Today it has officially been raining for one week solid. Further down the island people are being evacuated from their homes, cut off from the rest of the country due to crumbling cliffs and it seems like the country is going to be spending more billions that they don't have because nature is playing games this year! Up in Auckland however we are just grumbling because everything is wet and soggy, and the temperatures have dropped making it feel like Autumn all over again. To begin with we tried to stay positive but now it's just really starting to get annoying and we're all suffering a little bit from cabin fever. What happened to the beginning of summer?!
On the upside it has given me a lot of time for thinking. At the end of last year I left my job and moved out into the countryside. I needed some time out! Those of you who have been following my blog for a while now will have noticed that I've often been indecisive and non-committal about my plans and ideas. Before I left my job and moved out here I had just finished university (again... this time completing my postgraduate diploma in Translation studies, a course which I hated and had to battle my way to the end with), I was working a practically minimum wage job at a props and costume hire place until they ended up closing down the huge vintage warehouse which had been my only reason for staying, I was disgusted by the house I had moved into which was torn down the day after we moved out... all in all I would just come home from work everyday in a rotten mood and felt certain that there must be more to life than this! So when the opportunity arose to move back out to the little cottage on my mothers farm we jumped at the chance. We didn't have to pay any rent here (in exchange we were going to help out on the farm and look after the place while my mother was overseas) but I still had to figure out what I was going to do for money. In the end I decided to fulfil my dream of opening a little vintage store. In between looking for the perfect vacant shop, I scrapped together all my spare money and booked a flight to Europe for a much needed catch up with my family, friends and best friend who was now living smack in the middle of Paris. On returning it became clear that my shop dreams were going to have to be put on hold thanks to a crumbling economy. So instead, as you know, I opened an online store called Dashfield Vintage. I had stalls at the markets most weekends, met the most amazing fellow stall holders and customers, and found that I could put a lot of what I had learnt from working in costume and wardrobe to use. Amazingly enough I managed to generate enough money from doing this to be able to survive for the year without having to get an additional job. I have literally spent the last 6 months with a fairly great daily routine. I get up at 8am, check my emails and read blogs while I eat breakfast, do a bit of writing, photograph, measure and list clothes, walk the dog, skype with my friends overseas and plan my next meal! I certainly got the life of leisure I was looking for. My year off served its purpose perfectly (even though it often didn't feel like it along the way). I discovered a lot of things about myself that I previously didn't know, I became more confident in myself and the decisions I made and I learnt a big lesson about being positive! That sounds corny I know but it's crazy what a big change something as simple as not putting yourself down all the time can do!
Anyway so now my year off has almost come to an end and man am I ready for it to be. All of a sudden in the last couple of weeks I have been dying to get my social life back, I want to go and start working again in the field that I trained too (freelance writing and editing), I'm sick of counting pennies, I want to lead a full busy life again! I'm so excited about 2012 that I can hardly wait for it to get there. I still plan to sell vintage clothing too but mainly as a hobby and not something that my life depends on! I have so many other exciting things planned (I spent the whole evening on the couch last night scribbling them down), but I'll share those another time.
Phew oh my goodness did I really just write all that?! Sorry about the rant, I wasn't expecting that when I sat down to work on this post. I guess it was something I really needed to get off my chest.
Thank you for listening :)
x
Oh sweet that is not a rant, but a very heartfelt look at a very beautiful ladies life over the last year and the excitement of looking forward to the next chapter in her life. I feel blessed to have read it. Even under the clouds the sun still shines.
ReplyDeleteI wish you a wonderful and beautiful year ahead. Love Vanessa
Aww thank you Vanessa, that must be about one of the sweetest comments I've ever gotten. X
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