One Year!

It's been one year since I moved to Sydney!  It feels a bit unbelievable.  In one way, it seems like I've been here much longer than one year, but in another, it feels like I just came yesterday; I can still see my old apartment, still remember sitting on the couch, drinking wine at night, chatting with Phil online :)

Anyway, a lot has happened since my last update.  The biggest thing of all is that I'm engaged!  I'm sure everyone knows by now- our Facebook post about it received the most comments and likes of anything I've ever posted, haha.  It still feels a bit surreal...sometimes I look down at my ring and think, "Am I really engaged?!"  I think it's one of those situations where you've spent so much time dreaming about something, that when it actually happens, it still just feels like one of your many fantasies.  Or maybe that's just me.  And possibly JD from Scrubs (sorry, I've been watching a lot of Scrubs lately)...

My beautiful engagement ring!

Phil proposed to me on the Harbour Bridge in Sydney, on his birthday.  We were already planning to go to the city for his birthday, and we were going to walk across the bridge as we did the night I first arrived in Sydney.  As soon as we got to the bridge, though, it was pouring rain.  We decided to still walk across, despite not having umbrellas or raincoats.  As we were walking, I noticed Phil seemed a bit weird- like overly excited- and he kept talking about how it had been almost a year of me living in Sydney and how happy it's made him.  We got about halfway across the bridge and Phil stopped me, got down on one knee and proposed!  I was totally caught off guard by it and started crying (of course!) and said yes :)  With the rain and being on the bridge (with the Opera House behind us, no less!) it was a totally romantic moment.  Then, as we continued our walk across the bridge, we got to see a beautiful double rainbow over the Opera House.  What a perfect moment!

Besides getting engaged (though what could possibly compete with that?!), the past few months since my last update have been pretty eventful.  I started and then quit a new job at a frozen yogurt place, called Yogurtland.  I was really excited when I got hired, as I was able to start there only a few weeks after having to leave Harvey Norman, but in the end, I didn't get enough shifts (they overstaffed the location, so no one was getting many shifts) and it hardly seemed worth it.  The good news is that Phil and I put in my application for a permanent Visa, so my work restrictions will be lifted starting tomorrow and I can go back to working at Harvey Norman.  I'm very excited about that- not only do I like working there, but I'll also have more shifts and be making money again :)

Putting in our Visa was a big step and I'm glad we got it done.  I'd been researching how to go about putting together the application for months, and in the end, the whole thing was probably a hundred pages long!  A lot of work went into it- we had to write statements about our relationship, ask family and friends here to write ones too, and show other proof that we've been in a genuine relationship.  Phil and I did a lot of hard work together, so it was such a relief to pay the fee and turn it in. Now we have anywhere from a 13 to 18 month wait before we get approved (which I'm sure we will), but as I mentioned above, I can work without restrictions now and I also have medicare :)

Phil and I have gone on a few little trips as well.  We went to Manly, a small beach town in Sydney, for a weekend.  We stayed at the cutest little cottage apartment while we were there and walked down to the

On our way to Manly! :)

beach in the morning to see the sunrise- it was such a relaxing, romantic weekend.  We also went to Hunter Valley for wine tasting on my birthday!  Hunter Valley is in the outback and has a lot of different wineries (it's a lot like Napa Valley in California), so we got to check out a few of them on the tour we went on.  I even saw my first wild kangaroos!  I didn't get to pet any (the tour guide said it was too dangerous!), but I got to see lots of them, so I was still excited.  I was starting to think I'd never see a kangaroo outside of the zoo ;)

Of course, since tomorrow is my one year anniversary of moving, I'm thinking a lot about the past year and what this move has meant for my life. Honestly, moving to Sydney has been one of the hardest things I've ever done.  Not because it's been terrible or I've failed miserably at it, but because it's challenged me in ways I never imagined it would.  I've relocated enough in my life to know the gist of it, but I was in no way prepared for how hard it would be to move to a new country. Maybe I was a bit naive prior to moving (okay, I definitely was), but I had no idea how hard it would be to be in a new environment, away from nearly everyone I've ever known, and having to figure out a new life for myself.

When I first moved, it seemed like all I could do was look back at the things I left behind.  I missed my friends and family, of course, but I missed all the other aspects of my life as well.  I thought the things I had in Reno defined me: my friends, my job, my car, my apartment, my freedom, even the responsibility of caring for my mom.  When I stripped all those things away and came to Sydney, I felt like I lost who I was.  If I wasn't the Brittany who hung out with her friends every day, who was I?  If I wasn't the Brittany who had a silver Taurus, worked six days a week at In-N-Out, spent her days off taking her mom to the store and spending time with her, and then came home to her apartment, then what Brittany was I?  It was a life-altering, earth-shattering couple of months where I really tried to figure out who I am without all of those things.

I'm still figuring out the answer, if I'm being honest.  But I'm not held down by it like I was before.  I've realized those things don't "make" me.  Sure, having friends, or a full-time job, or responsibility for someone else did add a purpose to my life, I suppose, but all those things alone have nothing to do with my personality and they don't define me.  What defines me is the kind of person I am.  And I think moving, and being away from all the things I thought defined me have helped me really define myself.

I am strong.  No one could be in my situation and make it through the way I have without being strong.  I'm brave.  I faced the unknown and approached it with open arms.  I've always known I'm outgoing and sociable, but I'm also quiet, shy and reserved (and that's okay, too).  I'm introspective and thoughtful.  Sometimes I'm pessimistic, it's true.  But I'm also extremely forgiving.  I'm loving, caring and compassionate: things I already knew, but I feel this experience has magnified them.

I have discovered new hobbies (and rediscovered some old ones) that I never found the time for when my life was busier in Reno.  I've rediscovered my love of reading, which I hadn't really enjoyed since before I was a teenager.  I've realized that I love cooking and I have a natural talent for it!  I've been writing a lot more, too- something I've always enjoyed but have definitely put to the wayside for the past few years.  I realized when I moved here, that all my "hobbies" involved other people, and so being away from the constant distraction of other people has helped me to find things I enjoy doing alone, which has actually been great.  There was literally a time in my life when the thought of going to dinner or a movie by myself was terrifying.  I've done it numerous times since I've moved, without even a second thought.  I'm unafraid of being alone; I'd even go as far as saying I enjoy it now.

I've been really hard on myself about making friends and automatically making the same life for myself here that I had in Reno.   I think it was a bit unrealistic to expect that I'd move to Sydney and within a year have a brand new group of friends, a perfect job, a fantastic apartment and a car.  I think I'm more realistic about it now: I lived in Reno for 8 years and it wasn't really until the last year or two of living there that I had those things.  It might take time to get to where I want to be here.  But I'll get there.

At a birthday party a few weeks ago with Phil's family :)

Still, I've accomplished plenty of other things since moving.  I adjusting to living in a new place, for starters.  I found a job and made such a good impression there that both of my managers are excited for me to come back.  I made friendships and bonds with Phil's family members.  I've grown closer to Phil's son, Lucas, and have helped Phil parent him as well.  I've grown in my relationship with Phil and I've proven to myself that I can actually be in a relationship for longer than a  few months (haha). I'm excited for what the future will hold from here on out as well.

I'm excited to be marrying and spending my life with a man I love and who loves me more than I feel I even deserve sometimes.  I'm excited for us to start a family of our own someday. I'm looking forward to finding more things I enjoy doing, to meeting new people and making new friendships.  Moving to Sydney has opened up so many opportunities and possibilities for me and it really feels like anything is possible now.  What an amazing feeling! All of the hard things were worth it, and I can't wait to continue living the life I've always dreamed of.

A Time For Spring, A Time For Fall, But Best Of All: A Time For Love...

The seasons are changing here in Australia.  I’m sure they’re starting to change in the States too, but while you’re all going into spring, we’re heading into Fall here.  It’s weird to go to work and come home when it’s still dark outside.  And even though I know it’s nowhere near as cold as it would be in Reno, the chilly weather is starting to remind me that Winter is almost here.  I’m actually very happy about that...I basically had two back to back summers because of when I moved.  I’m ready for a new season.  Though, not entirely excited about now having my birthday at the start of winter, instead of summer...

Things have been good here, overall.  Since I last posted, not a lot has happened, though Phil and I spent a weekend away at Bondi Beach, which was really fun!  We went to the beach during Australia Day.  I guess Australia Day is kinda like the 4th of July in the States.  I didn’t see any fireworks like we have, but there were a lot of people wearing flag shirts and hats, and that night I overheard a ton of drunk people shouting out “‘Stralia!” in the streets, so that seemed pretty similar.

Phil and I got a hotel near the beach and spent the night there, so we didn’t have to worry about commuting home after spending the day in the water.  Bondi Beach is really beautiful- the water is so blue and gorgeous.  I hadn’t been to the actual ocean in years, so I forgot how salty sea water was.  I tried not to swallow too much of it, though, so don’t worry ;)  Phil got a nice sunburn on his back, and I even got a mild one on my shoulders and chest, too.  It was worth it, though.  We had a really great weekend.  It’s nice to have a little getaway like that once in awhile- I’m glad we’ve been able to fit them in since I’ve moved.

Phil and I, hanging out (and getting burned) at Bondi Beach :)

Work has been going well...I’ve been getting some extra hours here and there, which have helped me save more money for my Visa.  I’ve done some fun stuff with my extra money too- I bought a new laptop, finally!  I’m saving some money now for my birthday in June- Phil and I have tentative plans to go away for a few days, maybe up to the Gold Coast.  I’d love to be able to see the Great Barrier Reef, and maybe even go snorkeling.  Phil (and Lucas’) birthday is the month after mine, so I’m trying to save some cash for that as well.

It’s almost been six months since I’ve started working at Harvey Norman, which means my Visa is going to force me to move onto another job.  I’m not so thrilled about that.  If you remember from one of my previous posts,  my job hunting experience was pretty awful, so I’m nervous about having to do it again.  My bosses at work have both been so supportive, though- even trying to figure out ways to just transfer me to another division of our store so I can just stay on, but I’m not sure it’ll work.  I don’t want to leave Harvey Norman- not just because I’m going to hate job hunting again, but also because I genuinely like my job, and the location, and my managers and co workers, and I’ll miss being able to work with Phil.  At the very least, I suppose I can go back there (my boss, Mat, definitely said he wants me to come back) after my Visa restrictions are lifted, so I do have that option.  

Hopefully, this time around, the job hunt will be a bit easier.  My Visa restrictions might still work against me, but at least I’ll have an Australian job reference and I can get my managers to give me a reference if I need one.  Plus, now I have more retail experience, so I might actually get a call back when applying for those jobs.  I won’t have to officially leave until the middle of May, so I’m trying to pace myself by applying for one or two jobs a day until I get something- that way I hopefully won’t get overwhelmed like I did last time.

The other aspects of my life have been pretty much the same as the last time I updated.  Still haven't made much progress as far as making friends go, but as one of my best friends in Reno, Annie, pointed out, it takes time to make good friends, so I’ve learned to be more patient about it.  I’ve stumbled in and out of being depressed, particularly after the new year, but I feel better again, mostly because I’ve discovered more ways to fill my time other than lamenting on the fact that my family is far away or that I miss my friends.

I’ve been writing a lot more (not here, obviously...sorry about that)- doing music reviews and book reviews, and it feels really good.  I even have a story idea that I’m working on.  I’ve still been reading tons.  I’ve even started going out to the city on my own on Thursdays...taking myself out on a little self-date of sorts and just enjoying Sydney and what it has to offer.

One of the things customers always ask me (besides where my “accent” is from), is if I love living in Sydney.  I always find a roundabout way of saying that I miss home, but I love living in Sydney too.  Really, I don’t love living in Sydney.  Maybe it’s just my attitude.  I’m sure Sydney is a great city, but most of my existence here has just been about missing what I left behind.  Well, that’s definitely my perspective, isn’t it?  I recently promised Phil that I’d try harder at giving this a better chance- living in Sydney, starting a new life, etc.  I’ve been so down about missing people and stuff, that I’ve forgotten that I moved here for a reason.

Sometimes, when Phil and I are doing something together, I mentally stop myself and remind myself of how much I’ve always wanted exactly what we have.  I’ve yearned for the love that Phil consistently gives me my entire life. And more recently than that, I spent all the time we were apart, futilely hoping for the day that we’d be together.  And now we finally are.  Our time together here has shown me how incredibly lucky we are to have each other.  That, alone, should make me love Sydney.  

I'm feeling good! :)

But there are other things that I should appreciate about moving.  My life in Reno was becoming so terribly dull and stagnant; I was sitting on the sidelines, watching everyone else do things I wanted to do: get married, settle down, get a new job, graduate from college.  I moved to have the chance to start over and do those things in my own life.  And now I have all the change in the world and it’s still been hard to appreciate it.

Not anymore, though.  It takes perspective to see where you’re going wrong in life, or where you can change things and I think I’ve finally gained some now.  I still don’t know exactly what my life is going to look like now that I’ve moved, but what it looks like right now isn’t bad.  It’s the little things I enjoy- spending time with Phil and starting a life together, getting to have Lucas with us during some weekends, not having to work so hard and pay all my bills alone, having extra free time to enjoy my own hobbies, being able to write when I want to, living in one of the biggest cities in the world, still being able to chat with my friends/family back home on a semi-regular basis...simply being alive.  There are so many things I can appreciate about my life, right now, as is.  I fully intend on doing so.

Happy New Year! :)

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope that the beginning of 2013 has treated you all well.  At the very least, take solace in the fact that the Mayan calender meant nothing and we're still alive ;)

At the Royal Botanic Gardens, which overlook the harbour.

The last few weeks of December were pretty fun for me!  Maybe a few days after my last post, Phil had an early day at work, so we went into the city and to the Royal Botanic Garden.  The gardens were really lovely and there were a lot of great places to take pictures :)  Phil and I realized while we were there that we've now been to two out of the three botanical gardens in Sydney (we went to Mount Annan Botanic Garden for a picnic with his family a few months ago), and made it our goal to go to the last one as well.

We had a really great day there, though.  We ate lunch on the grass and enjoyed the nature, even though all we had to do was turn around to see the big skyscrapers of the city behind us.  While we walked around, Phil grabbed a few of the flowers I liked the most and put them in my hair...which we probably weren't allowed to do, but it was sweet anyway ;)

About a week later, it was time for Christmas!  My first Australian Christmas was quite fun :)  Obviously, Phil and I both had the day off work, so we got up early and opened Christmas presents.   Phil bought me a portable speaker to plug into my iPod, Coldplay's new live album/DVD, the movie "Elf" (because I thought I'd brought it with me to Australia, but couldn't find it a few days before Christmas), and a jigsaw puzzle that we're going to start putting together soon :)  I bought him two CDs that he asked for, the movie "Get Him To The Greek", and a present I was most proud of: an apron that says, 'King of the Kitchen' on the front of it.

Phil, in his sexy new apron!

I bought Phil the apron because since I've been here, I've been teaching him how to cook :)  When we first started, he literally didn't know how to turn the burner on (oi vey!), but every Sunday night, I started teaching him how to make simple recipes.  After a couple of lessons, I turned the cooking over to Phil, and now on Sunday nights while I'm at work, he makes dinner!  He's mastered a few recipes now, including mince casserole, chicken casserole, and spaghetti bolognese.  I'm quite proud of him, though I knew he could cook if he tried.  I've been trying to encourage Phil to try new things (because you're never too old to learn something new, and there's always plenty of new things and experiences to try!), and cooking was one that he's definitely done well at.  So I wanted to give him something special to really boost his self-esteem in his cooking, and the apron seemed perfect :)

After we exchanged presents, Lucas got dropped off, and the three of us and Phil's mum went over to his family's for Christmas dinner.   Dinner was fantastic!  It's an Australian tradition to have seafood (or just cold food, really) for dinner on Christmas, as the holiday is the in the middle of summer here and usually very hot.  We had a full seafood buffet- prawns, calamari,  mussels, salmon- it was a fish lover's dream!  We also had traditional Christmas pudding for dessert (which is basically cake and a warm custard- really rich, and delicious!).

I had a great time celebrating with Phil's family!  I'm starting to feel more comfortable around Phil's family and it's easy to talk to everyone and spend time with them.  Everyone kept apologizing for the weather, though; it was pouring rain all day, which is very rare for an Aussie Christmas.  I told everyone I was fine with it- while I had been looking forward to saying that I got to go swimming on Christmas, I was also used to it being cold and wet on Christmas Day.  After dinner, we played Secret Santa, and I ended up winning a cocktail mixer, which I was pretty pleased with ;)

Then we went home, and I called my cousins, Ann and Dorothy, and chatted with them for a bit, which was nice.  Phil and I ended the night watching Elf :)  All in all, it was a really great Christmas.  I thought it might be hard to be away from my family that day, but I think being able to call my cousins helped.  And I couldn't help but be happy that Phil and I were finally spending Christmas together, instead of being on separate continents.

Phil and I checking out the fireworks on New Years Eve!

Of course, last week was New Years Eve!  Phil had to work during the day, but after he got off work, we met up in the city to watch the fireworks together.  There was over 2 million people in downtown Sydney that night.  All of the streets were closed, and I told Phil that it felt like I was in a disaster movie or something, because people were running around screaming on empty streets and cops were on horses...it was just weird and something I'd never experienced before.  We ended up going across the Harbour Bridge and to a smaller park right beneath it where we had the perfect view of the Opera House and the harbour.  When the fireworks went off, we were right beneath them and it was absolutely amazing.  I mean, I'm not even the kind of person that gets super impressed by fireworks, but these ones were truly spectacular   Especially from where we were standing!

Getting home took quite some time, though.  There were so many people trying to crowd onto the trains and once we got back to our suburb, there weren't any taxis around.  We didn't get home until 3:30 in the morning, but we both had New Years Day off, so we just spent the day lounging in bed and watching movies, and then we had pizza for dinner :)

Check out the Fireworks!  Amazing! :)

Unfortunately, that'll probably be the last slice of pizza I have for a while.  I'm back on the diet I lost weight on last year; since I've been here, I've gained about ten pounds (ughhhhh) so one of my resolutions is to lose the weight I've gained as well as the rest of the weight I was planning to lose in the first place.

Last year I made quite an ambitious resolution list on Facebook, and I'm proud to say that I did achieve almost all of my goals!  This year, I'm not going to make a list, because I feel like the things I need to do are pretty clear, and something I think about quite often.

I need to keep saving money for my Visa.  Thanks to working so much, I've already saved over $2000 just on my own, and Phil has been putting money into our savings account too :)  I also would like to figure out what I'm going to do with my life now that I'm here.  I'd like to go back to school, so I'm going to figure out the best way to do that in Sydney, and what I'll need to do to transfer my credits and all that jazz.  Phil and I are planning to move to an apartment closer to the city, so that's our main goal.  And we also want to go to Reno/Sacramento for a visit this year :)

I think 2013 will be a great year for us, and for me, personally.  I'm definitely feeling more like myself again.   After I posted my last blog, my friend, Jessica Levity, said something that really struck me- to find a "purpose" for my loneliness- which I've really focused on doing since then.  I think being back on my diet and going out for exercise every day will help.  I've also just realized that there's no point in sitting at home every day because I don't have friends yet.  I've ventured out on my own more in the past week than I have since I've been here.  I went and saw a movie alone today.  I've gone out shopping, and swimming, and have basically told myself that I don't need other people to stay entertained.

It is weird, not to have a group of friends or people to hang out with (other than Phil, of course); anyone that knows me knows that I'm such a social person and I've always had friends in my life.  I'm making it my resolution to put myself out there and meet more people as well, so hopefully I won't still be going to the movies alone in a few months.  But for now, I'm just trying to embrace these days that I'm alone and enjoy quality time with myself.  It's been oddly therapeutic  and I think, part of the reason I'm in a better place now than I've been the past few months.

I'm looking forward to whatever the new year brings, be it an extended visa, a clearer plan for my future, new friends, a visit back home, or an engagement ring ;)   No matter what happens, I still plan to share it all here :)  Thanks to everyone who helped make 2012 a memorable year for me...here's to 2013 being even better! <3

Finally An Update! :)

It's been forever, I know.  I am hopeless at updating things and keeping up with stuff.  Maybe I'll make it my resolution to be more consistent.

I do have a three-fold explanation for my silence, however.

Part of it has been a very good thing- I've finally been working!  I'm sure most of you have heard about my "new" job by now.  A few days after my last post, actually, the job Phil was trying to get me came through and I started working at a department store called Harvey Norman. 

I love being able to work again.  I'm working as a cashier, which is something I've never exactly done before, and it's pretty fun.  On weekends, I've also been doing Santa Photos- so, basically, trying to get crying kids to realize Santa isn't scary and take a picture with him for their parents.  That's been fun too, but I'm glad it's almost over.  Part of my job is to also work in the photo lab of our store.  There's always something to do, which makes the day go by fast, though I will admit that my new job is easier than my old job at In-N-Out, maybe just for the simple fact that we have chairs and can sit down at Harvey Norman ;)  I also make twice as much as I did in Reno, so I've been able to save a lot of money for my Visa, which has been REALLY great!

It's also been awesome getting to meet new people.  I like all of my coworkers- everyone has been really warm and welcoming.  It's been nice just having social interaction again.  I'm such a social person, so it's been really hard (maybe harder for me than other people), to be somewhere that I can't talk to different people every day, so I'm happy that work has given me that outlet again.   Hopefully I'll start making friends that I can hang out with soon, because I definitely miss that aspect of my old life, too.

That leads me to the second part of my absence- I've honestly been quite depressed.  I'm sure a lot of you are thinking, "You're in Australia, with the love of your life- how can you be depressed?!"  All of that is true, and great, but at the same time, homesickness has really hit me hard these past few months. 

I really miss my friends and my family back home.  It's hard not seeing my friends every day and even harder when I don't really hear from some people that often.  Communication definitely goes both ways, but it has been disappointing to be the one making all the effort in some of my relationships, and constantly getting excuses back from the other person about being too busy.  I understand that everyone else's life went on after I moved. I guess it's just hard for me because I feel like my life hasn't really gone on yet.

I miss my cousins a lot, particularly my cousin, Ann.  When my grandma got sick last fall, we started a nightly tradition of calling each other on the phone every single night and we did that until the day I moved.  I miss our 11pm phone calls so much.  Thankfully, I do have a phone with long distance, so I'm able to call her and the other people I miss, but it's a lot more expensive than it was when I lived in Reno ;)

The fact that it's the holiday season hasn't made my homesickness any easier, either.  Obviously, Thanksgiving isn't a holiday in Australia, but it's my favorite holiday in the States, and it passed by here without any turkey, stuffing, candied yams, family or friends.  I was planning to cook a dinner for Phil, his mom and myself, but I ended up working that day.  Maybe next year.  Or maybe we'll pick Thanksgiving to travel back to Reno next year :)

Christmas without my friends and family will also be hard, but I think I'll be happier being able to spend it with Phil this year.  Last year, I remember being pretty heartbroken since Phil came to visit right before Christmas, but we didn't actually get to spend the day together.  So we're definitely looking forward to exchanging presents and having our first real Christmas together.

Finally, the last part of why I've been absent, is because my laptop pretty much broke down.  But I bought an Android tablet a few weeks ago, so that excuse shall hold up no longer :)

Anyway, despite feeling so depressed lately, I think I'm back to feeling optimistic again. Starting my life over has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I'm looking at the bright side of it.  I basically have a chance to start a new life from scratch- I can make my life whatever I want it to be from now on, and that's certainly a good thing.  I think before I got here, I only thought about my relationship with Phil, and how that part of my life would improve.  Now I realize, I didn't really think that much about my personal life and how I'd need to figure that all out again.  I think the New Year will be a good time for me to start making goals for myself and some decisions about my future.  I know that life is truly what you make it.  So it's time to decide what I want to make of my life.

At least the work aspect of my life has been figured out now, so that's a relief.  My relationship with Phil has continued to grow- we've definitely had some rough spots, but we've worked through them together and moved on.  At the end of the day, we love each other and there's no one else I'd rather spend my life with.  I know all the rest of the pieces will fall into place. It's still been hard adjusting to my new family, with Lucas, and Phil's mom, but I know that relationships take time and effort, so I'm trying to be patient and loving, in both situations. Eventually, I'll make more friends and start having a social life again.   Everything will fall into place, eventually, and I'll look back at this time and think of it as just another tough time that I made it through.

I've always been the kind of person who wants instant results with everything, but one thing I seem to keep having to learn this year, is that I need to be patient and just wait.  I can't make everything happen in life- sometimes, I just need to wait for things to happen, and in the meantime, just keep living my life the best I can.  It's always easier said than done, but I have faith that things will work out for the best.  I've come too far to just give up now :)

900 Steps Of Horror

Judging by the title of this blog, you're likely to think this is some sort of Halloween-related post.  It is not.

Halloween isn't really a big deal in Australia.  I've seen only a few costumes for sales in the shops; there are no "Spirit" stores solely dedicated to Halloween costumes and decorations.  On the downside, I'm sad that I won't really get to dress up my future children in ridiculous Halloween costumes (truthfully, I'll probably still do that) and take them trick-or-treating, but on the upside, at least I don' t have to see a bunch of girls in slutty Halloween costumes.

Anyway, as I said, this post isn't about Halloween.  It's actually about my first Australian bushwalk!

For you non-Aussies, a "bushwalk" is basically just a term for hiking, but you know, Australians have to have different names for everything (I'm actually thinking of doing a post just about that), so you hear the term bushwalk here instead.

The Blue Mountains are a mountain region about an hour outside of Sydney.  Before I moved here, Phil told me a few times about how he'd go up to the Blue Mountains for bushwalks, and expressed wanting to take me with him.  Taking a trip up to the mountains is something we've talked about and planned for a while, so it was exciting for the weekend to finally come around.

We got up super early on Saturday morning, and took the train down to Katoomba, a small town which borders the Blue Mountains.  After we got to town, we left our overnight bag at the hotel we had reserved, and then hopped on a bus which took us to the mountains.  The bus let us off at Echo Point, an area at the edge of the mountains with an amazing view.

The first view of the Blue Mountains from Echo Point!

When I was reading up on the Blue Mountains before, I'd seen it described as Australia's version of the Grand Canyon.  Having now been to both locations, I'd have to say that the Blue Mountains are definitely just as impressive as the Grand Canyon.  Once we got off the bus and I saw the mountains laid out before us, all I could say was, "Wow."

From Echo Point you get a complete panoramic view of the mountains, the valley below, all the trees and bushes...it's absolutely stunning.  The area is so vast and there's so much to look at it- I was really in awe of how amazing it all looked.   But Phil and I weren't there just for a look...we had a planned a hiking trip, and we got started right away.

There are several paths you can take into the valley from Echo Point, but Phil and I took off down a path that begins with The Giant Stairway.  I had read a bit about the Giant Stairway before we came, and it sounded cool; in the early 1900's a forest ranger started constructing metal stairs and steps right into the side of the cliff that led down towards the forest.  Apparently, the Giant Stairway offered some of the best views of the Blue Mountains.  Sounded exciting!

If you can't read the text, yes, it says 900 STEPS!

Well, it was exciting.  It was also one of the scariest things I've ever experienced in my life.

I have a fear of heights.  Actually, I thought I had somewhat conquered my fear of heights.  My fear used to be so bad that I wouldn't go on roller coasters  but I got over that when I was 12 or 13.  I still don't really like Ferris Wheels, but I did go across the Golden Gate Bridge with no real worries.

All of my thoughts about having gotten over my fear went right out the window as soon as we turned down the first flight of steps.   I'm not sure if I actually said, "holy shit!" out loud, or I was just thinking it, but either way, that was the only thing on my mind when I looked out in front and below me.

The stairs that seemed so safe prior to this moment now felt like flimsy pieces of aluminum and all I could focus on was that yes, they were literally on the edge of a cliff.  My thoughts were something like, 'HOLY SHIT! I'm on the edge of a cliff and I'm 1000 feet off the ground and the only thing below me is a bunch of trees and rocks and rivers and I'm going to fall because these steps are flimsy and narrow, and if no one else has died from falling off the stairway, I'll be the first and everyone will tell the story of the American girl who died from falling off the stairs...'

The Giant Stairway.  On the side of a cliff.

Yeah.  To say I was scared is an understatement.  My legs were literally shaking with fear.  There were guardrails and the stairs actually were perfectly safe, but who can focus on that when you're so high up and all you can see below you is your impending doom?!

Not to mention there were 900 steps!  That's a lot of steps.  After a few flights, my thighs were starting to feel sore and my legs were still shaking, too.  Thankfully, there were a few benches along the way that we could stop at.   Phil was just happy to be going down the stairs this time, as the last time he'd gone to the mountains, he'd accidentally gone up instead.  I didn't care which way I was going at the time, I just wanted to get off.

"Freaking Australians!  Only in AUSTRALIA would they think it's a good idea to build a giant-ass stairway off the side of a freaking cliff!  Stairs!  Why don't they just build an escalator so we don't have to walk all the way down?!"

Phil started laughing.  "An escalator?  On the side of a mountain?"

"Well, if they could build stairs they might as well build an escalator!  Or hell, an elevator!  Just get it over with!"

We eventually made it down, but not without me crab-walking the majority of the way and somehow avoiding having a panic attack.  I am honestly surprised that I made it down - I mean, as soon as I realized how high up we were I was scared out of my mind, but something kicked in inside of me and I sort of just put my fear aside and powered through it.  It's amazing how the mind works sometimes.

Kissing in front of waterfalls- so romantic ;)

After we got down to Leura Forest, we had some lunch and spent some time hanging out by some waterfalls we found.  We got to take a ton of pictures and just had some fun chatting and playing in the water.  It definitely made the walk down the stairway worthwhile.

Once we had enough time relaxing, it was time to start heading back to Echo Point...which required an uphill trek of even MORE stairs.  This time, the stairs were sort of randomly placed in the forest and just led us up to this path called The Prince Henry Cliffwalk.  This was the part of the trip that nearly killed me.  If I thought the Giant Stairway was hard, I hadn't experienced anything yet.

I'm not of the best physical fitness, I'll admit it.  I was a lot more active before I moved, at least, but being here in Australia and not working has made me pretty lazy and I don't go out for walks or jogs like I used to in Reno.  I'm hoping to get back into it, but that didn't really help me last weekend.

I don't even know how many stairs we had to climb going back up, but I'm sure there were actually more than 900.  And all of it was uphill, so I was absolutely exhausted.  It got to the point where I had to stop every couple of steps because I was so sore and was struggling to keep my breath.  I definitely felt more out of shape than I have ever felt in my life and I was really ashamed of myself for not being able to do the bushwalk without having to stop so much.

Phil was so patient, though.  He was doing fine in front of me- he didn't need to stop as often as I did, but he stopped whenever I needed to, or suggested that I stop when it looked like I needed a break.  I honestly wouldn't have made it back up the hill if it wasn't for him.  He was so supportive and sweet during the whole thing.  If I stopped, he'd come back and kiss me on the forehead and tell me I was doing great and that he loved me, and then help me walk some more.   He constantly encouraged me to keep going, but I never felt like he was pushing me...he just believed in me.  It was a really amazing feeling, and most importantly, just cemented the fact that I couldn't have picked a better person to want to spend my life with.

I told Phil towards the end of the trip that I think all couples should have to do the bushwalk that we did together.  But it would only work if they were at different levels of physical fitness.  Because it really took an incredible deal of patience and team work for us to make it to the end together.  There were so many times when other people might've gotten irritated by having to wait for me, or as Phil said, if I was someone else, I might've just given up all together.  But we worked together and finished what we started.

Anyway, after about seven total hours, we got back to Echo Point and had completed our bushwalk!  Every muscle in my body was sore (and stayed sore for several days- even as I'm writing this, my thighs are still sore!), but I was proud of myself for not giving up and making it through.  We didn't take an easy bushwalk path, and I think a lot of people would've struggled- we even saw people that were having a harder time at it than I was.  But I made it!  It was a very good feeling.

The last steps!  Thank God!

Afterward, we headed back to our hotel, which was surprisingly really nice.  We hadn't spent a ton of money on it, but it turned out to be really cute and charming- almost like a bed and breakfast.  We ordered pizza and watched T.V. and then went to bed early, because we were so tired from our day out.  The next morning, we went downstairs for a delicious breakfast, which was included in our hotel package and then headed home.  The first thing I did when I got home was take a hot bath and soak my sore muscles.  I hate looking at stairs now.

All in all, it was a really great weekend.  It was great to get away from the city and all the distractions, and it was nice to just spend quality time with Phil without a TV on.  We'll definitely go back and do it again, but I think I want to get in better shape before we go next time.

Besides the trip to the Blue Mountains, the past few weeks since my last update have been pretty fun.  I went into the city on my own one night to see a concert by a local band I've gotten into, called The Rubens (for more on that, you can read my review here).  It was a lot of fun, especially just going out on my own, since Phil had to work late that night.

Another night, Phil and I went out to Darling Harbour for dinner. Darling Harbour is on the other side of Circular Quay (where the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge are), and is equally beautiful.  Some of Phil's workmates were getting together for a goodbye dinner for one of their managers, so Phil invited me along.  It was a really nice night...we had a great dinner at a steakhouse, and I got to chat with some of Phil's co-workers   Afterwards, because we got a little room in the city, Phil and I had ice cream and walked around the Harbour at night.  It was a great evening.

Darling Harbour at night!

I'm still waiting to start working, though hopefully things will all get sorted this week.   Apparently, there's been some sort of hold up with immigration and my Visa, which is frustrating, but I'm just hoping I can start working soon.

The night we were at the mountains, I was laying in bed and thinking about life and I had an epiphany   Since I've been here, I've just been waiting for all the pieces of my life to fall into place.  Being with Phil has been amazing and that part of my life feels perfect, but I'm still waiting for my job to start and to make friends, and basically, I've been waiting to replicate everything I had in Reno.

I realized, though, maybe that's not the point of this experience.  Maybe I'm not going to have all the same things I had in Reno.  Maybe I'm no longer at the point of my life where I need to work all the time.  And maybe I'm no longer at the point of my life where I'm going to be constantly surrounded by a big group of friends.  I realized that when I took my expectations away, of my life here being the same as it was in Reno, I felt okay with that.

Everyone goes through different seasons of their life, and I certainly have gone through plenty in my own life.    I don't know what my life in Australia will be like, but I do feel free now that I've acknowledged the fact that it might not ever be exactly like the life that I left behind.  What would be the fun in that, anyway?  Maybe my new life will be way better.  I know I can't replace the people and things I had in Reno.  But maybe that's not the point.  Maybe the point is just to move on...to something different.

A Tale Of Two Jobs...

Finding a job in Australia seems to be abnormally hard.  I've talked about this before, but let me just revisit my job hunting experience thus far; I've been searching for a job for about 8 weeks, have probably applied for something like 300+ jobs, have only had an handful of callbacks and interviews, but more than anything, have had a lot of dead ends.

In retrospect, I suppose 8 weeks isn't really a LONG time to be job hunting...I've known people who have searched for months, or even a year, and still haven't found anything.  I think the frustrating thing, though, is that I've tried so hard to find a job in this time period.  I've gotten up every morning and searched on every job site and applied for any sort of job I might be qualified for (and even ones I might not be- just in case, you know...).  I've given out my resume to places that are hiring.  I've taken trains to places two hours away for an interview and didn't get called back.  I've had so many false hopes and so many disappointments, and when you pack all of that into 8 weeks and combine it with the fact that I'm also dealing with...well, my entire life changing...it's kind of exhausting.

The point in explaining all of this is so you understand how excited I was last Thursday when I finally got a job offer!

I was on my way to meet Phil at his job for lunch, and I got lost once I got off the train.  The area he works in has confused me before- a few weeks ago, I had an interview in the same location and gotten lost and missed the interview, so I was instantly feeling frustrated as soon as it happened again.  Phil called me to give me directions, and I started heading off in the right way, but not before feeling completely hopeless.

Yet again, my life felt like a scene from a movie.  This time, my character (the small town girl in the big city) was realizing she was in over her head...this city, this situation, and this new life was just too big for her and she was feeling absolutely hopeless and almost ready to head back home with her tail tucked between her legs.

Well, maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but I will admit to crying a bit and yelling out in frustration, "I hate this F-ING CITY!"

Again, a bit melodramatic, but it's frustrating to get lost in the same area twice.  Especially when I typically pride myself in having a good sense of direction.  But maybe that only applies in Reno, where I know all the streets and there's a big main street that you can always find if you get lost.  And since Sydney is roughly 300 times the size of Reno, maybe I'm just another confused person in a big city.  Frustrating.

As I was sulking about how hard my life feels lately, the phone rang again.  I assumed it was Phil, so I answered quickly and was surprised to hear an American voice saying hello to me.  Then he actually said, "Bet you're surprised to hear another American on the phone."

The man introduced himself as the HR person for a job I had applied for the night before.  It was a telemarketing position in the city and he explained to me what the job offered.  Monday through Friday work, $20 an hour plus commission, no quota or experience necessary, and he was wondering if I wanted to start right away.  It seemed absolutely perfect- the money was great, the hours were the same as Phil's, and I'd get to work in downtown Sydney.  Plus, it was a job!  Finally!

I told him I'd take it, and we chatted a bit more- it turned out Dewey had also immigrated to Australia for love, and had actually lived in Tahoe (which is about 45 minutes from Reno), of all places.  I couldn't stop smiling when I got off the phone...that call had totally made up for my bad day and I got a job!!!

I was so excited to tell Phil about it that I couldn't even wait until I met up with him...I texted him right away and let him know the good news.  Funnily enough, he had also been trying to get me a job working with him, and had set up an interview for me with one of the bosses at his job.  I decided to still interview with them once I got there, just out of courtesy, and after a few minutes, I was offered a job there too.  Two jobs in one day after nothing for weeks- it felt surreal!

I waited until later that night to turn down the offer at Phil's job- it just made more sense to take the telemarketing position, since the hours and pay was better.  I was so excited about my first day of work all weekend- I couldn't stop bringing up the fact that I got a job and was going to start working on Monday.

Finally, Monday arrived and I headed off for my first day of work.  The telemarketing office is located right in the middle of the city and is just a few minutes away from Circular Quay (where the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House are), and it felt exciting just knowing I was working in the heart of the city.

The inside of the building was a bit surprising, though.  I was early for my orientation, so I peeked inside, and saw a tiny room crowded with cubicles and older-model desktop computers.  The regular work day started at 9am, but it was nearly 10 and I could only spot five or six people working inside.  Weird.  Worse yet, they were all at least 50 years old and only one of them was a woman.  Don't get me wrong...I'm not ageist, or anything, but I was hoping that I'd be able to work with people my own age and hopefully make some new friends, but I couldn't really imagine hanging out with a 50 year-old-man with a coffee stain on his shirt. It's not like he'd want to go see the new Twilight movie with me.

I waited for fifteen minutes after the orientation was supposed to start, before another middle-aged man finally approached me and introduced himself as the boss of the office.  He took me inside and started going over the brochures I would be selling over the phone.  It all sounded fine and good until he got my attention by asking, "You know this is just commission based only, right?"

The look on my face must've said it all.  I think I stuttered out that, no, I hadn't realized that, but the boss didn't even look surprised.  "Yeah, we just pay based on commission " he said.   "If you make a sale a day, you're making about $20 an hour; otherwise, you don't make any money.  Most people get up and leave when I tell them that."

I wanted to be one of those people, but I sat there and let him continue with the orientation.  He finished up and I guess I still hadn't wiped the wary look off my face, because he told me that he'd love to hire me, but it was up to me if I wanted to come back for work tomorrow.  He told me to go home and think about it, and if I wanted to come back the next day, he'd get me all set up to start working.

I honestly wasn't that thrilled to be doing telemarketing in the first place, but I especially didn't want to do it if I was only being paid based on how many sales I made!  Part of the reason I need to start working (besides boredom), is that Phil and I are trying to save money for my Visa next year, which is $3000.  I could possibly make that in a month or two if I made enough sales, but what if I didn't?  It just wasn't worth the risk.

So my first day of work was also my last day of work.

But, as the blog title suggests: this is the tale of two jobs.

Remember how I mentioned the job offer at Phil's job?  Well, I told Phil what happened, he talked to the managers again and they said the job was still mine if I wanted it.  So I went home last night, filled out the paperwork they'd given me last Thursday, and soon I'll be an employee of Harvey Norman.  It'll be casual work- meaning I'll probably just be working a few days a week, and unfortunately  working on weekends while Phil is off, but it's hopefully only temporary.

Harvey Norman is a retail store, and I'll be a cashier there- something I'm pretty familiar with from In-N-Out.  All the details haven't been ironed out yet, but I should know my first day there soon and my exact rate of pay.  The managers I interviewed with really liked me and it's a good thing they did, since I ended up needing that job to fall back on after all   And hopefully I'll get more hours around Christmas, and maybe even be considered for a full time position at some point.

This whole job hunt has been so exhausting.  I never thought I'd feel this way, but I'm so ready to just fall into a regular work schedule like everyone else.  I miss the stability of working every day.  I miss having my own income and being able to save money or spend a little of it, if I want.  It all seemed so mundane when I was doing it back in Reno, but the thing I miss most now is just the normalcy of working, and I'm looking forward to starting it again.

So fingers crossed and here's hoping that everything works out this time!   On the other hand, at least all of this has given me something interesting to blog about ;)

Settling In! :)

It's officially been six weeks since I've lived in Australia!  Sorry I haven't updated in so long- I definitely haven't forgotten about it, but I guess I've just been busy adjusting to my new life.

I've found the hardest question to answer (and the one I get asked most frequently), is if things are different here in Australia.  Of course, it's easy enough just to say yes.  Everything is different.  I'm on another continent, in another country, living in a new state, neighborhood, home, etc.  Everything about my day to day life is drastically different than it was six weeks ago.  Some of it is just different because I've moved, in general, though some of it is definitely unique to being in Australia.

For example, it took me about a week to figure out the money.  There are paper notes for the big bills ($5, $10, $20, $50, $100) but anything smaller than five dollars comes in coins, which was very confusing for me for a long time.  One dollar coins and two dollar coins (yes, $2 coins!!!!  What the hell?!) are both gold and the $1 coins are slightly bigger than the $2 ones.  Then, there are silver pieces for change under a dollar, like 50 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents and 5 cents.  There are no one cent pieces, or pennies.  Therefore, change is always rounded up to the nearest 5 cents.  That part seemed a lot more confusing until I actually started using money here; it is a lot nicer to not have a wallet full of pennies anymore.  The main confusing thing for me was differentiating the dollar coins.  But I've finally gotten it all down!

And yes, the money is all colorful and very thin...just like Monopoly money ;)

Another big change is the public transit system.  Of course, there's regular buses, but there's also a widespread train/subway system here.  Taking the train was very exciting for me at first, because other than taking trips into San Francisco and riding the BART, I've never been on a commuter train before!  I've always looked at trains and subways as a trademark of living in a big, exciting city...and well, I guess I finally do live in a big, exciting city.  There's something exciting about sitting on the upper level of the train, watching the towns pass by, stopping at platforms and seeing all the different people get on and off, listening to the pre-recorded announcer (with an Australian accent, no less) say what each stop is.  I have to admit, the thrill of being on a train has worn off a bit after spending hours going to different job interviews or into the city for something, but it's still fun sometimes ;)

There's also so many different cultures here.  In Eagle Vale, where we live, the neighborhood is primarily white, but there also seems to be a big Tongan community too, which reminds me of living in Sacramento (there were a lot of Tongan people there, for some reason).  When you go into Sydney, there's a bunch of tourists and the majority of them are Asian!  It's almost insane how many Chinese and Japanese people there are in downtown Sydney...I literally felt like I was in Toyko, instead of Sydney, for the first couple of days that Phil and I spent downtown.  One evening, Phil and I went to dinner in a suburb called Parramatta and that was the most culturally diverse place I've been yet.  There were white people, Indian people, Pacific Islanders, Africans, Asians...basically any sort of culture you could think of was there.  It was a really cool and exciting district of town for me, plus there were tons of ethnic food places that I'd love to go back and try.

During our first days in the city, we ventured out to another suburb called Darlinghurst.  Phil wasn't too familiar with where we were, but I instantly noticed the gay pride flags they had hanging on the light posts, and all of a sudden we were surrounded by sex shops and gay bars.  It was funny how fast we went from being in the CBD (Central Business District- that's the area of downtown Sydney where all the businesses are), to being in Darlinghurst.  I loved it, though!  There were so many different kinds of people and Sydney seems like a very LGBT-friendly place; I saw two men openly kissing on the sidewalk, and realized I was the only one staring.  I wasn't staring because I was offended or had never seen two men kissing before- I was just surprised that they felt so free to be open in public and that no one else seemed to notice or care.  It made my heart happy :)

Phil and I actually went to this bar near Darlinghurst when we were in the city.  There's nothing really "Nevadan" about it besides the name, but it was still cool :)

Circular Quay is the area where Phil and I went to the Opera House and saw the Harbour Bridge. Two weekends ago we went to the Taronga Zoo (more on that in a bit), and we took a ferry from Circular Quay. I realized that it was the first time I had been there on a weekend and I was amazed by the fact that there were so many people there!  Maybe it's because I've spent the majority of my life living in Reno, where it's not particularly overcrowded, I don't know, but I was slightly overwhelmed by how many people were just out and about in the Quay on a Sunday morning.  I can't even tell you if they were tourists or citizens or what, but there was just this massive crowd that took up the entire stretch where the ferries were.  Even when I've gone to theme parks, I haven't been in a crowd of people that large! And no one else seemed surprised by it or even took notice of it; I definitely felt like a "small town girl" in that moment.

The best thing about all the different people I've encountered since I've been here, however, is that they all love my accent!  I've had so many people in stores (and even when I went to the bank!) comment on my accent, which is just hilarious to me.  I mean, first of all, I don't really like the sound of my own voice and second of all, it's just ironic to hear someone with a sexy Australian accent swooning over my boring, American one.  Most Australians correctly guess that I'm from California, and I guess I do still have a "Californian" accent, since I spent the other half of my life there.  Though I have had a few people incorrectly guess that I'm Canadian, which is just insulting ;)

I hope I'm never driving and come across one of these signs!

Crossing the street is still utterly confusing for me.  You have no idea how hard it is to retrain yourself to look the opposite way when you cross the street.  And I can't even think about driving anytime soon; even though Phil's mum offered to take me out in her car, I want nothing to do with it...the whole driving on the opposite side of the road, in a different side of the car is just so frightening to me.  The first few days that Robyn (Phil's mum) drove me around, I thought I was going to die- not because she's a bad driver, but because I constantly thought people were on the wrong side of the road and it always felt like we were going to get into a head-on collision   I've definitely gotten over that, but I just think it would be hard to retrain myself to drive differently and remember to turn left instead of right.  Oh, and roundabouts look like death traps here- I mean, you'd never stay to the LEFT in a roundabout in the States.  SO confusing.

I know everyone wants to know about the food here.  Well, first of all, Vegemite isn't that great.  I can't say that it's "disgusting", as many of my American friends whom have traveled to Australia have said, but it's definitely not something I'm too eager to try again.  It's a thick, brown, spread that you can use on bread (think along the lines of butter) and it tastes EXTREMELY salty.  I've only ever tried it once, with the Vegemite spread on top of butter on a piece of toast, and the salty taste just threw me off.  Phil has his Vegemite with cheese, which might be a bit better; at least, I hope the cheese would soak up some of the saltiness.  But I'm not jumping to try it again, either.

I've had an "Aussie" burger now, and I can say that it's disgusting.  Actually, I'm not sure if what I had counts as a real Australian burger; I did buy it at McDonalds and the meat was lamb (which is a common meat in Australia and I officially hate the taste and smell of lamb), but it did have the traditional Australian toppings of fried egg and beetroot.  The idea of having an egg and beets (which are in a jellied form and sliced- it actually looks like the cranberry sauce you can buy in the can at Thanksgiving) was already a turn off but eating them together on a bun, with meat was probably the most disgusting thing I've ever experienced.  Not only did I throw my lamb burger away, I also felt like I had to throw up afterwards and every time I see a commercial for it, I feel nauseous again.

These are mini-meat pies we got at a place called Pie Face.

There's a lot of "American" food chains here, besides McDonalds, though.  Last night we had KFC for dinner.  On Wednesday, Phil and I are going to Sizzler for dinner.  There's Hooters here, Pizza Hut, Subway, and funnily enough, even Outback Steakhouse.  There's also Burger King, though here it's under the name Hungry Jack's.

Mostly, I've gathered that Australian's really like meat pies.  I was really scared of meat pies before I had one, because for some reason, I thought a meat pie was, well...a fruit pie also filled with meat, but they're not. A meat pie is basically just like an American pot pie, just with a flakier/thicker pastry covering it and with a heartier filling.  You can get all sort of meat pies with a bunch of different kind of fillings and I haven't had one I don't like so far.

Besides meat pies, I've seen a bunch of pizza places, chicken restaurants and a ton of sushi joints, but one thing I've noticed that Australia lacks is mexican food!  I'm dying for a Super Burrito or a just a regular chicken taco.  And I never thought I would, but out of all the American fast food places, I really, really miss Jack in the Box.  I even crave a burger from In-N-Out from time to time.  At least McDonalds tastes exactly the same here as it does in the States; well, besides the lamb burger, that is ;)

Even the birds here sound different!  When I wake up in the morning, I'm always greeted to the sounds of at least five different birds chirping and it always makes me think I'm waking up in the rainforest or something.  It's really odd how different the birds sound; Magpies and Cockatoos sound nothing like Bluejays or whatever American birds I was used to hearing outside my apartment in the morning.

Cockatoos are pretty cool looking, I'll give them that- but they are so loud!

Besides those things, I've just been adjusting to regular life stuff.  Moving, no matter where I went, would be a big change just in the fact that I'm somewhere different, living a different life.  My life in Reno wasn't perfect and it wasn't what I wanted, but the one thing I lament about leaving now is that my life before was comfortable.  Which was something I hated at the time, but now I miss the comfort of going to my same job every day and coming back to my same apartment every night and seeing my same friends on my same days off.

I am finding a routine here, that's for sure, but it's taken time for me to get used to it.  I'm not as homesick as I was at first- the first few weeks I was here, I would break down and cry when I thought about my friends at home or my family, because I missed them so much.  I think I still miss everyone just as much now, but it's become more of a dull ache, rather than something that makes me cry.  And I had my first international call today when I randomly decided to just call my cousin and chat with her for an hour.  It was wonderful to hear her voice and now I know that it's not too expensive or too hard to call home when I need to hear someone familiar :)

Finding a job has been an unexpected hassle.  I think, since I've started looking for jobs about 4 weeks ago, I've applied for over 200 jobs and I still haven't found one.  I've had several interviews and callbacks, but the majority of jobs are either too far away by train, or I just didn't get the job after interviewing.  And then there's probably the 175 jobs or whatever that didn't even bother to contact me at all.  The thing about the job market here is that there are plenty of jobs to apply for, but there's also probably 20 other people applying for the same job that I am and they are more qualified than I am, or live closer to the job, or aren't here on a temporary Visa like I am.  Hopefully something will turn up soon, though.

I have admittedly been pretty depressed about my job hunt- it's just hard for me to be so idle for so long.  I haven't been unemployed since I was 16 and even then, I worked during the summers and I still had highschool, of course.  I have now been unemployed for two months, and even though I've found time to finish reading a stack of books and play the Sims 3 a lot, it's just hard to not have productive things to do and it's hard not having my own  income.  I think the longest vacation I've had in 9 years was for three weeks and that was when I had my tonsils out, so it wasn't really vacation.  And then, I took two weeks when Phil came to visit me last December, but neither of us was working, so it was just fun.

Living with Phil is honestly the best and easiest part of being in Australia, which is great, since that's what I came here for.  It is almost exactly the same as it was when he came to visit, except now he goes to work all day and now we have his son, Lucas, on the weekends.  I think having a child around on the weekend is the only big adjustment to us living together for me.  Lucas is completely adorable (he's only 2!) and he loves for me to tickle him and play with him, which is great.  But it has been really hard to switch over from living alone in my apartment to now having a toddler around every weekend and waking up in the middle of the night when he cries and all that stuff.  I'm know it's something I'll get used to...I guess it's just that when I worked with kids, they always went home at the end of the day, and now I'm on the other side of that ;)

Phil and I have been having a lot of fun being together, though and doing all the "normal" things we've waited 14 months to do.  We've finished a TV series (Joss Whedon's Dollhouse- great show, I definitely recommend it!) and are currently alternating between watching Quantum Leap (my first time watching it) and Lost (a rewatch for both of us, as it was the show that basically first bonded us :)).  We've been able to have a date night each week and we're starting to reserve one weekend a month to ourselves to do something fun.

Baby kangaroo! :)

Two weekends ago, we went to Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and I got to see my first kangaroo! Yes, unfortunately I didn't see a kangaroo until I'd gone to the zoo, but it was still exciting to finally see one.  I also got to see some koalas (which I fell in love with!), and a bunch of other cool Australian animals, like the Tasmanian Devil and the wombat.  The Zoo was really big and there was lots to see and do, and it was a lot of fun.  I was kinda sad, because we had just missed the Koala Experience, where you get to hold and pet a koala, but Phil said we'd go back another time so I can do it :)



At the end of the month, Phil and I are going away for the weekend to the Blue Mountains, which is a gorgeous mountain range about an hour away from Sydney.  I've heard it's comparable to the Grand Canyon, so I'm pretty excited to see the mountains and spend the weekend out of the city with Phil :)

It's definitely been great for us to finally BE together and know that we don't have to say goodbye to each other at the end of it.  Thinking of the fact that I'll (hopefully) never have to say goodbye to Phil at the airport again always makes me smile.  This is just the beginning of our lives together and that's probably one of the most amazing feelings in the world.  When I focus on that, instead of the fact that I don't have a job yet or that I'm still having a hard time some days with missing people and adjusting, I'm reminded that I'm so happy to be here and once things finish settling, it'll absolutely be worth it.