Another 3 months have flown by and the end is getting near! The last few months have mostly been spent working hard to save enough money to travel NZ and Aus when Janna gets here, in just a month’s time! My hard work was recognised by a promotion to café assistant manager. Unfortunately, that did not leave a lot of time for exploring or other fun activities, but there were of course the regular brunches/dinners/drinks/movies/birthdays with the new friend’s I’ve made here. One less exciting event was the removal of my wisdom teeth. On the day, Laurie drove me and stayed with me as I got high on painkillers and drove me around afterwards. For a few days I was walking around like a little chipmunk, eating barely solid foods and bingewatching whatever I could find on Netflix. A big shoutout to my housemate’s mum for taking such good care of me and letting me stay at her place so I could recover well. |
Then by the end of February, it was time for the annual trip to Glenelg beach in Adelaide, where I would participate in the Australian Open Beach Handball Championships for the third time in a row. After a horrific 18 hours of travel (flight delayed by 3+ hours and the hotel I had booked was overbooked), I arrived at the beach courts after having missed my first match of the day. I was, however, just in time for my first women’s game. This was the first year though, that I did not play for my normal Queensland team in the women’s comp. Together with my Dutch friend Celine (who is currently exploring Australia and decided to come to Adelaide to meet up and play beach handball with me), I played outfield for the Wellington Parrots women’s team. We ended up coming 6th in the final ranking. In the mixed competition I played with my solid Australian/Kiwi team and we ended up securing the gold medal for the third year in a row, and I managed to defend my title as best goalkeeper in the mixed competition.
It was such an amazing weekend in which I got to meet up with a lot of friends that I hadn’t seen in a long time, I got to spend some time with Chris, who I hadn’t seen for 6 week, but most importantly, it gave me a little break from the day to day routine of working. I got to enjoy sun, sand, sea and good company, and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weekend.
It was such an amazing weekend in which I got to meet up with a lot of friends that I hadn’t seen in a long time, I got to spend some time with Chris, who I hadn’t seen for 6 week, but most importantly, it gave me a little break from the day to day routine of working. I got to enjoy sun, sand, sea and good company, and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weekend.
After Adelaide I definitely suffered from PTD (post tournament depression), work was a drag and I just could not get myself to do anything but lie in bed/on the couch and watch television. Thankfully I had a few nice catch ups planned for the following week and I had Bert and his sister’s visit to look forward to at the end of the week as well (I used to train Bert when I was still doing handball training in Holland). We went up to the Mount Victoria lookout and we had a few nice meals together and plenty of time to catch up. One week later, it was time for Erin’s hen’s party. 2 weeks before she would tie the knot and it was time for us to celebrate! We started by learning the dance to single ladies (believe me, you do not want to see me perform it) and the night ended with a game of croquet with some very competitive and skilful ladies. Unfortunately, that was where the night ended for me, since I had work early the next morning. |
2 weeks later the celebrations started. I had a 3-day weekend. I walked into work and had a coffee with Hannah before finalising my outfit for the wedding the following night and that same evening, I met up with Chris’s dad for some drinks and food, since he was in Wellington for a short while. The following day, Chris arrived and after some food we were on our way to the wedding. For once, the Wellington weather gods were in a good mood and it was an absolutely stunning day in the rose gardens at the begonia house. The ceremony was short, sweet and beautiful, with the Erin looking gorgeous.
The last, full day that Chris was here, we met up with his dad for breakfast and then went for a drive around the bay. The weather was yet again beautiful, and we enjoyed the outdoors and the post-wedding barbeque that Erin and Willy had organised. With pizza and a blacklist marathon, Chris and my weekend together came to an end, because after lunch at the café the next day, he was already flying back to Brisbane. It was short but sweet.
The last, full day that Chris was here, we met up with his dad for breakfast and then went for a drive around the bay. The weather was yet again beautiful, and we enjoyed the outdoors and the post-wedding barbeque that Erin and Willy had organised. With pizza and a blacklist marathon, Chris and my weekend together came to an end, because after lunch at the café the next day, he was already flying back to Brisbane. It was short but sweet.
And now, here we are. Another week has passed since the wedding, with a lot of work and another very successful regional dinner, but just a one-day weekend unfortunately. I’ve only got 4 weeks of work left, before the adventures can finally start, and it is time for me to move on. I cannot wait and I am definitely counting down the days already.