Hi De Hi Campers…thank goodness that October is now behind me and hello new beginnings!
Places I’ve Visited and Things I’ve Done this Month
I’ve caught up with a beautiful friend from Bedford who was working in Auckland a few times this month which was amazing…things happen for a reason and we’ve had some pretty cool chats and giggles over the weeks…
…I finished up my job and feel so much better for it…I’m hoping that my health and sanity return sooner rather than later and that I can also work out where I want to live in bloody New Zealand!
Mama decorated the dining room table…
…as you do so you can’t eat at it!
We popped across to Brisbane for the week at the end of October to spend time with my uncle and cousins which was the first time in over 5 years that I’ve actually seen everyone…
…checked out the Botanical Gardens…love a good garden as you know…
…and there was a lot of shopping…loving the French Connection range…the jumper came home with me…I’m a sucker for stripes…
…and found this gorgeous vintage bag which I decided needed to live in New Zealand rather than Australia…straight to the pool room!
^^They don’t make them like they used to!
New Zealand Life
Still very undecided about what I want to do or where to live in New Zealand, just that I know its definitely NOT Auckland…it makes hitting my goals very hard as well so am just going to forget about the goals and focus on enjoying New Zealand life for a bit and find my groove.
I’ve really struggled over the past number of months with expectations in the work place…I’m a firm believer that you meet people at the time you need them in your life. Meeting Ana a few months back has provided me, not just with a lifelong friend but also someone who understood Burn Out and also saw how I was struggling with it and how nobody was willing to help even though I had asked for help in my place of work.
I had a major breakdown at work…it wasn’t pretty…I was exhausted, my hormones were all over the place due to my operation and my workload had increased, not decreased which would have helped me to recover from the operation. I realise now that my Leadership Team failed me even if they don’t recognise this…my personality is to push back and I did to no avail.
Ana recommended that I read Thrive by Arianna Huffington and I think the first 50 pages made me feel physically sick as I felt like someone had written the book about my life…the lack of sleep (I was lucky to hit 3-4 hours most nights), the anxiety and the inability to focus…I kept telling myself that there was something at the end of all the crazy hours but there wasn’t as I was just too exhausted to enjoy life or be nice to people, especially the ones that I loved…and I had no energy to go on road trips which I loved and wanted to do on the weekends (or I was working all weekend).
I know burn out happens all around the world but it seems to be more prevalent in the New Zealand workplace vs England from my experience…most Brits think the grass is greener on the other side when you talk about New Zealand however when it comes to a work life balance; this is definitely greener in the UK.
The frazzled state of Kiwis actually concerns me and the proactive attitude and work ethic that I’m used to, is now very reactive as we seem to bounce between a million tasks at once without doing something correct the first time.
Exercise
My reformer pilates studio has closed down…they’ve moved back to England…the irony is not lost of me! So have started to do P.Volve again in the meantime…the tight bottom has caused all kinds of giggles this month between Mama and I.
^^ Me after my Reformer class in Brisbane…holy heck the instructor was bright and bubbly!
Health Update
I think I’m fully recovered after my operation to remove the now confirmed fibroid which wasn’t cancerous…the constant crying has now left the building which is ace however am still a bit moody, indecisive and am lacking in confidence!
Then there was the iron infusion…it went well apart for the very high blood pressure and fever AGAIN…I felt like I was hit by brick wall…I woke up a few hours after the infusion swollen so mama took me down to the A&E as the nurse thought I was having an allergic reaction to the infusion.
Nope…just my body was so unwell and I needed rest!
My doctor finally found my colonoscopy results and they came back with two adenomas with dysplasia (cancerous cells which would have turned into tumours in my bowel) so this is now three years in a row. In the UK it would be time for a chat about removing the bowel and having a bag so am off to see a specialist about this in New Zealand to talk about options and risks.
Plans for November
A road trip at the very least! And to try and smile more.
xx
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