FILA

So I am home, and so happy to be back. Its funny, I've moved out of Atlanta twice, have never been away from the city for more than two months at a time, and am always elated when I see the skyline from the window of a descending plane. Its meant to be :)

I got to see the Canadian Rockies from the air! My only window seat throughout the 30 hr, 11,000 mile journey:)

So I got to my mom's house at like 1AM, and crashed. Spend all of Friday with her which was great. Then Saturday, my friend Sam picked me up and we went to go surprise Joe. I was hoping for some exclaimed curse words in order to make the video of his reaction go viral, but there were customers when I slipped into a seat at his work, and a glass window right behind me, so he couldn't make as big of a tackling scene as he probably wanted ha. But throughout the day Saturday, I hit up Octane coffee, the weloveatl truck, Victory Sandwiches where I had a famous Jack and Coke slushie and a sandwich with sweet tea mayo (welcome to the South), and got to drop my first Free Art Friday contribution. And it was 90 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Needless to say, I was in heaven.

Sunday was of course dedicated to the World Cup finals and cheering for the Germans! I got to spend a lot of time with Taylor (my co-world traveler). We ended up after the game with an apartment full of crazy cool kids, cooked Brats, drank hefeweizen, ate German potato sala, and watched Beerfest. Cause Germany.

I bought a tiny 50cc scooter (which I have yet to ride on an actual road cause I'm too nervous), and got hired at Industry Tavern, and worked a couple shifts on the Tyler Perry set. And I've only been home for a week.

This is where I feel most at home. There is always something going on, and even when it is pouring down rain, people are out and about at the malls, coffee shops, running half marathons (looking at you, WMRC). I have spent time with so many people this past week that mean so much to me. It's great to know that I have made life-long friends who feel my abscence as much as I felt theirs. It is also an amazing feeling knowing that the money I spent on a plane ticket was worth every penny to get see these crazy kids for the next few months.
Forever I Love Atlanta :D

Chasing The Summer

I have made an important realization. I do not want to live in Australia. Maybe someday, but not now. To be honest, I don't want to live anywhere right now..

When I packed up my entire life belongings into three duffel bags and boarded a plane that took me 9,000 miles away from the only home I had known, I was excited and thrilled with the prospect of living in a land of new culture, new people, new accents. I was expecting Paul Hogan, but what I got was Brisvegas (literally people call it that here. Don't ask me).

I never have been good at staying settled (I've had upwards of 9 jobs and 6 different living situations in the past four years), so it was a bit premature to say I was going to move to a brand new city/country for two years.

Brisbane is a beautiful city, don't get me wrong, and there really is a lot of markets and coffee shops and quaint boutiques..but what they all have in common is that they are proportionately expensive and they all close at 6pm. If I could land a job, that would make living here easier. If the sun didn't set at 5:30pm and it didn't drop down to 50 degrees with nightfall, that would make living here easier. If a beer didn't cost upwards of $10 for a bottle (and that's not even craft), that would make living here easier. If I didn't spend so much time texting my bestfriends back home and checking out their crazy summer shenanigans on facebook, that would make living here easier. If my apartment wasn't full of allergens and moths, that would make living here easier.

I am not one to complain, I always try to find the positives in a situation. Currently, though, I truly believe I would be happiest hanging in Atlanta for the summer, returning to AU for their summer in November, then maybe following the season back to the northern hemisphere in Asia or Europe. I don't know where the wind will take me, but I do know that being happy should be everyone's first priority (after the basic physiological human needs have been met of course), and the heat, hills, and humidity of Atl is what will make me happy right now :)

Cheers

What's On!

One thing I love about cities is that there is always something going on.
The Brisbane government gives a lot of effort to provide interesting, culture-inducing, and health related events. There are free workouts, yoga, and tai-chi every week, art programs for kids and elderly, and heaps of public music on a daily basis.

One Saturday, I was just walking to the library, and all of a sudden there was a Hari Krishna parade on blocked off streets, with a giant float, that ended at the square in front of city hall! Free delicious vegetarian food plated up for anyone that wanted some as well.

Then there was a festival in Chinatown with music on a stage, a clothing and jewelry market, oh and a camel. A freaking camel chillin in the middle of the city...what?

The government also sponsors special events like a three day used book sale with millions of books, where I stumbled upon a publication that highlighted the best players on the National Rugby team. My cousin is on page 65!

Oh and this was the following nationally recognised week...

I also got to go to Eat Street Markets, a night foodie event with over 50 shipping containers that have been reconfigured as mini-restaurant, art galleries, and dessert stations. And of course bands that play all day. And this event goes from 10am-7pm Fri, Sat, and Sun...every single week of the year. There were so many international options. I ended up with this Japanese pancake/pizza thing. I started eating before I remembered to take a picture, but omg it was incredible! Finished the meal with churros dipped in chocolate and dulce de leche....perfect meal with great music (have you ever heard a reggae cover of Gangsta's Paradise?)