Home?

After a good couple of months exploring Melbourne (and with a working visa for Canada finally secured) , it felt like the right time to head back over the ditch and buy into the whole "being a real person" thing again for a while.

I spent a few days catching up with people and couch-crashing between my brother and my girlfriend before finding my own flat on the same side of town as I've always lived but a little closer to the city (just can't seem to stray from the eastern suburbs).

After a couple of weeks, a couple of hundred applications and a handful of interviews I managed to secure myself full time work back at the airport but this time working as a barista/ front of house for Mojo, a fairly reputable coffee place. As I write this several months after the fact, I'm still working there and enjoying it for the most part. I don't think anyone can ever really say they love getting up at 3 in the morning for work but outside of the early starts it's all good.

I have an interesting relationship with Wellington these days having both spent more time here than any other one place in my life so far and venturing far from it for extended periods of time over the last few years. Upon arrival I fall in love with the place all over again for about 2 months. I think a lot of people feel similar things about their respective hometowns. It's nice to be back in a familiar place, to get coffee from long-time favourite cafes, drink at preferred bars, participate in communities that don't induce huge amounts of anxiety. This city is definitely home to me and I'd proudly call it my city to anyone.

That said, since my first adventure off to the U.S. as an exchange student (and perhaps even further back than that) I have been very aware that my status here at any given point in time is merely that of a visitor. My time in this city is limited and every time I return it is with the mindset that I will shortly be off exploring again. I'm not sure if I'll ever find a place with the power to capture me permanently but Wellington is my home and the thing about home is it's a wonderful place to return to fleetingly. In order to properly return to a place, however, one must first leave that place for long enough to miss it.

I've been back now since May, and I'll be back until March which at the moment (just after Christmas) feels both too far away and incredibly close. This visit has been a good one, and I am ultimately glad to have had major travel plans delayed. At the same time, the moment I get to touch down on North American soil again cannot come quickly enough.

My next post here will be about one of the coolest performance opportunities I've yet had the pleasure of involving myself with.