As mentioned, I have a job :) Back to my roots of retail; as insignificant as it sounds, sometimes I feel it as is my true calling: fashion + people <3! Although you are right, Kev; probably not the best idea to have a job where I may be spending more than I am making but it really is meant to be. Octavia & Grace was the first store I stepped foot in when I landed in Melb'n. What attracted me to the store were the yellow envelope shorts on the mannequin - a gorgeous addition to my wardrobe might I add. My boss is quite trusting and gave me a set of keys on my first shift and I was told I'd be closing the store... And have been doing so ever since. Basically, I am free to run the store how I see fit and close whenever I want; talk about empowerment! It's a great feeling and I'm glad nothing is set in stone because on a night like Thursday, where it was cold and shoppers were few and far in between, I was glad I could close up early and go home to a warm bed. I worked it out with the girls and I work Monday to Friday (although Fridays until 11 PM - dreadful!) and get all weekends off for traveling :)
I officially move into my new pad on October 30th. Just signed my 6 month lease! That is the longest commitment I have made in years - EEK! Talk about freak out! Some of you back home have asked what my travel plans are but there are too many moving factors that I can really be certain. I'm setting up a "home base" in Melb'n for the next six months and I'll go from there. However, I am booking a trip to New Zealand for the end of November. Two weeks of vacation from my vacation - seriously, I am living the dream!
In the month that I have been here, I have learned quite a few things. Back home, we associate the term 'easy going' with Aussies and I am in absolute agreement. I reckon it has much to do with the accent - they don't pronounce the 'er' at the end of words but rather, replace it with an 'a' sound. Try it! Makes everything sound betta! It's been a bit of a struggle switching between Canadian and Aussie lingo since have some very different names for things: How ya goin'? - how are you?
How ya travellin'? - how
Pork roll or satay roll - viet subs
Jumpers - pullover sweaters
Pies - meat pies and not a dessert; I thought it was strange when Lachie and Tessa served pumpkin pie WITH the turkey at Thanksgiving. You two are too funny!
Playsuit - romper
Doona - duvet cover
Hen's night - staggette
Bucks's night - stag
Milk bar - convenience store where you buy milk
To the shops - going to the mall
Icy poles - popsicles
Lollies - any type of candies
Flat white - latte with no foam
Aussie's are admittedly very lazy when it comes to spelling out words or saying a full word; they seems to shorten most things, even if they don't really make sense...
Arvo - afternoon
Servo - gas station
Ropeable - very angry
Cuppa - cup of
Mackers - McDonald's
Nowuz - no worries
It's such a melting pot here, and there are so many people travelling through, each day is a new day of learning cultural differences and lingo. I love it :) Yesterday, I went on a tour with the Newbies group to Phillip Island to the koala conservatory and to see the Penguin march. It was chilly day and I am still cold this morning but it was so worth it. The koalas (they do not use the word 'bear') were hanging lazily in the tree; it was cool to see but nothing too exciting. Apparently, they also all have chlamydia?! But I still want to hold one... The penguin march was indescribable (but I shall try)! At dusk, hundreds of these 30 cm penguins swim up to shore and march into land, where they spend the night. Once they are on the land, there are platforms to stand to witness them waddle, up close. It got dark really fast and me, being me, forgot my glasses. So we waited until some seats cleared up and moved closer to witness their swim up before moving on to watch them walk on land. Despite their size, they are really quick! Probably because they use the weight of their belly to help them plunge forward. We weren't allowed to take pictures since the flash hurts their eyes, but me being the Asian tourist that I snuck a pic, sans flash. Don't roll your eyes, lots of non Asians tried to as well; they just weren't as stealthy and were asked to put their camera away. After the 12 hour tour, I headed out to the 'burbs for a Jungle themed party. Had no relation or relevance to Halloween but everyone was dressed up as a jungle animal. Danny went as the actually jungle! Good times, great music and even better drinks! Thanks Reg! There is a fascination Aussie's have with onesies; everyone seems to own one... And they will do whateva (see what I did there?!) to wear them! I don't know many adults who are so eager and willing to pay $70 to revert back to infancy! Although it was so cold yesterday, I wanted to wear two.
Another thing I learned this week: Aussie's celebrate events after the date has occurred. While we Canadians are celebrating Halloween and doing our pubcrawl thing (one thing I do REALLY miss! Our group themed Halloweens. Neither Kenny and I are there so nothing is planned?! #disappointed!) this weekend, Halloween 'parties' won't take place here until next weekend. So Thursday is cocktail party with the girls; Friday is costume party with the Newbies and Saturday is Derby Day! Not sure if I should break tradition and go with the non black and white outfit or if I should just try to blend in?! Either way, this upcoming week is an exciting one.
30 days plus and the common question is, do you miss Calgary? To which, in all honesty, I don't. I miss aspects of Calgary, like having dinner with my dad and hearing his 'dad jokes' in person (rolling my eyes over FaceTime just isn't the same LOL); seeing the babies every weekend - can't believe I'm missing Rylee and Emilia's first Halloween! Heartbreak! But my good friends have been doing a stand up job in keeping contact over iMsg, Whatsapp, FaceTime, and most recently BBM!! Can we stop for a moment here to say hallelujah?! I don't care what anyone says, I will and always be an avid fanatic of BBM. Okay, I will settle my inner nerd now. I've heard that the 3 month and 6 month mark are the hardest but I will tackle those hurdles as they come. And since 3 months will be on Christmas Day, don't be surprised if your phones blow up with holiday greetings and caps locked I MISS YOU. You have been warned :)
Today's plans are to shop! I need to find my Derby Day and Stake's Day outfits. And to shop for new sheets and decor for my new place. Expensive month but luckily, I'm employed! Stay tuned!
xx
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