Category Archives: The Move

Our move from Sydney to Vancouver

Bloggers Unite

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Hello kiddos!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was full of fun and hilarity. The Canadian and I hosted the last ever games night in our apartment as we will be moving out of here in about 3 weeks. Our little group of friends are big board game fans, so we do regular ‘games nights’ on the weekends. Very dorky but lots of fun. Sunday was spent at a friend’s baby shower. I am trying to spend as much time with Sydney friends as possible before we take off for Canada.

mandacar2

On my way home from a great weekend.

Now, it was great to see such a wonderful response to the blogging goals post.

You all talked about having goals like:

needing more time to blog more regularly, what to do after you get readers (how to keep them), keeping notes on blogging ideas, taking better photos, having more people reading your blog, getting more subscribers or followers (blogspot), interacting more with your readers, trying to keep up with emails, redecorating your blog design, making your blog more professional, and to give your posts more direction and purpose.

It was great to read that other bloggers (you) are all experiencing the same sorts of thoughts on your blogging that I am.

I think if blogging is something that you are consciously thinking about, it can be really rewarding. Despite the young age of this blog, I have been blogging for over 6 years now and have tried different types of blogging in that time.

I think the idea of getting readers but then keeping them is something to really work on. I think if you create a friendly, helpful atmosphere on your blog, by talking to your readers and responding to their emails, they will want to come back. I always think about what I think of blogs and their owners when I visit them myself. Think about what keeps you coming back to blogs and what annoys you about them too. I don’t like having to search around a blog for the owner’s email or their about page.

A lot of the goals you talked about are the same goals that I am aiming for. Apart from having Icelandic visitors (Marc from Iceland commented in that post! ) my goals are as follows:

  • to blog about things that I enjoy but that are useful and relevant to readers – I mean this is why we blog, right? So people will read it!
  • to blog more regularly (I want to get 5 posts a week).
  • to find more time to blog during the week.
  • to write more how to features on photography.
  • to get more subscribers…subscribe here!

I keep these goals on a post it widget on my Macbook dashboard, so I can refer to them easily. It’s a good idea to write your goals down. Thanks for all the great responses to Blogging Goals. Let me know how you’re going on your goals!

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Canada Here I Come!

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I’m going a little stir crazy because I’m cooped up inside and apparently it’s 25 degrees outside. It’s the dead of winter, what on earth is going on?! Vancouver you better have pretty mountains and good things for me to take photos of!

moosey

Can you find my Moosey friend?

Oh yeah, I’m a Canadian resident now!

immigrant

I’m an immigrant! It’s such a weird thing to think about. I need to process it a little more and then I am sure I will come back here with my fabulous thoughts on the matter. Should we be celebrating? I think the real Canadian needs to take me out to dinner or something. If he’s the real Canadian now, I guess that makes me ‘the fake Canadian‘?

Come back later tonight/early tomorrow (Nth Hemispherians) for my part 2 follow up to How I Make Dreamy, Film Like Photos.

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First Steps Towards The Move

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luggage

So, as mentioned the Amanda is going to be a Canadian Visa is almost approved. Once we received that letter, my mind started ticking over, thinking about all the dozens of things we need to start organising.

How does one even contemplate moving their life across the planet? I don’t know how you did it, sweetie! The Canadian moved his life to Australia almost 4 years ago and now it’s my turn. I have the next 2 weeks off work and I am going to try and make good use of that time.

Our plan is to move to Canada in October sometime, which means I have about 3 months to get my act into gear.

The first step was buying some luggage in the mid year sales. I of course wanted to buy something gorgeous to have me jet setting in style, however this trip is about getting as much stuff in my bags as possible. So, I went with sturdy, large and good quality instead. I purchased the Antler Translite series and may even go back and get another.

Now I just need to figure out what to put in them! Making the decisions about what to take and what to leave behind is going to be the death of me. I’ll need a case just for my cameras!

Have you ever done a big move and had to decide what precious possessions to leave behind?

Image by Carol Texas Ranger

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33 Today

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And was I spoiled.

rubyreds

I will admit, I love birthdays. I love celebrating other people’s birthdays and enjoy celebrating with loved ones on my own.

It was a rather eventful day. Birthday wishes and love from family, friends and work colleagues, bunches of flowers, cakes, a lovely dinner at my favourite Italian restaurant, a beautiful Oroton bag from my Mum and an iPod Touch from Sean (!) plus…

  • A new interactive whiteboard was installed in my classroom.
  • Something exciting developed and is itching closer to do with the Polaroid book- more on that soon.
  • I WAS PRETTY MUCH APPROVED AS A CANADIAN RESIDENT!!!!!

All on my birthday! It looks as though I just have one last step in the Permanent Resident Visa and then it seems that it will be officially approved. Excited! Shocked! We were not expecting it this quick. I’m tired…what a day.

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Shooting In The Rain

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Vancouver in the rain, Holga style

The rain has been pouring down here in Sydney at the moment. I am not usually a fan of rainy, overcast weather at all, but I am trying to embrace the dreariness in preparation for a life in one of the rainiest cities in the world.

Ordinarily rain makes me lock up all my cameras in fear as Australian cameras only like it when it’s sunny. Australian cameras are a bit like Australian drivers. When it rains they panic, forget everything they have known how to do for years, hide and stay indoors.

We live in a sunny place that is warm even in winter, in comparison to the majority of the world, so rain makes us a little crazy. The Canadian claims that Australians have no idea about umbrella etiquette. Who even knew there was such a thing as umbrella etiquette. We walk with them without any regard for those around us, we aren’t very good at dodging and lifting when other umbrellas approach and we walk with them up when walking under awnings.

Rain and Aussies are not a good mix. So yes, my poor, little, sun worshipping Australian cameras are going to need to be re-trained, so that they are actually in use when we move to Vancouver. I never take them out in the rain, I wouldn’t know what to do with a camera in the rain. Will I need camera raincoats? Where will I find the light? Oh, God!

Berkelium has been one of my favourite flickr contacts for a long while now. Tyler works out of Victoria, British Columbia and shoots very haunting photographs in the very weather I am heading towards. He has a gorgeous photoblog called Wink.

This little lady seems to shoot without hassle. Maybe it’s not as rainy as I think. At least it gives me a reason to stock up on cute umbrellas (which I have a little fetish for)  and invest in rain boots and a rain coat. I own the Boston Cotton Parasol.

Has anyone got any shooting in the rain/overcast weather tips?

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Choices Are Scary

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Over the next 4 to 5 months, I will be packing up my life as I know it and moving to the other side of the world. I am of course excited but also a little nervous, maybe even a lot nervous.

I got an email tonight telling me that to be accredited to teach in British Columbia, I may have to take an English Literature course. The thought of going back to uni and studying literature is actually something I would love to do more of, but the fact that I would supposedly need to do this, baffles me. I have been teaching for 10 years, am quite skilled in the areas of teaching reading and writing and focus my everyday around children’s literature, so this “rule” seems a little silly.

I was more concerned that I would be required to teach French, as Canada is obviously a bi-lingual country but it turns out that I don’t have to (kinda disappointing actually!).

So, if it comes down to me not being able to teach straight away, I am going to have to earn a living some other way. The Canadian thinks this time in my life would be the perfect opportunity for me to give photography a go…you know, as an actual job type thingie.

My options are as follows:

  • Wait tables while studying literature course, eventually teach.
  • Start up children’s photography business in city that is not my own.
  • Learn how to cook, be housegirlfriend, wander aimlessly.
  • Panic.

Have you had experience in finding work overseas or relocating? I would love any advice people have.

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A New Beginning

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welcome

SAME OLD NAME, SAME OLD ME, just new pages to write upon.

It’s like buying a brand new Moleskine; a brand new Moleskine with milky pages whispering your name each time you run your fingers over them. Fresh new pages waiting for you to swirl over with a fine tipped felt pen.

I haven’t written properly on my blog since October last year. I needed a break, needed to find something new to be inspired by and needed to want to write. I knew that the time would come that I would want to write again, so here I am.

I hope to write about the things that I find inspiring, of course will write about all things photography, share new ideas and internet finds, and to keep a diary of sorts of my upcoming move to Canada. Yes, the Canadian and I are currently awaiting to hear if we have been approved for a spousal visa. The application process is a gruelling one and we have done the hard part, now we just have to wait. It’s a long road ahead but hopefully one that is full of excitement, happy anticipation and a successful final result!

Thanks for stopping by.

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