Okay, so here goes. A brief run-down of my life to date.
High School:
All through high-school I was plagued with a dilemma. I wanted to "fit in". I was a geek. I blame my mother for reading so many books to me & the fact I never had a television growing up, well until age 13 at least. I was painfully shy. In an effort to combat this, my parents thought it was a swell idea to force me to visit the neighbours regularly. By myself. I am, as a result, now traumatised when I have to meet new people. Don't even get me started about speaking on the phone. Anyway, back to high school. I went to a relatively small rural college (around 300 students) ranging from Forms 3 through 7 (apparently they now call them "year 7's" and "year 13's". They also now do NCEA instead of Bursary, because slapping a different name on a qualification and rewarding previous non-achievers with a "well you tried hard" pat-on-the-back is much better than the TRUTH). I consistently came 2nd in my year group and was in the "smart class". Coming 2nd is a kick in the teeth, really. It's like saying "if only you had applied yourself a bit more, spending your lunchtimes within the library, instead of desperately trying to make friends...you might have come first". I tried very hard to not do as well: not handing in homework, not studying for tests etc, but still I scraped by. Apparently my mind is a sponge, and I am unable to deliberately write down the incorrect answer. I also suffer from a terrible phobia. The fear terror of disappointing my parents. They weren't some of my fondest years.
City life:
Because high school was so unpleasant for me, I was well and truly 'over it' by the time my final Senior Prizegiving came around. I then rebelled the only way my innocent mind knew how: I studied a diploma in Film & Television, instead of a degree in Journalism. I know. Badass, right? Anyway, after pottering around in the Television/Advertising industries for a couple of years (and getting wrecked off my brains on numerous drugs and copious amounts of alcohol - I guess I was making up for my sheltered upbringing by cramming all my 'experimentation' into a short period of time) I got bored with that too. Without going into too much detail of these relatively dark (although somewhat enlightening) times, I will give you a wee window into my 'city world': After one particularly spectacular session, I found myself completely off my head in the back of a taxi. Instead of asking the driver to pull over, I came up with the brilliant idea that I would purge my stomach whilst en-route home. Luckily I had the intelligence decency to remove my ipod AND my passport from my bag, prior to the relieving of my internal organs (which I'm surprised still had failed to shut down), thus forgoing the standard $50 "soiling" charge from the driver. That bag was a real treat when I found it outside two days later, let me tell you. That was the night I also severely sprained my finger trying to get into the house. I should add I also had to work the next day. As I said, dark times.
Fresh Start:
I soon tired of the City lifestyle. I was working in an industry filled with egos and rank. I have never been good at taking orders, and I came to the realisation (no matter how glamorous my career may seem from the outside) I was simply not prepared to continue being a glorified cleaner, whilst waiting for a promotion that may (or may not) ever come. My parents had bought me a tandem skydive for my 18th birthday gift several years ago (to help me conquer my fear of heights) and whilst moping around my flat trying to sort my life out, I remembered this. Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to do. Somehow, those 45seconds 2.5years ago had enough of an impact on me to inspire me to become a Tandem Master myself (that sounds a lot more glamorous than: "I was a commitment-o-phobe who is also a complete flake). I promptly grabbed the Yellow Pages and started dialling. I lost count of how many companies I rang, asking if they had any administrative/receptionist jobs going before I got an answer other than laughter in my ear. Looking back, I really was duped. I moved 2 weeks later, 3hours away from my previous home & a further 2hours on top of that away from my parents. I was informed I would be packing the parachutes, making at least $2500 a fortnight & be able to do my AFF (skydive training course) while I was working. Boy was I in for a shock.
Reality Check:
Upon arriving in my new town with barely $200 to my name, I discovered a couple of things about my 'dream job'. 1. Skydiving is a weather-dependant job/activity (kind of makes sense, really); 2. It is largely commission-based (you get paid per-packjob/jump etc). It rained. Rain = no work = no money. I also discovered something else. I would not be packing parachutes, I would be transferring the pictures from the Freefall Cameramen's (I say cameramen's although there were 2 female jump staff at the time) memory cards, and putting them onto a CD for the customer. For this I was paid $2 for disc, on top of my daily retainer (which I only received if we worked) of $35. Luxury. In addition to all this fantastic news, I would also not be able to even start my AFF (the whole reason I had come) for an indefinite period of time, as they were having issues with the course structure. I was miffed to say the least.
This was intended to be a "brief insight into the events that have made me who I am today"... It has gotten out of hand, so I feel I should take a breather and revisit it at a later point in the day (when I'm not feeling so "ranty") & go on from there...
(to be continued...)
