12.14.10

So it’s been a week and a half that we have been back in Melbourne. The Devlin’s have been so kind and generous to John and I, letting us stay with them and all. We’ve done nothing but apply for jobs since we got back. During the day we go and hand out our resumes, and at night we sit on the computer applying for jobs. We’ve gotten a few calls, but mostly from agencies that are just trying to get us to come in and add us to their database. I have a lot of modeling that I am eager to start, but am going to take the next month off to relax and recoup after the intense few weeks I had been working in Bali. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that we get jobs soon. Need to stay busy and productive!
One of the most depressing things about Melbourne is the lack of Christmas spirit! I thought it would be like it is back in the states, but forget about it! The first day of summer was December 1st, so really all you see is stuff about summer and school holidays! There is maybe 1 in 3000 houses that have any sort of decoration up outside. That’s not a dramatic estimate either, there are NO decorations! You don’t see Christmas trees in people’s windows, and there is no Christmas music to be found. Not in the stores, not on the radio. Even the stores are poorly decorated. The few that are, look pretty dismal. You don’t see signs for Christmas sales and the malls don’t have Santa Clause! There are no TV specials with Christmas shows or Christmas movies, and even the churches don’t seem to be making any effort to be festive. No signs, nothing about choirs or services… nothing. Bali was more decorated then they are here, and at least in Bali people say Merry Christmas. Here they just want it to be over. It’s so sad! So of course, I have been doing my best to keep myself spirited. Listening to Christmas music as we speak!
On Sunday, John, Len and I, went out to the country to cut down a tree! I haven’t had a live tree since my dad lived in Parma. I am pretty sure that dates back to 2004 or something. We stopped at a bakery and had a meat pie, and then cheerfully cut down a Christmas tree in the perfectly warm weather. I indulged on the free cheese and wine tasting and John proudly carried the tree to Len’s car. Just yesterday we finished decorating it, which was so nice. We listened to Charlie Brown’s Christmas CD, and no body complained! The living room smells of pine and I love how the lights glow at night!
On other notes, we have just been spending a lot of time with Justine. We watched the entire series of Harry Potter over the past week, and went out to Crown Casino on Friday to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Shallows part 1. It was really good! I am anxious to see the second and final rendition to the series. We plan to watch a couple other series while we are at it… Narnia, Twilight, Star Wars, Rocky!
The one night we also went into town to meet up with Andy and Scott and Lisa and Kane. John and I had spent a day walking up and down Chapel Street to put our resumes into places, and as we passed a café, I saw Andy waiting tables! We stopped in to surprise him and he invited us over the next time to catch up. Not sure if you remember, but I worked with Andy at Zinc. He and his boyfriend broke up, and it was so emotionally taxing on Andy that he ended up quitting Zinc and skipping town before anyone could say goodbye. Needless to say, we were so excited to see him and Lisa again! Andy and Scott live in a super tiny, but awful convenient studio that is smack dab downtown, literally, right across the street from Flinders station. We all chatted for some time. Talking about what we have all been up to since leaving Port Douglas, and figuring out everyone’s plans for the upcoming year. It was such a joy to see our friends again!
We are just trying to enjoy our spare time. Before you know it, we will be busy with work and modeling again, and time will fly by so fast, we won’t know what hit us! Until then…