Chandeleah

I haven’t written on Chandeleah for a while because I didn’t have much to write about.

I didn’t want to write about how completely shit everything was (again, and again, and again) and sound like a broken record. Let’s just say that I was mere moments away from booking flights to go home, but I decided to give London one last shot.

And then things got good, really good – and I wanted to write a post about that.

I had it all planned out in my mind. I was going to write a post where I talked about the symbolism of my coathanger quirk.

It kinda went like this…

“Up until now, our life in London has been a shambles. Kind of like the coathangers we have been using…

…but then I FINALLY, FINALLY got a job. I’ll admit I wasn’t over the moon about it to begin with – office manager for an events company – but as the weeks went on, I started to love it. The people were fabulous, the office space was fabulous (and in SUCH a great location) and while the job wasn’t that challenging at the moment – I could see how it would evolve and become something right up my alley. Jase even said to me on Wednesday… ‘are you starting to like London?’ …because I was beginning to enjoy myself again and my smile was returning.

We went shopping! You don’t know the true satisfaction of shopping for new clothes when you haven’t been able to for over 18 months. This might be TMI, but when we replaced all our underwear and socks that were riddled with holes it truly was the best feeling ever. I bought pretty things instead of practical things – a scarf, a necklace, a clip for my hair. Jase got jeans and shoes and a new jacket to wear. We smiled and laughed and hung our new things in our wardrobes.

We started to look into trips. We booked a train to Edinburgh and planned other weekends away within the UK. I had researched Prague, Copenhagen, Barcelona and Rome – and was waiting for payday to pull the trigger and lock them in. We chatted with friends about planning a ski trip, and sailing Croatia.

I booked tickets to things. I snagged Florence and the Machine tickets, and booked to see some West End shows. I wanted to fill our calendar with fun things that we could finally afford to do, after all this time of surviving, but not really LIVING in London.

On Thursday I bought new coathangers. I decided that for the 10quid, I wanted that order back in our life. It was a frivilous spend – but it meant so much to me”.

The crash came not even 24 hours later, when my company folded and I was made redundant.

After 136 days, 19 weeks, 3,264 hours, 195,840 minutes or 11,750,400 seconds and 19 FULL ON job interviews I had finally landed a great job – only to be out of it 4 weeks later.

This time around I am giving London a lot less of my time and energy. If I don’t land something in a few weeks, I’ll be booking that plane ticket. I refuse to hit rock bottom again and again and again in this city, its not worth it.

In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the world out of my new coathangers!

… the girl who put feathers in her hair to remind her she was free

… the girl who raised her arms up to the sun in moments of bliss

… the girl who climbed mountains and did yoga and snowboarded and felt at peace

I miss that girl.

We have drawn a line in the sand. Made a plan. Set a deadline.

If, by October 31, the current situation has not changed, then we are OUT. Back home to our beloved NZ, or on to Aus.

Right now, I have been unemployed for 103 days. Thats 3 months and 12 days, or 1/4 of the year. It’s getting rather boring. I’m not going to go into details as to the bazillion interviews/rejections I have been getting – it’s disheartening enough as it is!

After many talks and many thoughts, we have decided to give London 3 more months. We haven’t really got a year to throw away living on the bones of our bums (we did that in Canada, and LOVED IT then…). London was about getting our teeth stuck into some juicy work, and travelling away the weekends. Right now – neither is happening.

Having a plan and a deadline feels good. And now…I fully expect London to turn around and give us our hopes, dreams and a future to make us want to stay!

After lunch we continued on to the Horseguards Parade off Whitehall where seating was already being set up for the Olympics! This is the area where the beach volleyball is going to be held – how cool is that? Jase isn’t a massive fan of horses (and it was really crowded) so we kept on walking – towards Big Ben, Parliament buildings and Westminster Abbey (stopping for photos with red buses and inside telephone boxes – had to be done!).

We decided that we would save visiting the inside of Westminster Abbey for another day when we had more time, so we kept wandering over the bridge to Southbank. This gave us a great view back towards the amazing buildings that line the Thames.

We continued to walk to Covent Garden and wandered the streets looking for somewhere to eat an early dinner. We turned a corner, and literally stumbled into the Lamb and Flag which looked very quaint. Upon settling in at a table, we looked through our guidebook – and found a picture of the very pub we were in, listed as the oldest pub in the area! It became a pub in 1772, but the house was built in 1638. SO OLD! Apparently Charles Dickens used to be a regular patron there.

We rested our weary feet, and refueled – before heading to Kings Cross area to meet some friends from New Zealand and celebrate our arrival in Londontown!

The next morning we lugged our gear into another cab and made it to our wonderful hotel room at the Kimpton Monaco. The sight of a huge king sized bed and room to repack (and throw out some more gear!) nearly had us in tears with excitement.

We wandered out of our hotel and came across these cool trees that had their trunks painted blue. I loved how it brightened up the trees that had lost their leaves in winter. We turned the corner and hit the famous Pike Place Public Market – the oldest farmers market in the states. It was Saturday and the crowds were out in force, but it was fun wandering through the stalls of fresh flowers and seafood and handmade goods.

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

We headed down to the waterfront and walked until we found the Washington State Ferries, where we caught a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. The sun was shining (we had heard it’s normally rainy in Seattle!) and it was a lovely trip, looking back at the city and skyline. I couldn’t stop thinking about the Grey’s Anatomy episode where there was a ferry crash (filmed on these exact ferries) haha!

We walked the small town centre on Bainbridge Island, and found all these awesome stone sculptures. We found a cheap little Thai restaurant right on the water’s edg to enjoy lunch and a well-deserved beer before heading back to the big city. Not surprisingly we ended up napping away the later afternoon in our huge hotel bed (it seriously felt like sleeping on clouds!).

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Sunday we were up early to catch a bus out to the Museum of Flight. Wow – what an awesome museum! It was full of planes – every single type you could think of. There was a big spacecraft exhibit, and a room which was all about the history of flight. Another red shed followed the history and development of Boeing, and finally there was the WW1 wing and the WW2 wing. After 5 hours (FOR REAL, FIVE HOURS) we both started getting museum/plane fatigue, so we finished up with a quick play on a Concorde and Air Force One!

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

To end a great day, we headed back down to the waterfront where we enjoyed a drink in the sun. I requested seafood for dinner so we treated ourselves to a night out at The Crab Pot. It was hilarious – we got bibs and ate our mix of potatoes, clams, crab, shrimps, chorizo and corn right off the table!

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Our final day, the sun was out shining again so it was off to the number one Seattle tourist attraction – The Space Needle! We wandered around the viewing area picking out the areas we had been to and generally admiring the view. What a stunner of a day to be up there!

See the full gallery on Posterous

After the Space Needle we walked to Lake Union and wandered around looking at the yachts. We caught the streetcar back to the hotel for dinner and a night in.

On our last day in Seattle we decided to just walk around downtown, do a spot of shopping, and check out the original first ever Starbucks. We have a love/hate relationship with Starbucks (hate it because it’s terrible coffee compared to our beloved Wellington café’s, but love it because it seems to be the best alternative (blurgh) to some of the shite that North American’s call coffee!). Anyway, we headed down to Pike Place to find the 1977 original and enjoy a coffee. Note the original logo too – a bare-breasted siren that was modeled after a 15th century Norse woodcut.

Being a Tuesday, Pike Place market wasn’t very crowded so we actually got to wander around it and see a few “attractions” of the market. There was Rachel the bronze pig that has stood there since 1986, and acts as a “piggy bank” collector for charity.

We also got to visit the gum wall – an amazingly disgusting alley way filled with chewed gum. While it was kind of fascinating, we made sure not to get too close!

We bought some fresh fish & chips from the markets and sat in a nearby park and watched the view and the locals walk past.

See the full gallery on Posterous

We had one final stop at the Seattle Public Library, built in 2004, which was right across the road from our hotel. The library “has a unique, striking appearance, consisting of several discrete “floating platforms” seemingly wrapped in a large steel net around glass skin”. It certainly was pretty funky on the inside too!

After enjoying the afternoon, it was back to the hotel room to completely repack up & prepare for our final leg of the journey – on to London (via Frankfurt)!

I’d like to think of my self as a pretty positive person – but right now, I’m the most miserable person around. I actually hate being around myself, I’m that bad.

London so far has not been kind to us. I know, I know – everyone tells you its tough to start with. But seriously? Every day I wake up wanting to leave, to get on a plane and go home – to a place where I can get offered numerous jobs, my qualifications and experience mean something, to a place where getting a flat that isn’t a dirty hole isn’t that hard.

I’m struggling to stay at home, locked inside and trawl through job site after job site after job site. Nothing excites me, but I’ve been applying for tonnes because “it’s not about finding my dream job anymore, its about survival”. Even this thought depresses me – isn’t that why I spent a year being free, to discover who I am and what I wanted to do? The rejection emails are coming thick and fast too – I swear they don’t even read my application before hitting the auto response.

I alternate between freaking out about finding a job, and freaking out about finding somewhere to live. The dream flat that we thought we had found days after arriving has been a sham, nothing but a 5 week waste of time with a bunch of money tied up in it. I’ve resigned myself to starting from scratch, but the options aren’t great – out of our price range, out of the areas we need to be in, or just down right disgusting. I’m such a homebody that my living space makes a HUGE difference to me – and all I see is cramped, grotty misery ahead.

Physically – I’ve had bad IBS since we landed here (the food, or the putrid tasting water, or something is just NOT agreeing with me), migraines, my grey hair came back through the hair dye faster than ever, and possibly the worst is the insomnia. I’ve been lying wide awake at 3 in the morning stressing about where we are going to live, what we are going to do, how we will pay back the mounting debts. Is this all worth it? Why are we doing this to ourselves? Will we ever get back on our feet? Needless to say there a certain strain on our relationship right now too.

I’m being encouraged to “enjoy” this time off – but when you literally haemorrhage money every time you step out of the house, it makes you think twice about doing anything fun. Or do anything at all really. And who am I to go out spending money doing touristy things, or having lunch or coffee – when Jase is at work every day, earning that money I am spending? (the ONLY thing that’s going right at the moment is his job. The 2 hour commute he has to endure each way from our temporary accommodation? Not so good).

I know we have so much support, so many people wishing us well – and that this surely can only be one of those times and the only way is up and things will get better (how many more cliches can I pop in here?!) – but right now its hard to focus on the sun (especially seeing as London is choosing to be at its general grey rainy dreary best).

I don’t want sympathy or kind words – I just want ACTION, or CHANGE, or SOMETHING TO GO RIGHT. A PLACE TO LIVE, A GLIMMER OF HOPE ON THE JOB FRONT, anything….something.

Tomorrow is a new day and all that, so I’ll pick myself up, slap on a smile and…

…start all over again.

*please don’t comment and tell me it will get better, I’m likely to either rip your head off or go and cry in the shower. Both are regular occurrences right about now

I had a great night down in Vancouver with some Lulu friends for Brooke’s birthday. We went to an awesome place called Raw Canvas where we could eat, drink…and paint a masterpeice! I worked super hard on mine – but unfortunately we had to leave it there to dry and I never made it back to Vancouver to collect it again. Oh well – I was pretty happy with my efforts!

Finally it was time to pack up and head on to the next adventure. We both felt ready for it – Whistler was an awesome town for us to spend a season in, but we were ready and amped for the next adventure – onwards to London!

In February, Whistler cranked out some beautiful days! The sky was blue, the sun was shining…but the snow wasn’t really falling. Bluebird days are great and all…but they can also mean icy or slushy conditions on the mountain, so Jase and I took a few days off.

On one such bluebird day we went walking to all the same lakes we had visited back when we first moved to Whistler – however now they were frozen or snowed over! So much so you could barely tell where a golf course or a lake usually is!

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

One day we were down at Alta Lake and I spotted some sort of animals scooting over the lake, jumping into the water and back out again. It took us a few minutes to work out they were otters! So magical to see these little guys in the “wild”!

Dee and I were our snowboarding on another bluebird day – and we decided to head all the way to Harmony and then Symphony bowls! I had never been to these areas on the mountain (and I wasn’t sure I ever would!). It was awesome to get out there and see the sights, despite it being a long and difficult trip back to the green slopes for me haha!

Of course Jase went a few epic places too!

The very last day before we left for New Zealand it absolutely CHUCKED it down with snow. A good 40cm landed and so we had to make the most of it! Jocelyn and I hit the slopes and had some hilarious moments ending up thigh deep in fresh powder and having to dig ourselves out! The next morning we were a bit gutted to be leaving the awesome snowfall to head to New Zealand…until we saw the lineup of people that had arrived to hunt the fresh snow and we didn’t feel so bad!

The other cool thing that happened in February was that I undertook “The Art of Discipline” – a 30 day yoga challenge. It involved attended a 2 hour yoga class from 6am-8am, 5 days a week. Here’s a pic of all the gorgeous Lululemon’s that took part in it with me! It was an awesome challenge and I am so glad I took part (even if it was tough to get up at times!).

We managed to keep him awake until 8pm (his eyes were rolling around in his head) by taking him into the village to buy a ski jacket. Had to get him rugged up ready for the next day!

We woke up the following morning and the sun was shining, so we took advantage of the weather and went up the Peak to Peak, and across to Blackcomb for lunch. It was still friggin freeeeeezing so we bought toe warmers to pop in our shoes & stop the frostbite! Over at Rendezvous (the restaurant on Blackcomb) Rich tried traditional Canadian cuisine of Poutine (fries with cheese curds & gravy) and agreed with me – blurgh!

We finished up the day at the Olympic rings and then headed home before the sun went down for an early night.

Friday came and it was time to hit the hill! We kitted Rich out with a board, boots and a helmet and off we went! Our friend’s Scotty & Dee joined us and we had an awesome day (fuelled by fireball and lots of snow!) horsing around. Rich proved he can do an epic bail on cue too!

The last run (right down to the village) saw both of us doing unexpected jumps…Rich landed a bit awkwardly and was feeling it so we called it a day. The next morning he was a wee bit sore so we decided to delay the next snowboarding day until the weekend was over (less crowded anyway!).

Instead, we decided to build a snowman down at Alta Lake – thank god we had Dee with us to teach us the true Canadian technique! Rich and I were picking up snow and patting it to make a ball…nuh uh! Turns out it’s ALL about ROLLING the snow so it picks up more! Rich was working hard on his (mini) snowman and we turned around and Dee had created a monster one!

Every Sunday night Whistler Blackcomb holds a Fire & Ice show at the base of the mountain, however we had always been working when it was on. Both Jase & I made sure we had the night off to catch the show with Richard – it was so worth it! First off the groomers create a jump (that jump isn’t normally there!) and amazing skiiers and snowboarders from the Whistler Blackcomb snow school show off their tricks – jumps, flips, all sorts of crazy things. After a “warm up” the fire dancers light up, and a ring of fire is lit at the top of the jump! Fireworks at the end conclude the show – check out the video below for the ‘finale’! Awesome stuff!

The next few days it did. not. stop. snowing! So we did what any regular tourists to Whistler do – SNOWBOARD our little hearts out! Dee and Jase joined us a few times, we got reeeeaaaall good with so much snow dumping! On our last day we finished up with EPIC burgers at the GLC A true Whistler experience!

Richard was SUPER lucky to have another true Canadian experience while he visited – a TURKEY DINNER! Dee (very randomly) had a spare turkey so decided to do a traditional turkey roast for us – and it just so happened to be Australia Day (eve) too! There was cranberry sauce and roast veges and gravy and all, and we listed to the Triple J top 100 (as per Aussie tradition). Thanks darling Dee! (our bellies were VERY full haha!).

On Richard’s last day in Whistler (he really didn’t want to leave) we had breakfast at Dusty’s. A kangaroo walked by (of course) and plenty of Snowboarder’s were out showing their national pride. We headed to the village for some last shopping and sightseeing, and took photos with the village Inukshuk (after climbing through some deep snow to get to it!).

Rich was due to fly out on Friday night, so for his very last day we headed down to Vancouver for a bit of quick sightseeing. We hit up Stanley Park for views of (a very gloomy) Vancouver and the Lions Gate Bridge before checking out the totem poles. From there we caught an Aquabus over to the Granville Island Public Market for lunch (and some goodies!). A couple of beers and a wander around the shops and it was time to say goodbye and for Richard to catch the skytrain to the airport!

Such a quick visit, but Rich – it was SO awesome to have you come over and see our wee Whistler life! We loved showing you around, and you definitely helped improve my snowboarding skills while you were here (and I am sure you improved your own too!). I hope we gave you a holiday to remember! xxoo

We landed in London on Thursday. The very same day a job was tweeted to me (thanks Lou!) which got me jumping up and down with excitement. Flight Centre UK is looking for their next social media specialist – and I reckon it’s me!

The application asks us to write a post for the Flight Centre UK blog pretending that we already have this DREAM job. We need to introduce ourselves, explain how we think we got the job, what we did to deserve it and what our readers can expect from us going forward.

Without furthur ado, I present to you – my blog/application. Now here’s the important bit….If you like what you read – PLEASE PLEASE leave me (and Flight Centre UK) a comment saying why you think I would be AMAZING for this job!

Thanks, and cross your fingers and toes for me!

xx

This week we welcome Leah Evans to our Flight Centre UK social media team. Leah is an intrepid traveller from New Zealand, who has just arrived in the UK to explore everything this continent has to offer.

Leah, tell us a bit about you….

Hi! I’m Leah, a 27 year old Kiwi chick. For the past year, I’ve been living the life of a snowboarder/yogi in Whistler, Canada.

I thoroughly enjoy coffee, good wine, the beach and BBQs. I love watching rugby (go the All Blacks!), running and yoga. On the weekends (if I am not away exploring somewhere exciting) you can find me reading, hanging out with friends, or indulging in a bit of retail therapy.

So what’s your background? Are you qualified in “Social media”?

My background is in consumer and travel public relations and communications. I’ve got a degree in PR and a diploma in events management.

For the past five years I have worked in PR consultancies for some pretty cool international brands like Nokia, Nivea and Bacardi, as well as some even cooler travel and tourism clients including Tourism Australia, Visit Britain and Emirates.

I love building relationships and communicating with people – especially through social media. I’ve got a strong background in developing and implementing social media strategies, and I have built an understanding of the techie stuff that happens along the way. I’ve helped manage some award winning social media campaigns, which have definitely been my favourite and rewarding projects. You can check out my professional bio on LinkedIn, or at www.leahevans.posterous.com.

In 2011 I decided to do something a bit different. I left my job working for a New Zealand clothing company and moved to the other side of the world. I spent a few months in Vancouver before heading for the mountains of Whistler. Basically – I traded the corporate world for one of hiking trails, learning to snowboard, yoga retreats and personal discovery.

What kind of travel experience do you have?

I grew up with a dad in the travel industry and from a young age my desire to see the world was strong. To date, I’ve visited nearly twenty countries and lived in six. I’m so lucky to have had adventures which include sailing a yacht around the Greek Islands, hiking in the Grand Canyon, celebrating Christmas in the heart of New York City, and snorkelling in the islands of the South Pacific (just to name a few).

I’ve just moved to London so that I can explore as much of the UK and Europe as possible (lucky I have a five year visa). I can’t wait!

What do you think landed you the job with Flight Centre?

I’m super lucky to be joining the Flight Centre UK social media team. I believe I landed this job because I have the right mix of professional skills and background experience, combined with an obsessive passion for travel and social media!

What about blogs? Do you have one of your own?

I really love to write and blogging is a favourite pastime of mine. I have a personal blog where I write about health and fitness and all things that take my fancy, and I have been blogging my travel tales for the past year too.  I frequently wrote and edited content for the Icebreaker blog and won a competition to become one of the Sisters Ridge Wine bloggers.

Where can we find you on social media?

To say I am a social media addict is an understatement. I love nothing more than connecting with people around the world online, and then turning them into real lifelong friends. I’m a twitter nut, and always the first to suggest a tweetup (follow me @leahevansnz). You can find me checking in on Facebook, sharing my pics on Instagram, tweeting my heart out and even posting the occasional YouTube vid. I have a Klout score of 42.25 and am influential on topics like New Zealand, Whistler, photography and yoga.

Why did you deserve this job with Flight Centre UK?

Taking the last year out of the corporate world, my only goal was to discover what I truly love to do – and then spend time doing it.

The things that really came clear were: travelling to new places, meeting new people (online and in real life), and writing about it on my blogs. Moving to London I was trying to think of a way to combine these loves into a job – and BAM, the universe put the Flight Centre UK job in front of me the very day I landed in London (via twitter no less!). Ask…and you shall receive!

Working in social media for Flight Centre UK truly is my dream job, and one I feel that I deserve because it’s combining all my loves into one. Who doesn’t want to spend their days doing something they love?

What can we expect to hear from you now that you are part of the Flight Centre team?

Expect tips and tricks on how to plan, research and organise your next trip – whether it’s near or far, for a weekend away or months of backpacking. If there is anything you have questions about – feel free to holler and I will make sure to provide the answers you are after.

I’d love to tell you more about the places I have been and lived, my personal favourite destinations, things I liked to do while there and the top sights to see.

As I explore the UK and Europe I hope to share with you my fabulous (and let’s face it, sometimes challenging) experiences that I have along the way.

I live on the anticipation of my next journey – so I want to hear ALL about your travels too.

I look forward to connecting with you all online and offline soon! Contact me at leahevans@flightcentre.co.uk* or @leahevansnz.

Thanks Leah, we look forward to hearing more from you and welcome to the team!  

*not a real email address…yet!