundreds of tourists!! 

 

I also caught up with one of my good friends, Emily. It was so lovely to see her. Honestly can’t remember when we last saw each other and the 3 hour lunch we had was amazing. It’s awesome to have friends where there are no expectations and when you see them things just go right back to where you left off. I can also highly recommend Supernormal – the restaurant we ate at. The food was absolutely divine. Every dish was delicious and I think I rolled out of there. Talk about food baby!

 

Have a short week this week (again) as my work colleague Lynda is having her Aussie wedding. She just got married in Bali last week but they want to make it official here. It should be a nice day I think! Then next week another shortish week as I go to Sydney to catch up with my friends Di and Bill for the weekend. Time is going so quickly.

So much to do.

Bloody hell. It's the end of another weekend. Where do they go? Just like that there's 10 weekends left and 72 days till I leave.

So far at least half of the weekends are out. I'm away the next 2 weekends - Sunshine Coast and Melbourne, then have booked a weekend in Sydney with Di and my last 2 weekends before I go, I'll be in Cairns. As for the rest, no doubt they'll fill up! I have to get my act together.  As I type this I'm surrounded by stuff. Been throwing a lot of crap out today with more to go. Need to do an overhaul. Found quite random things, like emails dating back to high school, photos and old school assignments. Far out.

Anyway, just a quick update. Better get back to it!

Excited!!!

I still can’t believe that I’m going back to Canada.

It feels so surreal.

After thinking about it and planning for it for so long it’s finally happening.

To think that I had pretty much decided as soon as I got home that I wanted to go back but then had to wait to actually see if I could go back cos they changed the visa rules, to applying and receiving the approval in April and now to have finally booked and paid for my flight. It’s also taken so long because I came home with pretty much no money so had to save from scratch again.

I’m so excited to be going back. Right now, I don’t feel as though there’s much going for me here. I love Australia and it will always be home, but I feel like Canada is where I should be…for the next 2 years at least. And after that? Who knows!! May have to start researching on how to stay on. Haha.

It may be 3 months till I go but so much is happening between now and then.  I worked out I now only have 11 weekends, with something happening almost every weekend before I go! Some are complete write offs as I have plans to go away – Sydney, Melbourne, Sunshine Coast & Cairns. And the rest will be spent tidying and getting rid of stuff and catching up with people.

I will be finishing work on September 30 but there’s no rest for the wicked. I will be going to Cairns for the week leading up to my departure as I want to get my scuba licence before I go. It’s a 5 day course, with 3 days staying out on the Great Barrier Reef.  (It will also tick off something from my bucket list) Then it’ll be almost my birthday so will be staying up there until the Sunday. Then I have 2 days to pack and off on Wednesday 14 October! Nothing like a little pressure!

I think my 5 day stopover in LA will be recovering not only from jet lag but also everything else into the lead up to leaving Australia!

The countdown is on. Yippee!!

Canada here I come!!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain

This past week has been stressful for me. Have not been sleeping well, laying awake for hours at a time wondering about all the what ifs. But today, I finally had to grab the bull by the horns and get on with it.

I had to tell my work that I would like to go back to Canada. This was really the final hurdle before I could put everything into place. As a permanent employee of the government, I can take up to a year without pay and perhaps even longer. The last time I was in Canada, I had enough long service leave and recreation leave (at half pay) to last almost a year, then the remainder of the time was without pay.

This time, I was so doubtful about if I'd be able to take another year off, so soon, without pay.  I guess the thing that worried me the most was job stability and the fact that if things didn't work out that I would not have a permanent job to come back to.  But in saying that, I have hardly been in my permanent position this year. I've been given the opportunity to work in a number of higher positions which has been wonderful and given me so many more skills which will come in handy. Also, I don't know what I was worried about because if I didn't have a job to come back to I have plenty of skills to get a job easily.

This week I finally told the people in my team about my plans to go to Canada. They were all supportive. Tick. One of my close work colleagues is the HR person for our division. She said that the worst case was that maybe I would have to resign. Which by now, I had come to the conclusion that this would be ok. I mean, I don't really want to go back to my permanent position as I feel as if I have moved on. I worked in that role for 6 years prior to my last trip to Canada then when I came back in January, it further proved that I had moved on. Everything was the same, year in year out. All the same projects which I just don't have the passion for anymore. So, I resided to the fact that perhaps I will have to resign.

Every day this week, I was meaning to talk to my Manager, practicing over and over in my head what to say, which was fine. But when push came to shove, I just couldn't do it. Honestly, I don't know what was holding me back. Perhaps that when I did ask that it meant that it was a reality. Something that I had been building up for so long in my head was finally becoming a reality. It also doesn't help that I have a habit of overthinking things!

Then it came to today. Friday. Mum and I had an appointment with the travel agent at 1pm. We also have plans to go the North American travel expo this weekend. So really, I needed to know whether it was possible to take leave so I could book flights. Also, I have been talking to many friends in Canada saying that I'd be back in mid-October. Didn't want to let them down either. Finally, this morning, I wrote an email to my boss asking for a meeting and she agreed. Then the time came to see her. I had been building it up so much, I was so nervous and then I asked. She said "yes of course. If that's what you want." Hallelujah!

It was funny, leading up to it, I thought to myself "you're going to build this up so much that it really isn't a big deal in the long run. Years from now you'll look back on this and laugh." I was right.

Perhaps it's because this is the beginning of another significant chapter in my life. The funny thing is I'm more nervous about asking a boss for time off than moving to another country, with no job and no permanent accommodation. What the. Priorities hey?

But seriously, I don't know what's in store for me. I don't have a job. I don't have a place to stay. I'll probably have to live in a hostel for a couple of weeks. The good thing is that I do have friends I can see and more contacts than the first time. Who knows what will happen? I could be home in 6 months or I could be home in 2 years or I may never go home. Life is an adventure. Bring on the next chapter.

To resign or not resign. That is the question.

After talking to my work colleagues today I'm really thinking that I might resign instead of taking leave. Will ask for the leave but if it's a no will definitely resign. I didn't really think of it much before but I'm actually coming around to the idea. Who knows what'll happen in the next 2 years and I honestly don't think I want to go back! Food for thought. 

Talking to my manager tomorrow. Definitely!! Was going to do it today but she had her uni graduation so it wasn't appropriate. Have a meeting with the travel agent on Friday so need to know what I'm doing!!

Slowly but surely

It’s amazing how things fall into place. Plans are beginning to form (in my mind).

 

I found out over the weekend that one of my best friends will be in LA around the time I head over to Vancouver. So now considering moving my leaving date forward so I can spend a few days with her.

 

Then my other friend has expressed interest in going to the Caribbean for Christmas/New Year and she’s also scuba diver. Funnily enough this is on my list of “100 things”. So now looking into certifying before I leave home at a course in Cairns that I looked into a few years ago so I can go diving with her. It’s a 5 day course where 3 days out on the reef as part of the course including night dives!  Seriously only thought of this today. Anything can happen hey?

 

It’d be a bit tight with leaving for Canada but really how many days do you need to pack up your life again? Haha!

 

Tentative plan is now Cairns from October 1 to October 11, with a 5 day scuba course in there as well as Mum coming up to celebrate my birthday. Then leave for US on 13 or 14 October then Vancouver on 18 October.

 

Still all in planning stages. But exciting! (Also just thought of all this today)

 

Bit nervous about asking work for the time off and still have to time it right. Thinking it’ll have to be next week that I ask. How do you word it to ask for another year (plus) off work after only being back for 7 months?

 

Honestly don’t even know if I’ll come back to it, but it’s good to have a safety net. I think I’m just nervous that they’ll say no…but if they do what’s the worst that can happen, that I resign? Gotta look after yourself!

 

New thing to add to my 100 things

Nothing too exciting except I literally just thought of another thing to add to my 100 things list.

21. Go to San Diego Comic Con

Seeing all these posts about it prompted me to realise that it has always been on my list...and now it's official.

Perhaps next year!

Gym post (sorry not sorry) and general update

It's been so awesome getting back into a regular gym routine. In the last week I've been 5 days and boy is my body saying "you worked out!". Sore everywhere and I haven't even done any weights...this I need to get onto but it's been so long that I'm a bit scared about getting back to it! I'm so sore from just body weight exercises...what's it going to be like getting back to real weights?? Anyway, I've got my plan for this week, my next day off the gym will be Friday...so that'll be 6 days in a row...

I'll figure something out in regards to the weights... I just don't want to cut out my attack or combat or jam classes...we'll see!

Also, caught up with my gorgeous friend Sandi for her b'day today. Gorged myself with delicious bbq sauce wings and poutine. All in all a pretty good weekend!

Buggered now. Think the tough workouts of yesterday and today got to me. Time to relax and keep reading this book. 

My current read is "Hap working the world" about a guy who wants to work on all the continents by the time he's 30. Currently he's in Canada...go figure! Canada is never far from my mind. It's crazy.

Anyway, time to chill out, go to sleep and get ready for another week.

Awesome weekend in Sydney

My weekends in Sydney go way too fast. Went down to visit my friend Di and her partner Bill and as always had so much fun. It involves a fair amount of drinking, relaxing on the lounge and an occasional day trip. It's just so nice to get away and chill out.

Although this weekend we had an interesting conversation about what if I moved down there? This has been playing on my mind a bit since we talked about it yesterday. Honestly I think if I wasn't going back to Canada I'd be looking at moving to Sydney or Melbourne. Depending on what happens overseas, if/when I come home I'll be moving from Brisbane. It has made me realise I'm definitely stuck in a rut here and it's not really the city for me any more.

Don't get me wrong, it'll always be home and I'll come back for my family but right now I feel like it's not where it's at for me.

Just gotta stick it out a few more months. Tossing up when to tell work, playing this waiting game is hard.

Anyway, I did realise that I need to go back to Sydney sooner rather than later. Di and Bill are such good friends and it's so good to see and hang out with them.

Possible developments??

Mum made a suggestion today. Two weeks in Japan for my birthday then go to Canada. Possibility of leaving Aus on October 3 and then going to Canada on October 17. Hrm, sounds good to me!

Just writing it down so it's out there and that it will happen! This means I almost (kinda/not really) have a date to arrive. Still nothing is in concrete but it's nice to write it down though. I think if you write it down, things happen. Hoping it'll work! So far this year things have happened the way I planned so this will happen too!  Bit scary writing it down for everyone to see. lol.

It's funny cos we were kinda on the same wavelength. I was actually looking at flights today around October 15 but it's hard to decide which airline and what route and whether to get a return or one way ticket. If I leave from Australia I will probably get a return as they're pretty much the same price as a one way. If I'm going through Japan though it'll be a one way ticket. Eek! Going to Japan on the way to Canada sounds like a better plan. It's only a 9 hour direct flight and not a 14 hour flight + a 2 hour connecting flight, either between here and Sydney or LA and YVR. Winner!

Exciting times ahead

It's pretty much official that I'll be going back to Canada. I was confirmed for a visa back in April and have a year to get over there to activate my visa.

Why back to Canada? Well, I started making some great friends then had to come home. Most are still there and would like to catch up with them again. Also, I'm 30 this year which means time is running out for working holiday visas. It was either Canada or the UK. To me Canada was a no brainer. As much as it would've been cool to live in the UK, I love Canada. It was both the best and toughest time of my life!

The only thing holding me back is money. I came home in January with literally no money and a small credit card debt which had to be paid off before I could start saving again. Luckily I could walk straight back into my job. One of the perks of working for the government - the ability to take time off and go straight back to your job!

So now I've been home just over 6 months and I'm almost there. I can afford an airfare now, but still need more to live off when I get there. Why is money so freaking necessary?! If it wasn't I'd be on a plane tomorrow!

Tossing up whether to stay in Vancouver for 6 months or go straight to Toronto. Initially I thought of going to Vancouver for 6 months then Toronto for the next summer but then recently I thought about going straight to Toronto. But I don't know if I could survive the winter!?! So Vancouver it is? Typical - I haven't decided yet!!

Anyway, ideally I'd like to head back in mid-October. Mostly because the current role I'm in will finish on September 30 then I can have time off to celebrate my birthday with friends and family before heading overseas. Also by that time I'll have some good savings behind me.

Plus I need to tell work...and soon lol. Hoping to do that by the end of July when there's a North American travel expo, hopefully with some good airfares. Then I'll know when I'm going. Although, if you read this, keep an eye out on any airfares between Brisbane and Vancouver or Brisbane and the USA in October!

This is the thing that's keeping me going at the moment. The last few weeks have been stressful, with a death in our family, job interviews, family illness etc etc. So there's no time than the present to work on the goals. Life's too short. But then also things take time. Can't win! We'll get there in the end though. :)

So there you have it. That's what is happening.

100 Things

As mentioned previously I'm starting this blogging thing again due to that book 100 Things.

So to kick start things here's my list so far. Hopefully I can achieve all of these!

1. Tattoo (have had ideas for years, but so indecisive it hasn't happened yet.)
2. Helix piercing (have wanted this for a while. Think it will happen soon.)
3. Shark diving (whether it's in a cage in an ocean or in a tank I think it would be pretty exhilarating!)
4. Learn to scuba dive (to go with the shark diving?? Plus did a beginner thing a few years ago and it was amazing.)
5. International charity work
6. Learn to speak French
7. Live in a country where I can't speak the language
8. Make 50 blood donations. (To date I've done 14 or 15.)
9. Go to a spiritual retreat in India.
10. Hike the Kokoda track
11. No makeup for a month (only because I seem to wear something every day and it would be a challenge!)
12. Teach ESL in a foreign country
13. Volunteer at a wildlife sanctuary
14. Run a half marathon (eeek! I'm not a runner at all so this would be hard!)
15. Be a tv or movie extra
16. Learn to ski or snowboard (can you believe I lived in Canada and never did this! Next time!)
17. Swim with the whale sharks
18. Adopt a dog
19. Take a photography course
20. Write a blog and keep it up. (Oh would you look at that!)

These are the things so far. I'm hoping to add to the list, but if anyone can help me out or come with me for any of these let me know!

Update

Recently I read a book called "100 things". Check out the link. It's basically about an Aussie dude who wrote down 100 things he wanted to achieve. This followed the death of his friend and he realised life is pretty short!

I was a bit inspired by this and started my own list. One of those things was to keep a regular blog! It initially was to be a travel blog, for next time I travel but I thought why not start now to get in the habit.  Usually when I travel, I write really long emails but blogs are better. I saw my friend April write her blog while we were in Canada together and thought next time I go away I'll do a blog! Plus people have told me I'm a good writer so we'll see what comes of it. :)

I've had a few online blogs over the years but can never seem to keep them. This time I will try again! Thought I'd better revive an old blog rather than start all over.  You will see in this blog, it's pretty random. Mostly about exercise....mmmmm.

Anyway, here's to new beginnings!