All posts filed under: Life Abroad

Chasing the Sun

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I want to start by giving a big shout out to Mum, who turns 21 today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MUM! You’re the greatest and I hope you have a lovely day 🙂 Last week , we had the most amazing weather here in San Francisco, in a city renown for its fog. The sun shone for hours, and I relished putting on shorts for the first time this season. The warmth of the sun on my skin felt so good, I just hope there’s many more days like this to come… I have been so caught up in work (and am starting to think ‘workaholic’ is my middle name), so I have recently been extricating myself and trying to consciously enjoy the moments of my life here in a city I really love. One day last week, we randomly piled into the car and chased the sun all the way down Geary. We wound up at the Sutro Baths to watch the last five minutes of the sun as it descended into the Pacific. I love …

Radvent 2010 – Day 6: Adventuring

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Day Six of Radvent 2010 is all about Adventuring. Abandon your to-do list and go somewhere else. Somewhere new. Somewhere you have wanted to explore. Bring a camera and take a picture to celebrate the moment when you abandoned anxiety and insecurity, embraced imagination and opportunity, and let life unfold.   The best part about living in the city of San Francisco is that so much of it is still new to me. I have been fortunate to venture out of my little five block radius (to and from BART) through our urban hikes and through meeting people who know different parts of town. Leslie has introduced me to the Mission — the joys of the Candystore Collective (16th Street) and of Honey Lavender ice cream at the amazing Bi-Rite Creamery (18th Street @ Delores). With Mary, we’re slowly but surely are tasting all the brew houses and sushi houses in town. On our days off, the American and I have taken to doing ‘urban hikes’ to explore different parts of the city, because even …

Radvent 2010 – Day 5: Rocking Out!

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Radvent 2010 – Day 5: Rocking Out! Write down the soundtrack of your year so far. Play it for someone who loves you. 2010 Playlist 1. Darren Hanlon – All These Things Darren Hanlon: The consummate troubadour who has the gift of writing the tightest and sweetest, most genuine pop songs. Bron introduced me to him a few years ago — he was ducking out to go see a few minutes of Bob Geldof at Enmore Theatre just before he went onstage at Goldman’s. Rock ‘n’ roll! Since then, we’ve met him in other places around the traps like San Francisco and Dunedin, and am hoping he’ll stop by again soon… 2. Angus and Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane 3. Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition I have been far away from a lot of the hype around this group, but noticed it this song has been used on a few ads here. It’s growing on me and I like the clip, though. 4. Belle and Sebastian – I Want The World To Stop LOVE! …

Radvent 2010 – Day 1: Remembering

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Today is the first day of Radvent 2010,  the blogging project I am participating in, which is the brainchild of designer Princess Lasertron. What were you doing five years ago today? As the holiday season began? Where were you? Who were you with? What did you want? What did you have? Five years ago, it was 2005.  I was living (rather unhappily, for the most part) back in Sydney. A few months previously, I’d lost my Grandpa, and threw myself into my studies and in supporting my favourite Aussie Rules team, the Sydney Swans. I remember a lot about the day my Grandpa died — the urgency in Dad’s voice when he woke me up; Mum encouraging me to touch his hand and talk to him; and one of the most memorable moments from that day was sitting outside in the sunshine with my siblings, chatting about the good times with Pa. It’s probably the closest we have ever been. We must have sat there for three hours, the sun on our skin, lounging on …

It was four years ago today…

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…When I, by chance, met the love of my life on a couch in a hostel in the west of Ireland. It was November 2006. The month before, I had left my comfortable, old life as a Sports Copytaker at AAP in Sydney, Australia, and moved to Ireland. I’d overcome my existential crisis (“How do I fit my life in a suitcase?”), said my tearful goodbyes to friends and family, and flew halfway around the world. I spent three and a half weeks travelling around, drinking in Galway with other Aussies who were also there for the International Rules, hiking in Killarney, partying in Cork, madness in Dublin, and meeting new friends (Hello Gill! Hello Alice!) whom I knew were more than just passing acquaintances. And then I made one of the best decisions of my life: to return to Galway and base myself there. I returned to Sleepzone — the same place where I’d stayed with the other Fanatics for the first game of International Rules. I met the local cast of (mostly Aussie) …