Today is the day!! After six weeks of waiting, we finally have (drumroll, please...) Internets! And yes, I am going to pretend that a lack of Internets at home is the reason I have sucked at keeping up my blog, even though I have the Blogger app on my phone.

{Note: the photos are all from Port Melbourne. I work down there on the weekends and it's pretty fancy. Can't complain about taking my lunch break by the beach!}

Probably the real reason I haven't been updating is that I have been journalling and Instagramming  away and that has been meeting my need for expostulation and validation from the general public. Also, let's not forget that I was never very consistent about posting before the move.

But I've missed reading other people's blogs. I have a feed set up through Blogger that makes it easy to read all the many blogs I like, but you can't access the feed through the mobile app. So I'd have to go individually to everyone's blogs and it's making me tired just thinking about it.

So, what have I been up to?

• Working! I transferred with my retail job (I think I said that already), but I have to leave them in two weeks because I can't work for any one employer longer than six months. I'm a bit relieved, though, because they've been running me ragged! Ack! I need a break! But I'm glad to have been busy for the first couple months in a new town, because I think I might have felt a lot lonelier and more displaced if I hadn't been.
• Applying for a PhD! Er, what?? Yes, that's right. I've had no luck applying for jobs in Melbourne. No interviews whatsoever. I don't know if this is because my visa is expiring so soon, or because the competition is so much higher here, or both, or what. And then this PhD was being advertised, and I was like, "Nah, it's only for permanent residents and I can't afford to study anymore." Hugh told me to take a day to sit and write what I'm passionate about and what I really could envision myself doing, and I realised I'm really interested in health literacy and education. So I searched for a short course that would teach me a bit about health promotion, even though health promotion isn't quite what I'm interested in. Then this same PhD advertisement came up again, and I re-read it, and realised it was exactly what I'd written that I wanted to do. More or less. So Hugh told me to contact them and have a chat about it with someone, which I did. She said that it would be fully funded, even for an international student, if I can prove that I'm an exceptional candidate. I'm not sure if I am, but it's worth a shot, eh? I mean, it's free to apply!
• I did get a lovely email today from my concerned father, saying, essentially, "WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY YOU OWE THE U.S. GOVERNMENT FOR YOUR MASTER'S DEGREE?!" Thanks, Dad, I had forgotten about the $75,000 debt looming over my head. How should I fix this? Oh yes, dump my boyfriend and move back to Seattle, where I can live at home while I choose between all the thousands of juicy public health jobs that are currently on offer in this stronger-than-ever economy.
• One of these days, when both of us have a day off, we're going to "register our relationship" at city hall. It's like announcing that you're "In a relationship" on Facebook, but loads more official. It's something that's only offered in certain states, including Victoria but not including South Australia. And it may allow us to waive the "living together for 12 months" requirement for a de facto partner visa. So although my current visa expires at the end of June, at which point we will have been living together exactly 12 months, I may be able to file my application sooner. This would be good for my stress levels.

I think that's about it for the mo'. I should really get back to writing an exceptional proposal so I can get funding...