Putting pen back to paper.

It’s been over a year since I last wrote to you all and since then, many things have happened. None of which I chose to write about. Every now and then some of my more eager readers occasionally ask why this is, and if I will ever write again. 

Well I hope this entry helps answer the latter as yes, I intend to write again. The truth is, despite having no experience or expertise in this area, I really enjoy writing as another creative output (one of many I tend to have - too many possibly!) And from some of the feedback I’ve received from friends and family around the world, it seems some of you enjoy reading about my experiences as well.

When I was back home last Christmas with my friends and family, it was the first Christmas I’d had at home in the four years I’ve now been living in Australia. Naturally, I took the opportunity to Skype with friends all across the world as the time difference was not as terrible as when I’m in Melbourne. And our conversation turned back to my blog, as my friend in the States was a keen reader of mine. It was when she asked me why I’d stopped writing that the realisation then dawned on me. I didn’t need to anymore.

That might sound strange to some of you, but for me, this blog was always intended to talk about my new life here in Australia. To give some insight into what it’s really like living here - the key differences between England and Australia. This included everything from the language, the culture, the people, the politics and of course the weather!

When you  move to the other side of the world, you need to make sense of all the new elements and you naturally compare them to what you know - which is how life is where you grew up. Writing this blog helped me to share my experiences with my loved ones at home, to help build the bridge in my mind between my two worlds. It was also an outlet for me to work through living in another country, to come to terms with having left everyone I knew and loved back in the UK and to help overcome my tremendous guilt I have always felt by leaving - and then not returning.

So I’ve come to this realisation of what this blog really was for me - which was my way of reaching out and to try and help forgive myself for moving to the other side of the world, in the pursuit of love and new opportunities which I could never have back in England. And now that I’ve lived here for four years, I feel like I don’t need that anymore. I’ve shared my highs and lows, the funny moments and the hardship of being homesick. I’ve accepted the fact that I finally am starting to feel like I belong, something that has literally taken years and a lot of trial error - and again a lot of laughter mixed with tears. I finally have a secure job that I enjoy, have made friends - hopefully friends for life and have made a home with my beautiful husband who has been nothing but supportive though my emotional journey here in Australia. Another truth of our situation is that both parties have plenty of guilt - just different kinds.

This doesn’t mean that I won’t be writing anymore, or I won’t be sharing any of my funny observations or political frustrations - I’m sure there will be many more to come -  particularly as I’m eligible for citizenship this year - it just means that my writing may take a different angle. There will be times when emotions run high and I might need to reach out once again but for the time being, I feel happy and settled in Melbourne and I’m very much looking forward to our future here and everything that has to bring - good and bad.

So I’ll wrap this up with a massive “thank you” to everyone that has supported me on this journey from all sides of the world - as you’ve read - it’s not been easy but it’s certainly getting easier. I’ve learnt along the way that 24 hours and 10.497 miles apart (my bestie worked that out!) - that's 16,893kms to all my Aussie readers! It’s only been through the love and support of my amazing friends and family across the UK, USA, Finland, Ireland & Spain and the same with my new family and friends in Australia that I’ve truly learnt the meaning of long distance and that time and distance doesn’t mean a thing, because true relationships are always with you in your heart.

On a side note: I don't believe in Valentines Day but my Finnish friend told me it's more of a friendship day there. So happy belated Valentines Day!

With love xoxo

Melbourne coffee snob.

I remember the days where the smell of coffee didn’t do it for me. Instant smelt like burnt, bitter water and fresh was like a punch to the nostrils. It was after my 6 month residence at an art school in Barcelona that I became partial to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.

Thick, dark, creamy with a hit that is more satisfying than any other hit. “Cafe con leche, por favour”. This is how I became a fan of coffee.

However, I was dismayed at the “coffee” that could be found back at home in the UK. I remember when you’d meet up with uni friends over a “coffee” at Starbucks of Costa. With all the creams and syrups and marshmallows galore. To think that I thought that was coffee.

Flash forward 6 years to my current residence in Melbourne – the home of the flat white and a million pop up coffee stands. There seems to be a new cafe, a new coffee opportunity on every corner, with more and more opening every week.

Side street sitting, coffee vans, takeaway rushing with the business man, slowly sipping, never spilling, different roasts and different blends in the many hidden laneway gems, steaming, frothing but never bubbling, skinny latte to an elegant chai there is a coffee for every eye. Turn a corner, another blend, the Melbourne coffee never ends.

Melbourne is a place for serious coffee drinkers. Where school kids pick up a takeaway latte on the way to class and every other person has their own ‘Keep-Cup’ to save the environment whilst they enjoy their tri-daily brew. Because one is never enough.

There are so many cafes and so much coffee that my daily strong skinny latte doesn’t seem to make my heart skip a beat anymore. However, not being a born and bred Melbournite, I am not quite the hardened coffee snob that many of my colleagues are – forgoing the free work coffee machine (an actual coffee bean grinding, espresso making, with hot steamer supplied – just like in a cafe) to choose to pay for their $4 coffee from an actual barista. (In Australia you have to be a trained coffee barista to serve coffee in a cafe. It’s actually quite an art and a popular career choice amongst hipsters. No judgment!)

I am surrounded by coffee snobs – and I have become one! I can now taste the difference in the various ‘brews’, whether that be from Ethiopia or whether it is the popular local St Ali blended roast from St Kilda. And I can definitely taste a bad coffee. It’s a personal choice and an art –just like tea, except it’s easier to make a bad coffee I think.

I like my coffee:

Latte: (Daily choice and go-to-coffee)

-           Strong (double-triple shot)

-           Skinny

-           Hot (but not burnt)

-           Medium-large (a small just isn’t small enough

Macchiato: (After a big heavy dinner following desert and red wine)

-           Strong single shot

-           Skinny froth and a tiny bit of hot milk

-           Hot (but not burnt)

-           Single expresso size

-           Half a teaspoon of natural raw sugar

Flat White: (Very occasionally as a switch from a latte)

-           Strong

-           Skinny

-           Hot (but not burnt)

And on that note, here is my personal list of coffee favourites in Melbourne so far:

Go get one here:

-           Brother Baba Budan – Melbourne CBD

-           Verve Spice – South Yarra

-           Dukes – Windsor

-           Beans and Blooms– South Yarra

-           Globe – Prahan (now changed hands)

-           Little Mule – Melbourne CBD

-           Grace – Fitzroy

-           French Fantasies– South Yarra

-           Padre – South Melbourne Markets

-           Claremont Coffee - South Melbourne Markets

-           Old Barber Shop Cafe – Richmond

-           The Bunyip Cafe – South Melbourne

-           Cafe Sweethearts – South Melbourne

-           Gas – South Melbourne

My not-so-favourites:

-           Drugstore espresso  - South Yarra (not my kind of blend – too citrusy for me)

-           Pillar of Salt – Richmond (terrible service – don’t even bother at the weekend)

-           Tivoli Road Bakery – South Yarra (amazing  bakery but average coffee. Get the croissants though!)

-           Chez Drez – South Melbourne (nice enough but too busy at the weekend where you have to queue in a wait line at the weekends)

Career Crack

I recently saw this post on Facebook and it instantly alleviated some of my current worries.

5 months out from the wedding day and 5 ¾ months from my 28^th birthday, I’d have thought I had it all figured out. Learning from my mistakes in my teen years and “discovering myself” in my twenties. 30 is on the horizon along with becoming a wife, buying a house, owning a dog and rabbit (they will be friends) and hopefully having a family of my own.

Alas. As I evaluate my life on a Tuesday afternoon (I wrote this yesterday) on a rare, sunny autumn day in Melbourne, I realise that maybe I’m not quite there. Newly unemployed after escaping the clutches of yet another workplace destined to send me into an early grave. And I had subscribed t it along with everyone else.

Now that its only 4 months till we leave for the wedding and requiring 6 weeks off, it seems unlikely that a permanent job is on the immediate horizon. However, I’m tempted to believe that this could be a blessing in disguise.

We spend so long in the workplace with the retirement age seaming increasingly out of reach. Factor in university, some travel and a few years of family time and you are still looking at around 40 years working 38 hour weeks – unless you are fortunate enough not to have to.

Now this is obviously less than previous generations, however with the world being so career focussed, I am tempted to believe that with higher competition, expectations , working hours and responsibilities, that today’s working world has hit a peak in stressful working conditions. And it is not working out. With more people now than ever suffering from work-related stress issues including insomnia/sleep disorders, this is not a sustainable strategic plan for long-term growth.

Going back say 12 years when I was a kid, I used to think that the monotony of a 9-5 job was s routine, so typical, aka so conventional. I was extremely career focussed – set on getting my qualifications so I could go to uni to “better myself” and to enjoy the privilege of a “better life” with “higher pay” as it was sold to us prospective undergrads.

Little did I know that a ‘career job’ didn’t fit into this mould of a regular 9-5 job as I was avoiding, but in the worst way possible. Hello late nights, working from home, working weekends and whatever else to ‘prove myself’ in my career, my dedication to each and every role I took.

I could never predict how an industry that you give so much to can take even more back until it is taking things like your health and social life until you feel you have nothing left to give. Or even willingly give.

They say that your 20s is a period of uncertainty, self-discovery and getting to grips with your path in life. Well, I have definitely seen the uncertainty in the last few weeks – if not for many years. Being surprisingly unemployed after giving everything plus more until I ended up  with a sleep disorder psychologist. He is helping but miraculously my sleeping is much better without the anxiety of work.

I have learnt my boundaries in the workplace what I am prepared to give and compromise and what I am not.  Maybe this is what sealed the unemployment deal.

But most importantly I do feel that despite this hurdle I am on a healthier path in life. I have recognised that I have a self-sacrificing schema (Google it if it resonates with you – it could really help) which means I am destined to a decline in my own personal heath in order to benefit someone else. This has drawn me to the conclusion that the fundraising industry can never be an entirely good thing for me.

So, a time to reflect, back-track and to see what I really can do and achieve without all the monkeys, gorillas and other zoo animals on my back. I’d like to go back to my creative routes where I am truer to myself and I can dedicate my time to my health, my life, my future and our future life together.

In the meantime, maybe I should really go back to my routes and get a paper round.

Other updates:

The plant situation is going really well with a large number of reddening chillies and the mint going pretty crazy. The wedding prep is also going well – I think – with invitations to be posted in the next few weeks.  I am attempting to catch up on all the things that you never have time to do as well as getting a new job and wedding stuff.

I shall try to keep my updates more regular – it is one of my resolutions – so keep prodding me ok?

Much love xx

The only way is up!

A very good afternoon to all!

I hope you are all doing well :)

I am definitely having a positive day today-despite the dark clouds and torrential downpour we just experienced!

The only way is up.

Taking positivity out of all situations.

At the moment, we are both having a 'power week' with lots of interviews, meeting with recruiters and interest in us as potential employees and candidates.

Between us this week we are looking at 8  appointments with just as many last week and next week too. I secured 2 interviews and a meeting before breakfast time in my PJs this morning which is a very positive start!

For those who have experienced unemployment, they know the processes, energy, enthusiasm and motivation required to just get up and write the application. Let alone the sales skills, passion and drive to see through an interview, doused with endless lashings of hope, angst and uncertainty. With a sprinkle of confidence of course!

It is easy to fall into the 'unemployment pit of doom' after a while, with those dark days and endless wondering about different applications and when you'll hear back.

We have found that the Melbourne processes are extremely time consuming - with applications open for 4 weeks, with another week for processing, another 2-3  weeks for interviews and maybe another week for a decision, just  for good measure.

The key selection criteria is the killer. An essay on your specific history and employment examples demonstrating all skills ever experienced, ever. With a 250 word limit per section please.

It's definitely draining and a test if endurance. But I guess at least we are going through it together and supporting each other. And still haven't killed each other!

But the trick, as ever to remain positive, remain active and healthy (weather permitting) and to read the book you never have time for, enjoy cooking those meals that always take too long, take up those creative projects at the back of your mind and use it as an opportunity.

Cue my latest lol project-a vintage/retro (buzzword alert!) peg holder with a vintage twine hanger.

What a whizz I'm becoming on the sewing machine!

But in the meantime, we have bought a ticket for this weeks Power ball Lottery and if anyone does have a job in mind, let me know- haha!

Much loves as ever and a MASSIVE HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR YESTERDAY TO MY NOT-SO-LIL BRO ADAM!!! 

T-minus 8 days till the Roses' birthday too! Xxx

Hotdogs and other non-refrigerated foods...

This is a conundrum of ours at the moment ( and has been since Friday! )- what does one eat when you don't have:

- a fridge

- a freezer

- a microwave

- a kettle

- a toaster 

- a jaffle maker ( sandwich toaster )

The answer is below you in funny faces!

The answer is: stuff in cans and packets!

And look at how much fun you can have with it.

My fave is a Brit classic:

Huzzah for Heinz!

As for the hotdogs, anyone that has been following my Facebook page knows that right now I'm LOVING 'hotdogs or legs?'

The original tumblr account is below:

http://hot-dog-legs.tumblr.com/

Also has a brand new Facebook page as of a 

couple of days ago.

If you haven't seen it yet the tag line is:

"Are they hotdogs or legs?".

Get involved, it's hilarious!

Even funnier than Sushi Cats!

Isn't the Internet amazing?!

Much loves xxx

It's times like these that you need a bucket...

It's definitely times like these that you need a bucket. A bucket of luck, a bucket of money, a bucket of sunshine and even a little bucket of sanity to help you along the way.

Not that things are bad, on the contrary, things are pretty good and I'd be horribly ungrateful not to recognise how lucky we have been, once again, to fall onto our feet.

And for this I am extremely grateful. Moving to the other side of the world is definitely not easy, but is definitely easier with how lucky we have been. But whilst an element is luck, it is also hard work.

For everyone that knows us well (namely our parents), knows that we take on too much. Wedding plans, 2 engagement parties, 3 house moves in 8 months, 1 major trip to the UK, various trips whilst in the UK and starting a new life in Melbourne (aka job and house hunting yet again!).

So yes, we are lucky that we can get up and go, not be too phased or worried about our situations and start all over again.

This time, I think it's different for the both of us. We have moved around a lot in the last few years- it's been amazing and awesome, but it gets tiring living out of a suitcase and having to sell yourself for jobs and properties again. We are looking forward to putting pictures on the wall, decorating the flat and make it feel like home. It's been a long time.

As I write this, I am sitting in our new flat in an awesomely cool area of Melbourne, awaiting our furniture to arrive, living out of a suitcase and non-refrigerated foods.

Thank god they installed the heating yesterday, it was getting to below 5 degrees at night!

But we already have a great group of friends down here- I think half the Gold Coast has moved down! That does make it much easier, especially the hospitality that everyone has shown us! The beanbags and doona (duvet) make a MASSIVE difference when you have a shell of an apartment! 

So I feel like we need just a tiny top up of luck (not even a bucket, just a cup) to get us the jobs and opportunities that we both deserve to enjoy our new Melbourne life.

Keep it all crossed for us please!

Much loves xxx 

The Rose takes on Melbourne.

Happy Sunday to everyone!

It has been my first day off since we got to Melbourne. 

Life so far has been all about getting up, looking at realestate.com.au for new rentals, viewing flats (or units in Oz!)

Looking at ethicaljobs.com.au and seek.com.au for jobs and spending hours tailoring my résumé and fulfilling the selection criteria for each job. Phew!

Looking for a job IS A FULL TIME JOB! Without the income and holiday benefits.

So today was a welcome break and we discovered all this below:

(L-R My decorated mask from the ACIM Australian Contemporary Institute of Moving Image, Love postcard, Melbourne Writers festival programme, selection of cool info on each suburb, Daves mask, Melbourne Spring Fashion Week programme, Melbourne Fringe Festival programme and a series of mini tailored walking tours)

Phew again! So much cool stuff to do! This morning we went to the Rose Markets and saw some amazing and inspirational ideas, arts, crafts and fashion.

We both got so excited to be in such a creative environment! And it's just he beginning.

Melbourne is well known for many things:

1) Coffee- Melbournites take coffee very seriously. No sugar, no syrup, no frappa-crappa-doo. Coffee, pure and simple is the art form.

2) Food- cheap and authentic to super flamboyant, Melbourne has some if THE best restaurants from all cultures and for all budgets. Super-yum!

3) Sport - AFL and the Aussie Open to name a few.

4) Culture - Art, galleries, festivals, comedy. Something to get your creative juices flowing.

5) Fashion - Unlike some other areas where fashion doesn't matter cos you swear through it anyway,Melbourne actually has a fashion scene! Woop! With European shops including Zara and Top shop- double woop! You can be yourself here and everyone loves it.

6) Street art - is fabulous, fantastic, creative, colourful and political. Or not. Covering many of the cities well known lanes and popping up all over the place, it has become a part of the allure if Melbourne.

7) The Laneways - hidden lanes and alleys amongst the main Melbourne streets with street art, hidden cafes, the best coffee, galleries, boutiques , clubs and more!

So as you can see, we are pretty excited to be here!

Welcome to my new city!

Xxx

The renaissance of The English Rose.

To all my fellow Rose Readers, I can declare that after an unexpected year off, I am back and blogging!

I never really expected to stop completely, but as you can see from my last post- the weight of it all ( the file, visa and work ) got the better of me. I became a little disenchanted with it all.

However, a year on and my-oh-my how much has changed.

So, it seems that I needed the infamous Love File off my chest, to be able to really get into Aussie life. It was submitted on August 24th and little more than 5 months later, I received the call.

It was quite underwhelming as I was at work and was expecting it to be a  bizarre  enquiry from a member of the public. But after all the hard work, paper and around AUD$4k later, I am now on the Subclass 820 Temporary Residency Visa. How romantic!

And no, it doesn't mean that I am half Aussie or anything like that. Still an English Rose which just happens to be allowed in Oz. Which given the current government policies on immigration is pretty amazing. 

I have to remember those hundreds of people trying to come in on tiny dangerous boats, only to be shipped off to PNG and told they will never live in Australia. I am very fortunate.

So, a quick catch up on the rest of the year-

- gained great event fundraising experience with my now ex-job ( more on that later! )

- joined a netball team, go Charity Cases!

- made some amazing friends:

 

- gained a bit of an Aussie accent (according to home!)

- got whisked away to Byron Bay before Christmas....

And GOT ENGAGED!!

It was a complete surprise and an amazing end to a difficult and life changing year. I am so incredibly lucky to have found my gorgeous man - and for him to have such incredible taste/ check out the ring he had custom made for me!

So this may spark some interesting wedding planning from abroad type posts and advice!

But the main things have been booked on my amazing 2 month trip back home on June/July.

This was an amazing trip for so many reasons. It was my first trip back home since we moved here last year so it was incredible to catch up with family and friends. And to be able to celebrate our engagement made it extra special.

It's funny, because we get asked an awful lot where we are going to live permanently. It's a difficult one to answer as we simply don't know. I thought the trip home would help me decide, but I'm not sure if it did.

On one hand, it's amazing to be near my nearest and dearest, who after all these years have remained loyal and loving friends. The people who you catch up with on Skype and it doesn't feel like you haven't seen them in over a year.

On the other, Australia is such a great place to be right now. It's economically stable, with wages being high and disposable income being the norm. How novel!

It's the first time in my life I haven't had to worry about money (even when unemployed as I am right now!) and I know in a couple of years, we can buy a house. This is in addition to paying for the wedding, of which we should already have this.

If I tell people about this at home, it sounds like a fantasy, but this is that it's like here. Unfortunately I think it gets taken for granted as you can have everything you want. It's a luxury that I know everyone at home can't have.

And that makes me sad. To know all my loved ones are struggling, and to make the selfish choice to be here, because life is so much easier. 

And it's beautiful of course!

So, in summary, nothing is forever (except our marriage!) so no decisions yet. 

But now to the unemployed and homeless part...

I forgot to mention the homeless didn't I?

So in all the madness of this year and deciding to take control of our lives, we decided to leave our house, quit our jobs and move to Melbourne.

So this is the current plan in progress!

We are very lucky to be staying at our good friends flat whilst they are in their honeymoon. (And their wedding was overdue and spectacular!)

So this is our current view:

Not bad eh?

Luckily we have a few interviews lined up between us and have seen numerous places to live- of varying quality and prices.

Fingers crossed it all falls into place. We have been extremely lucky in our journey so far and just need a little more in the works!

Ill try not to leave it too long before my next update!

But a huge thank you to everyone that made the effort from all over Europe to see us whilst we were back home, especially to celebrate our engagement. It was such a special time for us and we love you all.

Xxx