And so it begins...

I was contemplating whether or not to do a blog because I wasn't sure how comfortable I felt with putting myself out here like this. However, this is going to be an experience of a lifetime, so I need to document it and have a place to share all of my emotions...and believe me, even this first post will be filled with all sorts of different emotions! So, I decided to go all out with the blog and plan to share the good, the bad and everything in between! (The only warning I will give you is that I do tend to be long-winded and detailed when I share stories...sorry in advance!)

I won't even go into all that it took to get prepared for this adventure. Let's just say...lots of emotions when making the decision to do this, lists and lists of what all I needed to do in my personal life before the move, a fabulous goodbye party thrown for me by my sister and mom and lots of tears when saying goodbye to friends and family...

The security guy at the KC airport got to see me teary-eyed after saying goodbye to my parents and then I was all emotionally prepared to just get here. Leg 1 of my flight was perfect...no one even sitting next to me and no turbulence going into DIA. Leg 2 went off without a hitch...I wasn't looking forward to my 5 hour layover in San Francisco, but things were going so well that I was starting to get more and more excited. Then came the bombshell...the flight from San Fran to Sydney was canceled...yes, completely canceled. And, this isn't the type of flight that you can just rebook in an hour...the next available flight was the same flight the next day. For being about as mentally prepared as I could be, this was quite a wrench in my plans...

Anyway, fast forward 24 extra hours in San Fran, plus the 14.5 hour flight...and here I am in Sydney, Australia! I found my driver and he helped get me and my big cart of luggage out to the car and we set off to find my new apartment. The apartment is great and I will definitely post pictures soon (have my camera, but all of the stuff to upload pics is in the box that I shipped to myself)! However, my breakdown today started when the apartment lady told me that I don't have a phone and there is no internet access. What do you mean, no internet access? I need to immediately get ahold of someone that I know and love and have them tell me that it is all going to be ok?! So, I proceeded to lay down on my new bed and bawl my eyes out for a few minutes. Then, I pulled myself together (kind of) and started unpacking. Got as far as I could without having many hangers and then set out to find the local market. My mood started to get a little better because the little area that I am living and the areas right around are so cute! I had fun walking around this one area and seeing what types of restaurants and markets they have. I got some essentials (and even got a few hangers from a dry cleaner!) and headed back to the apartment. I stopped in the office and asked if I could use their phone...just so that I could call my parents and tell them I was alive. Was good to hear their voices, but just about brought the tears back. After a little more unpacking and a shower, I was ready to head into the office...just to get my mobile phone and internet access, if anything else!

My walk to work is definitely going to be a high point of each day...it is a lovely (although, rather windy) 10ish minute walk. I feel like such a big city girl by walking to work! Was great to get into my office, say hello to a few people and get online. More to come on the work side of all of this...I am sure I will have many fun stories along the way.

Since it still gets dark early here (winter is just ending), I headed out of the office right at 5 and went to pick up a pizza from a cute restaurant I found earlier today. YUM...my first real meal as a Sydneysider was great! (Although, I did several things at the apartment before I ate and the pizza got kind of cold. To heat it up, I had to drag a dining room chair into the kitchen and stand on the chair to reach the microwave, ha ha! Looks like I may need to find a step stool...)

It has been a long however many days trying to get here, so I am tired and ready to hit the sack. Looking forward to more exploring around my neighborhoods this weekend...and hopefully being able to find a few more hangers for my clothes! Thanks for wanting to follow my journey...I promise not all posts will be this long!