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Sunday, August 31, 2014

The Final Stretch

Spring has finally arrived in OZ, I think.  At least it feels like spring lately, and it couldn't come at a better time.  The arrival of warm weather makes being away from home a whole lot easier!  I mean, there is a really good reason that I live in South Florida!  Spring's arrival also means that my trip to OZ will be ending soon, so I guess it is time to get down to business.

A lot more of this beautiful country requires my exploring before I get back on a plane headed home.  Seriously, I have only scratched the surface when it comes to Melbourne, and it is so spectacular that I can only imagine what the rest of Australia offers.  The original goal was to visit Sydney, Perth, Queensland, and even New Zealand (different country-I know) during my six-month stay.  Unfortunately, I never factored in one little detail…COST!  Yes, leave it to me to overlook the obvious.  If I visit one more city it would be nice, but if not, I will still leave happy with Melbourne being the only city I know in OZ.

This journey has been one huge adventure after another since the beginning.  It involved not only discovering a new country, but also pealing back that notorious onion and learning a lot about myself.  Don't worry, I am not stepping up on my soapbox again to deliver another rant.  Nope, I will save that rant for another day.  What I will say is that every time I began to feel defeated during this adventure, God answered with a new blessing.  Sometimes those blessings came in the form of a person, and at other times they were disguised as phone calls, texts, and even nature.  Call it what you will, but the timing was always impeccable.

A few weeks back I was feeling a bit lonely, and out of nowhere I met Jonno Jones who was in OZ and visiting from outside of London.  We only spent a few hours together, hitting a few spots downtown, but it was exactly the sort of lift that I required at that time.  It was kind of cool to learn that he and his partner were moving to Melbourne in the upcoming months.  In fact, I think they are arriving just about the same time that I will be leaving.  

Yesterday I met two more people, and quite literally by accident.  It was such a great day on Saturday that I made myself stay outside as much as possible-day & night.  As part of my nighttime plan, I purchased a Walking Ghost Tour of Melbourne.  I arrived fully thinking that it would be a small group, but to my shock and horror the crowd was closer to 40+ people!  Well, in typical Tonka fashion, halfway through the walking tour I slipped on the curb and nearly took out a few of the participants.  The immediate recipient of my fall was a guy named Damian.  Thankfully he was pleasant about the whole experience, and as a result of my near miss I was able to meet two new people-Damian and his friend Belinda.  The two of them were in town visiting from Perth.  After the ghost tour the three of us had a chance to hang out for a bit and enjoy a few laughs before going our separate ways.  

I have roughly one month left in OZ (maybe), which really only amounts to 16 or so days outside of work.  Melbourne was voted the most livable city in the world, and the longer I am here, the more I understand why that is the case.  In the scheme of things, I don't have that much time left to create more memories and meet new people.  

Since it has been a while, I decided to post another video.  This video chronicles one of the best weekends that I have had since Chris left town.  I don't envy that guy… He has two full-time jobs.  The first job was planned, and it is stressful enough, but the second is more challenging and comes with little praise or recognition.  What job is that?  Well, managing me of course!

So Chris, this video is dedicated to you!  You see, pinky promises work every time!


The video link is HERE.

A few pictures since the last time:
















Sunday, August 17, 2014

Meet the Author

A bit more than four months ago, while onboard a plane and somewhere over the pacific, this blog began.  I sat in my seat wondering what life had in store for me when my plane landed in Australia.  Countless emotions occupied my head on that flight, and all at the same time.  Excitement was one of them, of course, but nervousness and fear were never too far behind.  When Electronic Arts offered me this once in a lifetime opportunity I knew that I had to accept.  There was something inside of me that refused to even consider any answer other than “yes”.  It probably sounds strange, but its true.  I am sure that others have felt this same feeling.  Saying yes to this assignment in Australia with Firemonkeys also meant saying no to all of my fears and insecurities.  It was a big step for this guy.

The flight to OZ was an opportunity to reflect back on a lot of things.  If nothing else, reflecting back kept my fears of the unknown at bay.  Then again, was it the unknown or the known that scared me the most?  I am the type of person that requires familiarity for security.  When I don't have familiarity I resort to humor, which is my primary coping mechanism.  If all else fails, I just climb back into my shell and I hide. My strength and security comes mostly from knowing that family, friends, and Chris are always close by if needed.  Knowing all of this about myself made traveling more than nine thousand miles to live in a foreign country an extremely frightening proposition.  Something within told me that this trip to Australia was important for reasons beyond work.  I felt like there was a lesson to learn on this trip.  A lesson about myself and maybe even others.  

It didn't take long before I started to meet people that would change my life forever.  Tanja, Cynthia, and Frank who experienced tragic loss of love and life, yet they all still managed to carry on with such strength.  People from work who took me into their lives and did their best to ensure that I felt their friendship and support while in a new country.  Even those people who work in this hotel, The Blackman, who in some strange way have become like family in a lot of ways.  Each person impacted my life in a special way, and mostly without even knowing. I might say that the first lesson I learned is that everyone has the power to impact another’s life in a very powerful way.  Sometimes it occurs by choice and  other times it occurs without even knowing.  Either way, it happens, and it is something to remember as I go about my daily life.  A bit of kindness to a stranger might be exactly what they required to help them overcome their own personal struggle.  If nothing else, it certainly makes for a better world for us all to share.  This first lesson was a powerful one, but I still couldn't help but feel that there was more to come.  

After some time passed, and aside from missing Chris, life in OZ started to feel normal and almost routine.  I fell into a rhythm that consisted of life’s typical struggles and triumphs.  Work offered me the challenges necessary to keep life interesting and some friends to share it with on occasion.  I looked forward to Chris’ visit, and almost as quickly as he arrived I was seeing him away.  It almost felt like I was starting all over from day one after Chris left.  My friends here in OZ did their best to ensure that I felt their love and support, but it was still difficult.  I closed myself off to the possibility of any new life lessons, or did I?

A call with my mother brought the answers that I was looking for all along.  She told me about a book filled with adventure, love, loss, riches, sadness, and happiness.  One that is riveting yet whose last chapter has yet been written.  That book is my life, and I am the author.  As the author I get to choose what is written and how my life is goes.  There are situations that happen and things that are out of my control, but I get to choose how I react in each scenario. I can choose bitterness, anger, happiness, love, or whatever I want, but it is my book.  Sometimes it feels as though I am just a character in this book, and that is when its most important to remember the true author.  Life is finite, and we don't have the luxury of a “do over” or a rewind, which makes it even more important to pen each page carefully.  My mother never ceases to amaze me, but I never expected her to be the courier of my next lesson.

Mom's lesson came at a great time.  I was struggling with a few things and I needed the reminder of how precious life truly is and how it is up to me to find my own happiness before it ends.  There is an ending after all, and for the most part, that is the one part of my story that I don't get to write.  In the mean time, I am gluing a pen to my hand!

The book I am authoring comes with pictures, so here are a few of my recent ones…