Last Steps in Sydney

Suddenly, after Bali, there was only a week left in Sydney. Four months had spun past and disappeared into a cloud of fine memories. It took a lot of back and forth decision-making in the first month of 2020, but by the end, I was ready to leave. I wanted to get back to teaching and meaningful work without being held back by the limitations that come with a temporary visa.

The last days were full of my favorite things about Sydney: Bondi Beach, good food, live music, and saying goodbye to all of the dear people I’ve known here.

I had time for a Galentine’s brunch at my friend Amanda’s, safely sheltered from the flooding that drenched the city for three days.

My stuff was back in Mike’s apartment, so we go to hang, eat pizza (among other delicious Italian foods), and see some shows. I checked off the last things on my list—nope, I never did do the Harbour Bridge Climb, but I did come away with a sweet lil’ tattoo!

I definitely had tears in my eyes during the last bus ride home from the beach, but they were knowing tears. Nostalgic, grateful, but prepared tears. I was ready for the long road home.

A New Year in Australia

Happy New Year friends and family. I’m just checking in to say that I’m not on fire, but much of Australia is. The beginnings of 2020 have been hectic and emotional around these parts, but I’m thankful to be alive and well.

There are a number of organizations accepting donations, including: Australian Red Cross Disaster Recovery & Relief.

Sydney has been hazy and smoke-filled for a lot of November and December, but life has been going on. There were beach days and New Year’s Eve celebrations, for better or for worse. This is the only picture I took of the fireworks:

The studio where I practice yoga held a four-day Urban Retreat. I spent mornings practicing and learning a lot with one of the best.

I’m attempting a vegan month in January (Veganuary, if you will) like I did last year. I find it helpful to constantly examine our habits and decide if there are any we’d like to adjust, whether it means eating less meat or whatever else feels right to you. I might not do it perfectly, mainly because my parents are coming this month and we may go out for sushi, but I’m going to try my best. And that’s really all we can ever do, isn’t it?

Happy Holidays from Down Under!

Merry (belated) Christmas everyone! I love this time between Christmas and New Year’s when everything seems to slow down and we have more time for what’s most important to us. I had to take a little break from blogging for most of December because I was working almost all day every day. Bauble painting life is serious, but loads of fun! I’m sad that it has come to an end.

For the past week, we worked some crazy hours and busy shifts. On the last night, Christmas Eve, we stayed after to pack up the whole store and have it ready for the stock team to pick up overnight. It felt like moving out of a college dormitory in about two hours, but knowing that it was the last shift made things a little easier.

I’m very happy with the progress I’ve made as an ornament personalizer, maybe it’ll be a good life skill for the future. Here’s week one versus my last week:

Looking back on week one is a little embarrassing and causes disbelief that they hired me, but I guess they trusted that we’d pick it up eventually. After the last shift, I came home and did a little decoration for Christmas. I’m on my own in the apartment, so it felt appropriate to make myself a little table of special things from “Santa”. My coworker even gave me a present and I thought that was so nice!

On Christmas Day, we headed to the beach. It was a very Australian Christmas, which didn’t actually feel like Christmas at all. But it was exciting to see all the Santa hats and outfits out on the beach.

My new friends prepared a bbq and we hung out until it got dark. It was definitely a celebration that I won’t soon forget!

The Big Smoke

Well, I did’t do many outdoor activities on this day off, because it’s been a bit smokey here in Sydney, if you haven’t heard. It’s actually been pretty scary and has left me and I’m sure many others not feeling so good! Today was worse than any of the smoke and fire days I experienced in LA. I’m thankful for having an inside job and feeling bad for anyone who has to be outside. Instead, I made it a day of acai bowl eating, resting, and getting my nails done— all indoors and all very rewarding.

However, yesterday when I got out a little early, I was able to make a small local getaway to Watson’s Bay on the ferry. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea since the ferries aren’t running today due to all of the smoke and low visibility, but yesterday the skies weren’t as bad and there were many more people out and about.

After riding the ferry, I found the hiking path that would lead me to this sweet sandy cove:

Past some wild rock formations:

And eventually to this striped lighthouse:

It’s the Horny Lighthouse in Sydney Harbour National Park, and I’m glad I included it as an after work adventure. Tomorrow I’m back to the “office” (kiosk) and I’ll be staying inside until the winds change direction!

New Towns

Wahoo! I just found out that tomorrow will be a day off after working twelve days in a row. The twelve days of Christmas for an ornament decorator are just a repetitive loop of me trying to maintain my sanity amidst never-ending queues and wild customer requests. Nope, your custom painted ornament won’t be ready and dry in under five minutes and I surely cannot write ten words on it. Try a greeting card, maybe? As you can tell, we’re very much in the Christmas spirit around here.

After a few fifty hour work weeks, I’m not sure what to do with myself tomorrow. Usually when I’m off work, I like to check out new parts of the city. One of my favorites is Newtown. Mike and I have gone a couple times, and I’ve ventured there on my own. There are so many tasty restaurants and cafes to try, I have to keep going back. It could be on the list again for tomorrow, if I don’t feel like going somewhere completely new.

Morning yoga is always on the table, but afterwards, I think I’ll let the day pull me where it wants to. My glue and glitter covered fingernails are looking like they could use some self-care, or maybe another trip to the cinema is in order? No matter what happens, I’ll be reveling in the rare feeling of being able to do what I want when I want to. I hope you find little bits of joy in your day, too.

Brush Strokes

Whoa! Hi! Hello, December. I hope that if you’re reading this, it’s December where you are, too. I’ve been quite busy working at my new job in Santa’s workshop. Somehow it’s happened that I’ve become a seasonal ornament decorator, and I certainly do not hate it. I’ve always wanted to learn hand lettering, and now I have the (paid) opportunity to practice brush script almost all day, every day for a whole month! Isn’t it funny how sometimes life delivers exactly the right goods?

That was our training view. I must have passed the trial, because on the first day I found myself setting up the booth and nervously taking orders by myself. Luckily, one of the trainers came to help me out so I could keep practicing. I’m still learning and I get frustrated when it doesn’t look perfectly how I want it to. After a few days, I didn’t think I was getting any better. But this was my second shift:

And here is my… maybe eighth shift:

I’m trying to think of it like crochet, where I felt clumsy and awkward when my grandma was teaching me, thinking I would never figure it out, and now I can do it with my eyes closed, watching a movie, and in all sorts of patterns. Hopefully the improvement continues over the next 24 days!

If this weekend was any indication, things at work are going to be rather hectic from Black Friday until Christmas Eve, but the shifts fly by and I’m enjoying myself. What more can you ask for from a job?

In the free hours, I’ve been treated to some perfect park sunrises on the walk to yoga. I’ve found more exotic birds—these pink ones in particular, neighborhood restaurants, and the yummy gelato place that’s juuust long enough of a walk away to give you some exercise on the way there and back.

I love seeing all the cockatoos around here!

House Hunting in Sydney

Big news today… my house search is over! After browsing flatmate finder, gumtree, and three different Facebook groups for 2.5 weeks, I found and got approved for a room yesterday in the Surry Hills neighborhood. It was definitely one of those “when you know, you know” situations.

I was tiring of looking at places, even though I’d only gone to see about six. Everything moves fast in Sydney, so when you see a place posted online, it’s usually available within the next few days to a week. I knew I still had time before Mike gets back from his work trip, so I was being kind of picky and waiting for one that felt right. I had seen a few that I was on the fence about—great locations or nice quality, but something was always just a bit off. I finally found two that I nudged and convinced myself into wanting—one was right near the gorgeous park pictured below, but they both ended up falling through.

Feeling a little disheartened, I took a couple days off from desperately clicking links and wrote down a list of what I really wanted/needed. I scheduled two viewings for the weekend and ended up falling for the second one. It’s a reasonable dream within my budget— lots of light, next to a big park, decent-sized furnished room with storage, and a couple of seemingly cool/fun/interesting-yet-responsible flatmates. There were even some added bonuses that I didn’t think to ask for: an indoor pool and a little gym downstairs!

I saw the little graphic below in someone’s Instagram story later on, and it resonated with me. When I found the one, there was no self-convincing or desperate reconciling. I had a feeling of certainty, and I was glad that the other places hadn’t worked out.

{via}

I’ll be moving next weekend, and I’m excited to do some settling in! I’ve been living out of one suitcase for the time so far, so I’ll be glad to remember what the heck I packed in my other bags. More photos to come soon!