So, its officially been…38 (thank you Excel) days since I’ve moved to Melbourne.

I’ve never lived anywhere for an extended period of time besides Calgary, Alberta in my adult life. And I’ve moved a whopping 3 times in my entire life. I moved (well, more like my parents moved and decided to take me with them) from HK when I was 6, moved out of my childhood home when I was 21, and now, moving down under at the ripe old age of 27.

This journey, as most journeys do, began with a long ass flight. Spent a solid 23 hours in transit, with 19 of those stuck inside various metal tubes. I did, however, get upgraded to Premium Economy, which, can’t complain. Except for, well, this complaint:

Whoever designed the Boeing 777s are dumb af. They obviously did not design the seats with the users in mind. THE ARMRESTS DON’T MOVE (except if you’re in the middle section of economy). Dafaq? The best part about empty flights is that you’re able to lift the armrests up and lay down flat like a bed! Even worst, the armrests in PE were solid, so I couldn’t even just squish myself underneath them (because, in my head, I would’ve fit. IRL doe, who knows). So, even though only 3 of the 24 available seats in PE had a bum in them, I had to sleep upright like a damn fool someone who’s way too not-frivolous-with-money, and put off by Air Canada, to buy a business class ticket.

I did, however, tried to MacGyver a bed out of 8 pillows and 3 blankets. Was it a success?

I will let my sore neck and back answer that.

H and S picked me up at the airport and on our way to their place, I saw a sheep and a dog in a cage on the back of a pick up. It was oddly reminiscent of Alberta. I have seen 2 additional sheep since then. Once on a farm (normal). Once on a sidewalk in the CBD (less normal).

I stayed with H and S for the first couple of weeks (thank you!) while I apartment hunted for something in the city. I think I must’ve done 3 full days of apartment hunting with a couple of half days thrown in there. Apartment hunting is brutsssss. Especially in a brand new city that you know nothing about (I probs should’ve done some research, hey? 💁).

I hadn’t apartment hunted in 7 years and had no clue what I was doing half the time. I probably also didn’t have the best strategy: H and S lived about and hour and a half train ride away from the city, so I’d try to pack as many viewings as possible in a single day to cut down on the number of times I had to transit. I probably saw like 8 to 10 apartments each day I went into the city. Definitely flared up some sciatica hauling ass all around. Though, after viewing at least 25+ apartments, I found a pretty sweet place a week in, so that’s all that counts.

12 days from landing to move in

There’s a pool in our apartment. Which has led to me attempting to get into swimming. Because anything that will be a substitute to running as cardio, I’m game. Here are some facts about this new endeavour of mine:

Fact: my shoulder is still eff’d up and I cannot do the motion for either the front or black crawl.

Also fact: I do not have the coordination for the breast stroke.

Sooooo, I’m just kinda flopping around propelling myself forward awkwardly.

Please send help.

After apartment hunting, I bunkered down and went full throttle (do people still say that? Did people ever say that?) on my job hunting efforts: went on double digits meetings/interviews within the span of 2ish weeks and took, god knows how many, phone call interviews. But funny how things work out…the first recruiter I met with (on my 13th day in Melbourne) ended up connecting me with the company that I will start with on Monday. First interview on my 21st day, second interview on my 23rd day, offer letter on my 36th day.

39 days from landing to first day of work

I’m really excited! This job is pretty much exactly what I was looking for when I decided to quit my job in Calgary and start this crazy journey. Kicking it off with a 6 month contract but hopefully it will turn into a sponsorship. I don’t think I could’ve imagined a better outcome 7 months ago (though, maybe I could’ve envisioned not having the random 3 months of being out-of-commission due to an unforeseeable chain of events…).

It was a lot of work and there were some many days of stressin’, but I haven’t once regretted my decision to hand in that 2 weeks notice.

So, that’s something right?

Well, that last paragraph was eerily sentimental, so here’s some pros|cons about Australia:

Pro: Cellphone plans are so cheap here. 10gbs of data for less than what I was paying for a pitiful 3gbs? Yes please.

Con: Smokers err’where. Especially on rooftop patios. Savages.

Pro: Farmer markets are not exorbitantly priced here. I can finally let my inner hipster out and do all my grocery shopping at cute little markets.

Con: Amazon Australia only sells books. Just. Books. Savages.

Pro: Gas stove tops are a norm in apartments here. Love. Anything that decreases the time needed for food to enter my belly is welcomed.

Con: Windy af. Front bangs will not survive.

Pro: You’re entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks of vacation with your employer.

Con: You’re not entitled to health benefits with your employer (my inner gimp is really upset about this…goddamn physio is universally expensive).

Pro: Professional male athletes wear real short shorts.

Con: Normal men also wear real short shorts.

Pro: The channel that plays Masterchef is a free channel here.

Con: Watching waaaaay too much Masterchef.

Pro: There are inexpensive, takeaway sushi stands err’where, which means: my official drunk food of choice is now sushi.

Con: Drunk sushi.

Oh, and:

Insomniac update: I had been sleeping really well the first few weeks here. So I thought I was fixed! But alas, no luck. As I get more settled, I’m getting more and more insomniac-y. La poop.

I also had this do-not-ever-want-again dream where I got bit by a snake and went to the hospital to have the gashes sewn up, but instead, the doctor put snake eggs in my wounds to keep them warm so the eggs would hatch. #nightmarefuel 🙅

200 days from when I first left yyc to…a new adventure!