Hi!!!
It's been a while since I've posted so here's an update. I started working full-time about 4 weeks ago at the same hotel and since I'm not paying rent to live here I've been able to save a lot of money. So what am I going to do with that money, you ask? Well, in five more weeks I'll be leaving Wellington and going to Australia for a couple weeks! I'll spend eight days in Sydney and eight days in Melbourne. Then it's back to Wellington, where I will catch the ferry down to the South Island and then the Stray bus down to Queenstown where I plan to stay until I come home on June 29th! Very exciting plans. :-)
I'm definitely ready to be moving on here pretty soon. Overall wishing I was doing something a little more substantial and kind of getting over the hospitality industry. Not sure what that means for plans when I get home, especially considering the job market is still not so hot. I have a lot of things I'm interested in pursuing though and I suppose having a lot of ideas is better than having none. Depending on how much I like Sydney and/or Melbourne when I'm there I may consider trying to move there and get a real job, possibly in advertising. Otherwise I may look into going to school there, maybe for graphic design, maybe for something else. Or I may look into going back to school back home. Who knows! I probably should, but I definitely have learned a ton on this trip and I think it's probably the best thing I could have done for myself. So even if I haven't answered the question of "what do I do with my life?" it's definitely been worth it. And if nothing else, I've learned that "what you do with your life" is what you're doing right now. And this was it for now. And maybe that's enough as long as you're happy and can sustain yourself. Anyway, enough philosophy...
I've still been having fun in Wellington. The NZ International Arts Festival was this month and part of it was the "Writers and Readers Week" where they had a bunch of authors come and speak. I went to see Audrey Niffenegger talk at The Embassy Theatre. She's the author of The Time Traveler's Wife. That was pretty neat. It's interesting to hear what made an author create a story the way they did. Made me just want to read all day long. :-) A musician I really like, Newtown Faulkner, is coming to town in April and I'm going to the show with this cool English girl I've been hanging out with.
Other than that, not too much new here! Just working a lot and trying to get out as much as I can when I'm not working, but most of that consists of running along the waterfront, which is actually pretty cool. Oh, and going to the Sunday farmers market (since I work Tuesday through Saturday now, instead of Saturday and Sunday) and getting all my fruits and vegetables for the week. But these are things that I seem to immensely enjoy so it's nice.
I think I'll definitely miss Wellington. A big part of me wishes I had more time here, and more friends, and a real job and that generally it wasn't so far away. But perhaps I can come back sometime. Anyway, here are a few pictures of recent sunsets and such.
Talk to you all soon!Love, Laura
