Celebrating a Year in London

If you haven’t guessed from the title, today marks a year since I started living in London! 🥳

PSA: It’s kind of hard to write a recap of the year without it sounding corny so I apologise in advance.

As with most years, it’s been full of ups and downs.

This time last year, I was low-key dying with some unknown virus in Croatia which forced me to cancel my travel plans for the rest of the month. At the time, it felt like a huge sacrifice. My mind was in full travel-mode and I struggled to make the right choice but I knew I had to put my health first. I wrote all about the outcome of that decision and my first few months in London in my 2019 recap here, so I’ll use this post to focus on 2020 instead.

Well… I think we can all agree that 2020 is pretty much a write-off.

As melodramatic as that sounds, it’s become a reality for all as Covid-19 has spread to almost every country in the world in the past 5 months. I say ‘almost’ because out of the 193 countries recognised by the UN, only 12 have had no official recorded cases of coronavirus. Most of these countries are pacific islands in Oceania but funnily enough North Korea has also self-declared 0 cases… 🤔 Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn this recap into a political discussion but I was just curious about the stats when I was writing this paragraph and decided to check. You can read more about the corona-free countries here, it’s a pretty interesting read.

Anyway, back to me.

I actually consider myself quite lucky because I was able to squeeze in a quick trip back home at the start of March. I flew over during the height of the Australian toilet paper crisis and was reunited with friends and family for a short ‘n sweet week. My time at home definitely warrants a post of its own but for this recap I’ll share some of my favourite photos from the trip:

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When I got back to London, everything was different. People were ransacking supermarket shelves for basic supplies and we were told to work from home in case the city went into lockdown. Well… that didn’t take long. Less than a week later on the 23rd of March, we went into full lockdown; just a day shy of my 23rd birthday.

There was a lot of confusion and anxiety in the early days as we all came to grips with what the media loves to call ‘the new normal’. I thought I’d be fine with the change because I was lucky enough to still have a job and roof over my head, but I quickly realised that this wouldn’t be the case.

Back in February I wrote a post about coming off my antidepressants, which was actually going quite well at the time. Returning to Aus challenged my progress a bit, but I still persisted with the lower dose and hoped that things would iron out when I got back to London. Obviously that didn’t happen and I found myself falling in and out of a pretty deep depression over the next few months. I won’t go into detail but it’s probably the worst my mental health has been since I first started my antidepressants 5 years ago. The only thing that helped me was upping my dose back to its original level, which unfortunately came with its own sprinkling of side effects. Kinda shitty but hey, I’m slowly getting better and in the words of Kelly Clarkson, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

I was about to make a joke about work almost killing me but I think that might make me liable to a lawsuit, so I’ll try to keep it PC.

If I’m being honest, my job has definitely been the biggest stressor in my life this year. Microsoft is in the handful of companies that has gotten busier since corona hit and I made the mistake of investing too much of myself into my work at the start of lockdown. I’m talking 10-12 hour days with barely any downtime in between; it was exhausting.

I soon realised, through a series of breakdowns, that I was sacrificing my mental health in my pursuit of productivity. I realigned my priorities and eased up a bit but still didn’t take my foot off the pedal. It turned out to be a great decision because all of my hard work has awarded me some incredible opportunities and I’ve taken on a lot more responsibility in my role.

In May, I lead the UK’s social media coverage of Microsoft’s biggest Developer event of the year called Build. Due to old mate ‘rona, the event was transformed from a 2 day event in the states to a 48-hour non-stop global livestream experience. The UK team was chosen to represent EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) which meant that all eyes were on us, and our twitter accounts, over the 2 days and I’m proud to say that we absolutely smashed it! I’ve never been more proud of my efforts and work ethic in my life and the success of the event still keeps motivating me to this day.

That’s just one example of my accomplishments at work during this whole shindig. So while there’s been a lot of shit happening in the background, I still like to think that some positives have come out of it.

There’s been great things happening outside of work too. Mainly, my newfound joy for taking care of plants.

I unearthed my love of plant care at the start of lockdown but what really fuelled it was the start of my plant instagram. It was only meant to be a space for me to share plant updates but it’s pretty much become a part of my identity #sodeep. The plant community is unlike any other I’ve come across, everyone is so nice and wholesome and we all look out for each other. I’ve made a few friends around Europe just through my account alone and I can’t wait to meet them someday.

Outside of plants, I’ve also learnt that I’m quite good at embroidery and baking copious amounts of delicious chocolate chip cookies. Seriously, I could make my favourite recipe in my sleep.

But most of all, this whole situation has reminded me just how bloody resilient and strong-willed I am. The last 5 months have been extremely challenging and I’ve definitely struggled but I’m so proud of myself for pulling through.

So no, this year was not what I expected it to be and I have no idea what’s in store for me for the next 5 months. But what I do know is that I’ve achieved a lot in my year here and have another year to look forward to until I get kicked out of the UK in July. Until then, I’m planning a trip to Croatia with my housemates at the end of August (if restrictions allow) and I can’t bloody wait.

Bring on the sun, tans and socially-distanced boys on the beach!

Adios Amigos *insert sunshine emoji*

Coming Off Antidepressants

Fun fact: I’ve been on antidepressants for almost 5 years.

It’s something that only a handful of people know about and I finally feel ready to share with the world. Why? Because it’s 2020 and talking about mental health shouldn’t be seen as a ‘risky’ move, it should be part of our everyday conversations.

Before I dive into things I just want to list a few facts in lieu of 4 long paragraphs:

1. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder in early 2015 which is when I started taking my antidepressants.
2. It was downgraded to clinical depression 6 months later and since then I’ve gone through various levels from mild to severe.
3. My antidepressants have been a saving grace over the years.
4. I’m okay now and in a place where I feel comfortable enough to talk about my experiences, but it doesn’t mean that my depression can’t/won’t come back.

Basically, I went through a rough time and still have bad patches but overall I’m feeling much better about my mental health now than I have in years.

That said, I have struggled a lot with my anxiety and depression over the past few weeks. It’s mainly been triggered by work stress and some boy drama but coming off my antidepressants has really messed with my mood too, which is the main thing I want to talk about.

Honestly, I should’ve come off my meds after a few years of being on them. The ones I take are super strong and have quite bad withdrawal side effects with long-term use. But the reality is that there’s never a ‘good’ time to come off them when there’s so much going on in your life.

In 2016 I started working part time and studying full time (which is still the most stressful thing I’ve done to date in my life), then 2017 was my final year of uni and I had an intensive study tour to New York that I had to be stable for. Then in 2018 I started full-time work and switched jobs before I decided to backpack solo for 3 months last year and move to London. Needless to say, there’s been a lot on.

Each time I considered ditching my antidepressants I always found a reason to stay on them. The withdrawal effects can be horrible and last months if you don’t do it right and I didn’t trust my doctor enough to support me through the process which meant having to find a new one ie. another reason to delay it all. If you’re wondering how bad withdrawal can really be here’s a taste:

Withdrawal symptoms from coming off venlafaxine include brain shivers, agitation, anxiety, confusion, mania, mood swings, anorexia, impaired coordination, dizziness, fatigue, lethargy, headaches, night tremors, tremor, sensory disturbances, electric shock-like sensations, vomiting, vertigo, sweating, diarrhea.

Yeah… not fun.

But now that I’ve settled in London and felt stable for the past 6 months, I’ve decided to finally give the process a red hot crack. I started lowering my dose a few months ago and I won’t lie when I say that it’s been a challenge. From random dizzy spells to mood swings and night sweats it’s had its ups and downs, but I’m pushing through it day by day.

I think the main thing I’ve learnt is that there’s no cookie-cutter process you can follow. Some people take just weeks to taper off antidepressants and others take months, it all depends on how long you’ve been on them and the current circumstances in your life. With all that’s going on in mine at the moment, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took me another 6 months, and I’m okay with that.

Now, I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with taking antidepressants. Some people will take them for life and not have a care in the world about stopping. But it’s always been a goal in the back of my mind which I’m proud to finally be taking a step towards.  It sounds silly but there’s so many little things that these meds affect in my life. I’ve never taken sleeping tablets on airplanes because I don’t know how they’ll mix and sometimes I’ve had to turn down spontaneous nights out after work because my tablets are at home. They’re only small inconveniences in the scheme of things but I’m looking forward to a life free from these pills.

In the meantime, I’m just going to keep checking in with myself and doing things that make me happy when times get a lil shitty. Going to F45, ranting to my housemates and receiving cuddles from my fave puppy Bee have all helped these past few weeks and made me optimistic for the weeks ahead.

I’m eternally grateful that I have the support of understanding friends and a slightly less understanding, but well-meaning, family when it comes to talking about my mental health. Their support is a given, but what’s pleasantly surprised me is how empathetic my manager Kylie has also been about what I’m going through. I’ve grown up being told to keep my mental health struggles to myself at work for fear of being seen as a liability but I truly believe that opening up to her is the best thing I could’ve done.

Alrighty, that’s enough rambling from me for one night so I’m going to wrap it up by saying that I’m proud of myself for being able to talk about my mental health and I’m always here to listen to anyone else who’s struggling. Hopefully this post can help someone start a conversation somewhere.

Adios Amigos *Insert brain emoji*

 

Blogs That Were Not Meant to Be

Let’s face it, I’m not the most consistent blogger.

Maybe I was when I first started this site but as the story goes, life took over and I gradually stopped finding time to sit down and write down my thoughts. You see, I’m a perfectionist, so writing a blog means setting aside 2/3 undisturbed hours to churn out 1000 coherent words.

I was looking through my drafts today and felt a twang of guilt for all the posts that never made it further than a few sentences or even a title. There’s 10 of them in total and they’re either not relevant anymore or I just can’t remember the story tied to them, but I figure I could use this blog to give them one last breath of life until they’re eternally trashed.

So, without further ado, here are some blogs that never came to fruition:

1. Australia’s Household Pest

This post didn’t progress further than a title but I drafted it in the Summer of 2016 so I’m assuming I was talking about ants or flies? We’ll never know.

2. The Psychology of a Like

“Talk about the pressure of getting likes on FB/Insta”

A sentence was as far as this blog went at the start of 2016 but I remember it being something I really wanted to talk about. It was just after I had spent a Summer working in social media and wanted to talk about why people were so obsessed with vanity metrics. However, it was such a big topic to tackle that I never really sat down to pour out my feelings on paper and now there’s thousands of articles out about it. Maybe I’ll gather my thoughts one day…

3. Untitled

“How fucking ridiculous – http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliegerstein/products-women-have-been-told-to-buy-so-men-dont-rape-the#.jpVRnJXoQM”

I came across this article in Feb 2016 and it made me so mad that I just had to write a post about it. Even reading it now angers me, no woman should have to act or dress a certain way to avoid being raped. It’s not on us to protect ourselves, it’s on men to JUST. NOT. RAPE. Anyway, I’m not going to get into it now but seeing as how I drafted that post at 2:45am in the morning I’m assuming I just fell asleep out of sheer frustration.

4. Makeup Post

“My mum is beautiful. At least that’s what our local butcher tells her on our weekly visits.”

Ah yes, just a month after the last draft, this was going to be a post around the pressure on women to wear make up. Again, another big topic to tackle. I’m pretty sure the butcher still flirts with my mum on the weekends #gomum.

5. Back to Square One

“Internship – week 1Tuesday:

Super nervous, sat in lobby waiting for Sam. Was met by Sam who was so casual and chill, was shown to my own desk. Watched internal video filming (met Jess and Julian). Was invited out for lunch by 2 ladies. Worked on BMW MINI David Flack vscocam editing.

Thursday:

Helped find influencers. Met Georgie, Mary. Ellen sent me the digital process, and got me my own Mac. Lunch with Georgie (apparently I made a really good impression). Sat in on Priceline debrief meeting for ‘May Beautiful’ campaign, ‘best industry meeting’ quote from me which Lena knows me by. Rosé wine at 5, OC talk. Filmed L plate interview. Plan to come in Friday 1-6pm (ditching pop music lecture)

(Mum told me to watch the intern this evening, no time but it is a must)

Friday:

Came from uni, worked on vcsocam editing, got my own access card, phone, email and personal computer account set up. Drinks cart and sushi. Lady in the elevator home complimented me on my skirt :3″

Aw, my first week interning at Ogilvy, how cute. This is another post I wish I’d finished because those first few weeks at a new workplace are so important and can really mould your whole experience during your time there. I started this one in March 2016 and interned for 6 months before I scored a proper role there which I wrote about here.  

6. An Act a Day

“Helping people warms my heart. From random acts of kindness to helping Sonia with her piano homework to picking up a pen for a random who accidentally dropped it; I love it all.

That’s why I want to share some recent act of kindness I’ve performed/received:- Olimpa on the train, wanted a Mac, helped her find the right model
PS. Shoutout to the random guy on the bus today who yelled out that I’d left my purse behind when I got off. PLUS an even bigger shoutout to Tyler who noticed that I’d dropped my phone on the floor and forgot to pick it up after today’s lecture (phone > purse #priorities)”

Random acts of kindness are still a big thing for me. I even started a tumblr blog about them in April 2016 #solegit. I think I only made 3 posts on there too whoops. 

7. Is Uni Really Necessary?

“You know what I don’t get? Why people struggle through 3/4 year uni courses that they hate. I mean, it’s your money, time effort and ultimately, life. Why would you waste 3 years of it doing something that you dread waking up to each morning?Call me naive, but I believe that you should always do what you love. Unhappy with your course? Transfer. Unhappy with your job? Quit. Of course there are many factors that determine why a person may be unhappy with their current situation, but surely you won’t find happiness in a course you absolutely despise?^ I started writing this blog post 5 months ago before uni even started for the year, and now I have the urge to keep adding to it so here goes:

It’s now week 8 of uni and we’re getting down to the nitty gritty.”

Yep, I still agree that uni isn’t the be-all, end-all for everyone after highschool. Some people just aren’t suited to that education style and others don’t even need a degree to excel in their chosen career. If there’s anything my internships taught me, it’s that learning on the job is just as, if not more, important than a formal education.

8. The Ultimate Study Sesh

“Today I was meant to study. I got up at 8:30am and helped mum get Sonia ready for school. I ate a wholesome breakfast and even made my bed. But then I decided to finish watching the last 10 minutes of Lifestyle’s hit drama ‘Unreal’ and that’s when my study plans went to shit.Fast forward 6 hours later and I just finished watching the season finale of the first season. Don’t ask me why or how, but over the course of this morning/afternoon I completely fell down the reality TV rabbit hole and got sucked into the addictive drama of the show’s unpredictable world. It offered me an escape from the mundane readings and tasks inflicted upon me by my university tutors and gave me the opportunity to catch a glimpse into the ridiculous world of reality television.

Of course, I know that ‘Unreal’ exaggerates a lot of scenarios and pushes the boundaries of what can even be shown on national TV, but it still really interests me. I mean, when else would I be able to actually see some of the scandalous things that go on behind the scenes and feel like I’m sitting alongside the executive producer and the crew as they film each episode? It’s almost like I’m ghosting a film.

Ah yes, I have my Television Popular Culture class to thank for this post. I still can’t believe that one of my assignments was to literally spend hours watching reality TV that I actually enjoyed… wow, incredible. 

9. Untitled

“It feels like yonks since I’ve last posted, and man oh man has life changed. I worked full time at Ogilvy over the summer, almost died trying to touch glow worms in New Zealand and somehow managed to bludge my way through 8 weeks of Uni. I got another tattoo, and nabbed a spot on the New York study tour these Winter holidays, all while binge-watching a plethora of new shows and movies.”

I started writing this blog in March 2017 and I really wish I’d finished it because so much happened over that Summer. My next blog wasn’t until after I returned from my study tour in July so I guess that semester will remain a mystery outside the fragmented memories in my brain.

10. Tattoo Removal at 21

What a great draft to end on, a mere title yet again. This is also a post that I’m saving for sometime this year or next when the process is finally finished…. almost 2 years and counting RIP.

And that’s it! It kinda felt liberating to send each draft to the trash when I was done writing about them. Here’s to a new decade with more posts and less drafts!

Adios Amigos *insert trash emoji*

2019 Recap

2019 has been a huge year.

In 12 months I’ve moved halfway across the world, backpacked around 13 countries, gotten 2 new tattoos and ended up in a Croatian hospital. It’s been a whirlwind and I have no idea how to summarise it eloquently but here’s my best attempt at 1am in the morning…

I kicked off the year at my first music festival and boy was it a doozy. I’m not sure if I could put up with the whole camping shindig again but I did have a pretty solid boogie with a fab group of friends so it was definitely worth it.

Don’t recall driving through a valley on our way to Beyond The Valley 🤔

The rest of the summer consisted of a newfound love of dog beach adventures with Honey and working with my favourite bunch of people at Publicis. Saving moolah for my Euro trip was a top priority but I still managed to see my favourite band SAFIA perform and spend plenty of time in the sun with my beach buddy Emma. I also joined F45 a month before I left Aus, and my god I wish I had done it sooner. I wrote about my experience here and vowed to keep it up when I got to London, despite how ridiculously expensive I knew it would be.

Soon enough the end of April rolled around and I found myself packing up my life into a big brown box. Well, it actually wasn’t that big which was kinda depressing considering it held the most important parts of the past 22 years in it. When my backpack was finally loaded and I finished writing a goodbye blog 4 hours before my flight, I was ready to jet off to Europe. First stop: Amsterdam.

It would be impossible to truly explain how much I experienced and learnt throughout my travels. I discovered the blessing of free walking tours and the joy of the free food shelf in hostel kitchens (can you see a pattern here?). I learnt to embrace spontaneity, whether it was changing my plans to keep travelling with new friends or agreeing to tackle an 8 hour hike in the Polish mountains.

My first, and probably last, full day hike in Zakopane, Poland.

Speaking of friends, I made some great ones in each city I visited. I’ll admit that some places were harder than others, especially when I was quite ill, but the close friends I did make (shout out to Lexy) will be with me for life #cornybuttrue. A lot of people worry that it’s hard to meet people as a solo traveller but honestly, it’s almost impossible not to if you’re staying in hostels. In fact, I actually found it hard to get downtime throughout my trip. There was just so much to do in each city and friend FOMO definitely played a part, so I had to make a conscious effort to be anti-social for the sake of my mental health sometimes. Losing my voice completely after a wild night of partying in Prague did help with that, but it made for a very lonely weekend when I was already feeling quite vulnerable.

My mental wellbeing was a big focus for me during the trip.

Whilst it was generally quite positive, there were some pretty challenging moments where I had to make some tough decisions. I never realised how much being ill could affect my mental health. Whether it was anxiety over my worsening symptoms or just the feeling of hopelessness that engulfed me after countless weeks of fighting infections, I ended up being pretty worn down. While I was generally fine for the first 2 months of my travels, with only a sore throat here or there, things started to go downhill in July.

It started with a sore throat that got so bad that I was struggling to swallow within days. I could barely leave bed because I was so fatigued and had developed a fever on top of the 35 degree heat my body was already battling with. I was in Budapest at the time and after 2 days of anguish I managed to secure an appointment with an English-speaking doctor. I’ll never forget the look of horror on her face when she examined my throat and exclaimed “My god, how are you still breathing?!” Turns out I had severe Laryngitis and some other infection that I can’t remember the name of. Armed with prescriptions for 4 different types of drugs, I made my way to the pharmacy praying for a miracle.

I slowly recovered over the next few days but kept getting ill every 5 or so days over the following month. Long story short, I was even worse by the end of it and had the worst experience of my life trying to figure out what was wrong with my body when I was in Croatia. I spent a total of 12 hours at Split hospital where I had blood tests taken, saw 2 specialists and had a mini breakdown when a Canadian lady gave me a hug. All of that agony amounted to the doctors telling me I had some sort of bad virus in my body but they couldn’t figure out what it was exactly. Their recommendation? Stop travelling and rest for a few weeks.

At first I thought about extending my stay in Trogir (the lovely island near Split I was on) but after a long call with my Dad I made the difficult decision of cutting my trip short a month. I had already pre-booked my flight to London the following day but seeing as they had a 35 degree heatwave forecasted and I was in no state to leave bed, I postponed it a day. When I finally made it to the UK I was lovingly taken in by my friends’ parents who gave me a place to recover for 2 weeks (thanks Charlotte). I barely left bed the first week but by the second I was slowly spending more time outside the house. I encountered my first deer in Richmond Park and started to look for jobs and a permanent place to settle in when I came back from Spain.

Ah yes, Spain. This was one of those spontaneous trips I mentioned; which I booked about a month into my travels. You see, I had always dreamt of attending a famous tomato-throwing festival called La Tomatina at the end of August. I convinced Lexy to join me in my Spanish travels and we soaked up the sun in Barcelona before we wound up at the Stoke Travel campground. I feel like the festival deserves a blog post of its own so I won’t go into details apart from saying how awesome it was, except the part where I had my phone stolen, and how everyone should do it if they ever get the chance. You’ll still be finding bits of tomatoes in places they shouldn’t be days later but it’s 100% worth it.

Before I set off to Spain however, I managed to secure a job at an advertising agency called MRM McCann. It’s part of the McCann world group network which is a pretty big deal, so I was really proud of myself for landing a proper job after only interviewing for one other position. 4 days after I’d flown back from Spain I was thrown into the deep end of agency life working as a Social Media Account Manager on the Microsoft account. Despite having such a big break from work I was kinda excited to have some structure to my life again. My bank account was also very grateful as I hadn’t exactly budgeted for an extra month of travel #thankgodforsavings.

Fast forward 3.5 months and I’ve well and truly settled into not only in my job, but London as a whole. I honestly feel like this is my home now and have no intention of moving back to Aus any time soon. I’ve made some great friends, found the perfect place to live and started up F45 again (that’s when you know it’s the real deal). At no point in my move have I questioned being here, which has given me the drive to start building a proper life here from scratch. I’ve also already taken advantage of having the rest of Europe at my doorstep with a quick trip to Paris and I’m going to Belgium with Steph in a few days.

Looking back on the past 12 months, I can wholeheartedly say that it’s been the best year of my life. This post has only captured a fraction of what I have to share about it but if you’re still reading after 1500 words, you’re the real MVP. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s made some sort of impact on my year, no matter how big or small. Obviously most of them won’t read this blog but whether it was a new friend I partied with in Berlin or the man who helped me navigate Krakow bus station, I’m so grateful for each and every one of them. Okay, that’s enough soppiness for one post so I’ll end it here.

Adios Amigos, see you in 2020! *insert firework emoji*

Adios Australia

In less than 4 hours I’ll be leaving Australia with no idea when I’ll return.

Wow, that felt so surreal to type. I’ve been waiting for this day to come for almost a year and the fact that it’s finally happening is kinda mind-blowing. So where exactly am I going and why don’t I have a return date?

Well, it all started with this message from my friend Steph last year:

London > NYC any day

At the time I had just started a new job which was killing my soul, so Steph’s message couldn’t have been more perfectly timed. Of course, I knew that we couldn’t just fly off to London then and there, but after a few days discussing it we decided to move together in mid-2019.

After sharing our plan with my parents, Dad mentioned that he would be travelling to Ukraine in June to celebrate my Grandpa’s 80th birthday. Given I haven’t seen both of my grandparents since I was 8 years old, I immediately decided to build my travel plans around our visit to the motherland.

Fast forward 11 months and I’ve planned out two months of travel before settling into London for a few years in July. I’ll be travelling all of May solo using Busabout (a hop-on hop-off bus network). I’m actually surprised that not many people have heard of them  because their offering is so good. For just over $900 I nabbed a 12-stop flexi pass which gives me access to all of these stops on their loops:

I’ll be flying into Amsterdam (in less than 24 hours, holy shit) and spending a week there before travelling to:

• Berlin (7 days)
• Prague (6 days)
• Munich (5 days)
• Lake Bled, Slovenia (2 days)
• Venice (4 days)
• Ellmau (2 days)

Then I’ll be meeting up with Dad and Grandma (who lives in Aus with us) in Paris and exploring the city for a few days with them before we all head off to Ukraine. I’m kinda glad that after a month of non-stop backpacking I’ll be able to unwind in whoop whoop Ukraine and spend some quality time with my family.

After a week of relaxation I’m back on the road with Dad to visit Kharkov in Ukraine (my hometown) and Moscow + St Petersburg in Russia. Then I’ll ditch him to spend the last few weeks of June in Krakow and Budapest before finally flying to London. From there, anything goes. Seriously, I don’t have a job lined up or a place to live but I figure I’ll sort it out when I get there. I’m a serial over-planner (my travel itinerary alone is 10 pages long…) so leaving London up in the air kinda excites me.

So yeah, that’ll be my life as of 9:45pm tonight.

The most common question people have asked me is whether I’m worried about travelling on my own. Honestly, I’ve been dreaming of doing a solo trip for years. There’s something about the freedom of travelling alone that excites me, I love that I don’t have to worry about anyone by myself and can change my plans on the go. I’m sure I’ll make friends on the road too, so it’s not like I’ll be a total loner in May… hopefully.

I’m actually not nervous to go at all. Maybe it’s because I’ve been planning this for almost a year and I’m just raring to go, or maybe because I’m more excited for the flight than anything. *I have a weird love of anything to do with planes/airports which I’ve written about before here.* Whatever the reason, I know that adventure awaits and all of y’all will be kept in the loop with all of my adventures.

Since I won’t have my laptop until I meet up with Dad, I can’t promise daily blog posts but I’ll definitely be flooding your instagram feeds with #travelspam in the meantime. Check it out here if you’re a newbie and enjoy!

Adios Amigos *insert airplane emoji*

Team Training, Life Changing

I’ve never been a morning person. Like, ever.

If you told me last month that I’d be getting up 4 times a week at 5:40am to exercise I’d just laugh and roll my eyes. But that’s exactly what I’ve been doing the last two weeks, and for some inexplicable reason I’m actually loving it.

A few weeks ago my friend Michelle (who’s also conveniently my neighbour) messaged me asking if I’d want to do a F45 trial with her. Now, I’d heard about F45 before but never really looked into it because of how expensive it was ($70 for a 7 day casual pass). But my curiosity was piqued when Michelle revealed that that our local Moorabbin F45 was offering a $14 14 day trial, so we decided to sign up together that night.

All I knew going into our first class was that it would be 45 minutes of functional cardio-based exercises. What I didn’t know is that we’d be completing a circuit with lots of different stations in each pod with 3/4 sets at each station. It was totally unexpected but also kinda motivating knowing that I wouldn’t come back to that station after I finished my sets there. It actually made me push myself a lot harder and I really gave each activity my all.

I probably shouldn’t have done that because I was legitimately struggling to breathe after the 3rd station. Like, I was bent over trying desperately to get oxygen into my lungs, all the while wishing that I was in my slow, gentle yoga class instead. After taking a few minutes to regain my breath, and with a much-needed dose of motivation from Michelle, I jumped back into the workouts and we smashed the rest of the class together.

The feeling of euphoria that washed over me after that last set was incredible. I looked at all the smiling sweaty faces around me and knew I had found my people (yes, I know how corny that sounds). Everyone was walking around high-fiving each other and congratulating us on getting through our first class.

Here’s a ‘exhausted but proud’ photo of us at the end of it:

Such a #whitegirl pose

While we were stretching and complaining about our sore muscles after the class, a guy recommended that we go to the strength class the following morning to aid our recovery. At first I laughed at the idea but the more Michelle and I talked to him about it, the more it made sense and by the time we finished stretching we had booked into the waitlist for the 7:10am class the next morning.

I was worried that we wouldn’t get into the class since we were #5/6 respectively, but the studio manager Laarni (who’s an absolute gun) said that people often drop out the night before and there was a 90% chance that we’d make it in. Lo and behold, at 9pm we both got texts saying we got into the 7:10am class the following morning.

Pain, pain, go away 👋

Apart from the whole ‘being able to breathe’ bit, I loved the strength class because it finally gave me the courage, and skills, to properly lift weights. Like many people out there, I’ve always been too intimidated to get into the weights section at the gym. There’s just so much that can wrong – your form is incorrect, the weights are too heavy or you just flat-out can’t figure out how to do a certain exercise. Doing the strength class at F45 eliminated all of these worries.

At the start of each class, regardless of whether it’s cardio or strength, the trainers give you a rundown of the exercises and show you how to do each properly. They also give you handy tips on making sure your form is correct to ensure you’re doing them safety and targeting the right muscles. Having two qualified PTs looking out for me actually motivated me to give each exercise a red hot go and I found myself enjoying the strength class way more than I thought I would.

Since those two initial classes, I’ve successfully completed 7 more and I’ve signed up for another two weeks. Michelle and I did the ‘Hollywood’ class this morning to kickstart our weekend, which was an extended 60 minute session combining both cardio and strength. Never in my life did I think I’d be working out to a live DJ at 9am in the morning but hey, there’s a first for everything.

Looking at this list makes me so proud

I know I’ve just spent a whole blog post explaining why I love F45 I feel like I’ve barely scraped the surface, so if you want to learn more about it here’s a handy link to the official site. I haven’t even touched on the screens around the studio that remind you of each workout and just the general pace of the class that really keeps you going, but maybe I should save the specifics for another blog post – or let you find out yourself.

One of said screens. During a class there’s a timer that shows how long you have left of each set.

So yeah, somehow I’ve gone from doing one Yoga/Pilates class a week to 4/5 intense cardio + strength classes and I can’t imagine going back. I know F45 is pricey but I honestly believe it’s worth every cent, you get so much more than a simple workout from it. I wish I’d discovered it earlier, not a month before I head off to Europe to indulge in all of my favourite cuisines but alas, fate’s a bitch.

I really hope I can find (and afford) a studio in London when I’m over there in July. I reckon it’ll be a good way to make friends and keep myself motivated during those cold winter months. If anyone’s considering going, all I can say it do it. You won’t be disappointed. As the slogan goes, it really is life changing, team training.

Adios Amigos *insert muscle emoji*

Yes Means Yes and No Means No

*Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault*

“My body my rules, your body your rules”

“No more slut shaming, no more victim blaming”

“Yes means yes and no means no”

“2, 4, 6, 8, no more violence, no more rape”

These were the phrases we chanted while marching down Swanston street for SlutWalk 2018 today. 24 hours earlier I had no idea it was happening, but when my friend Gabby invited me to join her I knew there was no place I’d rather be.

For those who have never heard about SlutWalk, it’s a protest against victim blaming and slut shaming of sexual assault victims. What started as a 2011 rally in Canada has become a transnational movement of protest marches that call for an end to rape culture. It’s such an important issue to rally against because NO ONE deserves to be shamed for someone else’s actions.

While I’m extremely fortunate to have never been sexually assaulted, I’ve grown up being warned about wearing/doing certain things that might put me ‘at risk of being raped.’ In fact, when I told my mum about the march this morning she said that I “shouldn’t wear a short skirt because it might attract the wrong kind of attraction.” Although I know she meant well, I couldn’t help but get angry that this was the kind of advice that is still being given in 2018.

This tweet by Jane Tribute, and Fiona Lamb’s contribution perfectly sums up the paradox of this advice:

@JaneTribune wrote this in 2015. Someone added #RIPEurydice, thinking it was a recent piece. This shows that nothing is working & we need to make changes. Let’s start with the dialogue around #VAW. Jane also wrote this just last week: https://t.co/Jpt16qEo8i #WHITEHOTRAGE pic.twitter.com/8p22E8WU7O

— Fiona Lamb (@fionalamby) June 14, 2018

We’re sick of being told that a man’s disrespect of our bodies is OUR fault. We’re SICK of having to justify our actions/outfits to people who dare to insinuate that doing so is ‘asking for it.’ I’m honestly getting so mad typing this because I shouldn’t HAVE to be writing this, it’s 2018 for fuck’s sake.

Marching with everyone today, I felt a ripple of collective frustration and indignation whenever a new chant started. We were marching for Eurydice Dixon, who was raped and murdered in June this year. We were marching for Jill Meagher who was also raped and murdered while walking home in 2011. We were marching for the 17 year old girl whose thong was used as evidence of consent in an Irish rape trial 5 DAYS AGO.

But more importantly, we were marching for every woman who has been a victim of sexual harassment and/or assault during their lives. For the sex workers who give these men pleasure, for young girls who are catcalled in their school uniforms and for women whose stories of sexual assault haven’t had media coverage but are just as important.

I’m not asking everyone to go to these rallies but to simply raise your voices when you’re witness to any acts of sexual harassment. Instead of focusing on teaching women to protect themselves, teach boys and men the importance of consent and to RESPECT women’s bodies. It’s on all of us to change attitudes and put an end to rape culture.

Adios Amigos *insert protest emoji*

 

 

 

Subs vs Dubs

Growing up, I always watched movies and shows with subtitles.

I mean, I didn’t really have a choice since the subtitle button on our remote was broken and there was no way of turning them off, but I actually preferred them. However, over the years I had to accept that most people found subtitles annoying so I adapted my viewing habits with others, but at home I gave the subtitles free reign.

Being a pretty fast reader has always helped and it came in pretty handy at uni last year when we had to watch episodes of ‘If You Are The One’ for an assignment. If you haven’t heard of this show, you’re in for a treat. Basically, it’s a Chinese dating show where one guy has to impress 24 women who get to reject him on national TV. Exhilarating stuff.

Here’s a 30 second clip to give you an idea of why I love it – the girls can be so brutal:

While my classmates complained about having to read the subtitles, I secretly enjoyed it and fell in love with the show over the course of the month. It got to a point where I actively set myself alarms to watch this oddly hilarious show on SBS at 4:30pm every day.

Since then, I’ve developed a keen interest in foreign shows on Netflix. Tonight, I decided to look over my Netflix activity the past year and realised that I’ve watched a lot more shows that I realised, here’s my list to date:

• Elite (Spanish)
• Money Heist (Spanish)
• 3% (Portuguese)
• The Chalet (French)
• Orbiter 9 (Spanish)
• The Many Faces of Ito (Japanese)
• Call my Agent (French)

It all started with ‘The Many Faces of Ito’, a Japanese Netflix original show about “a thirty-something rom-com screenwriter who manipulates four love-sick women for their stories under the guise of giving them romantic advice” (thanks Wikipedia, couldn’t have summarised it better myself). The whole series was so different to any type of rom-com I’d watched before and gave me a newfound appreciation of Japanese culture and dating practices.

Hold up, I just realised that I lied. ‘The Many Faces of Ito’ wasn’t the first foreign show I watched on Netflix, it was ‘3%’. Anyone who knows me well has heard me rant about how much I love this show. So much so that I watched the first series twice for the same uni subject I mentioned earlier and wrote a blog series as one of the main characters. I was tempted to write it in Portuguese for authenticity but I didn’t trust Google Translate to get it right.

I’d write all about ‘3%’ and why I love it so much but long story short, it’s dystopian show set in a future where 20 year olds have to solve a series of challenges that could get them a ticket to a holy land called the Offshore. Everyone else lives in extreme poverty and, you guessed it, only 3% of the population gets to live in the Offshore. I’ve got to restrain myself from writing more about it but I 1000% recommend it to absolutely everyone.

Okay, I’ve slightly deferred from the point of this blog but so far I’ve only explained part of the reason why I love watching foreign shows with subtitles. The main reason is because I love listening to people speak in their native language. Spanish and French are such beautiful languages and I could never give up an opportunity to listen to them being spoken fluently. Learning Spanish has always been a dream of mine so maybe this is a gateway to getting that under way¿

Just listen to the first 5 seconds of this and tell me you aren’t seduced:

The other option when watching these shows is to have them dubbed (to put a different soundtrack over the original one ie. English). Personally, I can’t stand it. The fact that the voices don’t synch with what the actors are saying and the weird accents are just too much for me to handle. I recently watched the second season of 3% dubbed with a friend  and it honestly ruined the show for me #sacrificesmustbemade I went back a week later and binged it all in Portuguese 😅

I get why people do it, I do, but if there’s one thing I can ask you to do is a) watch the trailer of one of the shows I listed and b) watch it in its native language. Yes, I know that’s two things but you can’t have one without the other! Anyway, I’m off to Google stalk my new favourite Spanish actor Jaime Laurent (who’s in both Money Heist and Elite) and find a new foreign show to watch.

Adios amigos *insert TV emoji*

 

If you like Piña Coladas

PSA: I actually started writing this in Jan but I completely forgot to finish it so here it is 7 months later 😂
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Anyone could be fooled into believing that cruises are full of oldies who hit the hay at 9pm each night, leaving an eerily empty ship in their wake.

However, as I discovered a few weeks ago, this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, some of them outlasted us youngins’ at the club.

I recently had the pleasure of sailing on Royal Caribbean’s ‘Explorer of the Seas’ for 8 nights from the 4th of January with 3 fabulous friends for company. *Side note: How much does that sound like a sentence those travel bloggers write when the’ve been sponsored to go on a trip by the company? #pleasesponsormeRC.* Our ship took us to three ports throughout New Caledonia and Vanuatu, with 2 days of sailing to/from the islands.

‘How to Avoid Starting Work for the Year’

Our first stop was New Caledonia’s capital, Noumea. Knowing that the city itself wasn’t much to look at, Steph and I tagged along with the fam-bam on a trip to Escapade Island which is where I snapped this gem:

Screw a house deposit, I’m making a *hut deposit

Upon arrival, we were treated to a majestic fresh seafood feast and spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool and snorkelling amongst a beautiful array of fishes. We even spotted a sting ray and got to glide with the most chilled out turtle I’ve ever seen.

I see where Crush gets it from now.

Fun fact: I was attacked by a baby sea snake. It started to wrap itself around my leg and when I felt it tugging I lowkey freaked out and almost lost a flipper in the process.

Our second stop was at a secret gem in Vanuatu known as Mystery Island. Well, I can only assume it was a mystery before all of the cruise companies discovered it and started spruiking it as just that.

Crystal clear water galore 😍

At just 1.5 square kilometres and completely uninhabited, it’s easily missed. Yet somehow, over 65,000 tourists flock its shores each year and when they do, it’s filled with an abundance of markets, massage huts and boards advertising an immeasurable plethora of snorkelling tours. For only $30 AUD, we were taken out to their three main snorkelling spots and spent 2 hours immersing ourselves in their underwater kingdoms.

Our third and final stop was in Mare, New Caledonia where we spent the afternoon lazing around on its sandy shores.

By this point we’d realised how soon the trip was ending and were taking every chance we could to soak up the sun and keep ignoring the stresses of life back home. It was total bliss and I’d kill to be back there again.

I swear I didn’t grab this off Google, the whole beach was this picturesque

Now, with all of the pretty pictures out of the way I feel like it’s time to chat about the cruising experience itself.

I feel like 90% of the people reading this post wouldn’t have been on a cruise before, so I’m going to channel my inner mythbuster and combat some common misconceptions below.
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Myth: There’s nothing to do but play bingo and lounge by pool.

Fact: There were people who loved being on the ship so much that they didn’t even get off at the islands. No joke, there was always a bunch of ladies who made a beeline to the pools when we ported (arrived at a new destination) because it was the only time the pools were relatively empty.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that those cruising days are a waste of time but just wait until you see all of the activities they had. Each morning we’d get a new copy of ‘Cruise Compass’ which was a little leaflet that listed all of the activities going on and info about upcoming ports.

Here’s the one we got on our fourth day:

Yes, the ‘Adult Napkin Artistry Workshop’ was legit and no, unfortunately we didn’t go

From movies to live ballroom dancing and karaoke nights, there was an abundance of things to do for everyone of all ages.

We weren’t planning to see any shows but ended up seeing like 7 #whoops which were all amazing. There were a few dancing showcases, some late night-comedy shows and even a proper ice skating show which had us on the edge of our seats the whole time. I don’t know about you but I struggle to ice skate normally, let alone in the middle of the pacific on the lower deck of a rocking ship.

Such skill, much flexibility, wow

Actual ice skates… I’m still in awe

There were heaps of poolside competitions too and outdoor movies shown on the big screen each evening. Watching the latest Pirates of the Caribbean from the comfort of a Jacuzzi was definitely a highlight, though watching Steph’s face as she judged the ‘Sexiest Man’ competition was something I’ll never forget either.

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Myth: Cruise Food is bland and repetitive

Fact: Two words: Unlimited Buffet.

I’m so shattered I didn’t take any proper photos of the Windjammer (the buffet hotspot where we ate most of our meals) – which was probably because I was too busy loading my plate with food. Honestly, it was one of my favourite places on the ship.

Each night would have a different theme where you could drool over food from a specific cuisine. Our favourite was obviously Mexican night where we channelled our inner Old El Paso girl when deciding between tacos and burritos.

Words of wisdom

Themed food only made up a small portion of the meals on offer each evening, with a range of delicious delicacies that ranges from my beloved crispy calamari to heavenly cakes that even the Cookie Monster would fawn over.

Even with my ridiculous list of intolerances, I was able to eat mouth-watering, filling meals each time without having major #ragrets later – and that’s saying something. So in short, the food is fab and you’ve got nothing to worry about.
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Myth: You’re crammed into cabins like sardines

Fact: We ain’t living in Titanic ages no more, there’s plenty of space to go around.

Luckily, our group managed to nab adjoining balcony cabins, which let us wake each other up by simply shouting across the railing at each other – though we preferred to use secret door knocks #oldschool.

Having a balcony was great for hanging clothes to dry but honestly, I wouldn’t have minded a room with a big porthole window like I had on my first cruise. Even if you’re stuck in a cabin with no window, Royal Caribbean’s ships are so high tech that you can get rooms with virtual balconies which project a live stream of the outside world.

High-class living on a low-class budget

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Myth: Its full of old people

Fact: Whilst oldies are always inevitable, we actually met quite a few people our age.

We met most of them in the evenings at the resident nightclub Dizzy’s.

At first we shunned the idea of hitting up the onboard nightclub, out of fear that it would be full of the aforementioned oldies, but we soon realised that it was the exact opposite. After 11pm the loveable resident DJ, DJ Tony, came out in full swing and pumped a mix of classic RnB hits with a sprinkling of absolute bangers. Everyone our age would come flocking for a boogie (lol now I sound like an oldie) and have a genuinely great time.

Just stop and think about this for a second: When else could you go out and party until the early hours of the morning and be in bed exactly 3 minutes later? That’s right, never. If that doesn’t convince you to go party on a cruise I don’t know what will.

There’s a lot more I could say about those nights, involving 3am Jacuzzi swims, but as they say in Vegas – what happens there, stays there. Needless to say, I’d go on another cruise in the blink of an eye – just as long as I’m with friends who know how to have a good time on/offshore!

Adios Amigos *insert ship emoji*

Now What?

After cramming a 2-month assignment into 14 hours of work this weekend, I’m finally finished with uni. GLORY HALLELUJAH!

Accurate depiction of me right now.

I feel like I should be questioning my existence and wondering what the hell to do with my life, but honestly, I’m actually really happy with where I’m at.

I was officially offered a full-time position at Ogilvy a few weeks ago, and finished my first full week on Friday. You guys are probably sick of hearing about how much I love work, but I really truly do. It keeps me on my toes, gives me heaps of creative freedom (thanks Chris) and makes me feel like I’m actually somehow succeeding at adulting?

I still can’t believe that I’m the longest-standing social team member at work, but since my old boss left in June, I guess the title belongs to me. 🙊 Our team right now is honestly the best it’s been (shout-out to Tim, Phionn, Cassie, Jules and of course our lovely intern Ava) – they make coming to work way more fun than it probably should be. There’s so much banter and each person makes our lil’ team that bit more unique and fantabulous.

The ultimate #socialslavsquatsquad,

As corny as it sounds, one of my ultimate life goals is to wake up every day looking forward to work and right now, it’s a reality.

I’m so grateful that I’ve had this job to motivate me to finish uni through some pretty big highs and lows. Looking back on it, I still think first year was my favourite. I was fresh out of high school and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do; which I somehow succeeded at during my first few semesters. But then, after I got my first social media internship at Thinktank, I started to question whether Art Direction was really right for me.

I’m so glad I did, because I definitely wouldn’t have ended up working in social if I hadn’t, and would probably be joining the fish at the end of Finding Nemo right now.

My condolences to 99% of this year’s grads.

Working in Social Media is so exciting because of how quickly technology is evolving and expanding. Augmented and virtual reality are slowly creeping into every platform, and the amount of cool ads I nerd-out over each day is growing. Legit though, I actively ask people to tag me in the ads that come up on their Facebook feeds because I’m fascinated with seeing just how creative companies are getting.

If anyone’s considering a career in social, I couldn’t recommend it higher. *Translation for grads: There’s a lot of jobs going in this area so get on them before someone else does. I know I’m only just starting out but if anyone has any questions, feel free to hit me up! I’m all about sharing the love and helping out all my fellow human beings who are going through the inevitable quarter life crisis that comes with finishing uni.

Adios Amigos *insert celebration emoji*