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Lauren
Plato once said "Live life as play". For too long I took my career, my life and myself far too seriously. I have an easy lifestyle in Melbourne with a good job that I landed out of university, a company car, great friends and family. From the outside in it looks great, and yet there was still something gnawing away at me. Miss Chief
You see pockets of travelling through the US, Canada and the UK left me with an itch that I could no longer ignore, and apparently there was no creams for it either! So I figured I better take up Plato on his theory and take the adventure of a life with no regrets...... hopefully....
My visa application and passport for a Working holiday in the UK is currently in the clutches of the UK Embassy is Canberra, my flights to Penang, Eastern Europe (where my dad's family hail from) and London are booked, paid for and waiting for me to pick them up.
So now all I have to do is figure out how I can hand in my resignation effect May 28th 2004 without an overwhelming desire to yell it from the rooftops and do a dance on my grey computer desk that faces the grey walls of my office!
Travel Blog Posts
January 25th 2005
It really has been far too long since I last wrote hasn’t it? To avoid one monolithic journal, I am going to try break recent events down into two more relatively huge rants. I figure if I didn’t write now, I would soon lose some of the memories, emotions, thoughts and findings of recent times. Now we can’t have that! The most logical place to pick up since where I last left off would be the build-up surrounding my trip home and the time spent back in Edithvale. So the trip home….. Didn’t someone once ask, can you ever truly go home? To be honest I’m still not really sure, my answer would waver somewhere between a wholehearted ‘Oh yes’’ and a ‘Perhaps not’. After six months away from my family, friends and all that is ... read more
November 15th 2004
Ok, I have chatted about places I have been, where I work, things I am discovering about the world and me and a many other myriad of topics. But there is something currently missing from my diary that I want to record for future memories. The people. Obviously I couldn’t live my life as a separate entity circulating in this busy world, without establishing connections with people. …… Well, ok, it is possible for many people to do this. But let’s face it I thrive on human interaction! Call it my innate need to talk, discuss, dissect, laugh, cry, gossip and sometimes just be in the quite company of others. Essentially when I first arrived I knew Liz, Paul, Emma and Rosie over in Switzerland. They have been great throughout, but now I find that I ... read more
October 21st 2004
What is there not to like about a city that is happy to have a laugh, a drink or two or many, and are just looking for mirth in the bottom of the next glass of Guinness? Dublin, Ireland - typically maligned for it’s miserable weather, an over abundance of English Hen and Stag weekends, and a fairly expensive pint in the tourist Mecca: Temple Bar. I have been before. I ventured through these parts last year on my 5-week odyssey of the UK, Ireland and Wales. To be honest, I didn’t really like it all that much last year. It was the middle of summer, and yep the weather was useless, I was hung-over from a wedding, and most important thing to note - I was staying on the WRONG side of the Liffey. People, ... read more
October 13th 2004
Righty then, I haven’t put a decent memory in here for a while! I suppose it’s because life is becoming ‘normal’ in the sense that there is not a travel adventure every day, or some glamorous location being visited each weekend….. Although I should take the opportunity to let you know that I am not failing on this point. This weekend we have organised a long weekend to Dublin to see the AFL international rules game!!! We are staying right on the edge of the Temple Bar district so it should be a fairly big weekend. I am off there with Sharon and Brett (Amsterdamers), and whilst they are both from QLD, at least Brett follows the right team back home - Hawthorn! If they televise the game, I suspect that we will be the only ... read more
How to make friends, and change your life
Published: September 17th 2004Europe » United Kingdom » EnglandSeptember 17th 2004
It seems when your travelling or living o/s on the working holiday visa, everything in your life seemingly happens on this bad 1970's sci-fi style film warp speed. Jobs, livings arrangements, holiday plans, friendships and romances. I have been taken aback by this sudden pace, and discussing this curious phenomenon with some of my housemates and other travellers. I think it extends on a fact I was talking about last week. You see, you start here with very few or no friends, social contacts, romantic developments or the like. So for the first time since you were possible 4 and starting Kinder, you have to go out and make contacts and hopefully develop a social circle, and much like those 6 year olds you see on summer holidays - it goes something like 'Oh your travelling, ... read more
Birthdays, Dinner Parties and Bed rest!!!!!
Published: September 10th 2004Europe » United Kingdom » EnglandSeptember 10th 2004
Gosh, so now it's time for my weekly rant. The week has gone ever so quickly or slowly. It depends on what day it is, and how I'm feeling. So last Friday night, with great trepidation I jumped on the train to meet up with people from Amsterdam. 'I will meet new people, I will try new things, this is not a silly idea just because I met them only last weekend in the city of sins.................' Oh what was I doing? This was well and truly outside of my little comfort zone. A few made text messages to Rosie for reassurance and I was on my way (with two mini bottles of vino from Marks and Spencer clutched by my side for Dutch courage). Ok firstly, when going to meet back up with people ... read more
Doin the Amsterdam thing
Published: September 3rd 2004Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » AmsterdamSeptember 3rd 2004
So it’s time to chat about being ‘Amster-damned!’ Ooh doesn’t that just give the wrong impression of what I thought about this really great city, and the rollicking great time that I had? But at the end of the weekend, I was well and truly a certified train wreck. The weekend away started ominously. It has been thunder, wet, bleak Friday in England - again! Ever so quickly I have learned to understand that this commonly represents delayed/cancelled train services. So after getting into work early, it was time to leave early and make sure I didn’t miss my departure from Paddington Station in London. As sod’s law would have it, the trains ran easily and fully on time, so I was left sitting around at Paddington for hours dithering about what I would eat ... read more
August 27th 2004
So it’s time for a weekly instalment! Settling into Brighton has been pretty easy. It really is reminiscent of Melbourne in many, many, ways. My house is great, and so too are my housemates – which comes as a great relief. But I tell you it is amazing that 7 people live in one house, but you are lucky to interact with any given two each night! My first Saturday here I was I woman on a mission – shopping for home wares! Well to be specific, bedroom things to make my room look like mine and not a Spartan wasteland. I wanted to feel like I was going home each night. So it was time to hit the North Laines – the uber trendy section of Brighton. Filled with street vendors, cutting edge concept stores, ... read more
August 18th 2004
Well it’s been awhile hasn’t it? It’s fair to say that in 3 weeks, it feels like I have had the experiences of a lifetime, or at very least those worthy of a couple of months. Life has happened all very quickly, and in the blink of an eye, I have found myself living and working in Brighton (well technically Hove) on the UK southern coast! But there is soooo much to tell, so let me digress and go through it all, as I want to document how I felt about ALL of this, so yes, it may be long, but hopefully it will be a decent read, and maybe soon at least there will be photo’s for you all to view I finished my tour on the Sunday, and woke up with the highest level ... read more
July 24th 2004
Ok well, as typical of my blogs, too much to say, and too little time to do anything true justice. Have been so slack trying to get to a computer. But hey, wouldn´t you be too when the Adriatic coast calls your name longingly? You betchya!!!!! So our last chat took place in Dubrovnik. The follwoing day saw us take in our first day of true indulgence. An hour ferry ride from Dubrovnik took us to a croation island called Lopud. With a half hour trek in the sun over the local hills we found our own private idaho. And of course the guy touting sun beds and umbrellas was from Melbourne!!!! Ok I am never going to do this coastline justice, But the seas are salty, not too cold, and a beautiful graduated shade of ... read more
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