This is what I woke up to on Thursday morning. If I had any doubts that I was actually moving countries, the 4 empty parking spaces & delicately taped TOW ZONE signs to the Beacon Hill gas lamps were more than necessary proof. For the non-Bostonians or non-familiar with Beacon Hill, empty parking spaces don't exist in Beacon Hill.
Once the movers got to the apartment early, and by that I mean after a mad dash from the gym back to my apartment, the packaging commenced. I didn't once hesitate or flinch during the process, but it was a very, very strange sensation to put and watch my possessions be packed away in unmarked, sterile brown boxes. I think what moved me the most is the connotations I have for brown boxes. They are used, damaged, abused, and then thrown away. To have all my things, to which I've attached such strong memories and even emotional ties, be cast away into the protection of the 'brown boxes' for their ocean journey, first makes me worry just a bit and also reminded me of their greater insignificance. What drove the whole sentiments home was being handed the final itemized list of all the brown boxes contained, a single carbon pressed tissue paper of a document that represented my life. Wow...that's a humbling experience. Then, I too as quickly as my things came and were carried away, after a lovely meeting with Diego, coffee with Jamie, chat with Phil & drinks with Sara & Anthony, was gone from Boston.
Boston Logan in the morning
UNITED conundrum this morning… I’ve never been treated more horribly by an airline. I will be calling to complain. I’ve spent about $1,000 on this ticket and am a loyal ‘Premier’ member. The least that UNITED can do is to treat me with respect and decency. I have every intention of elaborating & on going on a UNITED rant in a future blog post, but for now prefer to focus on the positives since the rest of the trip was actually quite pleasant, if not enjoyable. Bottom-line, I will now think 2 and 3 times before booking a UNITED flight again, regardless of your mileage program.
Lunch with Mariam & Sarah
After the UNITED debacle, the flight was noxious at best. I was just happy to be on the plane with my luggage and all carry-on’s. What I look forwarded to most was my lunch company. I bought my flights so that I had an 8 hour layover in SF, permitting me to visit with a few friends last minute prior to leaving. To all other friends living in SF, I truly wanted to set-up something with a more extended stay so that I’d be able to see all of you, but with ticket pricing and scheduling I had no such luck. So, mea culpa for now, I’ll make it up to when I swing back through at some point this year or next. Promise.
So, Hoyle, (love you!) picked me up at the airport, gathered Mariam and we hit up Taqueria la Cumbre, It was just what I wanted, good company, good food, and Mexican! The one cuisine the Aussies have yet to master is good Mexican, and Taqueria la Cumbre. Couldn’t be more authentic. I had a Combination Platos, which arrived on a plate as large as the one my Mother uses to present the Thanksgiving Turkey and completely justified just why this Mexican mecca was featured on the Food Network’s Man vs. Food. I was man, the platos was the food. I gave it my best effort, but food won. Platos y churros 1, Meredith 0. 
Little did I know that when I arrived Mariam had been scheming to hit up all of the tourist places I’d not seen yet. Within second of us getting in the car, she had Google Maps up, directions out & street signs ready. The first stop was the Ritual Coffee House to sample the house drip Brazilian coffees & machiatos and then Twin Peaks. Of my many trips to SF, this was actually one of the few places I’d not yet been, and it offered breath-taking views of the city. This quote is for Sarah & Mariam, “Alice, just press the button!” J Then it was a quick stop at a Castro gas station, dropping Mariam off, and back to the airport with me. Driving through certain areas of the city re-opened certain bittersweet, tender memories of a Steinbeck-inspired road trip I took a few years ago. I expect such memories will forever wrap SF, its bridges, restaurants & airports with a dewy fog of romanticism, and I look forward to its gentle, now distant reminder every time I pass through its premises. 
Ladies, it was so good to see you again and I’m continually inspired by the people I work with and have worked with at Google and you two are exemplary of this very fact. When we all came in together around the same time, I recall thinking how impressive everyone was in all they had already accomplished in college. Looking back, where we all started, and where you all are now…wow… I’m just blown away. Best of luck on your existing projects, both work and personal, and please keep in touch. You are extraordinary human beings. And, a very, very clamorously happy, happy Birthday to Mariam!
Sidenote. I love Maroon 5’s new album, Hands All Over. There’s not a bad song on it and there’s no album more perfect for walking up in the morning over an Australian/New Zealand sky.
Flight on Air New Zealand
After a quick call to mom, I was on-board my 12 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand on Air New Zealand, MY NEW FAVORITE AIRLINE IN THE WORLD…LITERALLY! The people were SO friendly; the food strangely delicious; and movie selection resembled a Netflix on steroids. I mean, how can you not be happy when a portly, barrel chested man resembling Santa Claus strolls down the aisle smiling, armed with bottles of Syrah & Pinot Noir offering liquid happiness to all on board? Every attendant, male & female, smile with every drop of coffee and tea poured and there was even a jovial ‘Suzie’ whose sole responsibility toward the end of the flight was to walk through the cabin and answer any questions you have on immigration, the airport & Auckland in general. Brilliant! Compared to UNITED this morning, I was overjoyed to be treated like a person again…over-over-joyed.
When you all come visit me, you should fly Air New Zealand. If not only for the adorable fuzzy squirrel in the safety video, who misinterprets all the flight crew’s instructions. My favorite of his gaffes include misinterpreting “ I think you have your music too loud” for “Yes, Yes my parents are proud” as he’s jamming out to music on his headphones and comparing the illumated paths in the airplane to “a fancy nightclub in the air.” Precious.
That aside Air NZ is wonderful. As someone leaving her country and (temporarily) immigrating to another for a few years, I could have not asked for a more wonderfully warm welcome. From the bottom of my now ex-patriotated heart, Thank you Air New Zealand.
Kia Ora to the Auckland Airport
So, you know its destiny when ‘your’ song greets you. Where ever you happen to be, its like a little extra sign that someone is watching out for you, or in that moment you’re in just the right place at the right time via some mysterious aligning of the starts nonsense. Well, yup…it happened in the Auckland airport. You in Boston know ‘my’ songs that I brought back with me from AU the first time, “Tu vuol fa l’americano’ and “Barbara Streisand’. Well, walking through the AUK airport on my way to freshen up in the bathroom, the currency exchange hut was rocking out to ‘Tu vuol fa l’americano”…. At 5:15 AM New Zealand time. Epic…that’s what that is…just epic.
AUK-Sydney flight
Sitting here I can’t help but be overwhelmed with sheer exhilaration for my new life. The eternal vagabond inside of me diagnosed to suffer from terminal Steinbeck ‘restlessness’ is anxious, has his bags packed, and is just waiting…just waiting for the sun’s first light to guide the footsteps of his next journey. After living in Boston for the past 2 and a half years, my new proximity to New Zealand, the Australian states, China, India, Japan, Malasia is nothing short of a heroine injection. The mid-westerner inside of Meredith is humbled by the opportunity, having grown up in Oshkosh Wisconsin, and is so grateful for all the friends she made in Boston, the support of her family, and is damn near moved to tears at the thought of impending reunification with Sydney friends near and far (yes, Stefano, you’re in the far bucket.) This warmth is met simultaneously with a profound gratitude for everything and everyone, to the random course of events that comprise my life, from being born "This Way” to amazing parents, to chance meetings with individuals who’ve impacted and molded by person, thought process, perspectives on life, people, and the world. For all of you who’ve played even the most minute role in it … I thank you. The only thing I can offer in return is a perpetually open door in the event you’d like to visit (BTW you do!) and if you ever need anything, please just let me know. Then the more realistic, pseudo-normal, mostly 24-7 Meredith is hella-wickedly-makin'-it-rain ready to take on this part of the world & her new job. Sydney here I come! Are you ready?
Arriving in Sydney
Where's Meredith? This is what happens when you try to stuff 3 massive suitcases into a sports car.
