Author: Anne S

Wow, I’m absolutely blown away by all the comments I’ve received about my move to Sydney – thanks everyone, it felt really good to read all those positive vibes.  It’s funny, but one of the girls at work the other day started saying how this could be “the big plan” for me … it does seem strange that everything that has happened recently has lead me to this opportunity, ie that my Elwood flat became dangerous so I started looking for a new place, then got put off flatting with Sheree and decided to put my stuff into storage to go housesitting … if I hadn’t got my personal belongings in storage I never would have looked at this job twice!

A few of the people at work think I’ll never return to Melbourne again … and that my career will skyrocket haha.  All I can say is that I have no plans beyond the next 12 months – and I’m not taking my personal belongings with me until I know where I want to be after that 12 months is up.  If I find I’m loving it in Sydney at that time, then I’ll look at moving up ‘formally’, but until that time I’m just going to enjoy the challenges the next 12 months will be bringing me, and so far anticipate moving back here again at the end of it all.

Another great thing is that this time I have some friendly stitching faces already in Sydney – thanks so much for your offers Tash and Gail … I’d love to catch up when I move up there.  It look me a couple of years after moving to Melbourne before I started blogging and meeting some lovely local ladies (starting with Sharon and Gina, then later on Tannia, Mel, and Junette) – so having some like-minded people already in contact is a wonderful feeling.

I must say I’m really really looking forward to having ‘all’ my stash accessible in one room again – it also means I can get back to stitching on my rotation again, and working on those BAP’s I’ve had to put in storage temporarily.  I won’t say my entire stash will be coming with me, but definitely every single one of my kitted up projects, along with one ringbinder of extra unkitted charts, and all my fabrics and threads. 

Of course the other great thing is that I’ll have Brenda and Nigel in the same city – Nigel is my best friend Vicki’s brother, and I’ve known him for just over 30 years now, and his wife Brenda for many years too.  It will be amazing having people within driving distance that know me and all my history … that’s the one thing I’ve missed here at times, and it’s easy to take that sort of friendship for granted.  Of course the other great thing is that there’s a huge kiwi contingent in Sydney, which means I’ll be able to satisfy my yearnings for L&P and Griffins gingernuts etc more easily haha.

I’ll miss shift work to a certain degree, but it will also be nice to have regular sleeping patterns again – the latest roster I’ve been working over the last 6 months has been exceptionally tiring, I’ve really hated parts of it with a passion.  As much as it will be a right royal pain driving in peak hour traffic regularly again, it will be nice to be able to watch my fave TV shows regularly, catch up with people for dinner without having to block a night in your diary 3-4 months in advance, and I could even join in some more SAL’s now.  Not to mention I could join the local Guild and have a regular stitching session each month … crikey, that would be something! 😀

I think I’ve decided what my celebratory treat to myself will be – I’ve decided to stick to my 50 project challenge until finished (‘cos after all, there’s not much left to go now), and I’m going to treat myself to a French book I saw at Crewel Gobelin when I visited in April this year.  I didn’t buy it then as it was over $50, but I really loved it, and what better treat than something that will reside beautifully on my bookshelves for years to come (unless of course it’s sold out now)?  The other thing I really want to do is to get my Friendship Quaker RR framed for my new room so I can sit it on an easel (if I don’t have a wall hook) – that would be a wonderful testament to my online friendships, and give me the warm fuzzies in my new surroundings.

I have to admit, I’m really quite excited about it all – there are so many positives, they sure outweigh the negatives at the moment.  For those of you wanting to know how far away I’m moving to … I’ve been checking a few websites, and if I take the Hume Highway route (which is very direct, and very boring driving from memory the last and only time I did it), it’s approx 9-10 hours driving time, and just under 1000 km (I’ve seen a couple of maps showing between 870-960 km).  Personally I’d love to be able to take the coastal route, and drive up with two overnight stopovers to have a sort of ‘mini holiday’ on the way … but I’ll have to see if that’s feasible.  It would also be really good to have two full days off when I arrive in Sydney to relax and chill out and get my work clothes unpacked etc as well.

Here’s a link to two driving maps … the first one up the Hume Highway and the 2nd one following the coast … I’d dearly love to do that second one.  There is a bit of tourist info about the coastal drive here as well.  Here’s a map of where I’ll be driving (approx):

View Larger Map

This is all Rissa’s fault … I thought it would be fun – the idea is to do a screen dump of your desktop and post for all the world to see.  Well, I’m sure you’ll not be surprised that I’ve chosen a wee duckling as my current desktop piccie … isn’t it cute?!!  I also have a piccie of a grown-up duck that I swap around and use from time to time as well, but this one remains my all-time favourite one … perhaps because of the blue background as well as the duck 🙂

… ‘cos … I’M OFF TO SYDNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, my head is spinning off my shoulders big time!!  I got the call this afternoon offering me the promotion, and I accepted, and now it’s sinking in what I’m actually doing … OMG!!! 😛

My starting date is Wednesday 14 November, and my last day at work at this stage is Friday 9 November – and I have to pack up my car and take the looooong drive up to Sydney after work (where I would break the journey in say Albury or somewhere – or I could get a motel or something overnight in Melbourne and head up the next day).  And I have to do all the important things like get the forms to forward my mail etc (I’ll open a PO Box somewhere in Sydney for the year, and leave my PO Box in Melbourne open, I guess).

Anyway, I just thought I’d let everyone know the news – now I just have to work out how the heck to catch up with everyone that I want to before I leave Melbourne … when I have very limited time available to me compliments of some crappy shifts (such as 4pm-midnight all next week!).

I have the next two days off, so I think I’ll start making up some lists of things I need to take with me, and things I need to organise changes of address for etc – and I’ll need to find somewhere to live, which is the next critical stage, so I’ll be phoning my friends Brenda & Nigel to see if I can bunk in their spare room until I can find something closer to work (I think they’re about a 2-hour commute from the airport hmmm).  The fun thing about my new office is that it is based out by the airport, and you can see the planes coming and going out the window … it’s definitely more in the ‘hands-on’ area of the airline, it’s going to be a major challenge, and perhaps the biggest work challenge I’ve ever had to date … time will tell anyway.

Well, enough rambling, as I know that’s exactly what I’m doing … I’m going to sit now and break my rotation and work on Snapperville for an hour.  Muffy has finally settled down on the sofa next to me after going mental and jumping up and down and trying to french kiss me when I first arrived, she was so excited to see me come home haha.  Time to kick back and try not to think for an hour or so 😉

Just think, though, of all the exciting new LNS’es I will get to explore … Karen at Dragonfly Dreams, here I come!!!! 😀

In fact, I think a bit of stash enhancing just might be in order by way of celebration teehee … 50 project challenge, I hear you say … um, what’s that??? LOL 😀