A quote that i have had to remind myself of over and over since coming down is this:
"Everything i've ever done that ultimately was worthwhile... initially scared me to death".
And that about sums up where i am at right now. Calm but terrified.... but certain that i am in the right place to continue my life. I will only live the life that I create for myself. The perfect life will not just "happen" to me. And with that - i intend to create the life that i desire.
I won't go as far to say that this trip was inspired by Star Wars, but he makes a point.
So where do we start. Having lived in a van for months prior to moving - (- will now replace my unuseable comma) i was not ready to sleep on a couch (or force Jess to share her bed!) for too long. The first thing i did upon arrival (apart from contact my family to let them know that I was alive) was sleep. But the NEXT day I started my quest for somewhere to live. I came across two ads that jumped out at me and contact both of them to organise a meeting. One in Brunswick East with two lovely "socially and environmentally aware" girls in Brunswick East, and another in Abbotsford with a Pommy IT guy and 2 Canadian travellers. Although the rent for this second place was faaaaar out of my price range, the Pom's ad write up reminded me of my dear old friend Nic and I just HAD to meet him!
I had the chance to meet the girls a few hours after contacting them (and laughing at the potential hilarity that would ensue if we lived together, since one of the two was also called Renee), so finished my first Melbourne pour over (I went to Touchwood in Richmond by myself, and almost didnt get a seat it was so busy!) and then drove over to Brunswick with a car full of my life.
Now I admit to not being the best driver - there have been times where I have forgotten to do a head check before changing lanes, and in one awkward scenario, drove through a red light, on the wrong side of the road, at night, without lights on (dont judge me). But Melbourne roads are insane. Suuuuuuure everything is on a grid and logically designed, but there are yellow lines on the road next to white ones, next to tram tracks, next to pedestrian islands, next to traffic lights where you have to turn right from the left lane while checking the opposite traffic, the traffic going straight AS WELL AS checking for trams both ways. All the while ensuring that when you do finally get the chance to go, the lights are still green. Needless to say, I am pretty sure on that 20min journey, I did numerous illegal u-turns, merged without indicating, probably pulled in front of a car or 2 without enough room between us and most likely drove through a red left turn light.
And still not a single ticket!
The house was in a great area though and really reminded me of Copenhagen with the town houses and the little balconies and everything being, well, cold. Luckily for me, it is only about 10 mins from my long lost cousin (more on her soon!). The girls were really great, love having Offspring sessions over tea, have a worm farm and are ok with me making a vertical garden. I think I can fit in here.
Upon telling my family about moving, my dear Aunty Gen reminded me that I have a cousin down here. I mean, she is my Mum's Aunts cousins daughter but she is still family!!! I had previously met her once when she visited from Griffith when we were about 10, but nonetheless we are family. That counts :) So I let her know I was moving down, and we organised to catch up. Since I still have hardly any idea of where I am or what tram to catch, she was lovely enough to come to Richmond so we could go to Touchwood and I could order the Danish Smørrebrød I had noticed on their menu when I ordered coffee.
And they spelt it right!
I waited for Alex at the train station, with a memory of a 10 year old with much cooler hair than me all I really had to go off. Waiting at the almost desserted train station, this chick with the most incredible cool hair walks down with a studded leather jacket and a "I am amazing and you should want to be friends with me" air. Which I did. It was incredible how I had met her once but instantly felt so comfortable around her! Perhaps she reminded me of my other amazing Melbourne cousin Jess who is so sure of herself that she doesn't need to do anything to impress anyone, and as such, ends up impressing everyone! We headed to Touchwood and, like true Italian cousins, talked and talked and talked. Like we hadn't basically just met for the first time! Lucky for me, Alex lives nearby (and can cook!). A part of me feels like I have cheated on this "difficult, angsty life move". Yes I packed up my life and moved almost 2000km away with no job or house, but in 2 days, I have made a bunch of potentially good friends, pretty much found a house, and can now work out where north is! We had a delicious lunch (she got waffles but I stuck to my other roots and got the smørrebrød with laks, celeriac remoulade and radish on really really dark rye.... mmmm mmm mmm). Alex welcomed me to Melbourne by shouting lunch and said that when I got a job, I could shout her. She gave me some great advice on applying for jobs and how to go about it, and I left feeling really motivated!
I have totally got this.
I got home, jumped under the covers (IT IS SO COLD!) and instantly started shooting off my resume left right and centre. A comment Alex made about "if they have their address or phone number, go in or give them a call" came to mind when a pub/hotel job came up. It was about a month old, but I thought I would try my luck. I rang the number and a lovely guy answered. We had a bit of a bitch and moan about the state of hospitality workers and after a lot of laughing and complaining, he offered me a trial. Without even having read my resume. Yay! He even made a joke when he left a voicemail on my phone later. I think this could be fun.
After organising all that, I had another room appointment with a guy named Andy. We met for $4 sushi (by which he meant 3 for $4 of the days dry leftovers) and I was a little concerned. I am not really a fan of cheap fish or old rice. We chatted about everything but the house and I found out that he has seen more of Australia than me, his mum write recipes for Jamie Oliver and he does improve comedy as well as being a champion ... dancer... of some sort. When I asked what it was (some sort of jive I believe?) he pulled me down a dark alley way (clearly you're warning system for slightly crazy have malfunctioned Renee!) and we danced. Ha ha!
Anyways, Mum I am alive, I was not attacked or robbed in the alleyway, and Jess and I are now off to a second hand furniture store to buy furniture for the HOUSE I just got accepted into in Brunswick. Yay!
Who feels like they are just faking knowing how to live life right now?....... me!
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