Having a good morning drawing with Mimi. Also watching ESPN coverage of the 6 Nations. Funny listening to American commentary.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Drawing with Mimi
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Finding Routine
It is the morning routine, the alarm goes off at 6:30 just as the boys begin to stir, Ginny and I both wish for a few more hours sleep particularly if the night feed was a tough one, but the boys quickly remind us that more sleep is not an option and cry until fed. At some point Mimi will wake up and ask for milk. We all get on with out jobs, I make tea and toast while Gin feeds the boys, Mimi watches Waybaloos. After the boys have been fed they get put back to sleep and we get on with our day.
I now work for a company called Explorer Graphics Limited (EGL), a well regarded GIS Consultancy firm who are based in Whitby, about 15 miles up the coast from Wellington at the base of the North Island. Whitby is a bit of a one horse town, although I think the horse may have left in search of adventure. It has a small supermarket, a pub, a fish and chip shop, a cafe, a post office, a pharmacy and of course the head office of EGL. It is pretty though, with rolling hills in the background and from higher ground you can just about see the South Island.
Although EGL are based in Whitby we'll still live in Auckland, indeed I will be the Auckland office. I spent the first weeks in Whitby getting up to speed. This was really hard as I had to leave Ginny to look after the boys and Mimi. Fortunately the family stepped up to the mark and provided a lot of support although Ginny did point out once I got back that I had spend half the boys life away from them. Now that I'm back in Auckland I'm working out of the garage while we wait for the office in Auckland to be sorted. Its really hard sitting in the garage knowing that Gin is occasionally struggling with the boys and I'm sure Ginny finds it hard that I am not there. Work does take me away from home quite frequently at the moment, I've been down to Wellington quite a few times and also a night in New Plymouth which is famous for Mount Taranaki, a dormant volcano which looks remarkably like Mount Fuji.
The boys are doing well, putting on weight and taking more of an interest in the world. Unfortunately they both have reflux which for those who don't know mean they throw up a lot after feeding. Fortunately however they are 'happy spitters' which means that although they throw up a lot they aren't distressed by it. In reality it just means that a damp shoulder is pretty much a constant possibility. They do both have colds at the moment which makes everything doubly hard and we have to be constantly watching that the cold doesn't turn into something worse.
Alex and William or Willem as Mimi likes to call him still look remarkably similar and it still takes a second look to tell them apart, and even then it might take a third and forth. If all else fails a glance at Alex's toes which are painted with nail varnish provides the definitive answer. I think Ginny is far better at me at telling them apart than me but then she tends to spend more time with them than I do.
Last week we went on a family outing to a picnic organised by the Multiple Birth Association of New Zealand (Auckland Branch), there were about 100 families, each with twins or triplets. It was pretty cool to see so many people each in a similar situation to us, and also how many of them had actually survived the first 3 or 4 years to now have toddlers running about. I'm still not quite sure how they manage it.
If everything is running smoothly then we can manage, we have little or no down time, but we cope, however it only takes one thing to push things over the edge and then things become manic. They boys having colds is really tough because they don't feed as well, throw up more, and everything generally takes twice as long. To help out we are now fortunate in that we now have extra help in the form of Stacy. Stacy is currently training to be a nurse, but comes round from about 4:30 to 7:30 each week day evening to help us out. She is great with the boys, she used to look after twins in a previous job and so knows what she is doing, and also helps us with things like washing and cleaning and other little jobs that easily get lost in general attempt to look after the boys.
We have finally managed to sort out thank you cards so for all those wonderful people who so generously gave the boys gifts you should be getting something in the post next week. They would have come a month earlier had we not (in our sleep deprived state, of course) noticed after having 50 thank you cards printed that it had two photos of Alex on it and not one of William. We have now played it safe and put a photo of them both on it! And then Ginny just had to find the time to write them.....!
Love to all,
I now work for a company called Explorer Graphics Limited (EGL), a well regarded GIS Consultancy firm who are based in Whitby, about 15 miles up the coast from Wellington at the base of the North Island. Whitby is a bit of a one horse town, although I think the horse may have left in search of adventure. It has a small supermarket, a pub, a fish and chip shop, a cafe, a post office, a pharmacy and of course the head office of EGL. It is pretty though, with rolling hills in the background and from higher ground you can just about see the South Island. Although EGL are based in Whitby we'll still live in Auckland, indeed I will be the Auckland office. I spent the first weeks in Whitby getting up to speed. This was really hard as I had to leave Ginny to look after the boys and Mimi. Fortunately the family stepped up to the mark and provided a lot of support although Ginny did point out once I got back that I had spend half the boys life away from them. Now that I'm back in Auckland I'm working out of the garage while we wait for the office in Auckland to be sorted. Its really hard sitting in the garage knowing that Gin is occasionally struggling with the boys and I'm sure Ginny finds it hard that I am not there. Work does take me away from home quite frequently at the moment, I've been down to Wellington quite a few times and also a night in New Plymouth which is famous for Mount Taranaki, a dormant volcano which looks remarkably like Mount Fuji.
 |
| Mount Taranaki |
Alex and William or Willem as Mimi likes to call him still look remarkably similar and it still takes a second look to tell them apart, and even then it might take a third and forth. If all else fails a glance at Alex's toes which are painted with nail varnish provides the definitive answer. I think Ginny is far better at me at telling them apart than me but then she tends to spend more time with them than I do.Last week we went on a family outing to a picnic organised by the Multiple Birth Association of New Zealand (Auckland Branch), there were about 100 families, each with twins or triplets. It was pretty cool to see so many people each in a similar situation to us, and also how many of them had actually survived the first 3 or 4 years to now have toddlers running about. I'm still not quite sure how they manage it.
We have finally managed to sort out thank you cards so for all those wonderful people who so generously gave the boys gifts you should be getting something in the post next week. They would have come a month earlier had we not (in our sleep deprived state, of course) noticed after having 50 thank you cards printed that it had two photos of Alex on it and not one of William. We have now played it safe and put a photo of them both on it! And then Ginny just had to find the time to write them.....!
Love to all,
Friday, 27 August 2010
The boys are back
Day Four
So I'm sitting on the sofa after the first night with Gin and the boys back home. I can only see half the keyboard because William is strapped to my chest obscuring the view, it's quite a good test of my typing skills. William unlike Alex likes to be close to you before he will go to sleep, indeed every time we put him in the cot last night he would cry until picked up, in the end we slept with both of them snuggled between us. And when I say slept I mean between the hours of 2am and 5:30am when the boys finally decided that they had fussed enough. I'm using the term 'the boys' quite a lot at the moment largely because they are quite difficult to tell apart. Although they aren't identical (we don't think), since they were born they have grown to look more and more alike. The only feature that Gin thinks distinguishes them is their hair line. William, or maybe Alex has a widows peak, while Alex, or was that William doesn't. Unfortunately little babies tend to wear hats to keep them warm and as such it's a bit of a guessing games as to who I have picked up. I'm sure over the coming weeks we will learn to tell them apart a whole lot more easily.
Mimi is also coming to terms with having brothers, over the last few days while Gin has been at Birthcare Mimi has been suffering from a cold which brought on an ear infection making the poor darling feel really below par. A trip to the doctors and the prescription of antibiotics have really helped to clear up the ear infection and she has gradually fort the cold. Unfortunately being ill, and not having her Mummy to cuddle her (Daddies are okay but not quite as good) has meant that she has been playing up quite a lot with lots of tantrums and she is addicted to the dummy and Timmy Time on the TV, taking away either one results in immediate protests. In the moments when she is feeling okay she has been lovely with the babies, patting them and trying to be helpful fetching nappies and so forth. I'm sure over time she will grow to love them as much as we do.
So today is our first full day as a family. Gin has just showered and dressed, I think it is a small miracle that she has done so before 10am and while we don't have any firm plans, I'm sure my day will include a food shop (breast feeding women need a lot of food) and also quite a bit of Mimi entertaining whatever that might be. Gin also needs a hand with feeding and such like.
It's funny having babies again, Mimi is two and bit years old now and I can hardly remember anything about those first three months, the constant nappy changes, the crying for unknown reasons, the time it takes to do anything and now I have to remember it all again, twice! They are just so helpless. When I dress Mimi in the morning (something I shouldn't do as I have all the fashion sense of a 34 year old man who would live in jeans and a t-shirt if I could get away with it) she actually helps by pushing her arms through sleeves and stepping into trousers.
Day Six
Hang on what happened to day five - twins happened to day two that's what and I was too tired to write anything. Anyway the boys are now looking so similar that even the widows peak does little to help tell them apart so we dress them differently. If I'm honest that doesn't help me much as I can't remember what we dressed them in by lunchtime. We tried a new approach to bed times by swaddling the boys really tightly and placing a nice warm wheat bag between them and so far its been really successful and last night we got 6 to 7 hours sleep in 3-4 hour blocks which is perfectly manageable for the next few months, although I'm sure it won't last.
Day Seven
It lasted! It lasted! Another night of 3-4 hour blocks of sleep which although not quite as good as the previous nights it still meant that come the morning we didn't feel like death warmed up. We got out of the house today and took the boys on a promenade stroll along St Heliers beach with Auntie Bec. This involved packing us all (not Bec who took her own car) into our car. We can fit the two car seats, and Mimi's car seat across the back seat as long as we don't try and use the expensive isofix bases that the bought in the UK. The Out & About double buggy that we picked up via ebay goes in the boot and leaves enough room for Mimi's trike but not much more, I think we will have to get a roof box before too long. It didn't take too long to fit everyone in which filled us with a bit of confidence. The buggy is very light for a double buggy and narrow enough to fit through doorways, it also worked nicely on the beach which Mimi was pleased about. We then went to Mortans, a bar/restaurant and had lunch, it was lovely to sit in the passing sunshine watching the sea and feel almost normal.
We had a nice afternoon at home with a couple of visitors popping in to meet the boys and then later in the evening Gin's Dad dropped round some fish which he had caught up at Mangawhai (there is nothing like fresh fish caught the same day) and Bec and Petr came round with a pot of Bec's delicious goulash which we all enjoyed.
Day Eight and Nine
I can't say we did much, not that I can remember at any rate, life pretty much revolves around the boys. It's hard though, so much more difficult than with Mimi.
Day Ten, and Eleven
The boys sleep during the day but not at night, they tag team, while Alex sleeps, William demands food, and then Alex starts to cry and needs changing, and William feeds, and Alex fusses, and William sleeps and Alex demands food and William needs changing, and Alex sleeps and William starts to cry, and Alex fusses, and Ginny's in tears, and I get snappy, and Alex sleeps and William demands food, and Ginny sleeps for 5 minutes and I need changing, and Alex feeds, and I sleep for 5 minutes and Mimi wakes up and demands milk and it's morning and oh my God this can't carry on....
Day Twelve
It wasn't as bad last night, I think we got 2 or 3 hours sleep.
Day Thirteen
We call in the big guns, Dorothy, a Karitane Nurse who has helped families all over the world from London to New York, but has come home. She arrives at about 8am and spends about three hours with us talking though life with twins. She shows us a feeding and sleep routine based around three hour cycles which we had roughly been following but not with the right techniques. She helps us tighten things up and gives us more confidence with feeding, winding and swaddling. The new method gets the boys to sleep and we have a couple of hours of freedom. The next time they wake we try the same technique and have the same result, the boys sleep soundly, this continues though out the day in three hour cycles, however the real test comes at night.
Day Fourteen
The night was a great success, the same feeding, winding, swaddling method means that although our sleep is interrupted every three hours they boys sleep pretty soundly between times. We can only hope that things continue to work and although we know that they probably won't we have got a bit of confidence to deal with things. Dorothy is going to continue to help out, she will come in some time next week and spend the night looking after the boys, getting Ginny up just to feed them and then sending her back to sleep and settling the boys.
So it has been two weeks and we have survived, things were tough, and we are still getting to know the boys. I still can't tell them apart, and Gin says that she tends to think of them as a unit rather than individuals but I'm sure this will all change over time.
Anyway this post is far longer than I intended but I just never seemed to have the time to publish it. So lastly here are some photos charting the last two weeks.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Chris10Morris/TheBoys?authkey=Gv1sRgCL3N65rvg5DbTA#
Bye bye
So I'm sitting on the sofa after the first night with Gin and the boys back home. I can only see half the keyboard because William is strapped to my chest obscuring the view, it's quite a good test of my typing skills. William unlike Alex likes to be close to you before he will go to sleep, indeed every time we put him in the cot last night he would cry until picked up, in the end we slept with both of them snuggled between us. And when I say slept I mean between the hours of 2am and 5:30am when the boys finally decided that they had fussed enough. I'm using the term 'the boys' quite a lot at the moment largely because they are quite difficult to tell apart. Although they aren't identical (we don't think), since they were born they have grown to look more and more alike. The only feature that Gin thinks distinguishes them is their hair line. William, or maybe Alex has a widows peak, while Alex, or was that William doesn't. Unfortunately little babies tend to wear hats to keep them warm and as such it's a bit of a guessing games as to who I have picked up. I'm sure over the coming weeks we will learn to tell them apart a whole lot more easily.
Mimi is also coming to terms with having brothers, over the last few days while Gin has been at Birthcare Mimi has been suffering from a cold which brought on an ear infection making the poor darling feel really below par. A trip to the doctors and the prescription of antibiotics have really helped to clear up the ear infection and she has gradually fort the cold. Unfortunately being ill, and not having her Mummy to cuddle her (Daddies are okay but not quite as good) has meant that she has been playing up quite a lot with lots of tantrums and she is addicted to the dummy and Timmy Time on the TV, taking away either one results in immediate protests. In the moments when she is feeling okay she has been lovely with the babies, patting them and trying to be helpful fetching nappies and so forth. I'm sure over time she will grow to love them as much as we do.
So today is our first full day as a family. Gin has just showered and dressed, I think it is a small miracle that she has done so before 10am and while we don't have any firm plans, I'm sure my day will include a food shop (breast feeding women need a lot of food) and also quite a bit of Mimi entertaining whatever that might be. Gin also needs a hand with feeding and such like.
It's funny having babies again, Mimi is two and bit years old now and I can hardly remember anything about those first three months, the constant nappy changes, the crying for unknown reasons, the time it takes to do anything and now I have to remember it all again, twice! They are just so helpless. When I dress Mimi in the morning (something I shouldn't do as I have all the fashion sense of a 34 year old man who would live in jeans and a t-shirt if I could get away with it) she actually helps by pushing her arms through sleeves and stepping into trousers.
Day Six
Hang on what happened to day five - twins happened to day two that's what and I was too tired to write anything. Anyway the boys are now looking so similar that even the widows peak does little to help tell them apart so we dress them differently. If I'm honest that doesn't help me much as I can't remember what we dressed them in by lunchtime. We tried a new approach to bed times by swaddling the boys really tightly and placing a nice warm wheat bag between them and so far its been really successful and last night we got 6 to 7 hours sleep in 3-4 hour blocks which is perfectly manageable for the next few months, although I'm sure it won't last.
Day Seven
It lasted! It lasted! Another night of 3-4 hour blocks of sleep which although not quite as good as the previous nights it still meant that come the morning we didn't feel like death warmed up. We got out of the house today and took the boys on a promenade stroll along St Heliers beach with Auntie Bec. This involved packing us all (not Bec who took her own car) into our car. We can fit the two car seats, and Mimi's car seat across the back seat as long as we don't try and use the expensive isofix bases that the bought in the UK. The Out & About double buggy that we picked up via ebay goes in the boot and leaves enough room for Mimi's trike but not much more, I think we will have to get a roof box before too long. It didn't take too long to fit everyone in which filled us with a bit of confidence. The buggy is very light for a double buggy and narrow enough to fit through doorways, it also worked nicely on the beach which Mimi was pleased about. We then went to Mortans, a bar/restaurant and had lunch, it was lovely to sit in the passing sunshine watching the sea and feel almost normal.
We had a nice afternoon at home with a couple of visitors popping in to meet the boys and then later in the evening Gin's Dad dropped round some fish which he had caught up at Mangawhai (there is nothing like fresh fish caught the same day) and Bec and Petr came round with a pot of Bec's delicious goulash which we all enjoyed.
Day Eight and Nine
I can't say we did much, not that I can remember at any rate, life pretty much revolves around the boys. It's hard though, so much more difficult than with Mimi.
Day Ten, and Eleven
The boys sleep during the day but not at night, they tag team, while Alex sleeps, William demands food, and then Alex starts to cry and needs changing, and William feeds, and Alex fusses, and William sleeps and Alex demands food and William needs changing, and Alex sleeps and William starts to cry, and Alex fusses, and Ginny's in tears, and I get snappy, and Alex sleeps and William demands food, and Ginny sleeps for 5 minutes and I need changing, and Alex feeds, and I sleep for 5 minutes and Mimi wakes up and demands milk and it's morning and oh my God this can't carry on....
Day Twelve
It wasn't as bad last night, I think we got 2 or 3 hours sleep.
Day Thirteen
We call in the big guns, Dorothy, a Karitane Nurse who has helped families all over the world from London to New York, but has come home. She arrives at about 8am and spends about three hours with us talking though life with twins. She shows us a feeding and sleep routine based around three hour cycles which we had roughly been following but not with the right techniques. She helps us tighten things up and gives us more confidence with feeding, winding and swaddling. The new method gets the boys to sleep and we have a couple of hours of freedom. The next time they wake we try the same technique and have the same result, the boys sleep soundly, this continues though out the day in three hour cycles, however the real test comes at night.
Day Fourteen
The night was a great success, the same feeding, winding, swaddling method means that although our sleep is interrupted every three hours they boys sleep pretty soundly between times. We can only hope that things continue to work and although we know that they probably won't we have got a bit of confidence to deal with things. Dorothy is going to continue to help out, she will come in some time next week and spend the night looking after the boys, getting Ginny up just to feed them and then sending her back to sleep and settling the boys.
So it has been two weeks and we have survived, things were tough, and we are still getting to know the boys. I still can't tell them apart, and Gin says that she tends to think of them as a unit rather than individuals but I'm sure this will all change over time.
Anyway this post is far longer than I intended but I just never seemed to have the time to publish it. So lastly here are some photos charting the last two weeks.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Chris10Morris/TheBoys?authkey=Gv1sRgCL3N65rvg5DbTA#
Bye bye
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Still Waiting
I was kind of waiting for a couple of boys to make an appearance before writing another post but since they have flatly refused to do so I thought I would just get on with it. So we have settled into to life in Riddell Road pretty well, the house suits our needs and although it has been cold over the last month the house has warmed up a little bit and we no longer need extra blankets at night. It is a little noisy as it is only single glazed and with two bus stops outside we have no need for alarm clocks as the 6:46am bus for Glendowie does the job.
We have done lots of exploring and have found the best parks for Mimi, the Tahuna Torea Nature Reserve, with lots of ducks and pukeko, is a particular favourite, she loves the nature walk and the beach.
The local swings and slides are a short walk away, or a nice bike ride, and really quite importantly a couple of local take-aways, a fish & chips shop and a roast dinner take away (which are popular over here) are only a few doors up. I've found my local bike shop where I can buy all manner of useless bike stuff. If you ride a bike over here you have to have all the kit, and I mean all. Loud lycra top and tight shorts are mandatory.
So I guess the big news is that I accepted a job offer today. I'm going to be a GIS Consultant (so no change there) with Explorer Graphics Limited (EGL) who are the leading GIS consultancy in New Zealand. It all happened very quickly in the end, a chance meeting with a former boss at a GI conference that I attended led to an interview and job offer in short order, in that same week I also had a second interview with a company called Opus but the position was well below my level of experience and I pulled out of the process. I also had a first interview with the NZ Yellow Pages which was fun as they clearly hadn't thought about what the role included and I felt that most of the time I was leading them. In both cases I hope to sign them up as EGL clients. EGL are based in Wellington and don't have much of a presence in Auckland which sort of makes me their man in Auckland which is both exciting and a little worrying, but I like a challenge so I'm looking forward to it.
I have the option to work both at home and at a shared office in the city. The office is about 7.5 miles away well within cycling distance but I won't be able to do it every day and since Ginny will be using the car more than me I have bought a second hand moped. It's only a 50cc but is quick off the mark and gives me another option to get into the city. I should pick it up either tomorrow or maybe Monday.
Ginny's wants me to tell you that her big news is that she left the house yesterday. As you can probably tell from this Gin is feeling a little stir crazy. She keeps on growing although clearly it is physically impossible for her to do so, however the boys can't be far off and I guess we are on tenterhooks. Most people tend to tell you that you should get some sleep before having kids, but honestly we are sleeping so badly at the moment it's more a case of getting the practice of being sleep deprived.
Right well its bed time so it's time to sign off and try and get some shut eye. Tomorrow if the boys haven't arrived we are off to Waiheke Island for a bit of a look see.
We have done lots of exploring and have found the best parks for Mimi, the Tahuna Torea Nature Reserve, with lots of ducks and pukeko, is a particular favourite, she loves the nature walk and the beach.The local swings and slides are a short walk away, or a nice bike ride, and really quite importantly a couple of local take-aways, a fish & chips shop and a roast dinner take away (which are popular over here) are only a few doors up. I've found my local bike shop where I can buy all manner of useless bike stuff. If you ride a bike over here you have to have all the kit, and I mean all. Loud lycra top and tight shorts are mandatory.
So I guess the big news is that I accepted a job offer today. I'm going to be a GIS Consultant (so no change there) with Explorer Graphics Limited (EGL) who are the leading GIS consultancy in New Zealand. It all happened very quickly in the end, a chance meeting with a former boss at a GI conference that I attended led to an interview and job offer in short order, in that same week I also had a second interview with a company called Opus but the position was well below my level of experience and I pulled out of the process. I also had a first interview with the NZ Yellow Pages which was fun as they clearly hadn't thought about what the role included and I felt that most of the time I was leading them. In both cases I hope to sign them up as EGL clients. EGL are based in Wellington and don't have much of a presence in Auckland which sort of makes me their man in Auckland which is both exciting and a little worrying, but I like a challenge so I'm looking forward to it.
Ginny's wants me to tell you that her big news is that she left the house yesterday. As you can probably tell from this Gin is feeling a little stir crazy. She keeps on growing although clearly it is physically impossible for her to do so, however the boys can't be far off and I guess we are on tenterhooks. Most people tend to tell you that you should get some sleep before having kids, but honestly we are sleeping so badly at the moment it's more a case of getting the practice of being sleep deprived.Right well its bed time so it's time to sign off and try and get some shut eye. Tomorrow if the boys haven't arrived we are off to Waiheke Island for a bit of a look see.
Sunday, 4 July 2010
What a difference a few weeks make
Hello Again,
So it's been 3 weeks since our (my) last confession and things have been moving forwards slowly. I'm currently sitting in the St Heliers library which provides free Internet access and has become a sort of second home, I just wish I could get a cup of tea! St Heliers is our local high street for want of a better word. Its a little shopping area with a village feel which sits next to St Heliers beach, it has the usual butchers and bakers, with a few nice cafes and other community facilities. The picture below is the view you get as you drive down the hill from Glendowie (where we will be living as of next week or so) to what's known as the Eastern Bays.
They are a collection of four beaches which are popular with the locals. The road linking the four beaches with the city centre is known as Tamaki Drive, it runs along the waterfront and will with any luck form part of my commute to work. Yesterday I went for a run along the beach and it was lovely, although having not done much exercise in the last 6 months my body is now feeling it.
We have recently signed a lease on a three bedroom bungalow. It's probably regarded as an older property type over here as it was built in the 1950s. It's timber framed with a nice big garden for Mimi to run around in. Two bathrooms, a lounge/diner and a kitchen which has unfortunately seen better days and taste. Still it will do for the next 12 months or so. We should get the keys on Thursday and then if our container turns up on time all our stuff a week or two later. That's quite good in some ways as it means we have time to get things like broadband sorted, and Sky which is a necessity over her as normal television is terrible, and we should also be able to decorate Mimi and the Boys rooms.
Today we went to Harvey Norman to buy a washing machine and dryer. We could also have gone to Noel Leaming as both shopping chains sell appliances and the like, but not Dick Smith's as he only sells electronics. Unfortunately there is no John Lewis which I think Ginny really misses, well I do as well, the closest to John Lewis is probably Farmers but without the first name surname naming convention it just isn't as good.
On the work front I have applied for one job and I've just got an application form for another. Ideally I'd like to get the first position I applied for as it gives me the greatest opportunity, but I guess either of the two would be okay. The closing dates are still a few days away so no news yet. Other than that there are a few recruitment consultants I can speak to but I want to give these positions a go first.
Over the last few weeks we have been exploring the neighbourhood for things to do with Mimi. I found a great climbing wall which includes a section for kids. Mimi is probably a little young for it at the moment but give it 6 months and she'll be climbing like a monkey. We have also found a soft play area where she can run riot although we haven't taken her there yet, and just yesterday we came across Swim Experience which is a big indoor pool aimed specifically for kids to learn how to swim. Gin hopes to take here there once the Boys have been born and I might give it a go in the mean time. I could do with learning to swim better.
Last Friday I went on a Guys night out with some of the people I have been introduced to over the last few weeks. We went to The Attic, a English style pub/bar in Mission Bay, the bay two bays round from St Heliers. It was a nice night with a multinational group comprising of three English, two Kiwi's, a South African and Petr my Czech brother in law. The beer is pretty much all of the larger variety which I find a little disappointing and at $8 or £4ish in pounds really rather expensive, although I haven't had a night out in London in so long £4 might be cheap.
I thought I might mention some of the little differences that I have noticed over the last month. People often say that New Zealand is like England 40 years ago and in some cases this is true, certainly Internet access is a prime example. Another is mobile phones, the selection of phones is rubbish and the call plans are extortionate. It's probably best not to think about it, as Dorothy might say "we're not in Kansas anymore!" What else have I noticed, well drivers over here have clearly been been told to watch the road in front of them as a safety measure but no one mention that they should also look in the rear view mirror and maybe signal once in a while. It makes driving a game of second guessing what the car in front is about to do.
There is also a friendly feel to the place, it's hard to describe but as an example when we were buying the washing machine and dryer I got chatting to Kerry, our sales assistant. He asked if I had the day off as it was a Tuesday morning. I said no that we had just come over from the UK and I was currently looking for work. He asked what I did and when I told him he said that he had a friend who worked in IT recruitment and he could put me in touch if I liked.
I mentioned television beforehand and yes it is different, far more adverts for a start, which makes the concept of actually watching something when it is only rather unappealing and so most people just tend to record and the watch at their leisure fast forwarding through the adverts. One of the other difference is that there doesn't appear to be a watershed. Each program is simply rated before it is shown. This means that you can quite easily watch violence and listen to swearing well before lunchtime which can be a bit of a surprise especially if you have a two year old sitting on your knee while channel hopping.
I wrote most of what is above on Tuesday last week. On Wednesday afternoon I felt a little feverish and by bed time I had a temperature of 39.7 (103.5) and had a very rough night, I didn't improve much the following day and was sure I had just picked up the flu as it is flu season over here. Well after another rough night I went to the Doctors and was diagnosed with the worst tonsillitis the Doctor had ever seen, (I'm sure she says that to everyone, but when you get accused of man flu its nice to have a professional opinion to back you up) and prescribed antibiotics and heavy duty pain killers to help with the fever. To cut a long story short the next night I ended up at a out of hours clinic at 2am having been driven there by a poor Ginny and a confused Mimi who actually wasn't anywhere near as confused as I had been after the drugs made me hallucinate and I couldn't work out if I was in a dream or reality.
So germs over here are no match for my hardy British immune system, they seem to be far superior. I seem to be on the mend though. Strong painkillers have been banished in favour of ones I have used before and I know don't make me crazy and although my tonsils still look like a cotton field in bloom I think the antibiotics have kicked in.
Lastly for now here is a picture of our cargo vessel, it arrived in Auckland last night so hopefully we might get our stuff by the end of the week.
So it's been 3 weeks since our (my) last confession and things have been moving forwards slowly. I'm currently sitting in the St Heliers library which provides free Internet access and has become a sort of second home, I just wish I could get a cup of tea! St Heliers is our local high street for want of a better word. Its a little shopping area with a village feel which sits next to St Heliers beach, it has the usual butchers and bakers, with a few nice cafes and other community facilities. The picture below is the view you get as you drive down the hill from Glendowie (where we will be living as of next week or so) to what's known as the Eastern Bays.
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| The view down St Heliers Bay Road |
We have recently signed a lease on a three bedroom bungalow. It's probably regarded as an older property type over here as it was built in the 1950s. It's timber framed with a nice big garden for Mimi to run around in. Two bathrooms, a lounge/diner and a kitchen which has unfortunately seen better days and taste. Still it will do for the next 12 months or so. We should get the keys on Thursday and then if our container turns up on time all our stuff a week or two later. That's quite good in some ways as it means we have time to get things like broadband sorted, and Sky which is a necessity over her as normal television is terrible, and we should also be able to decorate Mimi and the Boys rooms.
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| Mimi on St Heliers Beach |
On the work front I have applied for one job and I've just got an application form for another. Ideally I'd like to get the first position I applied for as it gives me the greatest opportunity, but I guess either of the two would be okay. The closing dates are still a few days away so no news yet. Other than that there are a few recruitment consultants I can speak to but I want to give these positions a go first.
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| The climbing wall |
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| On the See-Saw |
Last Friday I went on a Guys night out with some of the people I have been introduced to over the last few weeks. We went to The Attic, a English style pub/bar in Mission Bay, the bay two bays round from St Heliers. It was a nice night with a multinational group comprising of three English, two Kiwi's, a South African and Petr my Czech brother in law. The beer is pretty much all of the larger variety which I find a little disappointing and at $8 or £4ish in pounds really rather expensive, although I haven't had a night out in London in so long £4 might be cheap.
I thought I might mention some of the little differences that I have noticed over the last month. People often say that New Zealand is like England 40 years ago and in some cases this is true, certainly Internet access is a prime example. Another is mobile phones, the selection of phones is rubbish and the call plans are extortionate. It's probably best not to think about it, as Dorothy might say "we're not in Kansas anymore!" What else have I noticed, well drivers over here have clearly been been told to watch the road in front of them as a safety measure but no one mention that they should also look in the rear view mirror and maybe signal once in a while. It makes driving a game of second guessing what the car in front is about to do.
There is also a friendly feel to the place, it's hard to describe but as an example when we were buying the washing machine and dryer I got chatting to Kerry, our sales assistant. He asked if I had the day off as it was a Tuesday morning. I said no that we had just come over from the UK and I was currently looking for work. He asked what I did and when I told him he said that he had a friend who worked in IT recruitment and he could put me in touch if I liked.
I mentioned television beforehand and yes it is different, far more adverts for a start, which makes the concept of actually watching something when it is only rather unappealing and so most people just tend to record and the watch at their leisure fast forwarding through the adverts. One of the other difference is that there doesn't appear to be a watershed. Each program is simply rated before it is shown. This means that you can quite easily watch violence and listen to swearing well before lunchtime which can be a bit of a surprise especially if you have a two year old sitting on your knee while channel hopping.
I wrote most of what is above on Tuesday last week. On Wednesday afternoon I felt a little feverish and by bed time I had a temperature of 39.7 (103.5) and had a very rough night, I didn't improve much the following day and was sure I had just picked up the flu as it is flu season over here. Well after another rough night I went to the Doctors and was diagnosed with the worst tonsillitis the Doctor had ever seen, (I'm sure she says that to everyone, but when you get accused of man flu its nice to have a professional opinion to back you up) and prescribed antibiotics and heavy duty pain killers to help with the fever. To cut a long story short the next night I ended up at a out of hours clinic at 2am having been driven there by a poor Ginny and a confused Mimi who actually wasn't anywhere near as confused as I had been after the drugs made me hallucinate and I couldn't work out if I was in a dream or reality.
So germs over here are no match for my hardy British immune system, they seem to be far superior. I seem to be on the mend though. Strong painkillers have been banished in favour of ones I have used before and I know don't make me crazy and although my tonsils still look like a cotton field in bloom I think the antibiotics have kicked in.
Lastly for now here is a picture of our cargo vessel, it arrived in Auckland last night so hopefully we might get our stuff by the end of the week.
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| Spot our container |
Friday, 4 June 2010
The first week
Welcome to New Zealand, one of the few places in the developed world where internet access using dial up is regarded as pretty hot stuff. Its all rather frustrating, but I’m sure as we get to know each other New Zealand will make up for what it lacks in technology in other ways such as the weather perhaps.
So we have been here now for a week, the flights were long, London to Los Angeles being the easiest, but LA to Auckland was a further two hours on the 10 we had already endured from London. Mimi all things considered was good, she didn’t really cry just got frustrated at the small area in which she had to play. Both Gin and I were tired but we are pretty much over the jet lag now.
So we have been here now for a week, the flights were long, London to Los Angeles being the easiest, but LA to Auckland was a further two hours on the 10 we had already endured from London. Mimi all things considered was good, she didn’t really cry just got frustrated at the small area in which she had to play. Both Gin and I were tired but we are pretty much over the jet lag now.
The weather on the first few days was fantastic, hot and sunny which isn’t bad considering NZ is really in the second month of winter. This meant that we could sit on the beach and watch Mimi paddle in the sea, she does love it, she seems to get enormous pleasure from something being so vast that she can’t really comprehend it. She also enjoyed all the presents she received for her 2nd birthday, in particular the trike that Mum and Dad got her. I just wish she could learn to peddle.
The weather couldn’t last and it didn’t two days of sunshine were followed by a day of torrential tropical downpours with so much rain many areas were flooded. The rest of the week has been a mix of blue skies and sun with cloud and spots of rain, but nothing seems to stay the same for more than an hour.
We have bought a car, well a 4x4 SUV with 7 seats, it’s a Hyundai Santa Fe, four years old but it fantastic condition without a scratch or a dent. It’s white as you can see but white cars are in vogue at the moment and it actually looks pretty smart. The best thing about it is that we should be able to have 3 car seats across the back seat two of are ISOFIX something that many NZ cars don’t have. We should be picking it up next week which will give us a bit of independence.
We have seen a few places to rent but nothing that takes our fancy as yet, in many respects we have to wait until our container is closer to NZ rather than pay for a place that we have nothing to fill it with.
On the job front there isn’t that much to say, I have been in contact with a company who I have been speaking to for the past few months and I should be meeting up with them next week. Although I’m not desperate to get back to work it’s nice to have a bit of a holiday, it would also be nice to get a job and feel financially settled.
Currently we are at Mangawhai Heads and the beach house for a few days over the Queens Anniversary which is a bank holiday over here. I’m had hoped to catch some fish with the new fishing rod that I bought with the leaving present cash that I got when I left ESRI, but no luck, not even a nibble.
Well that’s all for now,
Chris, Ginny & Mimi
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Welcome
Hello, so this being my first post I thought I'd give you some idea of what you can expect. I'm hoping to post updates of what we are doing in NZ including photos and videos so you know what we are up to as life starts in New Zealand. I'm going to try and post as often as possible so that its always current. To the right you can see the date and time in New Zealand, you can also see the weather conditions. Below the weather is a map showing my current location, yes you can even track where I am! Next are my are my Twitter posts, these are short descriptions of what I'm up to and other musings. They are generally pointless like most Twitter posts. After Twitter comes NZ news, items which have appeared in the papers but probably haven't graced distant shores.
At the bottom of a blog post you can comment, a comment is simply you writing something about what I have posted, "Doesn't Amelia look cute!" might be appropriate if I've posted a photo of her. Or "Don't you look tanned!" if I've posted a photo of me.
Anyway I best get on, have a look around, post a comment, go on I dare you...
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