Trifecta

I am very proud of myself- for three weeks in a row I have been to the gym for my scheduled 5 times a week group fitness classes. This is part of my plan to keep up my fitness regime while doing my CA, and I think it is working really well. I get the gym out of the way in the morning, leaving the evening free for dinner and a couple of hours of study (or on Monday night's, Grey's Anatomy....addicted I tell you!!)

This morning was fantastic- I woke up at 6am just before my alarm, without feeling tired, and the sun was shining down from a beautiful blue sky....it is so much easier than going to the gym in the dark!

Finally

After several weeks of looking, emailing, calling, emailing, calling, etc etc various recruitment agencies about jobs and so forth I have a couple of opportunities on the horizon, at one of which I am really excited about. I don't want to jinx it too much by posting with more details, because after waiting several weeks for something to happen I am a little afraid that nothing will eventuate! But I thought I better let everyone know that SOMETHING is finally happening, since many of you have had to listen to my looking-for-a-new-job-saga!

Cheers, Renee

What inspires you?

For me it is obviously not my work, because its 9:30am on a Thursday and I'm writing on my blog instead of doing my work. Will get back to that right after this post...

I've always enjoyed reading BRW and The Economist magazines, I always feel a little better informed and thoughtful after reading one, and it gets my mind ticking along on a different path in a way that doesn't often happen from reading or watching conventional daily news. But being a tightarse I don't often purchase them. However this week was the BRW Young Rich special, which I have bought over the past couple of years, and it always gives me something to think about.

Basically it lists the top 100 richest Australians under 40 and how they amassed their wealth. I guess the reason this edition always interests me is because I know that where I am now careerwise is not my final stopping point- I'm not settling in to climb the career ladder. Rather I see this as a training ground and a place where I can learn and amass some money and knowledge before moving into business. And its nice to read some stories of how other people have done this, and the successes and hurdles they have faced.

Debt Free

I am FINALLY debt free, after backpacking around Europe, moving to Melbourne, going to Bali for a week and paying for my first CA unit fee my credit card is completely paid off and I have my first savings accounts dollars put away so I can start my investing days. Feels good, feels good. Creditcard is being taken out of my purse to make using it as DIFFICULT as possible.

BBQ Goodness

BBQs and house parties- I think closely related social engagements, are my favourite form of socialising. So many people, a few or a lot of drinks, in the case of a BBQ- awesome food (especially yesterday, what awesome salads, and great ribs from the abattoir), and plenty of opportunity to meet new people, chat to old friends, catch up and if you want, to just chill out. I missed the vast majority of last year's BBQ season, and a decent BBQ really is an Aussie concept, so I am so happy that the new BBQ season is open.

It was also great to catch up with Laura yesterday. One of the hardest things about moving to Melbourne has been leaving behind some really good friend, but this is weighed out thankfully by the fact that, like me, most of them have buggered off as well. Its great to see that Laura, like the rest of the crew, is doing so well in sunny but cold Canberra, and her job sounds awesome. I am of course jealous!

On top on BBQ-attending I managed to study (I think I'm starting to get into a bit of a groove, and am pretty happy with my performance), go to the gym, and be a little bit domestic. So a good week in all.

I have something else to be jealous about though- Hayley messaged me to say that Michael Franti made a FREE and impromptu appearance in Adelaide today! Thank goodness I've got Fall's tickets.

BTW- I am so sick of this racist bullshit. Both sides of politics wanting new and stricter immigration controls, and trying again to tell us what it means to be Australian. Who the hell are we supposed to vote for now? (Is the fair go a quintessentially Australian thing? Bloody hell!)

Bagels

Well this is the week that I started my CA. There has been an overwhelming amount of negative feedback from most people, apart from Nick! The general line seems to be- ha ha, welcome to having no life. Well this is going to require some adjustments, but on the balance of things I am really happy to be starting, I have always been good at study and there is something reassuring about it, but mostly the CA is the next big hurdle for me to overcome. Once I have this out of the way a lot of doors will open- the one I am focusing on most at the moment being moving to London for a few years to work in a good and well paid accounting job.

As part of all this I am endeavouring to keep my evenings free for study, which means going to the gym in the morning. Gyming in the morning is so much more satisfying for me that in the evening. You get to 9am and you have already achieved something, even if the rest of your day is slightly crap (yes, I still haven't found myself a new job!) and now that the sun is coming up earlier I am not leaving the house in the dark, so getting up at 6am doesn't feel like such a struggle.

My reward for going to morning gym classes is the $5 coffee and bagel special for breakfast. Bagels intrigue me. Why are they different to a bread role? What is so good about them? I am Americanising myself by eating one for breakfast? All this intrigue aside, they are tasty, the come in a heap of different varieties, sweet and savoury, they appear to be as healthy as toast for brekkie, and the place makes good coffee too.

In other news, I am a recovering Cookie Dough Chunky Kitkat addict. This new flavour got me in its grip a few weeks ago, and resulted in me eating 2.5 of the bloody things by Wednesday night. Then I took a good hard look in the mirror, and at the kilojoule content and came to grips with the fact that 1470kj is not going to be conducive to me losing weight. I have gone 1 day without this addiction, and plan to keep it up.

What to write?

I have been starting to write posts for a couple of days now and just discarding them because I'm not sure if they are exciting enough- so be pre-warned, my life is not the most exciting at the moment, and seeing as I am commencing my first CA unit on Monday this is likely to be a continuing trend for about the next two years...if you check out my blog archives you will see that this time two years ago I have just finished two weeks in Italy (Rome, Venice and the lovely lovely Florence), the Budapest with my sis Maree and was just taking off on by backpacking Odyssey, starting in Poland. Its so hard to believe all that I have done in the past year, and it makes me determined to keep doing things that I love doing!

So what has been happening:

• Mum and Dad visited last weekend. Thanks guys: for the bike, for the rice cooker, but most of all for the catch up. It was the first Mothers/Fathers day type event that we have been together for for several years, and a BBQ breakfast (cooked by Dad ironically) and Brunetti's cakes and coffee was a great way to do things.
• Hayley got a great new job. Congratulations and welcome to the daily grind. Just be Hayley and you will surely blow them all away!
• Mel visited again, for the last time. But thats because she is moving here on Monday. She might even be able to make it from her suave pad for morning gym classes with me!
• I didn't get a new job yet. I will be looking intensively this weekend. But pretty much I have to grin and bear this job until I find another that I want.
• I've got fully back into the swing of morning gym classes after about a month of either being sick, being slack of going to evening classes. I want to keep my evenings free for study, plus I feel way more hardcore going in the morning!

Okay, so you were warned, nothing that exciting there! See you next time...

Spring at Last

I have been a lucky little new Melbournian this Winter, because although the weather has been bloody cold, it has not often been cold, and there have been a lot of days with lovely blue skies. But somebody asked me the other day if, being born and bred in the red centre (aka Alice Springs) I didn't miss the heat. Well the heat (often close to or over 40) I don't miss so much, but the endless days of blue skies I do!

So there is a lot to look forward to: daylight saving and long evenings. Getting up in the morning (even at 6am to go to the gym) and it being light. BBQ weather. Sweating. Walking around in the sunshine. Leaving work and it not being dark. Wearing singlets, and my favourite form of footwear- thongs! Hooray Hooray!