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