OZ - Week 1 is over

Week 1 is over and it has been a fast and furious introduction to Australia and its great people and places. We have enjoyed beautiful beaches and seen amazing birds and sea life... Jon saw a pod of dolphins in our man made canal outside our apartment building. He was hoping that is w as a dorsal fin of a bull shark, which are apparently plenty in the canal. They actually swim up the canals from the ocean to spawn. You cannot go swimming in the canals for this reason (obviously!).

My commute is so far the only negative aspect, and really it is not too horrible as for the one hour and 45 minutes I can claim 1 hour of it to work time as the train provides free WiFi. Jon has been surfing everyday this week, but today looks really quite crappy so he is not going out. We will journey to Bryan Bay again this weekend with the rental car. We have it until Tuesday of next week and by then (or soon after) we need to find ourselves a vehicle.

I am still waiting for a Tax File Number in order to get paid. But I do now have an Australian bank account and even a VISA!

My work environment is really good.  I have my own big spacious office and the kitchen has a gourmet coffee maker and most importantly the team is very friendly and helpful.  My colleague Lindzie, who will likely become a friend here too, is super sweet and has already helped me find a yoga studio and a few things as such.

The weather is really beautiful, cool mornings and nights, but during the day the sun shines brightly and the temperature goes up to 20-25 like a Canadian summer day and it is the end of their winter right now. It is very backwards when trying to figure out the time and season at home in my brain right now, and likely that will just get worse with time;

I am wiring this on the train on my morning commute, because apparently I ran out of my data consumption using Skype, which is a lesson to be learned all right.

I will be getting a little tablet so I will not have to commute with my laptop daily to work on the train.

That is it for now.... PS. I still love it here!!

 

 

Australia - I love you!

Australia - I love you!

It is not often that I find myself almost with tears of joy, but I did a few days ago when I found my new home.

We landed in Australia a week ago tomorrow, but in some ways it feels like it has been months ago. The flight, car rental and hostel dealings went smooth and after we spent the first day buying thin wetsuits and new boards - the rest of the holidays before I started work revolved around surf and settling ourselves in.

This actually meant a few big tasks. Going back into the city of Brisbane to pick up what we had shipped out was a big one. It was a full day of quarintine inspection and customs and traffic (not bad, but not great - Friday afternoon back out to the Gold coast is busy).

And then going around to a few rental agency's and looking at some units at first was a bit disheartening. We new it was going to be pricey - but what we didnt know is that is you rent a "unfurnishred" apartment (unit), it does not come with a fridge or washer or dryer. Those are expensive items obviously.

The first place that we looked at that we could afford, unfurnishred was OK, but not really that great. Similar to the Gorge View Apt that we had in Vic, and well, just not really what I was hoping for I guess. It was not easy at that point to accept the fact that maybe that is what we will end up with. The 3rd place we saw was really cool/nice but too big and unfurnishured and therefore out of our price range.

So after a couple of raised voices (Jon and mine's) and even a few tears over our fish and chips and beers, we decided to keep looking and hope for the best with a furnished. And well - the best came!!!!

We called an agent on a Saturday morning and were spending the night in our awesome new unit by that evening.  See pictures below!

Besides the place, which is in an awesome location - 7 blocks from the beach, close to gyms, and markets and a yoga studio...Australia has surf all over the place. We are going to love it here. More to come....

Onward Bound

Flights are booked!

So that means it’s pretty official. I was talking to my friend over some tea on a beautiful warm Victoria summer night last night and she was saying, even without me having to, that of course it doesn’t feel real yet. It won’t until we are going on that final flight (yes, I am on 3 flights in Ontario before we start the journey to OZ). And I think she is bang on.

So the apartment is in a 6x8x11 storage space, the car is scheduled for storage and the surfboards are ready to be shipped. We are pretty much all set.

It’s funny cause the weather here has been unbelievable in the last week, sunny hot and perfect for evening strolls. I am glad I still have a month of Canadian summer left and that I am not leaving now. I think it is going to surprise us and everyone when we report that it’s a little cool there in the winter, which is the season that we land in. Of course within 2 weeks, spring will hit Australia and we should be feeling pretty lucky – as Jon likes to say – the endless summer.

Of course the poor guy has got to come back to Canada  for the dead of winter in Alberta to do his oil rig work – cutting down trees for the seismic lines. It is hard work, and its cold, but it is good money and for 3 months he will make it worth it. He has really been working quite a bit this year, like usual, the hard worker that he is. Doesn’t miss a day that guy and gives it his most energy without overextending himself; which is a real fine line in the type of physical labor that he does. I would say there is few and far between that have his lasting stamina and strength out there in the bush - 15 years. He is so strong and so healthy. I am so thankful for that.

His work ethic is amazes and he inspires me with drive for financial success. It is this drive that I too am trying to acquire and it feels so good working as a team in this area. It would be so lovely to move back to Canada and get a home of our own here in Victoria. We will see how it all works out.

I am also proud of my sister who is being recognized by her hard and good work and has been asked to move up in her line of work and take more responsibility.  She is going to be the one I miss the most in the next year!!! My friend last night (who is also a mutual friend of my sister’s) was noticing my concern when I talking about my her and how I was leaving and how it impacts her (we are our only family in town) and she said “She will be fine, don’t worry about it”. But the fact of the matter is, she is more than my best friend, she is like my other half.

Anyways - more to come...

I AM MOVING TO AUSTRALIA!

It's funny because the other day a friend emailed me to say "I have been waiting to see the blog post about all the Australia plans, where are they?"

Right, I should probably do that. And then I got to thinking, why haven't I done that...?

The truth is - it really hasn't felt real. It still doesn't. And I suppose I didn't want to say it out loud (and when I say that I mean "out load", to myself). Yes, I have told friends on Facebook, and yes I have told complete strangers in grocery lines. I have even emailed old friends and called family that I haven't spoke to in months to share the news.

But I always have shared the news with a "it may not happen though, because...", or "Its not 100% though" and that truly has stopped me from really accepting it.

Only today have I started to really believe this totally amazing, life changing experience, crazy opportunity MAY just actually happen! That Jon and I are going to get on a flight in a few weeks and leave to fly into the gold coast of Australia ...for at least 1 year!

Like  - OMG, right?!?!?!?!??!?!

We received the approval today of the sponsorship, which is the last step before I could apply for the Visa (and this was the step where it could have gone either way). This morning I applied for the Visa and my Australian Health Insurance. This weekend I will help Jon apply for his.

It is like a freaking dream come true for us...to live on a beach, with surf, in a warm climate, with my awesome husband, like hello....

And maybe that is another reason why I have been hesitant to write about it. Like that it was too good to be true and that something may stop it from happening. And I suppose inside I feared that if it didn't happen, that it was my "fault" of getting everyone so excited (and obviously especially Jon).

This is silly of course, but that it sort of how I have been feeling. 

But guess what? I am over that. If it does (not happen), then it does (not happen). And that is that. I am going to stop being too concerned about those thoughts.

The truth of the matter is: that life itself is a dream come true. We live these days and we are so lucky to do so. We forget this all the time (and I am saying "we" in the literal sense). What we have in this world and in our hearts, is totally and completely indescribable. These is our lives; every day is a gift.

And you can read the title of my blog for my opinion on this ;) 

So SURE, Australia is far out! And YES, being hooked up with a nice furnished apartment, room for family/friends to come visit, lots of patio space for BBQ'ing, life should be pretty dreamy and I know we will be happy.

But the truth of the matter is (and Jon said this from the beginning of this journey, almost 3 months now of thinking, waiting, anticipating, etc) our lives here, together on this wonderful island that we call home; are pretty damn good too. And we are often "happy" because we just are.

More details on the way...but I think I can really start to admit it...

I am moving to AUSTRALIA!

[PS I thought the new look in the travel templates for this blog was appropriate :)]

Names I like (so that I don't forget)

I like for male names: Meyler, Loughlin, Gavin, Feary, Evir, Kelan, Ry, Odus, Oakley, Kane, MacKensie

I like for remale names: Saev, Mella, Maeve, Evir, Keira, Bronwyn, Mabel, Madeline, Maela, Sanna

Tip 1 (from a chiller):

Stop and smell the roses. Literally. Hold your nose up a little higher passing by budding leaves or moving lawns. Instead of walking and thinking thinking thinking, focus on the leaves and earth around. Pick a smell in the air in the air of a time or place that it reminds you of and reflect on it. Think about a time where you felt extremely close to nature, on a beach, in the forest, on the water. Where it was overwhelming and so peaceful, so quiet. Go there for a little while as you walk, hold a slightly satisfied look on your face, relax your face muscles. Its a good time to focus on not making face wrinkes.

Surfing -> I LOVE YOU!

I am totally inlove with surfing. I just can't get enough. I love the water, I love the surrounding land, birds, trees and waves. I just love everything about it. Mostly I love the way it makes me feel strong and adventurous and peaceful and FUN!

So I was up at Salmon Beach this past weekend and it was amazing. I surfed in the sound, which was totally epic. Cyn took pictures and everything. It was so cool. I wish Jon could have been there...next time.

Here is my latest to date best surf shots: