Arrived

We made it to Melbourne. We came down via the Princes Highway, which was beautiful. We left last Tuesday, spent two nights in Merimbula, and then arrived in our new suburb of Mitcham on Thursday night. I’ve never moved to a new city before, so I’m not entirely sure how to do it, we seem to be succeeding so far though. I was worried we would turn up and be really lonely. Since arriving though, we’ve been having dinner with friends, lunch with cousins, and holidaying on Phillip Island with more friends. It kinda feels like we’ve swapped a life in Sydney with too many people to see and not enough time, for a life in Melbourne with just enough people to see and no pressure feeling like we’re neglecting anyone else. It’s quite nice.

On Saturday we spent most of the day at house inspections, looking for somewhere to live. The very first place we looked at was a brand new, third floor apartment right near the shops and station. We were the only ones at the inspection. The place was great. It’s had a large balcony and views of Mt Dandenong. Considering the majestic peak that Mt Dandenong is, towering over Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, I’m surprised there wasn’t a large crowd of locals just hoping to use the inspection as a chance to view the mountain from such a spectacular vantage point. We would have applied for the apartment just for the view, but happily there were lots of other things we liked about it too. On Monday we got a call from the real estate agent letting us know that we got the apartment. We signed the lease that day. This was good because we didn’t really like the other places we looked at. The only other property we applied for a was a two bedroom house which came with it’s own pet redback spider, so you can guess what the rest were like.

Seeing as, by Monday, we had achieved all that we needed to achieve before all our gear arrives from Sydney in a removals van sometime next week, we headed off to Phillip Island. It turns out Phillip Island is more than just some penguins and a race track. There are also some seals, op shops and a town called Rhyll. I’m not sure how you pronounce that, which I think might be one of the most fascinating things about the town.

We’re here on the island to spend time with our friends the Goughs. Two of our friends in this family are young children, so we spend a lot of time doing puppet shows, watching magic tricks, and wrestling. For the first time since I left work in December, I feel like I’m actually on holidays. It’s great.

Next week I start my new job. I get to start thinking about youth group, and sermon series, and whether it’s acceptable to take home leftover communion supplies for a Sunday snack, but for now, I’m just thinking about sleeping in, reading books, when I next get to eat another meal, because that’s what holidays are really about. Or should I say “That’s what holidays are Rhylly about.” See what I did there?