Girl about town: Venturing out of my 'woman cave'

I actually had a really lovely weekend.

A girlfriend from Auckland drove down to visit me in my ever emerging woman-cave of a house.

Yes, women can have caves too.

I've taken up growing herbs, both at my front and back door, adopted a stray tabby cat which started breaking into my house and I've figured out how to take apart and put back together my waste disposal.

So instead of going to the movies by myself on Friday night, which has been a recent occurring affair, where I would put my hand bag and drink bottle in the seat next to me so it appears that someone is coming to join me but really isn't, I had a friend.

And then the next morning when I woke up, I still had a friend. We cooked breakfast together and shopped up a storm in some of the local op shops in town.

We hit the beach, without any sunscreen to my shame, and fraternized with a very attractive group of South Americans and Slovakians. Then dragged our very sorry sun burnt bums up to the local dairy and got extra large scoop ice-creams and left our phone numbers on the foreigner's car wind shields.

On Saturday night we baked treats, watched Inside Llewyn Davis (a must-see movie) and contemplated going out to have a few drinks with the random beach foreigners. But in the end stayed home and, I know it sounds boring, planned short and long term goals for ourselves.

Both our short term goals included sitting in our current positions for at least another year. After years abroad for study and numerous OEs, my resume looks a little bit like a child's pick-and-mix party bag. A year-here and some random-study-there really isn't going to do much for my credibility in the long term.

Which brings me to the long term goals.

And I apologise now for not wanting a fleeting career in a far off exotic destination, as I have already lived in Africa, South East Asia and Australia - I feel I've been there and done that.

So ideally I would buy a cute little cottage, yes with a picket white fence, be in a job where I am mentally satisfied and somehow find the man of my dreams.

#somehow