Week number 5!!!! I’ve officially been a Sydneysider for over a month, I would say it’s flown by, but it actually feels like it’s gone so slowly!?! I think it’s because I had two weeks at Morna’s and then two weeks in the apartment, but now we’re in the apartment I think time is going to fly!
Monday was a wfh day, my fav kind of day because all your time is your ooown and you can have a nice slow morning doing all your fave things (aka going on a morning walk). Today was a v exciting day as my suitcase that I got shipped out here arrived so I finalllly have all of my belongings which makes everything feel a little better and a little more homely, yay! Other than that, a pretty low key day except for in the evening. It was about half 10 and I hear Amelia say, in a quiet but slightly stressed/strained voice ‘OMFG what was that’, so me and Mads run to check she’s okay. She doesn’t have a fly screen in her room but left the window open while her light was on and we walk into her room and it looks like David Attenborough is about to start shooting a new documentary on bugs. There is a cockroach scrambling up the wall and mosquitos the size of a 50p flying around her light. We’re obviously all squealing at this stage and I run to get a hoover to try and hoover them all up! We get rid of most of the mozzies but lost track of the cockroach, I’m not sure how she slept in her room that night and am concerned about the whereabouts of the cockroach but am v proud of us for sorting it all out ourselves.
Tuesday I was meant to be in the office but I wfh’ed (hehe), Switched up the morning and went to Bronte beach instead and sat and read my book for a little bit. I’ve also been absolutely loooving a podcast since I’ve been here, particularly Today in Focus to keep up with all the goings on in the UK and The Documentary Podcast, it covers so many interesting things, would recommend. Took myself for a lil dip at lunch time, how lunch times have changed! When I was in Tooting/Croydon I would just work straight through lunch as there seemed like nothing better to do. Went to Pilates in the eve (probs going to stop telling you I do this every week as it’s feeling very rinse and repeat) and there was a cover instructor and hooooly moly. At first I was thinking this class is a bit easy, and she obviously heard my inner thoughts as the second half of the class was a joke. I kept trying to do the ab exercises but fell into a bundle on the floor. There was a group of guys in the class and they definitely also thought at first that it was going to be an easy class but by the end you could see their abs were quiverrrring. If I could do an exercise for longer than any of them I sat their feeling v smug. Hehe.
Back in the office on Wednesday and I tested out a new coffee spot (there are so many I could probably visit a new one every time I go into the office). Todays spot was called Two Little Pickles and it’s a lil hole in the wall kind of vibe. The sandwiches they had at the front looked soooo good, I’m going to go back for lunch once I’ve been paid next week (haven’t been paid since SEPTEMBER so finances are becoming a bit of a strugg). Afterwork I went on my first Aussie hinge date, WITH AN AUSSIE. Before you ask, yes he did have a mullet and a mo, so I can tick both of those off of my Australian bucket list. Anyway, first things first, he picks me up from my office in a Ute, yes a ute. Just before I met him he’d been to the supermarket and asked if I wanted a drink but I forgot to reply to that message and thank god I did because I get in the car and he offers me a Kombucha. It is at this moment that I realise we both have very different ideas of what a date should be like because I definitely would have been asking him to get me a 6 pack of beers instead of Kombucha. I get into the car and he is weirdly stand offish, but I persevere and continue to chat his ear off for the next 30 mins. We head to this swimming spot just past Coogee where there are some rock pools that are perfect for swimming. It’s a pretttty cold evening, but this guy is really outdoorsy so I had to prove that I too can be outdoorsy despite my Instagram being 100% basic bitch. So I stripped down to my bikini (on a first date, bold I know, would not catch me doing this in England) and hopped STRAIGHT into the pretty freezing cold rock pool which was v refreshing. Post swim we went to Coogee and got fish and chips and sat on the beach for a couple of hours as the sun went down (by this stage he was being much more chatty and less stand offish, thank god). Then he drove me home and that was my first sober date done n dusted. Tbh was actually quite nice being sober because your opinion isn’t masked by alcohol making someone ten times funnier lol.
On Thursday had my first day of feeling so so homesick. I think it was a combination of a couple of things, 1) work is very different to what I expected it to be 2) i’ve been having an identity crisis and 3) being in a new city can actually be sooo lonely! To expand on 2 and 3. As much as I’ve been loving the wholesome/fitness/healthy lifestyle I feel like the person I was in the month before I moved out here was just a completely different person, I was out all the time with all my closest friends and I really miss that. I seem to find it so difficult to find the balance between going out/socialising/having fun and fitness/living a healthy lifestyle and the person I’ve been over the past month has been so far the other way and so far removed from London Chloe and I miss her! Secondly, being in a new city is fun and meeting new people is exciting, but at the end of the day if I want to make a plan in the evening there is only a handful of people I know to be able to text to ask to do something! It’s weird because in London I would love an occasional night in and spending time on my own, but I think the difference is that in London if I was choosing to have a night in it would be out of choice and because I wanted to be on my own, whereas in Aus if I’m on my own, it’s literally because I have no one to be with/no other choice if that makes sense!? It’ll take some getting used to and it’ll be fine I’m sure but was just my first wobble! Other than that Thursday was fine, I presented in my first client meeting and met up with Morna for some wines after work (to celebrate her getting PR!!!!!)
Friday morning Morna and I felt like God once again as we went to yoga at 7am despite both feeling a little rough. The alcohol here always without fail gives me a hangover, I don’t know what is different about it but there’s definitely something not quite the same. It was then time for my first media owner lunch!!!! We went somewhere called The Dolphin Hotel in Surry Hills, this is going to be such a perk of working media – being able to get to explore restaurants for free through media owners. Ideal. I had to leave earlyish to head back to get ready to go to Mall Grab in the eve, finally a proper night ooout! Yay! I headed to my friends Sam and Charlie’s friend of a friend (you really have to hold tight to all your ‘close’ connections out here) Tom’s for pre’s and wowee his apartment was wild with panoramic views of Tamarama beach and we were there just as the sun was going down! Then we joined another group of people for pres and headed to Mall Grab! The venue was an interesting choice, it was at the UNSW students union, a very questionable decision from Mall Grab’s team but I think it must be because there is literally no other decent venues in Sydney!?!! The night was so fun, and it felt so good to daaaance (lol I am cringing at myself saying that but not sure what else to say about it) after a month of wholesomeness. I massively regretted the jager and red bull that I had when I was up until 4am. I also had a TERRIBLY sad experience with my Deliveroo order, I ordered it at 2:47 and waited for it to arrive until 4 AM!!!! By which time I realised that it was never going to arrive and fell asleep, only to wake up at 8 am to 3 missed calls from the Deliveroo driver to say they tried to deliver it at 6 30am. Fuming was an understatement, was desp for my McChicken burger. So Saturday morning started off with some very Karen emails to Deliveroo’s customer support team asking why it took 3 and a half hours for my McChicken to be delivered and them giving me a $5.09 refund from a $20 order. Absolutely MUGGY behaviour in this cost of living crisis we find ourselves in. Will be escalating on Monday.
Saturday started exactly the way I started last Saturday, heading down to Clovelly beach for a little dip and hungover nap. Getting in the sea is honestly the number one hangover cure and I will not be told otherwise. Topped up the tan, headed to the gym and then headed on hinge date numero dos of the week, however this time we went for drinks in Bondi! Was fashionably late, obviously. This guy was from the US rather than Aus and our sense of humours were wildly different, and we were in a bar that’s music was so loud and every joke that was made had to be repeated about 3 times until the other person could hear/understand. Bit of a vibe kill but it was fun to go out in Bondi! By 11 I was literally falling asleep (from the chat or the tiredness from the late night/early morn I am not too sure) so when he suggested we go elsewhere I suggested I go and wait for my bus.
Sundaaay was one of my fav days in Aus so far and what it feels like it is all about! Me and some girls, Salmo (we’re trying to get this nickname to catch on for Amelia), Sophia and Occy went for brunch at a lil spot in Bondi called Brown Sugar, I got Avo Smash (classique) with hashbrowns and an oat flatty. Then we went to Coogee for the afternoon with a bigger group of people, went in the sea, nearly got knocked out by some waves (have finally overcome my fear of the waves) and just has the most wholesome Sunday!!!! Did a food shop, attempted to go to the gym but got there and it was closed and now here I am typing this up.
So after my wobble mid week I now feel like my fun cup has been filled and I don’t want to drink for about another two weeks. Grass is always greener eh. All in all, A GREAT WEEK.
Thanks for reading,
CC x
Chloe Cripps 