checking in....

I haven't forgotten this place. just been lacking inspiration to write here.

Melbourne is beginning to see summer and i am getting excited about all the ridiculously fun things that it will bring with it.  Nothing can beat waking up each morning seeing the sun beating down. it makes you actually want to be alive and awake and living in it.

im beginning to realise that i am finally seeing Melbourne as my home. it took almost 2 years but i finally have found myself slotted comfortably into its lifestyle.

im sure i will be inspired soon to update you on my adventures.....just know that there have been many. and will be many more to come.....

much smiles

<3

spring time!

Spring has come to Melbourne. It's off to a shaky start but there's a definate change in the air. The nights are warmer. The days are longer and brighter. It's a good feeling.

Australia is funny with it's seasons.  The north just has the two:
"Dry" - April to October
"Wet" - November - March

The rest of australia has the traditional 4 - but being a law unto itself they don't bother splitting it up into anything scientific. Its just determined by the months (and of course back to front) which makes things a lot easier!!!
Sept - Nov is Spring
Dec - Feb is Summer
March - May is Autumn
June - August is Winter

Of course, Melbourne is probably one of the few cities over here that has clear distinctions between these seasons. But that's kinda nice too...! :)

Melbourne got voted the most liveable city recently too (go Melbourne!!) and really it does deserve such a title. Just this past few weeks I have partaken in only a small part of what it has to offer.

Last Sunday i went to an ice hockey match in the Docklands (yes...i know Ice Hockey - in Australia!! - quite ridiculous). It was the Melbourne Mustangs Vs Canberra Knights.  I don't know much (anything!) about Ice Hockey so have no idea if these teams had any skill or were more akin to high school teams....! But we managed to blag ourselves front row seats regardless :) It was only a short game - 3 lots of 15 minutes. Towards the end the action heated up when the players decided to beat the living crap out of each other....! Definate highlight. It all seemed very bizarre but apparently is part of the game.... ??!!! Entertaining anyway. and Melbourne won!!! Not bad for a tenner :P

Fist Fight!!

After the match everyone decided to go for drinks in the city. I wasn't so keen having still been battling a hangover from the alcohol fueled Saturday night before. I decided at the last minute i may as well give it a go, with no intention to drink. We decided on a bar on a laneway (all the best Melbourne bars are in laneways!) in the city called LillyBlack.  It looked pretty fancy and expensive, so my friend Craig asked them their price range.  The response? "$0 - $600!" zero you say?? It turned out it was the bars birthday and certain pints, slushy margaritas and gin n tonics were all....completey free. all night. until the bar was dry.  In disbelief of our good fortune we promptly filled the table full of free drinks and let the alcohol flow...and flow....!

Several hours and a Hungry Jacks (Thats Burger King to those Non - Aussies) Veggie Burger later I was stumbling home wondering if it was at all possible that life could get much better....!

Weekdays have of late mostly been consumed by work. and despite a determined attitude to squeeze in as much fun as possible to the "real life" I am now supposed to be living (however real life can be living in another country) - I have been forced to take a step back to recooporate recently.  Weekends tend to rush on full steam ahead (this weekend has been a blur of vodka, hip hop, rock, soul, aussie stereotypes and shopping!). Tonight i was supposed to go my favourite aussie irish pub in Flemington to watch late night Irish Football (apparentely??) but i have had to admit defeat and stay home.

After all, there is always another weekend around the corner.

Bring on the Spring, Melbourne! We're ready for you!!

xx

sunday hike

its been a while since my weekend has involved much that doesn't include the majority of it in bed.  Too many weekends have gone by where i have surfaced in daylight only for my 3 hours of volunteer work at Friends of the Earth; my night time hours blindly passed by in my local indie pub. it was time for a change. life was passing me by and i should never be ok with this.

So this weekend, while i did drop in to aforementioned indie bar for a few hours in Friday (although i did manage to leave before the lights went up and i was forced to witness the girls grab the nearest boy and hopelessly drag him towards the door. its pretty depressing times right there!!), i managed to at last make another trip outside of the city.

I do love the city. But i love even more getting out of it.  Victoria is a beautiful state. I'm really lucky to have it surrounding me.  I suppose every Australian state is abit like that though! Today's adventure was to Werribee Gorge State Park.  To be honest, i'd never heard if it - and i often work in Werribee. I'd mentioned it to a work colleague though who said it was stunning and an "easy walk" with only "abit of rock scrambling". (ha i write this with a left hand covered in nettle stings....! and legs that won't move without severe aches....!).

I was picked up by a lady i met on a previous day trip and driven to the exciting suburb of Baccus Marsh. It was actually pretty nice. we got a lovely breakfast at the Jolly Miller Cafe and the sun was shining for the first time all week.  The rest of the group arrived shortly after and then we headed out for the gorge.

the easier bit at the end....!

It was an amazing walk. but certainly challenging! At one point we were hanging from a rope and manouvering around a cliff edge (albeit not very high up! but the river would have been wet if i'd fallen!). 

The gorge was stunning though. And the walk far from boring - despite taking 4 hours to complete the 10kms.  It was varied with some rock scrambling, some paths so narrow you had to cling onto trees...some slippery moss covered mud...wet in place, dry in others, steepish gradients to leisurely strolls and down hill (often on my bum to avoid embarrasing falls). It was probably the most satisfying hike i've done yet. and my hand is indeed still sore from the nettle stings i insisted on sticking my hand in!  amazing day. stunning views. fucking love this country!!!!! :)

Manchester Memories

Just got back from seeing Elbow at the Palace Theatre in Melbourne.  It was so much better than i would have expected, I wasn't so sure about going by myself initally, but i felt completely at home.  The venue was at least half (if not completely by the people i spoke to) full of UK citizens.  It's hard to describe when you haven't lived in another country, the amount of love that can be felt for a place just by hearing an accent.  I've noticed it alot since i moved here. Hearing a  Manchester accent, in itself something not exactly considered desirable, makes me happier than i would have ever imagined!  Watching a band like Elbow live, makes me proud beyond words of where i come from.  If they ever stop making Shameless (the most regular "hit" of Manchester  I get these days) I'm not quite sure how i would cope! and i'll admit...the experience has made me more than a little homesick.  It's been a while since that happened. Despite my far more fun and exciting life over here, Manchester means the world to me.  It struck me it's been almost a year since i saw it.  Last year I landed back there a year to the day I left (i don't think the hyperactivity wore off for the full 2 weeks i was back!).  Soon it will be the longest i've ever been apart from England.  It feels strange.

no regrets though. just happy, good, amazing and very much treasured memories :) And I know that no matter what, it will always be waiting for me. <3

xxxx

i haven't ever really found a place that I call home....

Its always suprises me how quickly life can flash between amazing, devasting, friendly, cruel, exciting, restless...It makes me more determined than ever to hold tightly to the moments that make me smile. it gives my mind something to wrap itself around when the shit falls.

currently feels like the shit is raining hard, although in reality it's only a shower. i find the time to keep smiling. its important.

Good things are still happening in this city- but it's winter - and starting to get cold.  Of course, cold is relative. By England standards this is closer to autumn, with an added chill in the early mornings and late at night.  But the days are mostly grey and the rain seems neverending some weeks. Nights out necessitate big coats and scarfs, that have no place in the scummy bars of Fitzroy that I like to waste away my weekends in.  Some days suprise you with sun though - even if for only an hour or two. it's enough.

I have found myself with several live gigs on my agenda.  I am going to see Elbow tomorrow night (oooh Manchester i still <3 you!) and Pulp on Friday. Last minute tickets from Ebay helped with that! I also have Gomez tickets for next month. I will not turn my back on my English roots!! Of course, giving the aussies a go too. I saw the Panics not long back, and am seeing Dead Letter Circus in August too. Some new friends from my Friends of The Earth job have also promised to keep me up to date on the local acoustic/folk rolk scene.  I missed music. I am now at one with my ipod again (and have managed to lay my feud with itunes to rest).


I have definately been over-doing things lately. it's hard not to get carried away with everything.  I am such a restless person and any adventure put my way is hard to say no to.  I am trying to master the art of saying no (even to myself).  I never quite manage it.  This week i have managed to remain grounded, although I don't think it will last....and sleep is yet to be something I am willing to have enough of....

I was at this Glastonbury 08 watching Elbow. Can't see me in the crowd though...!

back to reality?

I've been back in Melbourne almost a month now.  I had an amazing time travelling again and realised how incredibly important planning that trip was.   I'm glad i made the decisions I made - but it wasn't finished. and now it feels like it is.  I posted on August & Everything After about all of that though....

Being back in Melbourne suprised me.  I was at a point where i was getting disillusioned. But since I've been back I've been able to see how good it always was.

I went to Rosebud the weekend afterI came back and I went horse riding through the bush onto the beach. it was the first time i'd ridden a horse since I was about 8. and it was something i had never really expected to do.

My horse was called Chewy and he looked after me well! :)

I've tried to stay Melbourne based since then though.  I've decided my local indie night is tolerable afterall.

I am more determined than ever to get a car so i can see more but for now i am perfectly able to make the most of what i have.



I'll be heading back to Manchester next May for 3 weeks....but before that i've booked cambodia and vietnam for my 30th.

If you had told me this would be my life at 30 i'd have laughed in your face.

thank fuck i was wrong!

x

autumn is falling

Not really been posting of late but I have been super busy with exciting things. There have been more day trips - i went to Lake Mountain a few weeks back for a little hike.  On the way we stopped in Marysville where the bush fires were a while back.  Most of it had grown back but apparently it looked quite different as alot of the old buildings/shops and cafes were gone. very tragic. However despite this, it was really beautiful and autumnal.  i got a few good photos....

On the way back we also stopped in Warburton. It was a very cute little place with an amazing polish restaurant. Really friendly polish family running it who sat and chatted to us while we ate!  It had cute wooden tables, painted ceilings, and amazing polish food with a ridiculous amount of veggie options which is highly unusual! found a random webpage about it here clicky click .

so overall - an amazing day :)

After several months of not so great nights out I have also been seeing improvments there too! Melbourne is quite comparable to London, in my opinion, for its nightlife. and its still taking me a while to really adapt to it.  Its very impersonal, pretentious and cliquey. i've found quite often because i'm not blonde, or at least fit into the "indie" stereotype, i am largely ignored in the places i have been going.  The closest to manchester i would compare it to is the Northern Quarter, which i was never particularly fond of in the first place!! I was once someone who had no problem approaching anyone on a night out, but i've noticed a huge decline in my confidence in that area since i moved here, to to point where i really do not even attempt to. There's only so many funny looks and uninterested responses one can take!  I miss the community of the Manchester alternative scene  - even in the indie scene!! But sometimes i also think its a combination of that and maybe i have to accept i am no longer 21 and getting wasted till i fall over and crawl home alone in a taxi so i can throw up all Sunday is no longer quite so appealing...!

But anyway, i digress..! The last few weekends have been better! I was invited to a warehouse party a few weeks back, which wasn't like the ones i have been to before i.e lots of drugs/cheap wine/loud music/ and crazy techno blasting.... This one was chilled, full of friendly, chatty people and with live acoustic bands/muscians playing all night.  One of them even did a cover of Blind Melon <3 There was also free mulled wine and veggie soup!  I got invited by the people i work with at Friends of the Earth (every sat i do voluntary work in their cafe/bookshop). Will definately be joining them again at the next one!

Anyway this is getting pretty long.  In 3 days I am setting off travelling again for 5 weeks so fun times ahead! (and sun Melbourne is fucking FREEZING!!)

I will leave this with a list of what i plan to do more of in the next few months...

Travel (obviously)
improve my photography
make more sewing things!
learn to knit (my friend at Friends of the Earth has said she will teach me)
cook more interesting food
send postcards back home (email me your addresses!!)

xxxxx

I gave in.....

I joined the evil world of Apple.

It does mean I can now play music in a lovely docking thingy in my flat so I have music. It also means I can go travelling in 1.5 weeks time and have music on the road trips for more than 5 mins before my phone battery dies....

It took me 4 hours last night to sort out my itunes. it keeps crashing. but i finally beat the bastards.

i'm a stranger in this town

Easter Weekend 2011

5 days off work and no plans.

Finishing work early on Thursday i headed to North Melbourne to get my dreadlocks tidied up as they were once more attempting to meld into one jumbo dread of shame. A tip off from my new colleague - while having yet another conversation about the things i miss about england (namely decent curry and beer) and what i love about melbourne (amazing veggie food) - enlightened me to the existance of Urban Burger which is situated 5 mins from where i was having my hair done. Convinentely it is also placed next to a bottle shop that stocks Hoeegarden.  So the long weekend began with an extremely happy Debs :)

Declining a night out on Thursday, reasoning there would be plently more opportunities in the coming days, i agreed to take a roadtrip to Bells Beach on Friday to go to the RipCurl Pro surfing competition with some friends.  Unfortunately, all the car hire places were booked up, but we realised it was actually cheaper to venture there on public transport.  This was pretty successful as things go and one train and two buses later we were at Bells Beach in the sun, watching surfers :) it felt very Australian. It doesn't often feel Australian in Melbourne (sometimes its hard to decide what country you're in!!).  But this definately was as aussie as it gets - beaches, sunshine, dreadlocks, surfers and sunshine.yay!

Unfortuntely, as the day wore on, my body decided to begin its slow but sure decline into the world of the cold that did not disappear till today (Tuesday). but not to be deterred...i still went to a comedy night on my return to Melbourne. Melbourne's International Comedy Festival has been around since the end of March and this was the final weekend.  I've actually managed to go to quite alot of it this year, unlike my poor attendance of one show last year (which only had British comedians! shameful!)

Anyway, i digress....

Saturday I locked myself indoors to recover from the cold (it didnt work) and once more declined another night out drinking.....

Sunday was sunny and outdoors was inviting so i decided to take myself on an hour long train jouney to Frankston.  Nobody goes to Frankston unless they have to. No one has a reason to go to Frankston.  So why was i going? sand sculptures of course!!!!

to be fair they were pretty amazing !! and i was pleasantly suprised there were even some tim burton inspired ones which i wasn't expecting...The only downside was it was quite small and only took 30 mins or so to look round (if you took your time getting good pictures - which of course i did!!).  I was also still pretty sick with my cold and my eyes were red, swollen and watering the whole time. So 2 hrs on a train for 30 mins was a little excessive.... other than amazing sand art... Frankston was as i expected it to be. a shit hole. but fuck it, it's ticked off the list, and i'll likely have no reason to ever return.....!

Again I was supposed to go out drinking Sunday night too. up until the last minute i actually convinced myself i might go...but my ambitious day trip had taken its toll and i was tucked up in bed by 9pm.

Monday was Anzac day and I had booked myself onto a road trip down the great ocean road with some randoms off  meetup.com.  I had no idea what to expect but decided what the hell and found myself outside Melbourne Central Station at 8am to meet an aussie lady, a south american lady and a danish man.  They were all abit older than me and i was a little apprehensive about the whole thing....but actually...it was awesome! We went down to Anglesea and stopped off at a garage sale where i got some bargainess cushions for $1 each! Lunch in Lorne, koala spotting (which i never seem to tire of) and we made it all the way to the twelve apostles. we stopped for dinner in Geelong where I had the most amazing chili mussels ever :) yum! but didnt get home till 10pm - exhausted and still full of cold - so once more missed out on a gig and planned evening festivities.

Next Sunday I'm going to Lake Mountain with the same people and some others as well thought. Gotta love random, unexpected adventures!

So now the holidays are almost over and I'm finally recovering from my cold just in time to return to work tomorrow.  As you do...!  I managed to have a fun filled spontaneous 5 days despite a complete absence of alcohol (aside from the Hoeegarden of Thursday....god i miss that shit!!) or nights out. Feels a little strange....!

whats better though. 3 weeks left of work and its 5 weeks of travels!!!!!!!


see how good life can be when you put some effort in?!

xxx

passing some time at work

So my new job is as expected for the time being. pretty quiet!! The actual work when i get to do it is great, there just isn't much of it right now. It'll happen in time, and i really don't wanna complain about being paid to do very little.  I think i just need to get more internet interests so i have more to do than refresh facebook. im sure the internet is full of many facinating reads....its just when faced with a whole day to find it i come up kind of blank.

today i have taken to learning how to crochet my dreads. not the roots thats too hard. but the loose hairs. so im being productive :)

I am getting closer and closer to my 5 week travels and starting to get quite keen for the time to hurry up and get here! I can't wait to be back on the road, meeting new people, drinking on school nights and watching the world go by on the bus journeys. i love living in Australia and having this stuff right on my doorstep. i'm so lucky!

I have also joined some hiking groups on meetup.com.  Which is basically a website that has 1000's of groups you can join of every interest, and then meet up with new people who like the same stuff.  I accidentely gatecrashed a meetup group while out drinking on Friday night (2-4-1 drinks from 5pm - 10.30pm in New Gurenica in the city - genius way to be passed out by 11.30pm :P).  They seemed like really friendly people, so now i'm inspired to attend their's as well as other meetups.  And hiking ones would be awesome as its outdoors, not meeting drunk people, and fun. so thats exciting!

Im getting to a point where i have so many things i want to do i may be in danger of not doing any of them. so gotta keep it simple to start with, and not try and do everything all at once!

I still want a car though so i can go on day trips more easily.....one day.....!


xxxxxx

a weekend of activity

The weather is changing in Melbourne now, earlier than expected.  To be fair, it never really got going compared to last summer. There were the odd days of sun and heat but on  the whole it was very overcast, wet, humid at times and grey.  Its hard to communicate this to people back home of course.  I always imagined the same when people complained about Melbourne weather - that really it would be amazing to someone from England compared to what we were used to. And the term "cold" couldnt really exist here. Well it does. and it rains as much as manchester sometimes. which is disappointing to say the least. but melbourne has so much to do and so much to experience that it is still the most liveable city in Australia in my humble opinion.  so that balances out the shitty weather.  on saying that melbourne can also suprise you in ways you weren't expecting. today i awoke shivering in 5 degrees and wrapped up for work in a hat, coat and boots. Its now 1.30pm, glorious sunshine and blue skies :) but of course i'm office based all day today but it looks nice out of my window!

Most weekends i don't plan anything anymore.  For one, I don't know that many people anymore and if i had to find people to do things with every weekend i might find this quite a challenge...! but also because unplanned weekends are always more spontaneous and exciting anyway and include much more than you could ever plan intentionally.  This last weekend i went to a Children's farm and played with goats, Merri Creek (shortly before being rained on) and my very first AFL (aussie rules football) game!  Obviously everyone knows ive never been a sports fan of any kind.  but living in melbourne its just something that i feel has to be done. and it was really fun too - i'd probably go again!

So there you go! Fun times :)

xxxxx

and so it begins!

I started a new job this week back in the mental health sector. its only day 3 but i know i'll love it. the new people i work with are lovely and already they have taken me for a welcome lunch and tomorrow we are finishing work early for happy hour in the pub! and you ask why i'm staying in Melbourne??

I have also been going to a craft group organised through work for the past 4 weeks and i have made a butterfly cushion!

so now i will be beginning my cuddly toy making collection! i am also making a butterfly tote bag that is half way done.

xxxx

Starting Over....

August 2009. exactly one year and eight months ago, i came to Australia to travel . part of me always knew i would stay here.  I had never been travelling before (except a few family holidays as a child and some short weekend breaks to Europe, and always with a friend or two).  I have had a facination with Australia since I was a child, but i always saw it as too far away to ever contemplate actually going to. i always saw myself as "not the travelling kind".

I was 27 years old.  I had a career set up as a Social Worker in Manchester. I had more friends than one person would ever know what to do with who would do pretty much anything for me.  I had a beautiful apartment that i called "the palace".it had heated floors and a balcony and a bathroom that wouldnt be out of place in a hotel.  I had a car. enough savings to think about a mortgage. i had a life.

but fuck it. i gave it up and I moved to Melbourne.

Before i left England. flights booked. resignation letter posted. apartment keys handed back to the agent. i met up with my very first boyfriend in my hometown. he told me how he had never stopped loving me and how he had never met another girl like me.  I told him he was crazy. we were 15 years old back then. we went as far as  holding hands while i accompanied him on his paper round.  he told me he knew then he could never be enough for me.  he told me i was always looking for something more....

2 weeks to my flights, a lifetime of failed relationships, with all my belongings in boxes and only a rucksack full of my future. his words hit home hard.

but here i am. one year and eight months later. i might always be looking for something more. but really,  i don't regret any of it.

after all i still have a good job. a quirky apartment to myself and a small local collection of awesome friends. a whole world full of others.

life in Melbourne is certainly different to life back in England.  Sometimes i feel incredibly lost.  but mostly im just too busy living to notice....

and so it began, begins and will become.