So this is a first...

So I've wanted a tattoo for quite awhile but I've never had any ideas of what I'd want. Of course, it's something that would stay with me for the rest of my life so I didn't want to just get a tattoo for the sake of getting a tattoo. Plus I've always been petrified of needles - once I woke up screaming in an ambulance when I heard a voice say, "We're going to have to prick her finger." I've cried numerous times in the waiting room before getting bloodwork done. I've had a nurse ask if I was okay after putting an IV in my arm because I went ghost-white and she gave me juice (even though I wasn't supposed to have any food or drink) before running through the hallway, yelling for a doctor. I've had my mom ask if I wanted to go for lunch and instead she drove me to the clinic to get bloodwork done because the papers had been sitting in the kitchen for months (and I wasn't going to get up and do it myself) - so mean! I have been reassured by multiple people that tattoo needles are different. But 

either way, I still wasn't going to voluntarily put myself through pain unless it was for good reason. In terms of deciding what design I wanted, I realised that this entire time, I was in the wrong train of thought.. I had always been thinking of travel-related tattoos, but I didn't want something that hundreds of other people had gotten, and I'm not really the most creative person so I don't come up with many ideas on my own. But suddenly about three months ago, an idea came to me.. I'm always travelling, I don't need anything to remind me of travel. I need something to remind me of home. And what's the first thing that comes to mind when I hear "Saskatchewan?" Well, the Roughriders..  but I wasn't about to get Gainer tattooed on my buttocks, that's for sure (although I seriously considered how I could incorporate the Roughriders into this tattoo before deciding against it). And what next?? Of course, farmland. My ancestors from both sides of my family came over from Europe to farm, and my uncle and aunt still take care of the family farm on my mom's side of the family. I have never been a farm girl (until now 😉) - I've always lived in the city, but even though the fields usually make for a boring drive, there's something truly calming about them. So this is what my tattoo means to me...

I used to get so mad when people had an opinion about Saskatchewan. Especially because most

Me with my aunt & uncle in the fields

people who had strong (bad) opinions about it weren't even from there, and many hadn't even BEEN there before. Saskatchewan has some of the friendliest people in Canada! I realised this when I met other Canadians in London and would say that I missed how nice people were back at home - how strangers would just say hi when walking past you on the sidewalk. Most of the other Canadians were like, "Really??? It's not like that where I live..." I remember being so surprised on my first day back in Saskatoon after living in London because I was unpacking my car and two people walked by and said good morning. I was so accustomed to living in London that I was wondering why they were talking to me. I noticed the same thing in Warragul - I'd walk past the same people everyday and we'd say good morning to each other. It's something that's often lost in those big cities, but something that makes a world of difference. Saskatchewan also has one of the top fan bases in Canada because Roughrider fans are so passionate about their team. Going to a Roughrider game is an experience that everyone should try at least once in their lives! Saskatchewan has prairies, we have forest, we have lakes, and we even have some hills. Go ahead, let everyone think Saskatchewan is boring. Let everyone continue going to Finland to see the Northern Lights.. Let everyone continue going to different parts of the world to see "the most beautiful sunset in the world." We're called "The Land of the Living Skies" for a reason that no one will understand unless they've lived here. Saskatchewan is the best-kept secret in Canada and it's a place that I'm truly proud to say that I come from. Even if I end up moving to another part of Canada later on in life, Saskatchewan will always be my home. 

My tattoo also has a blue and yellow background, which represents the Ukrainian flag. In the flag,

blue represents the sky while yellow represents the fields. When I was in Ukraine taking the train from Kyiv to Lviv, I was truly shocked that when looking out the window, it looked EXACTLY like home. Also when I was in Ukraine, I was mistaken for a local quite often, and many locals told me that I looked very Ukrainian. While I know that I got many of my characteristics from my dad's side of the family (as I'm usually told that I look more like my dad while my sister looks like my mom), it's been something that I've been so proud of. I've always been so interested in my Ukrainian heritage and the food is my favourite! I even attempted trying to learn Ukrainian on Duolingo during my first couple of months in Warragul (which I failed at horribly - it's really difficult!). Anyway, especially with what's happening in Ukraine right now, I definitely wanted something to link me to my heritage.

And the last thing that I somewhat think of when I think of farming is Warragul, which is why I

ended up getting my tattoo in Warragul, as opposed to Melbourne. With wheat, it doesn't always survive all types of weather. Farmers can have good years and then they can also have tragic years. But the chances of a stalk of wheat surviving are a lot higher when it's surrounded by a bunch of other stalks of wheat to support it. And that reflects my time in Warragul, and with my life in general. I'll go through all kinds of storms - ups, downs, everything, but I'm not meant to go through it all alone. It's all of those people who let me lean on them which helps me survive the worst weather. So thanks to everyone who has been my surrounding wheat! 😀

And last but not least, wheat is very significant for me personally since I was diagnosed with PCOS when I was 18. PCOS caused me to be depressed and led me to make the decision to move to France, which started my whole travel experience.  It has also led me to have so many insecurities and has lowered my self-esteem tremendously. It's caused me to make diet and lifestyle changes to benefit my health and my confidence. One of those diet changes is omitting gluten from my diet as much as possible. So it's somewhat ironic that I put the one thing on my body that I'm not supposed to eat. But it reminds me that I won't let something that I was diagnosed with define me. I'm me and that's all I can be. 

Anyway, that's what my tattoo means to me. And I love it, and that's all that matters! I'm not looking for approval from anyone cause quite frankly, there's nothing I can do about it anyway. In terms of pain, it actually didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. As a matter of fact, sometimes I was just bored and wished I had a book or something haha but then again, I (thankfully) have a really high pain threshold. Don't get me wrong, there were a few moments that made me cringe, but it was manageable. I had been following Shanra at Warragul Tattoos on Facebook (see her page here) for awhile because I instantly fell in love with all of her work, so I knew I wanted to get a tattoo done with her. By the way, she even said, "This is going to be a really weird compliment, but you've got really great skin for tattooing!! It was definitely meant to be for you to get a tattoo." And then she told me that if I had any other cool ideas, she would do them for me. So I guess I'll see if anything else comes to me in the next 1.5 years... 😉 Love always

run

Okay, well I am now being forced to write a post because I’ve gotten three separate messages from people, asking for a blog update. If anyone HASN’T noticed my numerous Facebook posts and pictures, I have now officially left Warragul and moved to Melbourne. The weekend before last, I was extremely emotional about leaving, and even though I probably should have went out and spent time with people, I preferred to just isolate myself and feel bad about leaving. Therefore, I went out and bought an entire

cake (for 3 dollars on sale), and then Gabi and I watched the movie Wonder (which I’ve already seen before, and I only watched again because I knew it would make me cry). Of course, we watched it in the dark so Gabi couldn’t see me ugly-crying multiple times throughout the movie. About ten minutes after the movie ended, Paul and his friends came over from their night out and were so excited for the cake, but ended up dropping the rest of it on the floor upon taking it out of the fridge. It was quite entertaining to watch and even though Paul said sorry about a million times, I wasn’t upset since I figured eating a third of the cake was probably enough for me. Anyway, last Saturday morning, I walked to the car rental place in the worst weather ever. My umbrella turned inside-out about 20 times and by the time I got there, I was completely soaked. However, I got the most beautiful blue car ever! No offence to Jorge, but I think it might be the nicest looking car I’ve driven (However, I am extremely biased when it comes to blue cars, which was something that drove my dad insane when I was trying to find a car to buy and refused to buy anything that wasn’t blue). We did all of our grocery shopping that day with the car. On Sunday, I moved the majority of my stuff to my new flat! First, Gabi and I picked up a keyboard that I found on Gumtree, and then we went to my place. We unpacked the car and moved everything to my

The amazing dinner at Allen and Viola's

room, I made my bed, and then we waited for Beena to come back from yoga so that we could say hi before going to the mall. The mall (Chadstone) was only a ten-minute drive away and it’s the biggest mall in Australia. We only spent our time in K-mart so I could get some clothing racks, a mirror, and some other random items. Then, we took that stuff back to my flat and drove back to Warragul to drop off the car. The thing I LOVE about the Warragul car rental is that even though I only pay for one day (which is 55 dollars), they’re not open from 11am on Saturday to 8am on Monday, so they say that as long as the car is back by Monday morning, it’s fine and I don’t have to pay for an extra day. Such a deal! Later that evening, I went to Allen and Viola’s for dinner (along with Nina, one of my housemates from the first house) and they made us some amazing food, once again! I’ll miss their

Nina's Matcha Cake

cooking so much! 😞

This past week was my last week at the tomato farm, and I found myself getting more and more upset about it each day. I had to have an exit interview on Tuesday (which everyone has to do), and they basically ask questions like, “Would you work here again?” “How did you find accommodation?” “What improvements could we make?” There were five other people who had exit interviews that day, and they’re all scheduled to be ten minutes long but most people only ended up taking five minutes. I ended up walking out of mine 18 minutes later, so I guess I had a bit more to say. I mentioned that I didn’t like how stressful it was at the beginning, when we weren’t reaching the target goal. We were expected to do 900 plants per hour, which is 1 plant every 4 seconds, and at the time I was only doing 650-700. Sonia and I were constantly freaking out that we’d be fired, and I was too scared to take a drink of water because I knew it would lower my time, even though it was so hot. Anyway, now it’s fine. I take my time at work, singing and thinking about life, and my speed is consistently between 1000 and 1100 plants an hour everyday, while the other girls are at 1400-1500. On Thursday evening, about 18 people from the department went for dinner at a Thai restaurant, which was so good! A group of people were finishing their contracts, so they were moving locations to another tomato farm (same company) because with the Australian visa, you’re only allowed to work in one location for ANY job for a maximum of six months. Meaning people who stay in Australia for two years will have to work a minimum of four jobs. Lucky for me,

Dinner with Coworkers

my supply teaching avoids that problem since I’ll be going to different schools with different locations all the time! On Friday, we brought our phones into work, which is a no-no, but it was our (mine and Akane’s) last day so we wanted some memories!!

Akane also made a sign telling everyone at work to go to Newmason for drinks that evening. Only a handful of people showed up, which I was kind of sad about at first, but it ended up being a really nice group! On Saturday morning, I packed up the rest of my stuff and then realized I had underestimated how much I had left. I decided that I’d have to come back to

My tomatoes! 💝

Warragul later in the week to get the rest of my stuff, which was mostly just food and work gear. I finally left Warragul at 3pm and arrived at my new flat at 5:30 that night. I unpacked until about 11pm before I made myself go to sleep. I’m part of a Canadian Ladies in Melbourne group on Facebook, and they were planning a Bottomless Brunch for Sunday morning. That means that for $50, I would get a

Canadian Brunch

breakfast item, and three hours’ worth of mimosas and/or prosecco. Even though it was a bit pricey and I didn’t know anyone, I figured this would be a good way to start my time in Melbourne. I headed over to Fargo and Co for 11am and there were 15 of us in total. Everyone was so nice, and I got the same shocking response from each person when I told them that I was from Saskatoon. We really are quite unheard of.. I ended up trying Chicken & Waffles for the first time, which was absolutely amazing! After our three hours of brunch, about six of us decided to stay even longer and decided to try the Boozy Hot Chocolate for $15 (I will likely go in debt while living in Melbourne…). We then meandered to another rooftop bar to have beer and appy’s, and then I finally decided that I should get going at 6:30 because I still had to go to IKEA. Surprisingly, this wasn’t the first time I’ve went to IKEA solo while intoxicated… As soon as I got there, I got a hotdog (of course), and then I tried to find everything else I'd need for my room. Unfortunately, the night table that I wanted was out of stock, so I just got everything else and then I’ll have to go back another time. I got back home at around 9:30pm, built all

of my furniture, and went to bed.

On Monday, I had an interview with my teaching agency at 11am. I headed to the area, stopped at McDonald’s for a quick breakfast, and then went for my interview. It lasted for about an hour because we had to go over safety policies, company policies, filling out paperwork, and what my preferences would be for subjects and age groups to teach. The two agents I met were lovely and even though I had been putting off going back to teaching because I’ve actually been dreading going back into the classroom, they put me at ease and assured me that teaching in Australia would be much different from teaching in the UK. After my interview, I messaged a friend who I had met waaaay back in Mildura during the short time that I was there. He was in Melbourne for a couple of days so we decided to meet up for lunch. Shout out to Carlos, who’s from Venezuela, and has said that my blog is in his Top 3 list of favourite blogs 😀💜 Anyway, we went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch, and it was so nice to

Me and Carlos

catch up and to see a familiar face. Afterwards, I headed back home so I could finally finish unpacking the rest of my stuff. It felt so good to have everything organized that evening! I then walked to the grocery store, which is about a 15-20 minute walk away, because I hadn’t bought any actual food since I had moved in on Saturday. Since schools would be coming back from a 2-week holiday the following day (Tuesday), I decided to take today off since I likely wouldn’t get work anyway. I just needed a day to do nothing, since I hadn’t had one in quite awhile. I used the day to plan out how I wanted my weeks to work, including meals and activities. I also emailed my agent and asked her what the possibility of getting work on Wednesday would be. The thing with this job is it’s a bit different from the UK. Just like the UK, I have to be up and ready at a certain time in order to wait for a phonecall and get called to a school. Unlike the UK, I have to leave my house by 7am and head to Flinders Street Station (the main station) in order to be there by 7:30am, and then I can find a cafe and wait for a phonecall there. Therefore, you can see why I didn’t want to just get up and get ready to go to Flinders, only to not end up getting work. However, my agent wrote me back and said that they’re getting really busy and that it was likely that I’d get something tomorrow. I guess I’ll see what happens! I’ll have to make lunch for tomorrow, and get fully prepared. 

My new flat has been great! Beena has actually been in Shanghai this week for work, so she won’t be back for a couple more days, and then Laura does nursing (shiftwork) so we haven’t actually seen each other since I moved in (until today). It’s been a nice way to transition into the new place though, especially when it comes to unpacking. While being here (and actually also sometimes in my last place in Warragul), I’ve always been hearing cat screams early in the morning. You know that piercing scream that a cat is in danger because it’s about to be attacked, and it sounds like it’s going to die at any minute? As soon as I hear the scream, I wake up COMPLETELY and my first instinct is to get out of bed and go save the cat. Where are the cat’s owners? Why aren’t they concerned about its well-being? Are they complete monsters?? I imagine this is what it would feel like for most women when they hear a baby cry in the night - their maternal instinct kicks in. I don’t think I have that. Don’t get me wrong.. I have very maternal qualities - many of my friends would call me mom because I’d always be looking after everyone. Even in one of my houseshares, I was known as the mom of the house. But I have maternal qualities for full-grown adults who I care about, and for some reason it just doesn’t work for babies and kids. If a baby comes into a plane or a bus or a restaurant, it seems like everyone around me is like, “Oh, look at the cute baby!!!” and then they start making weird faces at it and try to get it to smile. When I see that baby, the first thing that goes through my mind is, “Oh goodness, it’s going to get loud. I’m likely going to have to move somewhere else.” Gabi and I have been in the grocery store, and there have been multiple times when I’ve started speed-walking across the store while Gabi frantically follows me, wondering what I forgot and why I’m in such a hurry to get it. And then I just have to explain, “Sorry, I just couldn’t be around the screaming/whining/complaining.” Now that I think about it, I don’t think I ever ask my friends or family members if I can hold their babies. The only time I end up holding a baby is if someone asks if I want to and I say sure cause I don’t want to seem rude by flat-out saying no. My mom has already accepted the fact that the chances of her getting a grandchild from me are slim to none. I don’t have a maternal instinct - I have a CATernal instinct. If I see a cat on the street, I will automatically go up to it and try to get its attention. I held all of the stray cats at the campsites on my Africa trip because they just needed a cuddle. If I go to a friend’s house and they have a cat, I won’t even ask if I can hold it - I’ll just pick it up. “Oh, my cat doesn’t like to be held…” “Well, we’ll see about that…” I don’t know why I’m like this, but this is just the way things are. With that being said, my mom said that she was the exact same way, and then somehow they ended up deciding to have me. So maybe one day, I’ll have a sudden change of heart. Who knows? Anyway, for now, I’ll stick to building cat bonds 😀 Yes, I realize my last two posts have been about cats.. I've already said that I'm boring and don't have much else to talk about. Hope everyone is doing well!! Love always

run - pronoun

Good Vibes

On this day ten years ago, I published my very first blog post. This was when I did my first “big” trip away from home - a 5-week course across the country (in Trois-Rivières, Quebec) to “learn French” before moving to France. I remember how huge it was for me, and how I needed to be in constant communication with everyone at home. I went to the dollar store to buy a wired cable so that I could hook up my laptop to the phone jack in order to use the internet since there wasn’t any wifi. I had to do that in my first house in France as well! Such difficult times without a phone having unlimited data in order to contact everyone I wanted to when I wanted to… I remember having phone schedules (planned times when a friend or family member would call), and my friends and family would have to actually PHONE the landline in my room so that we could chat. And I would talk to people daily - I spent more

time in my room, centred around everything that was going on at home rather than enjoying my time with the people around me. The same thing happened in France. Even though I was in a different country halfway around the world, I was still living my life centred around home. I wore a watch that was set to Saskatoon time during my entire time in France! I woke up earlier to catch the people who were just going to bed, and my phone had a calling plan so that I could receive free calls from Canada. I was constantly counting down the days until I would be home, and I was never truly enjoying my time in the moment. Now I know better. Things have definitely changed! The amount of people who I keep in touch with regularly has dramatically decreased. It’s funny cause everyone who meets me will communicate with me the first time that I leave, and then the communication wears off. When I lived in France, all of my friends from high school kept constant communication with me. Then when I moved to London, my high school friend communication wore off and it was my La Ronge friends who kept in constant contact with me. And now that I’m in Australia, the La Ronge friend communication has worn off, and now it’s my Hudsons coworkers and my UK friends who keep in constant contact with me. Other than talking to my mom, I can often go days or weeks without talking to people from home, and I definitely don’t circle my life around Saskatoon time anymore (especially cause the timezone is much more difficult now!!). I've been enjoying my time in the moment, and it's been working out for me! Anyway, it’s nice hearing from everyone every once in awhile, and I still love how many people continue reading my blog!

The first thing I wanted to mention was a huge thank you to everyone who actually sent positive vibes out into the universe for me when I posted my Facebook post. The positive vibes literally went into overload, which is actually amazing. I find it so cool when you notice how positive energy works and you can use it to your advantage! Now, during the majority of my life here, I’m in a good mood and usually only positive things happen, and people feed off of that positivity and return it, so I just end up getting an endless supply of happiness - I love it! I’ll tell you how your positive energy worked…  As most people know, I had plans to look at five houses on Saturday, and I planned them each an hour apart since I didn’t know how long they would all take/how long it would take to get from one place to the next. My teaching agency had given me a list of areas that they would prefer that I live in, so I was trying to stay in a certain area, but houses were extremely hard to find and most would get taken as soon as they were posted online. Since I could only limit myself to viewing houses on the weekends, it was extremely difficult because most houses that were posted needed a tenant by the following day. Therefore, I decided to expand my options to surrounding areas (even though they weren’t on the “required” list) so that I could still find something close to the area that I wanted. Anyway, my first viewing was at 11:30 and was in Richmond, which is the only house that was actually IN one of the areas that I was allowed to live in (although it wasn't an area that I necessarily wanted to live in). They were offering $230/week

Winterfest Bonfire

including bills, so it was one of my cheaper options (but keep in mind that in Warragul, I’m currently spending $100/week, so it’s a BIG change for me!). The house was conveniently located right beside the train station and it was a HUGE house. However, I would be living with six other people. All I could think about was what using the kitchen would be like, and while everyone seemed very friendly, I couldn’t see myself living there. After I visited that house, one of my other options messaged me and said that she found someone to take the room, so that now left me with four options. The second house I looked at was in an area called Prahran, which is right beside the area that I REALLY wanted to live in (but couldn’t find any houses) - South Yarra. They were offering $217/week including bills, so it was my cheapest option. I met up with the girl on her lunchbreak, and another person had also come to look. The place was a dump though! The walls had holes in them, the bathroom faucets were all leaking, and it looked really run-down. I knew that this place would be a definite no. However, about a half-hour after I left, I got a message from the girl saying that she texted her housemates and she would like to offer me the room. I said that I would let her know later that evening, since I still had other places to look at that day (knowing that I would end up saying no anyway). I then walked towards the third option, which was in an area called Windsor. This place was offering $270 including bills, which was a bit higher than my budget, which I had chosen to be $265. However, this place seemed like the most promising, plus the move-in date was conveniently on July 14th, which would be the day that I’d be moving to Melbourne. I messaged the guy to tell him I was on my way, but didn’t receive a reply. Then I got to the house, rang the bell, and didn’t get an answer. I tried phoning and I didn’t get an answer either. I felt so defeated since this was the place that I was counting on! Maybe the positive vibes didn't work after all... I messaged my fourth option and asked if she’d be able to meet earlier since my other viewings had finished sooner than expected, and she said she could meet in 15 minutes. Luckily, her place was only a ten minute walk from the other place and even though it was pretty much only across the street, it was in a different area called St. Kilda East. She was offering $250 (NOT including bills this time), and after we talked about bills, I figured it would be about $275-280 with bills, so it was the most expensive place. However, I got there and I instantly loved the place! Beena seemed so nice - she owns the place, and she’s 25. The other girl (Laura) would be moving in the following day, and she’s a nurse from the UK. One of the negatives is that my room wouldn’t come with a wardrobe so I’d have to buy a clothing rack, but that wasn’t a huge problem. I just instantly felt good vibes, and I knew it was where I wanted to live. It’s a ten-minute walk from one of the best streets in Melbourne - Chapel Street, it’s a 30-minute walk to St. Kilda beach, and it’s a 20-minute tram ride from the main city. Therefore, I’d get everything I want within a

half hour of where I live (which is a HUGE change compared to everywhere I lived in London!). Beena said that she still had a lot of viewings later that day and on Sunday, so she would wait to see who was interested in the place, and then she’d make a decision.  It was just a popularity contest! The thing that scared me most about this place was that it was posted on a real estate group on Facebook (meaning it would be really popular), as opposed to all of the other places, which I found on Gumtree. The guy from my third option messaged me apologizing and said that he had fallen asleep because he had worked a night shift. He asked if I was close, and I said I could be at his place in ten minutes. The room was really big and it seemed nice - I would be living with a guy and a girl, but it seemed like we would all be living our own lives and keeping to ourselves, which wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I’ve learned that when looking for somewhere to live, even if you have to pay more, you want to choose somewhere that feels like home - where you feel comfortable, and where you feel like your housemates are friends, and not just acquaintances that you say hi to in the

Potluck Dinner

hallway. You feel a vibe, and you go with your gut. While Justin seemed nice, I knew that it would be a different housing situation compared to the other option. I ended up staying and chatting with Justin for about 45 minutes to an hour though, and it’s weird because I actually think that if I had seen his place first, I MAY have decided to go with his place. However, I made up my mind  so I wrote Beena and told her that after seeing all of my options, I had the best vibes from her place. She waited about 7 hours to reply (at 11:30pm) and said that from everyone she met that day and so far, she thought I fit the vibe best as well (yay!). She said she had a few more people coming on Sunday and then she would give me an update. On Sunday, Beena made a group chat between her, me, and Laura, and she asked if I would be able to come over and meet Laura after Canada Day. At five, I took the tram towards the house and it worked out perfectly because Laura was just getting back from Ikea and was moving all of her stuff in. Beena wasn’t home, so Laura and I talked for about 30 minutes and then I went back to the city so I could catch the bus back to Warragul at 7:45. Later that night, Beena messaged and thanked me for coming, and then asked how long I’d be wanting to stay, and I said that my flight to Asia would be December 23rd, so I would stay until then. Then she finally messaged me at 10pm (the waiting was the worst part all weekend - I was going crazy!!) and said that she would be happy to offer me the place!! She then sent me a document with the rent details, and gave me the information for transferring the bond and rent money (and just like that, I saw $2000 leave my bank account 😞). I officially start paying rent for July 7th, and then I’ll be moving in on the 14th so I figured I’ll rent a car, pack up my stuff and move the majority of it this weekend so that when I move on the 14th, I’ll only have to take one bag. On Monday, I got a message from the Richmond house asking if I was interested in the place, because they thought I’d be a good match and would be keen for me to join the house. So I got three requests out of four, which is nice - the positive vibes worked so well! And actually, something good may have come out of the fourth option as well… I wrote Justin and told him it was a close call, but I found somewhere else to live and he replied that it was nice meeting me. He also mentioned that he was planning on doing a graffiti photoshoot soon (he’s a photographer) and he needed a couple of models and was wondering if I’d be interested. So maybe I’ll continue my modelling career in Melbourne! I won’t get my hopes up, but it would definitely be a cool experience, so I’ll see if it happens when I move to Melbourne.  Especially from this experience, I’ve come to realize that under most circumstances, I can make a passable one-on-one first impression. In terms of job interviews, first dates, house interviews, etc., I’m able to keep a conversation going and keep people interested. However, with that being said, I’ve noticed that I DO need help in the second, third, fourth, and fifth impressions. Once we get over the

Me, Akane, and Ryan Reynolds!

whole “getting-to-know-you” mumbo-jumbo, I realize that all of my hobbies are pretty lame and I have nothing to talk about. “Oh, in my spare time? Yeah, I crochet, do crosswords, and bake...” “No, I won’t be going out tonight - I need to get to bed by 9pm.” People soon realize that all I have to talk about is food and my dead cat. And the worst part is that I talk about my cat as if he’s still alive. I bring out my phone to show pictures (yes, I’m that person…) and then when they ask, “How old is he?” or “Is he at your parents’ house now?”, I have to respond with, “Actually, we had to put him down. Like a year and a half ago…” And then it’s followed by an awkward silence that’s filled with that person trying to figure out what to say, and wondering why someone is talking about their cat who died a year and a half ago. Well whatever, I guess we can’t be good at everything.

Since I last posted a blog, I’ve been trying to keep myself busy during the weekends since my time in Warragul is almost over 😞. I only have six days left of work, and I’ll be moving to Melbourne in 9 days! I can’t believe that it’ll have been five months that I’ve been here - the time has went by so fast! Anyway, two weekends ago, Warragul was putting on a Winterfest, so Gabi and I decided to check it out. They had a huge bonfire, as well as tons of food stalls, and some fire dancers. It was such a cute town event to be a part of! On the Sunday, we went to Allen and Viola’s for dinner, which was a potluck so everyone brought their own dish. We got to try tons of yummy food, and meet some other coworkers. On Monday, I went to one of my coworker’s for dinner, and I got to meet his wife and two daughters, who were all so lovely! It’s always nice having a family dinner since they don’t come around very often when you live in a different country, so I really appreciated being invited over. Last weekend, I spent Saturday looking at houses in Melbourne (as you all know) and then on Sunday, I went to celebrate Canada Day! I got on the bus that morning and one of my coworkers (Akane) showed up to join me, which was awesome! We went to the Wharf Hotel and the line-ups were already huge for drinks and food (the RSVP list on Facebook was over 500 people). However, we had to take advantage of Happy Hour because they were offering Caesars for $10 (as opposed to $12). I stood in line for Caesars while Akane stood in line for food, and I ended up getting my drinks just as Akane got to

the front of the line. I ordered my poutine (yay!) for $14, and we ended up waiting for about a half hour for food. The poutine was sub-par… the cheese was too flavourless for me and the gravy wasn’t salty enough, so I guess it was too bland in my opinion. But it was poutine, so I was happy. Akane and I stayed for more drinks (needless to say, it ended up being a pretty expensive day!) and then we walked to the Asian Supermarket before I left to go meet Laura at my new house. This weekend, I’ll just be packing up all of my stuff and then on Sunday, Gabi and I will drive into Melbourne to move my things and do some exploring. Other than that, I don’t have much else to tell you but I guess that this is already getting quite long. Hope everyone’s doing well! Love always

PS Check out the video of the fire dancer!

Good Vibes - Quintino, Laurell