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.

The view down St Heliers Bay Road

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.

Mimi on St Heliers Beach

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.

The climbing wall

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.

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.

Spot our container