My Story - Part 1

My name is Vicki and I create gift hampers. I grew up in small town NZ and worked from a young age. Like many kids I started a paper-run at age 11 and progressed to milk-runs when I was 14 (back in the days when glass bottles of milk were delivered to your letterbox before breakfast). The milk truck would pick me up at 3.00am and I'd arrive back home at 8.00am in time to quickly get ready for school. No wonder I sometimes fell asleep in class!

I really didn't enjoy college. Nothing inspired me. I sometimes skipped school with my friend (a girl from a Brethren Church family - no radio, no tv etc). She'd drive us to the local shops and we'd hang out just so she could listen to music playing in the background in shops (no radio allowed in her car). Other days we'd drive to the beach.

I left school at 15 to work in my first full-time job, retail (in a local store similar to a Spotlight store). Then worked 3 years in a sewing factory. I was outgrowing my small-town surroundings and needed something more fulfilling.

Then came a shift to Wellington to start a full-time tech course in office admin. Upon completion I started my first office job working for government at Internal Affairs and then transferring to Tourism NZ (known as NZ Tourist and Publicity back then).

I loved living in Wellington! Then my mum died. I was 23 years old. This was the crappiest year of my life. Losing mum was a huge shock. It was unexpected. A massive heart attack without warning and she was only 45.

A couple of months later I got glandular fever, my flat was broken into and a month after that my car was stolen. At that stage I didn't think things could get worse.

But they did. I was then diagnosed with Type 1 insulin dependent diabetes. Not cool for someone with a phobia of needles. But that wasn't the worst thing, cos then my dad died! Only 8 months after mum had died. Again unexpected.

A move to LaLa land, growing, healing - in Part 2