Where's Vic?: Ch-ch-changes- Melbourne month 4

April has been a month of changes, a new job, new mates and saying bye to some. It really does feel like a new chapter.

The month started with the eagerly anticipated Formula 1 in Melbourne. I had decided back in feb that this was potentially a once in a lifetime opportunity to go to a race in my own backyard. A lot of the day tickets had sold out, and lots of my mates were going, so I went for a weekend pass. I was pretty tired (#nightshiftlife), but it was like being at a festival. On the Sunday, myself and my friends Jack and Kuno (both of whom I met on Port Macquarie over Christmas) managed to find a good spot by turn 12. Though I'm not a superfan with the F1, it's something I've grown up with like a Sunday soundtrack, so was surreal being there irl.

April also marked the start of Melbourne International Comedy Festival, wahoo! It was so exciting to be living in a city where an Edinburgh style arts festival was taking place. My nightshifts restricted me slightly, with a bedtime of 8pm, but I was determined to see as much as I could. Over the course of the month I went to see an improvised Dr Who, Shakespeare and Cabaret (not all at once!) and one of my improv teachers’ solo show.

Easter weekend was spent mainly working, but I caught up with a uni friend Catrin, my pal Issy came to stay and we discovered fairytale/magical themed cocktail bar. I had a drink called Polyjuice potion that came with candyfloss made to look like human hair (or could be renamed hair of the dog as I was a bit hungover?).

The following weekend, was a rare, visitor-less beast, filled with sleeping, watching comedy shows and going to some art galleries with my mate Jimmy. There’s some pretty cool ones in Melbourne, including ACMI which as a whole floor dedicated to animation, film and editing, wahoo!

Myself and Kate were also doing touristy bits and bobs on our days off, ticking off stuff before she left Melbourne to go travelling with Sara, one of our pals from home. We managed to do a boat ride, a Botanical Gardens walk and a trip to the Casino!

Next weekend was awesome one too- Sara, arrived. Friday eve was speant checking out the street art and a rooftop bar. The weather was back to being hot on Sat and we spent the morning hanging out at St. Kilda skate park (Sara skated, I filmed. A much safer combo than sticking me on anything with wheels) and the afternoon at Luna Park. Finally, I had cornered someone to ride on the Scenic Railway with, wahoo! Luna Park is a tiny theme park by the beach that reminds me of the rides near Morcombe, and there is so much fun to be had. The Scenic Railway itself was a joyful experience, made even better by the fact that it’s breaks are controlled manually by an actual human who is actually standing up aboard the train, with no actual harness, in what might be one of the world’s greatest jobs. It's also the world's second oldest continously operating roller coaster in the world. also went on the ghost train, another ride built at least 70 years ago. I was bracing myself for something jumpy/scary the whole way round, but apparently, I’m much less of a scaredy cat than those 1930’s chicks. In the evening we went to Chinatown for dumplings and then to see KitKat Prov, an improvised cabaret by my pals at Impro Melbourne. Then out to a Karaoke bar afterwards- my song choice was I Want to Break Free by Queen. It was a right laugh, and I was FINALLY able to enjoy myself on a night out because…

In amongst the chaos of April, I had received a call offering me a new job (it was actually one I had interviewed for months ago, but that’s a long story I won’t bore you with). I was sad to be leaving my current job, but excited to have a new challenge. And also be back to working regular hours. My highlight of my old job was probably helping set up a live segment where our Sydney reporter was on a fairground ride having just eaten fairy fries (chips with melted gummy bears on them).

My new job* meant that I got bank holidays off, so was able to spend ANZAC day on the beach in Brighton, one that I had been meaning to go to for months. The new job came at just the right moment, I was considering moving cities/towns and doubting whether Melbourne was the right place for me.

That’s the other thing about Melbourne, the weather, the weather, the weather. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but the unpredictability here is more extreme than a summers day in Scotland. With this comes good and bad- sunbathing on the beach one day, followed by coats the next. A Melbournian (is that a word?) told me recently to pay no attention to the season, you are just as likely to have a day that’s 30c in winter as you are 12c in summer. In many ways this is a pretty good metaphor for my time so far in Melbourne- unpredictable, with sunshine always following the rain (pass the sick bucket!).

April finished with a BBQ and silly drinking games with my new mates. Good stuff.

*if anyone is interested, my new job is a video producer for a State Government Agency.