MELBOURNE
So I’ve always wanted to live overseas by the time I was 30.
It’s right there on the bucket list, between attending Eurovision and having
something named after me. Well thankfully all that is about to happen...but I’m
getting ahead of myself...
The Kiwis had planned since I’ve known them (2 years, for
some this could be considered too long) to move over to the UK in May 2013. And
then in November last year my company announced they would be going through a
re-structure the following January and this would lead to voluntary redundancies.
Now I had been with said company for 6 years and thoroughly hated the job, it
was only meant to supplicate finances whilst I was at uni. And since my
calculated redundancy would be quite handsome, I quickly put my hand up to jump
ship! But what was I to do with all this money?
Eurovision last year was won by the brilliant Loreen from
Sweden (no one else was even close) and so that meant this year’s contest would
be held in Sweden. Now those that know me are fully aware that not only am I
obsessed with Eurovision, but I also quite adore all things Svenska. Especially
IKEA! So I knew that some of the money was gonna go into getting me to Malmo.
And since it would coincide with when the Kiwis planned on touring Europe I
thought I might tag along.
Then over the Christmas break I had a thought, what was
keeping me from moving over there as well. I had nothing keeping me in Melbourne
except my loved ones and completing my Honours, and I was finishing up my
Honours by June; why not just bring it forward. So telling everyone my plan of
staying in Europe after my tours was met with mixed emotions, from jubilant hugs,
to jealous pouts to flat out forbidding me to go. And that was just The
Molefaces! (That’s the affectionate term for my group of friends who are the
most important and vital part of my Melbourne life)
So getting my life in order in the space of 4 months would
be easy for someone organised, but for me it was an ordeal. And to say that it
was a tumultuous time would be understating (I’m sure you’ll get used to my
flair for overdramatising things). Finishing my Honours 2 months early was
hard, but also surprisingly easy. Aside from the eventual goodbyes to people,
the hardest part was not being able to find a job once mine ended. This ate
into my Europe fund a little, but thankfully selling as much of my possessions as
possible would make up for it. The only problem was that I am such a hoarder
that organising 9 years of stuff (how long I’ve lived in Melbourne) was a
daunting task. So all of my stuff got shipped up to my family in the country,
where my beloved sister Dot is undergoing the task of selling what I couldn’t.
She has helped me out so much that I’ve tried to convince her to move with me!
April is always a busy month for The Molefaces, we have 3 of
the 9 members having their birthday then. And this year we had a milestone,
with Leah turning the big 3-0. So aside from celebrating, we we’re busy filming
a montage for Leah, as well as it felt like I was shutting down my Australian
life. Unbeknownst to me they were also filming a going away montage for me! The
4 months flew past so quickly, and before I knew it I was tearfully hugging goodbye
all those that were important to me. Sure I was heading into the biggest
adventure of my life, not to mention ticketing some high ranking things off my
bucket list, but I am not a big fan of change and love my very close support
network. So deliberately putting half the world between us left me with
crippling mixed emotions. Thankfully we live in an age where they are literally
a video chat away!
But there is no turning back now, my bags are packed (it’s
sad to know your life fits into a 23kg suitcase) and I’m leaving on a big jet
plane for the land of Europa! But of course, we wouldn’t get there without a
stop over to see Hay Rae in Hong Kong....
