The day started with mowing the lawns before 8am. Given that it was going to top 40 degrees, it was best to get this chore out of the way.
I am not a fan of mowing lawns, especially if there is lots of area to cover. I have been very lucky and usually my parents end up mowing the lawn for me as they are disgusted by how long I let the weeds get. But as I am leaving their little shack and allowing me to keep it as my storage shelter, I thought it best to get the lawns mowed.
When you do something, like clean or fix something, right before you are about to leave, you get this mixed feeling of “why bother, I’m leaving” and “why didn’t I do this earlier so I could appreciate it”. It’s an interesting combination, and one that no doubt gets you making high promises to attend to these things sooner and not be so lazy.
So here I am, at a quarter to midnight on my last evening in Mildura. I’m surrounded by three large, heavy red bags that are packed and an array of miscellaneous items to go in my carry on bag. I’ve left it all to the last minute of course. I only managed to squeeze in the last few items out of sheer tiredness from a big day of physical, mental and emotional outlays.
My friend cooked a wonderful Mexican feast for 14 of my friends as a send off, which was so lovely. I will save all my cliches about what beautiful, kind and generous people my friends are for another post. I might write that on the plane when I have 14 hours to ponder the loss of such people in my physical proximity.
This post is all mushed up and not flowing very well, but I guess that too reflects the kind of day I’ve had!
Yesterday I went out to Mum and Dad’s for our last family dinner before I leave (Mum’s lamb roast). While the roast was cooking, Mum, Dad and I went for a trip along the creek in the tinny.
The high river means that the creek that only ever runs when it floods and the billabong were full of water and since my parents love to explore the backwaters out we went.
What we commonly refer to as ‘the bend’, a riverside bit of native vegetation with clay tracks, red gums and a sandbar, was all underwater. As kids we used to ride our bikes through there all the time, but this year, the only form of navigable transportation is a boat.
I was fascinated by the big spiderwebs encasing trees standing out of the water. The way the late afternoon sun hit the webs and the tree bark was incredibly beautiful. It is such a different perspective gliding over terrain you know well at ground level in a boat. We had to navigate through saplings that were growing in the creek bed and fallen trees and try to pick out landmarks to figure out where we were.
It was a great way to spend a little bit of quality time with my parents, looking at old scenes through fresh eyes and a new perspective.
This is one of the standard responses I get when I tell people I’m moving to LA. Another frequent comment is
“Don’t forget about us little people.”
Which brings me to two points I’d like to make:
I have no intentions of becoming a celebrity or doing anything that may make me movie-star famous (even if only for 15 minutes).
I think about people I know and have met all the time, regardless of whether I only met them for a few moments in Argentina or whether I grew up with them.
Once upon a time as a self-interested teenager with an inflated opinion of her acting talents, I want to be a movie star. Not an actress mind you, but a movie star. I even remember a conversation with my hairdresser who said “Can I come be your hair stylist when you are a movie star?” to which my gauche comment was “Maybe… if I remember you.” Oh how I cringe at my teenage self.
I blame it all on one Year 10 guy who, jokingly I’m sure, asked for my autograph after a school play. As a Year 8 girl, that cheeky comment (taken quite seriously) was hugely flattering and such a boost to my self-esteem/inflated ego.
Thankfully, that childish dream passed and I spent my time studying marketing at uni, which I loved. I know that I don’t have the discipline, drive or talent to be an actress. And I definitely don’t have the desire to be. I’m happy just to play myself in everyday life.
So rest assured, I won’t forget about you. But don’t you forget about me either!
Last night was seriously in my top 10 nights ever.
To celebrate my leaving Mildura, I hosted a party for my A-listers and it totally rocked my world. I still can’t wipe the smile off my face. I mean, I normally have a smile on my face, but this is one of those big, stupid, cheesy grins that gives your face major wrinkles.
It was the perfect combination of family, friends and food mixed with dance-time tunes and laughs all around.
I just want to give a MASSIVE shout out to the 60 or so people who came along and made my night. I also want to thank the gate-crashers, because no A-list party is complete without gate-crashers!
Thanks also to Mario and co at Stefano’s Cafe for supplying the fab venue and even fabber food.
There are so many amazing people in my Mildura life, it will be sad to leave their company but with the kind of send off they gave me, they’ll never leave my thoughts.
It’s been an industrious six years in Mildura. Given that today is my last day of paid employment, I thought I’d share a few professional highlights, in no particular order.
Marketing & Communications Manager
Last Day As A Public Servant 2010
Face of Mildura for Mildura Tourism
Northern Mallee Leaders Program Participant 2008
Promo Girl for Mildura
Float Participant in the Mardi Gras
Farmers’ Market Stallholder
Mildura Young Professionals Network President 2007
MYPN Event MC
Labourer / Roof repair person
Wedding MC
Orange Picker
Economic Development Project Officer
10 Year School Reunion Organiser 2006
Business Tour Organiser
PA to Stefano de Pieri
Marketing & Promotions Coordinator for the Grand
Young Achiever 2008
Mildura Brewery Beer Sampler 2006
Student Admin & Support 2011
* Any of the really swish professional looking shots were taken by the great Darren Seiler and the one from today was taken by Kristian Haggblom.
Today started off with a big dose of disappointment as we found out that the house we fell in love with and applied for won’t be vacant until May. I guess you have to expect that from an online relationship with LA, what you see isn’t always what you get.
So we’re back on the house hunt, albeit with a smaller field of candidates now. There seem to be fewer listings on Westside Rentals for the area we’re looking in now than there were a week ago. However, I am optimistic that we’ll get a place that will suit us far better.
My experience at finding rental properties is fairly limited. After living at college, my friends and I were successful in getting the first house we applied for, a massive 4 bedroom house with low maintenance yards in a cute little cul-de-sac. Since I moved out of that place seven years ago, I haven’t had to fill in any lease papers or hunt for rentals, so the excitement, wishing, hoping and luck to get a place is all quite novel.
In my initial searches on Westside Rentals (the place to look if you want to live in LA) I was totally unrealistic. I had a great time pretending I was leading an Entourage-esque life and looked at big mansions with pools, cool gardens and servant’s entrances. I think I even imagined having my own Turtle to drive me around so it didn’t need to be close to anything.
When I finally, and reluctantly, did the maths I realised that I could only afford to live in one of those places for a couple of months before my savings disappeared and sent me back to Australia. That’s what Hollywood does to you, it gets you dreaming of how life will be “someday when” and makes you believe you already have a million dollars in the bank.
Now I have a firm list of criteria, a strict budget and far more realistic expectations. I mean, I currently live in a little shack infested with creepy crawlies, a chimney that leaks water onto my stove when it rains and an outdoor dunny. Give me a bedroom with a window, a kitchen bench and a toilet down the hall and I’ll be happy.
In 2007 I was asked to give the Australia Day speech at Red Cliffs. It was such a great honour, so I thought I’d wheel it out again for you today, Australia Day 2011. The sentiment remains the same, and if you like, you can listen to the Seekers sing “I am Australian” while you read it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what Australia Day means to you, so post a comment.
Welcome – Councillors, Red Cliffs citizens, visitors
My name is Camille. I’m a local girl who grew up here and then did what most of my friends did – I moved away, to Melbourne, to study and to really experience life. To get away from the small town that had shaped me given me my values and take my life into my own hands.
Eight years on after a marketing degree, some work experience and a year of travel, I came back home and it was the best move I’d ever made.
To me, Australia Day is a homage to home and a celebration of community.
We live in a great place. Sometimes it is hard for us to see that and we need to get out and come back in to truly appreciate how unique, vibrant and well serviced our town is.
Here in Red Cliffs we have two fantastic tertiary education facilities on our doorstep, La Trobe University and Sunraysia Institute of TAFE, which means that we can be educated on our home soil.
We have a great climate and natural surroundings, a varied and cultured social life and, well, we have Big Lizzie. The grand dame of Red Cliffs, all the travellers want a photo of her, she’s been the stalwart of our community celebrations, festivals and a great icon for our town. She’s seen it all, including my first kiss as a teenager!
We have so many attachments to home and it’s worth taking some time to think about what home, Red Cliffs, Sunraysia, Victoria … Australia … means to us.
Our community is strong. Just recently we’ve been tested, and we won (the fight against a toxic waste dump being located in the region). Persistence paid off and that shall remain a feather in our cap, a legacy for a brighter future that we will pass on to coming generations. This is what is called social capital. The working together of members of our community, individuals as a group, generating output that will maintain and improve what we have for those that follow.
Active citizenship, that participation, that passion, that drive to achieve, is something we need to cultivate in young people. Already, by Australian Bureau of Statistics research, we as a small community have far greater social capital and volunteering rates than our city counterparts. This is about community.
Community is what I missed most when I was living in Melbourne. I missed the sense of belonging I felt in Red Cliffs. I missed the activity of the community and the things I could get involved in that really meant something to me and the people around me.
In the cities they don’t understand community. The way a town’s fabric is woven from many different people who share a geographical sense of place, an interconnected work and social life and a united front on positive progression for their town.
This is why I came home. To have this feeling of peace inside me. A short holiday to the Philippines last year drilled this home. The absolute best part of my trip was touching down in Mildura, because I knew I was home, where I belonged, where I was valued and where I could make a difference.
Since moving back home I’ve had the most amazing opportunities that would never have come my way in a city. I am a founding member of the Mildura Young Professionals Network, and its current chairperson. This network was set up to attract and retain young people in this region through social networking and professional development. We target the 20 – 40 year old age group and our definition of professional is as simple as being committed to your career and personal growth. Many might look upon us as a ‘noughties’ version of young farmers.
I have also had the opportunity to go to Canberra and attend a workshop on issues facing young people in regional Australia. Through these opportunities I have learnt so much about our region, the needs of young people, leadership and about myself. I found these opportunities by getting involved, reading the paper and talking to people around me.
Opportunities, be they social, work, financial or cultural, are out there everywhere, but they seldom strike the passive. We are all citizens of our community, but the community benefits more from our active participation, and so do we as individuals. Our involvement in activities, from sporting teams to cultural pursuits, to volunteering and membership of clubs or committees, makes right here a better place to live than anywhere else imaginable.
By continually building on and improving the contribution to community, we are leaving a legacy of opportunity, vibrancy, wealth and belonging to the generations to come.
I would like to propose a challenge to you all, and that is to set yourself an Australia Day resolution. Make a goal for your contribution to a positive and vibrant community. Inside each of us is the ability to make a difference and this will happen if we just let it out into the community.
Thank you and enjoy the Australia Day festivities with Big Lizzie!
While eating ice creams on the footpath with Galeria, we spotted a very cool vintage Volkswagen parked in front of the Sandbar.
It was a left hand drive, dove grey Kombi van converted to a ute, it was lowered and had red and white retro hub caps. The windscreen was in two panels, which opened forwards on a hinge, with the window in the back of the cab also opening the same way.
As we walked past it, we admired it like a hipster admires a fixie. It captured our attention so much we didn’t even notice the boys sitting in it.
Yesterday I got a feel for 14 travel hours, a nice little preparation for my 14 hour flight to LA.
We had a family trip to Horsham for my uncle’s birthday lunch which was made all the more interesting by the recent floods in Victoria with the normal route, the Sunraysia Highway, closed.
It usually takes about 3 hours to get there, but with a detour via Birchip (with a quick pitstop and pic with the Mallee Bull) and then through Warracknabeal it took 4.5 hours. There were a few spots where there was still some water over the roads, and a number of potholes in the bitumen that we needed to watch out for and slow down for.
Lake around the wheat silos
Just outside of Warracknabeal, we passed a grain store with dozens of bunkers full of wheat surrounded by a lake of water. Apparently this is the property of the action-oriented guy who saved Warracknabeal by putting his heavy machinery on the job to build a levee around the town.
We sought the advice of the SES in Warracknabeal as the Sunraysia Highway was closed there, but at the roadblock no detours were offered. There were a few people gathered outside the SES station and they said that the Sunraysia Highway was 4WD only as the bitumen had been washed completely away in places.
River full to the brim at Warracknabeal
So after a 4.5 hour drive to Horsham, 4 hours at my aunt and uncle’s and then another 4.5 hour drive home and my hour each way to Mum and Dad’s made it a big day of travel.
Observations:
I got fidgety and sleepy about an hour into the return leg. That wasn’t a very good combination. I hope the Qantas entertainment system will keep me occupied with movie after movie.
All I ate was some toast at Mum and Dad’s, a coffee, a packet of chicken Twisties, some lollies, a bottle of water, salad buffet lunch, pavlova and cheesecake for sweets and a Coke. Not bad, and there will surely be more than enough food served on the flight, especially if I get one of those snack sacks – I love those.
The dips in the road were akin to aeroplane turbulence.
High heels instantly add wow to an outfit. You could have some rather simple, casual outfit on, and then add some skyscraper heels and instantly achieve something far more glamorous.
I am a high heel aficionado. I have about 50 pairs of heels and most times I love wearing them. Although, I have to admit that as I’m getting older, I am finding my time spent in high heels is dwindling as I go for more boring comfortable fast (ie flat) shoes.
At a recent event in the city, I noticed a growing trend, that of the transit pair. Flat shoes emerged from handbags whenever we went to walk from one bar to the next. Usually they were a pair of thongs that would replace a nicer pair of heels, or sometimes little ballet flats to replace a more spectacular pair of heels.
Regardless, with the larger handbags of today, there is plenty of room to carry a transit pair. Perhaps a more sensible option, but I still can’t part with my fabulous shoes once they’re on, even for a few hundred metres.
a little cameo 
