Year 2

DAMN GINA!  We’re half way through the year and it’s taken me this long to crank something out.  It’s not cuz nothing’s been happening.  I’ve just been lost on what to write about!  I thought I should mark the occasion with a piece even if it’s a simple one.  Since my last post I’ve managed to soil myself [we won’t tell that story this time around though] then for the very first time ever, I broke a bone.  In the middle of a national Club MTV tour, I dislocated/snapped my fibula playing touch farken rugby of all things.  I had to go into surgery where I got 9 screws and a plate jammed in me.

For someone who’s supposed to be resting I pushed every single one of my limits mainly cuz my crooked ass can’t sit still – I was back in the office the very next day!

Out and about, hopping around, attending events and conducting interviews.  Looked real fash rocking black crutches but then the moonboot was fugly.

Squeezed in a family trip to Wrestlemania followed up by the “Fast & Furious 7” world premiere too!

It got pretty scary at one point where doctors detected high levels of creatinine in my blood.  I was told I needed further testing for an irregularity in my kidney which could be an indication of diseases such as Cancer, HIV along with about 20 other favourites.  I’m not gonna lie, that shit stressed me out for a minute cuz in my head I automatically assumed I had all of them which is physically impossible but you know, drama is my best friend.  Thankfully that wasn’t the case and I was cleared of everything.  Shout out to everyone who’s completed a 3-day urine test as well as a 24-hour urine test in the same week [that’s where you carry a giant 5 litre bottle around with you and collect every drop of piss you expel that day which proves to be fun when you have to be at a 4 hour red carpet event with Chris Rock].

On a serious note though, it can be tough.  You can see how easy it is for people to fall into bouts of depression and then there’s the numbing pain killers you get thrown at you left, right and centre – it’s no wonder people get hooked.  I’m glad I had a good crew to help me when I needed it so thank you again to my work colleagues, my friends and my family for taking great care of me.  Nothing like a not-so-gentle reminder of human frailty to jolt your appreciation and reflection!

Through all the rehab, needle jabs, x-rays and ultrascans, I refused to miss a single day of work.  You kinda can’t afford to when you’re on a one year contract and there’s 100 people lining up to take your job – great source of motivation right?!  Nah but really I was quite functional and I had the right support so there was no real reason for me not to.  The only downside is my fitness dropped not being able to exercise the way I’m used to.  I remember saying to my friend “yeah I’ve been pretty inactive” and they were like “ummm, this is your version of inactive?!”

This month marks a whole year since I’ve been in Sydney, recently re-signing with MTV to do a second.  We’re very close to this jenky ass ankle being back to normal now in terms of balance, strength and range which pretty much describes my life.  For most people in a new role, it usually takes the first year to really settle in, work through the kinks and familiarise yourself with it.  You SMASH it in year two or at least I like to think I do.  It’s taken this injury and the road to recovery for me to realise I’ve been here a whole year and I deserve to be.  Nothing’s guaranteed in this life, especially in this industry so to go through a bumpy 365 days of a certain level of uncertainty and still be here tells me I must be doing something right.  From having zero TV experience to being comfortable now, I’m warmed up so look out for what I got coming up hoes [hopefully no more broken bones!]  Let’s git it, Year 2!