Last night we decided to sample some of the night life here. It's about a two minute drive into town (it was rainy yesterday so we didn't walk!) and everything is within a 6-8 block stretch in the central area. We started at the bingo club which is at the decidedly more upscale pub in town. It was super busy and we barely got seats but we stuck around for one round of bingo. They give out free drinks, t-shirts, CDs and a bar tab of $20 is the big prize for a full card. I don't know, once we got there I started feeling totally lonely since everyone was out with groups of friends. At least they serve what both Dustin and I would probably agree is the best beer in New Zealand. It's called Monteith's and last time we were here we went to the brewery for a tour. It's delicious and they serve at least 6 or so of their beers! I tried the Golden Lager and Dustin went for the Original Ale. After we left there we walked a block to this Celtic style pub where they had music trivia going. Up against teams of 4-6 people we did respectably for a while but ended up second to last after all 6 rounds. Oh well, we'll have to join a table next time or something! It was fun though - lots of name that band and then there would always be a bonus question about the album, the video or something about the band. We would have done much better if there were some Frank Stallone questions. It seemed like the top 5 teams won something, probably like gift certificates to the pub or something. We'll find out next time when we finish in the top 5! The night life is perfect for us - all that and we were home before 10pm. Which since it was a work night for Dustin was just right.
So it's becoming apparent that the work life here is not quite as laid back at we found it was in Australia. Dustin's been working 7:30am-5pm and that's their normal work day. They don't even consider any of it overtime! And they might be requiring him to work Saturdays for half a day. He said that everyone is friendly - and particularly different in a construction work site, they have been all making sure to introduce themselves to Dustin and have a chat with him. There's a couple chaps from England on site and he's been working beside one of them. He's finding that the work is a lot pickier than at home, kind of sounds like it's even beyond "by the book" because they are concerned right down to the millimetre at times where there is space to just be close rather than spot on. It sounds like it's been an interesting first week.
One of the local butchers (Buzz the Butcher to be exact) was recently awarded Best Bacon in New Zealand so tonight we're having breakfast for dinner to try some out. Even wrapped up in plastic, you can totally smell it. Should be delicious! We tried to get some last week but he was all out because it was in the paper last week so of course everyone came in to try it.
So it depends on Dustin's work schedule for tomorrow but we might venture out this weekend to either hike or surf. I'm not sure what the weather will be like but I'm sure there will be at least some sunshine. It's not a bother if it rains for surfing - considering that's typically what we get at home anyways. But a hike won't be as nice in the rain. There's a great national park near town with a giant volcano to hike. It's been clear enough to see it a couple times this week and it's snow-capped and gorgeous. Dustin has a pretty good view from his work site - lucky! If nothing else I think we'll hit out to some of the other areas here just to check them out.
It sounds like we need some repairs to the car - we got it aligned the other day and the shop said it needs a new steering box and some bushings need replacing. One thing about the size of this town - they said they would have to ship the steering part in from a couple hours away. I was going to call around because in our new phonebook there was definitely some wreckers listed that mentioned Nissans. We haven't figured out if we're going to put in the $800 estimate or wait a bit and see how it goes. Of course we should have expected a bit of that with purchasing a $3000 vehicle. So even if we do get it fixed it's still cheaper than we had set out to spend so it might just take a little research and arranging a garage that will let us supply the part.
Still no bites on the employment front for me. So I've been playing Suzy Homemaker and having dinner ready for my husband. I remember doing that in Melbourne while I was looking for work and our housemates thought Dustin was terribly chauvinistic and asked me "Does he do ANY cooking?" I had a meeting with an employment agency the other day and had a lovely long chat with the consultant so it's just a matter of something temporary coming up that suits me. I'm sure I'll get at least something for half the time we're here. In the meantime I have been doing other projects for Krista. Which inspired me to rearrange our lounge room today because so what if we're just here a few months - no excuse not to have it organized so that things flow nicely!
Hopefully Dustin doesn't work tomorrow because I have seen a place that appears to be just a karaoke bar and it's only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights!
So it's becoming apparent that the work life here is not quite as laid back at we found it was in Australia. Dustin's been working 7:30am-5pm and that's their normal work day. They don't even consider any of it overtime! And they might be requiring him to work Saturdays for half a day. He said that everyone is friendly - and particularly different in a construction work site, they have been all making sure to introduce themselves to Dustin and have a chat with him. There's a couple chaps from England on site and he's been working beside one of them. He's finding that the work is a lot pickier than at home, kind of sounds like it's even beyond "by the book" because they are concerned right down to the millimetre at times where there is space to just be close rather than spot on. It sounds like it's been an interesting first week.
One of the local butchers (Buzz the Butcher to be exact) was recently awarded Best Bacon in New Zealand so tonight we're having breakfast for dinner to try some out. Even wrapped up in plastic, you can totally smell it. Should be delicious! We tried to get some last week but he was all out because it was in the paper last week so of course everyone came in to try it.
So it depends on Dustin's work schedule for tomorrow but we might venture out this weekend to either hike or surf. I'm not sure what the weather will be like but I'm sure there will be at least some sunshine. It's not a bother if it rains for surfing - considering that's typically what we get at home anyways. But a hike won't be as nice in the rain. There's a great national park near town with a giant volcano to hike. It's been clear enough to see it a couple times this week and it's snow-capped and gorgeous. Dustin has a pretty good view from his work site - lucky! If nothing else I think we'll hit out to some of the other areas here just to check them out.
It sounds like we need some repairs to the car - we got it aligned the other day and the shop said it needs a new steering box and some bushings need replacing. One thing about the size of this town - they said they would have to ship the steering part in from a couple hours away. I was going to call around because in our new phonebook there was definitely some wreckers listed that mentioned Nissans. We haven't figured out if we're going to put in the $800 estimate or wait a bit and see how it goes. Of course we should have expected a bit of that with purchasing a $3000 vehicle. So even if we do get it fixed it's still cheaper than we had set out to spend so it might just take a little research and arranging a garage that will let us supply the part.
Still no bites on the employment front for me. So I've been playing Suzy Homemaker and having dinner ready for my husband. I remember doing that in Melbourne while I was looking for work and our housemates thought Dustin was terribly chauvinistic and asked me "Does he do ANY cooking?" I had a meeting with an employment agency the other day and had a lovely long chat with the consultant so it's just a matter of something temporary coming up that suits me. I'm sure I'll get at least something for half the time we're here. In the meantime I have been doing other projects for Krista. Which inspired me to rearrange our lounge room today because so what if we're just here a few months - no excuse not to have it organized so that things flow nicely!
Hopefully Dustin doesn't work tomorrow because I have seen a place that appears to be just a karaoke bar and it's only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights!
Yes, next time you should definitely join a table :-)
ReplyDeleteYou have to let me know how the bacon was cause I thought I could smell it from here.
ReplyDeleteAlright, I finally had a chance to read your blog, beautiful pictures, I can't wait to see more. It sounds like you are settling in with your place, car and some work, does it seem like there's people your age to hang out with?
ReplyDelete