a is for adelaide...
as you might already know, i am australian. born and raised in adelaide, in a 'not great' area, in a 3 bedroom house on the 'right side' of the tracks. an only-child growing up, i was the kid selling home made mint
my mum has always worked; i used to go into pre-school near her work when i was a toddler - when both my parents worked, then later when my dad didn't, he would do the babysitting. my mum has had the same job since i was three years old. that's 25 years. my dad... has had more jobs that i have hot dinners. he's done just about everything too, but the job i remember him having the longest was as a pest exterminator - like something out of ghost busters (but minus the ghosts..). because of all the crappy work under floorboards and in roofs, he's buggered his knees up pretty bad and has technically been 'off work' ever since.
school from age 5 to 12 was pretty standard. i went to a catholic school (even though i'm definitely not religious), walked to and from every day by my dad, and had a ton of friends. i always hated sports, even though both my parents are sports mad, but i was always more bookish. i tried to appease my mother when i was 10 or so, by joining her netball club. it lasted about 2 seasons, because i hated it. i was the chubby girl in the short skirt, and probably when i first realised my body wasn't like all the other girls. before then, i never had a care in the world..
i loved new kids on the block, and the spice girls, and of course hanson - and my first ever cd bought was celine dion's 'falling into you' which featured the 1996 olympic theme 'power of the dream'. i remember watching those olympics at school at recess, and loving that song; saved up my pocket money and bought it! other musical heroes around that time included oasis, alanis morrisette and no doubt. what a mixed bag, eh!
high school was pretty fun (in my memory) - most of my friends from primary moved into the same high
school as me, and the school was fairly new and didn't even have a full age range yet. when i started year 8, we only had up to year 11. we had mixed homerooms, so that we would have friends of all ages. the next year at that school was the first graduation we'd ever had.. it was totes emoshe, we'd had to say goodbye so soon! i made lots of new friends in that first year, some that i still call friends to this day. i got the standard bullying on the bus from the older girls who - in hindsight were just sad girls with no friends. i didn't ever hate school, and for a long time was really into the cliques - i sort of drifted between groups and had a happy time. i was good at school. i was smart and liked learning. around 17 i discovered boys, gained an attitude, and my interest in school waned somewhat.. much to my parents and teachers dismay. the soundtrack to my life included limp bizkit, linkin park, korn, offspring and *nsync.. right?
i had an after school job in a department store, and dreamt of travelling with a fierce obsession. after exams (i did ok, i should have done much, much better) i paid for a bar tender course so i could learn how to pull beers so i could get a job in a pub in london. i was 18 and stupid. all i learned how to do was make sex on the beach and other crass cocktails that i've never had to make ever again. it got me a daytime job in a cafe, near where i went to school. i've still never had to pull a beer. day time shifts bore night time shifts, and partying at the pub next door once we'd closed at midnight. nelly, eminem and destiny's child ruled my cd player at this stage. i remember heading into adelaide from small-town gawler at 11pm to party at time warp with my work friends, getting home at 5am and getting up at 9 for an 11 o'clock start. and then repeating daily. and having the ability to be able to do this. aahh to be young! 18 through 21 were the years i remember being the most fun, and feeling the most adult. i had a full-time job, a (horrible) boyfriend, a nice car, lots of friends, lots of money... not a care in the world.
age 20 saw me move into back into retail in various roles and for various companies. i had a (much nicer) rockstar boyfriend, went to loads of emo gigs, had a (much nicer) car and was happy blasting new found glory, simple plan, good charlotte and blink182 from my car window on the way to my various jobs. at 22 i met my bestie lauren and kicked the rockstar to the curb. i drifted from her house to mine, watching 'new york minute', and hanging at starbucks pretending we were mary-kate and ashley and not understanding why no-one recognised us. i was the happiest i'd been...ever. until one holiday in new zealand saw me pack up my life in adelaide, and move it all across the ditch for a life in the land of the long white cloud.
did i ever look back? no. well, not to adelaide anyway... more on that another time.
*a-z of me is a weekly series created because i thought it might be a good way for you to get to know me a little bit better.. outside of the general nonsense and backwards mirror pictures anyway.. to follow the rest of the series, click here.
