Pirate and her mental life

So there's a few questions I've been asked a lot recently. From my wonderful friends and family back home "When are you coming home?" and "What are your plans?", from my wonderful Australian friends "How long are you staying for?" and "What are your plans?". I shall endeavour to answer all of these questions in this installment of my blog and in doing so perhaps come up with some sort of concrete plan.

I shall begin with more questions. "Why Australia?" is the one Im asked most often, usually swiftly followed by "Why Adelaide?". There are  a number of reasons I chose Australia but the main one revolves around roller derby. Once there was a lovely lass named BamBam who came to Scotland on a working holiday Visa and skated with the Glasgow roller girls. She made friends with a girl named Pirate and they went to New York together. Then Pirate got a working holiday Visa for Australia and went and stayed with BamBam and skated with her and the Adelaide roller girls. Thats a highly simplistic view of events. There was a lot of things going on in my life at the time of my decision. Bear with me while I squidge 6 months worth of complicated life bullshit into one super exciting explanatory paragraph.

I had split up with my boyfriend of  a year and a half so there was no romance to stay for and any inklings of a possible romance with a person who shall remain anonymous will forever be filed in the "its so complicated it needs a blog of its own" (I did write a blog about this but I took it down out of respect for an ex. One day I will share again). I had just recently lost my job as a lab technician/cancer research assistant due to lack of funding and the idea of job-hunting in my field again even with experience this time round was soul-crushing.  Even my totally awesome flat, my glorious sanctuary where I could hide with my books and Dvds and art supplies was beginning to stress me out; the secure entry wasn't secure, a homeless guy moved into the cupboard at the bottom of the stairs, the junkies on the first floor set the place on fire, nosy fucker Rita next door suffered from some sort of mental disorder and was constantly chapping my door asking me who the man was that chapped my door at 2am (there was no man and even if there was its none of your fuckin business madam) and to top it off there were about 40 members of the same family living in the flat underneath me that kept me awake at night with get-together sing a-longs and up early at weekends for religious ceremonies with additional football related shenanigans. If I could have transported the flat elsewhere or booted everyone else in the close out it would have been perfect. (Not to mention I couldn't afford a two-bed flat in Glasgows Southside by myself and the letting agency wouldnt allow me to choose my own flatmate because they're DICKS) OK, so I was pretty much panicking wondering what the hell I was going to do with my life when a friend of mine (el Bandito) suggested we get working Visas for Australia and fuck off there for a while. Now, Australia doesn't let you into the country on a working holiday Visa after you turn 30. I guess because once you reach that age you start going to Ibiza for your holidays or something I dont know but anyway I was 28 and a half at the time I applied for my Visa. It just seemed that everything in life was pushing me towards Australia and I quickly came to the conclusion that I would be a complete shitebag if I didnt go.

That covers why Australia - No job, no home, no romance, no plans, no kids, nothing keeping me, ticking deadline for Visa. Next question - why Adelaide? I chose to start in Adelaide as I already had a contact in Adelaide and a place to stay. Also, I had a built-in derby connection as I could transfer to ADRD. The plan was always get to Oz, wait for Bandit to arrive, buy van , fuck off and tour Australia Thelma and Louise style minus the ending. So what happened? Well, when I first arrived I was a little out of sorts. I had a lot on my plate and in being a champion robotic coping machine I lost a bit of the spark of who I am. I was tee-total for my first couple of months in Adelaide (I know, right?!) as I had these idiot ideas that I was gonna run off into the sunset with a handsome anonymous (also, teetotal) man and live happily ever after. Turns out he was an asshole but I digress, IT'S COMPLICATED. To cap it all off, I had arrived just in time for "off-season" IE no roller derby for 3 months! Ouch! So I floundered for a few months trying to settle into my own skin again. I remember phoning my bestest mate Laura and greetin telling her I wanted to come home. She told me to hang in there. I also fired Bandit an SOS email and she told me that her mate got homesick around the 3 month mark and to just stick it out a bit longer. I wasnt ready to give up my dream just yet and Im a stubborn fucker - there was no way I was leaving Oz until Id given it my best shot. Lo and behold everything almost magically fell into place when I totally wasnt looking!

 I landed a job at the best rockingest pub in Adelaide!! I started drinking again (what Pirates are best at) and the derby season started, offering me happy fun times and a support network. All of a sudden I felt like me again and I was having the time of my life! After another month of waiting for the Bandit to arrive she emails me the best news ever - she isn't coming to Australia after all she is in fact off to San Diego to work at Sin City Skates and skate with the San Diego Derby Dolls. Fuck me. Bandit you are my hero and I wish you all the best in everything that you do and I cant even be disappointed because I am so fucking excited for you!!!! Anyway, that's enough about Bandit she can write her own blog ;) So where does this leave you Pirate I hear you ask. Well, I thought about it and I thought fuck it Im having a riot I shall go with the flow and see what happens. Adelaide is cool it reminds me of my hometown, the roller derby is awesome and the Fringe festival is about to begin. I have loads of friends and everything is great.

The arrival of the cavalry. I had been emailing my little brother since I left suggesting he come out to Australia for a holiday. He was in a similar situation to me having recently lost his job. I asked that he come out in time for my birthday and he agreed it was a glorious idea. I convinced him to get a one-year working Visa by the sound logic that once he was here, 3 months would go by so quickly and he would be gutted that he had to go home as you cant apply for a Visa once you are already in the country, it has to be before you leave.  Day before my birthday Kris arrives and the rest, as they say, is history. Needless to say that was in March and he is still here having just as much fun as I am.

Now, it is June and my one-year working Visa expires end of September. I don't want to go. I haven't seen much outside of Adelaide and Australia is a BIG place. I do not regret spending all my time in Adelaide as I have found myself (urgh I know bear with me) again. It is exactly where I needed to be and exactly what I had to do to move forward. I have been thinking for some time that I want to I need to I have to stay longer. I really really like it here. So... what are my options? I am currently on a one-year Visa but you can have it extended by another year if you go and do crappy work that no-one else wants to. Perfect, I do the work, apply for Visa 2 and buy myself an extension to come up with a more permanent plan.... I'm not saying I definately want to live in Australia forever but one thing I am sure of is I do not want to return home. (Not yet anyway).

So I abandoned all job-hunting (see previous blogs) in favour of something which satisfies the ridiculously highly specific Visa criteria. Now, you know all those facebook posts about me farming up in the Adelaide hills? Beginning to make sense now? To the peeps back home, I apologise but if I get my way I will not be returning this year. To the peeps in Australia, if I get my way I will be here to go exploring further and hopefully spend another season skating with ADRD. Fingers crossed, I don't ask for much - 2nd year in Australia here I come! (hopefully).