The Last 5 Months

I remember the exact moment I decided to apply to work in Sydney. It was late at night, and Richard and I were reading before bed. I saw the job posting on the DLF mailing list and thought “Naw, I won’t apply, it’s in Sydney…that would be crazy”. After thinking for a minute longer, it changed to “O what the hell, it can’t hurt”. The next morning I was called by a recruiter, and within 2 weeks I had started working at FOX. It was a complete whirlwind. Over the next few months I had always questioned that moment and decision, second guessing whether or not it was the right thing to do because of living away from Richard, the cats, stress, money, the challenge of staying in touch with family and friends overseas, the crazy Sydney weather and bugs, starting over in a new city somewhat isolated, etc. 

5 months later, I can say with absolute certainty that taking the job in Sydney was absolutely the right decision. Its been a really fun, challenging, and positive work experience, and I’ve learned a hell of a lot. I have met and worked with some fantastic people, and have had the chance to live and explore in a world famous city. It’s gotten me back on track for working out here which is really exciting. 

I have been lucky enough to work with some incredibly amazing people on different film crews/post houses, but no matter how many times I have to say good bye to people when the project comes to an end, it never gets easier. Working 10-12+ hour days means that these people become your family, and you often see them more than other halves and family. 

I came into work last Monday expecting to wrap Friday, and by the time the week concluded, I was presented with the opportunity to stay an additional 3 1/2 months for the shoot. It’s going to be crazy pants, but I’m really excited for the next phase. 

For Pops

This first post of 2014 is dedicated to my Pops.

I have been in Sydney for almost 3 months and am really enjoying work and the city, and I've met great people here. I have found that people living in either Melbs or Sydney tend to mock the other city claiming their city is superior, it's totally the equivalent of Angelinos vs. San Franciscans. Ultimately, both cities are so different and there are pros & cons to each. 

Sydney has so many charming older beautiful areas brimming with terrace style houses, and the stretch of land along the bay is gorgeous. The shopping in Sydney is incredible, it's seriously a shopaholics dream. There are so many restaurants...so much good food and so little time! I've only been to 1 museum thus far and am looking forward to exploring others. Apparently the zoo is supposed to be great as well. I've been dying to go to the Hunter Valley, and will be doing a tour with the other half next weekend!

Sydney is evil when it comes to the humidity, my hair is a constant ball of frizz fluff. The bugs are no bueno, and the spiders here are especially terrifying. Because it's more tropical here, the variety of birds are a bit different. I love hearing kookaburras on my ride into Fox. There are so many Ibis everywhere which are the most intriguing looking birds, kind of a cross between a Turkey and a Crane? After being mocked by coworkers, I learned that Aussie's highly dislike them because they're stinky and the equivalent of rats in the US. 

Getting out of work around dusk means that I get to see the nightly fruit bat migration from the Botanical Gardens up to Centennial Park, which is where Fox is nestled somewhat in the middle of. Looking up to the sky and seeing hundreds of fruit bats is unlike anything I've seen before. Like other Australian animals, they're quite loud and make an adorable chirp bark noise. My commute to my apartment is under many of the trees that they're doing their business in, so I'm really hoping to avoid getting pooped on during my time here...

Forgotten Blog Post from November 2013

As I have written previously, 2013 has been quite challenging because of job hunting in Melbourne (Aussie nickname = Melbs). About 3 weeks ago, I was offered the opportunity to coordinate the previs department for a feature film shooting in Sydney on the Fox lot. I've been wanting to go back to working on a lot since I left Sony, and I jumped at the chance. The first 2 weeks whizzed by, I've learned so much and am really excited about the project. It simply feels amazing to be working again.

It would be an absolutely perfect situation except for the fact that Richard is in Melbs. Sydney is about an hour flight or an 8 hour drive. The current plan is to commute back and forth on weekends which is somewhat reasonable price wise. I got very lucky finding a studio in Paddington (Aussie nickname = Paddo) which is about a 10 min. bike ride/25 min walk. 

It's exciting to be in a new city and have the opportunity to do some exploring. The Sydney Opera House is something I've been so excited to visit, and seeing it for the first time was simply incredible. I'm also really happy to have access to both theatre scenes in Sydney & Melbs. 

Crazy story to end on. My first night here, I ended up running into a friend from high school that I hadn't seen in 11 + years (since Tabor graduation). It was some random side street, Richard almost had us turn to walk another way to dinner, and suddenly it was like holy crap! The chances of running into the 1 person you know in a city of 4 + million is insane! And now we live just a few blocks away from one another:) 

41 Days till 30....

It's slowly creeping to almost a month before I turn 30 and I really wish that I could hit pause. I had imagined that I would be in a completely different place professionally at this time.

I have been looking for work since the beginning of January, and I never anticipated that in moving to Melbourne it would be as hard as it is to land a job in the industry. Don't get me wrong, I am up for the challenge, but there comes a point when all you want is good news. I refuse to turn to another career or switch from working in film, I definitely need to figure out how to rise above the obstacles. Coming here has definitely made me question where I want to end up professionally, and I'll admit, I've felt a bit lost. On the positive side, its been really interesting having the time to dive into interests that I had always been curious about.

Today I got a job with a catering company which will be an efficient filler until either a job comes along or I get into grad school. I never thought I would be catering again, the last year has been very humbling and the feeling of going back 4 years to when I was catering in LA is even more so.  I was admittedly the worst in the class which did nothing for my excitement in being there...it reminded me of when my Mom used to threaten to send me to The Ritz when I was little.

I would like to set a goal of using the next 41 days to figure my shit out in order to come up with the grand master plan...

The note I would like to end on for the evening is that no matter how crappy a day its been, I love that I can put on a favorite movie and all the bullshit simply melts away. Tonight, Julie & Julia :)

Seahorses

Alright, its been a long time since I've written a post. My time has been mainly occupied by the stress of job searching. I've been trying to stay grounded and busy by doing things that I never have time to do when I'm working full time, such as writing, sketching, reading film books and for pleasure, working out hard core, baking, organizing crap that you never would normally have time to do.

As you all know I'm an animal lover and over the years have had cats, dogs, a horse, ferrets, and birds. I have always loved marine life, and one of the things that got me so excited about moving to Australia was being in the same country as the Great Barrier Reef. It apparently costs a crazy amount of $ to get to and has lots of poisonous stuff that could make your trip not as pleasant as you would like, but it's still #1 on the list!

With having ample time on my hands, I've decided to start a salt water tank. It took me a bit to decide on whether or not I wanted to go with fish (yes I was planning on doing a Finding Nemo theme) or seahorses. Seahorses have been a favorite of mine for years; I think they're absolutely fascinating and adorable.

SOOO, yesterday I got sand, live rock, a nano stream, a filter, and 130 liters (35 gallons) of sea water thus starting the seahorse adventure! It's going to take several weeks until the tank environment is ready, but until then I have the live rock to keep me entertained with its mystery inhabitants.

Horses & Wine

Last week a friend and I went down to the Mornington Peninsula for a horseback winery tour. Such a fabulous combination, although my ability to stay on the horse was definitely put to the test after the second tasting...

I used to horseback ride competitively way back in the day, owned a horse, and did eventing. My horse sadly had to be put down when I was in 9th grade, and it stopped me riding for a long time. I haven't been back in the saddle for probably about 7 years. It's amazing how quickly everything comes back to you, riding was second nature to me for such a long time. I miss it a lot and wish it was a more accessible sport living in a city.

One of my best friend's last week said that moving to Australia is a chance for me reinvent myself. I've loved having the time to do things that I haven't done in years and re-visit things that at one time were really important to me. Regardless of how stressful the job hunt can get, I think it's really important to stay grounded and go on crazy Aussie adventures to let off steam. Next adventure...the Dandenongs.

Nesting!

We FINALLY received our shipment from the States on July 18th! It feels so damn good to have everything here. I forgot how incredible it is to sleep on a real bed. 

2 1/2 weeks later, all boxes are downstairs ready to be picked up for recycling, we've sorted clothes, shoes, books, movies, kitchen items, and every paper from the last 5 + years. It feels satisfying to be wicked organized and to re-discover items. I will admit, I had been putting off sorting about 3 file folders for the past 2 years...they're now officially done. And having our CA wine & Matilda beer here is a beautiful thing. 

Our apartment is feeling much more like home:)