Hello, my name is Monique and I am officially redundant. But I don’t mind one bit.

I’ve worked for 8 years at a mining and resource company, both on the east and west coasts of Australia. I’ve travelled nationally numerous times with my job, had some really unique experiences and was given amazing opportunities. I’ve had about 6 promotions, 5 study opportunities (including my university degree) and 1 relocation from Wollongong to Perth. I’ve had some really great times with the company and made some awesome lifetime friends.

Getting ready to go underground at a coal mine

But lately, I’ve felt different.

I’m a very outcome orientated person. I like the projects I’m working on to have a start, middle and an end, with a successful outcome. I like hearing that I’ve done a great job, what I’ve done well and what I need to improve upon and I enjoy being challenged with difficult tasks. Recently I haven’t had any of this. Recently it’s been the same day in – day out. The company itself has changed, and I no longer feel proud to say I work there. I no longer feel excited to tell people what I do for a living. I no longer look forward to getting up in the morning and facing another work day. I applied for other jobs… began my Masters in Project Management… but nothing seemed quite right.

A new longwall ready for installation – used for underground coal mining

So when the company decided to restructure, and I saw my role was no longer on the Organisational Chart, I felt a sense of hope. I would be made redundant, and be pushed into the world to find something new. It was an opportunity to try something completely different – I just had to decide what that could be. I wasn’t worried about finding another job, I was just worried about finding the right job.

Obviously a serious professional

Matt and I brainstormed a bit – I wasn’t going to be retrenched until June 30, so I had time. We already had our European holiday booked, so there was no point in finding something prior to that.

One day I jokingly said to Matt “Why not do something completely different? Why don’t we move overseas for 12 months?” We laughed and talked about how good it would be to live and work in Italy or South East Asia. The more we joked about it, the more we were convincing ourselves that it could be viable. We could probably do it.

A drill to be used to create a vent shaft – allowing air to move through the mine

We’re not exactly risk takers. We know when to plan and budget, and when to “wing-it”. We got out the ol’ Excel and drew up a budget. We researched the cost of living. Rental prices. Storage. Visa options for old people (we’re 31, haha). We did it all. And in the end, it was viable. We had a crazy opportunity to pack up and live in South East Asia for 12 months.

And we’re going to do it.

June 16 we leave for our 7 week pre-booked holiday in Europe, attending the FIFA World Cup in Russia, a stop over in Sorrento, Italy before heading to France to follow the Tour du France, a quick visit to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, and finally we’ll fly out of Brussels, Belguim and head to our first stop in South East Asia; Nusa Lembongan in Indonesia.

So there it is. If you have tips, shoot them through. If you have advice, I’d love to hear it. If you want to tell us we’re crazy, go ahead and let us know! But most of all, if you take nothing else from this, always remember that you can view anything as an opportunity if you choose to.

If you like, you can follow along by subscribing in the handy option under this blog post, on my Instagram, or on my Facebook. Wish us luck!

My last days in hi-vis