It’s hard to believe 2014 is almost over. Here’s my year in review.
2013 was hard. The excitement of being in Australia gave way to homesickness and a sense of grieving. By January, things had started looking up and the year started off well. I was becoming more comfortable getting around Melbourne, I had taken up hobbies, and even got a local driver’s license.
In February, I participated in an expat blog challenge. It was fun and good to be in the habit of writing everyday. It also brought to the surface a lot of the issues about being an expat that had made 2013 so challenging, but I was able to look at them with fresh eyes.
March and April were fun. I spent a weekend in the Mornington Peninsula and another weekend in Beechworth. I took up birdwatching.
In May, I was busy wrapping up my visa application and, in June, it was lodged and I received a bridging visa. I immediately applied for Medicare and began looking for work. Medicare came in handy because another major thing that happened in June is that I learned IÂ had a severe iron deficiency. A few procedures later and I was a new person. During these months, I also made a bunch of new friends who share my spiritual beliefs.
July saw one of the biggest changes in my life here in Australia: I got a job.  I was hired by Quiip, Australia’s leading social media and online community management and moderation company, and my first gig was at realestate.com.au, which was so much fun to work at.
Through August and September, I was mainly focused on work and the direction of my blog. I was finally starting to feel more settled in Melbourne and was feeling the need to move beyond being an “expat blogger”.
October was pleasant and, for me, the beginning of the holiday season. I celebrated Halloween with pumpkin carving and even a party that my friend threw.
December has been full of ups and downs. The month started out beautifully with an event with Gala Darling, one of my favourite bloggers, and then many visits to the CBD for breakfast with Social Melbourne or shopping and seeing all the wonderful Christmas decor. But it soon turned sour. Stella Young, an Australian comedian, journalist, and disability activist, died. That was followed by a hostage crisis in Sydney which ended with the deaths of two hostages and the gunman. Then, in Cairns, a woman murdered seven of her children and her niece. Meanwhile, in America, the fatal shooting of Michael Brown sparked an ongoing series of protests and civil disorder over centuries of racial oppression.
Christmas came and went. I put up the tree and my partner cooked a delicious pork roast for Christmas lunch. I am looking forward to 2015.
