Wow, I'm not so sure where to start ... it's been a while, huh?

So much has happened, I can't believe I haven't blogged any of it!

I guess I should just start with a bit of a summary of the most major events that have happened in the past year ... I've got a feeling this is gonna be a looooong post.

Some time in May last year, I decided that after living in Sarina/Mackay my entire life, the whole 23 years of it, it was time to branch out and see a little bit more of the world. I had a fantastic job in Mackay, which I loved, but couldn't help but feel I needed to see a bit more of the world while I was young and relatively commitment free. I had seen so many of my closest friends move away from Mackay and I always thought I would do it too, I just needed to build up the courage. When I was given an opportunity to venture down a different path, I took it. It wasn't a decision that I made lightly, infact it was one of, if not the, toughest decision I've ever made.

After making all the necessary arrangements, on Friday the 27th of May last year, I finished up at my full-time job and one week later moved to Auckland, NZ. That week was definitely one of the most intense weeks of my life. I'd worked at Central Queensland TAFE for 3 years and had made close friends there so it was really sad to leave. I also had to pack up and move out of the place I had been living in, and leave two great room mates who were also a couple of my closest girlfriends. I was moving away from my mum & dad (I'd always had a problem with getting home-sick! lol), and just to throw another thing in the mix, I had a uni assignment due (worth 50% of the course), and ... a job interview.

Now, the interview was actually for a job in Brisbane (where I am now, but I'll get to that). It didn't really fit into all my plans of moving to NZ and setting myself up there and living happily ever after with my boyfriend within arms reach. But, the job was a fantastic opportunity and one that I couldn't possibly pass up. I'd always wanted to move to Brisbane (note: all the closest friends that I mentioned before, that had left Mackay, had moved to Brisbane) but it just turned out that I had a boyfriend who was set-up in Auckland and so that was my destination.

Some would have called my trip to Auckland a holiday, and now with hindsight being 20/20, it was just that. At the time however, not sure of what was around the corner, I had made all the arrangements for it to go either way. By that I mean, I didn't know if I had a job in Brisbane, or if I would be living in NZ more permanently, or if I would end up back in Mackay.

I arrived in Auckland at 4pm on a Friday afternoon and experienced Auckland's peak-hour traffic, gusty ice-cold winds, and dark and rainy weather all before reaching the door of my boyfriends house. But thankfully, the weeks that followed were bliss ... I had about 5 weeks of annual leave up my sleeve so I was still getting paid and I just indulged in having some time off and kicked my feet up for a while. I took a contiki tour around the North Island, went on a ski trip, had a weekend at an Omaha beach beach house, had an amazing lunch at a vineyard, and umm, caught up on A LOT of sleep -- sleeping in on a cold Auckland morning was just too good. LOL. I was also able to indulge in my World of Warcraft addiction as I'd hauled my whole PC across the Tasman with me.

So then, some time during my stay in Auckland, I got the phone call that I had the Brisbane job ... and I took it. A few weeks later I left Auckland, destination: Mackay. I had a few days to visit friends and family, and pack up as much stuff as I could into my little car ... then made the road trip down to Brisbane.

Since moving here, I haven't had a shred of doubt in the decision I made. I started my new job at Southbank Institute, moved in with a friend from Mackay, had some great times catching up with my old friends, and become friends with some of the best people I've ever met. I've done some of the tourist type stuff, but there's still lots more to be done here, especially with the Sunshine Coast in one direction and the Gold Coast in the other.

Skipping forward 7 months, and I'm still pinching myself. My heart still flutters when I drive down a road which has city views. 2006 has brought for me, far more tears of laughter than of sadness, that's a certainty.

So that's about it in a nutshell.

Peace out!

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